WELCOME TO MY BLOG:
Never written a blog before but always enjoyed writing and sharing the hobby of model railroading with friends. It's also a good motivator to keep working on the layout!
My blog will cover the building and operation of my HO Scale Missouri Pacific Railroad switching layout in Western Arkansas.
BECOMING A MOPAC FAN:
Growing up in central Arkansas in the 70s and 80s, I enjoyed taking bike rides with my dad and brother to many of the train watching locations in the area. Missouri Pacific was the main railroad in the area and it was not long before I became a life long MOPAC fan!
FROM N to HO:
Been an N-Scale model railroader for a little over 10 years but after hitting my 40s, reading glasses started to become the norm. I also found that building and running a large N-Scale layout was a lot to handle for one person. So I made the decision to switch to HO a little over a year ago. Two advantages for me is HO is easier on the eyes and HO offers a great selection of Missouri Pacific rolling stock and locomotives that is not available in N-Scale.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE BUT FUN:
I had four main goals when planning my current layout. 1. Modeling my childhood favorite, Missouri Pacific. 2. Keeping the layout small. 3. Prototypical operations yet simple and fun. 4. Attention to detail. After some thought and research a switching layout seemed like the perfect answer.
A PLACE AND TIME:
I considered several modern time periods and specific locations for my switching layout. I finally decided to "freelance" the location while working towards maintaining a correct representation of the time period. I chose to model a fictional town in western Arkansas called "Willoughby" located along the former Missouri Pacific Van Buren, Arkansas subdivision. (Modern Day Union Pacific).
The time period is set in the mid to late 1980s just a few years after the Union Pacific/Western Pacific merger. MOPAC blue was still common during the post merger 80s. This time period also allows me to run Union and Western Pacific locomotives for added interest as well as cabooses from all three railroads.
WILLOUGHBY, NOT JUST A PLACE IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE:
The town Willoughby is a leftover name from my first N-Scale layout, the Willoughby & West Arkansas Railroad. The idea came from a Twilight Zone episode with the same name. In the episode a work-aholic taking the train home each night falls asleep and dreams of a slow paced late 19th century town called "Willoughby" where he can find peace and relaxation.
For me, model railroading is my peaceful escape from a busy life so the name seemed perfect!
IMAGE OF FIRST SECTION, EARLY CONSTRUCTION (MORE TO FOLLOW SOON!)
Track work is complete and the trains are running! I'm taking the "sectional" approach and working to complete scenery one section at a time. (Layout has three main sections) I have found this approach is a great motivator as you can see progress early on!
Image is the first section under construction to include soybean storage owned by "Tara's Foods Inc" named after my wife. Structures and locations will be modeled and named for family members and/or favorite spots in Arkansas.
Season modeled is early fall, one of the most scenic times of year in the western mountains of Arkansas.
