DIY Network

Visit a Gadget-Inspired Model Layout Workin' On the Railroad visits a dramatic model layout in Kansas City. From "Workin' On the Railroad" episode DWRR-213L

Host Chris Chianelli visits model railroader Allen Sawyer from Kansas City, Mo., to check out his unique HO gauge layout that features numerous gadgets. This is no ordinary model train layout. There are flying airplanes, sunsets and a host of electronic gadgets.

This is an inspiring look at how a little creativity can add a lot of drama to a model train layout.

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Allen Sawyer's model railroad layout is a sight to behold, but the following images do all the talking:

	Allen Sawyer's eye-popping model train layout is a gadget fantasyland!
	Figure A

This master model railroader takes pride in his layout—called the Canyon Lake Rocky Mountain Railroad. Model trains, bodies of water, mountains and trees dominate the layout must like many others, but the element that makes Allen Sawyer's layout special are the gadgets.

Canyon Lake also includes many different scenes, including saw mills, silver mines, a flock of flying geese (figure A), a sunset and even the moon coming up over the horizon.

Sound is incorporated into the layout as well, including a tree chopper who says, "Timber" as a tree falls. One of the most fascinating gadgets is a tornado (seen above, top left), with all the sound effects. The actual scenes starts as a thunder storm that develops into a full-fledge tornado.

"I wanted to create a railroad," Allen said, "but I wanted to take it to new levels and create new illusions that, perhaps, haven't been done before."

Allen Sawyer got into railroad modeling early in life, but once he had a home there was no doubt what he'd do with his basement, where his impressive layout is housed. Trains of all shapes and gauges run all over the place,

The total layout took more than three years to complete, which came to approximately 3,600 hours of labor—or love. Allen says the ideas just come to him, and his wife says she hears all the time that the layout is one-of-a-kind.

RESOURCES :

Magazines and Books on Railroading
Kalmbach Publishing Co.
Website: www.modelrailroaderbooks.com

Building Kits in N, HO, O
Bar Mills Scale Model Works
Website: www.barmillsmodels.com

Model Railroad Products (All Scales)
Wm. K. Walthers, Inc.
Website: www.walthers.com

Building Kits and Details for N, HO
JL Innovative Design
Website: www.jlinnovative.com

Model Train Control Systems (All Scales)
Model Rectifier Corp.
Website: www.modelrectifier.com

Model Railroader magazine
Website: www.kalmbach.com

Lionel Trains in O and G
Website: www.lionel.com

National Model Railroad Association
Website: www.mnra.org

O Scale Trains and Accessories
MTH Electric Trains
Website: www.mthtrains.com

Sound Generators for Layouts (Blackhawk)
Blackhawk Sound
3518 NE Kingwood Place
Lee's Summit, MO 64064
Phone: 816-373-6883

Sound Generators for Layouts (Miller Models)
Miller Models
Website: www.millermodels.com

GUESTS :

Miles Hale
Master Model Railroader
Model Railroading University
5608 N. Mercier Dr.
Kansas City, MO 64118
Phone: 816-746-1567
Website: www.modelrailroadinguniversity.com