Owner Inspiration & Satisfaction on the L&N Henderson Subdivision

In this video, Allen Keller talks to Rick Rideout about his owner inspiration and satisfaction. Rideout chose to model the L&N and Nashville Evansville area because it was the only railroad that he was really familiar with. He just assumed all railroads looked gray and yellow like the L&N he was accustomed to. The railroad also included main line traffic, co trains, piggy backs, as well as many locals which made it a good operating route to model. The L&N interchanges with one other road; the Illinois Central that comes in at Howl Yard and travels over the river to Henderson. The L&N does utilize foreign equipment from other lines that they lease or borrow from.

The operating scheme of the layout moves traffic over the Ohio River, tying north with south and Evansville with Henderson, Kentucky. Howl Yard is hub of all the traffic moving across the Ohio River. This makes the Ohio River Bridge the focal point of the layout. The route plan is linear and travels along the wall so that everything on the model is within arms reach and Rideout can gain as much main line as possible. When it comes to making his model prototypical, Rideout does not get bogged down by the details of the 1970’s line. It is easier for him, however, to believe in the model if it is copied after a real railroad. He finds his owner satisfaction when his layout looks like the railroad; it gives him a goal and a guideline. Rideout has occasional helpers on his layout, but no regular group of modelers. He has been able to accomplish his layout mostly on his own.