Overview of Rick Rideout’s L&N Henderson Subdivision

The L&N Henderson Subdivision Model Railroad is a creation of Rick Rideout. The layout is 35 by 70 feet and resides in a custom designed basement. Rideout scaled down the 146 mile subdivision down to a 8 scale mile HO layout. He loves the L&N so much, that he built his house along a former L&N Line. In this video, Allen Keller gives a brief description of the L&N subdivision, and Rideout discusses his love for modeling.

Rideout views modeling railroads as an art-form and a way for him to express himself and his love for trains. One third of the L&N layout is scenic. An impressive bridge over the Ohio River between Evansville, Indiana and Henderson, Kentucky is the focal point of the layout. The bridge is 23 feet long and joins the North and South to ride out to Louisville and Nashville. On his layout, Rideout has mass-produced items that he has been unable to find commercially. A computer controls the advanced electronics on the layout, but not the layout’s trains. Computers handle the centralized traffic control machine and the signals, while also monitoring the detection and power circuits. All of the layout’s wiring was completed during first year of construction.