G Scale activity started in the club with a display at Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum in December 2006. We used 16 regular eight foot folding tables to create a 16’ x 29’ layout. Several members contributed track, buildings, and scenery. Engines and rolling stock seemed to come out of the woodwork from everywhere. This layout was decorated in a wintertime Christmas theme and became the centerpiece of the December display.
At least six different members were involved in the December and January 2007 setups. We were surprised at the amount of engines and rolling stock available among the members. Engines included Bachman old time steamers, F units, Geeps, and switchers. Rolling stock included older wood short cars for the steamers and regular box and tank cars for the diesels. There was both older and newer passenger equipment as well.
We took the same layout to the Waco Toy and Train Show in January 2007 minus the Christmas decorations. Based on these two experiences, we decided to build a similar layout consisting of 4′ x 8′ modules with 10′ radius curves for two standard gauge loops and 5′ radius curves for a narrow gauge loop. The main layout has a passing sidding for each track on one side and 3 yard tracks (stubs) on the other side. We also added two inside yard sections consisting of 2 4′ x 8′ modules each.