I built my first layout when I was about 6 years old. It was the standard loop on a 4 by 8 sheet of plywood, like many people start out with. With the help of my dad I slowly added buildings and other scenery, and spent many hours running trains and having fun. A couple years later I managed to procure more room in the basement, and my railroad doubled in size with the addition of another 4 x 8 sheet. I began adding industry sidings and other track work. Pretty soon I decided a needed a little more space, and after some negotiations with the local planning board (also known as my parents), I managed to acquire enough room for another 4x8 sheet of plywood, transforming my layout into a sort of L shape. Over the last few years I've rearranged the track several different times, and added and reduced industries as needed. The scenery work had been seriously neglected the last few years, but I used the layout mainly to run trains on.

Recently I've been in the design and early construction of a brand new layout. After many years of having a layout that was simply sheets of plywood on old kitchen tables, I'm starting from scratch. I started construction in April of 2009, and to this point (August 2009) I've managed to get the benchwork done for about half the layout and trackwork laid and wired for about 1/3 of the layout. I hope to be able to share photos and other information on the layout soon, but for now here's the track plan of the new layout.

The layout (like my previous layout) is supposed to be a shortline known as the is the Adams, Redgranite, and Keenville (the ARK). It's an entirely freelanced railroad I created, and the main part of the ARK that I'm representing never really existed. In my fictional history of the railroad, the ARK got it's start in 1911 to be a bridge connection from the Adams, WI area directly to the Green Bay, WI area. The line runs from Adams towards Wautoma though several small towns, and then eventually to a tiny town near Oshkosh known as Keenville (I needed a town that started with K and it was the most convenient). The modeled portion of the railroad is selected scenes between Wautoma and Keenville. The ARK was also supposed to have taken over the old CNW line from Wautoma to Wisconsin Rapids when it was abandoned by the CNW, allowing the railroad to keep their connection directly to the Rapids area and points North. At that time the railroad moved it's headquarters to Wautoma to be more centrally located. In modern times when I model the railroad, I envision the ARK as a small shortline railroad still around to provide a service to small communities and the customers located there, though they make just enough money to justify surviving.

Right now I have yet to paint any ARK motive power, though I do have plans in the work. My idea is for the primary power to be 2-4 MP15DCs, with maybe a pair of GP units (GP15s, GP38s or GP40s, perhaps) as the "new" power on the railroad. I do currently own three Atlas MP15DCs which will become ARK engines, but I've yet to sit down and repaint them. There will also be a few different kinds of railroad cars with ARK paint schemes coming, as I see the railroad as one of those shortlines that's heavily into the car leasing business, and there are also several customers that originate loads on the ARK. I hope to start painting some of this equipment within the next year. Keep an eye on this page and the "current projects" page for updates.