Aug. Issue: Southern Cross Railway...WOW!

[Anonymous]

I love the Southern Cross article in the current issue of GR.  WOW!  A rocky landscape with a mining theme ...lots of steam and pulling lots of wagons....my kind of garden railway.

Of course I also enjoyed seeing the German freelance line from Franz Grund years ago--two layouts with two very different approaches in the  garden.  What I liked better about this article though, as much as I enjoyed the German article, was the point-of-view of the photographs.  The Southern Cross author has taken much time in finding the right height to snap his photos!  Where as, in the Grund review and others, the point of view of the camera was mostly "helicopter" views--not very realistic if you like being "track side".  Other layouts really have a lot of detail and to appreciate it, you need to be up close to the tracks.  I think this is why the European layouts don't look at realistic in magazines as photos such as these.

GR (I have noticed at times) does make a point about taking pictures trackside but maybe some reviews it just isn't possible or logistics or something else gets in the way of that "realistic shot" looking up at a passing steamer .  Thus, as much as I have enjoyed seeing photos of a Euro layout in GR, many times they don't look realistic because of the point of view of the camera.

However, I have NEVER seen--in any publication---45mm gauge large scale trains shot at a better angle than in this article for the Southern Cross.  WOW!  And what a railroad!  That railway must be as fun to run as to look at! 

Any opinions welcomed about this extraordinary line!

 

Regards,

Tom M.

 

[devils]

The British Garden Rail Magazine ( Atlantic Publishing), did a special edition a few months back on some of the UK's garden railways, with a similar article to the one in GR and a few different photos. I bought that and posted details on the forum, nice to see Garden Railways got hold of an article too. How about a kalmbach special with the Southern Cross, Snow Creek and the layouts of Jack Verducci, Jens Bang and Marty Cozad with articles, (Just a few of my favourites), compiled into one with a few overall views as well?

Never going to have enough space myself but I do enjoy seeing what's possible, and I can dream.

Paul

[Ray Dunakin]

I agree, it's a stunning layout and the photography was superb!

[FJ and G]

The layout is superb, from the realistic water features to the realistic scenery. Great article. Now, 2 things the author had going for him:

1. He's a good photographer, using light to his advantage to make the scenes seem more distant and 3-dimensional

2. He's blessed with having no ugly fences and buildings nearby. The guy who did the last issue's railroad in Idaho was similarly blessed. I think it's time for me to move!