Who was your biggest model railroading influence?
Got a link to a website showing their work, or maybe a pic or two?
I'm not looking to see a big back-patting session here. I just want to recognize quality craftsmanship and maybe get some inspiration.
I have a couple of people that I would list as having an impact on my modeling.
Like many, my first influence was John Allen, but I was also influenced by three others as I grew into the hobby. George Sellos' Franklin & South Manchester Railroad made an impact, and well as the Reid Brothers Cumberland Valley System. Lastly, a friend of mine, Ed Kapuscinski, has a couple of great N scale layouts.
So thats me.......how about you?
Not in any particular order
John Allen
Malcolm Furlow
John Olson
Dave Frary
Bob Grech
Allen McClelland (spelling?)
And lately.....
Joe Fugate
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
A few of the ones mentioned, for me:
John Allen, Dave Frary, Art Curren, Joe Fugate, John Olsen(Olson?), (not sure of his first name) Wagner (Eric? Scott? - wrote MRR'ing articles in Boys Life magazine and came up with the 4X8 layout that was my very first layout I started), Linn Wescott, Jim Kelly, Malcolm Furlow, Iain Rice and probably some others who don't come to mind at the moment. (And yes, those are in no particular order). And that's not counting several helpful and friendly LHS owners I've dealt with along the way...
Jim in Cape Girardeau
loathar wrote:My Dad...
Got a pic?
John Allen (G&D)
Bruce Chubb (Sunset Valley)
Allen McClelland (Virginia & Ohio)
Tony Koester (Allegheny Midland)
Joe Fugate (Southern Pacific) If you have not visited Joe's website, I would highly recommend that you take a look.
JIM
Jim, Modeling the Kansas City Southern Lines in HO scale.
My father & the Model Railroad at the Santa Susana Station!
- Luke
Modeling the Southern Pacific in the 1960's-1980's
Linn Westcott
MALCOLM FURLOW
John Olsen
George Sellios
http://www.polyweb.com/dans_rr/blog/index.php/the-layout-project-ride-my-version-of-the-san-juan-central/the-san-juan-central/ forgot about this fansite for the San Juan Central
John Allen's G&D
Joe Crea's Pitkin Tram
George Sellios F&SM'
Bob Hegge's Crooked Mountain Lines
Lane Stewert's series of articles in the Gazette during the 1990's
...and
Chris Walas, Bob Baxter and Don Gage (all local large scale guys) and Dave Fletcher (not so local Kiwi) who's online classes taugh me all my scratchbuilding sorcery skills
Most of these guys have no fansites outside of the John Allen website already mentioned.
The large scale guys can be found at http://www.4largescale.com/
Have fun with your trains
Mine were:
My Grandfather
My Dad
Allen McClelland
Bob Berger, C.O.O. N-ovation & Northwestern R.R. My patio layout....SEE IT HERE
There's no place like ~/ ;)
Dean Freytag
Allan McClelland
Tony Koester (Allegany Midland)
Jim Hediger
Mike Rabbitt
John Armstrong
John Teichmoeller
"Aggro" (The WeatheredMan)
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
Spacemouse....He's my hero!
Rotor
Jake: How often does the train go by? Elwood: So often you won't even notice ...
First and foremost, Frank Ellison.
Second, Paul Larson.
Third, Linn Westcott.
Honorable mention, the LHS owner (name unknown to me) who had a really detailed HO engine terminal in his shop window. Also, a neighbor (Mr Nichols?) who first showed me (and a bunch of other kids) what an operating HO layout was all about.
Regarding those last two, I was a preschooler at the time. The stick got bent early.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Art Curren - it's taken a long time to realize that I can assemble a kit without major alterations and lightnig will not strike.
Don Reschenberg - his work on some of the project railroads, along with his illustrations throughout MR in the '60's, really turned me on to the hobby, instead of just running trains.
Paul Larson, Linn Westcott, et al - the staff of MR from my first issue in January, 1960, really were a huge influence on me, and still are to this day.
Thanks to all - and to those who have followed.
Jim Hertzog
And, being a relative newcomer to the hobby, I get inspired by the work of several forum members:
Jon Grant
CNJ831
UKGuy
MisterBeasley
Selector
ARTHILL
I'm sure there are a few others but I'm having a blonde moment.
Linn Westcott taught me much through his articles and books; his columns were a source of inspiration.
John Allen showed what was possible - sort of a star to reach for.
Then there are all the modelers I met at shows and the LHS; you guys each taught me a little something.
I owe you all a debt of gratitude.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
#1 - My (now late) older brother. Tom. We both started with Lionel.
#2 - G.A.Humann - South Shasta Lines - Gerber, CA - Modeling the Southern Pacific from Gerber to Dunsmuir in Northen California in O scale (honest-to goodness scale). Until recently, the South Shasta has had public showings every spring since, well, before I was born in 1954. My first visit there was in about 1962. I've made the trip, pretty much annually, until the last open-to-the public show about 4 years back. Humann is now well into his 90s. The South Shasta has been covered in many past issues of MR and RMC.
#3 - Linn Wescott - MR Editor Emeritus
#4 - Whit Towers - Alturas and Lone Pine - conducted the original "The Operators" in RMC during the 60s.
I'd have to give credit to Joe Fugate and Charlie Comstock in that order, but mostly the order in which I learned of their "stuff" when thinking about my second layout. They both wear big boots.
