Model Railroading > Wasatch rails Free-mo photos

Hello,

       I took my sweet time posting these photos. It was my privledge to roll out to Salt Lake City the first weekend of November and setup my Free-mo modules up with the Utah Free-mo guys. We had a great time. The show was nice being a 3 day setup makes it all the more fun. Here are a few photos..............................Also shout out to Alan Burns (TO member fbe) for coming and taking in the setup. Here are a few shots I took.

                                                                             Regards Dave Dane Colorado Free-moer

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Do you have anymore?  I think I recognise a module you've posted on here while it was under construction.  It is on the "other side of the hill" in the first photo.  The return module is an excellent idea.

Free-mo is a great concept as it allows someone who may never have a layout, have a layout for a weekend.

Rick



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/15 13:23 by rschonfelder.

Rick here is the other side of the hill and a couple others.................................photos by Alan Burns

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Thanks, Dave.  I was just getting around to post some of my own photos taken from the railfan's point of view.  Here come some more.

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More photos from the outsider.

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More to see.

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The layout is focused on the D&RGW and UP railroads in CO and UT.

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There are also BNSF trackage rights trains and AMTK traffic over the module.  The AMTK train was ferquently requested by visitors around the layout.

UP 6361 is modeled from photos of the prototype locomotive patched by the UP.  It is accurate.  This locomotive is being talked about on the western forum now.​http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3896148,3896352#msg-3896352



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/15 18:53 by fbe.

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What is this interloper train from another railroad and another era doing on this southwest railroad? It is a result of a bargain I made at the attached swap meet.  The Utah Free-Mo members were kind enough to loan me a soldering iron to install the DCC decoders I purchased from another vender and within an hour I had my own set of locomotives to operate as a guest.  I did not have any freight cars but I could move some of the cars on the module yard and made a final run to clean up cement hoppers out on the line to bring them to where they were getting loaded to go home.

One visitor who had his young son on his shoulders to watch trains made note of the Milwaukee road name.  He said his father worked on the MILW.  I asked who his father might be and he mentioned the name of one of the MILW Alberton rails I worked with when I was there.  Small world.

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Those orange and maroon units really got around.  I could not get the headlights hooked up since I did not have any resistors.  It is amazing all the supplies, tools and parts that come along to repair equipment and assemblies which might fail during operations. 

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These are the last of my photos from Salt Lake. 

I have been involved with NMRA modules before but this was my first time watching a Free-Mo set up.  There were a number of NMRA module set ups to see at the swap meet as well as portable layouts in other scales to observe.  Without a doubt the Free-Mo group had the most prototypical operations and train speeds.  I am inspired to continue to construct my own modules and organize a Free-Mo group in Missoula.

Dave and the members of the Utah Free-Mo were most gracious in welcoming me to their set up.  I was granted access to everythiing from set up to take down and allowed to make photos of the undersides modules while they were getting ready to connect or load.  All my questions about the group operations were promptly answered and Dave helped me understand how the signals are hooked up and work.

I am already looking forward to next November's set up and a visit to Calgary's April set up at the trade show. Thanks to the Utah Free-Mo crew for everything they helped me with.​ ​  

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Great stuff Alan. Thanks for posting.

Dave Dane

Posted from iPhone

Love the Rio Grande stuff and the signals.

A wonderful sense of open space we see so often out west.
Kind of under-stated and so very authentic!

The signals added a lot of interest especially when they changed indication as the trains moved. The hardware was from Railroad Signal Systems and simplify connections greatly.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/15 10:54 by fbe.

Absolutely beautiful layout. It makes me miss my "O" gauge layout of a few years ago that I had to dismantle and do without when I moved to a much smaller home.

This post is very appropriate for this time of year and thank you for making me remember what I once had. Merry Christmas to you all.

Jim
Hatboro, PA
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Looks awesome Dave!

Rick Bacon
Windsor, CO

Jim,

The module format is a pretty good option for you. Closet storage, keeps your scenery skills sharp, chance to meet fellow modelers. Build 3' of railroad, run 15' trains.

I don't know of Free-mo in O scale but HO might be a good substitute.

Sent from a Windows 10 demo phone

Posted from Android

Beautiful work.  I love the Free Mo concept.