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The Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad, St. Louis Subdivision is a representation of the MKT’s St. Louis Subdivision from Boonville, Missouri to St. Charles, Missouri.  The modeled era is 1984.  Located in a 15 ft by 25 ft basement train room, this single deck, operation-oriented layout incorporates a separate 400-car staging yard to facilitate the “beyond the basement” concept.  The MKT’s traffic from St. Louis to Kansas City and Texas is simulated over nearly four scale miles of mainline track, with emphasis on intermodal, coal unit trains, and grain traffic.  The railroad interchanges with the UP (at Boonville) and the NS (at St. Charles).   

Division or location:  St. Louis Subdivision
Interchange Railroads:  Union Pacific (Missouri Pacific) and Norfolk Southern. 
Size of Railroad:  15ft by 25ft with 19ft separated staging yard
Scale:  N
Era:  1984
Throttle system:  Computer Cab Control, using CVP cordless throttles
Scale Clock Speed:  6:1
Length of Session:  generally 3 to 3.5 real hours
Number of Crew:  8-10
Bench Height:  53 inches (so it is wise to wear short sleeves)
Train Control:  Verbal track warrants with Radio communication
Listed Jobs:  Dispatcher, Union Pacific job, Yard Master, Yard Switcher, and road crews

Using Bruce Chubb’s Computer/Model Railroad Interface, eight throttles cabs are connected to the railroad through a computer-controlled progressive block system.  A CRT dispatcher’s console monitors train movement, with a track schematic, turnout positions, and signal aspects.  The layout is approximately 70 percent scenicked.  Three-color signals heads are incorporated to provide ABS signaling.  A separate crew lounge is provided.  Access is by steps up into house and down to basement.

Approximately twenty-five trains are run during a three-hour session, including locals, freight, intermodal, and coal trains.   Dispatching is by verbal train orders, using radios and headsets.  For more information, see the MKT Layout Summary Sheet.

This layout was featured in the Sept/Oct 2000 issue of N-Scale Railroading.

Click here to link to Bret's MKT St. Louis Subdivision web site.

Click here to view a fine web site dedicated to Missouri operations on the MKT

  GPS Coordinates to Layout Location:  Lat 38.9755101 Long -94.7685959

  Bret sez:  Somebody once wrote: "Of all the average railroads in the country, the Katy is the most average".  The Katy wasn't flashy or glitzy, just an average small Class I railroad that managed to outlast many of its peers.  My vision for the St. Louis Subdivision is to provide a glimpse of the tenacity of the Katy that enabled it to survive for so long...a small, proud, customer-driven railroad, as tough and resilient as the prairie sodbusters whose crops it carried to market for more than a century.

I try to provide a relaxed atmosphere during operating sessions on the Katy.  We eat some food, run some trains, and kid each other a lot.  My number one rule is:  "Nobody gets yelled at!"  That includes the Superintendent!  I host a lot of new and inexperienced operators, as well as experienced operators that are new to the layout, so the "no yell" rule goes a long way toward putting the layout guests at ease.

I like to run though trains, so my layout has a lot of those.  But there is enough activity to keep most everybody happy.  We have dedicated switching positions (the UP job at Boonville and the St. Charles footboard yardmaster), yard jobs, and several locals that will satisfy the need to switch and think.  I always tell my guests that this railroad is perfect for the first-time dispatcher, so if you want to try you skill at that slot, now is the time!  

I usually put two people in the yard:  a yardmaster and the yard switcher.  During light periods, the yard switcher can work the New Franklin Industrial Park industries.

  Union Pacific Switcher - The Union Pacific Job has turned out to be popular among the regular operators.  If you enjoy switching industries, then this job is for you.  You are responsible for switching the UP-served industries on the north side of Boonville.  A 2-track staging yard holds the morning and evening UP locals, and you spend your time working the industries and the interchange track.  The pace is slow and you have a first-class railfanning location, as all the MKT through trains pass by on their way to St. Louis or Parsons.  You don’t need a radio for this job (nobody wants to talk to you anyway!).

