About the Layout

The Industrial Lead Train Crew

As a BNSF locomotive engineer in Seattle I have become very familiar with railroad operations and industry switching. I work out of Stacy Yard and have worked several jobs that service the industries I’d like to model.

The Industrial Lead is a prototype layout. The businesses are real. The track names are real. The locations and track arrangements may not be exact, but I am trying to develop this as close to prototype given my available space. My goal is to capture the essence of certain scenes.

I have chosen a broad spectrum of industries that I feel make up a good representation of BNSF’s mixed freight business in modern day Seattle. The prototypes are all located in either the SODO area of Seattle or West Seattle. The industries include a couple of freight forwarding company, a corn syrup transfer facility, a bakery and a steel machining company.

This layout is designed for challenging switching operations. The design may seem simple, but customer demands can easily make things outrageously complex. This is how it happens in real life.

My personal goal for this layout is to keep my boys interested in trains. I want them participate in construction and operations. Much will be beyond their skill level, so it will be a learning process.

Thanks for visitng. I hope you’ll visit again and help keep me going.

Greg Amer