I started this blog to document the construction of my HO model railroad, called the Overland Terminal Railway. As such, it is a record of the layout's concept, planning, construction, finishing and operations, and the research that goes into it. Here's a brief introduction to the layout:
Concept: Always a fan of passenger trains and their operation, I am modeling the Overland Terminal Railway as a freelance HO scale terminal operation based on passenger stations in California in the 1950s. Its prototype is one of the busiest terminal railway operations in the West, Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT), the last great union station built in the United States. As a busy terminal of passenger, mail, express and freight traffic, LAUPT has all of the thematic elements I want to model in the layout. Additional inspiration comes from the passenger operations at Ogden, Utah, and the Oakland Mole in California. Though in different places, all of these stations have a lot of common themes that are useful in constructing a great passenger operations model.
The Depot is run by the Overland Terminal Railway Company, a fictional depot railway operator, inspired by the LAUPT, the Oakland Terminal Railway and Ogden Depot and Railway Company. In such operations, the Terminal Railway leases equipment from the railroads it serves to switch the terminal as a neutral provider, thereby assuring the best service to passengers and shippers at the depot. This approach, which was prototypical, allows me to mix switching power freely among the railroads served (UP, SP, ATSF). The Terminal is the centerpiece of the operation, with large passenger station and commissary, major Railway Express Agency, Postal Terminals and Freight House (coincidentally, the Salt Lake Route's freight terminal was officially called the Overland Terminal) being the star attractions of the layout.
Approach and Inspiration: The layout is a freelance design that draws from Los Angeles and surrounding areas in the 1950s for its controlling look and feel. I call this look and feel 'Railroad Noir,' a style of modeling that seeks to show the dark ('noir' means 'black'), dirty, seedy, conflicted and ruthless nature of Los Angeles in transition to a modern city as depicted in the great examples of Film Noir, such as Double Indemnity, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Act of Violence and countless other films inspired by the writings of Raymond Chandler, John Fante and other crime novelists of the 1940s and 50s. This is a 'transition era' layout in the literal sense, showing not only the transition of railroad equipment but, more importantly, the transition of the urban landscape and culture of the 1950s.
Although I seek fidelity to the prototype in many ways, the compromises necessitated by adapting a concept to the realities of layout construction and operation can be maddening. Freelance eliminates these conflicts through artistic license. My biggest influences in model railroading are George Sellios' Franklin and South Manchester, Rod Stewart's Three Rivers City, Harry Brunk's Union Central and Northern, and, of course John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid. Each of these layouts in its own way tells a clear story, using artists' techniques of forced perspective, scene composition and detail saturation to draw you into the layout - all techniques that continue to be the greatest influence on my modeling and how I approach the Overland Terminal Railway. Success for my layout will be in its ability to create its own aesthetic, an authentic 1950s cultural realism, 'Railroad Noir, as I call it.
My Modeling Philosophy: I grew up building models of everything from cars, ships, airplanes, Zeppelins, 1" scale houses, which led to majoring in architecture and cultural history in college (USC '87, University of Utah '90, '97). It was my interest in historical models that introduced me to trains. My model railroad is a medium - a lens through which one can view railroad town culture in the 1950s Intermountain West. As a modeler, my approach is to focus on detailed scenery in which the trains help complete the scene, rather than compete with it. While I aim for realistic prototypical train operations, I see the scenes in which they take place as at least as important at the trains themselves. Good modeling is all about channeling the viewer's perspective, and good scenes on the model direct how it should be viewed to get the best effect. As a modeler, I build to offer track-level vistas of trains as if you are looking through the lens of a railfan's camera. City streets, buildings, mountains and rivers become the vantage point for watching the operations on my layout, which is how rail fanning is done 'in the wild.'
Vital Statistics: The layout itself fills a custom room 18'x34', is distributed on two levels with a connecting grade averaging 2%, making a mainline run of 275' of single and double track. The main level (track level 55") contains Downtown Overland City and the Terminal operations, while the lower level has the exact same footprint (track level 36") for a double-ladder yard for East-West transfer and mainline operations through a suburban and coastal waterside operation inspired by the Southern Pacific Coast Line. Mainline track is Atlas Code 83, sidings of Code 70, spurs Code 55, with switches a combination of Peco and handmade. Minimum radius on the mainline is 38" (maximum 51.5"). The layout is DCC from the ground up using Digitrax DCS240 as Command Base, DB150 booster, 20 amp max power, Cobalt switch controls, JMRI client/CTC operation, NCE PowerCab for locomotive programming and testing. (I plan to elaborate on this topic in later posts.)
Having recently realized the dream of every model railroader, I acquired a large unfinished basement that I could customize for my layout and workspace. Having bought the house in May, 2016, I immediately set to work on having the basement custom-finished for the layout and workbench. To complete this man cave I added a flat screen TV with all the channels, combo VHS/DVD player for watching my collection of 'train porn,' satellite radio for period music and railroad art on free wallspace. I am adding simple 'facilities' across the hall, comprised of a good utility sink and urinal (I did say man cave).
