I thought it was cool to get to help clean the track on the Clinchfield N-Scale railroad that I grew up with and wore the book out reading and looking at the thing. I cleaned the track with 2 of my NS custom painted SD70M's and a track cleaner. It was a real joy helping out and getting the railroad up and running. Thanks to my buddy Keith lyons for your help also. Scott
Sorry guys, no photos. I was working on the railroad. I'm sure someone took a shot of us working on it. Scott
Just a comment on how thrilling it was to see this layout in person. Thanks to all who made it possible. While some bits of it are a little dated, the basic design,and execution and overall quality of every element reflects sheer genius in conception and stands as the highest possible tribute to the late Gordon Odegard. I would nominate this layout for a place front and center in the N Scale Hall of Fame! David
Where did this happen? Who owns it now? I saw it in pieces, stacked up against a wall in a train store in Cape Coral, Florida about 20 years ago, and it was impressive even in that state. I would love to see it in action. It was definitely ahead of it's time, the design holds up to this day. (I just managed to snag a copy of the Kalmbach book off e-bay, and will use it and Lionel Strang's Allegheny Central download to base a layout on.) Don
The layout was on display at the Derby City Express in Louisville - the N Scale Collector convention June 26 - 29th. David
The owner is David Fugate, he lives in Virginia. Very nice guy, and dedicated to maintaining this historic N scale Clinchfield RR for us all to see. The story of how it went from owner to owner is long and I certainly don't know all the details. The good news is that David is the great kind of model railroader guy that assures the Clinchfield will have a good home and will likely be out at shows from time to time for all of us to see. Scott Teague and Keith Lyons in particular happily contributed a whole bunch of time to help David Fugate tune up the Clinchfield on Friday night, prior to the show. Here's a few photos I took while they were tuning the layout. The Clinchfield is a magnificiently maintained piece of N scale history - it is a remarkable layout even by today's standards. For it's time in the late 1970s, when originally constructed by Gordon Odeegard of Model Railroader, it was a breakthrough in N scale model railroading art. Hope you enjoy :
Scott, it was great to meet you in Louisville. You and Keith Lyons did good job helping David Fugate tune up the Clinchfield. Wish I'd been able to make it to your clinic. Hope to see you again sometime.
John, Those are some amazing pictures... I guess i'll believe you scott When and where is the event going to be next year? I went when it was in chantilly but have yet to go since... this makes me miss it. A lot... -Rob
Amazing Pics I also grew up reading and wanting to build my own Clinchfield layout. It disappeared for years and just by shear luck I found it up for auction on eBay. Man if only I could have afforded it. I finaly found a new copy of the Modeling the Clinchfield book on eBay and have read it about as many times as I read each chapter in each issue back in 1978. These pictures are really something and show just what genius Gordon was. This layout is timeless. Thanks for posting them!
WOW! Fantastic look at the Clinchfield. Nice to see that it is still in operation and has been updated with todays electronics. This has always been one of my favorite layouts.
Not in any way meaning to sound derogatory regarding the Clinchfield, which I most definitely regard as a landmark layout, but considering the title of this thread I think the following question is valid and appropriate. I immediately noticed with regard to the recent photos of the Clinchfield that appeared in MR and again with the ones posted here, that the lichen scenery on the layout looks awfully tired, dried out and seems to have lost most of its original coloration. Does it truly look as old and tired as the images suggest? Has any attempt at all been made to revitalize the lichen in any way? I'm a staunch supporter of the preservation of historic layouts and I'm really curious to know if the current apparent appearance of the Clinchfield is as distressing as it appears in recent photos. NYW&B
