Above, granddaughters Loowit in
August 2024, Skye in July,
2024 and Harper in July 2022.
Anthony with a classic ZW
transformer, bearing resemblance to the White Fish, Montana,
station sculpture. Right, Granddaughters Poppy and Skye with
the IPad train controller; and grandson Hunter with Union Pacific "Beep."
Larry is a hobbyist Enjoying Northwest
Roadnames
in O-Gauge
Three-Rail
Larry's first model engine was a Lionel
Santa Fe NW2 switcherr made by Lionel in 1962. This was the General Mills-owned era of Lionel
Trains. While a low-end switcher, it is relatively rare and sought
by collectors.
Larry specializesin Northwest road names such
as Great Northern, SP&S, Northern Pacific, Milwaukee Road, Union Pacific,
Southern Pacific, Burlington Northern, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and so
forth. He models for the steam-to-diesel conversion years, about 1955 to 1965.
Fred Hecker
He has modeled in O-Gauge since a youngster, tutored and inspired by the Spokane
Valley Hometown Hardware Owner Fred Hecker, with a store on East Sprague
Avenue. Fred had a basement Lionel steam layout in his home near
Comstock Park - across from Larry's home
The Northern Pacific Northwest routes are
at the beginning of the Ganders
Family History in the United States. Larry's great grandfather, JJ Ganders, came to
Washington Territory in 1884 from Switzerland on a Northern Pacific (Oregon
Railway & Navigation Co.) train at what is now Arlington, Oregon
(now the Union Pacific track). He took a crude ferry across the
rushing Columbia River to the Washington side (east of Wishram) and backpacked to the trading
post at Bickleton. That Columbia Gorge route with a train ferry at
Kalama was a NP predecessor to the North Coast Limited route
through Stampede Pass that began construction, also in 1884,
with a route north of Bickleton from Seattle through what is now
Mabton that served Yakima, Pasco, and Spokane before continuing on to
Chicago.
Mabton & The Yakima Valley
Larry, who was born in Yakima, spent his very early life around some of the great
Northwest rail lines. He watched the Northern Pacific steamers with bells ringing, switching at Mabton in the
Yakima Valley.
Wishram
& The Columbia Gorge
He saw and rode the SP&S 4-6-6-4 Challenger
#910 at Wishram and
watched trains lumbering through the Columbia Gorge on both Oregon and
Washington sides of the river. A favorite camping spot is Maryhill
State Park with views of the main BNSF line on one side of the river and
the Union Pacific on the south bank. A 1923 Great Northern Baldwin P-2 Mountain
passenger train steam engine (GN# 2507) is displayed at nearby Wishram due to the efforts
of Klickitat County. Larry remembers when the 4-8-2 Baldwin P-2, repainted to SP&S
(Spokane, Portland, and Seattle) markings, was displayed during the 1960s
at Maryhill State Park. The "Mountain" engine was purchased from GN as a gift to the
county from SP&S. It was removed from the park for unsuccessful
restoration efforts in Pasco before BNSF brought it back to the county for
display at Wishram. Wishram is a current daily scheduled Klickitat County
stop for the Amtrak Empire Builder
Trains 27 and 28 between Chicago and
Portland, Ore. The Empire Builder was
among passenger trains pulled by GN
2507.
Rosalia Viaduct, Hangman Valley & Spokane
Heheard the haunting horns of the
great Burlington Northern, Union Pacific, and Milwaukee Road diesels running along the cliffs of the Hangman Valley
to Latah Junction near Spokane.
As an elementary school student in
Spokane, he rode the orange Great Northern Empire Builder cars pulled by an F3, his favorite consist.
Top: Milwaukee Road Viaduct Trestle, Rosalia, May 2024.
