eisenbahnstudio

This weekend, I went up to Springfield, MA to attend the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show with two friends from college.

I visited Fast Tracks where I said hello to Tim Warris, who was featured in an interview on eisenbahnstudio last December. While I was there, I also picked one of his BullFrog kits which I plan to use to operate the manual turnout on my Fessenheim project.

Next, I stopped by the Rail Yard Models booth where Gene Fusco was holding three Penn Central kits for me. He was very helpful in telling me which one I should put together first and gave me a few tips on what to watch out for when assembling them.

Right around the corner, I got the matching paint, which is sold exclusively by the Penn Central Railroad Historical Society (PCRRHS). Penn Central Green used to be manufactured by Scalecoat but has since been discontinued. The historical society acquired the remaining inventory, which is available for purchase in the Scalecoat I (for wood and metal) and Scalecoat II (for plastic) variety on the PCRRHS website. I will report on the construction of the Rail Yard Model kits and subsequent conversion to PROTO:87 in the coming months.

ExactRail had a big presence and announced that with a full page ad on the back cover of the exhibition guide. I had seen their ads in various publications before and had also visited the website but never saw one of their models in real life – I was in for a treat. The detailing and finishing is superb and the prices very reasonable considering the superior quality of their models. I talked to co-founder John Pestana who passionately shared the history of ExactRail and his vision for the two-year-old company. He plans to make ExactRail the biggest model railroad company in the world and judging by the success of Omniture, one his other ventures which was recently acquired by Adobe, he might just pull it off.

My last notable stop was the North Shore Model Railroad Club where I was able to purchase a few cheap (read $3) undecorated Athearn freight car kits, which I plan to use to develop my airbrushing skills. Let’s see how that goes…

All in all, it was great to be back and it was nice catching up with my college buddies. I didn’t spend much time looking at layouts because many of them had been at the National Train Show last year. Hopefully, there will be a PROTO:87 modular layout on display in Springfield in the not so distant future!

Yesterday, my wife and I took the bus up to Hartford to attend the National Train Show. The trip to Connecticut’s capital was quick on the comfortable Megabus and the drop-off location behind the Wadsworth Atheneum turned out to be very convenient since it is within minutes of the new convention center on the banks of the Connecticut River.

There were a number of exhibition layouts that I had previously seen at the Amherst Railway Society’s annual Railroad Hobby Show, so it didn’t take a lot of time to zone in on colleagues focusing on protoype modeling.

My first notable stop was the booth of North American Railcar Corporation which is producing scale models of modern era Hawker-Siddeley cylindrical covered hopper cars. The workmanship, paint job and level of detail of their models was impressive and I am looking forward to seeing more of their work. When you visit their website, be sure to check out the prototype information page.

Another inspiring display of craftsmanship, was the collection of steam era freight cars by Connecticut-based Speedwitch Media. Along with several magnificent books on prototype modeling, they offer highly detailed resin kits and parts for various types of cars from that era. Even though I am neither modeling steam era nor American prototype, I am itching to get my hands on one of these kits.

Since moving close the site of the former 60th Street Rail Yard in New York City, I have been thinking about modeling an urban freight terminal some time down the road. Seeing Tim Warris’ Central New Jersey Bronx Terminal was therefore the highlight of my visit and is a wonderful encouragement for possible future endeavors. I haven’t seen a layout that offers nearly as much switching fun in such a small space in a long time. The track work is absolutely phenomenal and it ought to be since Tim is a co-founder of Ontario-based Fast Tracks Model Railroad Tools & Supplies. The only thing that I found missing were the tie plates…

Yesterday, I received my first copy of Willy Kosak’s Hp1 Eisenbahnmodellbau heute since moving to this side of the Atlantic. The magazine was mailed in a sturdy outer envelope and survived its maiden voyage without any blemishes.

The publication is of superb print quality and features Kosak’s beautifully set model photos – even though some seem excessively photoshopped. With its many helpful modeling tips, it serves as the quasi trade journal among PROTO:87 fans in German-speaking countries and beyond.

The latest issue of Hp1 Eisenbahnmodellbau heute.

I knew that FREMO:87 was going to be featured prominently in the latest issue, but I had no idea how extensive the coverage was going to be. The article comprises 14 pages of photographs of FREMO:87 members, their beautiful rolling stock and modules plus an additional seven pages of feature content – and even more pictures – including an inspirational history of FREMO:87 authored by FREMO veteran Klaus Weibezahn.

Kudos to Willy Kosak and his crew – hopefully, the piece will motivate fellow model railroaders to become active members of FREMO:87.

Anyone interested in joining me in starting a group in the New York metro area? Post a comment and I’ll be in touch…

At the beginning of the month, I attended the Rail 2009 PROTO:87 Convention in Houten, Netherlands. FREMO:87 participated with a small, yet large enough layout to demonstrate prototypical operation with timetable and fast clock. This was a special occasion for us as we normally do not set up layouts in public and because we exhibited at a train convention for the first time ever.

A passenger train stopping at Hölle station on the FREMO:87 layout.

Even though the group was quite busy keeping the layout running at all times, there was ample time to get to know and exchange ideas with fellow proto modelers from throughout Europe. Personally, I was very impressed by the high level of detailing that was shown in many of the French and British layouts. It was inspiring to see how much care went into modeling even the smallest scene that could be easily overlooked at first glance.

A scene from a French PROTO:87 industrial layout.

Module showcasing various track parts available from CLUB PROTO 87.