Conformity and the NMRA

From the first time I entered an NMRA model contest, back in 1994, I have had a challenge with the Conformity section. How did a freelanced model earn full points while my prototype model did not? It didn’t take long at that first convention to fall in with Richard Hendrickson and the Prototype Modeller crowd. […]

Seattle Roadtrip!

It seems like ages since I went for an operating weekend anywhere. However, there are some trips that you simply can’t pass up, and the last opportunity to operate on Al Frasch’s Pilchuck Division was one of those. So this Saturday, seven of us stole across the border at 7:30 AM, counting our blessings that […]

Who put all that stuff in the TRAIN room?

On Wednesday, I took a reprieve from working in the evening (which is how I’ve spent most of January) to take in a work session chez my friend Scott Calvert. He indicated I should bring my soldering iron. When I went to retrieve it, I found an impassible pile of detritus in front of my desk. The […]

Near miss on the Boundary Sub

On Wednesday evening, I had an opportunity to dispatch on my friend Scott Calvert’s layout. His is a timetable and train order operation, just as the real Boundary was. If you’ve never had an opportunity to participate in a TT&TO operation, I encourage you to come to Vancouver for the annual Railway Modellers’ Meet. This […]

Game Face

My friend, Scott Calvert emailed some photos that he took of last month’s operating session on his Boundary Sub. I was struck by the studied concentration on Chuck, Bill and Colin’s faces as they switch the yard at Nelson above. I especially love this one of Brian Pate, assuming his classic pose while running the […]

Is this the material we’ve been waiting for?

Image is by Shapeways. Used without permission; I hope it’s okay! I’m a firm believer that 3D printing is going to change everything, but especially this hobby. Since my first article on the topic in RMC in March 2012, I’ve been occasionally experimenting with the service offered by Shapeways. I find it to be nothing […]

Layouts within layouts?

Ken Catlin and I went over to help our friend, Scott Calvert, with his layout last week. While Ken and Scott focused on a two turn helix for the mainline, I worked on spline for the GN line down to Salmo. Scott added this line and the town of Salmo itself almost as an afterthought: […]