Something of years past in MR, would be a annual story on a prototype shortline railroad operating in North America.
These stories were a balance on prototypical information as well as modeling information on a specific road.
Actual interesting information, as a number of roads, which had appeared in MR over the years are no longer in operation and abandoned.
Let's see, think back...Yancy Railroad of North Carolina, Narragansett Pier Railroad of Rhode Island, Durham & Southern, Ashley Drew & Northern to mention a few.
Possible you can name others...
You sure know how to poke into the old memory box! I remember seeing those articles and always looking forward to the next one. They were so interesting even if you had no intention of building that road. I think they did one on the old Bevier & Southern and Allegheny Western too.
I don't know if the series or type of article would fly today though.
oldline1
"A Railroad You Can Model". That was a great series. I always enjoyed them. One of them was the Maryland & Pennsylvania (May 1965). While that is not the track plan I am following for my Ma&Pa layout, it is a great article.
Paul
Yes!! "A Railroad You Can Model" would be most welcome as it covers another style of railroading that doesn't require a second mortgage on the old homestead to build.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I remember and love those articles. Some of my favorites from all time. Bet the same type of article would be a welcome addition to MR today. Personally I think we need more of those types of articles.
jim
The following is a deviation from the thread, but I though some might find it interesting. It is about the shortline, the Winchester & Western, and is located where I live.
The attached link to Wikki gives the history etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_and_Western_Railroad
This history leaves out a couple of significant and interesting details.
For many years the only customer of the railroad was a sand mine which was bought by the Unimin Corporation, an international mineral company headquartered in Massachusetts.
At the time the railroad was owned by a local individual. Another man started courting his wife and when the owner of the railroad died in an accident the wife's boyfriend was charged for his murder, but was found innocent.
The widow sold the railroad to a group of local businessmen. Periodically they kept raising the fees to the sand mine until Unimin took a drastic step. They hired a trucking compay to haul the sand and the railroad was left high and dry. The rail road was left no choice but to sell to Unimin.
One other bit of trivia, back in the day when it was know as the Weak and Weary, the train had to negotiate a significant grade. At the bottom half of the cars were uncoupled and the rest were taken to a runaround track at the top of the hill. The loco then went back and got the rest of the cars.
Now, back to the original subject.
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
I think it would fly. It would be nice to see a couple different versions of the layout say a 4x8 and a point to point layout.
BMMECNYCBMMECNYC wrote the following post 2 hours ago: I think it would fly. It would be nice to see a couple different versions of the layout say a 4x8 and a point to point layout.
I agree. I think MR tends to spend a bit too much time with large layouts. While most of us enjoy seeing them and envy those who have room for a big layout my belief is many more folks only have space for the old standby 4x8 and even less. Today, due to costs and all, many don't have houses large enough to provide spare bedrooms or basements as years gone by. Real estate is expensive.
I think there's a real need for more small space layouts and they tend to bring out a lot of creativity from the modelers. I think the shortline railroad series would get people inspired and building.
there's still a lot of prototype based layout plans in MR. Just last month we had the "KD Sub" (although a lot of modelers liscense was used there) and before that the UP Spline line was portratyed in two scales. So what if they don't have the "Railroad you can model" name attached, there's still a lot of Prototype layout plans in the mag. Oldline, I think that may be the case for layout tours but here been a lot of track plans for smaller railroads.
Here is an old thread.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/171488.aspx?page=1
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
DavidH66 there's still a lot of prototype based layout plans in MR. Just last month we had the "KD Sub" (although a lot of modelers liscense was used there) and before that the UP Spline line was portratyed in two scales. So what if they don't have the "Railroad you can model" name attached, there's still a lot of Prototype layout plans in the mag. Oldline, I think that may be the case for layout tours but here been a lot of track plans for smaller railroads.
The Aleghany Valley railroad AVR would be easy to do.
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
We brought back the "Railroad You Can Model" feature with our April 2017 issue, and Bob Sprague's article on the UP's Spine Line. Track plans were presented in HO and N scale. The series continued in our August and November issues, and another installment is coming out in January 2018.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Remember the design a layout contests? That could be combined with the " railroad you can model" to see who can come up with a good small layout design of the railroad to model article. With the website now. So many more designs could be posted
Wolfie
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Steven Otte We brought back the "Railroad You Can Model" feature with our April 2017 issue, and Bob Sprague's article on the UP's Spine Line. Track plans were presented in HO and N scale. The series continued in our August and November issues, and another installment is coming out in January 2018.
Steven,That is true but,try to compare that to A Railroad You Can Model: The Aberdeen & Rockfish no comparison at all. Then there was that wonderful A Railroad You Can Model "Wabash/N&W Columbia Branch". Then there was the A Railroad You Can Model "Progressive Rail".
