Shout Out ... and kudos

I want to take this time and space to recognize some of the many outstanding modelers in the St. Louis area. The following have been featured in major model railroad publications -- five of them with cover photos in just the past few months. Admittedly, the 2020 NMRA Convention is coming to town, but that in no way lessens the work of these incredible modelers and their respective recognition by the modeling press.    

Eric Booman hit the twofer when his Utah Belt was featured on the cover of the December 2018 Model Railroader  and the December 2019 issue of the NMRA Magazine. The 22' 8" x 39' 6" layout is 40 years old, but evolving motive power, industries, operation, and scenery keep the railroad, set in northern New Mexico, in the present day. Eric has long been known for retiring motive power and bringing on new, concurrent with the prototype. One of the very few departures that Eric makes from the prototype is the absence of graffiti -- he abhors it and there is none to be found on the Utah Belt. Power for the layout is DC cab control.

The Utah Belt first appeared in the model press in 1978 with a feature in Railroad Model Craftsman, and Model Railroader recognized it first in 1986 and several times since then.

Although they didn't make the cover, a number of other accomplished St. Louis modelers were recognized in the

December 2019 issue of the NMRA Magazine. They include Brad Joseph and his HO layout; Dan McReynolds' HO scale ATSF Railway; Randy Meyer's Sn3 Canyon & Rocky Mountain; John Schindler (see below); John Peluso's HO railroad; Pete Smith's exquisite Sn3 1930's Loon Lake Railway & Navigation Co. layout featuring a number of geared locomotives; Doug McCormick's HO Union Pacific; and Ken Kroschwitz's monster HO layout at his hobby store.

All of the model railroads in this post will be on the Layout Tour at the convention, and several of the modelers will be among the dozens highlighted in the clinic offerings.

John Russel models the Rock Island railroad in O scale with his Rock Island Lines, and is the featured cover subject in the  March 2020 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. Set in the 1948-1952 era, the railroad fills a 65' x 35' basement. Motive power is largely custom-painted brass imports, and to understand the level of prototype accuracy, one only has to know John worked as a trainman on "The Rock" for more than 40 years. John is well known nationally in O-scale circles, and his railroad has also been featured in Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette  on several occasions.

John's railroad is DC powered.

Gary Hoover is, along with Eric Brooman, one of the most recognizable names in model railroading. His latest effort is the cover subject for the April 2020 issue of Model Railroader. The 24' x 49' Norfolk and Western of the 1950s is set in Appalachian coal country and is unique in that it includes scenes in HO scratch built models of pictures by famed railroad photographer O. Winston Link. It replaces the ATSF Railway by Gary that was featured in a 2005 issue of Model Railroader. Prior to that railroad, he built the Missouri, Kansas, and Quincy. In addition to the covers, Gary has written many articles, and provided the photographs, for numerous national modeling publications.

This latest effort is DCC powered by Digitrax.

Gary Gross is the guru of the Franklin Pacific Railroad, a three-level HO layout set in 1958. It is the cover photo and featured article in the January 2020 NMRA Magazine. All compacted into a 12' x 20' footprint, the railroad is heavy on operations. The single set of staging tracks represents both ends of the layout: St. Louis on the east and Springfield/Kansas City on the west. As I said, Gary is devoted to operations: he uses a 4:1 fast clock, and the optimum crew is seven. Two to run Franklin Yard, a dispatcher who sits away from the railroad, and four running the trains.

Control for the Franklin Pacific is DCC.

Dave Roeder by any criteria, is a prolific award-winning modeler. His Webster Groves & Fenton Railroad is a prototype/freelance HO scale model railroad set in the mid-1980s with first and second generation diesels providing a bulk of the power. The layout is built as an operating railroad and has entertained monthly operating sessions continuously since 1996. Dave's FG&W is the cover photo and feature in the March 2020 NMRA Magazine. The layout occupies a 30' x 70' room.

