I’ve been musing recently about folks whose articles in the model railroading press have had a big effect on my own modeling. I came up with the following list:
JOHN ARMSTRONG
Everything I know about layout design seems to have come directly or indirectly from John Armstrong.
TED CULOTTA
If there were a Pulitzer Prize for model railroad journalism, surely Ted’s ongoing “Essential Freight Cars” series in RMC would win hands down. A master class in resin kit construction, detailing, painting and weathering, not to mention a gold mine of prototype information.
PAUL DOLKOS
Paul’s Boston & Maine layout has to be one of the most beautiful model railroads ever built, and Paul has shared many secrets of his (and other people’s) success through his excellent writing and photography.
J. H. GEISSEL
I’ve always loved prototype drawings, and Geissel’s are the best. His subtle control of line weight and shading elevates his draftsmanship to the level of art. I taught myself drafting by copying Geissel’s work.
BILL HENDERSON
An MR editor once said (more or less) “No one captures the grime and glory of coal railroads better than Bill Henderson.” Couldn’t agree more. His Coal Belt is a wonder.
LOGAN HOLTGREWE
My interest in urban railroading dates to the December 1975 issue of MR and an article entitled “The urban scenery of Severna Park.” Logan’s towering, scratch built structures were a revelation to me (and I suspect, to others as well).
JIM SIX
Master of detailing, painting and weathering diesels. One of his articles almost lured me into modeling the Penn Central. Fortunately, I came to my senses.
EARL SMALLSHAW
Another master of modeling the urban scene. I don’t generally care for “humorous” signage, but I always get a chuckle out of the slogan Earl came up with for the Miracle Chair Company: “If it’s a good chair, it’s a Miracle!”
James Kincaid for his articles in Mainline Modeler on the Auto Parts Cars.
Jim Eager for his many articles on the proper prototypes for the cars that are availiable by the manufacturers.
My subjective list is:
John Armstrong
Bill Schopp
Linn Wescott
Frank Ellison
E.L.Moore
John Allen
J. H. Geissel
Bob Hegge
Harold H. Carstens
The Old Yardmaster
There are many others I have enjoyed over the years.
Enjoy
Paul
Just Ten? There are very many. I agree with all the above, but would add . . . .
Gordy Odegard would definately make my list. I think his building a brass steamer series was excellent. Although I will probably never tackle that project - I enjoyed reading each and every installment.
Art Curren. I consider Art the kitbashing guru. His creations were fantastic. The cool part was that upon finishing an article I always said “I can do that!” To me that is the sign of an excellent author.
Tony Koester. Although I doubt I will ever be into operations as much as him, I do enjoy reading his take on our hobby. I can disagree with his views while still enjoying his articles - yeah I’m weird.
John Page - I loved his “looking back” column. Makes one really appreciate what we have today.