I remember visiting the Miami rail scene for the first time as if it were yesterday. No photo, video, or television screen could match the all-encompassing sensory experience of seeing it in person. The heat, breeze, humidity, sounds, smell, and impossible-to-define energy completely transcended any previous ways I’d thought of it. It was the same […]
This is real railroading. There is no circus train passing a marching band on a nearby street. There are no saturated primary colors or eye-catching architectural masterpieces. It’s flat black tankers under dull brown trees, gray gravel, and mud puddles. The shot was taken earlier this year in Old Hickory, TN at what appears to […]
A key scene on The Downtown Spur is the point where the line crosses 12th Avenue. A major element is the Metrorail line running overhead. However, just because it’s there, should we model it? My next book will be “Realism Principles For Model Railroaders”. Give me four to six months to get it on the […]
Creating an eye-catching model of UP’s Anaheim Yard has less to do with skill than effective decision making. That being the case, doing so is within reach for even entry-level modelers. A world-class musician? Pure skill. A PGA golfer? Pure skill. Artists such as Vermeer and Hopper? The same. Exceptional model railroading results? Not so […]
In August of last year I wrote a post on the topic of caricature, caricature being defined as an artistic style leaning towards the exaggeration of features. In model railroading terms it’s an orientation that focuses more on fantasy and whimsy. Styles fall on a spectrum with modelers spread out among various approaches depending on […]