Built by Others is an article series showcasing layouts constructed by modelers using plans and projects from the pages of Model Railroader magazine. The Gold Hills Central was a layout built live by staff and MR contributors at Model Railroader’s 50th Anniversary Conference, held in Milwaukee in 1983. The original story and plan ran in the March 1984 issue. – Ed.
Built by Others: Bob Wundrock’s HO scale Gold Hill Central
By Bob Wundrock – photos by the author
I was fortunate to attend Model Railroader’s 50th Anniversary Conference, held on July 8th and 9th, 1983 at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. One thing I remember well from the Conference was the construction and display of the Gold Hill Central HO layout. I was impressed that the layout was able to pack a lot of model railroad in a 4 x 6 area. It was the first MR project layout I recall using a two-sided backdrop, and it made the small layout seem much bigger.
The March 1984 Model Railroader featured an article on the construction of the Gold Hill Central, including a lot of great photos from when it was built during the convention. While I already was working on my own basement HO layout, I thought I could also build a smaller layout at the same time and display it at model railroad shows in my area.
I already had a 4 x 6-foot piece of plywood with framing that I used for my son’s American Flyer trains. Since he’d lost his interest in trains by that point and spent most of his time with his Atari 2600 gaming system, I felt the table was fair game.
I generally followed the construction points in the article. I had some buildings already constructed for my larger layout that I used for the Gold Hill Central. I also kitbashed and scratchbuilt some building flats for the industry side of the layout. I used commercial building prints on the backdrop as well.
I selected various rolling stock from my regular layout to run the trains. As a result, my version of the GHC was Soo Line themed. I built a one-transistor throttle to operate the layout as a one-locomotive railroad. It’s hard to believe it now, but I made the layout during a time when modelers were still building their own DC control systems for their layouts. So, building your own throttle was just part of model railroading.
I took my version of the Gold Hill Central to shows in Menomonie, Wis, which is where I lived at the time. I also took it to a show in Rice Lake, Wis. After the 1986 Rice Lake show, I sold the little layout prior to moving later that summer.
The layout was fun to build, and it made a nice diversion from my larger layout. Unfortunately, I only have a couple of photos and some grainy video tape images, but it’s enough to remember the layout. It was a fun project, and I’m glad I did it.
Brought back good memories. Started to build this in 1984 with/for my 5 sons, ages 3 to 12 at the time. Laid the track, had some buildings and scenery, ran trains. Never completed it. I don’t have a layout right now. Maybe it’s time to try this again.
I sold it with buildings for $90 in 1986.