Have just uploaded a video showing a bit of a tribute to the Railway workers in Ukraine for all the lives they are saving.
Also showing a few of my trains running with one a class 21 named after the Yorkshire Moor Railway.
Its a worrying time for all, but seeing all those refugee women and children having to leave there families and homes brings it home, to us all what wars are about ……
Lets all pray he gets stopped very soon before its too late.
Regards
Dave”
A big thanks to Dave.
I have to be honest, I really uumed and aahed about posting this because I avoid anything remotely political.
Let me tell you why.
I get sent so much stuff in the blizzard that is my inbox, some of it is interesting or entertaining, but not remotely connected to this hobby.
So one day, I started another blog and tried out a few posts.
Trouble was, one of them was very political. It really did split the pack.
One simple post got over a thousand comments in a matter of days.
But then something remarkable happened.
People in both camps were emailing me and saying the same thing:
“We go to your blog to get away and escape the reality of the world – please keep it that way.”
The humanity of both sides independantly asking for the same thing was all it took.
So I promised myself never again.
That’s why I hesitated over this post.
But then I thought I love what Dave’s done and he’s right. The railway workers have saved many lives.
So I posted.
If you want to post on Dave’s railway please leave a comment below.
Rob shows us how he added model train foliage to make his layout more realistic:
“Hi Al,
I have a new video if you might be interested.
In it, I revamped an area that was in dire need of some attention. I call this area the ‘long view.’
It is a fairly long straight section of track where I have built tree-lined screens along both sides.
I didn’t like it because you could see the blue wall through the trees when you were standing over it, which didn’t look right. I must have been in a hurry when I first created it.
I had just piled foliage and trees along the sides without taking much care.
One of the things I did was to arrange the foliage and trees plus I drilled and glued in the trees.
I also filled in below with undergrowth in order to make it look really dense like it had not been attended to in many years.
I hope your subscribers will enjoy this video.
Thank you for all you do to promote the modeling community.
Rob – Farland Howe”
A huge big thank you to Hall of Fame member, Rob. Stunning pics of his model train foliage.
Leave a comment below to let us know what you think.
That’s it for today’s missive.
Please do keep ’em coming – I enjoy them as much as you do.
When it comes to model trains which scale is best?
Of course, there isn’t an answer because everyone has different likes, and different amounts of space.
Mike jumped back into the hobby after decades and it was a sharp learning curve when it came to finding the best scale for him.
And his missive below just goes to show that creating a layout is a learning process from start to finish.
Everybody has different budgets, spaces and available time – they all have a bearing on what is possible.
Mike’s post below is a good example of this.
It will make more sense if you remind yourself of his earlier post, which is here.
“My friend AL:
It has been a while since I checked in on progress with latest n-scale layout.
After a minor stroke and five days in hospital back in November, I am finally ready to continue my model train adventure.
First, I must say, we never stop learning from our mistakes. A few years ago, I thought a train layout would be a great way to engage my grandson into the hobby.
It worked at first, but I soon realized these video game kids today need to be active in real time.
My poor decision of choosing old style DC motivated trains where all trains were either moving or stopped was the wrong decision.
My grandson most enjoyed the brief time we had Lionel LionChief trains that could be run individually by remote controllers from an iPad.
But those trains occupied too much space inspiring a move to HO-scale and then finally n-scale.
Instead of going with DCC, I took the cheap way out and settled for a nice large layout powered by one control source.
So, with that mistake made, I am going to start over again, but I have a lot of research to do with regard the best, yet economical way to create a DCC layout. Advice is welcome.
Meanwhile, here in photographs is what I managed to accomplish before coming to this point.
Some may recognize what I tried to accomplish with the Western village from Old Tucson, AZ. and the backlot location from “Back to the Future.”
It was fun building it, but now it is time to move up.
Cheers, and thanks for all the inspiration gained from all the train fans who post on your site.
Mike
Michigan, USA”
A big thanks to Mike. It just goes to show that when it comes to model trains which scale is best, only you will know.
And do you know what I like most about Mike’s layout? Simply that he made a start. That’s what this hobby is all about.
He just rolled his sleeves up and had a go.
I think some are put off by the mess making a start creates – but as the saying goes, you can’t make an omlette without breaking eggs.
Pete’s a good example of this – have a look below.
He’s not new to this, and as you can see, he’s not scared of the choas his new layout will bring:
“Hello,
just sending a few pics of my dismantling of my 10’x26’ HO scale layout to begin a new one
I will keep you posted as I go along but still not sure of my theme yet but one thing I am doing is splitting the table to work from the middle out
I want to run more steam engines they are my favorites I have some beauties in brass as well
All the best I will keep in touch
Peter
Happy railroad to you all 🇺🇸😃”
So there you go – roll your sleeves up and make a mess. Of course, I’m biased, but I think you’ll be glad you did.
That’s all for today folks – a big thanks to Mike for sharing his journey so far.
Please do leave a comment below if you can add / help / encourage about making a start. I’d really like to hear your thoughts.
