Visiting and operating Ken Rodig’s Gunnison City Old Town Line layout

Ken Rodig’s Gunnison City Old Town Line layout is fascinating for many reasons. The 22 x 36 Gn3 (1:22.5 proportion) model railroad was built on the benchwork of his former HO scale Ironwood System. The indoor large scale layout is set in southwestern Colorado and features industrial narrow gauge railroading in the 1950s. Steam locomotives of the former Colorado & Southern weave through scenes with structures standing as tall as 3 feet from the benchwork’s tabletop.

Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno provided a thorough look at the Gunnison City layout in an eight-page feature in Great Model Railroads 2023. Times have changed since the article’s publication. Rodig and his wife, Ann, plan to move in late 2025 from their home in Sussex, Wis., a northwestern suburb of Milwaukee, to a nearby condo. The layout will be taken down as part of the move, but Rodig already has plans to rebuild the model railroad.

The pending relocation is why the staffers from MR and Trains.com were generously invited to not only visit the Gunnison City layout in April 2025, but to take part in a relaxing operating session. From switching at Gunnison Avenue Yard to running patrol trains out to the industries for pick ups and setouts, there are plenty of scenes to enjoy in this gallery featuring Ken Rodig’s Gunnison City Old Town Line layout!

Watch the ‘Garden Variety Railroad Show’ episode 3 of a previous visit on Trains.com Video.

Matthew Pipeline Construction Co. stands tall with Burress Brewing and Budny Electric Mfg. Co. flanking the industry on both sides. Lucas Iverson photo

Colorado & Southern 2-6-0 No. 4 rests between assignments next to the Knight Mattress Co. and Castle Dairy. Lucas Iverson photo

Trains.com Video Producer Ben Lake and Executive Producer Kent Johnson set up a GoPro camera on top of McCormick Packing. Lucas Iverson photo

Budny Electric Mfg. Co. pulls double duty as a rail-served customer and a partition to separate one scene from another. Lucas Iverson photo

Ken Rodig (middle) shows MR Editor Eric White, Trains.com Director David Popp, and MR Associate Editor Bryson Sleppy updated track plans for the Gunnison City layout at his future home. Lucas Iverson photo

The main line heads toward Gunnison Avenue Yard with the D&P Cogan Mills, Gillich Canning, and Langenecker Plumbing Supply in the background. Lucas Iverson photo

Operations on the Gunnison City Old Town Line layout feature track warrants and switch lists. The trains are controlled with NCE’s 10A Digital Command Control (DCC) system. Lucas Iverson photo

The gravel road between McCormick Packing and the D&P Cogan Mills elevator features wood grade crossing panels. Ken used unscented cat litter for the gravel, noting in GMR 2023 that the “texture needed to be coarser than the usual hobby ground covers.” Lucas Iverson photo

Colorado & Southern 2-6-0 No. 10 traverses the wye track at the west end of Gunnison Avenue Yard… Lucas Iverson photo

...Meanwhile, on the other leg of the wye, Bryson Sleppy is at the throttle of No. 4 with a log train. Lucas Iverson photo

Ken’s son, Nick, builds and breaks up trains with the west end Gunnison Avenue Yard switcher. Eric White (foreground) is in charge of the east-end switcher, assisting Nick and also switching the warehouse district, building the passenger trains, and switching supply cars at the engine terminal. Lucas Iverson photo

The largest locomotive in the fleet is 2-6-6-2 No. 250. The articulated unit is shown here rounding the curve near Sherman Ice Co. Lucas Iverson photo

Pfister & Sons Furniture is one of the many rail-served industries on Ken’s indoor large scale layout. Ken built this and other structures on the layout using Piko kits. Lucas Iverson photo

David Popp switches cars near Pfister & Sons Furniture and Digger’s Supply Co. Lucas Iverson photo

Cody Grivno assists in switching operations near Grivno Gear & Bearing, an industry Ken named after MR’s Senior Editor. Lucas Iverson photo

The engine terminal at Gunnison Avenue Yard consists of an enginehouse, shop office, car barn, water tower, and coal and sand storage. Lucas Iverson photo

Here are the members of the MR and Trains.com teams that participated in Ken’s operating session. Back row (left to right) are Lucas Iverson, Kent Johnson, David Popp, and Nick Rodig. Front row (l to r) are Eric White, Ben Lake, Ken Rodig, Cody Grivno, and Bryson Sleppy. Kent Johnson photo