Eastern Railroad Discussion > ultimate model railroad model of MISSISSIPPS EXPORT R

found on webpage of t v station in mobile alabama

http://wkrg.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WKRG%2FMGArticle%2FKRG_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031784434388&path=%21features%21coroad5

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A Really Big "Model" Railroad
County Road 5


Jere Hough
WKRG News 5
Aug 14, 2005 printer friendly format
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Model railroading is a very popular hobby. Enthusiasts build elaborate settings and create miniature railroads with accurate scale models of engines and cars. One man on the Gulf Coast has a model railroad, but the word "miniature" really doesn't apply. Meteorologist Jere Hough takes a ride... down County Road 5.

"He had always had a dream of becoming an engineer," said Stacy Lawrence. "He told me, but that didn't ever go through with the job. so he said he'll just build his own locomotive. He'll be his own engineer."



Clearly his grandchildren love it when Broughton sets up his engine and track, today in Eddy Khayat Park in Moss Point.

It all sounds authentic...except for the engine.

If that sounds more like a lawnmower motor than a huge diesel, that's because it is...18 horsepower from a riding mower.

His family was sure that when he started the project, they'd wind up with a locomotive in their back yard.

"We knew he had a passion for trains for a long time," Lawrence said. "We weren't surprised because he always talked about it. Whatever he said he was going to he always did."

The project took about 12 years and cost an estimated $20,000. The worst part?

"Hot weather and cold weather!" Charlie Broughton said. "Out in my back yard I got a shed I built it in."

It is made so that it can travel on real railroad tracks, riding on what's called the truck assembly.

"I made the trucks and I got the wheels from the railroad," Broughton said. "And I made the brakes...and the brakes come off a big locomotive I have to have it on the tracks."

"And he built these tracks by hand," Lawrence added.

"One man can put it down and one man can take it up," Broughton said of the track.

When the project began, Mrs. Broughton did not quite picture how it turned out.

"Well, I thought it was going to be a little small one," Dorothy Broughton said. "He said it was going to be a hobby and so he kept building and kept adding and whenever he did finish, it was a big train."

How do you make dreams come true? In Charlie Broughton's case, you make them. He not only gets to be an engineer, he's got his own railroad line. and it always runs on time...his time. On County Road 5 in Moss Point, Mississippi, I'm Jere Hough, News 5.

After a day of fun, Charlie Broughton runs the track onto a low trailer. he just drives the locomotive onto the trailer and can then store his entire railroad in a shed at his house.

That is SO cool! :) Good for him! :) The thing is the right shape and even has ditch lights!
Awesome . . .

How about THAT for a scratchbuilt project! Great job. Never seen a model railroad quite like that one before.