Nov/Dec N Scale - Captured the spectrum

[Puddington]

I will apologize in advance because I'm sure that I will wander a bit with this and, if I offend any of the people that created the work shown in this magazine it is unintentional; I admire each and every one of their layouts.

I thumbed through the latest edition of N Scale and about half way through I began getting an odd sense of what I was looking at By the last page the issue had had a very stong affect on me; as I tried to put it into words I began to think that in one issue Pam and he authors had done an incredible, if unwitting job of capturing the vast majority of the "n scale layout spectrum" from a "visual impact" perspective.

There are four layouts featured in the edition. (and, from my seat in the house that is outstanding; I much prefer the layout articles to those on how to make a DCC friendly toothbrush or how to create a high ground southern pine during the fall season, but that's my taste and may not be yours) Each of these layouts is a single/dual owner pike, none of them club or "monster layouts". They are:

Peter DuChene's BNSF BenZach Sub
Rick Balassaitis's Pennsy "Smoke along the River"
Antonio & Neusa Toledo's Multi Purpose short line
Bob Parson's Narragansett, Fitchburg & Boston

Each layout is well executed; each has a very different flavour and, if these layouts were included to illustrate the wide range of the hobby was then I am impressed, each illustrates a very different approach to presenting their topic.

Smoke Along the River is what immediately struck me as the "classic n scale" pike; lots of track (code 80) lots of trees and lush summer scenes, frequent use ot Walthers and other commerical strucures, built per plans, mostly unweathered or micro detailed. A great "run the trains" design that was the hallmark of 80's layouts. It remined me of 90% of the N trak mod's I see at shows.

The small Shortline built by the gentlemen from Brazil is a compact "MR" style plan utilizing basic constrcution tecniques and time tested products. Code 80 rail,  Vollmer and Faller structures; the builder has done what many of us have done, packed elements of many divergent geographies and climates into a small layout; and done so very well.

If Bob Parson's module isn't a tribute to the modeling style of John Allen and his later day incarnation George Sellios then it should be. The compact scene, heavily weathered uber micro detailed look is a 1:160 clone of Sellios's masterpiece in HO. Not to everyone's liking; Parson's has created more detail, right down to trash and drain pipes in a "larger than life" motif.

And then there's Peter DuChene's awesome BenZach Sub. DuChene seems to be striving for what many of us here are; proto realistic scenes and details that mimic the sublime, yet all important elements that separate the toy from the model. Detaield but not cluttered, weathered but not dirtied, full but not packed; this pike is a mixture of a number of highly desired modeling skills and techniques that, if I had at my disposal, would make me giddy with thoughts of what I could create. He's really achived something here from where i sit.

Four different layouts; four different levels of ability by the builders, four very different visions and four very different looks. If you took a person who had never seen n scale; never modeled and said; here's n scale; the pages of the Nov-Dec N scale would provide them with a very good primer of the different approaches, levels of realistic modeling achievable and end results that one can obtain in the n scale world.

Congrat's to Pam on a really wonderful edition; this is a really interesting trip through the world of n scale.

[alhoop]

I will apologize in advance because I'm sure that I will wander a bit with this and, if I offend any of the people that created the work shown in this magazine it is unintentional; I admire each and every one of their layouts.

............................ I much prefer the layout articles to those on how to make a DCC friendly toothbrush or how to create a high ground southern pine during the fall season, but that's my taste and may not be yours) ........................................

A bit sarcastic there, but unfortunatley a sign of the times. Most would rather drool over photos of a layout than build something. At least one would have a DCC toothbrush instead of four layout photos destined for the dustbin of history.

non-anonymous
Al Hooper

[victor miranda]

note to self:
get the nov/dec n-scale magazine.

a little layout porn can inspire a lot of activity.

alhoop....
if there is any activity in our world that is likely to be in a dustbin...
anything n-scale is proabably to be the first.

v

[Puddington]

A bit sarcastic there, but unfortunatley a sign of the times. Most would rather drool over photos of a layout than build something. At least one would have a DCC toothbrush instead of four layout photos destined for the dustbin of history.