Top Left: Great Northern Station, Spokane (Also used by SP&S)
Havermale Island, Circa 1971 Sketch by
Dr. Wes Moline, Courtesy Bill Moline, Spokane
Below left, Great Northern Signage from
Hillyard, WA in Larry's Train Room. Courtesy Don Lewis
Amtrak Empire
Builder, Spokane 2022
Pasco & the Columbia
Basin
As a local
newspaper reporter, he wrote and
photographed the last of the hobos at
the Pasco, Wash. hump yards in a feature
article for the Tri-City Herald. (April
23, 1979)
Olympia & South Puget Sound
He now
is a volunteer at Centennial Station, southeast of Olympia Wash., and
south of Lacey along the Yelm Highway. This
is where the Amtrak Cascades (EMD F59 locomotive)Talgo train between
Portland or Eugene, Ore. and Seattle or Vancouver, B.C. stops multiple
times every day. Currently, the Cascades pulls Amtrak Horizon cars. It is the only station that serves the state capital and
was the first Amtrak
station in the United States staffed completely by volunteers. It is now
the fourth busiest station in Washington state. The
horn of the the Coast Starlight can easily be heard from his home as it
also makes a twice-daily Olympia stop on its passenger route between Seattle and Los Angeles.
The main track also carries freight trains under both Union Pacific and
Burlington Northern flags. It is the same track that carries the
rumbling Genesis engines and other trains by Safeco Field during a Seattle Mariners game.
Larry's model of Amtrak
Cascades 469 with an EMD
F59 in Northwest colors.
Right, a similar engine
467 prototype with
Cascades Talgo cars
taken at Centennial
Station (Courtesy Audrey
Skaugseth, Olympia)
MTH, Lionel, and QSIndustries
Larry's operating layout
utilizes features of the
Mike's Train House (MTH) Digital Command System (DCS). He has QSI
3000 and Lionel conventional
locomotives as well.
Olympia-Lacey Centennial Station
Larry
and Dave Norton working at
Washington's all-volunteer
Olympia-Lacey "Centennial" Station,
September, 2022
Left, original poster commemorating the opening of
Centennial Station in 1993 by J. Craig Thorpe, a
Renton
artist who began painting railroad scenes
professionally for Amtrak after completing the
art commissioned by Bob Bregent of
Olympia. This painting was featured
on the 1993 Amtrak national calendar.
This digital reproduction was made in
August, 2024. The station depicted was
built with community grants and
donations. Right, Amtrak engine 251
depicted in the poster (A representation
of the then-Amtrak Pioneer train between
Seattle and Ogden, Utah) is photographed
31 years later as a Control and Baggage
Car (CAB) leading a Cascades Horizon train at the same
Centennial Station. The Amtrak CAB unit renumbered 90251 is still running on the
Cascades route today. Note in the upper right
portion of the poster is Mount Rainier,
which is visible from Yelm Highway at
the station driveway (though not exactly
as pictured.)
Olympia-Lacey
Centennial Amtrak Station was
designed in the 1990s by an
Olympia architect, Harold Dalke,
to capture the feel of an early
20th Century train station. To a
model railroader like myself, the
1993 building's classic lines are
similar to the plastic model
stations we use. Some of mine on
a carpet train at home are
pictured below. The Olympia
Depot, now 30 years old, and
pictured above features
180-year-old cypress corbels,
vaulted interior ceilings,
stained glass, light fixtures
scaled from Grand Central
Station, a classic platform
clock, and so forth. The station
is operated completely by
volunteers who meet every train
and serve 50,000-60,000
Olympia-Tumwater-Lacey area
passengers every year. Most
materials and labor for the
building construction, including
Dalke's work, were donated.
Map shows the
Olympia Lacey Centennial
Station's location to the BNSF
Seattle Sub relative to the old
Milwaukee Road track (Now
Rainier Rail) between Tacoma and
Centralia, seven miles south.
Olympia-Lacey
Centennial Station serving Amtrak Cascades (left) and the Coast
Starlight (right) with colleague Barbara Howard (center,
station volunteer since 1999.)
Old Lacey Train Station
Replica
of 1891 Northern Pacific
Station in Lacey, WA built
recently by the city.
Right, an E-3 4-6-0 Baldwin
ten-wheeler pulling into
original Lacey Station in
1912.
Courtesy of St. Martin's
University Abbey Archives.
Roy
Refurbished Northern Pacific
water tower at Roy, WA in
Pierce County. Rails
below are original from the
"Prairie Line" between
Tacoma and Tenino.
Rails are marked Lackawana
Steel, Buffalo N.Y., circa
1902.
