could manage. Switching such a large complex is a highlight of any operating session for BN local crews.


The Burlington Northern Elma Turn (top) passes a small farm as it approaches north Elma, with a small sawmill in the background, typical of many in the area. BN 2074 (above) with the Elma Local in tow arrives at west Elma to begin switching the area’s industries


dios for communication with the dis- patcher. Car forwarding is with car cards and waybills. Because N scale re- porting marks can be difficult to read, each car card has a photo of the car at- tached to it in addition to the car’s re- porting marks. To accurately portray Northwest scenery, hundreds, if not thousands, of trees were needed, especially Douglas fir


trees. Attending a clinic several


from Scenic Express. Woodland Scenics foam of various colors is used on all of his trees. The predominant ground cover is, like much of Western Washington, blackberry bushes, made with Woodland Scenics polyfiber


RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN


years ago, Jim learned to make these trees using wood skewers and furnace filter pieces along with ground foam. Deciduous trees are mostly Super Trees®


stretched thin and covered with


ground foam. Real dirt from the areas being modeled is used in bare areas. Protesting loudly that he wasn’t an


artist, Jim nevertheless gave in and painted his backdrops, mostly using la- tex house paint. Over time he conquered his inhibitions, and he now paints “with reckless abandon,” as he says. I like his results a lot, as they are just right for complimenting the layout without being too busy and a distraction. All across the layout are numerous


scratchbuilt structures, along with many kit-built structures, as well. Over the past few years Jim has been building ever-larger industrial com- plexes. For example, the Simpson mill at Shelton covers an area of three by twelve feet and has 24 locations to spot cars, making it as close to scale as he


Jim and his friends operate the lay- out regularly, often twice a month with what Jim calls “fun runs,” which are low key sessions with a small crew and operating only part of the railroad. Several times a year Jim organizes more complex sessions with as many as 16 operators. During one of these full six-hour sessions as many as 30 trains are run. Jobs for these big ses- sions include dispatcher, trainmaster, three yard crews, several industrial switching jobs, several locals, a log train, a coal train, several transfer runs, road freight trains and passenger trains. Whew! Jim, like most of us, has a locomotive roster that is way out of proportion to his layout, with more than 150 locomo- tives with DCC decoders installed, some with sound. Thirty-four of these locos are for the MB&S, although only ten or twelve are in use at any one time. The remaining locos are BN and its predecessors, Milwaukee Road, and some industrial locos. The freight car roster consists of some 950 cars, with perhaps 500 in use at any time, as Jim constantly rotates cars for variety. Pas- senger service on the MB&S and the BN is with Budd RDC’s, while the ear- ly-1970’s version of Amtrak features one train daily in each direction. Building and operating his layout has given Jim many hours of fun and enter- tainment. He feels the social aspects of model railroading are the most reward- ing part of the hobby. Along with his regular crew from the local area, Jim has made hundreds of model railroad friends around the world. He partici- pates in numerous annual operating events and layout tours, and helps coor- dinate monthly meetings and events for the local division of the NMRA. He is a long-time member of the NMRA and re- cently joined the Operations Special In- terest Group (OpSig). The Mud Bay & Southern has been featured in N Scale Magazine, as were several of Jim’s NTrak modules. N Scale Railroading magazine also fea- tured the MB&S in 2005.


The National Narrow Gauge Con- vention will be held in the Seattle area in September of 2012, and the MB&S will be open for tours. It’s definitely not a narrow gauge layout, but it is a “must see” if you come to the conven- tion. Go to wwwseattle2012.com for more information.


Jim and his wife Karen have raised two sons and two daughters. Spending time with their grandchildren is a real treat for them these days, while visiting the MB&S is a real treat for all of us.


47


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