THE WYOMING DIVISION

[Erieman]

About an hour and a half drive North from Phoenix, nestled in a wine growing country of northern Arizona, is the small town of Cornville. Just off the main drag of Highway 30, just behind the Family dollar Store, are three buildings owned by Verryl Fosnight.  Verryl is a retired physicist, restaurant owner and operator, real estate investor and most importantly, a model railroader. As you might guess, Verryl is not your average model railroader. He had a Lionel train set as a youngster in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He had a HO layout with his two boys when they were in grade school in California. Once a model railroader, always a model railroader. After 30 years, Verryl retired to Sedona and took up the hobby. For the past three, almost four years, Verryl and his team have been building a model railroad. Building one is a 1100 sq. ft. shop.  Recently a 600 sq. ft. structure has been added for a conference room. The  railroad is housed in a 4000 sq. ft building. and what a railroad it is. The Wyoming division models the Union Pacific from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Ogden, Utah, 475 miles with a two level true mushroom steel framework that will have about 750 feet of double main line track in HO, era 1957. This is the beginning of Verryl's dream.

Last month, I took John Siekirk and Wayne Olson up to see "The Layout" The attachments give you an idea of the size and scope of the railroad. John and I both took photos of the layout and will be posting photos of Verryl's accomplishment of date. I hope you enjoy the tour and experience.

Frank / Erieman

[ACL1504]

Frank,

Wow, I can't even imagine a layout this size without the help of many skilled modelers. I'm looking forward to seeing how this pans out.

Tom

[Janbouli]

I'll be following along to see the photo's.  I'm expecting a lot of detail photo's due to it being such a small layout 

WOW , this is a dream come true for any Model Railroader , even most clubs will be jealous of this space.

[S&S RR]

I'll be following along to see the photo's.  I'm expecting a lot of detail photo's due to it being such a small layout 

WOW , this is a dream come true for any Model Railroader , even most clubs will be jealous of this space.

Detailed photographs on the way

[GPdemayo]

Looks great Frank.....I'll be watching this one for sure. 

[S&S RR]

It is going to take a few days for me to sort through the pictures and identify the locations on diagrams that Frank posted. This is one big layout. The owner Verryl Fosnight told me that they have between 40 and 50 operators for their OPS sessions.  Stay tuned!

[Erieman]

Frank,

Wow, I can't even imagine a layout this size without the help of many skilled modelers. I'm looking forward to seeing how this pans out.

Tom

Good Evening Tom,

Verryl employees a staff of four and has several other folks that come in  from time to time to help on the build. Once you see the photo's, you will really appreciate the size and scope of this project.  He has gotten into operations of the railroad, which requires 45 to 55 people to run. Imagine the possibilities. I have several photos from prior articles in the Spur Line that I will post showing the progress of the build. I know that John has a lot of photos to go thru. Stay tuned.

gotta go. I'm putting shrimp on the barbeque.

Frank / Erieman

[Erieman]

I'll be following along to see the photo's.  I'm expecting a lot of detail photo's due to it being such a small layout 

WOW , this is a dream come true for any Model Railroader , even most clubs will be jealous of this space.

Jan,

Yes, this is one impressive layout. Verryl and his team have a long way to go, but it appears that progress is on going. it will be a featured visit this September for folks coming to our regional convention in September. Many will come back over the weekend to participate running a small portion of the railroad. it most be exciting to something this massive function. Just think about 50 to 60 trains moving around the room, dropping their freight at respective towns along the way. I want to see this running!!!

Frank / Erieman

[Erieman]

Looks great Frank.....I'll be watching this one for sure. 

Greg,

I've been kind of busy. Sorry it has taken a bit to get back to this post. I hope to post some of the early pictures over the weekend. Stay tuned.

Frank / Erieman

[BandOGuy]

Did Verryl clear this layout name with Massive Ralph?
I wouldn't want those buildings to disappear under the feet of an enraged lizard! 

[ReadingBob]

Wow.  45 to 55 people to operate?  That boggles the mind.     I'm looking forward to reading more about this one.

[Erieman]

Wow.  45 to 55 people to operate?  That boggles the mind.     I'm looking forward to reading more about this one.

Good Morning Bob,
Thanks for stopping by. He keeps looking for more operators. I wouldn't be surprised that when complete, he will need close to 60 people or more to run the railroad. This is one huge layout. The biggest problem i see is: where do all these people park their cars. The parking lot is very, very small. Once pictures a re posted, you will get a feel for size. It is rather breath taking when you first walk in. Like; oh my god!!! Stay tuned.

Frank / Erieman

[S&S RR]

Here are a couple pictures to get us started on this thread.   I will get serious about this project when I get back from the EXPO.


As you walk in the front door and take a few steps in you are standing in isle 5 of the lower level (see the layout diagrams that Frank posted).

[S&S RR]

Looking to the right you see a very impressive helix (at the end of aisle 9).

[S&S RR]

It was at this point that I turned to Frank and said this is the largest HO layout I've ever seen - I was looking at less than a third of it. I will share the rest of the pictures when I get back from the EXPO and have time to do justice to this project - sorry for the wait. This will be the thread we all show anyone that thinks we are out of control with our trains.