Around The Layout - A Model Railroad Podcast

With only a few days left before Christmas, Tony Cook and I thought it would be a good idea to check in with Ken Bianco Jr at Trainworld and Trainland. Ken tells us about the items flying off the shelves this holiday season and shares the joy he gets from introducing new folks to the hobby. Later, Tony tells us about new releases from Bachmann, Kadee, Tangent, Rapido and many more.
Get your last minute Christmas shopping done today:
https://www.trainworld.com/
Subscribe to Model Railorad News and keep up with all that's happening in model railroading:
https://modelrailroadnews.com/
Take a trip through model railroad history on Tony's Model Train Resource:
https://modeltrainresource.com/
Ask Tony your question for next month's What's Happening In Model Railroading Show:
https://www.aroundthelayout.com/asktony
Support the podcast and get yourself signed up for free giveaways by becoming a member of the ATLP Operating Crew!
patreon.com/AroundTheLayoutPodcast
Check out our website: www.aroundthelayout.com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/aroundthelayout
Send us an email: [email protected]

Meet Campbell Rice, a man who has moved more times than the Raiders football team, but has carried his passion for model railroading with him along the way. Campbell takes us along on the journey through several states and multiple layout builds, leading to his recent move back to Tennessee and the development of the freelanced Tennessee Western Railway HO scale layout. It's a story of perseverance that you don't want to miss.
Learn more about the Tennessee Western Railway on their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063930588640
Check out Campbell's Railroad Modeling on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@campbellsrailroadmodeling5847
Thank you to our show sponsor, Weather My Trains:
https://weathermytrains.com/
Support the podcast and get yourself signed up for free giveaways by becoming a member of the ATLP Operating Crew!
patreon.com/AroundTheLayoutPodcast
Check out our website: www.aroundthelayout.com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/aroundthelayout
Send us an email: [email protected]

What does it take to start a model railroad company and lead it to the position of the "Cadillac" of the industry? On this episode, we get to hear from ScaleTrains president Shane Wilson as he tells us about his model railroading journey that led to entrepreneurship at a young age and set the trajectory to a career in the hobby business. Learn the reasons why Shane and his team took the risk to create a new, innovative approach, taking lessons from his past and combining it with their passion for creating an exceptional customer experience. Shane then previews some up and coming projects at ScaleTrains and explains their recent acquisition of Virtual Railfan.
Check out all of the great product offerings from ScaleTrains:
https://www.scaletrains.com/
Watch the ScaleTrains, Big Dreams documentary on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/41Ge5rr7p4M?si=t9F8I98Sf0Xouvgd
Support the podcast and get yourself signed up for free giveaways by becoming a member of the ATLP Operating Crew!
patreon.com/AroundTheLayoutPodcast
Check out our website: www.aroundthelayout.com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/aroundthelayout
Send us an email: [email protected]
Thank you to our show sponsor, Weather My Trains:
https://weathermytrains.com/

It's late November, but we're still talking about late August and the 2023 NMRA National Convention in Texas. During that week, I was fortunate enough to visit the outstanding layout of Mike Armstrong and it was a thrill to talk to him tonight about how his Rock Island Mid-Continent Route came to fruition. Mike shares the story of growing up in Iowa and the many influences during his youth that led to a successful prototype and model railroad journey. If you're a fan of big layouts and negative space, this episode is for you!
Check out the Rock Island Mid-Continent Route on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/@rimodeler7963
Find more about this outstanding layout in the June 2023 Railroad Model Craftsman:
https://rrmodelcraftsman.com/rock-island-mid-continent-route/
Support the podcast and get yourself signed up for free giveaways by becoming a member of the ATLP Operating Crew!
patreon.com/AroundTheLayoutPodcast
Check out our website: www.aroundthelayout.com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/aroundthelayout
Send us an email: [email protected]

The growth of technology in model railroading has brought a whole new level to the hobby. On this episode, Tony Cook brings along Chuck Stancil of Logic Rail Technologies to tell us about the amazing products he has created that bring life to layouts. Chuck tells us how his products can help add theatrics to your layout and reveals a new product that will provide amazing lighting effects in a number of ways. Later, Tony tells us about the latest releases from Rapido, Intermountain, Walthers, Sylvan, and many more, then we debut the new "Ask Tony" segment with questions about Tony's top 3 locomotives and C30-7A locomotives.
Bring your layout to life with Logic Rail Technologies products!
https://www.logicrailtech.com/
Subscribe to Model Railorad News and keep up with all that's happening in model railroading:
https://modelrailroadnews.com/
Take a trip through model railroad history on Tony's Model Train Resource:
https://modeltrainresource.com/
Ask Tony your question for next month's What's Happening In Model Railroading Show:
https://www.aroundthelayout.com/asktony
Support the podcast and get yourself signed up for free giveaways by becoming a member of the ATLP Operating Crew!
patreon.com/AroundTheLayoutPodcast
Check out our website: www.aroundthelayout.com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/aroundthelayout
Send us an email: [email protected]

