The July 2010 issue of Milwaukee Magazine has a very nice feature article about model railroading.
The article looks into the history of how Milwaukee became a center of model railroading industry:
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How William K. Walthers started out as a small Depression-era mail order supplier of rails, electrical components, and accessories and grew into a worldwide manufacturer and distributor;
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How Al Kalmbach combined two of his hobbies, model railroading and printing, into a successful business;
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How Kalmbach, Walthers, and other model railroaders teamed up to create the National Model Railroad Association to promote national standards for the hobby;
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And other local highlights such as Trainfest, one of the largest annual model railroading shows in the country, and Milwaukee Pubblic Television’s production of “Tracks Ahead.”
In addition, the article explores just what it is that attracts participants to the hobby. Several local model model railroad clubs and individuals (many of whom will be familiar to readers of the model railroading press) are profiled and interviewed:
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A brief operating scenario on the North American Prototype Modelers club layout;
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The Model Railroad Club of Milwaukee’s layout and unusual clubhouse located in an old railroad station built into a bridge abutment/rail line embankment (Kalmbach and Walthers were founding members, along with notable locals like future Mayor Fran Zeidler);
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A description of John Tews Timber River Railway layout;
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Highlights of Keith Kohlmann’s efforts to recreate historical scenes of Milwaukee, Sturtevant, and Kenosha, Wisconsin on his series of N scale modules (plus other Wisconsin scenes from members of the Mini Mod-U-Trak group);
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Exploring the whimsical mixture of the Pacific Northwest and Switzeralnd influences on Marcel Trautwein’s Grand D’Elusion layout;
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Jim Kelley describes how he is recreating the Tehachapi Loop on his N scale layout;
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Plus Kalmb