Modeling topic
Passenger trains "what if"
This was asked in another thread:
If the extent of the Staggers Act been brought about prior to the formation of AMTRAK, would it have been necessary for AMTRAK to have become a separate entity ?
(In other words, could the railroads have provided inexpensive, more comfortable and safe travel by rail in order to compete with the airlines? Could we have developed a more extensive high speed rail system rather than it being limited to the Northeastern Corridor - AKA Acela?)
Alcove Expansion - Mountain by Door / Initial Construction
The original alcove scenery plan (yes, there is a plan...not on paper but in my head) included a mountain on the right of the door when entering to give some drama and act as a small view block of the alcove to allow for some "discovery" as you walk into the room. Now that the artist has completed the background mural I can move forward on creating that mountain. Note the neat lodge painted on the mural, which will have tiny fiber optic lights.
What is "The Modern Era"?
I figured that it might be a good idea to start a thread based on a question that Rich Branch asked in another thread.
I do have one request: as a guy who is modeling the 70's can we stop calling that the modern era?
I think it's weird that something representing an industry as it existed 35 years ago would be considered "modern".
Painting Model Structures
What are some good paint color formulations for painting model railroad structures. I want something different than just the generic mineral red. Brick building has various shades of goldish red/browns. Would appreciate any advice.
Keystone Model RR Club
Here are some shots from the club's recent Open House tour. Quality of the little megapixel camera isn't that great, but you get the general idea. I was recently asked to join and run the CTC Board with my friend Harry Owens. The layout is in an old historic building (substation for a defunct trolly line) and is roughly 25 x 70 feet. Much is undergoing reconstruction. Most of the conversion to DCC and an operating board has taken place for the past 4 years.
Let there be light... or not
I am planning ahead for when I get to the lighting installation point for my double deck layout. It seems I have encountered a conundrum. A 15A circuit was pulled for the layout lighting during the basement finishing. Doing the math now it seems that will not be sufficient. Local code states a lighting circuit can be loaded to 80% of capacity. That effectively makes my 15A circuit a 12A circuit.
Lookin' back ...
I was pawing through piles of old slides looking for one in particular. Instead I found these.
These photos were taken on the previous Bear Creek and South Jackson layout on the Jallen branch line. They reminded a bit of what an old cuss I'm getting to be. So I resurrected my old slide scanner and here they are...
SP 4105 on the Jallen causeway module. I never did much running here on account of selling the house and moving shortly after this part of the layout was completed.
An observation about wood chips
Maybe everybody else already knows this, but it sort of took me by surprise, and I thought I'd share it.
RPM era
I've noticed something interesting about RPM meets. Both the ones I've attended and the ones I've seen documented seem very heavily slanted toward the modern era. I'd like to hear opinions on why. Not that I'm complaining, just a curious observation. I've heard that the most popular era to model is (was?) the transition era, because it is seen as the heyday of US railroading, and it allows lots of interesting rolling stock and motive power to co-exist.
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