layout archives

We are currently working on a new operating layout that will be approximately 19' x 75'. Our goal is to build the Frisco from Monett, MO to Fort Smith, AR. This will be an operational layout that is set up for display to the public, youth, and educational groups.

A starter section was donated to the club by Tim Kubat which is the base for the Missouri & North Arkansas from Seligman to Harrison, AR.

The work is finished at Monett, the passing siding between Seligman and Rogers is finished, and the end track is just North of Rogers. The track plan for Rogers has been laid out and the buildings are complete.

Mainline track has been laid and trains are running through Rogers, Lowell, and Springdale. Buildings have been built, repaired and refurbished for these towns and placed at the appropriate sidings. Holes (to be "tunnels") have been cut in the backdrops at Springdale and Avoca and a double track mainline has been laid between openings. Coal trains will use this in our Load In - Load Out operation. This is also used as the current southern reversing loop for our Round - and - Round running at Open House occasions.

Our progress has continued with all the gridwork layed out to Ft. Smith. We are in the planning stages for Van Buren and Ft. Smith yards and industrial sites. Our next big phase will be the building of a helix from Ft. Smith upper level to the storage tracks on lower level.

Layout work continues. Seligman to Rogers is being detailed with more bridges and roads. Work on Ft. Smith area has started by laying out the yard and business tracks. The helix will be our next major addition to the design. More cars were purchased at our Spring Meet and are being upgraded to our track standards. Van Buren has been located on the benchwork and work has started on the river crossing into the Ft. Smith Terminal.

Helix has been laid out and assembled, track has yet to be laid. Mainline trackage has now been put down to south entry at Winslow Tunnel. Final tuning and adjustment is going on now. Yards at Ft. Smith and Fayetteville are both in progress. Al Weaver is building the Fayetteville Depot and Freighthouse, these will both be installed in a short time. More more is happening, why don't you stop by and check it out.

Phase II is almost completed. Mainline track is laid from Monett to Ft. Smith and is running. Final inspection and clearance will be finished by December 2nd. Tortise Switches are being installed where necessary along with manual throws to complete Ft. Smith and Springdale yards. Scenry has been added as far as Rogers and Lowell, AR.

Main line trackage is complete. All sidings have been marked and most are usable. Storage yard is in process of having consoles and switches wired. Several detail items need to be finished in the yards and on the main. Digitrax system is being tweaked, so power will reach all areas. Controllers should be in shortly and then a test operation will be done. Hang in there we're getting closer. I can almost smell the coal smoke!

Trains have been running! Work still is proceding on the lower storage tracks and is getting closer to being ready. Mainline power switches are hooked up and working. Most bugs in the Digitrax system have been fixed. Scenry details are being added in many areas. More cars have been added but many more are still needed. A list of what types of cars are needed for the many industries is in the works. Stop by on Tuesday evening and take a look.

The club had a pretrial run to move things around. Everything seemed to work in a disorderly way, but the trains did run. Thanks to Shannon Rumley the club has been loaned another booster for the layout, one more thing to add on the to do list. A major cleanup of under the layout is coming, we are close enough now to actually get rid of all the rare collectable (to coin a phrase) items that have been stored there for years. Spring show should have lots of interesting items to sell.

Trains are running. So now we will start to enjoy some of the work we've done over the last couple years, even though we still have quite a bit to finish. So let's run the trains and work on learning more about how to do all the other interesting things that the actual railroads do. Come on down and we'll let you try your hand at being an engineer, conductor, switchman, or other job that makes a railroad work.

The layout is still running even though we have found several problem areas, most of which are in process of being eliminated or repaired. Operating training has been preceding with several members and is coming along. More cars are being installed on the layout while others are being repaired or retired. Decoders have been installed in almost all of the engines OMRA owns. New trackwork has been put on hold so we can evaluate problem areas and repair. More training has been done with the RailOps program that we are using to set up train dispatching and switching. The end of our third year of building our layout is fast approaching and much progress has been made.

Layout is running, several practice sessions have been held and so far only minor problems have appeared. We have now realized how important it will be to get a communication system installed. Several members are presenting ideas for consideration. More sessions are planned, stop in and check out our layout.

Four years in the making and still not finished, are they ever? A railroad never stops working anyway. Several operating sessions have produced lots of comments, both good and bad, from members. But we're running and still having fun. The Railops computer program is being learned by several members are is starting to get a little easier to understand how to use. Still no communication system yet. Stop by on any Tuesday evening unless it's a work night, something will be running.

We have had several operater training sessions with the RailOps program these last couple months. We have set up a work and run schedule to help get more of the bugs worked out of the layout and to have some fun run nights also. OMRA now has a maintenance supervisor to help organize a more productive schedule to maintain the layout, cars, and structures.

Wow, has it really been a year? Layout lately has been having Digitrax problems. Operations have been working ok with one command module but when boosters are added the gremlins come out. More members have joined and are helping maintain and upgrade the layout.

Command problem has been solved thanks to loaner unit from Michael White and repair work done by DIGITRAX. OMRA has also purchased a new computer and RAILOPS program. Many updates are planned for the operating sessions along with more improvements to the track and layout. More members are becoming involved in operating sessions and open run nights. Model railroading can be fun!



