John Zach,
Sierra RR, HO.

***This is a BONUS layout, which will be available on Thursday April 18, choosing bonus layouts will not affect your choices for regular layouts***

This is a large (by California Standards) layout about 125 miles from the event hotel. We expect to operate from 10:30 AM until 5:00 PM with a lunch break which will allow you to make the trip comfortably in one day. The distance from Sacramento is about the same, if you want to visit the CSRM on Wednesday and then make your way to hotel via John's Op Session.

The route to the layout is very scenic to the east of Oakdale and the Sierra Railroad Right of Way is visible to the South of the roadway.

John's model of the ever-popular Sierra Railroad is situated in an 1500 foot basement within sight of the right-of-way of the prototype (unfortunately, this part is abandoned). Operations follow the prototype with a simplified dispatching scheme. The layout is faithful to the prototype although some industries operated over a longer time frame to increase operating interest. A 4:1 fast clock is used. The layout is well documented with JMRI switchlists, manifests, maps, train briefs and timetables.

Track is generally flex with commercial turnouts and operates reliably. Train control is via 16 EasyDCC radio throttles. The tone of the layout is casual but purposeful, one of the main purposes being that visitors have an enjoyable operating experience.

The layout is about 70% sceniced, but many key structures are in place, giving the modeled scenes a sense of place.

The layout can accommodate up to 13 operators, including 3 major yards, 3 smaller yards and 8 road jobs.