Kalmbach Publishing Company, producers of an online source for rail-related information, where you can discover model trains, toy trains, garden trains and even real trains.

(Horn) The Model Railroad Division of the Hobby Manufacturer's Association.

Helping hobbyists design and build their own miniature railroad empires inside or outside, big or small.

(Whistle) Music Spencer: Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode of Tracks Ahead, we'll look at a company that can make your desire to own a museum quality model railroad a reality.

We'll go along on a holiday excursion as the Grand Canyon Railroad brings the "Polar Express" to life, and we'll visit a garden railroad whose owner figures he's moved five tons of rock, ten times!

First, though, we'll visit several fantastic holiday-themed layouts in Cincinnati.

The first started as a contest in the 1930's and is inside the lobby of the Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company.

The other displays are also not to be missed in the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Ancr: If you love trains and you love the holidays, Cincinnati is the place to be.

The city hosts several fantastic model train layouts every year during the holiday season.

There are two 0 gauge layouts and one S gauge and even a garden railroad - so there's something for everyone.

First we'll look at the Cinergy/CSX Holiday Model Train Display - it's one of the largest portable model layouts in the world.

Located in the lobby of the Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company downtown, this breathtaking display has been delighting visitors for over half a century.

Meinke: Synergy looks at this train display as a gift to the greater Cincinnati area.

We've been doing it now for 58 years and it's a wonderful experience for those of us that have the ability to work on the train and put it together, and those who then come to visit us.

Ancr: It all started with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

Known as the "father of American railroads," B&O introduced its first 0 Gauge model railroad in 1936.

That original model is now just part of what you'll see in the CG&E lobby.

As B&O grew, the models grew along with it.

You'll see 50 locomotives and 300 train cars running on 1000 feet of track.

During the holiday display, the trains will run over 100,000 scale miles.

There are 45 color-position light signals, more than 2000 electrical connections and 170 relays.

But there's more here than statistics.

Looking at this layout is like taking a journey through time, a journey that shows the evolution of locomotives and rail cars.

The display depicts the chapter in railroading history when the steam engine was on the verge of being replaced by the diesel engine.

That's why you'll see jet-black steam engines running on the same tracks as sleek diesel locomotives.

The passenger trains feature coach cars, elegant dining cars, Pullman cars complete with bunks, baggage cars, and postal cars for carrying the mail.

Then there are the rugged freight trains with cars capable of carrying almost any kind of cargo.

You can spot box cars, tank cars, open gondola cars, cattle cars, coal cars, and of course, the ever-popular "little red caboose."

While the sheer size and scope of this layout are impressive, the details shouldn't be overlooked.

The same materials used for the B&O trains that traveled America were used in the model trains that run these tiny tracks.

Each car is hand-painted with authentic rail paint.

Like its full size counterparts, the models need a lot of maintenance and care.

That's where Cynergy's dedicated team of volunteers comes in.

Meinke: All the work is done by volunteers.

Some are current employees with Synergy and some are retirees that, thank goodness, come back year after year, one gentleman well over 50 years has been a volunteer with us.

Ancr: This year's display is called "Winter Wonderland", featuring a horse-drawn carriage taking a family home through snow-covered woods.

Over 9 million visitors have come to the Cynergy lobby over the years.

For many, it's become a holiday tradition.

Meinke: We've had visitors from all over the world.

Last year we looked we had people sign in, they came from 15 different countries, 31 different states.

We had conversation with a gentleman from Zambia who said he had read about our display through a train magazine, and he was coming to the States and he included us in a visit along with Mt.

Rushmore and the Grand Canyon.

So it's really special.

Ancr: Our next stop is the Cincinnati Museum Center where there are several train exhibits.

They're located inside the city's impressive Art Deco-style Union Terminal Building, which still has many original murals that were commissioned specifically for the terminal's Rotunda.

First, there's the "Cincinnati in Motion" display, one of the largest S-scale model layouts in the world.

It took two years to complete.

The layout is a permanent attraction in the museum and fills 7,000 square feet of exhibition space.

You'll see detailed models of major Cincinnati landmarks, including the Cincinnati Union Terminal and Crosley Field.

Drake: Looking through the doors you can actually see the Union Central building and also Carew Tower, the real ones, at the same time you're looking at the models.

And people really like that because they can take pictures and get both in the same shots with a wide angle camera.

Ancr: The trains and trolleys take visitors on a transportation tour through the city's neighborhoods between the years 1900 and 1940.

Each section of the exhibit illustrates a different decade and a different neighborhood.

You can even follow the inclined railways that climbed the steep hills surrounding the city.

But you don't have to be a citizen of Cincinnati to appreciate the artistry behind this layout.

In fact, you can visit Cincinnati In Motion online.