			Club Layout Archives

	We are currently working on a new operating layout that will be approximately 19' x 75'. Our goal is to build the Frisco from Monett, MO to Fort Smith, AR. This will be an operational layout that is set up for display to the public, youth, and educational groups. A starter section was donated to the club by Tim Kubat which is the base for the Missouri & North Arkansas from Seligman to Harrison, AR. 12 November, 2002 The work is finished at Monett, the passing siding between Seligman and Rogers is finished, and the end track is just North of Rogers. The track plan for Rogers has been laid out and the buildings are complete. 17 December, 2002 Mainline track has been laid and trains are running through Rogers, Lowell, and Springdale. Buildings have been built, repaired and refurbished for these towns and placed at the appropriate sidings. Holes (to be "tunnels") have been cut in the backdrops at Springdale and Avoca and a double track mainline has been laid between openings. Coal trains will use this in our Load In - Load Out operation. This is also used as the current southern reversing loop for our Round - and - Round running at Open House occasions. 8 April, 2003 Our progress has continued with all the gridwork layed out to Ft. Smith. We are in the planning stages for Van Buren and Ft. Smith yards and industrial sites. Our next big phase will be the building of a helix from Ft. Smith upper level to the storage tracks on lower level. 19 May, 2003 Layout work continues. Seligman to Rogers is being detailed with more bridges and roads. Work on Ft. Smith area has started by laying out the yard and business tracks. The helix will be our next major addition to the design. More cars were purchased at our Spring Meet and are being upgraded to our track standards. Van Buren has been located on the benchwork and work has started on the river crossing into the Ft. Smith Terminal. 14 August, 2003 Helix has been laid out and assembled, track has yet to be laid. Mainline trackage has now been put down to south entry at Winslow Tunnel. Final tuning and adjustment is going on now. Yards at Ft. Smith and Fayetteville are both in progress. Al Weaver is building the Fayetteville Depot and Freighthouse, these will both be installed in a short time. More more is happening, why don't you stop by and check it out. 17 November, 2003 Phase II is almost completed. Mainline track is laid from Monett to Ft. Smith and is running. Final inspection and clearance will be finished by December 2nd. Tortise Switches are being installed where necessary along with manual throws to complete Ft. Smith and Springdale yards. Scenry has been added as far as Rogers and Lowell, AR. 14 July, 2004 Main line trackage is complete. All sidings have been marked and most are usable. Storage yard is in process of having consoles and switches wired. Several detail items need to be finished in the yards and on the main. Digitrax system is being tweaked, so power will reach all areas. Controllers should be in shortly and then a test operation will be done. Hang in there we're getting closer. I can almost smell the coal smoke! 28 September, 2004 Trains have been running! Work still is proceding on the lower storage tracks and is getting closer to being ready. Mainline power switches are hooked up and working. Most bugs in the Digitrax system have been fixed. Scenry details are being added in many areas. More cars have been added but many more are still needed. A list of what types of cars are needed for the many industries is in the works. Stop by on Tuesday evening and take a look. 27 November, 2004 The club had a pretrial run to move things around. Everything seemed to work in a disorderly way, but the trains did run. Thanks to Shannon Rumley the club has been loaned another booster for the layout, one more thing to add on the to do list. A major cleanup of under the layout is coming, we are close enough now to actually get rid of all the rare collectable (to coin a phrase) items that have been stored there for years. Spring show should have lots of interesting items to sell. 2 February, 2005 Trains are running. So now we will start to enjoy some of the work we've done over the last couple years, even though we still have quite a bit to finish. So let's run the trains and work on learning more about how to do all the other interesting things that the actual railroads do. Come on down and we'll let you try your hand at being an engineer, conductor, switchman, or other job that makes a railroad work. 3 December, 2005 The layout is still running even though we have found several problem areas, most of which are in process of being eliminated or repaired. Operating training has been preceding with several members and is coming along. More cars are being installed on the layout while others are being repaired or retired. Decoders have been installed in almost all of the engines OMRA owns. New trackwork has been put on hold so we can evaluate problem areas and repair. More training has been done with the RailOps program that we are using to set up train dispatching and switching. The end of our third year of building our layout is fast approaching and much progress has been made. 2 JULY, 2006 Layout is running, several practice sessions have been held and so far only minor problems have appeared. We have now realized how important it will be to get a communication system installed. Several members are presenting ideas for consideration. More sessions are planned, stop in and check out our layout. 5 AUGUST, 2006 Four years in the making and still not finished, are they ever? A railroad never stops working anyway. Several operating sessions have produced lots of comments, both good and bad, from members. But we're running and still having fun. The Railops computer program is being learned by several members are is starting to get a little easier to understand how to use. Still no communication system yet. Stop by on any Tuesday evening unless it's a work night, something will be running. 27 NOVEMBER, 2006 We have had several operater training sessions with the RailOps program these last couple months. We have set up a work and run schedule to help get more of the bugs worked out of the layout and to have some fun run nights also. OMRA now has a maintenance supervisor to help organize a more productive schedule to maintain the layout, cars, and structures. 28 AUGUST 2007 Wow, has it really been a year? Layout lately has been having Digitrax problems. Operations have been working ok with one command module but when boosters are added the gremlins come out. More members have joined and are helping maintain and upgrade the layout. 24 FEBRUARY 2008 Command problem has been solved thanks to loaner unit from Michael White and repair work done by DIGITRAX. OMRA has also purchased a new computer and RAILOPS program. Many updates are planned for the operating sessions along with more improvements to the track and layout. More members are becoming involved in operating sessions and open run nights. Model railroading can be fun!