I am in the process of hitting up all my NMRA folks in Central California with the URL. They will post it in thier newsletter.

I recently purchased a Proto 2000 SD45 from Mike Rose ( http://www.mrhobby.com ), that was project started by Brian Banna. I'm not sure what Brian was planning for the unit but he had removed all the paint from the shell, except for the cab and underframe.

In any case, I had started carving up an Genesis SD70M cab a few months back, planning to build an MK5000C or MPEX 5000. The combination of the two, just made the deal sweeter, add to that the upcoming (less then a week!) Western Prototype Modelers meet (WPM), I started my work...

The prototype:

I recently discovered that Google is making books that are in the public domain available online. This may not be "new" but its new to me. I recently got hits on two when I was searching for info on prototype bridge tie size and spacing:

Notes On Track

 The new layout room that I have been planning and talking about is now a reality. Over the Labor Day weekend I "Labored" my butt off working on it. The new room is essentially complete. Last week I got my building permit and purchased the materials needed for the new layout room. Saturday I got the garage all cleaned out and ready for construction. Sunday I managed to get the main wall dividing the garage framed and sheet rocked on one side, the layout room side still needs wiring prior to sheet rock.

As I'm planning out the Roseburg area, Google Earth just keeps making itself ever more useful.

Even though it's not structures per se, I also need to finish the sky and backdrop behind Roseburg - and I've been looking at Google Earth's fly down and look around in 3D capability. Using some screen captures, I built this panoramic view of the Roseburg backdrop using Google Earth:

I have been working for the past few months of a teriffic LDE project. Layout Design Element is the perfect choice for novice and expert modelers. You focus on the photos and drawings and avoid all the clutter and over done objectives of freelance layouts. My SP West Side Line in N scale is my first LDE project. I stopped working on my last N Scale layout and went back to the drawing board to prepare and build my latest offering.

Great idea, Joe!  From the little ten page sample it appears you're going to be putting out a real fine magazine!

Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine has conducted the August 31st online shopping spree random drawing using a random number generator from among 2656 subscribers.

The random number generator picked these subscriber numbers:

Winner:

1573 - subscriber ID: lyalwalker

Runner-up:

882 - subscriber ID: Pete2210

Congratulations to the MRH crew.  I am most impressed.  Excellent quality site...professional layout, informative, easy navigation, visually appealing...and you are just getting started!  This is what the hobby needs...keep up the great work.  Regards!

Just what I like to see. Someone who knows about modelling and modellers interests. Real scratchbuilders but this time in the magazine field. I wish you well with your endeavours. Maybe from afar I may be able to contribute to your magazine.