Ackley, Iowa Layouts3 Comments

No. 98: New Scenery for Ackley’s South Side

Golden1014

I came home from St. Louis RPM full of motivation to finish up some important things on the layout. The primary area of concern was the south side of my 16 x 2-foot layout.  I was unhappy with the photo backdrops I was using so while I was in St. Louis I took a couple of hundred pictures out east of the city in the farm country around Litchfield, hoping that some of those photos would work for backdrops.  Below.  Here’s what I started with when I came back home.  I removed all the trees, buildings and detail parts from the layout and got to … Continue reading No. 98: New Scenery for Ackley’s South Side

RPM and Modeling Events2 Comments

No. 97: St. Louis RPM 2018, Part 2

Golden1014

This post on the 2018 St. Louis RPM Meet focuses on some of the 3,700+ models brought by attendees for display. Here is a view of the 81 8×2-1/2-foot model tables on Saturday morning before the doors opened.  Most of the tables are filled although it looks like this one UP train took up three tables.  That’s okay though–that’s one reason why we get so many. This selection encompasses only photos I took.  Our photographer, Mark Lewis, took a lot more photos and I’ll post some of those soon. Above.  Dennis Eggert has always been a hero of mine with his … Continue reading No. 97: St. Louis RPM 2018, Part 2

Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums1 Comment

No. 96: Deutsche Bahn Museum, Koblenz

Golden1014

I spent way too much time in June and July doing this… …and not enough time finishing up models for St. Louis RPM. However, summer is a great time to travel in Europe, and a couple of weeks before St. Louis RPM I visited the big Deutsche Bahn Museum in Koblenz, which is about an hour north of where I live.  Koblenz lies at the confluence of the Rhine and the Moselle Rivers and has always been a major transportation center.  The Deutsche Bahn, or “DB” for short, runs along both sides of the Rhine River here.  A large, retired shop complex … Continue reading No. 96: Deutsche Bahn Museum, Koblenz

RPM and Modeling Events3 Comments

No. 95: St. Louis RPM 2018, Part 1

Golden1014

The 2018 St. Louis RPM Meet was held last weekend, 20-21 July 2018, at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville, Illinois.  Once again it was a great time and this year’s event was another record-breaker, with 662 prototype modelers in attendance. Photos above and below by Norm Buckhart. This year’s event featured 23 clinics and hands-on presentations, 51 scale model vendors on 128 tables, 17 railroad historical societies on 30 tables, three modular layouts (HO, N and O/Proto-48), six hands-on learning stations and exhibitors, three home layout tours, three evening social events, and the largest attendee model display in the nation, … Continue reading No. 95: St. Louis RPM 2018, Part 1

Freight and Passenger Car ModelingLeave a comment

No. 94: Modeling New York Central ARA Hoppers

Golden1014

I’ve been working on a couple of New York Central ARA hopper cars off-and-on for a couple of years and finally finished them prior to traveling to the U.S. for St. Louis RPM last weekend.  These two cars started as Kadee models and were finished with decals from Resin Car Works. Through the 1950s New York Central was the second largest operator of freight cars in the U.S.  In the 1950 Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER) for example, Central reported 132,957 freight cars of all types, second only to the Pennsylvania Railroad which reported over 193,000 cars that same year. Compare … Continue reading No. 94: Modeling New York Central ARA Hoppers

Prototype Topics, Railfanning & MuseumsLeave a comment

No. 93: Slovenia National Railway Museum

Golden1014

Prototype modelers are always in need of motivation.  I spent a week on vacation in Slovenia in June, and during that time I broke away from the family for a few hours and visited the Slovenian National Railway Museum in the capital of Ljubljana.   To my great surprise it was—hands down—one of the most awesome museums I’ve ever been to.  It was full of motivation and a few surprises too. The photo above is the view you get as you enter the museum grounds.  The roundhouse and exhibits are is excellent shape.  There are steam engines–many of which still … Continue reading No. 93: Slovenia National Railway Museum

Freight and Passenger Car ModelingLeave a comment

No. 92: New Builds, May, 2018

Golden1014

It’s been 40 days since the last post on Railroad Prototype Modeler.  Since mid-May I’ve only been able to spend about five hours modeling.  My modeling time has been devoted to other priorities, like yard work, vacationing, working overtime, spending time with kids, and watching the World Cup. Meanwhile, yesterday my wife and I sent all our kids off to Bible School in Switzerland and we spent the rest of the day on a just-me-and-my-wife day-trip to Koblenz, Germany.  Among the many things we did was take a cable car over the river to the Stolzenfels Castle Fortress.  I took this … Continue reading No. 92: New Builds, May, 2018

Ackley, Iowa Layouts8 Comments

No. 91: Inspiration for an M&StL 2-6-0

Golden1014

Back in February I took two of my kids to Metz, France for a day of indoor skiing.  I thought it would be a low-cost activity (it wasn’t) and a good way to keep our “ski-legs” into the spring (it was).  It was like skiing in a giant refrigerator, and it was actually a whole lot of fun.  The runs weren’t too long but there were all kinds of jumps and moguls and things to keep one interested. Anyway there is a single tow-bar that takes you back to the top of the hill.  Any disciplined skier knows you’re supposed … Continue reading No. 91: Inspiration for an M&StL 2-6-0

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No. 90: US-prototype Freemo Event in Winnweiler, Germany

Golden1014

This weekend I invited myself to a private Freemo event in Winnweiler, Germany, about 40 minutes from my home.  My friend Peter Aue was going to be there so I e-mailed Peter and he arranged for me to visit Friday after work. About 25 guys, most of them from Germany, brought US-theme Freemo modules and set them up in a grade school gym about 125 x 40 feet.  Here’s an overview of the layout, below. Peter and I sat and talked for two hours about a whole lot of things.  Peter is quite a modeler and craftsman.  He makes his … Continue reading No. 90: US-prototype Freemo Event in Winnweiler, Germany

Freight and Passenger Car ModelingLeave a comment

No. 89: M&StL USRA Gondola Modeling

Golden1014

In 2014 I finished a pair of HO scale USRA 40-foot, composite gondolas for the M&StL.  I collected photos and material for a magazine article, and just about the time I was done my buddy Clark Propst published an article on the same cars in the CNW Modeler magazine.  Clark covered the cars thoroughly, but I thought I’d post my material here. The Prototype In 1920 the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway took delivery of 250 composite, high-side gondolas, Class GX, series 27001 to 27499 (odd numbers only), from Magor.  These M&StL gondolas were painted black with white stenciling.  The last of … Continue reading No. 89: M&StL USRA Gondola Modeling