Al

No Al; not sarcastic at all; I wouldn't want to offend anyone's work so I prefaced my comments, and as for "building something"; I believe I fall into the building category.....and I rarely drool.....

[John]

I liked the issue. It beats the 4 part articles on tinning wire and and such.   The layouts ranged in quality , but they all had some interesting things that I learned from. In the end, thats whats important.

[rickb773]

Just a few comments and clarifications. (Some of which could probably start their own thread.)

1) As one of the authors, to "Puddington" I would say that there is absolutely no need to "apologize in advance". You politely and graciously added your views with solid analysis. But IF "Alhoop's" comment was directed at putting my layout "in the dustbin of history", I would consider that rude and I would take issue not with the comment but rather the attitude it portrays. The internet seems gives us an anonymity that allows us to make comments that would be insulting in person. I am a member of a railroad historical society and have watched some folks' acid comments drive folks from the forum that have had much to contribute.  I also belong to a town oriented forum that is totally out of control and dominated by a few that have to comment on everything. I think Railwire's constituency seem to consistently be polite and helpful. I guess the success of a forum is due to both the membership and the moderator's efforts  to keep it under control.

2) To say my layout reflects the 80s is probably a complement since I began modeling in the 50s & 60s. So I have at least made a few decades of progress. I do realize it was somewhat dated. When you acquire 50-80 code 80 switches over the years it is financially difficult to make a major switch to code 55 track. Painting the rail sides at least minimizes the effect. And when you spend a couple of decades collecting cars (800-1,000) and engines ~ 100, it gets mighty expensive to consider adding decoders and changing wheel sets. Most of us have had an "armchair" period collecting period while our kids are growing up, when layout construction got put on hold.

3) Most of my structures are Walthers, etc. kits. I consider my modeling skills mid-range. I have constructed Magnuson Models building kits with plaster castings and board by board construction but those did not show up in the photos. During my HO days I built some rather large wood trestles. When you are a lone wolf and building an 18'x19' layout, the progress is slow. Most of the buildings on the layout were serving more as placeholders until the layout got closer to completion. I particularly despise the large yellow building - but it happened to fit there and helped hide the spur which allowed in/out car loads between the power station and the mine located on the other side of the ridge.

4) There is a reason none of the equipment and buildings are weathered. I am red-green color blind. To attempt that would probably have comedic results.

5) Which raises yet another topic. Some of us are lone-wolves not by preference. I have not found a group of N scalers that I could join in the area. I recently moved to a 55 and older community and basically put an ad for modelers in the community's newsletter. I got one response and that was from someone who was a Train Simulator enthusiast. Before the old layout was torn down, I entertained a few visitors to see the layout. There were some very strange visitors. The only folks that struck me as normal were Phil D & his dad and 1 or 2 others. Our hobby does seem to attract some characters.

6) As far as it being a "run the trains layout", it could do that but that was not what it was designed for. I did enjoy seeing pair of sharks run 30-40 cars trains up the river but the layout was designed to operate. That is why it included so many interchanges and sidings. I had already developed a large selection of 4 part waybills and was looking forward to doing that but the layout was not yet fully wired. I was still in the process of wiring the yard (absolutely necessary for operations) when my wife's medical condition determined that we would have to move to a one-story home.

Anyway I have rambled enough. I do enjoy the forum tremendously and am in absolute awe of Dave Vollmer's layout and those of some of the N scale forefathers such as the Reid Brothers. If anyone is interested in the "trials" of article writing they can find my musings on the subject in the blog that Phil talked me into writing:
http://rickb773-prsl.blogspot.com/

Happy Railroading,
Rick

[Dave V]

Rick,

Thanks for chiming in.  Looking at that picture you posted, one thing that kind of hung me up a bit are those houses along the river and between the tracks.  There's no road or driveway to access the houses; no sidewalks or walking paths either.  So to hear they're temporary placeholders makes sense.  However, they may work where they are; it almost looks like your town there would benefit from having the tracks run through the main road in town, so having the road extra wide with tracks in the middle might look really good.  There are lots of Eastern towns where than happened (Ashland, VA; York, PA; etc.).