There's a webcam looming 40 feet above the trains.

Virtual Visitors on the world wide web can control the camera via a special server and a cable modem / router.

The Cincinnati Museum Center also hosts a holiday train display, the "Holiday Junction Train Layout."

Designed by Dunham Studios, it was commissioned in 1991 by a private collector and later sold to the museum.

Holiday Junction -- the first four-season layout created by Dunham Studios - depicts nostalgic scenes of animated figures working and playing throughout the year.

Hundreds of feet of track take the trains over bridges, a 10-foot concrete viaduct and a 5-foot gorge -- all depicted in nostalgic rural and urban landscapes of Middle America.

This 2000 square-foot 0-gauge hi-rail layout uses Lionel track and has a whimsical, toy-like appearance.

A favorite feature among visitors is the Lifesavers Candy Factory with its colorful arteries of pipes, valves, tanks and even a Lifesaver Water Tower.

One of the most popular trains here is the Camera Train.

Mounted inside a dummy freight train, a live video camera captures the sites as it whizzes around the tracks.

The video is projected on large monitors so everyone can see the train's activities on TV.

If that's not enough, the museum offers even more for true rail fans.

Drake: We have the G scale layout that is built by the greater Cincinnati Garden Railway Association and we have another mountain or European theme garden railway setup that we put up this year that belongs to the museum.

And we also have some smaller units, we have a Z scale unit that we have set up.

And we have an HO layout for a hand's on operation for the kids to play with.

And also we have Thomas the Tank engine set up back in the children's area.

Ancr: Dioramas recreate pages from the Lionel train "wish book" catalogs from the 1950s.

Four model train layouts, owned by a private collector, duplicate what many children longed for during the holiday season.

In addition, Cincinnati's own Carlisle and Finch Company displays some of the oldest model trains ever produced.

So if you're going to be in Cincinnati during the holidays, and you love trains, you'll certainly have plenty to see.and hear.and do.

Spencer: While the last passenger train left union terminal in 1972, Amtrak service resumed in 1991.

And if you think you've seen the holiday junction layout before, it was last in Des Moines, Iowa.

Now we'll see how Tom Speer enjoys building his garden railroad as a way to escape the pressures of a job in the commercial airline business.

Ancr: Littleton, Colorado is home to Tom Speer and one of the best scenic views just south of Denver.

For over a decade now, no matter what season or time of day, Tom can simply look out into his backyard and admire the Hard Rock and Dynamite Railroad.

Tom: It changes on a daily basis, even with the sun the way it goes, the shadows the way they play tricks on the scenes and also with the seasons.

You know the leaves, the colors always changing, the plants are changing and then in the winter time the snow scenes are really great.

Ancr: Inspired by a variety of Colorado narrow-gauge lines, Tom constructed the 500 feet of terraced track to withstand continual exposure to the elements.

The railway is battery driven, radio-controlled motive power, and structures are scratch-built or have been heavily modified to fit Tom's turn-of-the century vision.

Even though he uses chalk to simulate weathering on wooden buildings, mother nature adds her own touch to help make the layout more authentic.

Despite the attention to detail, Tom is not so concerned with how authentic the design is.

His feelings are, "why make another Rio Grande Southern that looks just like another guy's?"

Tom prides himself on constructing a unique, one-of-a-kind layout that allows his personality to shine through.

Tom: I didn't like the railroads that were just on the ground and you had that helicopter view.

The action's closer because you can sit on the porch and have it sitting right there real close at the same elevation, plus if you're sitting down, you can look up at some of the track areas.

The triple terrace with an elevation like that makes it a lot better.

Ancr: Tom follows only two simple rules when designing his layout.

Tom: One of them is the 10 foot rule, and that is basically, that a lot of garden railroads use that, if it looks good from 10 feet away it's acceptable.

And the other one is that I'm not a rivet counter.

I like to freelance in building some of my equipment so as not to have it look like someone elses.

So something like the Rio Grande Southern would do, they would build equipment without plans.

And a lot of mine is either kit bashed or scratch built.

Ancr: With miniature perennials that cover the landscape, and scatterings of Dwarf Alberta spruce, the layout easily resembles the Colorado Rockies railroad from ten feet away.

However, Tom's modesty shines through when you get up close to the lumber and mining operations.

With such fine detailing, even at ten inches away, the structures and Ozark miniatures seem to spring to life.

With help from a Sierra Sound system and a bit of imagination, it's as if you are transported back into the late 1800s, and you can almost feel the heat of the steam-powered sawmill.

The boiler, fashioned from a simple soda can and funnel, seems to drip and pump steam to power the saw.

Even the crane, modified from a USA Trains product, appears to swing its arm and transfer log after log off the waiting cars.

