Conrad Mora
Conrad has been modeling his railroad for several years as a self-described "lone wolf," and he had built a rather large railroad layout in HO. He recently called upon North Atlanta Rail Barons founder Howard Goodwin for help in correcting some problems he had discovered in his layout, and he has now become the latest addition to the NARB membership.
On June 3, 2014 - which saw a late cancellation of an operating session - Conrad invited the Rail Barons to see his layout and make recommendations on how to improve his railroad. He said he was open to a complete rebuilding effort. After a pregame meal, eleven members converged on Conrad's layout to 
hear what his goals are and to make suggestions about how to best accomplish what he wants to do with his railroad. Among those attending were Howard Goodwin, Walt Liles, Jim Travis, Bill Zawacki, MMR, Perry Lamb, Bob Wood, Dean Webb, I.D. Jackson, Bill Raymond, Rob Dodds, and Steve Funstein.
Conrad wants to run several passenger trains, and he is a fan of the long steam locomotives, such as The Union Pacific Big Boy which you see pictured on the shirt he is wearing in the photograph above. His existing track radii, including his helix, would not accomodate that long rolling stock, and he had already discovered some issues with his track sub-roadbed. The group recommended and Conrad agreed that the best approach was to start over from the ground up.
In about 2-1/2 hours, the twelve of us had removed and saved virtually all of Conrad's track and cork roadbed, and we disassembled and removed several large areas of the existing benchwork. Conrad is continuing the process until the group can once again come together and begin the rebuilding process in the next few weeks.
All in all, it was a great work session. Much was accomplished, and Conrad is on his way to building the model railroad he really wants - a western-themed railway with lots of passenger traffic, operations, and continuous-run.
Here is a short video from the session... You can watch it in High-Definition on YouTube at Rebuilding Conrad Mora's Model Railroad - Chapter 1 .
Update - June 24, 2014
Several members of The North Atlanta Rail Barons joined Conrad to complete removal of the benchwork and extraneous cabinetry from his basement. We were aware that he had a drop-ceiling and new lighting installed, and walls had been erected around his HVAC and water heater since our last work session. We were able to save almost all of the building materials, and through both work sessions we have saved almost all of the model railroad equipment, including track, turnouts, cork roadbed, etc.
After completing our evening's goal to clear the room for the beginning of the rebuild, fellowship commenced, refreshments were consumed, and plans for installation of the electrical wiring for the room and the layout were discussed. Jim Travis, Bill Raymond, I. D. Jackson, Dean Webb, Bill Zawacki, MMR, Howard Goodwin and Bob Wood participated with Conrad in this event. See the pictures from this work session below.
Here is a short video from the session... You can watch it in High-Definition on YouTube at Rebuilding Conrad Mora's Model Railroad - Chapter 2 .
Railroad name
Description of the railroad.
Photos - June 3, 2014
Photos - June 24, 2014
Member Index
The following current members of the North Atlanta Rail Barons are Charter Members of the group:
The following members have joined the North Atlanta Rail Barons during the last nine years.
Charlie Crawford, MMR was a Charter Member of NARB and former Superintendent of the Piedmont Division. He was the third member of our group to earn the award of Master Model Railroader. He is now participating in another local operating group.
Larry K. Smith, MMR was a charter member of NARB and now lives in Kentucky where he completed the requirements to become the fourth Master Model Railroader from NARB.
Louis Gomes was a long-term member of NARB, an excellent modeler, guru of the CV's and DCC decoders and wiring design. He was the group's first webmaster and is responsible for the design of our logo. Louis recently completed his education and was rewarded with a new job in Houston, TX.
Philo Hutcheson left us when he accepted a position with the University of Alabama Birmingham. He had built an excellent HO-scale railroad depicting the Maine coastline in the 1940's/50's era.