This is indeed the "famous" Cooper & Sawyer On30 layout. Started way back in the early '80's when Grandt Line introduced their "O" scale 18 ton Porter Locomotive, which was available in 36" or 30" gauge.
At that time, I was modeling in HO and had an HO layout, so I chose the 30" gauge Porter, simply so that I could test run it on the HO track. I had no intention of building a new layout, just wanted to build this neat new kit, then built a 12" by 50" diorama with some track and scenery to take to shows to display the Porter on and demonstrate scenery techniques, as well as the then-novel idea of using extruded styrofoam insulation board for layouts.
Little did I know at that time that it would grow into a layout over 12 feet long (and still only a foot deep) and achieve the popularity that it did, even spawning a booklet on its construction and the techniques used that went on to sell over 800 copies!
Over the years, I added scratch-built structures, more rolling stock and locos. When Bachmann introduced their excellent On30 Shay and rolling stock, I had to add those too.
In 2007, the Cooper & Sawyer celebrated 20 years of display at train shows. Since then, the layout has been retired from active duty and resides on a shelf in my basement.
