full size railroads to model

[Anonymous]

i am fairly new to this, so please bare with me. i would like to know if there is a magazine that shows full size railroads that one can model? i know you can just freelance but modeling one after a real railroad would be better. any help would be appreciated

[Anonymous]

Model Railroader often runs "A Railroad You Can Model" article. They show prototype photos, era, industries served and usually a suggested track plan. These cover a variety of locales and timeframes. You should ask what type of railroad and era you are interested in modeling and I'm sure the members of this forum would be more than happy to share their knowledge. Good luck and if I have any info to share I will be more than happy to!!!

[nfmisso]

Hi Bruce;

Click on "Index of Magazines" above, on the left side of the screen, near the middle there is:
List/Contents...
General Model Magazines
Scale-Specific Magazines
Prototype Magazines
Books
Special Interest Publications

For current railroads, Trains, CTC Board and RMJ are good.

For historical insights Mainline Modeler, and the various historical societies.
http://www.trains.com/story/story_list.asp?idMenuCategory=6&idMenuSubCategory=63&idMenuMinorCategory=6302

I currently subscribe to Model Railroader(MR), Mainline Modeler(MM), Model Railroading (MRG) and RMN (which I am not planning on renewing). And I am a member of the N&WHS. I also keep an extensive collection of Prototype Modeler, now defunct.

[ndbprr]

You have just found one of the fascinating aspects of the hobby - modeling a prototype. That being said even the Strasburg railroad in Pennsylvania that is four miles long would require 243' of track to model in HO in perfect scale. So if you had a 40' long basement you would have to find a way to loop it around 6 times. Enter the idea of selective compression where you model the most important aspects and shorten the mainline, etc. Want to model CSX or UP? No problem. Just don't plan on the whole thing. Decide what you want (lots of trains, switching, mountain or city scenery, slower paced, yard work, engine terminal) and model a portion that represents that aspect. Even the biggest railroads have branches that are very interesting and can be modeled very well. So here are the steps I would follow:
1. Look at some books that have pictures of railroads from different eras and decide on a railroad and era
2. Join the historical society or read further books on that railroad
3. start to decide what it is that you like about that railroad
4. Ask others for areas that meet those needs and do research - try terraserver.com that has aerial photos of the entire country so you can zero in on an area.
5. Draw a plan around that area and ask for input
6. Start building

It isn't a good idea to start slinging wood and track until you have a good plan. Even then you will have to change things around. AND ABOVE ALL ENJOY THE HOBBY! SOME PEOPLE MAKE THIS A SECOND JOB.

[coachayers]

Model Railroader publishes a list of RR historical societies which can provide information regarding their favorite lines. You need to decide whether you want to have a large mainline operation, branch, or whatever.

Bob

[Anonymous]

Kalmbach has or had 2 books that might be of help to you. They were "Classic Railroads You Can Model" and "More CRRYCM"

They each covered several real railroads and adapted them to a model railroad. They included a short history with photos of the railroads and also had a layout plan for each. They ranged from huge Class I railroads to shortlines. The layouts ranged from small to very large.

Your local hobby shop should have them or you can probably get them from Kalmbach or at a train show.

Best of luck with the railroad.
Roger

[Anonymous]

I remember an article in MR a few years back that highlighted model railroads that were uncompressed complete railroads in miniature. There was one that modeled the railroad that serviced the VLA in New Mexico. It is possible to do a complete road, but unless you are Warren Buffet and can buy enough land in Canada to have a track plan that is an actual 10 miles long (it must be true, I saw in in an April issue of MR), you must pick and choose the aspect of real railroading you enjoy best and go from there.

[Anonymous]

If you live in the Northeast, I reccomend Railpaace (www.railpace.com). They cover northeast railfanning in every era, mostly modern.

[coachayers]

You could go to google and enter (railroad name) historical society and get some info on which ever road you are interested in. There are many short lines you could model. In Virginia, two that come to mind are the Chesapeake Western, in the Harrisonburg, Stanton, Waynesboro area, which interchanged with Southern, Norfolk and Western and also C&O, and the Winchester and Western in Winchester, VA that interchanged with B&O.

