2020 Toronto CARM Convention - Layout Tours

Saturday Afternoon May 9
1 pm - 5 pm
West Toronto and East Mississauga

The Bala and Newmarket subdivisions run from Toronto to Capreol and from Barrie to Parry Sound, crossing at Washago.
Yards are in South Parry, Allandale and Orillia.

Operating sessions keep a crew of 8 busy for 3 hours. Ken was an engineer for CN then GO so has a reality based track plan and keeps operations realistic.

A special feature is the Dispatcher's panel, with the electronics designed and built by by Ken. He also has a computerized "Swedish Chef" hot box detector.

This layout was on the 2010 convention tour. It has been improved in multiple ways, especially scenery.

See the article in the Spring 2020 Canadian issue 71.
See the photo in the Summer 2010 Canadian issue 32 and two photos in the Spring 2010 issue 31.

The Golden Horseshoe Railroad is double decked in a 12'x20' room, around the walls with the yards in a centre penninsula, point to loop design with a continuous loop connection. There is an easy duck under at the entrance to the room.

The GHRR is set in the 1980s Toronto / Dundas ares, with a branch to the Hooker Chemical Company in Niagara Falls, New York.

It is designed for operations with up to 4 operators, using Digitrax DCC. Track is code 80 and 100, mainline turnouts are number 8 and 10, and minimum radius is 36". Scenery is 90% done, with many mini scenes.
Many locomotives have sound. Tim kitbashed CP's #8921 "The Empress of Agincourt", the only RSD-17 ever built, which spent most of its life in Agincourt yard.
Visit this layout to see multiple diesel units pulling heavy trains up a long 2 1/2% grade between decks.

See the article in the Spring 2020 Canadian issue 71.
Also open Saturday evening.

Taking its name from the real Bellevile and North Hastings, which was proposed as a 3’6" gauge line, the M&NH is an "informed freelance" narrow gauge set in Central Ontario in the years around the turn of the century (19th into 20th!). Built to 3’ gauge in ¼" to the foot scale, or On3, it has evolved into an around-the-walls point to point layout with a central peninsula used as a project area. The prototype influences are primarily from Eastern common carrier narrow gauge lines such as the Ohio River and Western, early EBT, and Waynesburg and Washington. Scenery is about 67% complete, and operating sessions have occurred at irregular intervals using the Switchlist program and Lenz DCC.

Web page - davidwoodhead.com/page7.html
See the November photo in the 2020 CARM calendar.

Saturday Evening May 9
6 pm - 10 pm
West Toronto, Mississauga and Oakville

Tony Kerr's main room back in 2010

See the Spring 2010 Canadian issue 31 cover photo, 3 page article and photos:
Marcus Kollmann’s Landschaft Gartenbahn is an amazing 30’x40’ sample of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in his back yard. The 300’ mainline can be run as two loops or combined into one, with sidings and alternate paths. Up to six trains led by modern day and older era diesels, steam and electric engines make their way between the three stations. In the lighted coaches the passengers are preoccupied in watching the scenery, chatting, lunching, sipping a brew or just snoring are clearly visible (Don’t look now, but I’m sure one keeps his eye on visitors). Locomotives and cars are connected to one another with miniature plugs insuring reliable power which is important for flicker-free lighting and for engine power. This railroad runs year round, in rain and in snow up to a centimeter. Locomotive and turnout control is via a Massoth wireless DCC system. The trains travel though a city, towns and countryside, surrounded by a living landscape and 70 buildings, all lit for nighttime running with over 200 lights. In addition to railway buildings, homes, shops and offices, there is an oil refinery near the freight yard and other industries. The engines all have sound and automatically blow their horn or whistle for the grade crossings. Two crossing gates go up and down as needed to protect the many drivers, although sometimes one is "on the Fritz" (Fritz is the little guy who has to crank it up and down, and he may get tired). Eight working semaphores guide the engineers. At the main station you’ll hear arrival and departure announcements. Listen carefully near the farms and you’ll hear the cows and other animals. There’s a pond and waterfall, the windmill and waterwheel run, and the miniature railway around one house may be running too. Outdoors offers both more room and new challenges to overcome. Rain or snow, the train must go through. With two large trees in the yard, fall leaves used to be a downfall but now in season sloped netting diverts them to the lawn for easier cleanup. The lighting needed for nighttime operation makes the layout even more attractive after dark. It is fully accessible.
See more at www.kollmann.net/railway.

