(jeb@oscalemag.com). - O Scale Trains Magazine Online

OL&N #208 drifts past the beach at the south end of Osprey Lake. It appears that the sunbathers and swimmers are having too much fun to notice.David Mehew built the framework, laid the track, wired thelayout, and handcrafted my great haunted house. He also tookthe photographs for this article. Keith Hansen, author of The LastTrains From Lindsay, painted the superb backdrops and helpedwith many modifications. I concentrated on the scenery anddetailed the pike. I should also mention that certain structures,such as the Chama inspired coaling tower and sandhouse, thewooden trestle, and the Kirby Station, were professionally builtby another friend, Peter Reisiger.The basic scenery material is “color-ized” plaster on a styrofoambase. I cast many rock molds to create a variety of outcroppings.Bodies of water involved numerous techniques suchas a thin layer of plaster “rippled” with a wet sponge, paintedblack and covered with three coats of clear high-gloss urethanevarnish. I’ve also used stippled glass coated with a thin washof green water-based paint on the underside. And last, but notleast, clear resin was used where depth was required. I alsoused real dirt, sandstones, bark, twigs, as well as a variety ofcommercial and home-made trees. I used a generous supply ofmaterials from Woodland Scenics.I personally prefer a well-populated layout. As a result, I havemany little people and animals that call my layout home. Theseare from a variety of vendors such as Arttista, Preiser, and others.At the time of this writing, my scenery is about 80% completewith only the Town of Kirby to be finished. It will includea small church and graveyard, the Kirby Station, and some smallindustries. There is also a plan in the works to build a turntablehere, so that I will be able to run my trains in both directionswithout “five-finger” switching.Like many O Scalers, I began my model railroad adventuresin HO. However, one day I visited an O Scale layout. The sizeand bulk of the locomotives and cars, the sounds of taking upslack, wheels clattering across rail joints, even flanges squealingon tight curves, grabbed a hold of me and would not let go.The cameraman gets a risky head-on shot of Geep #160as it eases by a work crew.Also the allure of free-standing detail, full brake rigging, scaleroofwalks and the like (most of which was not found on HOequipment at the time), soon had me hook, line, and sinker.Granted, in most cases this fine detail was found on expensivebrass models, but it was available if you desired it. Now thatI’m in my sixties, seeing and working with larger detail is mucheasier on the eyes than in the smaller scales. Hey, I’ll be the firstto admit O Scale is not all peaches and cream. It has a gluttonousappetite for real estate and consumes copious quantitiesof storage space compared to the smaller scales. I feel that thepositives far outweigh the negatives. It is my sincere hope thatthe O Scale branch of the model railroad hobby will attract newdevotees of all ages and will flourish in the future.u(See more photos of the OL&N starting on Page 61)Mar/Apr ’07 - O Scale Trains •