The Livingston Model Railroaders Club, formed in 1992, is located right in the center of Livingston, Montana. We started out with one room in the basement of the baggage depot at the Northern Pacific depot and have grown to occupy about 75% of the basement with a large HO scale layout. Our scenic intent was to replicate portions of Montana and, for the most part, we have remained faithful to that goal. We are always (and aren't afraid of) changing the track plan or changing an entire area scenery-wise, the classic case of the layout evolving with the modelers. We do somehow manage to keep the mainlines up and running on a constant basis, which can be a chore at times (the wiring has to evolve as well...), but pays for itself whenever we need a break from scenery to watch the trains run.
Our members have a variety of interests so, needless to say, we run a variety of trains - everything from 1890s era two foot gauge ore trains to modern day stack trains. More about that later.
Recent Updates
04-12-03
The Show!!
Great turnout for the 13th Annual Livingston Show, and thanks to all those (vendors and general public) who were able to participate. Great weather and a fairly steady stream of traffic on the MRL added to the great day.
The layout performed very well. Our first show with the DCC system up and running and with the exception of the occasional glitch, we had 4-6 trains running continuously throughout the day.
I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking...
A westbound GN passenger train leaving Livingston yard.
George and Garry discuss locomotive re-railing techniques while a visitor looks on.
George's Mallets leaving the South Yard, northbound on the Buffalo Fork Sub.
While Kenny was away at lunch, Shamrock assumes control of the 3-rail empire while Bozemanites Tim Langworthy and Bill Wheeler flank Garry.
One of Garry's many HOn2.5 loco/rolling stock combos sitting atop his scratchbuilt trestle. We will get power to this line very soon, and Garry is possitive that he can shoehorn a decoder in there somewhere...
Garry's BN #1991 - appropriate for our time.
Mike at the controls of the Christmas Train.
"Oh Crap!! Were'd the train go??" Zach, doing his best not to stress, and having lots of fun doing it.
SP&S #700 with the Montana Daylight heading north from Gardiner.
Yeah, OK - not the perfect pic, but I had to try to get this shot. In the foreground, GN Fs leave Livingston yard westbound with a fruit train, a pair of NP SD45s head into the yard with an eastbound manifest, and a local makes a run up the pass.
Visiting the Club
The club is open every Tuesday and Saturday night at 7:30 PM until we get real sleepy from working on the layout or from running. We have been known to run into the wee hours of the morning. As we strive to keep at least one mainline open and running at all times, there's at least one train ready to go in the yard. About once a month we get serious and run up to a dozen trains. During the winter, we find ourselves doing most of the major projects like control system updates, rewiring, track re-alignments, yard construction and scenery overhauls. During Spring, Summer and Fall, we tend to run trains more.
Visit as often as you like and if you have any trains that you'd like to share, by all means, bring them. All we ask is that children under 16 years of age bring a parent or two. You never know - you might get your folks hooked on the hobby too...
Club Membership
Membership is open to anybody with an interest in trains or model railroading. An attitude to have a good time is a definite plus. All levels of experience are welcome. As above, if you are under 16, bring a parent. And no, we're not gonna charge you double. Dues are $5.00/month or $50.00/year.
The Livingston Model Railroaders Club, Inc. is a non profit organization. Dues go toward upkeep and improvements to the layout and its equipment. We're here to enjoy the hobby of model railroading, railroad history, present day railroad operations and to involve the public whenever possible.
Membership benefits - there are a few. For starters, you can pretty much run trains whenever you like. We have several pieces of club equipment that members can operate. We also have several experts (we probably have close to 100 years of combined modeling experience) who are more than happy to help with any malfunctions or technical problems that you may be experiencing with your models. We have numerous projects that always require additional helping hands. You also have a voice concerning the layout and club happenings in general.
All in all, it's alot of fun. We have around a dozen members in the club now. Some of us have been there awhile. Mike, Garry, Gordon and I have been there for ten years. It's been fun and we look forward to many more.
Layout Photos!!
Finally, the long-awaited, more recent layout photos. Enjoy!!
Buffalo Fork Trestle. This was supposed to be a temporary bridge, and time permitting, it might still be. The grand scheme is to rebuild the entire area below the narrow gauge line with a larger trestle with a greater curved radii. Right now, it's a little tight for anything greater than a 4 axle diesel or a 50' car. The North Coast Limited BARELY makes it thru on the inside track without hopping off, but my autoracks don't stand a chance. Easy and I constructed the piers using the "pre-stressed" technique utilized in prototype concrete construction projects. The piers were poured over a pair of round-wound guitar strings tuned to the key of E. We just HAD to...
An overall view of our interpretation of the Bozeman Pass. Seen here is some of the scenery work of Gordo, Cope, and myself.
The Yellowstone river flowing alongside the Gardiner main. Shamrock Fleming did a TON of research on this area, so when it came time to do scenery, he was ready.
A look at the east end of Gardiner, MT. Mike has really done a wonderful job with recreating the Gardiner area not only from recent recearch, but from memory as well. Everything, right down to the curved depot and the Arch marking the north entrance to Yellowstone Park has been faithfully reproduced by Mike.
Another view of Gardiner, MT. Devil's Slide can also be seen in the upper right hand corner of the photo.
Turntable, roundhouse and shops, soon to be relocated to the "old" Gardiner sight.
MRL SD40-2, westbound, headed for the Gardiner cutoff. Also, a partial view of Livingston yard.
A brace of Cope's NP units, 4 Fs and an RS-3, coming onto the low line after dropping a cut of empty ballast cars. Alongside the units is the gauntlet and above is the HOn2.5 line. This gives you an idea of the kind of scenery than Gordo creates. The photo looks dynamite - it looks even better in person.
For show information, go to the Upcoming Events site.