Author: Golden1014

I'm an American, living in Germany.
Ackley, Iowa Layouts1 Comment

No. 79: Ackley Layout – South Side Scenery

Golden1014

Being broke from ski trips, swim team trips, car repairs and Christmas expenses, I tried to stay home in January to “decompress” and recover the bank account.  My son managed to get away for a week in Prague for a school event, but apart from that we spent a much-needed month at home. Photo Backdrops During January I got a lot of modeling work done.  One of the last great hurdles remaining on the Ackley layout is installation of photo backdrops.  Inspired by a photo sent by Jim DuFour, I printed off a number of photos and cut them out … Continue reading No. 79: Ackley Layout – South Side Scenery

Prototype Topics, Railfanning & MuseumsLeave a comment

No. 78: The Crunden Martin Manufacturing Company

Golden1014

The Crunden Martin Manufacturing Company is a large, multi-warehouse complex on the corner of Gratiot Street at 1st and 2nd Streets near downtown St. Louis that still stands like the Acropolis along the Mississippi River. Crunden Martin forms the core of Chateau’s Landing, an industrial and restaurant district just south of the famous Gateway Arch.  Originally known as the Crunden-Martin Woodenware Company, the company moved to Chateau’s Landing in 1904.  The company made a huge variety of wood and wicker products; everything from mops to chairs to kitchen ware to buckets and a whole lot more, and expanded rapidly through … Continue reading No. 78: The Crunden Martin Manufacturing Company

Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums4 Comments

No. 77: The Benjamin Moore Factory on 2nd & Lafayette

Golden1014

I’m brewing up two new posts–one on scenery and one on the new coupler pockets recently released by Smokey Valley and Resin Car Works. Meanwhile I’m excited to write about a factory building that’s still standing in St. Louis–the Benjamin Moore paint factory and warehouse on 2nd and Lafayette.  I ran across this building a few years ago and last year when I was back for St. Louis RPM I was able to photograph it all around in good light. Here is a trackside view of the factory building, looking south down 2nd Street. The factory has been around since … Continue reading No. 77: The Benjamin Moore Factory on 2nd & Lafayette

Ackley, Iowa Layouts3 Comments

No. 76: 2018 Projects and Renewal

Golden1014

Happy 2018!  I’ve always found the New Year to be a great time to reorganize and reprioritize life goals.  Getting organized and setting goals within the hobby is important too, so I always take a little time to set new hobby goals and priorities for the coming year. Getting organized is the first step to setting goals, so I spent a few hours on December 31st and New Year’s day doing a lot of cleaning, organizing, and goal setting in the layout room.  Below is a photo of what the layout looked like a year ago.   Thanks in some … Continue reading No. 76: 2018 Projects and Renewal

Ackley, Iowa Layouts2 Comments

No. 75: Douglas Street Crossing at Ackley

Golden1014

The Douglas Street crossing, or “center road” as I call it, was started last December during the Winter Offensive. I wanted to model Douglas Street as a dirt road since I expect the real road was hard-packed dirt in 1950.  Below, here is a close up from the 1970 aerial photo of Ackley that has been shared previously.  It kinda looks like a dirt road… I began construction of this road the same way I did with the other roads on the layout, by first building a subroaded base of HO scale cork roadbed (below), and then covering the subroadbed … Continue reading No. 75: Douglas Street Crossing at Ackley

Layout Visits2 Comments

No. 74: Almost Andalusia

Golden1014

My longtime friend and professional railroader Tom Holley is back, this time with a terrific article on modeling the Central of Georgia at Andalusia, Alabama.  Tom is a professional railroader—a freight train engineer—for Norfolk Southern, and a third-generation Central of Georgia man.  His layout plan shows how the professionals keep it simple, and “keep it real”.  Our thanks to Allen Tuten and the boys at the Central of Georgia Historical Society for the use of photos and material for this article.  – John G Almost Andalusia By Tom Holley You can’t always get what you want But if you try … Continue reading No. 74: Almost Andalusia

Ackley, Iowa Layouts1 Comment

No. 73: Informal Ops Session

Golden1014

Merry Christmas!  I hope you all and your families had a wonderful Christmas celebration! My wife’s brother and sister and all their kids came to visit us in Germany for Christmas.  We took them to Ehrwald, Austria for a week of skiing.  It was a wonderful trip and we got back in time to celebrate Christmas at home.  Below is a photo of my son, Jacob, at the top of the mountain at the Ehrwald ski area.  The scenery here was spectacular in every direction and we practically had the entire ski area to ourselves. I wasn’t able to do … Continue reading No. 73: Informal Ops Session

Ackley, Iowa Layouts, Freight and Passenger Car Modeling1 Comment

No. 72: Ackley Layout – South Side Scenery Work

Golden1014

This is a long overdue post but I felt it was important to make a record of the work that was done in September and October 2017. My layout depicting the M&StL main line in Ackley, Iowa has a 16 x 2-foot finished area with a 12-foot staging yard on each end.  As of mid-September, I had installed landforms and basic scenery on about 20-22 square feet of the layout.  In early October I began installing landforms and scenery on the last 10-12 square feet of the layout, which depicts the south end of town.  This area of the layout … Continue reading No. 72: Ackley Layout – South Side Scenery Work

Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums1 Comment

No. 71: St. Louis Aerial Photography

Golden1014

A few weeks ago I got really frustrated trying to find Sanborn maps for some areas I’ve been researching in St. Louis.  I’ve been trying to assemble material for a couple of blog articles on small layout ideas but have not been able to gather suitable information. In frustration, about three weeks ago, I went back to the US Department of Agriculture website and ordered a complete set of their earliest available aerial photography for the entire St. Louis area.  The process was so easy that I’m disappointed with myself for not doing it much earlier. The USDA site can … Continue reading No. 71: St. Louis Aerial Photography

Ackley, Iowa Layouts, Freight and Passenger Car ModelingLeave a comment

No. 70: Ackley Layout Progress, Nov 2017

Golden1014

After 45 days of working on rolling stock and other projects, I returned to working on the Ackley, Iowa layout just before Thanksgiving. I know, Thanksgiving 2017 is already old news.  I was busy at work and out of town again over the holiday, and the kid’s busy schedule keeps me busier than I deserve, so haven’t been able to post any updates for about three weeks. In the 45-day period that I spent away from the layout to finish other modeling projects, I got a lot done.  I rebuilt my sandblaster and blasted about 25 built-up models to get … Continue reading No. 70: Ackley Layout Progress, Nov 2017