Monroe Stewart's Hooch Junction is an Appalachian coal hauler with a special emphasis on water scenes. The N scale layout features CSX and Norfolk Southern trains paralleling each other from east coast harbors to the coal fields. Even though the layout has about 2,000 feet of track, the fabulous scenery is not crowded. The layout is never static, more water scenes seem to pop up in the aisles and even structures are updated with urban renewal.

Monroe continually redesigns the layout to maximize his enjoyment of trains and boats. Numerous scratchbuilt ships "float" in the ever expanding harbors. His training as an architect and engineer helps Monroe keep changing the layout. He even designed his house to fit this dream railroad. Yet he rarely does any research before building a structure.

He builds what he sees in his mind by breaking down complex, massive structures into geometric shapes. While this approach may not work for everyone, it works for Monroe. He says we don't need building instructions for what we can see.

Monroe will show you about painting and ballasting track, using common household items for details, planning structures, and painting realistic brick buildings.

Monroe believes anybody can build a large dream layout like the Hooch Junction if they take the time to learn from others.

The Hooch Junction is a Great Model Railroad because Monroe has developed a way of both having fun and accomplishing a lot.