Tony Lash's Masterpiece Model Railroad

The Tony Lash layout’s impact goes well beyond size. It’s as finely detailed as any scale layout you’ll see.

Apart from the blackened third rail that runs down the middle of the nearly one linear mile of stainless steel GarGraves track and the 86 Ross Custom Switches (mostly nos. 4, 6, and 8), this is a scale model railroad. But it’s still a toy train layout, and Tony has no desire to “remove the center rail.”
He has no interest in waybills or point-to-point operation. “I’m just a runner,” he says without apology. He sees the layout as a way of getting away from the stress of life. Though the look of the layout might suggest otherwise, Tony is not an O scaler bent on scale fidelity: He’s a true hi-railer who doesn’t take either himself or his scale tendencies too seriously.

[jrcrawford]

"I used to ride a 6YB from Bluefield to Norfolk or to Hampton Roads." That is a childhood to be envied! What an amazing layout!

[sargentrowell]

I remember watching Tracks Ahead with my grandpa when I was a kid! This is cool.

[Vaderdk]

I always favor the layouts that feature motion as much as possible. Nothing static here. It’s all very lifelike with many moving accessories. I’ve often wondered what could be accomplished with no limits. Now I know. Fabulous

[jebbthetrainkid]

Tony has had a Great Lifetime with Trains. Nice to see his great looking Layout.

[markmccummins]

This is a beautiful railroad. Thumbs up to Mr. Lash.

[diffened]

Absolutely fantastic. I would thoroughly enjoy watching his trains running on this.

[MrMotivations]

In 1949, Mom bought me an o scale Lionel. A friend built a 4x8 platform for it in the basement. Now that I'm a man of a certain age, I appreciate that Tony uses O scale for the same reasons I chose to re-ignite my hobby.

The inspiration, imagination, execution and beauty of this set leaves me breathless!! Thanks for the magnificent documentary.

[bxjibaro]

AWESOME Train layout!!! Great attention to detail 👌 👍 🚂

[sleeplessingc]

This man who narrated is awesome. Stunning layout with some scope to it. The easements between the features are realistic and reasonable. The curve radiuses are realistic. Just an amazing job. Congrats to the owner and his team.

[marquitawise]

Hello Mr.lash this was amazing to see this . I remember seeing the display in NE Washington. Hope all is well. Enjoy your life much love . Marquita

[stephenjones]

Nice to hear the Pentrex narrator doing the patter for this video. I like the host too. Fantastic layout to say the least.

[davidsheriff]

Wow factor here....incredible modelling

[johnwhohasanopinion]

Tony. What a vision you have made a reality., my hats off to you. Absolutely the best. By the way. Love the Yankees hat. 👍

[silverfox]

Magnificent layout. To all of you who worked on this layout I can only say one thing. It was time well spent. Thanks for sharing.

[raymondblais]

That layout is something that most of us dream about having. You and your friends did an amazing job building it. I would love to see that layout in person.

[RonN]

This model railroad certainly is a Masterpiece. The detail is incredible. Just seeing it is captivating.

[kerrybridges]

Wow, I'm a kid again. Thank for posting your layout.

[SuperChiefer]

This is the best layout I've seen!

He rode a Y6B with his grandfather that's great.

[Starfield]

I saw Tony's layout featured in Model Railroader several years back. I was really awed by the amount of work that went into this layout. And Tony's story too. This is the first time ever, seeing this layout in operation... I'm glad there are more realistic 3-Rail trains being created for the more discriminating modeler. It makes all the difference in the world to the Empire builder. Those clunky looking Lionel trains are great for collectors, but people want the realism factor for their "perfect world". This is a Great Empire that Tony has here, and I for one, would love to see this in person.

[lebooboolina]

Amazing! I’ve never seen a model railroad that big!!!