Enter the basement of Larry Normann’s home, and you’ll find an amazing HO scale freelance layout that brings BNSF operations straight to the heart of Appalachia! In this MRVP Exclusive Layout Visit, you’ll enjoy watching modern trains carve up and down the hills and hollers, where Larry has artfully depicted both urban and rural settings.
MRVP Layout Visit: Larry Normann’s BNSF Pamelton Division in HO scale
By Angela Cotey | March 19, 2018
| Last updated on March 5, 2025
What a great layout and the video with Mr. Normann’s narration was exceptional…!
Exceptional layout and video.Well done scripting and, as James P said, very nice camera presence. Thank you.
What a very nice layout and tour! I like the tip about the decorator moss and plan on trying it myself. Your enjoyment of and enthusiasm for the hobby are very apparent. Thanks for being such a nice ambassador for model railroading!
To James P:
Thanks much. Glad to help you be a source of entertainment!! The Layout room is 18′ x 32′. All DCC buses are #12 or #14 wire and track feeders #18. The roadbed is Tru-Scale milled pine; unfortunately it is no longer manufactured. To me it was one of the best roadbed products and it took spikes very well. Working with the MRVP crew was fun. (Hopefully they felt the same way!!) Perhaps they’ll consider something in the future! Larry
Hi, and very nice Layout Sir. Just a note, I was in a coffee shop when you read off the Lawyers Names, to wit they all enjoyed the fact I freaked them out with gut roaring laughter, and the dribbles of coffee coming from my nose helped a lot too. Your years of work and dedication has proven its self. What is the dedicated space for the layout? ex: 17 x 21? or such creature. And would you make another video perhaps more on your wiring, and finale sizes of wire. Perhaps some of your tips on track work. You have a nice presence on video and I would like to hear more from you. 🙂
Thanks
James P.
Larry, What a fantastic layout. I had to stop the video several times to enjoy the scenery.
The backdrops were so realistic. The dam and the town behind at the end of the video.
I will try the floral moss. Looks great. Thank you again for sharing.
Thanks, Larry. Great tour.
Great Layout !! Picked up some good tips that I will be using on my Gateway Central HO scale layout. MRVP please keep up the great video’s. This on was a great find.
Nice job! Thanks fo the tour. I purchased that ground cover 🙂
Great layout, good scenery. Some good tips that
gave me some ideas to consider… Good commentary.. Enjoyed the video…
This is a very enjoyable presentation. Thank you.
I began with CTC 16/64 and switched to Digitrax and JMRI when the original system became obsolete.
It started as the Santa Fe and developed into the BNSF. I will never completely surrender the War Bonnet Paint Scheme.!!!
Nice to see Rocky Rococo “after all these years!”
Thank you for the visit, several ideas to try based on the video.
Great video and amazing work. Very inspirational.
Fantastic scenery. Thank you for sharing
Great layout and nicely narrated video. Also nice to see the unfinished areas and benchwork.
Larry: Simply sensational. Scenery not my style but the message of enjoyment and continuing challenge was an inspiration to me. I loved the narratives created to explain why certain items such as the older busses appeared. Quite how I build a narrative to accommodate a diesel from the Genessee & Wyoming, elements of British Rail and (yes it is true) a steam engine from the Kowloon Canton Railway may mean I have to consult Larry’s (I hope) fictional firm of lawyers.
Beautiful layout ! As a fellow BNSF modeler I enjoyed the video very much. Many thanks for sharing your layout with us.
This is absolutely a beautiful layout. The buildings and scenery are well done. Can’t wait to see a possible return visit when the rest of the scenery work is finished.
That was a fantastic overview of the entire railroad, as well as offering glimpses into the future construction. Thanks for sharing!
Very nice layout tour and impressive work through the years. Glad you are enjoying the fruits of your labor!
Didn’t think the BNSF has been in business that long. What were you modelling at the beginning?
Like the moss idea, I may have to try it.
Very nice! Fantastic scenery. DCC?