KCS 3rd Subdivision

As Featured in RMC and the Operation Sig Dispatcher
Owner / Location / Website Crew Operating System Car Forwarding Layout Location
Steve Davis
Coweta, OK
www.kcs1982.com
22-25 Digikeijs and Digitrax JMRI Switchlists Separate Building

Steve Davis's KCS Heavener Subdivision in Coweta, OK is a 45' x 60' HO scale layout modeling the Kansas City Southern RR between Pittsburg KS and Heavener, OK, in 1982. It is a double-deck "mushroom" style layout. Work started in March 2009 and a major expansion, which added the 2nd sub to the existing 3rd sub, was started in 2022. The 3rd sub is 99% scenicked, but the 2nd sub is fairly bare at this stage.

This is a CTC operation (as was the prototype) with signals and a dispatcher except on the branch lines.  The goal was to follow the prototype as faithfully as possible, so in each town the spurs and industries are laid out as per the KCS SLIC and track charts from the era (courtesy Frank Bryan) as well as resources like Sanborn maps.  Key bridges and features (such as the bridge over the Arkansas River near Gans, OK and the tunnel on the Ft. Smith branch, the only RR tunnel in the state of Oklahoma) are also modeled.  The MOP crossing and interchange at Sallisaw are modeled with some MOP traffic.

Operations are likewise based on the actual trains and operations in 1982 as gleaned from lineups recorded by Frank Bryan and other research thanks to the Kansas City Southern Historical Society. Most locomotives are equipped with sound. Switching is with computer-generated switchlists or RFID for Yard work. There are slots for ~24 operators. For now (due to the newness of the 2nd sub addition), Dispatcher and Train Master / Crew Caller provided by host.