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Interurban Era @InterurbanEra6/25/2023, 1:03 AM

Anchor Bay Railway Returns!

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One of my most ambitious client layout builds, a 19x19' HO scale model railroad set in the redwood empire of California back in the 1940's, is really coming to life!

#model #Model Train #Model Railroad #YouTube #video

Interurban Era @InterurbanEra6/5/2023, 9:06 PM

Finding inspiration & guidance for model railroading.

Pim De Groot @mifune asks:

"What are your sources for modeling techniques and news?

When I was getting into model railroading magazines and books were pretty much the only thing (With maybe a couple of websites, like the one of Carl Arendt). Are there youtube channels you can recommend, or other places to find out what's happening now in model railroading?"

FINDING SOURCES

It's been a lifelong, almost daily habit of seeking out new (and old) sources for information to further expand my modeling knowledge and become inspired. They boil down into big categories, where I'll probably keep editing this post with more resources and lists as I think of them.

NOTE: This list is primarily for North American modeling in its current form. I've seen and even paged through European, Japanese, Australian and other region's model railroad magazines & sites, but because of a language barrier, cannot recommend them directly because I have no idea what quality the publications actually are in comparison to those in my native language.

(EDIT 2 June 10/2023): One of the world's most powerful tools for railroad research resources is getting any railroad book in the world via an INTER LIBRARY LOAN. Almost any train book every published has one out there that you can check out via ILL and have sent to you free of charge within a couple of weeks. Published books are better for real railroad research than model train related books, because the bulk of the model train books published are now outdated to the point of uselessness. The only exception would be Kalmbach's consistently good line of how to books https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/catalog/model-trains/books which are nicely condensed and refined version of articles on a specific subject reformatted into a handsome perfect bound paperback. Almost all other "model railroad" focused books you might find in an ILL library search are probably from before 1980, and as a rule of thumb, the "state of the art" has progressed SO MUCH since then that they're functionally useless. As always, I strongly suggest you visit your local library and talk to your reference librarian. They're true saints of the contemporary era and would probably be excited to do this with you.

MAGAZINES

Magazines are by far the best, because they're often the most up-to-date, pay their writers best and its in their best interests to provided the latest news, the finest new layout tours, and the newest products & techniques.

White River has been hitting the mark so well recently with their variety of magazine offerings in the last few years: https://shop.whiteriverproductions.com/pages/magazines
While most of them are railroad photography focused, there's multiple outstanding modeling magazines they offer:

-Railroad Model Craftsman has been around longer than Model Railroader (90 years this year!) and has recently established itself as THE modeling magazine for North American modeling subjects. Great editorial guidance in the current White River Publishing era has propelled it to be a valuable asset for people to enjoy layout tours and also really show off some great kitbashing/scratchbuilding articles. Gorgeous photos, in depth modeling articles.

-Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette is a MUST. If you like small steam like I do, or unusual and interesting backwater railroads, this richly featured magazine is chocked every quarter full of good modeling articles and exceptional blueprints to inspire you to kitbash fun models.

-Model Railroader used to be THE train modeling magazine. However, recent editorial choices since 2005 have made it far, far less useful as a resource and less enjoyable to read. That said, I strongly feel pre 2005 MR's are perhaps the most incredible resource to any modeler beginning out, and you can just ask fellow model railroaders for some and I'm sure you'll get them for cheap or free(!) as we all have a fat stack of them laying around the house. I know I grew up on a steady diet of old MR's from the 1960's-2000's, rereading them with a flashlight in bed with comic books as a kid.

-Model Railroad Hobbyist was an innovative concept: a 100% online magazine that was (initially) free to read in its entirety. Early MRH editions were absolute gems, chocked with large images, long, informative articles and easily the most up to date new product news. In recent years they've lost focus and went "freemium" with all the actually good articles behind a meager paywall. I still regularly flip through it, but now mostly just for the product news. Do visit the site and check out the first ~5 years of the magazine (2009-16) though, that was a golden era. https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/back-issues

-Other defunct magazines are also goldmines for great info. One of my favorites is the long-gone "Mainline Modeler". Back in the 80s & 90s, they produced some of the absolute best modeling articles by some remarkable people. The magazine always included some incredible blueprints, and great photography. Snap up issues you might want on eBay or get lucky at a train show. You won't be disappointed.

EDIT: Apparently you can save shipping (and a ton of time/money) by purchasing the whole collection from the C&O Historical Society. So help chessie out AND be informed! https://chessieshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3291

-International magazines try harder than most as well. I highly recommend the Australian model train magazines. The Japanese ones are chaotic, but fascinating. French & Italian modeling mags are often gorgeous, and you can't mention "train mags" without the British. Tons of great treasure to be found there if you're into their weird 00 scale.

WEBSITES:

Websites, naturally, are what we think of first. There are broadly two types of websites useful for model railroaders:

Real train reference sites such as those below provide valuable information for guiding modeling projects in the right direction. Quite surprisingly, you can often find great photos of most pieces of railroad equipment and infrastructure on these sites alone. Refer to specific railroad historical societies for deeper information if you have a more specific interest, of course. They're all pretty fun to dig around.

https://www.rr-fallenflags.org/
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/
https://www.railpictures.net/
https://www.railcarphotos.com/index.php
https://www.locophotos.com/index.php
http://passcarphotos.rypn.org/

Online forums used to be how most of us honed our modeling skills, by asking questions, posting progress photos, and getting feedback/guidance. That era has passed, with people fracturing into badly run Facebook groups with too small of an audience, or entire forums have disappeared entirely. A lot of other dedicated forum sites have moldered as some people have passed away, and new posts become rarer and rarer. While new, younger modelers enter the hobby every day, they're not joining these forums anymore.

A good example of one that still exists is Railroad-Line forums. I'd suggest joining and poking around: https://railroad-line.com/