Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads
A hobby adventure
I’ve met several people modeling the 1920s. Dr. Dave Campbell has focused on part of the Toledo & Ohio Central in western Ohio. He shared this update on a recent structure project.
My real-world modeling skills have always been somewhat limited and have not improved in my advancing years. At the same time, my virtual modeling has become a strength.
Continue reading “3D printing a structure”
I took a break from building freight cars after an odd issue appeared on two boxcars when I applied a flat coat. I started building a Jordan Highway Miniatures 1923 Mack dump truck kit. After building it, I built another. I’ll need several vehicles for the future layout, so I kept building those kits. Oh, and I did solve the issue on the boxcars. Those details are in the previous post. Let’s take a close look at these Jordan kits.
Continue reading “Vintage vehicles – 2”
A friend recently asked to see a few images of my HO scale Bachmann Spectrum 4-4-0. I wanted to show it in context with some scenery rather than just the loco on a plain background. I used a few structures and a length of track for a minimal scene.
Continue reading “Photo shoot”
I’m involved with the Dixie Model Railroad Club here in Nashville and have an assignment to build the Tennessee Egg Company structure that sat along the railroad in Chattanooga, TN. Other than a few aerial images, the main document at hand to build this structure is a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. These are very good resources of structures in communities served by railroads, many of them being commercial industries along the right of way. Click on any image here to review a larger size.
Harold Oakhill sent an update on recent passenger car projects from his workbench. We haven’t touched on passenger car models, but they were an important element of the railroads into the 1940s. Harold models the Ulster & Delaware in 1924 and passenger cars were extremely important to move people to the Catskill resorts. Here’s Harold with his update.
I recently finished a project I have been working on for several months. These passenger cars are a trio of Ambroid coach kits from the 1950s that my father began building in the early 1960s. I don’t know why he never finished them, but I remember taking them out and looking at them from time to time as a kid. Mom sent them to me a few years ago (Dad has been gone ten years now) and I decided it was time to finish them.