My journey into O Gauge railroading has been a relatively recent one, having become involved in this hobby a short six years ago. As a young person growing up in Canada, trains were not a holiday tradition. Hockey was the winter pastime, followed by road hockey all summer long. For an indoor pursuit, my buddies and I gravitated toward slot car racing.

 The layout on display here is my second O Gauge effort. The first layout consisted of two 4' x 8' tables fastened together in the shape of an L. This seemed sufficient for the O27 train set which my son received for his fifth birthday. I used traditional Lionel O27 tubular track. The layout did have extensive scenery. Having another hobby of growing cactus plants in a greenhouse and an affinity towards the spectacular scenery of Arizona, I fashioned this early layout on the American Southwest.

 The current "Erehwon and Saguaro Railroad" is my attempt at modeling a freelance Hi-Rail layout. It covers the geographic areas of Arizona, Colorado and on into the Midwest. This is a steam/diesel transition layout set loosely in the late 1950's and early 1960's. While steam locomotives are still in operation, they are quickly being overtaken by first generation diesels. The road names of Union Pacific, Denver and Rio Grande and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe dominate. While the railroad is of course fictitious, I have attempted to bring as much realism to the layout in the space available to me. This is what Hi-Rail is all about, operating toy trains in a scale environment.

 The layout occupies an area around the perimeter of the finished basement and into the furnace/work room.  At its longest stretch, the layout measures 35 feet in length and is about 5 feet wide. If I had to make a guess, I would say that the layout occupies approximately 450 square feet.

 I hope that you enjoy your tour.  For a more extensive trip on the “Erehwon and Saguaro Railroad", you are invited to visit my website at: http://www3.sympatico.ca/larry.lajambe/

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These first few photographs below depict the town of Erehwon.  Located amidst the majestic Rocky Mountains, Erehwon is a small but bustling town with plenty of cultural events and railroading activity. 

Of course, any town worth its railroading salt needs to have an operating yard and roundhouse.  Here you can see that the E and S is no exception. 

Just outside of town along the DRG mainline, we find LaJambe Logging.  A good many folks from Erehwon have found employment here, including these fellows who are seen taking a well-deserved break.

As we travel further along our scheduled route, we come to the sleepy Arizona town of Saguaro.  Noted mostly for its annual hot air balloon fest, which is held in May, it is a great tourist attraction and worthy of a stopover.  

The scenery throughout the Sonoran Desert is breathtaking.  Here are a few photos taken by some tourists who were fortunate enough to make the trip to the southwest. 

This next photo is that of a Union Pacific SD45 as it moves through a particularly scenic area of the desert.  This photo has been digitally enhanced by my repainting of the sky to create a sunset effect.  The original photo can be viewed on my website.

 Along the right of way, there are always many interesting things to be seen.  Here we find Union Pacific Challenger #3983 thundering across this sturdy trestle.  Its freight is destined for Erehwon.

Thanks for visiting the Erehwon and Saguaro Railroad.