In this video, we see that model railroading, railway modelling or rail transport modeling is not just an international hobby, but also that railfanning connects people across borders. Although Carlo Spada lives in Italy, he likes American railroads and trains, especially powerful steam locomotives and diesel-electric locomotives.
Carlo has used “Pilentum’s Upload Service” to show us his model railroad layout and to share his enthusiasm for model trains with us. By the way, any viewer of Pilentum Television can submit videos to present his model rail layout to an international audience. Please, take a look at https://www.pilentum.org/submit-video for further information.
In 2014, Carlo began building his model train layout in HO scale. His miniature world in 1/87 scale covers an area of 9.0 x 4.5 meters and depicts areas of the United States that are particularly close to his heart, such as Arizona, California and Colorado. On the model railroad layout he installed tracks, points and switches made by manufacturer Peco (Code 83). The model trains are controlled by an ESU ECOS2 digital control center and the LISSY system from Uhlenbrock.
On the model railway layout the double-track railway line is divided into a total of seven blocks in which six model trains can run simultaneously. He has arranged the blocks in such a way that trains with a length of approximately five meters can run. Trains and the great locomotives of the United States are the most important protagonists in this video. Therefore, many videos have been taken at the large engine shed or on the turntable, where we can enjoy the locomotives and their digital sound modules.
The rolling stock, locomotives and freight cars are made by various manufacturers, including Athearn Genesis, Kato, Broadway Limited, Intermountain, Rivarossi, Scale Trains, Atlas and Walthers. Carlo owns a large collection of diesel-electric locomotives, including the GE AC4400CW, ES44AC, ET44AC, EMD SD70, EMD SD90, GE P42DC, EMD F7, GE Dash 9, GE Dash 8 and EMD F40PH. Carlo also loves the powerful tender steam locomotives, for example the Pennsylvania Railroad 2-10-4, Pennsylvania Railroad 4-8-4, Southern Pacific No. 4294, a 4-8-8-2 cab forward type steam loco, or the Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4015 4-8-8-4. Finally, there are other steam locomotives in the large roundhouse, such as a 4-6-2, 0-8-0 and 4-4-4.
Apart from the desert area that Carlo has rebuilt with real sand from the Mojave Desert, he has also installed battery-powered road vehicles on his HO scale layout. The truck and the bus have a magnet attached to the front steering. The magnet follows a steel wire hidden under the road surface. The beautiful wooden trestle bridges are made by model kits from the manufacturer Micro Engineering Inc. Houses, buildings, engine shed and the turntable are made by model kits from the manufacturer Walthers.
*Carlo Spada YouTube*
https://www.youtube.com/@carlospada9586
*Pilentum Submit Video*
https://www.pilentum.org/submit-video