I’ve been a model railroader for 55 years. I also made my career as a professional model maker, and have spent the last 15 years of it building custom model railroads for discerning clientele. That work pushed my own model railroading to the back of the pile and I did a lot of plastic modeling as a break from custom work.Now, as I push towards retirement, I’m planning my own basement layout and am eager to start.
I’ve had a shelf layout section as a holdover from my last personal layout, and have expanded it recently so I could have some fun switching and testing equipment. Here are a few snapshots.
Here’s my current plan. My basement is basically 30 x 34 feet. I’m looking to create a lengthy loop that effectively creates a two-track mainline, has some switching opportunities, a sizable classification yard and substantial staging. My modeling focus is Erie Lackawanna in New York/New Jersey ca. 1974-75, when I was a young teen watching the action not far from home. I’m including the joint EL-CNJ trains SE-98 and ES-99 as they ran right by where I currently live, and the CNJ ran a lot of leased or second-hand B&O units. Plus, I like the railroad everyone loved to hate, the Penn Central.
I’ll be watching in here. I don’t have an operational layout and not planning one because of space. I build and paint stand alone replicas mostly. Recently visited some On30 layouts and got very interested. May start building a few On30 and 1/35-1/32 on HO locomotives soon.
I hear you. As far as I’m concerned, whether you operate or not you’re still a model railroader. I should add that my layout design is ideally a railfanning layout more than an operations layout - I want to sit back with a cold one and watch my trains run by. But I have enough operational potential to keep several operators busy as well. I am always amazed by the fellows that build layouts so large and complex that it takes 20 guys to run it. And days to re-stage it. I respect it but I’m definitely more of a lone wolf LOL.
I should also add that I have a loooong way to go before getting anything close to a mainline run in place. I work in my basement and all the shop tools need to be moved
to my garage, and 27 years of crap needs to go somewhere else. I’ve been selling off a way-too-large stash of aircraft and armor. Slow and steady and I’ll get there!
Thanks for starting this. I’m a little apprehensive though, because when I see a train well done I think, could I do that? And then I think, I wonder if my wife could get a high-paying job to pay for it?
I’m looking forward to seeing your work. The range of skills that model railroaders are able to bring to bear always bring me to admiration and ambition.
One more question - what got you hooked on model railroading to begin with? I have a friend and an acquaintance who are serious about it. My friend is serious about it, largely because he likes collecting old railroading stuff (real stuff) and so builds as an outgrowth of that. I have an acquaintance who was in the business, and his layout is of trains that he worked on as a civil engineer “I built this yard.” The latter just amazes me, as I don’t want to have anything to do in my private life with what I did in my professional life - I’m happy that people don’t have such aversions…
Hey Phil. Great points here. I am often confronted with “I could never achieve that level” or some such concern. My advice every time is to try not to let anything bar your creativity and your level of satisfaction and happiness. It is a hobby after all. Look at those first few photos I posted - there’s track laid on plywood, some painted, some not, no roadbed. All the structures are photographic “flats” on a plain blue backdrop. But when I’m enjoying a nice glass of wine and running a short train back and forth I’m a state away and in my own world.
As far as expense, yes, it does come across as very spendy. But it’s a whole lot less expensive than a day out golfing, or restoring a classic car or boat etc. And I have the bonus of telling my wife “would you rather I spent my nights down at the corner bar?”.
All the time I tell model railroaders to look at what armor and aircraft modelers are doing to learn and see new and different skills. We all have things to bring to the table. There are so many things to learn!
Phil - to address your second post. I grew up in the late 60’s and early 70’s in suburban New Jersey. The Erie Lackawanna had two separate lines, each less than 1/4 of a mile from my house. One was strictly commuter/catenary, the other was diesel commuter and serious heavy freight. I lived at the nearest station there, watching big (and small) freights all the time. My father commuted in to New York City on both lines too. So I have those memories burned in to my 61-year-old mind. Plus, at age 6, I was given my first train set, the classic tale of how I was hooked on modeling. At the same time, my older brother was building Airfix planes and I bugged him so much he finally handed me one and said “go build your own” LOL. So I have been modeling forever!
One final point. After I graduated college and started working full time as a professional model maker, I lived with my mom and dad for a couple of years. I’d come home from work and go down to my bench and work on a P-47 or the Titanic or a boxcar. My dad joked that it was my “busman’s holiday” - I spent all day making models and then come home and spend all night, making models. I’m blessed to have spent a lifetime and a career doing what I love. Food for thought I guess.
