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John Russell’s O Scale Rock Island Lines Model Railroad

Photos by Don Morice

John’s 2-rail, O-scale Rock Island Lines captures the St. Louis to Kansas City route through the Ozark Mountains of 1948 to 1952. Using an around-the-walls with peninsula Walk-in with duckunder design, the layout has a 170-foot, single-track mainline that regularly runs 35-car freight trains. Six MRC 9500 throttles provide control as the trains travel through spectacular scenery showcased by a painted backdrop with photo prints for added realism.