Category: Opinion

A Two Turnout Layout

Post author By Lmind1
Post date February 6, 2025
Categories In Los Angeles Junction Railway, Model Railroad Design, Operations, Opinion, Prototype
No Comments on A Two Turnout Layout

LAJ Alco S-2 #1 basks in the sun awaiting its next assignment. 1964. ebay slide scan. Photographer unknown. It’s interesting how a little information, often innocuous on the surface, can totally change our perspective and make us realize that our layout offers opportunities we hadn’t considered before. Even better, this expanded view can be realized […]

The New Book

Post author By Lmind1
Post date January 23, 2025
Categories In Model Railroad Design, News, Opinion
6 Comments on The New Book

My industry planning book is now live and available from Amazon. Model railroading is an escape from our daily lives, an opportunity to be transported, for creative expression. If you’re in the game and building something, you’re doing things right. As fun as it is to share our work on social media and through the […]

Element Selection

Post author By Lmind1
Post date January 18, 2025
Categories In Los Angeles Junction Railway, Model Railroad Design, Opinion, Realism
1 Comment on Element Selection

A backside view of some structures on my LAJ layout. Although no longer rail-served, it’s clear they were at some point. The end game for most prototype and proto freelance modelers is to try to capture the essence of a place in miniature. A major part of that quest is the elements we ultimately select. […]

Pacing

Having a “quick launch” during the early stages of layout construction goes a long way towards maintaining enthusiasm and morale. I had the bench work for The Downtown Spur completed in a few weeks. The foam base took several days. For the track, I spent a few days lightly gluing down some temporary Atlas code […]

Know Your End Game

Post author By Lmind1
Post date December 7, 2024
Categories In CSX Downtown Spur, Model Railroad Design, Opinion
No Comments on Know Your End Game

A view westward down 22nd Street from 13th Avenue. Peaceful. Optimistic. Unique from an architectural, surface texture, and color standpoint. Numerous visits have given me a sense of its essence, what makes it what it is. If I could successfully capture that in model form, I’d feel like I was “there” whenever I walked into […]