Gary Rose

The Layout

Burlington Northern Bayard (11th Subdivision)

Layout based on the original part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul and Pacific Railway’s second Transcontinental Route (The Milwaukee Road) from Chicago to the West Coast via Omaha, named the Omaha Route.

Layout Description

The layout is based around 1983, about a year after BN took on the operation of the line. The inspiration for the layout comes from the May 1993 Model Railroader article in their A Railroad You Can Model series, Burlington Northern Hiawatha Route in N Scale.

I have chosen to model the portion from Manilla to the eastern end at Bayard but several prototype towns were omitted, including Aspinall and Dedham. The primary product is agricultural so covered hoppers, tank cars and boxcars are the primary rolling stock used, with a few gondolas and flatcars added for interest.

On the layout, grain elevators are located at various towns from Manilla to Bayard.

In a departure from the present-day prototype, I added several additional industries to Coon Rapids – Green Giant Cannery, Farmers Co-Op fertiliser facility and Buchanan Feeds (in memory of a passed modelling friend and bequeather). A loading/unloading pad is also located outside the depot on the team track. Although Coon Rapids does not provide any rail traffic now, there is evidence it had in the past including a small oil dealership and a feedmill.

Site Information

Layout Owner:	Gary Rose
Address:	19 The Sanctuary Drive, Leonay 2750
Phone contact:	0418 233 755
Email contact:	garose402@gmail.com
Layout details:	Name: Burlington Northern Bayard (11th Subdivision) Scale: N with DCC Size: 2.9 x 3.4m
Operating sessions:
Refreshments available:	Yes
Special instructions:	Layout in small room within house. Respect privacy of family. Mobility an issue with staircase and street access. Easy parking.