Bob

[Anonymous]

Hi Bruce,

Now that is an interesting question... There were a number of shortlines (really short) that would be possible to model in their entirety in HO or N scale. If you want to try this appraoch, you will need a lot [:o] of space. It takes about 60 feet to equal one mile in HO, and just over 32 feet in N. So if you have a really short real-life road, and several hundred feet of space, you could do the entire thing!

Have fun!

Andrew

[JohnCarty]

Bruce,

I do not know what area you are from, but you may which to model your own town. Although anyone visiting will be able to tell if you goof or not, research can consist of taking walks around town. Even if you do not model your current town of residence, you can still poke around and learn from the 1:1 scal models around you.

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF MODEL RAILROADING by Sutton can also give you ideas. Although the book was written in the 60's, I find that great deal of the information is still valid. Additionally, a whole page is dedicated to railroad heralds.

Personally, I am a Wabash fan; but I also have an interest in St. Louis area railroads (I live 16 miles SE of St. Louis). Although most of what you hear about are the class 1 railroads, don't be afraid of shortlines, especially if you like the transitionera or earlier.

Regardless, remember to have fun and don't turn down challenges. They lead to even more fun.

[Jetrock]

I model the town where I live--I had to give up on the idea of matching the prototype in any but the barest sense--the belt line that went around downtown Sacramento looped around 3 miles by 3 miles, but I don't have a 180x180 foot room handy!!

Modeling even the shortest short line exactly is problematic--even the Quincy Railroad, a few miles long, would take hundreds of feet to model, most of which is just straight track, as would the Mattole Lumber Company's 2-mile stretch of 30" track--120 feet of track (in HOn30) for a line with a motive power list of one 0-4-2 Vulcan tank engine is difficult to justify.

It is easy, however, to selectively compress a short line (or even a long one) into a much smaller space, by focusing on the most interesting points and vignettes that one wants to model.

A good place to start for such things is a book on a particular railroad--your local hobby shop, library or railroad museum will have a hatful of them, probably mostly about railroads in your region. I have spent countless hours researching local history and geography, digging up old maps and photos and articles--partially because I want my model railroad to reflect at least some of what was once here, but also because it's fun!

[IRONROOSTER]

A couple of more books to get would be Track Planning for Realistic Operation and Creative Layout Design, both by John Armstrong. The first one covers how to model real railroad practices. The second one deals with specific situations and some real railroads that can be modeled. I have found both books to be very helpful in planning a layout. You can model any railroad that interests you and these books will help. The challenge is finding one that covers all your interests and then researching it and picking out the parts to model.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

The advice from other modelers on this thread is excellent - If you understand how prototype railroads overcame obstacles in order to move people and goods from one location to another, and how they operated over those railroads you'll have a much better foundation on which to select, research and construct your model railroad. And the more you'll be satisfied with it over the long haul. Resist the urge to buy models not of the same era , motive power w/ different road names, or try to model all of the UP or N&W in their entirety, and buy the best stuff that fits your budget. The two books mentioned by IRONROOSTER are invaluable; mine are many years old, all dog-eared, and should be on your short list of things to buy first. If I can recommend a few prototypes to consider: Southern's Murphy Branch (in western NC), South Pacific Coast (SP branch -SF Bay Area thru Santa Cruz Mtns to coast), joint NYC & PRR Elmira Branch (upstate NY) & CP/Kettle Valley Railway in western Canada. Each one of these offers lots of potential 'that's something I gotta model' and there is sufficient background material for researching each of these examples, Short trains were appropriate on each, geography played a major factor in their route selection and subsequent operating struggles Tight curves, steep grades and some tunnels and small, scenic towns and diverse industries make them more like what most model railroads incorporate to increase the apparent distance from point A to point B. If you're interested in any of these I can provide list of publications that will fill in the details. Let me know.