Most admired Model Railroader poll

[vsmith]

John Allen
Malcomn Furlow
George Sellios
Joe Crea
Lane Stewart
Carl Arednt

[keystonecrossings]

In no particular order...

John Armstrong
Paul Dolkos
Tony Koester
The Reid Brothers
Chuck Hitchcock -- boy did I like his previous layout better though!
Bill Denton

[ssgauge]

John Armstrong, Bill McClanahan, Linn Wescott, Frank Ellison, Al Kalmbach

[ClinchValleySD40]

McClelland
Ellison
Armstrong
Koester
Hediger
Barrow

Anyone that puts Strang on their list obviously has not met him in person.

[pcarrell]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jxtrrx

I know that the people everyone is listing have impressive credentials. I've read many of their books, and they surely know their stuff. I admire them too. But I've only been at this a couple of years, and what I've learned most from is the tireless guys on this forum. There are some names that will cause me to visit a thread just because they have contributed, even if it's a topic that I'm not necessarily interested in.

Decided to limit it to ten. I know I've forgotten some, but the ones I admire for the expertise they offer (not just what they've heard or read... but what they've done), their layouts, in many cases their websites, tutorials, and their amazing knowledge. So, My Most Admired Model Railroaders:

Joe Fugate
Randy Rinker
Don Gibson
Texas Zepher
Cliff Powers
Chuck Clark
Harold Minkwitz
Elliot Feinberg
Ray Breyer
Bob Boudreau

Well said. I'm going to have to go with you. These are some of my most immediate influences. John Allen, George Sellos, John Armstrong, etc., they all shaped my thinking, but these guy's are taking it to the next step.. They share of themselves in order to help me realize my dream empire.

Thank You, to all those listed above.

[beegle55]

Everyone contributes a lot to this hobby, and I thank every single person whos in the hobby for helping keep the hobby above the water, if you will.

[Anonymous]

Hmmm - I always miss someone or something when talking about my favorites of anything, but here's who comes to mind:

1) David Barrow
2) Pelle Soeborg (a relatively newcomer to the world of model railroad super-stud-rom, but he's definitely there!)
3) Eric Brooman - Love the Utah Belt!
4) George Sellios - love his work or hate it, the guy is talented as heck (I love it)
5) Tony Koester - his writing is a bit off-the-wall sometimes, but he gets me thinking about the hobby and what I want from it, etc. Not to mention, his modelling work is killer.
6) Michael Tylick - I always love his work.

[steamage]

These are a few of the old timers who have inspired me to improve on various modeling skills over the years. List starting from 1960 when I got into the HO scale.
1) Linn Westcott - Editorials and his Model Trains magazine.
2) E.L. Moore - Building structures quickly and use of materials.
3) Jack Work - Fine supper detailing work.
3) Paul Janson - Modeling and photography skills to get that SP nostalgic look.
4) Lloyd Giebner_ Had the coolest Santa Fe layout in the December 1960, Model Trains magazine.
5) Andy Sperandeo - His early articles about building structures with styrene.

My first model structures were really crappy, built of cardboard and hand painted. Their a bit better now 46 years later.

[Anonymous]

Mike Wolf
Andy Edleman
Tony Lash
Allan Miller

[CMSTPP]

my father as being number "ONE" He models O scale. He also models the prototype proto48 which is four foot eight and a half inches. All the locomotives are in five foot so he has to make up his own wheel sets and move the truck side frames in a little[bow]...
He's pretty cool. He has to do this to all his rail cars too. Thankfully there are companies that make wheels in proto48.

2. Dan Mackey
3. Phil Keppers
4. Fred Soup, the "God" of model railroading!!! Models Metra passenger line in Chicago. All HO. He probably has one of the most complicated model railroads of all time. Chicago's Metra Union Depot. Take a look at the track plan at Union depot in chicago and you will get the idea..................... 25 double slips and 50 turnouts in a fourth of a mile. and thats not all either.........Take a look at the Chicago area. Almost every track is modeled for Metra on his layout.

Those are the top four for me.

James

[dinwitty]

everybody in the hobby

[CMSTPP]

I am in to the hobby big time.
Milwaukee road is my kind of railroad.
[B)]..............Maybe you can tell by my sig...........maybe....[:D]

James

[dinwitty]

I think its...

Milwaukee road?

Its all Great Northern to me....heh


maybe those hobo's can give me a hint...

[edkowal]

There are several names which I haven't seen mentioned yet:

Cliff Grandt
Al Armitage
Irv Athearn
Hal Carstens
*** Andrews
Vince Ryan
Ted Collins
Roye England
Roy C Link
Dave Rowe

Of the names with which you may not be familiar, Al Armitage did pattern and kit design, and custom model building for Revell, Kemtron and other manufacturers. He also wrote a long running column in the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette.

*** Andrews, Vince Ryan and Ted Collins were pioneers in narrow gauge modeling, *** Andrews in two foot gauge, Vince Ryan and Ted Collins in three foot gauge. All three were members of a loosely knit confederation of modeleres who communicated with each other by a round robin newsletter. Cliff Grandt was also a part of this confederation, but most of you are familiar with his name already.

Hal Carstens and Irv Athearn most people know about.