On Wednesday, November 15, 2023, I appeared as a guest on TSG Multimedia's Talking Trains with hosts John Abatecola and Tony Cook. The topic was model railroad podcasts and I was joined by good friends Andy Dorsch from Second Section Podcast and Thomas Gasior of the Twin Cities Division Crossing Gate Podcast. I had such a blast talking about Around The Layout and how all of our podcasts compliment each other, and John has given me permission to share the audio from the show with the ATLP audience. Please see the original show notes from TSG Multimedia below, and a special thanks to John Abatecola for hosting this show and allowing us to share here on our channel.
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We had a special Talking Trains episode this past week all about podcasting and how we can support each other in the podcasting space. It was such a great discussion, I wanted to share the audio from it here as well. It will make for great listening in the car or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
In this episode of Talking Trains, John will be joined by a special guest co-host as well as some other podcasters for a talk about railroad-related podcasts and ways we can support each other.
Tony Cook's Model Train Resource (MTR) home page: https://modeltrainresource.com/
Use the promo code "TSG10" to get 40% off the newsstand price at: https://shop.whiteriverproductions.com/
*Note: the prices on White River's site are already discounted, so 40% off won't be on the already discounted price, but on the price that's printed on the cover of the publication(s) being ordered.
Around The Layout Podcast: https://www.aroundthelayout.com/podcasts
Second Section Podcast: https://secondsectionpodcast.com/
The Crossing Gate Podcast: https://tcdnmra.org/podcast/
Of course we will also be talking about other topics. We always do!
Here are some of the ways you can support the content you love:
https://www.patreon.com/TSGMultimedia
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/tsgmultimedia
https://www.tsgmultimedia.com/shop
https://tsg-multimedia-swag.creator-spring.com/
Please share: If you enjoy this content, please hit the "like" button and share it with your friends on social media!
You can join TSG Multimedia on these other social media channels:
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/tsgmultimediaface
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tsg_multimedia/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TSGMultimedia
©2023 TSG Multimedia. All Rights Reserved.

One of the most memorable stops during the whirlwind week of the Texas Express 2023 NMRA National Convention was the visit to Devin Jackson & Family's Mesquite Belt, located about 2 hours south of Fort Worth in the town of Palestine. Joining me on the trip were Don Irace and Mark Herrick and on arrival, we were amazed to see a depot building in the backyard containing a large and well done HO scale layout. On this episode, we talk about that visit and how the depot building, name and layout came to be. We also learn how this project has been a family affair and how all Jacksons have benefited from the hobby.
Check out the Mesquite Belt on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/79388438443
Learn more about the Mesquite Belt Railroad on their website:
https://www.mesquitebelt.com/
Pre-order your Home Shops Mesquite Belt Tangent PS-4427 Covered Hopper today!
https://homeshops.net/pages/home-shops-pre-order-page
Support the podcast and get yourself signed up for free giveaways by becoming a member of the ATLP Operating Crew!
patreon.com/AroundTheLayoutPodcast
Check out our website: www.aroundthelayout.com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/aroundthelayout
Send us an email: [email protected]
Thank you to our show sponsor, Weather My Trains:
https://weathermytrains.com/

On this special episode of Around The Layout, we talk to Art Dutra and Mike Wheeler of the Nutmeg Division of the NMRA and learn what's new and exciting from the division covering Connecticut and portions of Massachusetts. We often hear about the big changes happening at the national level; now hear how those changes are making positive impacts locally, and how Art, Mike and the rest of the Nutmeg Division leadership are putting in the work to attract new members and add to the value proposition of being a member of the NMRA.
Check out the Nutmeg Division's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/nutmegnmra
Follow the Nutmeg Division on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/nutmegnmra/
Subscribe to the Nutmeg Division on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@nutmegdivisionnmra8046
Support the podcast and get yourself signed up for free giveaways by becoming a member of the ATLP Operating Crew!
patreon.com/AroundTheLayoutPodcast
Check out our website: www.aroundthelayout.com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/aroundthelayout
Send us an email: [email protected]
Thank you to our show sponsor, Weather My Trains:
https://weathermytrains.com/

We first met Matt Stern on the May 2023 What's Happening In Model Railroading episode where he represented Bachmann as their Communications Manager. During the recording of that show, we spotted a layout behind him, and we knew we had to get Matt back to tell his model railroading story. Well, that time has come, and Matt has an incredible story to share. He tells us about living in the United Kingdom at a young age, an influential uncle back in the United States, and how his passion for model railroading and an ability to chart his own course led to his profession within the hobby. We also learn that his current layout, used to stage some of the Bachmann promotional photos, doesn't have a name, hence the title of this episode!
Check out the work of Matt and his colleagues at Bachmann Trains:
https://www.bachmanntrains.com
Support the podcast and get yourself signed up for free giveaways by becoming a member of the ATLP Operating Crew!
patreon.com/AroundTheLayoutPodcast
Check out our website: www.aroundthelayout.com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/aroundthelayout
Send us an email: [email protected]
Thank you to our show sponsor, Weather My Trains:
https://weathermytrains.com/

Freelance model railroader and YouTuber Matt Forcum pays a virtual visit to the Around The Layout studio. Matt shares with us his model railroading journey that has includes stops in Lego and N scale on his way to HO scale and the Metaline Falls Railroad. He also tells us how he's using his MFRailroad YouTube channel to create a video journal of his layout build and share what he's learning along the way. In addition, his channel includes product reviews and his Rail Ramblin' segments, and Ray and Matt discuss the difficulties of sharing these thoughts in what can be a very opininated hobby. Closing out the show, Matt shares a tool he has created to help build switch lists for smaller railroads.
Check out MFRailroad on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/MFRailroad
Read Matt's blog on his website:
http://www.mfrailroad.com
Download OpsBuddy here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1y8jbRy0lxMmmrtj_qnKQb1stEQMqq_BGPU02VjTeQmQ/edit?usp=sharing
Thank you to our show sponsor, Weather My Trains:
https://weathermytrains.com/
Support the podcast and get yourself signed up for free giveaways by becoming a member of the ATLP Operating Crew!
patreon.com/AroundTheLayoutPodcast
Check out our website: www.aroundthelayout.com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/aroundthelayout
Send us an email: [email protected]