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PAUL WASSERMANN LAYOUTS - SEASON 8
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| April 3, 2009 |
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 The
first shoot of the eighth season was at Dr. Paul Wassermann’s Lionel Layout
in Scottsdale. Paul is a past president of TCA (Train Collectors
Association) and an avid collector of all things train. Not
only does he have a huge Lionel collection, but he has fine pieces of
standard gauge, American Flyer, Ives, Hoge, and most other prewar
manufacturers. His train room houses several tinplate layouts designed so
that there is continuous running with no turnouts. He has a some amazing
items, including one of the first Lionel catalogues ever printed, and early
20th century prototype sets. His wife Irene is into the hobby as
well, and has a nice collection of the Disney handcars, and a Z gauge
collection. |
ADOBE MOUNTAIN RAILROAD PARK - SEASON 8
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Today we were off to Adobe Mt. Railroad Park, where
the
first stop was the Arizona Model Railroad Society. Their membership
operates in a county public park, and features three
 layouts – one in HO,
one in N gauge, and an outdoor G gauge railroad. We shot the HO layout first,
and discovered that it featured a lot of nice detail. The club used an
interesting scenery technique. Almost all scenery volume and base is
done with dense
construction foam. This is
carved, covered with joint compound, and then painted. The result is
quite lovely. Plus it is inexpensive, fast and fairly clean. The layout runs from Yuma to Tucson, with an H footprint. The
era is
the 1950’s so there is a nice mix of steam and diesel. The N gauge layout
has a nice helix and more of the traditional hard
 shell and cast scenery.
Of note on this layout was the large waterfront dock that was under
construction. The third layout is a large outdoor garden layout, with a staging trestle
comprised of 11,000 (not a mis-print!) pieces all bolted together. There
are several Eagle Wings bridges and buildings to round out the operation.
 Today we concentrated on the Maricopa
Live Steamers. They have been around for some 40 years, originally starting
at the McCormick Railroad Park. They moved up to Adobe Mountain Park on a
county floodplain about 5 years ago, and have grown tremendously. They
pulled out all the stops today, with a wide variety of steam and diesel (gas
powered) engines,
 mixed trains. The club has five separate runs over 13
miles, with connections between them. Operation is single track with
complete signaling and passing tracks. We rode tons of trains, and there
was quite a large attendance for public rides. An interesting thing is the
storage. Members can purchase shipping containers. These must have a false
front built on, so that they resemble an old western structure. The back,
opening side faces a wide area which contains several transfer tables. Trains can be stored in the containers, at varying levels, and then run out
to the yard and main lines. It’s a very clever arrangement. While there is
a great deal of wild life, of course, we didn’t see any. But we did see a
lot of passing trains, and had a great time with a wonderful group of
people. |
PETER ATONNA LAYOUTS - SEASON 8
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 Today we were north of
Prescott (pronounced press-kit for the uninitiated) in Paulden, to visit
with Peter & Mary Jane Atonna. Peter has a great collection of O and
standard gauge trains, and has a basement with five layouts. The first
one is a diorama layout featuring Lionel's OO gauge trains. Some say
that if WW2 had not come along, and Lionel had continued down the double O
path, they would still be a big name is the hobby today. A second
diorama layout is under construction. The second largest layout features
standard and prewar O gauge, running on several levels. There is even
a monorail, as well as many standard gauge accessories. The fourth
layout is a post war Lionel layout. The final, and largest
 layout is the Seligman and Paulden Line,
which features a modern O gauge line
running in Arizona terrain. Except in one case, all locales are real
places in Arizona, as we travel from Seligman to Yuma. Peter has used a great deal of foam
and cast resin scenery in this line, to great effect. The bottom of the
layout is lined with racks of shelves, each rack generally pertaining to the
trains on the layout above. Every where you look are great collectable cars,
engines, and accessories. So you see standard gauge, both old and new,
Marx, Lionel and many other examples of a particular era. Due to the
large size, we finished lat in the day, and then headed back down the hill
to the Valley of the Sun.
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ANGELO LAUTAZI LAYOUT - SEASON 8
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 Today found us close to Cave Creek at the
Lionel layout of Angelo Lautazi. A former New Yorker, Angelo has used
the area over his garage to build a nice layout that maximizes space in
several different ways. As an example, he wanted to build an airport,
but didn’t have any room. So he built it on an upper level in one
corner. Plasticville has been extensively used to create New York scenes, complete
with neighborhoods and cityscapes. While not large in physical; size,
the
 layout incorporates several levels and has lots of nice scenes, complete
with operating accessories and an actual running fountain. There are
virtually all the accessories that Lionel ever made, as well as some new
ones from MTH. We had a
great day running trains, as well as seeing some of Angelo's collection. |
KAL MILLER GARDEN LAYOUT - SEASON 8
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 Our
last shot in the Valley was today at the Whiskey Flats Railroad of Kal and
Barbara Miller. Kal and Barbara have lived in the Valley for a number
of years, and started this project back in the 1990s. It runs around
the rear of their large back yard, and is - as most layouts, constantly
changing to some degree. It all started when Kal was given an LGB
starter set for his birthday.
 The
rest is history, as he immediately realized that this type of train would
run outdoors. He runs LGB almost exclusively, impressed with the
durability and mechanical reliability. The family has a camp up in the
mountains, and have spent a great deal of effort in hauling rock and objects
from their property for inclusion in the scenery. This includes old
ore cars to go with the theme of an 1800's mining line, as well as hollowed
out logs which are used for tunnels. There is a carnival area, as well
as several Eagle Wings bridges to add to the look of the layout.
Thomas the Tank engine is a favorite with both the grandkids, as well as the
smaller visitors when the Miller's have an open house. The weather
cooperated, we finished up in good time, and thus ended the first trip of
season 8. |
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