Overview of the Mississippi, Alabama & Gulf

This is the gorgeous Mississippi Alabama and Gulf model railroad of Cliff Powers. This HO scale railroad is 2 decks, but will eventually be three decks when finished. The model proportion of the railroad runs from Meridian, Mississippi to New Orleans in 1955. The scenery on this layout is simply stunning, with the use of trees and buildings as view blocks. Cliff has recreated the look and essence of the South in the 50’s, full of piney woods, oak trees, dirt roads, and small towns with wooden buildings. This layout has some of the most highly detailed scenes ever built on a model railroad. The photographic backdrops help create the feeling of great distances in just two feet of space.

Allen Keller is with Cliff Powers to discuss his railroad. Cliff was going for a laid back rural atmosphere in his layout. The railroad has its own building and consists of two decks with staging on the bottom and the Mississippi section above. When the top deck is completed, the railroad will enter New Orleans from a double track helix. The helix allows trains to travel from staging to the planned upper deck without entering the Mississippi scene. The minimum radius is 27 inches and the track is code 83 on L girder benchwork. The visit starts at Slidell, Louisiana in the next video in this series, where the train has emerged from temporary New Orleans staging. Watch more from Allen Keller’s Great Model Railroad series in the Model Railroad Academy archives.