June 23 to July 24, 2005 Roger Traviss' Great Eastern Railway is a photo album. Now, before you turn away muttering, there are a lot of excellent photos here with a description/caption with each. Here are some samples and captions (not necessarity in order. Granville Junction coaling tower CNR F3A heads east bound past Dorset Centre with a detouring CNR freight Light 4-8-2 No. 631 comes off the Massena Sub and passes Granville Junction with the New York City to Montreal (Windsor Station) passenger train RDC 9056 passes Exeter on the climb to the Fox River bridge Light 4-8-2 No. 635 arrives in Granville Jct. with a through freight from Adirondack yard RDC 9056 arrives at Dorset Centre with the daily Montreal (Windsor Station) to Atwater local Sit back and enjoy some time browsing the photos of Roger Traviss' Great Eastern Railway. July 24 to August 23, 2005 Joe Fugate's SP Siskiyou Line is the Webmaster's Choice for the month. Joe Sez... Since 1991, I have been building an HO scale model railroad of the Southern Pacific's Siskiyou Line as it existed in the 1980s. This site presents details about my model railroad and its prototype. The prototype Siskiyou Line began at Springfield Junction a few miles southeast of Eugene Yard. From there the track ran south 300 miles through Roseburg, Grants Pass, and Medford to Black Butte, California. Under the 'Follow a train' link... The first thing you do when you get a train assignment is grab a throttle, go to where your train is located (in this case, Coos Bay) and dial up your loco number. That's all there is to it! Well, maybe just a little more Joe. In any case, Joe Fugate's SP Siskiyou Line is well worth a visit for photos and information. August 23 to September 23, 2005 I was a little undecided about the next WC when I received an Electronic Rail Pass in my In Box. (Yes, I exchange ERPs and send to those who request one whether they have one or not.) Looking at the associated URL I found a most enjoyable site full of photos and details just when I needed it most. :-) Waldovia State Railways sez… Our latest OO scale model railway layout for 2005 is under development. It is more ambitious than the previous three as it measures 16' x 8' and incorporates a unique eight feet long double track train lift. Background: Waldovia is a less well off country in Eastern Europe and unfortunately does not have it's own train manufacturing facilities. For it's rolling stock, Waldovia State Railways (WSR) mainly relies upon purchasing 'previously owned' equipment from it's European neighbours, chiefly the United Kingdom. For this reason there is a very wide ranging assortment of locomotives, and due to the WSR principle 'If it works, don't change it' you will see some very old, but still capable, machinery from all eras of the last century. Something is always happening here at Waldovia and the best way to find what's new is to check the Updates Page where all changes and additions to both the web site and the WSR layout are listed chronologically. Come on, let's make a fun trip to see the Waldovia State Railways. September 23 to October 23, 2005 Cliff Powers said: "I welcome you to the Mississippi, Alabama and Gulf Railroad, my free-lanced HO layout set in the deep south of the 1950's. The MA&G (better known as "The Magnolia Route") is a fictional Class 1 railroad which runs from Chattanooga, TN to Houston, TX with branches to Mobile, AL and New Orleans, LA. The modeled section represents the mainline run south of Hattiesburg, MS to New Orleans." The MA&G is a triple deck layout connected by a double-track helix. The lowest level is for staging and has 30 tracks with a wye. The second level represents the mainline run through rural southern Mississippi and features two fictional towns (Wharton and Edna), a sawmill complex, three major bridges and a farm. The 'run' between Edna and New Orleans, is located "in the helix". The upper level will entirely represent New Orleans. An earlier smaller version of the layout was featured in the April 2005 Model Railroader. The new version is a 14 X 32 foot triple deck layout with the lower two levels complete. The MA&G will be the subject of an upcoming Allen Keller production in his Great Model Railroads video series. 'Nuf said. Let's take a look at the 60 photos of the Mississippi, Alabama and Gulf Railroad. October 23 to December 23, 2005 Sun City Center Model Railroad Club The Sun City Central RR is an "HO" scale layout that covers the territory of the Middle Atlantic States and serves many towns and industries along the way. The time period depicted is circa 1955; thus there are still steam engine locomotives in operation as well as the more ubiquitous diesels. This model railroad layout is new and still under construction; however, the mainlines and associated control electronics were complete and functioning in early 2005. Operation of this Model Railroad is by wireless "Digitrax" Direct Command Control (DCC). All locomotives and all mainline turnouts have embedded addressable DCC decoders. The Club also utilizes software that enables remote dispatcher control as well as true "hands off" PC controlled operation of eight trains simultaneously on our double track mainline. We visited this once before in January 2002, but the layout is new and it isn't just a railroad. These folks have a youth program that gives young people a 'hands on' and perhaps even a future 'hands up' on our hobby. Let's take another look at the Sun City Center Model Railroad Club.