Great Model Railroads 2018

both depicting and making history

IT’S BEEN SAID MANY TIMES that model railroads are like time machines. But once in a while, something comes along that really brings that point home. Unless you’re modeling the present day like Eric Brooman (see Great Model Railroads 2006) or a completely fanciful freelanced railroad, your model railroad’s purpose is to more or less faithfully depict the world as it was at some point in the past. I get that; my layout models 1906, after all. Each time I research my own line is a deep dive into history. It’s an inextricable part of our hobby. It’s easy to get caught up in the hands-on aspect of our model railroads – finally pouring that creek, figuring out why that engine keeps derailing, building enough trees to cover that mountain. But sometimes,…

picture-perfect british columbia

The Nitro Pass & Okanagan got its name (and its nickname, “The Explosive Route”) from the dynamite needed to blast the right-of-way through an almost impenetrable mountain pass. The NP&O is a fictional railway located in southern British Columbia, Canada. I started working on the HO scale model railroad in 1991. Back in the railroad’s early days, when it was still called simply the Nitro Pass RR, I had custom decals printed. I lettered several cars with the reporting marks NP until I discovered that each railway must have unique reporting marks. Since NP was already taken by the Northern Pacific, the name evolved from the Nitro Pass into the current name. My 12 x 15-foot double-deck model railroad is in the basement of our home, below the sunken living room, which…

backdrops, photographed and painted

I CREATED MY BACKDROPS using my own photos and by painting them. The sky was painted using an airbrush, which allowed me to smoothly fade from light blue sky at the bottom to a darker blue at the top. I added clouds in some areas using an airbrush with homemade stencils. My first photo backdrop was made before digital photography. It’s a series of five 16 x 20-inch prints mounted on sheet styrene. Later photo backdrops were made seamlessly with photo editing software and a large-format printer. Photo backdrops can be strikingly effective in achieving realism in model train photos. Unfortunately, however, a detailed photo backdrop can draw attention away from the modeled scene. My goal is to have the modeled scenery be the same colors and tones as the backdrops so the…

balancing lighting color

TWO-LEVEL LAYOUTS are great for adding mainline run length. However, lighting the lower level is tricky given the limited space to install and create even lighting. I used traditional tungsten-filament light bulbs under the upper deck to light the lower. The upper level is lit by 36" fluorescent tubes. Having two different color temperatures of light makes for challenging photography. If you set the white balance for the fluorescent light, the tungsten lights will create an orange cast. If you set it for the tungsten lights, the fluorescents will make things look green. The curious thing is that when viewing the layout in person, the human brain compensates for the color cast of the lighting. Only when viewing the scene in a photo, away from the its context, can the eye see…

going sectional in a big way

STARTING IN SEPTEMBER 1994,Model Railroader ran a series of articles by Mike Tylick on the Pioneer Valley O scale railroad, a large portable shelf layout. That layout was a pioneer in more than just name; it was MR’s first O scale project layout. In four months, Mike showed how to build a realistic, prototypical shelf layout. It opened the eyes of many to what could be done in a scale larger than HO. A few years later, the first mass-produced On30 equipment came onto the market, and the leap from the concepts used by the Pioneer Valley to the current On30 boom isn’t a large one. For years after the articles were published, the layout was displayed at the Amherst Model Railway Society’s annual train show in West Springfield, Mass., winning awards…

handlaid track

WHY HANDLAID TRACK? The answer is, “Because it looks great.” The bestlooking track I’ve ever seen has been handlaid. Since you’re placing ties by hand, there’s no exact pattern to it, so it doesn’t look too perfect. When you’re modeling backwoods short lines, that’s exactly the look you’re going for I use code 148 rail, usually used for O scale track, but it’s just right for I work on 18" to 24" at a time. Consulting the track plan, I test-fit the ties and picture how the rail will look, especially in the areas of turnouts, crossovers, and dual-gauge track. Once it all fits, I can begin to set ties and ballast. I apply a generous amount of white glue, which gives me plenty of working time, then place the ties into…