Ackley, Iowa Layouts2 Comments

No. 83: Lighting Up – Lights on the Ackley Layout

Golden1014

The final light fixtures for the Ackley layout were installed last weekend. You may recall that the layout is built at sit-down height under a sloped ceiling.  I placed LED lights in a triangular-shaped valance and installed the fixture on the sloped wall above the layout.  Then I installed a 4-1/2-inch Masonite fascia in front of the valance to clean everything up.  I still want to paint the fascia green to match the rest of the layout fascia and will get to that as time permits. Looks like I’ve got a little bit of “mission creep” above the fascia on the valance … Continue reading No. 83: Lighting Up – Lights on the Ackley Layout

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, O Scale & Proto 482 Comments

No. 82: What’s in a Name?

Golden1014

Juliet said this about roses, meaning it doesn’t matter what you call roses…they’ll still be beautiful.  I could say the same thing about box cars.  They’re beautiful no matter what you call them. Maybe I should re-name this post What’s in a name Color? One of the most enjoyable things about modeling the late steam era is the wide variety of house cars–the different types and sizes of cars. Another thing to consider is the wide variety of car colors.  Getting the car color right is just as important as everything else and luckily the paints are out there that let us model color … Continue reading No. 82: What’s in a Name?

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, O Scale & Proto 485 Comments

No. 81: Progress on Freight Cars – Mar, 2018

Golden1014

My family and I spent the weekend in London at a high school swim meet.  The meet was held at the London 2012 Olympic pool, which was really neat, and we also spent a couple of days sightseeing in the city and elsewhere. My son photographed the sign above at a very deep subway (“Tube”) station in central London.  At one point we had to change trains and we had to take a winding staircase about 12 flights down to one of the deepest stations on the system.  Way down at the bottom there was this sign on the wall.  Pretty cool, eh?  Just wish I … Continue reading No. 81: Progress on Freight Cars – Mar, 2018

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling1 Comment

No. 80: Progress on Freight Cars – Feb, 2018

Golden1014

In preparation for this summer’s St. Louis RPM meet I decided to get ahead on a few lingering freight car projects.  I have about 12 models awaiting decals so I decided to get those finished up first, as well as putting finishing touches on a couple of other models. M&StL 24356 This is an old Sunshine models 1923 ARA Box Car kit that I built about 14 months ago.  I painted this car with Tru Color NYC freight car red and applied the decals that came with the original kit.  The decals were very difficult to apply over the door, and it took four … Continue reading No. 80: Progress on Freight Cars – Feb, 2018

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

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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