I was reorganizing boxes of hobby materials and other ephemera the other day and I came across a box of old photographs. A few loose pictures caught my eye and I thumbed through a small stack. Among those were several images of my first HO scale layout. The image above shows the overall scope of the project. Click on it to see a larger version. My father had a 4×8 table built at a local lumber yard and we built a plan from an Atlas plan book of John Armstrong designs.
Author: Eric Hansmann
The Thrill of Discovery
REPOST: originally posted in July 2010.
A recent summer weekday was spent in a library, specifically, the special collections room of the Cleveland State University Library. Upon entering, my eyes were drawn to several large images of Cleveland’s past and a large collection of O scale model trolleys positioned atop a long shelving unit. This is really one cool joint. Among the railroad archives collected here are documents from the Nickel Plate, Erie-Lackawanna, Wheeling & Lake Erie, and the Newburgh & South Shore. I went in search of W&LE maps and N&SS images. I did not find those specific items, but I did find and review W&LE images and N&SS maps. Reviewing these items were well worth the time.
Hitting the fan
Repost: from January 2011
Over the years I’ve assisted with several model railroad designs and worked on the construction end, too. These have been for friends, a model railroad club and for myself. In almost every instance there is one constant through the design and build steps of each project. Believe it or not, whatever is on the paper may not fit properly or look right when the track starts to be installed. Really, I’m not joking. No matter how many measurements were taken, data compiled, and fussing done over the details for the design, it all comes down to the full size build with the form and fit. It is one of the most thrilling and disappointing moments of building a model railroad. And that is where I am right now.
Discovering a new tool
REPOST: From late October 2011.
Before I departed Cleveland I participated in an operating session on Jerry’s Penn Central layout. Two years ago I shared an experience on this layout. I’ve been lucky to have attended several sessions here and have grown to appreciate the jobs and crew.
Greetings Friends!
Due to server difficulties with my host, my blog files were deleted. I have raw material from many older posts saved and will repost several of these over the next few months.
So we will reboot this place and start again with a blank slate. This situation is fitting as I had moved to a new home just a few months ago and am looking at a hobby reboot in my new abode. I have a few new posts almost ready to share and I look forward to visiting a couple of local model railroads in the next month. With luck, I will share images and discoveries from these visits.
I look forward to another leg of this hobby journey.
Eric