Inspired by some good recent model railroad videos, I made a stab at a 6-minute tour of my N Scale PRR. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veEvKHFGd5s
(Edited 10:49 EDT 21 Sep 2007 to add higher-res video with properly synchronized music)
Modeling the Rio Grande Southern First District circa 1938-1946 in HOn3.
Dave,
Thanks for sharing, the detail is fantastic down to the signal lighting. Wow!! I'm a PRR guy myself and dream of one day modelling the Altoona shops. I've been having a tough time finding decent aireal images of it..... Do you happen to have any info or links for this? I'd truely appreciate it.
Not only did I enjoy the video, but I also enjoyed seeing your layout. Very well done, indeed.
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
Dave:
Excellent work! With all the great detail I can't believe that you are working in N scale. I could almost smell the coal smoke and diesel exhaust.
Joe
Very nice layout and video. I'm currently modeling in HO scale, but this shows me what can be done in a small space in N scale.
John
Very nice video. The music is great and really adds a lot. It's hard to believe this is N scale. Your modeling skills are outstanding.
Many people say that their layout is never finished but yours sure seems to be. Are you still working on it? Do you have any new projects under way? Or, are you just enoying running trains for awhile?
Thanks for your efforts. They should be inspiring to many.
Jerry
Rio Grande vs. Santa Fe.....the battle is over but the glory remains!
Thanks for the compliments... I'm waiting for someone to guess what music it is. This is a tough one, unless you know me pretty well!
The layout is essentially finished, although I often rework a scene here or there (like the Lewisport station grounds or M Interlocking). Most of my current attention is focused on building more accurate locomotives and cars for the PRR in N scale.
Sorry but I don't have any decent overhead shots of Altoona. Google maps or Mapquest might have current overhead satellite, but I don't know where you could find historical overhead shots.
Amazing job Dave!
Now, if I can make a layout that looks half as good as yours....
-Dan
Builder of Bowser steam! Railimages Site
Unbelievable Dave !
Your railroad, your video, and the music. I kept looking to see if William Holden or John Wayne were going to get off the train in the begining of an action adventure. Nice work!
Den.
Dave,You done a great job on modeling the PRR..Your layout really captures the feel of the PRR in believability and scenery. It didn't take much for me to believe I was standing trackside in the 50s.
Thanks for sharing.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Very Cool Dave !
I only got to see 1min 17 sec
I kept losing the connection
but that was enough to tell it was great
Dial up Sucks !
TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
Outstanding, Dave!
The sound track is reminiscent of those 1940s & 50s "This is the XX Railroad" movies the railroads' PR departments were putting out. Very nice!
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
BATMAN wrote:Great video, well done. As far as the music goes if I had to guess I would say it sounds like a James Horner composition?
Close! It's Hans Zimmer... selections from the soundtrack to the Simpsons Movie.
Homer Simpson is a true American hero!
Well done, Dave!
Fine modeling, great production, with music that completes the package. I especially liked the scale speed running, and the passenger train easing to a stop. Beautiful.
Makes me want to dig my way out of the netherworld so I can start on some scenery!
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
This is a great day, to enjoy quality trains and video work.
Just a tad bit zoomy in the beginning but much smoother overall. Who am I to say that there is a problem with such a excellent production.
Where did you find the music? Reminds me of some of the news reels of yore.
I liked the signal work very much but the pax train stopping was probably the best Ive seen and to have that done in N scale makes it even more impressive.
Well done!
Let's take a peek at your cards on the tray on the layout edge, what cargos and destinations/orgin do you have there?
Excellent, Dave! The video puts is all nicely into perspective for me. I really like the way your main street turned out...A+. You also, to get to the mechanical side of things, managed to get your tracks nice and smooth; very little jerking. Very nice video.
-Crandell
Safety Valve wrote: This is a great day, to enjoy quality trains and video work.Just a tad bit zoomy in the beginning but much smoother overall. Who am I to say that there is a problem with such a excellent production.Where did you find the music? Reminds me of some of the news reels of yore.I liked the signal work very much but the pax train stopping was probably the best Ive seen and to have that done in N scale makes it even more impressive.Well done!Let's take a peek at your cards on the tray on the layout edge, what cargos and destinations/orgin do you have there?
Thanks! I'm not happy with the zoom-y-ness either; the zoom on my DV camcorder isn't working very well.
Ah, yes, my car cards and waybills... Everything from coal to Steinway pianos to New Holland tractors to PRR Merchandise LCL freight. Everything moved via PRR! Some moves from Chicago or New York; others from closer destinations. Some arrives and departs online... Some ends up in the Pittsburgh or Johnstown steel mills.
The music is by Hans Zimmer.
Dave Vollmer wrote:Homer Simpson is a true American hero!
Great production values, Dave, although I didn't know Pennsylvania was such a hotbed of seismic activity. Not having seen the movie, I would never have guessed the Simpsons soundtrack. It does have that 40's or 50's "Building America" feel to it.
It's interesting to realize as the camera pans how how different locales and points of interest can be compressed into a small space, particularly with scenery elements like the mountain to act as partition. I like the detailed street level views as much as the railroad shots.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
Very nice Dave!I enjoyed it immensely!I too am a PRR fan, working on a freelance PRR layout in HO, and have a long way to go yet!My Dad and my Uncle both worked on the Pennsy , based out of Ft Wayne Indiana, from the mid 40's through the mid 50's.
Thanks for sharing the GRRREAAT video!
Very well done!
Ed
***Dave, simply "SUPERB". The foliage & mountains look very natural. Thank you for sharing this. It is inspiring work.
Rob
Thanks for all the compliments so far!
I used Pinnacle Studio 11 to edit the movie. It looks much sharper on DVD!
I had fun doing this; maybe later this year (after November's train show at the State Fairgrounds) I'll do an extended version. The hardest part of filming was staging; I had removed the staging yard to make room for some guests staying in the spare bedroom.
I'd also like to do some train sounds; my existing fixed sound systems sound a little "tinny" on film.
The video is fantastic, far better than the stills. Now that I have high-speed I can actually watch videos. You're my hero.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Dave Vollmer wrote: It's Hans Zimmer... selections from the soundtrack to the Simpsons Movie.
D'OH! I should've known that!
Inspiring video, Dave. When my layout grows up, it wants to be just like yours!
Jim
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright