Who inspires you ?

[railman]

Most of the above, and especially the venerable book "101 Track Plans." We had an old print of this book I must have read a hundred times.

[Anonymous]

George Sellios, enough said; Tony Koester, love the weathering of his hoppers and structures look faboulous; Mellow Mike, he demonstrates mind boggling realist freight car weathering; Aggro Jones, a fellow steam-head and fantastic weatherer; Joe Fugate, brilliant inspiring scenery; and Phil Gazzono, he's got lots of technical knowledge to get things done.

And Jack Parker, his "total package" layout makes you want to turn Enpee!

[twhite]

My late cousin, *** Gregory. He was always hauling a big-eyed kid around the Sierra Nevada so that we could sit at Emigrant Gap or Norden and watch those big SP cab-forwards plowing through with freight, passenger and reefer blocks. He was a very careful, patient Master modeler who infected not only me, but his sons with the railroading bug. After ***, I'd say John Allen. I mean, who else back in those wonderful Paleolithic days of the hobby had pigeons on the roof or used a Stegosaurus (I think her name was Gertie) as a yard loco? The guy was brilliant and he had fun! Oh, and Aggro, yes, you do RULE! Everytime you show that AC-5 on your posts, I drool!
Tom

[CBQ_Guy]

Thought of a couple more...

John Armstrong (how could I have missed him!), Bruce Chubb, Mike Rose, Andy Harman, Jim Six.

[jwmurrayjr]

In addition to Lou Sassi, Dave Frary and many other "professionals" I get a lot of inspiration from guys on the forums. You know, "the little guys", like Steve Turner, Don Gibson, Mellow Mike, Dale Latham, Jon Grant, ...heck I can't remember them all.

Thanks guys!

[lupo]

other forum members

[3railguy]

For me, John Allen by a landslide followed by the likes of Bill McClannahan, John Armstrong, Paul Mallory, and Dave Frary..

[CP5415]

Hmm, people that inspire me huh?

Well, first & for most would have to be my dad.
He was the one who started me on being a train nut in the first place.
Second would be the many people I've exchanged ideas with through the WWW.
Third, would be my freind David Garon. It was he who really opened my eyes to the detailing aspect of the hobby.

Gordon

[darth9x9]

I would have to say the most influential been Howard Zane since I see his layout most every Wednesday night. Then I would have to say Tony Koester, Allen McClelland, and Dave Barrow after seeing their work published.

[willy6]

Jeff Wilson, although I have not heard anything about him lately.

[wt259]

IN no order, at all: Allen McClelland, Dave Barrow, Chuck Hitchcock, Eric Brooman, Tony Koester, Jim Hediger, Jim Kelly, Mike Rose, Jim Six and Dave Hussey. I do tend to like the western roads, especially ATSF.

[Anonymous]

I think everyone in the hobby does. I am able to get ideas from seeing someones model, or their entire layout. When I go to a trainshow I get ideas from all different people in all different scales. I take their idea and run with it, try to either be as good as them or find a way to improve on what they have started.

[on30francisco]

Linn Westcott, John Allen, George Sellios, and Malcolm Furlow have inspired me the most. I like Linn Westcott's approach to the hobby - growing a railroad - and use that approach myself. I am very impressed with the other three people's modeling skills and techniques.

[Anonymous]

Well, I'm old enough to remember John Allen, Ed Ravenscroft, etc., but the greatest influence on my and/or greatest inspiration would have to be (in no particular order) David Barrow, Jim Senese, Jim Six, Jeff Wilson, Allen McClelland, Tony Koester, Jim Hediger, John Pryke, Andy Sperando, Chuck Hitchcock, plus others.

Ed

[coalminer3]

Here's my list (with aplogies for spelling)

Frank Ellison - Operation

John Allen - Innovation and imagination

Allen McClelland - Operation, innovation and imagination

George Selios - Scenery and structures

Harold Wirthwein - Operation

John Armstrong - Planning and operation

work safe

[Anonymous]

The person that really inspires me is Lionel Strang. second is tony keoster.[8)]

[nfmisso]

Jim Six, Thomas Dressler, Chris Toth, Tony Koester, Andy Sperandeo

[Anonymous]

[:)] My grandfather! He bought me my first train set (Lionel!). His own layout was kinda raw--just two 4x8 sheets of plywood, side by side, atop old sawhorses...but when he laid his track and ran his models. and I saw his eyes and face light up, I was hooked for sure. Whenever I wanted to talk (or watch) trains, he always had time for me. There are many talented modelers out there whose work I admire very much, but my granddaddy gets the most votes when it comes to inspiration. Rest In Peace, Roosevelt. You'll always be the best to me.

[Anonymous]

Lately I have become enamored of Bernie Kempinski's work. Mostly because he models in N-scale. Mostly because he models to a high degree of fidelity, not just in rolling stock details but in scenery and operations too. And mostly because he likes the two regions I like, i.e. the Appalachians/Shenandoah area and the rugged Rockies. And, very definitely, mostly MOSTLY because he lives in Northern Virginia, which is where I would live if I could, though probably in WInchester not the D.C. area.