Because of the fragile detailing, this is one part of the railway that Tom brings inside during Colorado's most inclement weather.

When Tom is not using his imagination for the layout or running trains, he is a manager and director of aircraft operations for the University of Space Research Association.

Much of his time is spent overseeing flight operations and conducting maintenance checks for different NASA projects.

With a career that deals with so many rules and restrictions, it becomes imperative for Tom to find balance with his hobby to gain a sense of freedom.

Tom: In commercial aviation, it's highly regulated with all the rules you have for maintaining physical fitness and also licensing to fly airplanes.

With this you have a lot of freelance capability and the rules are not very strict.

Modeling is a nice relaxing hobby.

Ancr: So whether the Rio Grande Southern is believable to others isn't the issue.

What's important to Tom is that there's a piece of him in each foot of track and structure he builds.

And when he wakes up or goes to sleep, to know what it felt like to live alongside an actual railroad over a 100 years ago, and watch mother nature work her magic on the Hard Rock and Dynamite Railroad.

Spencer: Tom takes great delight in making things that are unique to his vision and follow no known prototype.

Now let's say, just for the sake of daydreaming, that you've always wanted a model railroad layout, but you didn't have the time, the money, or the know how to build one.

Then, one day you realize that you still don't have the time or the know how, but you finally do have the money.

So, you decide to have someone build a layout for you.

We'll show you how in just a moment.

But first, we'll see how the Grand Canyon Railway has brought the beloved "Polar Express" book to life with its special holiday excursion.

Ancr: Since 1985, families have made reading "The Polar Express" a part of their yearly Christmas traditions.

Every kid who has dreamed of going on a magical train ride to the North Pole has the images of Chris Van Allsburg's book etched in their imaginations.

Now, the Grand Canyon Railway's Polar Express train is making those dreams come true.

For this generation, it is fast becoming a new family tradition.

Zuecher: The Grand Canyon Railway is recreating the classic children's Christmas book the Polar Express by taking passengers on a nighttime journey from our depot in Williams, Arizona, up to a North Pole location north of our depot.

In 2004 we carried 42,000 people from Williams to the North Pole, and we had probably another 20,000 people or so who wanted to ride with us.

We are using twelve 1923 Harriman coaches on our Polar Express Trains, giving us a capacity of 900 people on each train.

Ancr: Excursions begin at Williams, located about 3 hours from Phoenix, on the southern rim of the Grand Canyon.

As soon as you set foot in the historic Williams Depot, which is decked out with colorful Christmas decorations, you know you're in for a special treat.

Most of the children arrive in their pajamas, just like in the book.

And just like in the book, they're anticipating a great adventure.

CONDUCTOR: : All Aboard, The Polar Express, All Aboard.

Ancr: Families board the train and discover that the 1923 Pullman cars look very much like those in the "Polar Express" book.

From the rounded ceilings and old-fashioned fans to the vintage leather seats, you feel like you've entered another world.a world where anything is possible.

The train leaves the Williams Depot behind and takes off into the night.

Before long, the lights of the depot become faint, and soon it's pitch black outside.

You're riding through the wilderness.are there any wolves roaming around outside those windows?

Train attendants serve hot chocolate and cookies, a perfect snack for a cold winter's night.

Then you hear familiar words coming over the loudspeaker: they're reading "The Polar Express" and you can follow along with your own book.

Voice: We crossed a barren desert of ice, The Great Polar Icecap.. Ancr: There's a soft glow in the distance.

Could it be?

Are your eyes playing tricks on you?

The lights get brighter and brighter.

Yes, you've arrived at the North Pole.and Santa and his reindeer are there to greet you.

Children: Hi Santa, Hi.. Ancr: Santa leaves his sled and picks something up; he gets on board and takes the trip back with everyone.

But on this ride, Santa has a gift for every child.one of his sleigh bells, a special memento of the trip.

Noise: laughter, bell ringing Noise: laughter, bell ringing Santa: Merry Christmas Zuecher: The Grand Canyon Railway gives back to the community in a number of ways through the Polar Express.

And one of the most popular is we collect new, unwrapped toys for the local, law enforcement toy drive.

We donate those toys to the Williams police department who in turn gives them to needy families throughout the community.

Ancr: The Polar Express train helps passengers rediscover the joy of the Christmas season.

It runs from mid-November until just days before Christmas.

The ride takes about an hour, but the memories will last a lifetime.

Voices - singing the Twelve Days of Christmas.. and a partridge in a pear tree, applause.

and a partridge in a pear tree, applause.

Music Ancr: What you are looking at is the painstaking care that goes into building a dream.

The attention to detail that accompanies the construction of a fantasy.

The fact is, dreams do come true.

And, they come true right here.

