Reminds me a bit of the Choo Choo Barn in Strasburg.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Feel free to knock me for including a 3-rail layout, but the layout in what was once The Train Barn in Portage, MI did much for fueling my creativity when I was a youth. My grandfather would take me there when I was down for a visit, and right up until me last visit there it never lost it's magic for me. Too bad it's gone. The suspension bridge (first shown about 2:10 in the video) was amazing. You could actually watch the deck give and rebound as the weight of the train rolled over it.
Mike
ctyclsscs I only wish that Don's layout could have been photographed for one last magazine feature article, but nobody seemed interested in pursuing it. I tried a little but it wasn't my place to get involved. He probably could have a hundred articles about the fabulous work he and his friends did, but that just didn't seem to be his priority. Sigh... Jim
I only wish that Don's layout could have been photographed for one last magazine feature article, but nobody seemed interested in pursuing it. I tried a little but it wasn't my place to get involved. He probably could have a hundred articles about the fabulous work he and his friends did, but that just didn't seem to be his priority. Sigh...
Jim
Rich
Alton Junction
gmpullman ctyclsscs One of the finest layouts I have ever seen was Don Cassler's B&O layout in Pittsburgh. Thank you for providing that link, Jim. I would have to agree on the quality of modeling on Don's layout. Those photos are magnificent and inspiring! To think, all that hand-laid track destroyed and in a dumpster Regards, Ed
ctyclsscs One of the finest layouts I have ever seen was Don Cassler's B&O layout in Pittsburgh.
Thank you for providing that link, Jim. I would have to agree on the quality of modeling on Don's layout. Those photos are magnificent and inspiring!
To think, all that hand-laid track destroyed and in a dumpster
Regards, Ed
I miss Peter Hayworth's Wangkui Railway layout, which was dismantled in 2010. His work proved that modeling the Chinese prototype in a large space was possible.
"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." -Lin Yutang
-
ctyclsscsOne of the finest layouts I have ever seen was Don Cassler's B&O layout in Pittsburgh.
One of the finest layouts I have ever seen was Don Cassler's B&O layout in Pittsburgh. It was fabulous but rarely covered in the model press. Partly because Don quit for a while after the death of his wife. Then, when he resumed work years later, I don't know if anyone really documented all of the new sections that were added. Sadly, Don passed away about six years ago. Some of his "crew" wanted to purchase the house and save the layout, but other family members wanted the house and the layout torn down. And so it's gone...
Baltimore & Ohio M & K Division (keystonedivision.org)
I think my favorite was John Armstrong's Canadaigua Southern. I was fortunate enough to see it shortly before it was taken down after his death.
Paul
Buhl deserves a closer look. It was extensively rebuilt every year in the mid-Seventies, and perhaps every year Mr. Bowdish was working on it. Apparently the animations were extensively revised year by year too.
Though not along the same line as some of the prolific hobby layouts, anyone that grew up in Pittsburgh in the 60s and 70s, and was fortunate to have been exposed to the Buhl Planitatium layout, will no doubt rank it as a true classic. It was relocated to the new Carnegie Science Center. The layout, to kid level eyes, is full of active animation and for many years the trip to Buhl was one of the highlights of the holiday season. Link: http://buhlplanetarium3.tripod.com/MiniRR.htm
Although it's "somewhat recent" would be David Popp's N Scale New Haven Naugatuck Valley R.R.
I first seen it in the Dream, Plan, Build video series. It really inspired me that N Scale can be designed with incredible detail that will even match HO.
Like many people were sad when he packed and sold everything for the new On30 Olympia Logging project layout for MRVP.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
The start of the Trains of Thought column back in the 80's (yeah, he's been writing it that long) got me into the concept of doing a proto-freelance layout. But I have since come back to doing a specific prototype.
In addition to the column - he put out a book on the AM not too long ago. Basically, a "Lessons learned" book - actually, that was the title.
For me it was Allegheny Midland, the Utah Belt and a small project layout in MMR called the Yule Central that was built around Christmas time. It was what I based my first layout on and I had a crush on that Atlas Cotton Belt GP40.
