Why We Build Model Railroads


Why do we build model railroads?  Psychologically, what is at play that compels us to create something that, if viewed at face value, could be mistakenly taken for a detailed toy? Like many people, both in and out of the hobby, I’ve made the mistake of trivializing model railroading.  Over the past several years I’ve […]

Are Dramatic Scenes Necessary?


A big part of model railroading is creating images that we enjoy looking at.  Although totally lacking in drama, this shot of the Sanchelima Dairy is one of my favorites of the layout.  A visitor to my website brought up an interesting point yesterday.  It’s an issue that I’ve been subconsciously aware of.  Given its […]

Alclad II Metallic Paint


  It’s amazing how long we can put off learning to use a new material or method only to find out how easy it is and how much better the results are.  This was my case with learning to use the Alclad II line of metallic paints.  For those not familiar with it, the Alclad 2 […]