All of those railroads can easily fit into a spare bedroom and don't need dozens of engines and a 300 cars to operate..
With the popularity growth of ISLs maybe MR could do a article on a terminal switching road?
Not everyone likes the same kind of railroads, Larry.
Steven Otte Not everyone likes the same kind of railroads, Larry.
True enough Steven, and it may take a special breed of modeler to model a no frills let's get it done short line like we have today and I dare say there is far more short lines then Class ones.
I highly suspect after the next round of mergers there will be two or three of the big boys left to model if one models contemporary times after those mergers happens.
BRAKIE Steven Otte We brought back the "Railroad You Can Model" feature with our April 2017 issue, and Bob Sprague's article on the UP's Spine Line. Track plans were presented in HO and N scale. The series continued in our August and November issues, and another installment is coming out in January 2018. Steven,That is true but,try to compare that to A Railroad You Can Model: The Aberdeen & Rockfish no comparison at all. Then there was that wonderful A Railroad You Can Model "Wabash/N&W Columbia Branch". Then there was the A Railroad You Can Model "Progressive Rail". All of those railroads can easily fit into a spare bedroom and don't need dozens of engines and a 300 cars to operate.. With the popularity growth of ISLs maybe MR could do a article on a terminal switching road?
Uh, the Aberdeen and Rockfish appeared in the November 1965 issue. The HO trackplan was 16'x23' - a little bigger than most spare bedrooms.
IRONROOSTERThe HO trackplan was 16'x23' - a little bigger than most spare bedrooms. Paul
Any short line track plan can be cut to fit a spare bedroom unlike the basement fillers.
You could do the HawaIn railroads. The military buffs would be interested in those especially. Plus they were already compact
BRAKIEAny short line track plan can be cut to fit a spare bedroom unlike the basement fillers.
16'X23' isn't a "basement filler"?
There are plenty of small segments of Class 1s that also make great switching layouts. It's not only shortlines that can be the inspiration for a fine small switching layout.
Edit: As one example, see Keith Jordan's ATSF "Patch" small switching layout in Model Railroad Planning 2011 and Great Model Railroads 2012.
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
NVSRRou could do the HawaIn railroads.
You might be interested in my article on the Oahu Railway in Model Railroad Planning 2008. It consists of multiple unconnected decks linked by operations and staging. While it’s designed for the roughly 12’X12’ MRP spare bedroom, segments of it would make fine small switching layouts on their own.
Model Railroad Planning has actually featured a number of “Railroad you can Model” type articles over the years – for layouts large and small.
Byron
cuyama BRAKIE Any short line track plan can be cut to fit a spare bedroom unlike the basement fillers. 16'X23' isn't a "basement filler"? There are plenty of small segments of Class 1s that also make great switching layouts. It's not only shortlines that can be the inspiration for a fine small switching layout.
BRAKIE Any short line track plan can be cut to fit a spare bedroom unlike the basement fillers.
For me it is.
BMMECNYCFor me it is.
Agree, that was my point. To make a distinction on layout size and say that shortline layouts are inherently more compact is the false statement I was contradicting.
You know, MR is always looking for articles, so one way to see more "Railroads you can Model" about short lines with layouts in small spaces would be to write the articles.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
cuyamaTo make a distinction on layout size and say that shortline layouts are inherently more compact is the false statement I was contradicting.
The majority of short lines I've seen modeled over the years was in a spare bedroom and short lines can be compact in layout design since short line vary in milage and there's no need to model every inch or towns that lack rail serve industries.
never mind
Thanks to Steve for pointing out that familiar themes come in new forms. MR changed many things over the years, but continues to serve the whole of the model RR community.
In this case, articles on prototypes for modeling tends to be more concise than in the past. Why? Anyone with an internet connecton -- and anyone with access to a public library has that -- can do more detailed research in many cases than anyone thought possible a couple of decades back.
Now, there are areas where MR may be able to offer special access to subjects in its collections that it holds and few or no one else does, photos, documengts, whatever.
Thus, many articles are more introductory, serving as guides to further research that can easily be more comprehensive than anything that MR would have ever had room for even when paper and postage were cheap and ads plentiful. In cases where a certain pic Kalmbach holds could enhance a story, that's a real treat, but not to be expected every time. In 70 years or so and with a limited number of subjects introducing new topics and materials on the prototype on a monthly basis is not as easy as it may sound.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Bayfield Transfer Railway You know, MR is always looking for articles, so one way to see more "Railroads you can Model" about short lines with layouts in small spaces would be to write the articles.
^This.