Ralph
My favorite lost layout from my childhood is the Sierra Central, the Sacramento Model Railroad Club's layout, a big "folded dog bone" with a dispatcher's area, elevated engineer's cabs, and dedicated narrow gauge and traction branches. My dad took me there a couple of times in the mid-1970s and I was fascinated by the complexity and detail, and also by the vintage Coke machine (the horizontal style with a lid that sold the little green glass bottles.) My dad was getting into the hobby in his mid-thirties (he had some old American Flyer and OO stuff as a kid) and it also inspired his layouts (he did the benchwork, trackwork, and electrical, my brother and I expressed our artistic tendencies by helping build scenery and structures.) Visiting downtown Sacramento to see the layout also began my early fascination with that part of the city. The building where the club was located (and the whole adjoining block) was demolished in the 1980s for an expansion of the downtown convention center, and I think Sacramento's current Sacramento Model Railroad Historical Society, located in a Sacramento neighborhood a few miles away, may share some continuity with the earlier downtown club.
When I was getting back into the hobby in my own mid-30s, I visited South Shasta Lines in Gerber, CA, an O scale basement layout built by Godfrey Humann, which he opened every other year to the public, along with other attractions like a 2' gauge steam locomotive that pulled visitors around his orchard. He passed away in 2009 but I don't know the current disposition of his layout. The era and details of his layout encompassed past decades of model railroading practice. It helped inspire me to get back into the hobby, as well as other concurrent inspirations like being a volunteer at the California State Railroad Museum.
I miss Doug Tagsold's model railroad based on the railroads that used the Toledo Terminal. He really captured the feel of the area. One aspect that stood out to me was that it was one of the rare model railroads where you were expected to actually switch hi-cube auto parts cars into and out of an industry, rather than just use them as rolling scenery.
I certainly understand the draw that took him back to modeling Colorado narrow gauge, though. His 1:72 Colorado & Southern Clear Creek Division works really well in the space, especially since he has a well thought-out operating plan that makes good use of the long runs he has available. And that doesn't even take into account his excellent modeling.
Arnt Gerritsen's Ann Arbor Railroad (Model Railroad Planning 1995) is a lost layout that still physically exists. We just haven't been able to find a suitable home for it. The four-hour drive to his operating sessons was always worth it. In addition to the joy of operating on his layout, and simply being around Arnt (in addition to being a genuinely nice guy, he was a library of hobby industry knowledge from his days working for Overland Models) he and his wife prided themselves on providing creative lunch spreads during the mid-session breaks.
I'm going to miss Trevor Marshall's updates on the Port Rowan, but given how many things he seems to want to do and how quickly he moves on to the next thing that interests him, I was surprised that it lasted as long as it did. His work is always fascinating to watch.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
For those of you who may wish to reaearch these lost layouts further, here is a list of all lost layouts mentioned to this point. My apologies if I have missed any.
John Allen - Gorre & Daphetid
Gary Hoover - Santa Fe
Lance Mindheim - Hoosier Line-Monon
Allen McClelland - Virginia & Ohio
Trevor Marshall - Port Rowan
Chuck Hitchcock - Santa Fe
Bill McClanahan - Texas & Rio Grande Western
David Barrow - Cat Mountain and Santa Fe
Mike Danneman - Rio Grande Moffat Road
Frank Ellison - Delta Lines
Paul Larson - Mineral Point & Northern
Andy Sperandeo - AT&SF
Tony Koester - Allegheny Midland
Mack Lowry - Railways of America
Willi and Judi Lindhorst - Charlemagne's Kingdom
PV&W Model Railroad Club - Platte Valley & Western
Jim Vail - Glenwood & Black Creek
Irv Schultz - St. Clair Northern
Roy Dohn - Victoria Northern
Whit Tower - Alturas & Lone Pine
Mike Sharman - Victorian Railway
Rev. P. Denny - Buckingham Central
P.D Hancock - Craig & Mertonford
David Jenkinson- The Long Drag and LMS
Mike Charman - The Charford Branch
richhotrainMy two favorite lost layouts fall into that category - - Gary Hoover's Santa Fe layout and Lance Mindheim's Hoosier Line-Monon layout. It must take some substantial level of inner fortitude to tear down an outstanding layout.
One thing that I notice about the lost layouts cited in this thread is that they mostly fall into one of three categories: (1) the owner has passed away (2) the owner has lost control over the location where the layout was housed (3) the owner voluntarily demolished the layout to build a new one. Of course, it is always sad to learn of the passing of a dedicated model railroader. It is always unfortunate to learn that an owner of club layout or commercial layout has lost his lease.
