Lakeshore Traction Company

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Lakeshore Traction Company The On30 Cedar-Ridge Eastern Railway is a freelanced narrow gauge shortline/light railroad connecting Cedar Falls to the silver mining town of Jasper. Era 1919.

Ready for a busy weekend where not much building will happen, but was able to get a lot done during the week!
10/16/2026

Ready for a busy weekend where not much building will happen, but was able to get a lot done during the week!

10/07/2026

Finally turning some wheels on the new layout after getting some track and wiring in last night.

Its been almost a year since the planning and design phase started for the layout here. In that time, there have been ma...
10/05/2026

Its been almost a year since the planning and design phase started for the layout here. In that time, there have been many changes to the plan and through a long and wild course of events there have been two versions built and nearly reaching the scenic phase only to need deconstructed.

At the end of this summer, as you may know, the layout was moved to a new space after the old space flooded, requiring the second layout attempt to be torn down. Through September, this newer, smaller version was built and altered as the plan continued to evolve.

Change is underway as the benchwork was modified this past week and the concept changed again. (Honestly, if I didnt post the changes, maybe it would stop changing.) The CRE Rwy connects the town of Cedar Falls with the mining town of Jasper through the ridge that isolates the mines to the east of the foothill town. Primarily, silver ore is hauled down the mountain, processed in Cedar Falls and then sent out through the gauge interchange with the Northern Pacific Railroad.

The benchwork, as you can see, is unusual perhaps. Designed to be used while sitting either in a chair or on the floor, the lowest level is 22" from the ground to the roadbed. This was done to make accessing and operating the window (which is a very important part of the house cooling) easier. To accomodate this, there is now a helix in the corner of the layout to bridge the 15" elevation change from the foothills to the other side of the ridge.

About a 3% grade through the helix, the grade was tested with a Bachmann On30 trench locomotive and a string of cars. The engine is so light, that this many cars will not be able to be used with this locomotive, so likely some heavier power will need purchased; however, the trains will always be short and small engines to be used.

Inspiration for this plan came in many different sources, including memories for a nearby steam museum where narrow gauge trains, many non-American, climb through the forest and hills of the areas geography. The other inspiration for the aesthetic and casual operations was the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. Small engines climbing steep grades, serving almost as taxis for the locals and being an important route to connect isolated mountain communities where the roads formerly could not.

The helix is planned and construction should begin soon... or as soon as I have the confidence to do so.

Some track fit and cut tonight!
09/30/2026

Some track fit and cut tonight!

Finally, a construction update...While its been slow progress lately, life has been unrelenting and the hours that I hav...
09/27/2026

Finally, a construction update...

While its been slow progress lately, life has been unrelenting and the hours that I have been able to work on the layout near only 3 4 hours over the past two weeks. Today marked the next milestone completion as all subroadbed is now installed and nearly all cork is ready to be glued. As soon as all cork has been secured, then it will FINALLY be time for some track laying (which is long overdue).

Once that is actually able to start, I will be endeavoring to create videos again to be uploaded on the YouTube channel! Hope to bring more updates soon!

Yes, it is another track plan... Good morning, everyone! The last few months have been incredibly busy, and that has lef...
09/23/2026

Yes, it is another track plan...

Good morning, everyone! The last few months have been incredibly busy, and that has left little time for things to get done on the model railroad. This delay has actually allowed a lot of research opportunities and the ability to try many different ideas including: industries, locations, track layouts, etc.

This past weekend, the track plan prior to this one was sketched up, but there was a lot of uncertainty about the industries. Yesterday, a strange idea arrived, and while there is not exactly a prototype for this concept, there are bits and pieces that are plausible examples.

This plan centers around the LTC as the primary mover for a mid-sized college in the great lakes region. Almost all commodities enter and exit through the transload/transfer facility and station in the upper left corner of the plan. This transfer is likely between the LTC and either the NYC, Monon, or both. From there, commodities can be distributed across the campus as needed: fuel to the powerhouse, fertilizer, feed, seed, and other needs to the Ag School... food, mail, and whatever else to the Student Center, etc. All this freight movement on top of the usual "tram" service that the LTC provides to students everyday and the special gameday traffic from the station to the stadium.

Let us know what you think! Excited to bring this plan to life!

Still ironing out different details regarding track planning. This is the latest version. Let us know what you think! ...
09/15/2026

Still ironing out different details regarding track planning. This is the latest version. Let us know what you think!

Short update from the Lakeshore! Subroadbed has gone down on about half and the bus wires were stretched under the layou...
09/09/2026

Short update from the Lakeshore! Subroadbed has gone down on about half and the bus wires were stretched under the layout. Last night, cork was put down on part of the Sandy Creek section. The whole layout will have a layer of cork and all scenery and ground form/foam will go on top of that. This will allow the sound deadening of the cork roadbed while keeping the profule shallow, more similar to many narrow gauge shortlines.

And with that... the frame-in is complete! Aside from some supports for the corner angles, the main frames of the benchw...
09/01/2026

And with that... the frame-in is complete! Aside from some supports for the corner angles, the main frames of the benchwork is all built and installed. A lot of design changes have been happening throughthe construction phase and the plan has evolved even though still fitting this area.

Now, begins the wait. Before much progress happens on the layout itself, the lighting really must be installed. The plan is for track lighting to be installed... but its a waiting game to see when that might be.

A continuation on construction today as more framing was built and installed in the new layout room. Transitioning from ...
08/25/2026

A continuation on construction today as more framing was built and installed in the new layout room. Transitioning from a space approximately 15' x 30' to 10.5' x 9.5' means the layout has only 1/5 the space as the first build. Its been enjoyable to see so kuch progress so quickly with this change of location. Only two more sections to build and then all of the details such as curve supports and subroadbed.

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Lake Street
Gary, IN
46403

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