The Hidden Trap of Icon Driven Design
Who wouldn't love to model this grain elevator in Farmersville, IL? The next town has one just as cool, as does the next. However, as...
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- May 6
- 3 min
Layout Construction Sequence
When I started building my Downtown Spur layout, I temporarily laid Atlas flex track and placed some cardboard mock ups in place to see...
1,828 views5 comments
- Apr 10
- 3 min
Take Me to Malabar
BNSF's Malabar Yard in LA. The basic act of drawing a track plan is relatively simple. Coming up with a theme, scope, and strategic plan...
1,697 views2 comments
- Feb 24
- 3 min
Artwork or Game Plan? Evaluating Published Track Plans.
Just because a track plan illustration is pleasing to look at from an artistic standpoint doesn't mean that it's a viable design. Read...
1,818 views3 comments
- Feb 11
- 2 min
Design For A Waterfront
Washington D.C.'s Georgetown waterfront, shown above, makes for a compelling modeling theme if there ever was one. Library of Congress...
1,110 views4 comments
- Nov 5, 2021
- 3 min
No Time To Build A Layout?
At almost thirty feet in length, the above design isn't small. Even so, it's an example of managing scope and complexity so a modeler,...
3,358 views2 comments
- Jun 23, 2021
- 3 min
How Long Should A Layout Last?
I only had my East Rail switching layout for about five years before selling it. Even though I didn't keep it, it provided me with a...
2,707 views6 comments
- Dec 16, 2020
- 2 min
One Room, Several Railroads
Rather than filling this spare room in my house with one medium sized layout, I built several smaller ones creating a "layout gallery"....
4,044 views6 comments
- Mar 25, 2020
- 5 min
Perspective
The above image was taken on my N scale switching layout using an iPhone and the room’s overhead Halogen track lighting. The depth of...
2,531 views4 comments
- Oct 18, 2019
- 2 min
Large Space, Small Skills
Modeler’s typically enter the hobby at two points in their lives, either during the teen years or at retirement. Those coming into model...
6,005 views0 comments
- Jun 13, 2019
- 3 min
The “Thirty Minute/Three Hour” Rule
When it comes to model railroad operations, I’ve noticed what I call the “thirty minute/three hour rule” or, as Captain Jack Sparrow...
5,206 views0 comments
- Mar 24, 2019
- 2 min
ACCEPTANCE
Acceptance. Acceptance of the reality of our situation. Acceptance of constraints. Acceptance of the fact that the subject we are...
1,667 views0 comments
- Jan 22, 2019
- 2 min
DIAGONALS
The man made world we model tends to be built on engineering order. In other words, ninety degree angles, perpendicular orientations, and...
1,122 views0 comments
- Jul 21, 2018
- 1 min
TURNOUT OPTIMISM
Model railroaders are an optimistic bunch, particularly when it comes to layout design! To be more specific, overly optimistic when it...
1,025 views0 comments
- Apr 12, 2018
- 4 min
“TIME”
The timeless 80/20 rule, model railroad planning is not immune. All too often we have our 80/20 priorities backwards. We spend eighty...
770 views0 comments