Sunday Morning May 10
9 am - 1 pm
Etobicoke and Downtown Toronto

The U shape 13'x20' two level Anyox Mine Railroad set on the BC coast is on the ground floor of Gerald's office. The modelled part connects the processing plant, future smelter and hydro-electric power plant at one end to the dock area and town for workers. The prototype also had a coke plant, sawmill and brickworks. It processed ore for the Dolly Varden Mine. The AMR used three electric locomotives and eight saddle tank steam locomotives. Gerald scratchbuilt an electric boxcab and a brass AMR 0-6-0. Track is hand laid code 83 rail to represent the prototype 56 pound rail.

See the Chair's Report in Canadian 2018/19/20 issues and articles in Winter 2018 issue 62.
See the photo of the mill (originally built for Gerald's Knob Hill Mining Company) in the Canadian Spring 2014 issue 47 and Winter 2014 issue 46.

When Willie moved to a condo 6 years ago, he ended up with a smaller "basement" condo 15 stories below to build his newer better larger CN Weston Sub including the Halton Sub and a CP interchange at the Lambton Yard.
The layout is U shaped plus a centre peninsula, avoiding duckunders. Alomg two walls 2'x4' boxes are supported by wall brackets, and a 14 foor long 2 track aluminum bridge crosses the window. The peninsula boxes are supported by 2" square adjustable legs. The track is laid on 2" styrofoam.
Basic scenery is essentially complete. There are many industries, mostly large and scratchbuilt to resemble specific prototypes. Some are being replaced with more detailed models. The layout is beautiful, but more details are being added.
The control system is Lenz DCC using 4 power districts. Some locomotives have sound. Turnouts are switched by programmed servo motors activated by Touch Toggles. Their frog polarities managed by Frog Juicers and the two reversing loops by OnGuard auto reversers.

Willie is enthusiastic about operation, including intensive switching in N scale. He set up a timetable for trains and uses Ship It to generate switch lists based on the customers' needs. Cars have large reporting marks on their roofs. The layout is operated regularly with friends, about half a dozen at a time.

See the articles, photos and track plan in Canadian Summer 2018 issue 64. Fall 2018 issue 65, Spring 2017 issue 59, and Fall 2016 issue 57.

Ed's Nipissing Southern Railway is U shaped along three walls of a 17.5'x23.5' area. It is very operations oriented, keeping 3 or 4 operators occupied for an evening. There are two main yards, the biggest in Nipissing, and two staging yards (Toronto and Cochrane/Capreol).
The mainline minimum radius is 24" and maximum grade is 2%. Control is DC using local panels with toggle switches. The transition era railway uses both steam power and first generation diesels.
It is mostly sceniced, but Ed is always refining and adding details. Buildings are scratch built (eg, the passenger station, 3 stall roundhouse and turntable in Nipissing), kit bashed and some kit built.
The area represented is from Nipissing in northern Ontario (the largest town) across the border into New Hampshire to Monadnock and beyond, including a connection to the Boston and Maine that Ed is particularly interested in.
See the 2 page article with photos in the Winter 2020 Canadian issue 70:

Sunday Afternoon May 10
1 pm - 5 pm
East Mississauga, East York and Scarborough

Panther Hobbies & Trains' N and On30 scale layouts

See the Saturday afternoon description.

Richard's layout is in an unusual location - a shed attached to the side of the house, heated by a partially open basement window.
The layout is U shaped with no duckunders. It is loop to loop with a branchline. Scenery is 100% with occasional improvements. Richard enjoys scratchbuilding industries (sometimes with detailed interiors and removable roofs) and creating mini scenes. Some scenes are related: A loads in + empties out / empties in + loads out pair of tracks connect a power plant and the Cash Mining Company coal mine.
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See the articles on operating in the Fall 2018 Canadian issue 65 and Fall 2016 issue 57, and the short article and photo in the Spring 2018 issue 63.
See the May Cash Mining Company photo in the 2020 CARM Calendar.