Dave has won hundreds ... even thousands of awards ... in modeling, and not just in railroading. He is also a award-winning modeler of automobiles in different scales

The Webster Groves & Fenton is powered by analog DC.

John Schindler and his large St. Louis Junction railroad features action on both sides of the Mississippi River. The 30' x 60' layout was featured prominently in the March 2020 Model Railroader. It's a current era, multi-deck walk-in railroad with a mainline run of 275 feet. Crews use 40 locomotives to move some 500 cars in a typical operating session. A crew consists of eight to twelve operators, and the dispatcher uses a computer and CATS signal logic. The railroad is a Digitrax DCC layout. John is co-chair of the 2020 NMRA National Convention in St. Louis.

Featured on more than one occasion over the last several months in the NMRA Magazine  is David Lowell and his scratch-built structures and rolling stock memorializing the Chicago and Illinois Midland. His modeling is such that you will be hearing more about him in the coming months.

There's a lot of great modeling going on in the St. Louis area. This is just a tip of the iceberg.

Trains running well ... yippee!

It's a good day. Trains are running well on the Paducah Switching layout, thanks to Ron Schlueter who came over this afternoon and worked his magic on fixing a problematic curve (too tight and with a kink) and generally tuned the track. I was most pleased Ron was able to fix the curve without widening it to the point where I might have to change the track plan in that area.

As modelers who read this blog will attest, the railroad HAS to run well, or nothing else matters. There is still some track cleaning to finish, but I can now start moving on with the building of the railroad. Coming soon is the painting of the benchwork, the installation of the fascia, and the addition of the second NCE throttle. That, of course, will be followed by structures and scenery that bring model railroads to life.

Trains are running ... kinda ...

Trains are running on the Paducah Switching ... kinda. The roadbed is down, and the track is weathered and down. Under the bench buss wires are in (courtesy Kent Tallyn), and most of the drops are in (with help from Kent, Ron Schlueter, and Bill Levin).

Ron Schlueter solders the drops

The drops that are in are attached to the buss wires (again, Kent and Bill Levin). Bill Buhr and Dale DeWitt laid down the last of the track and "tuned" some of my efforts. Hank Kraichely weathered the ties.

Today, I started cleaning the weathering residue from the track with a very fine grit sandpaper. The manufacturer of the weathering solution says the track will conduct electricity after it has dried; ain't so! I, and others, have found the track needs to be cleaned of the residue. Anyway, after my initial cleaning effort, two of the engines I plan to use -- the 2-8-0 Consolidation and one of the RS-3's, both ran pretty well. I determined several areas that still need drops, and some places that will require additional cleaning. There are also a couple of spots where the track work needs to be addressed. Right now, progress is maddeningly slow, but if the track work isn't good, and the trains don't run well, nothing else much matters. We'll stay after it.

Slow, but sure

Fellow Gandy Dancers (our Thursday night round robin group) are providing extra hands and much needed expertise in getting the P&LE running. As in many things, it's taking longer than hoped, but it is being done extremely well.

Bill Levin (l) and Kent Tallyn (r) taking a break from adding drops from the track to the buss wires.

Thursday night, much of the gang was here. Kent Tallyn did the under-the-bench wiring, running the buss wires and hooking up the drops from the tracks via 3M Scotchlock "suitcase" connectors. Bill Levin and Tom Gaffuri were soldering the drops to the tracks; Bill Buhr worked on a turnout connection that was causing a kink; and Hank Kraichely spent the evening weathering the ties.

Sunday, Bill Buhr returned and worked on two additional turnouts. He also brought his test car to run through its paces to see that the track was running smoothly.

Bill Buhr with his track test car that he constructed. It works well.

Next to be completed are two short pieces of track to be put down, the remainder of the drops to be soldered to the track and then attached to the buss wires, and the NCE control system installed. The plan is that assuming I can get some of it down between now and Thursday, the group can get the rest done Thursday night. The beat goes on.