Living his life in miniature

Marty Quaas has managed to fit most of Southern California in his 30-by-40-foot basement in Palmer. How? On a very miniature scale.

Quaas operates the Consolidated Southwestern Railroad in his basement, and it loosely mimics the area from Barstow, Calif., to Los Angeles. Quaas has been model railroading for 40 years, and the Consolidated Southwestern Railroad is just one of several "scenarios" Quaas operates.

"Railroading is a clean hobby, and you can build whatever you imagine," Quaas said. "You can get lost and create your own little world.

Quaas got into railroading as an outlet to his job. He worked for Rockwell International in Anaheim, Calif., and railroading offered him a break from his job with electronics. He has since retired, but his love of model railroads won't be retired anytime soon.

Consolidated Southwestern Railroads takes up his large basement and is based on an imagined scenario in which the Santa Fe and the Union Pacific railroads have spun off and created a new trail. The main line is 350 feet long, and double-tracked. There are a lot of side tracks and staging tracks, as well as detailed scenery, that add to the overall scenario.

"The concept is to take a small portion of a railroad system and operate it," Quaas said.

He also has Mooselip, an imaginary town that is very detailed. He recently operated it at Palmer Colony Days. The portable track is a way to introduce people to the world of model railroading.

Getting started isn't that tough, Quaas said, but getting good equipment is the key.

"The big mistake people make when they first get into it is buying models that are really made for the toy market," Quaas said. "They get frustrated when things don't work properly, and they lose interest in the hobby. If you get the right stuff, it works good and you enjoy railroading and have fun with it."

Technology has changed the face of model railroading since Quaas got started in it 40 years ago. His original locomotives were powered by battery. Now, each engine has a digital encoder which can be controlled through another digital device.

"Technology has changed, and now most of the buildings are easy to build plastic kits," Quaas said.

Consolidated Southwestern Railroad has about 400 cars on the track, and it takes about 10 people to operate. Once a month, Quaas hosts about 15 other people and, together, they keep the railroad working.

"Most of the fellas come from Anchorage," he said. "There are about four or five of us who come to the operating sessions regularly."

Quaas also hosts an open house on the third weekend in September each year. Last year, about 60 people showed up. It was the weekend after the Sept. 11 attacks, but the year before there were 90 people at the open house.

"It's a good time for people to see if they really want to get into model railroading," Quaas said. "They can come, and we can put a throttle in their hands and let them be the engineer. They get a sample of what it is like."

Quaas operates a Web site and is active in a chat group. Sharing information, he said, is helpful to beginners.

"Some people don't want to share what they are doing and what they know, but I try to pass on as much information as I can," Quaas said.