Now that I'm starting a new layout, it's time to consider whether to stick with modeling 1939, or to try another era. It's not an easy choice for me, because I really like the look and feel of 1939, and my structures, vehicles and, of course, rolling stock are faithful to that year. Modeling Texas instead of Idaho will mean some changes, anyway: altering my 0-6-0 switcher (my only loco...so far) to represent an oil-burner rather than a coal-fired loco, new industries, different scenery, etc. Nothing drastic, really, if I stick with the same year.
But there's another consideration that has only recently come to mind. I'd like to have a second locomotive, another switcher, since I plan to model a terminal railroad in a small Texas port. Right now, there doesn't seem to be an S scale steam switcher that is both available and (for me) affordable. My 0-6-0 is a Rex kit purchased about 18 years ago from Sandusky. I've been very happy with it, but I'm mindful that it's no longer brand new and (I hope) I have at least another 20 years of active model railroading ahead.
While mulling this over, I ran across S Helper Service's NW-2 diesel on their excellent website. It's affordable, looks good, and, as it happens, is a loco first built in 1939! I first read about the NW-2 in the book "Vintage Diesels" and liked its appearance. It was a very successful locomotive, sold in droves to mainline railroads. So while it is unlikely a small terminal line on a tight budget would be able to buy an NW-2 in 1939, it is reasonable to assume it would acquire one within a few years, by the second half of the 1940's.
So I'm moving ahead in time a little, from September 1939 to April 1947, which happens to be the month and year I was born. Since 1947 didn't look much different than 1939, I can use my rolling stock, structures and vehicles with little modification...maybe a few signs will have to be changed, along with the feature film advertised on my movie theater marquee. In 1947 steam locos still outnumbered diesels six-to-one, and the 0-6-0 would have another half-dozen years or so of life remaining, so it can run alongside the NW-2.
I'm happy with my decision, and I just ordered the NW-2 today.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Welcome!
As a lifelong model railroader, I'm glad to have this opportunity to write about this hobby that I have enjoyed so much. My start in this blog is a gift from my daughter Ann-Marie and her husband Brett, at the suggestion of my other daughter Jenny and her husband Craig, and I think it's a great idea! I hope that those who read this and view photos of my work will find it interesting and helpful. I know I've learned a lot and been inspired by others' work and the advice and information they've been kind enough to provide...and I'm still learning.
I'm a firm believer in Model Railroader magazine's longtime adage, "Model Railroading Is Fun." And, as one writer put it, "this is a hobby and not a religion." My personal approach is to strive for an accurate, scale representation of prototype railroading, faithful to locale and era. However, that's only one way to go about this hobby; for example, many years ago I visited a Seattle man's layout that "broke all the rules," that was quite a mixture of equipment, eras and even scales! And I've never seen anybody enjoy a layout more than that man did his! That's an important lesson.
Now, briefly, about me. I've been married to Susie for nearly 36 years, a VERY patient woman who has always encouraged me in my hobby. We're both Pacific Northwest natives and, until about a year ago, had always lived in that region, most recently in Boise, Idaho. Our daughters and their husbands relocated to the Houston area in 2008 and kindly suggested we do likewise. We did, and we sure like being close to them and our two granddaughters, Hayley and Emily.
I got started in this hobby at age 6 months when my Dad brought home an American Flyer S gauge train set, and I've stuck with it ever since, though now I model in S scale rather than "tinplate." Over the years I've tried to improve my modeling skills, and now I handlay my track and do quite a bit of scratchbuilding as well.
When we moved I of course dismantled my layout, which represented a small northern Idaho town in 1939 on a "freelance" short line typical of the area. Now I've just begun construction on a layout that will be set in a small Texas Gulf Coast port; I'm still nailing down the era, but I think I'm going to settle on 1947. I'll talk more about that decision in a later post.
I'm a firm believer in Model Railroader magazine's longtime adage, "Model Railroading Is Fun." And, as one writer put it, "this is a hobby and not a religion." My personal approach is to strive for an accurate, scale representation of prototype railroading, faithful to locale and era. However, that's only one way to go about this hobby; for example, many years ago I visited a Seattle man's layout that "broke all the rules," that was quite a mixture of equipment, eras and even scales! And I've never seen anybody enjoy a layout more than that man did his! That's an important lesson.
Now, briefly, about me. I've been married to Susie for nearly 36 years, a VERY patient woman who has always encouraged me in my hobby. We're both Pacific Northwest natives and, until about a year ago, had always lived in that region, most recently in Boise, Idaho. Our daughters and their husbands relocated to the Houston area in 2008 and kindly suggested we do likewise. We did, and we sure like being close to them and our two granddaughters, Hayley and Emily.
I got started in this hobby at age 6 months when my Dad brought home an American Flyer S gauge train set, and I've stuck with it ever since, though now I model in S scale rather than "tinplate." Over the years I've tried to improve my modeling skills, and now I handlay my track and do quite a bit of scratchbuilding as well.
When we moved I of course dismantled my layout, which represented a small northern Idaho town in 1939 on a "freelance" short line typical of the area. Now I've just begun construction on a layout that will be set in a small Texas Gulf Coast port; I'm still nailing down the era, but I think I'm going to settle on 1947. I'll talk more about that decision in a later post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