  Westinghouse Local - The Westinghouse plant at North Jefferson, Missouri, was the largest industry on the “North End” of the MKT.  Westinghouse made industrial transformers of all sizes and shapes, for used in a myriad of applications.  The Westinghouse local serves the transformer plant as well as a few sleepy industries in nearby Mokane.  Since Westinghouse is a source of significant revenue on the North End, operations are scheduled to provide excellent service to the plant. 

The Local originates at Franklin Yard and is called at regular times (set to meet the Westinghouse’s material delivery needs).   Two locals work the plant daily: a morning shift and an evening shift.  The local train crew needs to pay attention to the a.m. and p.m. spots as they perform their work.

 After the work at Westinghouse is completed, the local runs eastbound to work Mokane, run around their train, then return to Franklin Yard.  

  Columbia Local - Formerly a source of significant passenger revenue on the North End, the Columbia area is now exclusively freight.  The Columbia Industrial Park contains several medium and large industries shoehorned into a former corn and soybean field east of the city.  

The Columbia Local originates at Franklin Yard, and is called when a sufficient number of cars have been collected.  The local travels east to the Junction near the Westinghouse Plant.  Once the local is on the branch line to Columbia (called the Nine-mile since it was (surprise!) 9 miles long), it is in yard limits and can make moves as needed to complete its work.  The local switches all industries at Columbia (don’t forget Lana Sand and Gravel!), runs around its train, gets permission to enter the main at Nine-mile junction, and returns to Franklin Yard. 

  St. Charles Job - The St. Charles Job is new to the St. Louis Sub.  After several operating sessions where the St. Charles Local didn’t get run, the industries in St. Charles (especially Tavern Rock Sand and Gravel) were clamoring for attention!  The MKT management decided that the St. Charles area merited its own switcher, and the St. Charles Job was created.

The St. Charles Job switches the local industries, including the interchange track and the storage track.  Twice a day, the westbound 100-series trains (coming from Baden Yard in St. Louis) pick up and drop off cars at the storage track on the north side of the main.  This traffic keeps the footboard yardmaster at St. Charles busy as cars are delivered throughout the operating session.

  Dispatcher - The dispatcher's job is fun and often sought after by the regular operators on the MKT.  On the prototype the "North End" dispatcher sat in small cubicle in a converted supermarket in Denison, Texas.  The "North End Desk"  handled everything on the MKT north of Denison.  

On the St. Louis Sub, the dispatcher issues verbal track warrants using radio communication.  Train status is monitored on a computer screen that displays the location and identification of every train on the road.  After experimentation with several ways to call the trains, the call times were abandoned, and the dispatcher was given authority to call the trains as necessary.  The exceptions are the two Westinghouse trains per day and train HCX, the Houston-Chicago Express, affectionately known as "the Bull" by MKT employees.  The Bull is the MKT's hottest train, and is the brainchild and pride and joy of Harold Gastler, the current president of the railroad, so the dispatcher is highly motivated to keep this train on schedule!

  Franklin Yard Yardmaster - FY Yardmaster is responsible for working the freight trains and assembling the several locals that originate from the yard.  We usually use a single person for both Yardmaster and yard switcher, but the jobs can be separated if a crew is new to the layout.  The yard switcher can also work the New Franklin Industrial Park industries if the workload is light. 

About the layout host: 
Bret Overholtzer is a father to three (Casey, Katie, and Jacob) and a husband to one (Eileen).  Bret has been active in the hobby for about 13 years, and enjoys participating in the local N-Trak Club (Heartland N-Trak).  An avid reader of history, Bret enjoys researching the history-rich country that is located near the St. Louis Sub track.  A fan of the late Joseph Campbell, Bret is endeavoring to define and follow his bliss.

Growth-Change-Mirth-Possibility

Layout photos (click on thumbnail to enlarge):

Watching the Auto Train at Mokane	Switching track at Boonville	The Cliffs near Rochport
East bound coal at St. Charles (Wrong green, tho')	Rounding the river curve at Mokane	The St. Charles Local at Rhineland
Passing Tavern Rock Sand and Gravel near St. Charles	The Bud Train on the peninsula	Layout Room - Left Aisle
Switching Tavern Rock Sand and Gravel	Trackside Farmstead	The Local at St. Charles

Downloads and Informational files for the MKT, St. Louis Subdivision:

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation -Thoreau.