The inspiration for Bill Briggs freelanced HO scale Musselshell and Yogo Peak Railroad started with his fascination with the American West. Bill would take his children on trips to a ranch in Montana. After several years he decided to build a second home in the area west of Lewiston near Utica. The famed western painter Charles W. Russell once lived here.
Although Bill grew up and resided in Minnesota he had been long enamored with the mystique and history of the old West. Bill’s Montana house was built overlooking the Musselshell River, below Yogo Peak.
This was the second model railroad Bill constructed using the M&YP theme. His previous layout a smaller version at his former home was open for layout tours. Especially during the 1999 National Model Railroad Association National Convention in St Paul Minnesota.
The main pieces of the former layout were saved and hauled to Bill’s new home near Excelsior Minnesota.
Was on a flatbed trailer provided by his house contractor. The pieces were set into the home before the foundation was completed. Bill was so excited to start working on the model railroad that the basement walls were framed. The drywall was installed and the floors were finished. The layout room was painted before the rest of the house was completed.
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The hidden staging area had to be built before the layout could be set on its legs. The new room was larger than the previous one so connecting pieces were necessary.
Working from an expanded master plan Bill and his friend Doug designed the new pieces. So they would be free of turnouts and had room to add mainline runs for each railroad.
Some of the original bridges had to be lengthened to account for the new chasms and canyons that were built. Doug estimates that they increased the size of the layout by at least a third.
Bill and his wife Judy were spending their winters in Florida. Doug would be at their suburban Twin Cities home building benchwork and laying track. Also setting grade elevations and wiring. When they returned Bill would get busy building mountains and adding scenery.
Other staging was built into a long bookcase so Bill could display his rolling stock and locomotives in an aesthetic setting. Although there were some switching opportunities available Bill mainly wanted to sit back and watch trains run.
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The railroad had a ruling grade of 1.7 percent and each railroad had its own minimum radius. The layout could be run as a continuous loop or point to point via staging.
The open grid benchwork was built using 1 x 4s and 1 x 6s. The legs were 2 x 4s. The track was a combination of Shinohara (codes 100, 83, 70) and Micro Engineering (code 55) flextrack on Homasote roadbed.
The turnouts were Shinohara No. 4s and No. 6s while the crossovers were Shinohara No. 8s. They were controlled by Tortise by Circuitron switch machines.
Bill had more than 100 locomotives from several manufactures. The bulk of them being from
Kato Atlas Broadway Limited Walthers Proto 2000 Athearn Stewart
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Several of his locomotives had sound decoders installed. Bill also had a collection of brass locomotives some of which were repowered with Kato drives. His rolling stock fleet consisted of models from just about every known manufacturer.
The landforms were built using a combination of chicken wire and screen attached to risers and extruded foam insulation board. Bill and Doug laid wet newspapers on top of the landforms and then applied paper towels dipped in a soupy mix of Hydrocal.
Because they worked in large areas this was a two man project one to dip the paper towels and the other to apply them. Once the hardshell had set up they added a layer of “goop” made from a mixture of sand joint compound glue and paint.
Natural sand dirt and rocks sourced during railfan trips provided the scenery base. The bulk of the vegetation was commercial offerings from Woodland Scenics and AMSI. Natural materials were also used including rocks from Montana.
Bill’s friend Lanny Perry owned the Vortex Sapphire mine near Bill’s Montana home. On one of Bill and Doug’s trips they were invited to see the mine. They ended coming home with the back of Bill’s vehicle loaded full of Sapphire ore and rocks.
In addition to real rocks they also used rubber molds to make rock castings. Most of the trees on the layout were purchased at model train shows from custom tree builders.
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The backdrop was built using drywall. To avoid right angles coved plywood forms were installed first.
Then the drywall was scored and worked into place. The backdrop was painted by Twin Cities artist and former art teacher Andy Ostazeski.
He used photographs that Bill had taken in Montana as a guide and matched the colors to the layout’s scenery. The model railroad was illuminated with incandescent and halogen lighting.
Two vent fans were installed in the ceiling to combat the heat that was produced by the lights. The original lighting plan called for a computerized day to night sequence. Also RGB light emitting diodes for realism but it never came to fruition.
Water features were made by painting the bottom of the area black to simulate depth. With shades of brown and tan feathered out to the shoreline. Enviro-Tex a two-part epoxy was used for the water.
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Bill kept true to the late Frank Ellison’s idea that the trains are the main actors. At precise times they would enter the production from either stage left or stage right.
Once their “scene” was completed they exited the stage. In this case to hidden staging areas. Bill wanted to view his layout as a theatrical performance.
He envisioned a prototypical type of operating scheme with “dead time” built in to avoid a constant stream of traffic. In addition to switching the online industries there would be interchange traffic between the four railroads.
Sadly Bill never got to see this operating scheme come to fruition as he passed away in 2009. Doug with the permission of Bill’s wife maintained the layout in the Briggs’ Minnesota home.
In June 2021 the model railroad was dismantled and moved to Gulfport Mississippi. It will eventually be displayed at the Mississippi Coast Model Railroad Museum for present and future generations to enjoy.
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Last Visit: April 29 2025
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Posted - April 21 2024 : 10:26:21 PM
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Posted - October 13 2024 : 10:21:13 AM