Roye England was the main driving force behind the tour de force which is the Pendon Museum in England, possibly the best scale model railroading exhibit in the world. His exceptional modelling, and the community of volunteers which maintain and expand that exhibit, have inspired many modellers the world over.

Roy C Link is also from England, and edits a magazine called the Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modelling Review, and produces a number of excellent kits and supplies for narrow gauge equipment in 1/43.5 scale ( British O scale )

Dave Rowe has produced a number of extremely well made dioramas on small prototypes from the English countryside, and written several books sharing his techniques.

There are others, of course, but these names stand out for me.

-Ed

[Anonymous]

john allen
pelle seborg

[orsonroy]

Good grief, how did MY name pop up on this list?!?

I have to admit, I admire a LOT of modelers. Almost anyone who has appeared on the pages of MR, RMC, or MM over the past 25 years has had something positive to contribute to the hobby, and I learn a little bit each and every time I pick up a magazine. There are a few names that I do see missing from this list though:

Al Westerfield. Although he didn't invent resin casting, he's the first to see it's full potential. His 1920s-era layout was featured several times in Craftsman in the 1980s, and the bulk of his kits are his own masters. A truly nice man, and one who has quietly raised the detailing and prototype bar for all of us.

Frank Hodina. Although one of those "stealth" modelers (he hasn't had a layout in over 15 years!) he's nonetheless one of the most prolific and talented modelers on the planet. He's created hundreds of resin kit masters for Sunshine and Westerfield, and is one of the most knowledgable freight car historians around. As far as I can tell, his work's only appeared in print once (an old MR Model of the Month), but he's held in quiet awe by most rivet counters. He's also a very active layout designer, and has at least as many of his designs actually built as John Armstrong.

Ted Culotta. Look in any RMC over the past three years or so, and you'll see his "Essential Freight Car" series. These are some of the best models I've ever seen, in any scale, and of any hobby discipline. Not only are his models exqusite (to call them museum quality is to denigrate them), but he does the research for the prototypes as well.

Finally, John Swanson. John's one of those old time modelers who's not afraid to take a hacksaw and file to a steam engine to come up with something else, and is a walking steam encyclopedia. His "Steam From Kits" series in the 1980s started me down the path of superdetailing steam engines and prototype research. He's still actively churning out steam articles and reviews for Craftsman.



Oh, and I like Jon Grant's modeling too! [;)]

[Anonymous]

Lets not forget Gordon Odegard!!!

[n2mopac]

I would have to agree with nearly all of the above, but I will name the three that have had the greatest influence and been of the greatest help to me personally.
1)Tony Koester--I have enjoyed trains of thought ever since I first subscribed to MR 10 years ago. Tony's thoughts are unique and often get you thinking about aspects of railroading and model railroading that you havn't thought about before. He is perhaps the most maligned person in model railroading, and for the life of me I cannot figure out why. I had the opportunity to meed Tony at an NMRA convention in St. Louis a few years ago and he is honestly on of the nicesest and most sincere guys you could ever meet.
2) Joe Fugate--I had read Joe's articles and heard about his layout for some time, but I became truly interested in his work when someone on this forum pointed me to his web site in response to a question about operating rules 3 or 4 years ago. Since then Joe has led some excellent clinics on this site as well as provided great info on his own forum and through his new video series. He always takes time to answer people's questions and genuinely wants to help others become better modelers and build better model railroads. Thanks, Joe, for all of your help.
3) Olaf Melhausen--most of you are saying, "Who?" Olie had his N scale Dakota Northern featrued in MR a few years ago and more recently wrote an article about building N scale switch stands using Micro Trains bolster pins. He is a North Dakota transplant living in Fort Worth, TX and working for BNSF. I met Olie at his home on a layout tour throught a local show while living in the area. Olie was not only very helpful with suggestions and explaining how he has done things, but he also invited me to my first ever ops session and introduced me to other modelers in the area, bringin me into a whole new phase of modeling at that time. Thanks, Olie.

Ron

[waltersrails]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bob grech
Very true

Here are my top 5:

1 - John Allen
2 - George Sellios
3 - Malcom Furlow
4 - Bob Hayden
5 - Irv Shultz

[icmr]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dinwitty

everybody in the hobby

[#ditto]



Victor

Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]

[AggroJones]

Aggro Jones, Jack Parker, Aggro Jones, Mark Schutzer, Aggro Jones, Ron Kuykendall, Aggro Jones, George Sellios, and Aggro Jones.

[Emma Junction Railway]

One of my favorites was Gordon Odegaard, one of the best and most overlooked of MR's staff, back when the magazine was actually written for model "builders", not the "take it out of the box and run it "modeler. He left us too soon.

[Anonymous]

#2 on your list

[jeffrey-wimberly]

everybody in the hobby

We all contribute!

[PennsyHoosier]

A few thoughts...

1.) John Allen - Got me interested in more than trains running in a circle.
2.) LInn Wescott - His work got me started in layout building.
3.) Dave Frary - Convinced me that I could do scenery
4.) Lou Sassi - Has made my scenery better.

[AggroJones]

yeah and the skills of some of the guys here:

Ken Larson
Joe Fugate
Bob Broudrea
Karl (ukguy)
AndreChapelon