Add up all the mostly's and it's more than 100 percent, I know.

[jfrank138]

Frank Ellison !

Old timers will recall that during the 1930s and 1940s when Ellison did much of his modeling and writing, the general public regarded “playing with toy trains” to be an adolescent activity. Adults who did so were felt to be childish and immature. By demonstrating that our hobby was an art that had much in common with the theater and persuasively writing that it indeed was worthy of our best efforts, Ellison gave us the pride and self-confidence to come out of the closet.

Ellison's Delta Lines employed theatrical magic (Ellison was a former vaudevillian). It remains unsurpassed in beautifully and romantically achieving a wonderful balance among its track plan, operation, scenery, and theatrical illusion.

Of course recent advances in materials and technology have made railroad modeling easier and more "realistic" in the literal sense. But in my humble opinion the Delta Lines stands out as our hobby’s most influential lesson and turning point. It was ahead of its time.

Ellison set the standard for later modelers to follow. We will not see his like again.

John

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by seacoast

the Clinchfield N Scale ? ( what happened to that layout - should be in a museum, I am also into O guage and there a few there also I enjoy Garden Railways and Marc Horowitz does a great job (inspiring that is !)

There's one guy who has owned several of the project layouts including the Clinchfield. His website is http://www.hoscale.homestead.com/ and it explains how he aquired them. Seems to care about the layouts' history, too.

[seacoast]

My father and granddad who got me into MR 30 years back, and I would
say- Gordon Odegard - was it the Clinchfield N Scale ? ( what happened to that layout - should be in a museum, I am also into O guage and there a few there also I enjoy Garden Railways and Marc Horowitz does a great job (inspiring that is !)

[Anonymous]

These are the my inspirations:
John Olson (his work got me into the hobby)
Malcolm Furlow
John Pryke (urban modeler extraordinaire)
Ken Patterson (his work is always breathtaking)
The Kosic Brothers (same as above)
John Armstrong
Tony Koester
Michael Tylick (a detailing master)
W. Allen McLeland
M. D. Thornburgh (one of the hobby's pioneers and master scratchbuilder)
Minton Cronkite (Museum of Science and Industry, need I say more?)
Al Kalmbach (his commentary in vintage MR's is very inspiring)
... and last but not least
John Allen, I recall going to the library, just to see his work, truly amazing.

And I'd also like to mention my friends from school, after whom I've named every structure at the layout.

[Anonymous]

Layout design: John Armstrong. He's fun to read, and designs great layouts to boot.

Operation/Design: David Barrow. Always coming up with a better way to do things, although 18"-24" just isn't deep enough for the scenery I'd like, I still love the domino theory.

Modelling: Jim Six. The ulitmate ACL model-builder. Claims his models are made to be "good enough," but if that's good enough, then I'm not sure what "perfection" would look like.

Scenery: John Pryke. Excellent urban and waterfront representations.

Photography: The Kosic brothers. Their stuff is inspiring and doesn't need digital enhancement to look that way. True photos of models.

Great Ideas category: Lionel Strang. Love his tips. Have duplicated many of them.

Who I miss the most:
John Olson. Doesn't write much on MRing anymore. His "Day at Muleshoe Meadows" article really got me going in this hobby.

EL Moore. Could make a nice structure out of anything, and with minimal photos, drawings, etc. An entertaining writer, too.

Now as for those I wouldn't miss:
Malcolm Furlow. I'm not a fantasy kind of modeler. Too cutesy for me.

Tony Koester. Not much new to what he writes.

...and finally...the single most inspiring article/series I've ever read in MR:

The Clinchfield in N scale.

ALMOST convinced me to convert back then.

[preceng]

All my friends on this site.

Thanks guys & gals

[eastcoast]

I found an older book titled
" Beauty of Model Trains " by Bill Smythe.
He is a photographer who travelled the world
taking photos of layouts on his tour. This book
is out of print and apparently rare. But , from the
looks of the modellers works inside, many a talented
persons in the world, and the mini-world they create.

[Anonymous]

From afar, yes George Sellios, Allan Mcclelland, Don Cassler, and Tony Koester have all influenced my work.
Singularly, I would have to say Howard Zane has been the greatest inspiration to me. He has shown me how the complex can really be simplified, and as a member of his weekly group, I get to see this alot. I have also learned to use my own "artist's eye" in looking at scenes on the layout from him.
Finally, several current and former members of the club I belong to have inspired my modeling, as well as a friendly game of one-upmanship that pushes all of us foreward.[;)]

[Anonymous]

my grandpa
my uncel
my mom
and my brother are the peole who inspire me the most

[douginut]

(/quote)
I Quote these from Mike,
#1 John Allen.
Gordon Odegard
Doug Smith
Frank Ellison
Ed Ravenscroft
Linn Westcott
John Armstrong