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 specializes in 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 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 Great Northern Baldwin P-2 Mountain steam engine (GN# 2507) is displayed at nearby Wishram due to the efforts of Klickitat County. Larry remembers when the 4-8-2 P-2, repainted to SP&S (Spokane, Portland, and Seattle) markings, was displayed during the 1960s at Maryhill State Park. The 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.

 

Hangman Valley & Spokane

He heard the haunting horns of the great Burlington Northern and Union Pacific 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.   Great Northern Station, Spokane (Also used by SP&S) Havermale Island Circa 1971 Sketch by Wes Moline, Courtesy Bill Moline, Spokane

Pasco & the Columbia Basin

As a local newspaper reporter, he wrote and photographed the last of the hobos at the Pasco, Wash. hump yards. 

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.  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.   

MTH, Lionel, and QSIndustries

Larry's operating layout utilizes features of the Mike's Train House (MTH) Digital Command System (DCS).  He  has QSI and conventional locomotives as well.  

Larry working at Washington's all-volunteer Olympia-Lacey "Centennial" Station, March 2020

 


Left, original poster commemorating the opening of Centennial Station in 1993,
built with community grants and donations. Right, Amtrak engine 251 in the poster is photographed 27 years later as a Control and Baggage Car (CAB) on a Cascades Talgo trainset at the same Centennial Station.