Eric, it is great that Joe

Eric, it is great that Joe has you on the staff. Your research and articles in the hobby press in the past have been very well done and complete. Your article on the glass industry in Morgantown and the layout design was a good example of this. In addition your blog on the freight cars of the twenties and your layout projects is a great series to read even if one is not building a layout in that time period.

Glad you are on this site Eric, it is another reason to be a subscriber to the magazine, thanks for all you do.

"We all model the prototype,

"We all model the prototype, to suggest otherwise is ridiculous." I've made that blunt statement before and it's gotten me in trouble because it's sometimes misunderstood. Really, it just says much the same thing that you just said Eric. The prototype is the guide and how much or how little we adhere to that guide is personal choice but the guide is always there handy when we need it. Thanks  so much for your great work on the magazine.

Well stated Eric

Eric and I have been acquaintances for about thirty years now. In face, we have become friends. While we are both prototype modelers, Eric has been more serious about added detail than I am. I was there at one time, but being quite a bit older than Eric I don't have time to do all the added detail to all of my cars that Eric has.

That said, Eric and our mutual friend Ray Breyer are my primary sources for prototype information. They encourage me and help me to improve what I am doing. 

Eric, Thanks you so very much. 

Jim Six

musings from editor

This is the most helpful article I have read in this or other magazines in several years. Thanks Joe Eric.

Thanks!

Thank you for reading and commenting on the editorial. I hope my experiences help others move a project or two forward to enjoy the hobby more.

I'm grateful to be part of the MRH/RE staff and learning the rails here!

Eric

Freelance Prototype Modeling

Eric, my current layout is my fifth model railroad.  The first I built 45 years ago on two 4x8 sheets of plywood in the basement.  My latest occupies some 250 square feet in a dedicated train room.  I learned something from each of the four previous incarnations, so that my current railroad incorporates ideas and concepts (and sometimes even pieces) of earlier efforts.  As my skills grew, so did my interests.  When I retired in 2006 and moved to our home here on Cape Cod, I decided to expand my freelanced HO railroad to include the HOn3 East Broad Top.  At first my intention was to reproduce as much of the narrow gauge prototype as possible, given space limitations.  Part of the railroad was used to acquire the AP certificate in prototype modeling.  But along the way, I realized that (1) there wasn't room enough to model the entire EBT, and (2) there were aspects of the narrow gauge line that interested me but weren't compatible with my chosen era of 1950.  So I made the decision to build a freelanced prototype around the motto, "It's my railroad, I can do what I want".  There are portions that reflect the EBT in its last common carrier days, shortly before it closed down.  But I also operate a logging branch that once connected with the Eastie in the 1920's.  And I also model the EBT Transit Company that ran truck and bus service in the 1930's and 40's.  So a trip around my layout is also a trip in both time and space.  I find nothing odd about all this.  It allows me to model scenes that I find most compelling, rather than being confined to a single point in the railroad's 140 year history.  I am having constantly exploring new aspects of the prototype and having fun at the same time.  And isn't that what this hobby is all about?

Russ Norris, MMR

Well written, well said.

Great introduction Eric. I really appreciate modelers who let the prototype be their guide, even with a freelance railroad/layout. Looking forward to more of your thoughts and modeling. 

Great Stuff!

Eric,

I've really enjoyed your blog posts in the last year and look forward to what you do at MRH!  I'm in the middle of planning a small layout, and you voiced something I've been trying to formulate regarding the prototype, and how I'll adapt it to my small space. 

Thanks!

Warren
 

PS: Hope to run in to you one day since you're in my area now.

Timely read for me...

Great article! I have a layout(45' x 30') mostly done and about a third with scenery. It's been this way for the last ten years. Life just got busy but never lost the desire to model. I continued loco & rolling stock purchases and weathering. Now at age 55 I am thinking about going with a modular approach(~24' x 16'). One thing I have more desire to do now is share the hobby with the public. I thought about taking it out of the basement about 3 times a year and set up in a public venue. I love how the kids react and even the adults. I live in a small community. Another benefit I see down the road is instead of a sawzall taken to the layout, one of our sons could take it to his house. We have 2 sons that enjoy the hobby. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

I can relate to everything Eric writes in this article.

I have had a similar journey. My last layout was a sprawling affair in N scale. My current layout is simple by design and has the basic elements to keep me happy operating. Last year I rebuilt the layout to make it more realistic, each scene represents one place and the industries modeled have some space to be uncompressed. Actually most industries in the city are represented by staging. I only model the largest one. 
 

My layout gives a glimpse of a simpler time in history, back when trains and trolleys connected every place with a name. I actually enjoy operating my layout too much, building has almost come to a standstill.