The original poster was asking about Bob Smaus' first small layout. I posted some info, but I didn't specifically mention the best reference for that original 2'11"X11' layout, which is MR 10/89.
Looking at the track plan in that article, one can quickly see why Bob grew tired of that layout, as well-modeld as it was. Bob started with the orginal switchback of the Gumstump and Snowshoe and added yet another. Moving cars from one part of the layout to another would have required a tedious process of see-sawing back-and-forth with only a few cars at a time.
Regards,
Byron
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
dknelson wrote: It would be a pity if a great modeler like Earl Smallshaw should be neglected or even forgotten by newer modelers who could really benefit from the thoroughness of the building articles that used to appear just a few years ago. (Actually Smallshaw has I think published some stuff recently). One of his classics was the three story eastern style tenement houses. I would say that this is one more reason why buying back issues of model magazines such as MR and RMC can be just as useful as buying new issues. On balance I would say that while cars and locomotives are more detailed and accurate today than they were 30 years ago, the best structures from back then still look great, and even the structure articles from the 1950s can still result in great looking models. Three other names from the past -- late 1950s, early 1960s -- that come to mind as being in danger of disappearing from common knowledge in spite of their great craftsmanship are Jack Work, Joe Kunzelman, and Jock Oliphant. Any of their structure or detailing articles can be read with benefit. Dave Nelson
It would be a pity if a great modeler like Earl Smallshaw should be neglected or even forgotten by newer modelers who could really benefit from the thoroughness of the building articles that used to appear just a few years ago. (Actually Smallshaw has I think published some stuff recently). One of his classics was the three story eastern style tenement houses. I would say that this is one more reason why buying back issues of model magazines such as MR and RMC can be just as useful as buying new issues. On balance I would say that while cars and locomotives are more detailed and accurate today than they were 30 years ago, the best structures from back then still look great, and even the structure articles from the 1950s can still result in great looking models.
Three other names from the past -- late 1950s, early 1960s -- that come to mind as being in danger of disappearing from common knowledge in spite of their great craftsmanship are Jack Work, Joe Kunzelman, and Jock Oliphant. Any of their structure or detailing articles can be read with benefit.
Dave Nelson
I to have a sense of history when encounting older articles like the ones found in Detailing Tips and Techniques. I am also aware of the sense of loss that takes place when that history is not cared for. This happened recently when my Grandfather Re-married after my grandmother's death. One of my aunts got so upset over this, she got legal control over his estate, Divided up the most cherished possessions among the family, And sold the rest at auction. Alot of really old and rare antiques that My grandfather wanted to go to the local museum. (Like the first TV in Weston County) instead were sold off at auction to the highest bidder just to satisfy her sense of entitlement and greed. Not to mention all the old documents and stuff she just through out because she didn't want to take the to sort through it or to her it was "Just Junk". Needless to say. There is only one more time we have to meet with this lady and then as far as the rest of this family is concerned, she is no longer part of it.
I am slowly trying to consolodate my train magazines on to CDs or DVDs just to cut down on the sheer amout of stuff I have to move with me when I do move. When I moved I moved just 8 boxes of train magazines and books alone. couple that with another 50 boxes of trains and model airplanes. Thats just way to many things to be lugging around with me. But because I am doing this, I want to aquire as many back issiues as I can and convert them to. So I can have a complete library going back as far as model railroading's beginnings.
James
Master of Big Sky Blue wrote: electrolove wrote:Here is a link to his webpage: http://www.bobsgardenpath.com/trains.html Is my computer just being cranky, or does anyone elses computer freeze up when they click on the the second page of Bob's web site? James
electrolove wrote:Here is a link to his webpage: http://www.bobsgardenpath.com/trains.html
Is my computer just being cranky, or does anyone elses computer freeze up when they click on the the second page of Bob's web site?
So far mine has had no problems with it.
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
Bob Smaus has built three layouts featured in the model railroad press. Check these links for details:
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&sort=D&output=3&cmdtext=%22SMAUS%2C+BOB%22
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&sort=D&output=3&cmdtext=%22SMAUS%2C+ROBERT%22
The first was a small switching layout based roughly on downtown LA (MR 12/87). This was based on the Gumstump and Snowshoe switchback layout of Chuck Yungkurth (MR 4/66; also Kalmbach's Trackplanning Ideas from Model Railroader). Bob indicated later that he grew tired of the switchback nature and its limitation on operations.