Enjoy!
Concept: Always a fan of passenger trains and their operation, I am modeling the Overland Terminal Railway as a freelance HO scale terminal operation based on passenger stations in California in the 1950s. Its prototype is one of the busiest terminal railway operations in the West, Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT), the last great union station built in the United States. As a busy terminal of passenger, mail, express and freight traffic, LAUPT has all of the thematic elements I want to model in the layout. Additional inspiration comes from the passenger operations at Ogden, Utah, and the Oakland Mole in California. Though in different places, all of these stations have a lot of common themes that are useful in constructing a great passenger operations model.
The Depot is run by the Overland Terminal Railway Company, a fictional depot railway operator, inspired by the LAUPT, the Oakland Terminal Railway and Ogden Depot and Railway Company. In such operations, the Terminal Railway leases equipment from the railroads it serves to switch the terminal as a neutral provider, thereby assuring the best service to passengers and shippers at the depot. This approach, which was prototypical, allows me to mix switching power freely among the railroads served (UP, SP, ATSF). The Terminal is the centerpiece of the operation, with large passenger station and commissary, major Railway Express Agency, Postal Terminals and Freight House (coincidentally, the Salt Lake Route's freight terminal was officially called the Overland Terminal) being the star attractions of the layout.
Approach and Inspiration: The layout is a freelance design that draws from Los Angeles and surrounding areas in the 1950s for its controlling look and feel. I call this look and feel 'Railroad Noir,' a style of modeling that seeks to show the dark ('noir' means 'black'), dirty, seedy, conflicted and ruthless nature of Los Angeles in transition to a modern city as depicted in the great examples of Film Noir, such as Double Indemnity, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Act of Violence and countless other films inspired by the writings of Raymond Chandler, John Fante and other crime novelists of the 1940s and 50s. This is a 'transition era' layout in the literal sense, showing not only the transition of railroad equipment but, more importantly, the transition of the urban landscape and culture of the 1950s.
Although I seek fidelity to the prototype in many ways, the compromises necessitated by adapting a concept to the realities of layout construction and operation can be maddening. Freelance eliminates these conflicts through artistic license. My biggest influences in model railroading are George Sellios' Franklin and South Manchester, Rod Stewart's Three Rivers City, Harry Brunk's Union Central and Northern, and, of course John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid. Each of these layouts in its own way tells a clear story, using artists' techniques of forced perspective, scene composition and detail saturation to draw you into the layout - all techniques that continue to be the greatest influence on my modeling and how I approach the Overland Terminal Railway. Success for my layout will be in its ability to create its own aesthetic, an authentic 1950s cultural realism, 'Railroad Noir, as I call it.
My Modeling Philosophy: I grew up building models of everything from cars, ships, airplanes, Zeppelins, 1" scale houses, which led to majoring in architecture and cultural history in college (USC '87, University of Utah '90, '97). It was my interest in historical models that introduced me to trains. My model railroad is a medium - a lens through which one can view railroad town culture in the 1950s Intermountain West. As a modeler, my approach is to focus on detailed scenery in which the trains help complete the scene, rather than compete with it. While I aim for realistic prototypical train operations, I see the scenes in which they take place as at least as important at the trains themselves. Good modeling is all about channeling the viewer's perspective, and good scenes on the model direct how it should be viewed to get the best effect. As a modeler, I build to offer track-level vistas of trains as if you are looking through the lens of a railfan's camera. City streets, buildings, mountains and rivers become the vantage point for watching the operations on my layout, which is how rail fanning is done 'in the wild.'
Vital Statistics: The layout itself fills a custom room 18'x34', is distributed on two levels with a connecting grade averaging 2%, making a mainline run of 275' of single and double track. The main level (track level 55") contains Downtown Overland City and the Terminal operations, while the lower level has the exact same footprint (track level 36") for a double-ladder yard for East-West transfer and mainline operations through a suburban and coastal waterside operation inspired by the Southern Pacific Coast Line. Mainline track is Atlas Code 83, sidings of Code 70, spurs Code 55, with switches a combination of Peco and handmade. Minimum radius on the mainline is 38" (maximum 51.5"). The layout is DCC from the ground up using Digitrax DCS240 as Command Base, DB150 booster, 20 amp max power, Cobalt switch controls, JMRI client/CTC operation, NCE PowerCab for locomotive programming and testing. (I plan to elaborate on this topic in later posts.)
Having recently realized the dream of every model railroader, I acquired a large unfinished basement that I could customize for my layout and workspace. Having bought the house in May, 2016, I immediately set to work on having the basement custom-finished for the layout and workbench. To complete this man cave I added a flat screen TV with all the channels, combo VHS/DVD player for watching my collection of 'train porn,' satellite radio for period music and railroad art on free wallspace. I am adding simple 'facilities' across the hall, comprised of a good utility sink and urinal (I did say man cave).
Enjoy!
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