The river crossing looks a lot like the LV crossing at Easton, PA to Phillipsburg, NJ.  Almost a dead match.  The lower track could be the Pennsy Bel-Del.  Very convincing!  And thanks for the shout-out!

[conrail98]

The only folks that struck me as normal were Phil D & his dad and 1 or 2 others. Our hobby does seem to attract some characters.

Woohoo, I'm normal!!

Here are some of the pics I took from the visit with my video camera: https://picasaweb.google.com/philduba/PennsySchuylkillDivisionFinalChapter?authuser=0&feat=directlink

I have video also but it needs editing/music overlay since there were some conversations going on that probably shouldn't be made for general consumption,

Phil

[John]

4) There is a reason none of the equipment and buildings are weathered. I am red-green color blind. To attempt that would probably have comedic results.

I have a red/green deficiency also .. I can't see the numbers in the dots, so some of my coloring ends up being weird also 

Its a good thing they write the colors on the paint bottles   

[davefoxx]

4) There is a reason none of the equipment and buildings are weathered. I am red-green color blind. To attempt that would probably have comedic results.

You are not alone.  Like you and John, I am also red-green colorblind and have been hesitant to build scenery and do weathering for this very reason.  I took an oil painting class in college, and when I informed the instructor that I was colorblind after a few weeks into the course, his response was, "Oh, that explains it."

I have actually had discussions with Tom Mann about what colors to use when weathering, and I have discussed scenery colors with Lee and other asshats here, too.  So, with their advice, I hope to make a reasonable attempt on the layout I hope to begin in the next several months.

Dave Foxx

[rickb773]

Don't get too excited Phil, you are only normal when compared to the other visitors!    (Just kidding!)
The layout's overall photos can also be found in the back half of this album: https://picasaweb.google.com/117979710150548241973/Oct#

Dave, my new shelf layout has more than enough roads to please you. It even has some sidewalks (when they can be fit in).

[Dave V]

Don't get too excited Phil, you are only normal when compared to the other visitors!    (Just kidding!)
The layout's overall photos can also be found in the back half of this album: https://picasaweb.google.com/117979710150548241973/Oct#

Dave, my new shelf layout has more than enough roads to please you. It even has some sidewalks (when they can be fit in).

Sounds good!  Glad to have another Pennsy modeler posting awesome pics!

[seusscaboose]

I am also red-green colorblind Dave Foxx

point #1) you can be color blind and do awesome trackwork as you have proven
point #2) it is posts like this (i.e. anyone can write a decent layout review with a little ASSistance) that inpsire me to take some pics and write an article and send it in... 

[Ian MacMillan]

I have actually had discussions with Tom Mann about what colors to use when weathering, and I have discussed scenery colors with Lee and other asshats here, too.  So, with their advice, I hope to make a reasonable attempt on the layout I hope to begin in the next several months.

Dave Foxx

Tom has R/G issues as well dosnt he?

[wm3798]

Hey, Rick, glad to have you aboard.  While the scenery and modeling in Pete DuChene's article might be more refined, I found your article to be the most comprehensive of the lot.  The photos are good, the layout is interesting, and the story behind it is compelling.  I also liked being able to reference a track plan.  If there's one thing that N Scale Magazine lacks it's a level of graphic coherence, particularly in the field of track plans.

I totally identify with your use of c80.  I'm a scavenger and cheapskate by nature, and if was planning to build my layout on a quicker time line, I would have used what I had in stock as well.  As it was, I was able to accumulate what I needed to upgrade the track.  (It took about 3 years to renovate the room the layout now resides in, so there was no hurry to buy all the track at once... I was also the beneficiary of a fairly large N scale c55 layout being dismantled in favor of HO scale.)

Anyway, it's good to have you on board.  Are you planning to build something anew, or are you going to stay focused on the original 4x8?

Lee