Categories of Larry's Collection
Amtrak and Sounder Modern Passenger Service
Amtrak Genesis GE P42 Wave
Scheme
Amtrak 469
F59PHI Diesel Northwest Colors
Sounder F59PHI
Amtrak Superliner Cars
Amtrak Single-Level Cars
The Burlington Northern Family NP, BN, BNSF, ATSF
BN Santa Fe
SD-40-2
BNSF GP 38-2 Boeing, Everett
Burlington Northern
GE Dash 8
Burlington Northern Lumber Car
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Boxcar
Burlington Northern Boxcar
BN 6-Bay Cylindrical Hopper
Santa Fe NW2 EMD
Switcher
Burlington Northern Western Fruit Express
Burlington Northern Tagged Boxcar
Burlington Northern Caboose
Northern Pacific BN Family Member
Northern Pacific FT Freight Diesel
NP F-3 Passenger Diesel
NP O-8-0 Switcher
Northern Pacific Ice Car
NP Dome Car
NP Searchlight Car
Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway BN Family Member
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Oil Burner 4-6-6-4 Z-8 Challenger
SP&S
#868 Alco FA-2
SP&S Extended Vision Caboose
SP&S Boxcar
SP&S Boxcar
SP&S 150 General Motors GP-9 Electro-Motive
Diesel
SP&S
Airplane Flat Car by MTH
Great Northern BN Family Member
GN 412A Western Star EMD FT
Great Northern 0-8-0 (Tacoma Switcher)
Great Northern R-2 2-8-8-2 Articulated Mallet
(Chesapeake)
Great Northern
Alco S2 Switcher
No. 7
Great Northern EMD SD45 Hustle Muscle
>
Great Northern Blue Scheme EMD GP-20
Great Northern E-8 Long # 525
GN SW1500 Blue Sky Switcher
Great Northern Alco RS-3 Switcher
Great Northern F3
Great Northern Crane Tender Car
Great Northern American Crane Car
Great Northern 4-6-4 Hudson Engine
GN Alco Mikado #3205
Great Northern Cow/Calf Switcher
Great Northern Rail Diesel Car (Doodlebug)
Great Northern Trailer Carrier Rail Car
Great Northern Rotary Snow Plow
Great Northern Jordan Snow Plow
Great Northern Rocky Goat Box Car
Great Northern Tank Car
Great
Northern Caboose
Great
Northern Blue Sky Caboose
Great
Northern Blue Sky Tanker
Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul
and Pacific
Milwaukee Road
GE/Alco Bipolar Electric E2
Milwaukee Road E-8 Diesel
Milwaukee Road U33C GE
Milwaukee Road
4-6-4
F7
Hiawatha Hudson
Milwaukee Road Maintenance Truck Car
Milwaukee Road
Turkey Carrier
Milwaukee Road
Coil Car
Milwaukee Road Skytop Lounge
Milwaukee Road Caboose
Milwaukee Road
Box car, Menards
Milwaukee Road
Gondola car w/Tacoma Heidelberg
Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific GS4 #4447 Daylight
Southern Pacific Obervation Car
Northwest Logging
Weyerhaeuser American Shay
Northwest Logging Car
The Union Pacific Collection
UP "Doodlebug"
M-10000 "Tin Worm" Electro-Motive Diesel
UP Alco 826 FEF Northern
UP EMD A-B-A E-3 Passenger City of Los Angeles
UP
EMD SD-90
UP Extended Vision Caboose 9706
UP "BEEP"
UP "Searchlight Car"
UP Passenger Dome Car
Obervation Car
UP NW-2 EMD Switcher Cab 1085
UP SW-9 EMD
Switcher Cab 1834
UP Box Car
UP Cattle
Car QSI Sound
UP Gondola
Car with barrels
Old Lionel Trains
Lionel
Lines 2046 4-6-4 Hudson Steamer Made in 1950
Lionel 2026
Prairie Steamer
Circa 1949
New York Central F-3 Early Lionel AA Diesel
Made 1949-54
Lionel Lines 224E
2-6-2 Steamer Made in USA 1938-1940
Lionel Tinplate 2657 Caboose 1938-4
Lionel Cattle Car and Loader 1949-1955
Lionel Cattle Car 1935-1940
Lionel Milk Automated Car
No. 3472 1950
Lionel Sunoco Tank Car
No. 6465 1948-49
Lionel Barrel Dump
Gondola 3652 1938-1940
Lionel Icing Station
ZW Transformer
275 Watts 1950-66
Specialty Cars
Pacific Fruit Express UP and SP
Hand Car
Armour Hog Car
Chevron Tank Car
Bobber Great Northern Caboose
Menard's World War II Army Air B-17 Nose Art Tribute
Suburban Propane Car
Hooker Chemicals Tacoma
