Hermitage Road Layouts2 Comments

No. 157: A British Post (Modelu and Traversers)

Golden1014

Here’s a post with a decidedly British flavor. Modelu A few weeks ago I ordered figures from a vendor in Bristol named Modelu (pronounced Model You). The box arrived at the nearby Deutsche Post office, and my half-German wife dutifully went over there, paid the import tax, and brought the box home. Here’s what was in the box: How exciting! Modelu is a British vendor that makes finescale 3D-printed figures. A few guys on the Proto-Layouts list discovered Modelu online, and I offered to make a large order to try and save everyone some import tax. Six of us combined … Continue reading No. 157: A British Post (Modelu and Traversers)

Hermitage Road Layouts8 Comments

No. 156: Track Laying and Track Scenery on Hermitage Road

Golden1014

Over the last weekend my daughter Kirsten and I drove up to the lovely German town of Boppard, on the south bank of the Rhine River, for a little Klettersteig hike. It was a fabulous, warm, sunny day and there’s no better way to escape the utter stupidity of covid than with a great hike along the Rhine. There’s no English translation for Klettersteig, but it is a method of hiking along rock faces in mountains along fixed-rope climbing routes. The routes are much better known in the Italian Alps as “Via Ferrata”–which literally translated means The Iron Way. Basically … Continue reading No. 156: Track Laying and Track Scenery on Hermitage Road

Hermitage Road Layouts4 Comments

No. 155: Turnouts on Hermitage Road

Golden1014

Last week I received a few locomotives I bought from my friend Jim Dick in Minneapolis. Here’s one of them: a second-run CNW GP-7 in as-delivered paint. I figure this model was run around 2003. That makes it–what, 18 years old? The paint still looks great. As soon as I got the engine out of the box I removed the original DC underframe and replaced it with another one I had rebuilt with sound/DCC that I’ve been using on a PRR engine. The 1601 will get a few prototype-specific details as soon as I can find the time. Earlier this … Continue reading No. 155: Turnouts on Hermitage Road

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, Hermitage Road Layouts2 Comments

No. 154: Hermitage Road Update, Feb 2021

Golden1014

Traditionally December and January are big modeling months as most guys are trapped inside for Winter. Not so here, as my family kept me busy and out of the attic train room until about mid-February. I also had a double-laptop meltdown, which precluded any work on the blog along with a whole lot of other stuff. In the last 20 days I’ve been able to get a huge amount of work done on a lot of projects, and also on the Hermitage Road layout. The layout is now at the point where all the track is laid, operational, and scenicked. … Continue reading No. 154: Hermitage Road Update, Feb 2021

Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums1 Comment

No. 153: Dave Nelson on Prototype Track Weathering

Golden1014

Over on the Ron’s Train Club site, Dave Nelson put together a nice post on track weathering last week and allowed me to share it here. This is a look at weathering and appearance of prototype track, not how to weather track. All photos are by Dave Nelson, but I did add a few more at the end. Here’s Dave: Here is a collection of track photos, with commentary, that I have used in two clinics—one on “Trackside Details” and another on “A Closer Look at Track”, neither of which I have presented since the 35mm slide era. This post … Continue reading No. 153: Dave Nelson on Prototype Track Weathering

Uncategorized1 Comment

No. 151: John Moenius’ Preston, Minnesota

Golden1014

My friend and fellow former-USAF C-130 navigator John Moenius is considering a layout on the Milwaukee Road terminal in Preston, Minnesota. John was kind enough to send some words on his layout plan. Here’s John: For the model railroader moving can be an emotional time.  The old layout you have spent hours planning and building comes down.  But at the same time new opportunities arise.  That was the situation I found myself in January, 2020.   At that time my wife and I decided to retire to a warmer climate and move from Kansas City to South Carolina.  I had a … Continue reading No. 151: John Moenius’ Preston, Minnesota

Ackley, Iowa Layouts, Hermitage Road Layouts, Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums9 Comments

No. 150: Hermitage Road

Golden1014

In October, 2019 my family and I moved from my house in Albersbach, Germany to a much more modern and efficient house closer to work. Doing so meant I had to dismantle my point-to-point M&StL Ackley, Iowa layout and move it to the new place. That wasn’t a big deal as I built the layout to move. Above. The Ackley, Iowa layout nearly complete in 2017. As I related in an earlier post, moving the layout did go so well. Most importantly, Ackley did not quite fit in the new layout space so I carefully stored it in the garage. … Continue reading No. 150: Hermitage Road

O Scale & Proto 485 Comments

No. 149: Display Cabinets for the Train Room

Golden1014

Over the recent Labor Day weekend–when covid restrictions were relaxed and travel to France was still possible–I took a day of leave and went to Verdun, France, site of the tremendous, 11-month-long German army assault during World War I.  I visited the excellent War Museum there, three vast graveyards, many of the battlefields, the Ossuary, and Ft. Douaumont.  It was a beautiful day but a very sobering learning experience.  It’s hard to believe it was real. Above.  Some of the trench lines still exist.  They can be found all over the place.  This one, near Ft. Douaumont, has been preserved … Continue reading No. 149: Display Cabinets for the Train Room

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, People2 Comments

No. 148: Modeling Missouri Pacific 50-foot Auto Cars

Golden1014

Back in February 2020, just about the time people in the West started talking about something called COVID-19, I began an unusual box car rebuilding project that took eight months to complete. The project was the complete rebuilding of an old Model Die Casting shake-the-box MoPac auto car kit. The prototype photo above is from Joe Collias’ photo collection, courtesy Ed Hawkins. The photo has an interesting story which I relate a little bit later. These cars have always been among my favorites, and the introduction of a top-of-the-line decal set by Ted Culotta of Speedwitch Media, specifically made for … Continue reading No. 148: Modeling Missouri Pacific 50-foot Auto Cars