Model Railroader
January 1985
196 pages
Editor: Russ Larson
Managing Editor: Dick Chistianson
Now we are arriving in my wheelhouse: the 1980’s. So, let’s get started. This issue jumped by 80 pages in comparison to January 1975. Russ Larson was the editor and names of the authors and staff in this issue are impressed into my memories: Russ Larson, Dick Christianson, Jim Kelly, Jim Hediger, Gordon Odegard, Any Sperandeo, Malcolm Furlow, and John Nehrich to name several.
In Railway Post Office, two letters covered a familiar refrain: the cost of the hobby. Chad Christensen of Colorado and Frank Green of Tennessee wrote, respectively, “I wish you guys in Milwaukee could get more articles on how to do things cheaper” and “Being a relatively new modeler I appreciate this type of creativity without having to lay out the heavy cash.” And the beat goes on… Wait until you read about Varney models below and then we can revisit the cost of the hobby. Wow is all I will say right now.
In the Club News column, Jim Hediger wrote how the New England, Berkshire & Western club handled upgrading the freight car fleet of their members. As club members have different levels of experience and skill, sometimes trying to make improvements can lead to dissension and unhappiness of members if their models are the ones deemed to be lacking. So, the club set up basic standards that must be met by all members. The spirit of the standards was to promote craftsmanship and an interest in researching correct information. In order for rolling stock to meet the standards, they could not be fictitious road names other than the club road, have appropriate trucks, roofwalks, and paint schemes for the era, have some weathering, thinned or replaced corner stirrups, improved brakewheels and door guides, coupler levers on both ends, wire grabs, and end lettering. I wonder if there was anyone who did not take this in the spirit that was intended. Hmmm. What am I saying, all of us know that there had to be at least one club member who went off the rails…ahem. As a side note, the NEB&W is one of the layouts on my list that I hold as an “inspiration layout.”
In the At the Throttle column, Jim Kelly welcomes new modelers who may have received trains for Christmas. He goes on to describe what he thinks a model railroader is. His conclusion is that a model railroader is both “a model builder and a learner.” He acknowledges that “there are all sorts of modelers, and they approach the hobby in many different ways. Some build complete operating miniature railroad systems. Others specialize – perhaps they just build locomotives or buildings.” He goes on to state that “model building is the cornerstone of the model railroading hobby.” He then makes the connection that interest in the hobby leads to learning. His take is that if you become a model railroader, you will develop a wide variety of manual skills and learn about tools, materials, wiring, and techniques. Additionally, modelers will eventually learn more about how things are put together, the inner workings of industries, and relationships between industries, and so on. He also goes on to talk about modelers becoming more aware of shapes, colors, and textures in the real world and eventually may take up photographing those things that interest us. He closes with “Model railroading, then, is model building, but it’s also much more. It’s leisure time used creatively; it’s technical mastery; it’s artistic expression. Perhaps best of all, it’s learning, learning with pleasure, and at your own pace.” I agree with everything he said about the learning aspect that is connected to the hobby. How about the statement that “model building is the cornerstone of the hobby?” Does this statement stand up after 40 years? I think it does if you allow the statement a little room to breath. These days, with the detailed offerings of locomotives and rolling stock, the scratchbuilding and kitbashing component of the hobby is not as prevalent…note I did not say dead or unimportant…it’s not as prevalent as it was 40, 50, and 60 years ago. But there are many other aspects of model building, such as track, scenery, and weathering, that I include in the definition of model building that I think you could still make the argument…but there are so many ways to specialize with operations and virtual creations, does the statement that model building being the cornerstone of the hobby still stand up 40 years later? And I’m not talking about what makes someone a “serious” model railroader (a term that I am not fond of at all, by the way). My question is: “is model building still the cornerstone of model railroading?” What say you?
The first feature article was a visit to the N scale club layout of the San Jose Society of Model Railroaders. The layout size is 20-ft x 37-ft. Quite the size for an N scale layout. At the time of the article there were 50 to 60 N scale modelers in the club. Quite the number of modelers in the club. The club also had an HO scale layout under the same roof but no mention of the layout, size, or number of modelers. The N scale layout is nice, but I was surprised at the small number of photos. It is set in the San Francisco Bay Area and they tried to duplicate selected scenes as closely as possible.
Are you in need of three Milwaukee Road wooden cabooses? Gordon Odegard kitbashed three Kadee 34-ft models into, hold on, three caboose models. The difference was that he made one 36-ft caboose and two 24-ft cabooses. This was a “close enough” type of kitbash that gave you models of commercially unavailable models. It is also a good article if you’ve never ventured into the rolling stock kitbashing waters before.
The Model of the Month Award went to Norman Briskman for his scratchbuilt brass B&O 1910 4-4-0 in HO scale. It was based on a series of MR articles from December 1952 through April 1953. It’s a very nice model that was built by 30 year old articles (at that time). 40 years after he built it (and 70 years after the initial articles appeared), I’m positive it would still look good in the pages of MR today.
Next we have the requisite prototype drawings and photos. This time it’s for a Mich-Cal 26-ton Shay. Of all the things to scratchbuild, I don’t think a Shay will ever land on my list, but I really do enjoy looking at them, studying them, and reading about them (and riding behind them.) They are fascinating pieces of machinery.
We had a large layout, and now we have a track plan for, oh no, a 4 x 8 HO scale layout. The old, venerable, and sometimes maligned 4 x 8. Actually, I like the design of this layout and wouldn’t mind having this 4 x 8. It has urban scenery. It has factories. It has a passenger station. It has commercial buildings. It has switching potential. The commercial area is elevated with a lower area for the factories and switching. The passenger station sits on the elevated area with the platforms on the lower area. It is visually interesting (to me). If I were to build it, I would tweak the design, but overall, I like this 4 x 8 (gasp).