Olympia Beer Tank Car
Rainier Beer Box Car
Olympia Beer Reefer
Car
Schlitz Beer Box Car
Washington State Grain Hopper
Switzerland: Cardinal Beer Car MTH Trains
Old Heidelberg Refrigerator Car MTH Trains
Bellingham Bay Brewery (3-B) Refrigerator Car
Die Cast Autos
"Divco" Delivery Truck Detroit Industrial Vehicles Company Circa 1960
1960 Volkswagen Pickup With Fold-Down Sideboards
1960 Karmann Ghia Convertable
1947 Chevy Panel Van French's Lionel Train House Seattle,
Washington
Texaco 1948 Panel Van Menard's Christmas 2023
Carpet
Training
The
Coast Starlight General Electric Genesis P42
Diesel
This is this Genesis P42 engine the
locomotive often on The Coast Starlight and The Empire Builder. It is
made by Mike's Train House and equipped with the Proto 3 system.
My
train room carpet loops feature this Sounder commuter train between
Lakewood, WA and Seattle, an MTH with PS2 modeled after the
streamlined diesel F59PH and matching passenger cars, the prototype
trainset built by Bombardier of Canada (now owned in 2020 by
Alstrom of France.) Right top photo shows the iPad wireless control
for the Proto 2 engine. Bottom photo shows a Divco truck for
Eastside Trains, Kirkland, with the Sounder.
Bob's New York
Central: Early Lionel
F-3 Diesel
In
between permanent layouts, Larry has taken to "carpet training"
for the last several years. He is pictured with the late Bob
Plotts running a vintage model diesel engine purchased by Bob in
the 1950s. We miss Bob, a huge fan of all types of
transportation.
The New York
Central F-3 was among the first two types of model diesel engine
manufactured by Lionel trains beginning in 1949. It came out
shortly after General Motors built the first real
1,500-horsepower F-3 engines between 1945 and 1949. The F-3s
were used for both passenger and freight trains.
Bob's locomotive is one of the
original Lionel 2333-20 models manufactured in both NYC
and Santa Fe until 1950. Bob estimates that he purchased it in 1954 in
Spokane, so it is at least a 69-year-old toy train. With a little
lubrication and maintenance, it still zooms around the track
like it did when Bob was a lad. And the "A" unit still carries a
D Battery that makes the horn blow, a horn technology that
reportedly gave Lionel fits during development in the 1940s.
Lionel must have perfected it, because this model still blows
its horn on command today.
Bob also
had a Lionel 2026 "Prairie" steamer (2-6-2 Wheel
Configuration, circa 1948-49, designed for 027 track) when
he was young and kept it the rest of his life. It was
displayed in his living room at the time of his death.
(Photo by Roseanne Plotts.)
Top, The New York
Central F-7. owned by Bob Plotts.
Below is the
1948-49 Lionel Prairie Steamerw/smoke (Number 2026) also
owned by Bob as photographed by Larry in August 2023.
Upper left, photo bombed by Coast Starlight conductor Pete on
the first leg of our Michigan trip, June 2022. Lower left, the
Empire Builder, a young granddaughter Poppy on the ZW
transformer, a young grandson Hudson with his Polar Express
ticket, a very young Ryan Arreola with "Steam Cloud," and Andy
Rohrback with his Spokane layout. Upper right is the Daylight
with Southern Pacific markings, pulling into Olympia-Lacey
Centennial Station.
Above, my buddy Anthony, grandson
Hunter, and our Christmas train.
Larry with
Sounder, Grandsons Hunter and Hudson in Michigan, and the Coast
Starlight coming into Olympia.
Granddaughter
Skye
Samples of other model
train scales
HO Rivarossi Union
Pacific Big Boy,
Previously owned by Jim
Angell. Rivarossi
acquired by Hornby.
My first model of a
Lego
Amtrak Cascades Siemens Charger.