His second (even smaller) Port of LA (MR Dec 90 to Mar 91) layout was a great project railroad -- so refreshing to take a break from the usual generic 4X8s.
I believe both of these layouts were eventually owned by A-Line/Proto-Power West. They have been used as photo sets for their advertising (the Port of LA module is featured on A-Line's home page right now).
http://ppw-aline.com/
The larger garage-housed LA layout is beautifully done. (MR 3/99; MR 7/06) It was a real pleasure to have a chance ot visit it and meet Bob during an NMRA/PSR convention a year or two ago. Neat railroad, great guy.
chutton01 wrote: ericsp wrote: He also had a layout based on downtown LA. I remember seeing it in articles about modeling SPFE reefers (July 1989) and modeling SP's Daylight painted trailers from the 1950s. I think there was an article about the layout itself also. There is a huge multipage photolayout article about his 1950s layout in the July 2006 Model Railroader - still based on Downtown LA and environs...
ericsp wrote: He also had a layout based on downtown LA. I remember seeing it in articles about modeling SPFE reefers (July 1989) and modeling SP's Daylight painted trailers from the 1950s. I think there was an article about the layout itself also.
He also had a layout based on downtown LA. I remember seeing it in articles about modeling SPFE reefers (July 1989) and modeling SP's Daylight painted trailers from the 1950s. I think there was an article about the layout itself also.
There is a huge multipage photolayout article about his 1950s layout in the July 2006 Model Railroader - still based on Downtown LA and environs...
Isn't that the one where the layout goes out to the Fillmore area? The one I was refering to was just the downtown LA area, it would have been built in the 1980s. I think these are two seperate layouts, unless that layout became part of his current layout.
I think that the article I was thinking that was about his layout was actually about SP tiger stripe switchers. It was in the mid 1990s.
I wonder what he did with his mechanical reefers.
Master of Big Sky Blue wrote:These articles all look like they were from the late 1980s There were a buch from a fellow by the name of Earl Smallshaw as well.
That fellow named Earl Smallshaw happens to be arguably one of the very best, most innovative, small layout modelers around and truly one of the greats in model railroading. Unlike many of the "flash-in-the-pan" hobby idols we've seen in more recent years, Earl's been contributing steadily to MR and other publications since he was a teen back in the 1950's. I can't even begin to count how many modeling articles he's had published over the years...perhaps more than just about anyone else! Many of his early scratchbuilding articles were the basis for structures I, and countless thousands of other hobbyists, have built over the years.
CNJ831
chutton01 wrote: Master of Big Sky Blue wrote:These articles all look like they were from the late 1980sAs noted above, Bob Smaus did do a multi-issue Port of Los Angeles layout in the early 1990s (still have all but one of the articles), but it was set in then-contemporary (1990) times as opposed to the 1950s.
Master of Big Sky Blue wrote:These articles all look like they were from the late 1980s
I think that's in 6 Ho railroads you can build.
dekruif
Note: I start w/ installment 2 (of 4), which was in the January 1991 MR.
Heh, you can see how far scale HO vehicles have come, as he was forced to use 1960s and 1970s vehicles for the 1990s (well, OK, we are forced to use European vehicles, but at least there from the 1990s and early 21st century )
That is not the only layout he had in MR.
In the December 1990 through March 1991 issues he had a series on building a small layout modeling part of the Port of Los Angeles.
Neighter of these were shelf layouts.
Hello All,
I was thumbing through the book, "Detailing Tips and Techniques" while I was looking on some information on how to model a particular scene I had sceen in one of my Kalmbach books. Thumbing through the pages, I noticed there were several articles by Robert Smaus. (Am I spelling that right?)
There are several articles in there that featured his old shelf layout with an article on bridge abutments, and a tight space building that gets bisceted by some tracks.
I just thought it was cool to comare his older work to what he has done with his present LA layout. Just wondering what happened to his old shelf layout.