The railways at a glance
Names: The St. Joe & Grand Island; The Kansas Central
Size: 4,000 square feet
Scales: 1:29 (ST&GI); 1:20.3 (KC)
Gauge: Nº 1 (45mm)
Eras: 1950s and 1870s
Themes: ST&GI: Small farming town in Kansas on a connecting line of the Union Pacific in the 1950s as it converted from steam to diesel; KC: An underfunded, historic narrow-gauge line in northeast Kansas that planned to become part of a transcontinental line connecting with the Rio Grande in Colorado. Neither the KC nor the Rio Grande made it to California or Mexico
Age: ST&GI begun in 2001; KC in 2008
Motive power: All battery powered: Hartland interurban for a UP doodlebug, Aristo-Craft UP 2-8-0, USA Trains UP Alco S4 Diesel, LGB 2-4-0, Bachmann “Kansas Central” 2-6-0 Mogul
Length of mainline: Approximately 80′ on the ST&GI (plus a 50′ upper level); and 320′ on the KC
Maximum gradient: 2.3% on the ST&GI; 2.5% over 60 feet on the KC
Type of track: LGB brass sectional track
Minimum radius: 4′
Structures: 16 scratchbuilt; 15 prebuilt, kits, or kitbashed
Control system: Airwire T5000 radio control
