Peter & Lori Thomas's Dawson Shortline (HO) & Lori's Cothran Valley Gardens (G)
Layout Tour Dates
Important Note: For 2020, there will be no "open house", in-person layout tours. All Piedmont Pilgrimage tours will be "virtual", video-only tours.
Layout Descriptions:
Lori's Garden Railroad:
What do you do when you can't get grass to grow in your front yard? You build a garden railroad, of course! Inspired in March 2017 by a display of G-Scale trains by the Georgia Garden Railway Society at the Piedmont Division Model Train Show, Lori and Peter set about planning and building the Cothran Valley Garden Railroad.
This railroad travels back to late 1960's on a fictitious short line running through rural North Georgia mountains. The railroad features a 60-foot oval of track surrounded by farmsteads, a small train depot, and a magical village on the far side of the mountain. The rolling stock showcases iconic billboards of the era. The railway is nestled into existing gardens and includes scale plantings.
Scale |
G |
Size |
21’ x 14’ |
Prototype |
Freelance |
Locale |
Dawson County, GA |
Era |
1960’s |
Style |
Single loop |
Len. of Mainline |
60’ |
Layout Height |
Ground level |
Benchwork |
None / not applicable |
Roadbed |
ballast |
Trackwork |
LGB |
Turnouts |
LGB |
Min. Radius |
4’ |
Maximum Grade |
2% |
Scenery |
100 % Combination or planting and models |
Backdrop |
The garden !!! |
Controls |
DC - Digitrax zephyr |
Wheelchair Accessible |
Yes |
Peter's Modular HO Scale:
Module 1 (60 by 30 inches) is a simple passing loop station in Dawsonville, GA. Module 2 is a wye. Modules 3 and 4 are staging.
Scale |
HO |
Size |
12’ 6” x 10’ |
Prototype |
L&N to Southern connector |
Locale |
Dawson County, GA |
Era |
Spring, mid-1920’s |
Style |
End-to-end modular layout |
Len. of Mainline |
10 feet (really – the layout has just started) |
Layout Height |
tabletop |
Benchwork |
modular |
Roadbed |
cork |
Trackwork |
Atlas code 83 |
Turnouts |
Atlas #6 |
Min. Radius |
22” |
Maximum Grade |
None |
Scenery |
50 % |
Backdrop |
None |
Controls |
DCC - Digitrax Zephyr – JMRI – engine driver (on phone) |
Wheelchair Accessible |
Yes – but no grab bars in restroom |