Dick: Our projects really start at about fifteen thousand dollars.

That's for a smaller layout, and that's for a completed layout.

We've had several that have been over five hundred thousand dollars.

Ancr: Dick Taylor has been designing and building layouts for nearly fifteen years.

His company, RailDreams, does much of the work at this headquarters facility in Michigan's upper peninsula.

At any given time they are working on what will surely be one of the largest, and certainly one of the finest layouts you'll find anywhere.

At his three Midwestern facilities, Taylor builds three or four layouts a year.

His clients are discriminating buyers who simply love model railroading.

Dick: Our clients are primarily folks who have resources available to them but either have not had the time to build a model railroad, the skills, or simply wanted always to have a model railroad and never developed the ability to do it.

So it's a matter of skills more than anything else.

Ancr: Here's how the process usually works.

You tell Dick how much space you have, what gauge you want, and whether you want to model a specific prototype.

You fill out an online questionnaire, and you give him an idea of your budget.

You send him a small deposit, and he goes right to work on a concept sketch.

Next, there might be a computer assisted design plan, as well as an electrical and block plan.

Now comes the construction phase.

Here he builds the bench work, rough scenery, and electrical work.

Next comes the scenery phase.

Just like the other steps, you can go as far as you like.

Everything is spelled out in a contract, and you control the costs.

This master model railroader and his team of experts have done it all.

Dick: I'd still say it follows the industry stats pretty effectively which is that we currently have about 80% of our clients are HO clients, the home users.

And then after that it would be high rail, and then N scale after that.

So I'd have to say that high rail, being O gauge as we call it, or Lionel trains is the second large part of our business.

But most of our layouts, for ease of transport, and because most Americans are not - eventhough they think they are going to be in that house forever - very few of them are.

So all of the layouts are designed to be transportable and modifiable, so that they can be added to, changed in configuration and so on.

There's been very few of the layouts that we moved that we've had to totally redesign and not use any element of them.

Most of the time we can use parts of them in a new setting as well.

We go on site, we put the layout together, we touch everything up, we tune it up, and then we work with the client so that when they receive it, it's turnkey.

They're completely set to go at that point.

Ancr: What your getting from RailDreams is a true work of art and a reflection of your own desires.

This is the second layout RailDreams built for Gary Lenhoff.

Gary: I decided to go with a professional, because I made several false starts more than 15 years ago, trying to build my own layout.

We had three children and with my job I realized very quickly that I was never going to get a layout to the place where I wanted it to be.

From the very first day, working with Dick has been tremendous, and I've made friends with a lot of the people that work with Dick at RailDreams.

Everyone, my wife and kids, look forward to the times when Dick and his crew are coming down here to work with us.

And we've gotten a lot more than just a layout out of it.

We've made friends and had an awful lot of fun with everybody there.

Ancr: RailDreams built this layout smack dab in the middle of a Michigan car dealer's showroom.

Rex: I was looking for something that would reflect the background of our community, whether it's the mining, the ore mining that took place many years ago, or whether it's the logging on he other side of the board that takes place today and is, of course, one of our biggest industries.

And even the farming that took place in this community many years ago.

I wanted a flavor of the Upper Peninsula, and I think Dick did a good job of touching on that.

Dick: I've been a model railroader literally since I was four.

I had two uncles, both of whom were railroaders, I grew up in the cabs of steam engines and diesels.

And I just love model railroading, in spite of the fact that I went to school to study to be a naturalist, and everything else, I have just always loved model railroading.

I had the largest N scale model railroad in the United States at one time.

It was featured in the Kalmbach first primer that they put out on N scale.

I consider myself an N scale pioneer.

I still get letters from people who acquired equipment off that old Hempstead and Marysville Railroad.

I've been in model railroading my whole life and to me, this is like breathing.

It's just what I do.

I'm an NMRA Master Model Railroader so I've made it my life's pursuit as an avocation first, and now as a profession to do this for people and share the joy.

It's the world's greatest hobby, there's no two ways about that.

Ancr: In the world of model railroading, it's not impossible to have exactly what you want.

You just have to find the artists who can put your dreams into this dimension.

Spencer: If you want to book a trip, don't delay, as many of the slots fill up a year in advance.

Well, that's it for this episode.

Please join us next time for more, Tracks Ahead.

Music Ancr: Tracks Ahead.

Brought to you by Kalmbach Publishing Company, bringing you Trains magazine every month for over 65 years.

And Classic Trains magazine, covering railroading's rich heritage.

Walthers, manufacturer and supplier of model railroading products; serving the hobby since 1932.

The Model Railroad Division of the Hobby Manufacturers Association.

Helping hobbyists design and build their own miniature railroad empires inside or outside, big or small.

(Whistle) Music