Begining with a couple crooks in the 1860's (Crooks in San Francisco? Say it isn't so) the clinic tells the history of the railroad that ran along San Francisco's Embarcadero from AT&T Park to Fisherman's Wharf and the Presidio. From 1892 to 1992, the State Belt serviced the piers and industries all along the waterfront. It only existed to switch cars and spent a part of the 1920s and 1930s trying to convince the Supreme Court of the United States that it wasn't a railroad at all. The quintessential switching road in a historic location.

I was interested in the State Belt as a possible prototype to model long before I wrote the book, but the research influenced the layout. What did I learn and how I applied it to the layout is the subject of the clinic. I had two goals: recreating the San Francisco waterfront and realistic operations based on WWII. I made choices both about the design and about the operations to make this idiosyncratic fit into a 12' by 12' footprint.

The clinic describes the research, design decisions and construction techniques used in building my N scale railroad. Research elements include the use of Sanborn maps, photographic references, site visits and railroad timetables and artifacts. Construction techniques discussed include the unique use of Gatorfoam for all bench top construction. The layout was featured in Model Railroad Planning 2015 and N Scale Railroading Magazine in 2013.

Over the years, many small layouts have been designed to focus on maddening puzzles and tricks. But these can rapidly become boring and repetitive. However, operation on small layouts can be challenging, fun, and prototype-inspired. The key is taking care to include layout design "best practices" even in small layout design. Join a custom layout designer for new ideas in small spaces.

An intensive 4-hour session on track planning sponsored by the Layout Design SIG. Discover how to refine vision, concept and purpose; select layout footprints and schematics; draw accurate and useful plans; create efficient and engaging yards and industrial areas; make best use of staging tracks; maintain space for people; and avoid common track planning errors.

The clinic describes the design process for a basement-filling dream layout focused on the prototype Cascade Line of the Southern Pacific. Occupying 2400 sqft of basement, it features of the route from Eugene to Cascade Summit and Crescent Lake. The design process will be described, including trade-offs and challenges, followed by construction and initial operations

This clinic supplements my Layout Design clinic, focusing on the wide variety of facilities needed to service passenger trains at terminals, illustrated with track diagrams and slides of coach yards, Pullman buildings, commissaries, car washers, and mail and express buildings. Switching of terminals is described. A handout includes specifications for servicing platforms and utilities such as compressed air, steam, water, and electricity.

Track plans suggest how passenger terminal and main line layout design elements can be pulled together. Terminal layout design elements such as turning arrangements, express and mail facilities, and coach yard components such as car washers, servicing platforms, Pullman and commissary buildings, and craft shops will be covered. Main line elements discussed include junctions where trains are reassembled and through stations with passenger car setouts.

This clinic describes the Columbia & Western railway designed to replicate the CP's Kootenay divisions. The layout has 7 scale miles of mainline and a two mile branch in 350 square feet. Focus will be placed on track planning, on the double mushroom design and construction, and on various other mechanical features including swing gates and an indexing table. Finally the lake barge used to move complete trains between levels will be described.

The CPR's Boundary subdivision is notable for having nearly a mile of bridges. The clinic describes how models of 8 of these bridges were researched, designed and constructed in a variety of materials from styrene to etched brass. Focus will be placed on selective compression, model design for strength, piers and abutments, painting, and designing bench work to allow easy installation many years later. A video run-by across all the bridges will end the seminar.