It is the third type that perplexes me, a great layout demolished in order to build a new one. My two favorite lost layouts fall into that category - - Gary Hoover's Santa Fe layout and Lance Mindheim's Hoosier Line-Monon layout. It must take some substantial level of inner fortitude to tear down an outstanding layout.
Oh! A lovely thread.
Modelers/layouts I have admired.
The G & D 'blew my mind'. I had never seen anything like it.
Here in the U.K.
Mike Sharman's -- Victorian Railway.
Rev. P. Denny -- Buckingham Central. Set in the year 1907.
P.D Hancock -- Craig & Mertonford. A narrow gauge adventure extraordinaire.
David Jenkinson -- The Long Drag and the LMS A layout that draws me into the scene.
Mike Charman -- The Charford Branch. Originally built in a small caravan before being extended a little. I saw it at an exhibition in London. Absolutely charming.
All have influenced me in one way or another.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
I'll second Dave's remembrance of Frank Ellison's Delta Lines.
Two of my other favorites were Roy Dohn's Victoria Northern and Whit Tower's Alturas & Lone Pine.
Ray
Narrow sahelves along 3 walls, at least as of the 1976 article. Lots of detail. He was a pioneer in using aluminum flashing for a continuous backdrop. And also write many scratchbuilding articles. A bunch of stuff on 'pickle cars' too. I think at one point he sold a series of dry transfer decals as well.
Another one not shown much love is Paul Larson's Mioneral Point & Northern. A layout WAY ahead of its time. Gordon Odegard wrote a great article on it in the May 1981 MR. Biggest problem is, there aren't many pictures ever taken of it. He was only in his 20's when he was editor of MR, left the hobby for a while, and came back in RMC in the late 60's. Only 42 when he passed in 1973.
Doughless rrinker One really amazing one back in the day was Irv Schultz's St Clair Northern. What a well done turn of the 20th century layout. Suppsoedly donated to the NMRA after his death - does it still exist? August 76 MR cover was a shot of it. --Randy I dont know if it still exists, but I remember that layout. That's about when I started reading MR. I think that layout was in a series of large shadowboxes? or very narrow shelves?
rrinker One really amazing one back in the day was Irv Schultz's St Clair Northern. What a well done turn of the 20th century layout. Suppsoedly donated to the NMRA after his death - does it still exist? August 76 MR cover was a shot of it. --Randy
One really amazing one back in the day was Irv Schultz's St Clair Northern. What a well done turn of the 20th century layout. Suppsoedly donated to the NMRA after his death - does it still exist? August 76 MR cover was a shot of it.
I dont know if it still exists, but I remember that layout. That's about when I started reading MR. I think that layout was in a series of large shadowboxes? or very narrow shelves?
GMR-1995.pdf (tbmod.com)
- Douglas
middleman I've always liked the Santa Fe,Rich.I'll second your vote for Gary Hoover's great layout. Another one that I admired was Chuck Hitchcock's Kansas area Santa Fe layout. Mike
I've always liked the Santa Fe,Rich.I'll second your vote for Gary Hoover's great layout.
Another one that I admired was Chuck Hitchcock's Kansas area Santa Fe layout.
http://coastdaylight.com/hoover_layout.html
For me personally, I miss this layout the most. I spent may hours there operating and hanging out...
Jim Vail's Glenwood & Black Creek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev108AAi5p8
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
I really need to step in for a moment and thank everyone who has contributed to this thread so far. There are so many replies and so many great layouts to consider that I will have to leave it to the forum members to check out each of these layouts as I have done. Thanks again and keep the replies coming.
pt714 Trevor Marshall's S scale Port Rowan (CNR) was dismantled this year. I've followed it for years, and as someone who loves simple track plans, rural-scenic switching and using details and framing to expand modest spaces, my thinking about my own layout and modeling has been heavily inflenced by that layout. It'll be interesting to see what he builds next. Phil
Trevor Marshall's S scale Port Rowan (CNR) was dismantled this year. I've followed it for years, and as someone who loves simple track plans, rural-scenic switching and using details and framing to expand modest spaces, my thinking about my own layout and modeling has been heavily inflenced by that layout. It'll be interesting to see what he builds next.
Phil