Aggro is certainly a solid influence because of this trees and his own weathering. Every time I image my rolling stock or engines, I think to myself, "What is Aggro going to think privately....yet another just-shopped engine."
And I couldn't do this type of searching without giving a humble nod to Karl (UKGuy) and to Simon1966 who have encouraged me to keep growing and to find out what I can do. Anyone who visits here regularly also knows that these two gentlemen can model structures like nobody's business.
CNJ831 is an exceptional modeller whose fall images are simply breathtaking. I always enjoy seeing his photos. Same for Bob Boudreau's eye-popping close-ups and superb renderings that can withstand the close scrutiny.
And for straight gee-whizz, it has to be Mark Brunton with his ginormous helix. I can't wait to see the whole layout. (Come to think of it, it would be nice to see Chuck's Japanese layout.)
There are others who post their fine images every week on WPF, too numerous to go on at length here. They get enough accolades that they must have an idea of my appreciation (an example would be Jacon12 whose photograpy is peerless IMO).
-Crandell
Not to dis all the great guys in the hobby, but my biggest influence was my place of employment , which happened by accident, I ended up working for GE, building , you guessed it Locomotives ! It kinda just made me want to model them. Also a local modeler I meet here in Erie had a great EL. layout that just amazed me. He painted many of the models that they presented to customers in the early days , so he got me into painting very early on.
Yes all the greats did spur me on and many of they guys here as well , Joe and Aggro etc etc.
And I second that , Chuck when will you let us see your Japanese layout !!!!!
Jerry SP FOREVER http://photobucket.com/albums/f317/GAPPLEG/
My Uncle Bud
NY Society of Model Engineers layout at the old ferry terminal on a grade school class trip
MR, MRC, several now defunct publications and all their writers/contributors
A number of friendly LHS owners & fellow modelers met at the LHS
I'd have to say my mom.
She took me train chasing as a kid, bought me my first wooden train set when I was three (Brio, still have it), and had some track and HO cars that got my feet wet in the whole hobby.
Well my first influence in getting interested in model railroading was my cousin out in Texas whose dad was an oil executive and they had a big room with an American Flyer layout in it. As I was the son of a not so wealthy Navy Chief Petty Officer my model railroading didn't get started until I was out of college about 10 yrs later. During that time I had satisfied myself with building plastic model airplanes and ships. The LHS here in Orlando had a pretty big train department and I started getting interested again and started going to the local HO club where I met the person that influenced me the most. His name is Jim Six and a lot of you either know him or of him. We were the same age and had both just graduated from college with identical degrees. We went on several rail fanning trips around the southeast together and became close friends. He encouraged me to apply the weathering techniques I used on my model planes to my trains and I haven't looked back since.
Now thats about the most I have typed at one time in a long time.
First and formost influence would be God himself, after all He has the best layout I have seen yet.
Then there is John Allen, and Allen McClelland. When I was introduced to Model Railroading in 1983 at 13 years old, I was handed 3 books by a friend of my parents, a 1978 Walthers Catalog, a Book about John Allen, and a Model Railroader Mag that featured the V&O on the cover.
God's still is the best! ;)
First, my Dad, for getting me a set of Lionels when I was a very little boy, and my Mom, for letting me have a large permanent layout of my own in the house.
My teenage friend Dick Young, just a kid like me with a layout, but someone with whom I shared the hobby day after day for quite a few years.
Finally, the New York and Boston subway systems. Being from Long Island, New York, where rail freight was almost non-existent, I was drawn to the "dark side" of subterranean railroads, even as a boy. Finally, half a century later, I can model them myself.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
First would be my late father, who faithfully set up the train garden every Christmas for my brother and me, and who purchased my first N scale train set.
I was only playing with N scale trains until I saw the Reid Bros. layout the first time it was showcased in MR back in the early 80's. That made me realize what great scenery can look like, and how a great model railroad can operate.
John Armstrong, who showed us all how much you can achieve if only you think outside the 4x8 box.
Tom Mann, who takes weathering to a new level of artistry, Ed Kapuscinski who builds scenery that is at once serene and breathtaking.
Ted Klein, who has supplied my habit for all these years...
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
Since you asked for names and photos, I'll oblige you with the 3 people who have influenced my modeling abilities and talents the most:
#1. Chuck Ellis, Austin, TX. Here's a photo from his layout:
#2. Gil Freitag, Houston, TX. Here's a photo from his layout:
#3. Don Bozman, Houston, TX. Here's a photo from his layout:
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
#1-My PARENTS, for buying me HO scale trains as a youngster (Marx, Tyco at 1st, then onto Atlas & Athearn) & a BIG + for my Mom for bringing home a copy of the January '78 issue of MR-that set the hook!
#2-Model Railroader Magazine! (see above^ )
#3-Richard Francaviglia in the above issue with his 4x6 layout "C&O+C&O=C&O."
#4-JIM HEDIGER!!!!!!! His Ohio Southern in it's various configurations have always impressed the crap out of me, & his influence still holds true today, as I continously re-read the articles on the "then" OS (7-78 MR) & the "now" OS (9-05 MR) & carry them around with me (work/home) as for ideas, inspiration, & track planning, as I "plan" on building a variation of Jim's current OS, but slightly shrunk down to fit my basement & region to be modeled.(the HV/C&O in fictional current day from Gallipolis to Columbus OH)
#5-The late Andy Anderson at MR who moderated "Student Fare" back in the day, & encouraged young pups like me at that time.