Vol. 09: Rick Rideout's L&N Henderson Subdivision
Rick Rideout’s L&N Henderson Subdivision is a 35x70-foot model railroad layout that resides in an awe-inspiring custom-built basement. Rideout scaled down the 146-mile subdivision to an 8-scale mile HO layout. His obsession with the L&N is deeply rooted and so strong that he built his house along a former L&N line.
In his exclusive behind-the-scenes series, Rideout takes us down the tracks of his magnificent L&N subdivision. He explains the impetus for its existence, which stemmed from a lifelong love affair with these stories tracks, and talks in-depth with Allen Keller about his model’s origins, construction and operations. Rideout views modeling railroads as a challenging and rewarding art form that allows him to express himself as well as his rail fandom.
One third of Rideout’s L&N layout is scenic. Its focal point is a spectacularly designed bridge that spans the Ohio River between Evansville, IN and Henderson, KY. The bridge runs 23 feet and rides out to Louisville and Nashville. Rideout utilizes mass-produced items that cannot be found in stores, in addition to advanced electronics controlled by computer software, which handle the centralized traffic control machine and signals. Rick Rideout’s ambitious scale model of the L&N Henderson Subdivision is truly a wonder to behold, and Allen was thrilled to get a backstage look. Join him, won’t you?
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2:03The 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
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9:28In this video, Allen Keller gives a tour of Rick Rideout’s L&N Henderson Subdivision. Starting in the Chicago St. Louis staging area, this brief tour follows a 721 daily piggyback train to Nashville. It first passes in front of Continental Grain Company and then Reitz High School where Rick Rideout met his wife, Vicky. The
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12:27In this video, watch Rick Rideout’s model railroad in operation as Allen Keller describes its movements along the layout. The 768 on the L&N Henderson Subdivision moves from Courtland and onto Springfield where it finds no work. Heading on toward Guthrie on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, it crosses over Red River. The switch list has
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4:24In 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
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2:37When Rick Rideout modeled the Ohio River Bridge on his L&N Henderson Subdivision, he photographed and made drawings from his observations of the real bridge. The actual Ohio River Bridge spans five lengths, but Rideout has only ten feet on the main span and an additional ten to twelve feet for the approach to work
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5:52Rick Rideout is able to accomodate his large L&N layout room, wide isles, and over 500 feet of main line in the basement of his home. Luckily for Rideout, it was easy for him to make room for his layout because he was able to build his entire house from scratch. Rideout worked with his
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5:57Rick Rideout’s start in selling and manufacturing his own model railroad products came from a need for a product that wasn’t available. The first items he produced were inspired by a lack of throttles that did not get hot in the hand. He was able to redesign an old throttle to be able to handle
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12:06Rick Rideout’s L&N Henderson Subdivision houses miles of wire, command control detection circuits, signals, and a computer. Rideout views his computer as simply a system of relays with an on and off switch. The computer in his layout room automatically loads the programs and sets the railroad up. The computer’s interface is located under the
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1:57Rick Rideout uses scratch built searchlight signals on his L&N Henderson Subdivision. He starts by sautering a signal head to the top of a piece of tubing. He then drills a hole through a century boundary relay box and runs tubing through to connect to a relay box under the signal. Rideout uses brass wire
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