"Milwaukee Magazine" article about model railroading

[Markgro]

The July 2010 issue of Milwaukee Magazine has a very nice feature article about model railroading.

The article looks into the history of how Milwaukee became a center of model railroading industry:

- How William K. Walthers started out as a small Depression-era mail order supplier of rails, electrical components, and accessories and grew into a worldwide manufacturer and distributor;

- How Al Kalmbach combined two of his hobbies, model railroading and printing, into a successful business;

- How Kalmbach, Walthers, and other model railroaders teamed up to create the National Model Railroad Association to promote national standards for the hobby;

- And other local highlights such as Trainfest, one of the largest annual model railroading shows in the country, and Milwaukee Pubblic Television's production of "Tracks Ahead."

In addition, the article explores just what it is that attracts participants to the hobby. Several local model model railroad clubs and individuals (many of whom will be familiar to readers of the model railroading press) are profiled and interviewed:

- A brief operating scenario on the North American Prototype Modelers club layout;

- The Model Railroad Club of Milwaukee's layout and unusual clubhouse located in an old railroad station built into a bridge abutment/rail line embankment (Kalmbach and Walthers were founding members, along with notable locals like future Mayor Fran Zeidler);

- A description of John Tews Timber River Railway layout;

- Highlights of Keith Kohlmann's efforts to recreate historical scenes of Milwaukee, Sturtevant, and Kenosha, Wisconsin on his series of N scale modules (plus other Wisconsin scenes from members of the Mini Mod-U-Trak group);

- Exploring the whimsical mixture of the Pacific Northwest and Switzeralnd influences on Marcel Trautwein's Grand D'Elusion layout;

- Jim Kelley describes how he is recreating the Tehachapi Loop on his N scale layout;

- Plus Kalmbach notables Neil Besougloff, Tony Koester, and Cody Grivno offer some insights into the hobby and how they got hooked on model railroading;

...just to name a few.


Unless you live in the Southeastern Wisconsin area, you probably won't find Milwaukee Magazine at your newsstand or library...but the article is online for anyone to read. Check it out, here's the link:

http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/currentIssue/full_feature_story.asp?NewMessageID=25646

 

 

 

[Anonymous]

 Nice reading - thanks for sharing!

[IRONROOSTER]

 Nice article.  The title is a little off putting, but otherwise it gives a pretty favorable view of the hobby.

My thanks also for sharing.

Enjoy

Paul

[dknelson]

The article is intended to coincide with the NMRA 75th anniversary national convention in Milwaukee this July.  (An effort to explain to the great unwashed Milwaukee populace "who are these guys, why are they here .. and what's up with the pins and patches on their clothes?). 

It's not too late to register online and you do not have to be an NMRA member to attend.  I'll be working the registration booth and hope to meet many forum members there.

http://www.nmra.org/convention/

Dave Nelson

 

[MisterBeasley]

Thanks for the link.

I've often wondered if having the "capital" of model railroading in Milwaukee is the reason that a lot of us seem to model the Milwaukee Road, and there are a lot of model available.  I started modeling the Milwaukee as a teenager growning up in New York, based solely on my preference for the paint scheme of the GP9.  I still like the colors, but as I read about the railroad, I find that they did some interesting stuff, like that "new-fangled" electrification.

[luvadj]

 A nice article and a great read....thanks for sharing.

[Motley]

Very good article, I learned alot about he history of the hobby.

[galaxy]

Interesting. Very interesting.

I agree: the Title is a dud and I almost didn't take the article seriously enough to read much beyond that, but I knew from this posting that it was bound to be a good read. I would have thought it about Thomas the Tank engine though, LOL.

I did learn a lot that I did not know about how the hobby got where it is now and how it was shaped by those enthusiasts long ago during a time when many had little to nothing.

Thanks for sharing it!