We have now arrived at two articles written by winners of the MR young author contest. The first is how 14 year-old Nathan Budzyna built his GE C32-8 using an Athearn U33C as the basis for the model. I can see why he won the junior division of the contest. I am a couple years older than Nathan and I wasn’t doing that at his age. Heck, I haven’t done anything like that with a locomotive 40 years later. The next winner was Richard Catalano in the senior division at the ripe old age of 15. He built the Jerome & Southwestern Jr., a portable N scale version of John Olson’s J&S. In the look back at the January 1975 issue, I mentioned that a modeler used color on his models to depict distance (as opposed to size which is what you usually see in selective compression). I also mentioned that this concept re-appeared in 1985. It is related to this layout article. When it came to coloring his scenery, Mr. Catalano “colored his rocks so that those that are closest appeared brightest while the colors that were further away were faded.” Between the January 1975 and January 1985 articles, it made me stop and think about using color to depict distance, something that I had not considered before. Even though this is not the first time I’ve read these articles…go figure…re-visiting the old issues as an adult has given me a different way of viewing things. This is why I don’t like breaking down magazines and only saving certain articles. My interests change and the way I view things change.
On to the next layout feature, John Tews’ Timber River RR, a 1970s freelanced ore-hauler set in northern Minnesota. This one is a 14 x 30 HO scale layout. It is built as a loop but operated as point-to-point. Again, what surprises me is the lack of photos (only 5 for this layout feature).
Following the layout article is one on superdetailing an Athearn SD40-2 for a Cotton Belt tunnel snoot. I enjoy reading these articles even though with today’s offerings, the superdetailing of blue boxes is dated (but not dead). I like reading about the concepts and how to make the modifications to match a prototype. It is still relevant information if you still like to do these types of projects, are inclined to take today’s superdetailed models and get them detailed down to a specific road number or phase, or if you are just looking for information such as the color the armrests in the cab. Just because the article isn’t something you would want to do sometimes there are nuggets of information buried in there. And if you are interested, the color of the cab armrests in a Cotton Belt tunnel snoot is dark green.
John Nehrich writes about making pine trees out of artificial Christmas trees. The January issue is good timing for this article as it would be the time of year you could find the trees in the stores. I don’t know if this one holds up because I don’t know how the artificial trees of today compare to those of 40 years ago, but the overall concept may still be relevant. His trees turned out nicely.
Nordi’s Garage is a structure scratchbuilding article based on a prototype car repair shop in Troy, NY. I could see building this. It is a combination of a 2 story brick building with an attached 1 story brick building with a gable roof. These are typical, brick, downtown commercial type buildings. Not interested in this exact building? The techniques outlined can be used for a structure more to your liking. Oh, and there are scale drawings and signs (yes!).
A friend and associate looked back at Gordon Varney and Varney models. It is interesting from the perspective of someone who knew him and the company, not just a typical historical rundown. There is a selective chronology of Varney’s product line. Now, here’s the really interesting part: In 1938, Varney offered their first train set for $52.50 for three-rail or $56.50 for two-rail. That is the equivalent of $1,168 to $1,257 today. Whoa, let me put my eyes back in their sockets. And this was while the country was still in the Great Depression. Holy smokes. In 1946, Varney release a limited edition O scale 4-6-0 kit for $100 (and they sold 1,000 of them in the first week). Today, that cost translates to $1,600 today. Talk about the cost of the hobby. Wow.
In Student Fare, then 16 year-old Paul Goetz of Pueblo, CO talked about modeling airplanes and ships in addition to trains. He goes on to say that “every time I do a model ship or an airplane, I learn new techniques that can be applied to model railroading. One thing I discovered while modeling a small plan is that if you research what you are modeling, it becomes more interesting and enjoyable.” It seems to me that this may have inspired the At the Throttle by Mr. Larson and his comments about learning…hmmm….inspiration from a younger modeler. Glen Power, a teenager from St. Basile, Quebec noted his interest in passenger train operations. A teenager interested in passenger train ops? That’s not something that would come up on my bingo card.
Andy Sperandeo gave us information on making an Pennsy X29 express boxcar with a 40-ft ARA boxcar kit, Athearn boxcar doors (with the claws removed), and express trucks with some further detailing. It’s a nice article and something you could still do relatively cheap with some train show finds.
Based on several columns and articles, my observation is that we may discount the abilities of both young and new modelers or at least the need to challenge them. From the rolling stock standards of the NEB&W set to challenge modelers and develop a satisfaction in research to the At the Throttle column talking about how and what we learn in the hobby to the young author articles to the Student Fare submissions. This issue was all about learning and challenging. There have been continuous calls for beginner level articles for decades, but we have to make sure that we don’t step them down too far. Yes, there is a place for basic content, but we should not make things too basic for the uninitiated. I think back to when I was 14 and reading MR and RMC. I read every article, even those that dealt with scratchbuilding locomotives in brass. I knew I didn’t have the ability or tools at that time to pull it off, but I eventually wanted to become an advanced modeler so I read and absorbed the advanced articles. We have to be careful to not spoon-feed the young and new modelers. We need to find that balance that will not scare them off but challenge them to improve their skills. All of this makes sense in my head so I hope it is translating to the written word.
Wow, that was long, but it was a long issue at over 196 pages. It is also an issue that made me stop and think (oh, the horror) about the cornerstone (or the lack thereof) of the hobby and how we should find the balance between basics and challenges without sacrificing attainability while maintaining those advanced articles to keep the grizzled complement of modelers interested…hey, wait a minute, I resemble that remark.
Oh, and for those who actually read all the way to the end, thank you.