Vol. 08: Granite Mountain Railway
Doug Geiger’s Granite Mountain Railway is a huge layout forced to fit into a tiny space. The room in which the railroad resides is a mere 43 by 23 feet. To deal with this lack of space, Geiger made the tracks of his model run along three tiers. The operation and production of such a massive layout created unique challenges. Luckily, Geiger has two groups of friends who help him with construction and operation.
When observing a layout, viewers look down on it from an outsider’s perspective. But what if they found themselves inside the layout, spectating through the eyes of a passenger inside the trains? That is Doug’s goal—to make his model railroad operations as realistic and prototypical as possible. Join us as we take a ground-level tour of Doug Geiger’s Granite Mountain, then listen in as he and host Allen Keller discuss their favorite aspects of model railroading.
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2:24Overview of Granite Mountain Railway
When observing a layout that is in operation, onlookers are always looking down on it from their own perspective as a spectator. But, what if they could be inside the layout, and see it from the perspective of a passenger inside the trains? They would see the layout in a new way. That is Doug…
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10:05Touring Granite Mountain Railway
In this video watch Doug Geiger’s Granite Mountain Railroad in operation and listen as Allen Keller narrates. Learn about the various locomotives, routes, locations, and more on the layout. The route starts in Stillaquamish in the Cascade Mountains where the Milwaukee Road interchanges with the Granite Mountain. A Granite Mountain passenger train travels to the…
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5:53Owner Inspiration and Techniques on Granite Mountain Railway
Doug Geiser’s Granite Mountain Railway is ground breaking in its three tiered design and its housing of a great multitude of trains running together. In this video, hear some of Geiser’s inspirations, advice, and techniques for building your own revolutionary railroad as he talks with Allen Keller. Geiser states that the running of his many…
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9:18Maintenance on Granite Mountain Railway
Maintenance on a large layout can take a huge chunk of time away from working on a railroad. This is a worry for Doug Geiger with his Granite Mountain Railway. He has experienced maintenance taking up half of the layout work time when he was a member of the Houston Club. The club has given…
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2:24Concept Track Planning for Granite Mountain Railway
One of the most enjoyable aspects of railroad modeling is that modelers have the ability to create their own little worlds. You pick the scenery, trains, tracks, time period, routes, and every other aspect of the layout. Modelers can include inspiration found from real life railroads, other models that influenced them, and photographs from magazines…
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4:51Engineering Three Levels on Granite Mountain Railway
In this video, Doug Geiser discusses the engineering behind his Granite Mountain Railway’s three levels, helixes, and the track’s scenic and directional purity. A great aiding factor in creating the three levels of track on Geiser’s layout was building in an unfinished basement. The basement had no walls or ceiling, which meant that there was…
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4:46Operations on Granite Mountain Railway
For Doug Geiger, the best part about owning a model railroad is operating it. Although Geiger has done a huge percentage of the building on the railroad himself, he would not be able to operate his railroad without the help of his team, including his wife Barbara. Operations involve a lot of communication back and…
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13:42Computer Simulation on Granite Mountain Railway
In building his Granite Mountain Railway, Doug Geiger has put in years of his own time. He has had a hand in every aspect of the railroad. In this video, Geiger discusses with Allen Keller the layout’s computer software system, signaling, scenery techniques, and more. Geiger, a computer software writer by profession, wrote his own…
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6:37How to Fix Up a Boxcar for Optimum Smoothness
Train cars always have room for improvement when it comes to running. Doug Geiger has developed some tried and true techniques for fixing up and assembling his cars so that they are running the smoothest that they can on the track. In this video, Geiger demonstrates to Allen Keller his methods for assembling the Athearn…
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