Bill Ringrose's layout

The Great Lakes & Northern is an HO free-lanced layout set in Northwestern Ontario. The time period is mid-1950s and heavy STEAM is the prime mover. The layout is double-decked for a long single-track main line. Movement of iron ore from mines to ore dock, coal from mines to power plants and forest products to paper mills are supplemented by general through freight and limited passenger service. An operating crew comes in about every 3 weeks to operate using Digitrax for DCC and Protrak for computerized car-forwarding operations.

The helper engine ( a 0-10-2 ) and its caboose are returning downgrade in reverse after assisting a train up the hill.

The lower deck shows the main freight yard at the division point at Proctor.

Lots of track on several levels in the central aisle of the layout.

Similar to #2 but shows Iron Junction on the upper deck

The eastern end of the division is the yard and locomotive servicing facilities at Marathon.

A track side view of the mainline and passing siding at Nipigon.

The trackwork at Iron Junction looking eastbound.

The ladder at the west end of the yard at Superior.

The cut just past Steep Rock looking upgrade as part of the track work to traverse between lower and upper decks.

The reverse view from the same location as #9 looking towards the Steep Rock station.

The Cumberland coal mine at Canmore on a branch line.

A CPR 2-10-4 Selkirk pulls a CPR-CNR pool train west of Coleraine.

The same CPR 2-10-4 Selkirk from a different view

Another view of Superior showing the iron ore yards on the right and the passenger station in the back left.