I was a local hobby shop yesterday and the owner received a phone call about some product (I think sound decoders) going up 40%. That generated a discussion between us old guys about how the cost of the hobby has gotten to the point where it could be prohibitive to younger folks getting in and what that could mean in the long term. I commented it didn't help that the mags seemed to promote budget busting pikes. This can generate the thought that my railroad has to be some multilevel, ten operator monster. I certainly have been caught in this trap myself at times, and lacking time,space and money got nothing built. I was fortunate, or unfortuante depending how you look at it, to live overseas the last three years. Because of space limitations Europeans, especially the Brits, take a whole different approach. Small, portable layouts. You may stick with one layout for five years, then strip it down to the baseboards and start with something new. I'm not saying this is a better approach, just a different approach. So while I was in Europe I survived my railroad fix with a four foot yard on an IKEA shelf. It was based on a popular European design called Inglenooks Sidings. It is a yard with one five car track and two three car tracks. Place eight cars in the yard, then make up a train with five cars selected at random. You can only pull three at a time. It will take you somewhere between 20 to 40 moves. Because of space I used a French tank locomotive and four wheel freight cars. No, I didn't decal them Frisco. I think this approach could be a good first layout with a sound equiped locmotive and eight quality freight cars. I've been the the biggest armchair modeler in the world. That little switching layout got me building. The start of my new West Bottoms layout is starting out nothing more than an expanded Inglenooks going into the frieght house and team track. It will allow me to get something operating quickly with great detail. I need one locomotive and about fifteen freight cars, not budget busting. Then I can build out towards the Armour plant as time and money allows. I challenge the group to come up with a Frisco themed small layout design to get those armchair modelers, like me, going on a layout. John
We should all build a modular section of our favorite Frisco scene, some corner modules and lots of straight ones, and once a year get together and hook them all together. Just thinkin' out loud.
Jim Contact Ken Trossen of Rolla Craft Hobby in Rolla,MO. he is president of the Frisco Modelers Club in Rolla and they have built several modules already. They get together frequently and hook them all up just for kicks. FriscoGeorge
That sounds like what the Freemo guys are up to, only they are not concentrating on just one road. Bob Wintle
I've never been big on modular pikes at train shows. The different skill levels and themes just doesn't do it for me. Seems like there is always some module where the owner thinks it would be neat to put an ME-262 in the middlle of it, or some such thing. John|-|
Freemo modules are not what you are used to seeing at railroad shows, they are much more prototype based and not just 2 or three tracks running round and round and round. The only thing I would like to see them change is to have backdrops but that is just a personal opinion. Go to www.free-mo.org and give them a look. The modules can be of almost any shape or size. Bob Wintle Is an ME262 that little German WWII jet, I am not sure? PS I edited to get the correct url. Thanks Slugger!
El Bob Oh - Yes, the Me-262 was the German Luftwaffe twin engine, swept wing jet of late WW2. It was designed to be a bomber interceptor, but thankfully, Der Fuhrer decided to try to use it as a light bomber instead. Ken
Hello fellows, Here is a PDF file of a small railroad called the "Cactus Valley" that first appeared in a 1998 Model Railroader magazine. It is a 5 x 9 layout so it will fit nicely on a ping pong table or sheet of plywood, or it could be built in two modular sections and joined together. It has the most desirable features of a layout: 1) Switching activity 2) A long mainline 3)Tunnels and inclines 4) Bridges 5) Water. If I had the space this would be my layout of choice.|-| FriscoGeorge
Yeah, my son has one of these planes that is waiting to be assembled, and detailed, so he can put it on his war layout, that I have pics of in my album. The plane is 1/72 scale, which is close to HO.
Prior to my return to HO railroad modeling in late 1977, I was an avid model airplane builder in 1/72 scale. For about the prior ten years, my goal was to build every one of the WW2 Luftwaffe aircraft. There was/is a 1/72 kit for virtually every airplane the Germans had. I built a couple of Me-262's and still have a couple of unbuilt Me-262 kits from those days. I probably have as many unbuilt kits around here as I have ones I built. I gotta get busy! Ken ps - I still have three Me-109's sitting close to the layout to provide air cover! (Bf-109B, Me-109F, Me-109G)
Re: 1/72 models of WW II aircraft Since this string took such a turn, I thought I'd try to join the two subjects. Dr. Logan Holtgrewe, who has written many MR features and built a lot of the Severna Park HO layout near Annapolis, got tired of building MR scenery. He decided to build a 1/72nd scale model of every aircraft used during the Battle of Brittain. Logan is such a rapid modeler, he quickly finished all of them and suffered what he called "mission creep". He ended up building over 500 models to represent EVERY aircraft type used in the WW II. His basement was crammed full until he donated a section of the Museum of Flight in Seattle where they could be exhibited. Check out: http://www.museumofflight.org/holtgrewe and links. He has a link to every model with a photo and description. Many had to be scratchbuilt from styrene. He's in his late 70's and still going strong. He's now doing every WW I aircraft in 1/48 scale. Logan has also been an underwater photographer, big band saxophonist (including with Gene Krupa), president of the American Urological Association, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, book author, NMRA Clinician at two national conventions, etc. Jan Jester consulted with Logan before modeling the Newburg depot. Like many great modelers we all know, Logan sleeps very little.
Take my layout for example. It's on a standard 4x8 plywood sheet. I saved money on track by purchasing it from ebay. I got all I needed (exept for the switches porvided by klrwizkid) for 6 bucks and some track left over. My layout is set up with a small yard, and some industry spurs as well as continues running. I packed some much into it I didn't have room for rivers or incliunes. but I did include a mountian (I plan on having one though I haven't started it). BTW if you have worked with plaster on the layout it takes some trial and error.
George, the pdf shows a 4X8 rather than a 5X9. I have a ping-pong table - the curves could be widened to fit.
Thanks for catching that Doug, I just counted the grid squares on the plan and didn't notice that the plan included a 1' x 1' easement on all sides. Maybe I should get stronger glasses, hi. George
For those interested in small layouts, check out http://www.carendt.com/ While it may be too whimsical for some, there are some excellent ideas. As Boomer John points out, a small/micro/switching layout is a terrific way of getting out of the armchair. Some of the industrial layouts are very well designed.
Carl Arendt's website is interesting if you look past trackplans built in pizza boxes and the like. Be sure and click on the Scrapbook tab. John
The latest scrapbook page on Carl's site has a nice loads-in empties-out operated power plant in N scale. It is 4X1 in N...2X8 or so in HO. Check it out. Glenn in Tulsa
As far as small layouts go, my N scale ArkLaTex Subdivision fits nicely on a 27x80 hollow core door and 2" of pink foam. It's based on the east end of Frisco's A&A Subdivision in the 1970s, and also features a MP interchange. It sits in the small living room of my studio apartment. I would recommend building an HCD layout to anyone who wants to run trains as well as do a little operation.
