On September 1, 2022, I began construction on version 5.0 of the Fungus and Mungus HO scale model railroad. in the 55 years since I became an avid model railroader, this is the fifth layout that I’ve constructed.
The first was when I was ten years old. It was a Lionel, O-27 layout covering a couple of sheets of plywood with no building or scenery. Just a train, a couple of cars, and some tracks.
The second was years later, in 1976, after I graduated college, was single, and living in a one-bedroom apartment near where I worked. This version consisted of a single sheet of plywood, atop some cinder blocks, a couple of track ovals, and for the first time, some buildings and scenery. I got married a couple of years later and needed to make room for my new bride, so the layout had to go. I didn’t give up on model railroading. Instead, I began constructing detailed, craftsman kits, on a card table in a corner of the hallway that would hopefully be used on a future layout. Alas, these dozens of highly-detailed kits were lost in the divorce in 1992.
Fast forward another twenty-plus years. it’s the year 2000. I’m married again, this time to the love of my life. Version 3.0 of the F.M.R.R. would occupy a corner of our 2 car garage and consisted of a five-foot by nine-foot “L-shaped” layout that featured lots of tracks and could support two trains running at the same time. Once again, life got in the way and the as-yet uncompleted HO scale layout was destined for the scrap heap. The space was needed for other uses.
It’s now 2018… I’m retired with some leisure time on my hands. So, what do I do? I start construction of version 4.0. This time, I get the entire garage as a train room. The layout is a 16-foot by 16-foot horseshoe with the capability to run multiple trains. It includes lots of mountains, a logging camp, some mining activity, a town, and lots and lots of tracks. Guess what? This one never gets finished either. In 2022, my wife begins her retirement and we start looking for a new community in which to retire. We never would have guessed that the new community would be in Afton, Tennessee, some 2,524 highway miles and a 5 day road trip away.
It’s now May of 2022. We’re in our new home in Afton, TN. Guess what? I have a full, 1,600 sf, unfinished basement that can be transformed into version 5.0. Construction can’t start immediately. The infrastructure needed to be put in place. I added 3, 30 amp circuits to the breaker panel; one for the 16 overhead 8-foot LED tubes and two to power the layout. The concrete floor needed to be patched. We had a high-end, 2-part epoxy floor poured. The basement walls were patched and painted.
As I indicated earlier, construction began on September 1, 2022. In addition to the layout itself, I began putting together the crew lounge, similar to what you would have found in a 1906 railroad station with the added convenience of a microwave oven and mini-fridge. This will provide space and comfort for crews when they come to operate on the layout. Just to make one thing clear… we DO NOT play with trains. We operate prototypically accurate, scale model trains on a historical recreation of a railroad line.
So what’s with the 232 days? Well, 232 days after construction began, the trackwork is 100% complete and tested. So, benchwork, 100%; “L-girder” supports, 100%; under-layout DCC, track power and DC accessory powers busses, 100%, plywood sub-roadbed, 100%; cork roadbed, 100% and now trackwork, 100% complete. With that having been said, or rather having been written, here’s an image of myself driving the final track nail. In the background is the enlarged track diagram.
What’s left you ask? The answer is a lot. The mountains, rivers, and valleys have to be formed out of foam, plaster, and fiberglass. Then everything has to be painted and scenicked. The details have to be added. Lots and lots of details… hundreds of trees, rocks, grass, weeds, etc., etc., etc. This shouldn’t take more than… the rest of my lifetime.
In a couple of weeks, we’ll host an open house, inviting local fellow railroaders and the community. We’ll have the driving of the gold spike ceremony. Yes, it’s a real, scale gold spike that my wife had fashioned by a local jeweler. There will also be silver, copper, and iron spikes.
Let’s take a look at some Fungus and Mungus Railroad Statistics.
- Train room size – 28-1/2 feet by 49 feet
- Layout size – 24 feet by 33 feet
- Layout height above the floor – 42 inches climbing to 60 inches
- Turnouts – 45, mostly #4
- Mainline 160 feet, all track 354 feet
- Era – Friday, October 12, 1906
- Location – Somewhere in the Colorado high country.
