I'm back ... and great layout visit piece in MRH

I think I may have mentioned in a previous post that model railroading is largely a seasonal hobby for me, a good way to pass those long winter nights. That's why I've been silent this summer.

However with the cooler weather now on its way, I'm getting some work done on the layout and a few projects going on the workbench. I will be posting about them here in the next few weeks.

In the meantime I'd light to point to a great layout visit story in Model Railroad Hobbyist, a free online magazine about this great hobby.

In an article you can read here, the magazine profiled Shaun Toman's HO scale Union Pacific Oregon Division. The layout itself is excellent. I was intrigued to read about this room-sized (10' x12') layout that models the modern era. Toman faced challenges squeezing it in, but he's managed to produce a nice-looking layout in not a massive space that's able to have large, modern diesels and longer rolling stock like auto-racks.

Using great backdrops and scenery, he was able to include some industries, stretches of mainline run and even a small yard and engine shop.

I found it interesting that he built his layout in a shed separate from his house. Of course, that's easier to do in Oregon's temperate climate than most other places in North America! Still, I think it proves you may not need a basement to have a layout.

I must tip my hat to MHR here as well. The Q & A style article was very thorough,  and it answered every question I had about the layout. The photos are excellent and it was nice to see a track plan in there.

I found it interesting that like me, Toman regrets not building his layout higher off the ground.

I'm always on the lookout for room-sized layouts that depict the modern era. If you see a good website or blog about such a layout, please put a link in my comments and I will put it in the links on the right side of this blog.

So to read more about Toman's layout, check it out on MRH here.

Also, Toman has a great flickr page with an album that has more than 300 photos of his layout. I've embedded a few below to offer a taste of his work:


Large, modern diesels and auto-racks ... must be a massive basement or club layout, right? No it's 10' x 12'.


Some nice mainline runs give the trains a bit of space.



Effective photo backdrops like this make a small layout seem much bigger.


Here's what the space looked like before the track was put down. He built the layout in a shed separate from the house.