HowardrNo Idea what this means???
That's the Canadian way of saying that it will cost you a bunch of bucks. That doesn't answer your question, of course. I think there have been several articles where a custom builder was hired. Do you have an approximate time frame of when the article appeared (past several months; past year?), or a description of the railroad?
A company called Smartt advertises On the site and in MR. They build in their location and then ship to you, and come over for a few days for install and finish up.
If you are seeking professional help because you have no time to build your layout that is one thing. If you are doing it because of a lack of skills to complete the layout that is another. It ain't rocket science. The learning curve is short. assuming you are not building a basement empire worthy of Model Railroader coverage, the skills are easily attained. This forum is a great source of practical knowledge. As David said with his $$$$$$ post. Builders are really expensive. Don't sell yourself short. You are part way there, don't stop now.
Yes, the $$$$$$$ means the prices of the professionals is high, and we are talking serious MEGA bucks. There was an article in MR magazine back in the early 1990's IIRC and it was interesting and informative. At that time I recall layouts in the many tens of thousands, to probably so with inflation - it's probably double or triple that, and thats not including rolling stock which has sky rocketed in the past 15 - 20 years too. Back at the time of that MR article, there were a number of professional companies which would build modelrailroads in their shop to the specs of the customer and then transport it in a large trailer and install it.
I assume there are still professional builders advertising in MR as there were 20 years ago and the prices are accordingly higher. Perpare yourself for a shock.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
There have been a number of articles over the years about a customer's perspective and experience in dealing with a custom layout builder. I think however the article you are thinking of was "Built by the pros" in the August 2014 Model Railroader, which is not all that long ago.
Dave Nelson
floridaflyer If you are seeking professional help because you have no time to build your layout that is one thing. If you are doing it because of a lack of skills to complete the layout that is another. It ain't rocket science. The learning curve is short. assuming you are not building a basement empire worthy of Model Railroader coverage, the skills are easily attained. This forum is a great source of practical knowledge. At David said with his $$$$$$ post. Builders are really expensive. Don't sell yourself short. You are part way there, don't stop now.
If you are seeking professional help because you have no time to build your layout that is one thing. If you are doing it because of a lack of skills to complete the layout that is another. It ain't rocket science. The learning curve is short. assuming you are not building a basement empire worthy of Model Railroader coverage, the skills are easily attained. This forum is a great source of practical knowledge. At David said with his $$$$$$ post. Builders are really expensive. Don't sell yourself short. You are part way there, don't stop now.
I whole-heartedly agree. Three years ago I had no model-railroading-relevant skills--no carpentry or woodworking skills, no electronics skills, no artistic skills. Let's face it, I celebrated the successful change of a lightbulb. I decided to stretch myself. I bought some tools, a bunch of books, and tried my hand at building a small (28"x48") N-Scale oval, benchwork and all. It was incredibly fulfilling and now I have graduated to a much larger layout leveraging everything I learn.
Richard
Here's a after thought that might help..
If you have a local hobby shop you could ask if there was any advanced modelers available you could hire to help on the layout..I suspect that may be cheaper then hiring professionals.
I knew a guy several years ago that would do this type of work to supplement his hobby budget.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
HowardrI’m not looking to have someone build the entire railroad but people who can help out with the more detailed work and help me improve my skills that are lack such as soldering rail joiners, creating the power bus ballasting the roadbed building an over pass and correctly attaching the track power drops to the power bus. I’m really looking to learn as I progress with building my railroad so when completed and I decided to make additions or changes I’ll need little of no help.
You may want to consider joining a club. Others may teach you and help complete your layout if you reciprocate and help them work on theirs. Or you can learn by working on the club layout.
I do have a club in mind. Ramapo Valley Railroad Club in North Jersey. I tried to get down there once bI'ut other matters got in the way. I'm going to call the contact on their web site today or Monday and see if I can get down to visit them during one of their working or running sessions...thanks