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Check out Great Model Railroads 2015 for a farewell visit to Gerry Leone’s Bona Vista RR. The freelanced HO scale railroad modeled a short line in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota in 1953. In this video, follow Gerry as he gives you a tour of the line.
Impressive layout Gerry! It is sad that it is destroyed during your move but a newer, and I know, better version is coming! This is one of my favorite railroads in Model Railroader and am very glad to see a video tour of it. Thanks MR for the free video to us non-subscribers for subscribing here in the Philippines is very expensive!
Not only was the "BV" a fanatic layout, the presentation was even more impressive. Thank you for the layout video.
great layout, but you were moving to fast could not check everything out
Thanks again for your comments everyone.
Dean: it's just a very inexpensive black cotton fabric. We bought several hundred feet of it at a fabric outlet store, and my wife sewed the pleats in it for me.
Gerry, all I can say is WOW! Even thou you had to tear your railroad down I'm sure that so many trains and so much enjoyment was and will be remembered on the Bona-Vista! I actually was able to watch the complete video without once fast forwarding it because it was that good! Can't wait to see on your website whats in store next. Great job and a great video for all ages and all modelers!
What a shame to have to tear it down! I'm curious, what fabric did you use beneath the fascia?
just to say thanks for the look at your layout. I had to pause at the kids in the river. Looking at that scene, brought back some wonderful times we had sneaking off to the river for a swim, on those hot summer days
I like it!
This just shows how sometimes a great model railroad is not always large. The best video I have seen so far. Thanks for video……………
That was the very best and most informative video layout tour that I have seen. It should be an example to those who wish to show their layout by this method.
Needless to say, the layout was a wonderful creation.
This was a real nice layout. Really liked scenery. Wish I could have seen it before it was taken down.
A real shame to see a wonderful layout pass. 🙁 I really enjoyed your video. 🙂
>Could you give some insight as to how they affected operation, as in uncoupling cars, rerailing motive power & track maintenance – that sort of thing?
Greg — I use E-Z Line from Berkshire Junction. It's a super-elastic material (like Spandex) that can be stretched probably 2x or 3x its length and will spring back afterward. So there would indeed be times when I pulled a car off the layout and accidentally caught it on the phone lines (no reading glasses…no see the telephone lines), and I'd be inspecting the car, wondering why it was being pulled back to the layout. E-Z Line rarely snapped, and when it did, it was very easy to fix. But once you got to realize that the lines were there, you worked around them with the uncoupling tool. I also tended to put the lines on the far side of the track from where operators would uncouple. As far as track cleaning, I used a car with a block of Masonite beneath it (a la John Allen) on my through freights (take a look at the car in front of the caboose in the video) and that kept the track very clean.
Thanks to you (and everyone) for watching and commenting!
Good luck on the new layout. BV3 was done masterfully…!!! Great attention to detail….!!!
Great layout and a great video. Loved the insertion of the track plan periodically. That really helped to tie it all together.
I can only hope that all future MRR layout tours are conducted with the same detail as this was. Specifically, showing a preview of a portion of the layout before actually taking one through it. This made it MUCH more enjoyable.
Wow, does it get any better than this? A perfect transition era layout, and, a superlative display of effort! I was six years old in 1953. Considering era and detail depicted, you’ve hit a home a grand slam! The video shows consistent genius through every inch of the layout. Looking forward to your next build!
Ron Pope, Toronto, Canada.
What a fantastic Railroad! The detail was incredible, you really are a master craftsman!!!
Beautiful layout and I really enjoyed the whole layout tour presentation of the video.
Gerry, a wonderful video and what a beautiful memento of all your years of hard work.
I thought your electric and telephone lines were terrific.
Could you give some insight as to how they affected operation, as in uncoupling cars, rerailing motive power & track maintenance – that sort of thing?
Thanks,
Greg Harper
Melbourne, Australia
Love your work! we share a passion for the area and timeframe- 1953 northern wis
Excellent layout! Fantastic what has been done in such little space. Very inspiring. Also love the format of the video, showing where the scenes are in relation to the track plan, as well as following the main from start to end. Well done!
No sense here for me to say anything. It's already been said many times, but I'll just add one word, WOW!
This was best display and showing of a layout that I have ever seen.
This was an absolutely beautiful layout (I never had the pleasure, I'm just enjoying the video) soothingly narrated by its builder. An excellent presentation, and hats off to those involved in its production. The scenery is fantastic, and the blending of the 3D scenery and the buildings at the rear of the scenes into the backdrops is perfect. Also, the train room looks impeccable, and the entire layout has a nice, finished appearance. This video merits several views. Man, I'd cry if I had to dismantle something that fine, but we all can assume Gerry's next effort will be even better. Okay, if permitted one criticism I would offer that the corporate "bv" insignia on the locos and rolling stock looks too hip and current-day for 1953. I doubt a font or even the fictitious advertising/promotion department that created it existed back then. Perhaps in the 1970s, yes, but not in the early '50s.