This past weekend I took a road trip to Salem and Peabody, MA with my good friend Karl to see the F&SM model RR for the first time (first time for me, that is).
George Sellios is the best in the world. I’ve followed this layout for many years. No one comes close to this work of art. The detail, weathering, story telling scenes, structures, period vehicles, people, track work, everything about this layout is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. One day this will be in the Smithsonian.
I don't know how anyone could build a more realistic city than this owner has. It's so easy to immerse yourself into this 1920's recreational masterpiece. On the close ups, I found myself wanting to wander those streets. Go into those stores. Touch the brick and mortar with my hands. It's just wonderful, and very well done. Something cool to add: A recording in the background of city noises. Kids yelling...playing in the street. An occasional ambulance or cop siren. Cars running. Maybe a jackhammer going with two guys digging up the street. People talking. Just a bunch of city noises.
It is mind numbing to try to calculate the uncountable hours, the incredible talent, perseverance and just plain hard work that went into the making and maintenance of this outstanding body of work. I am in complete and utter awe !
I still have the magazines that featured the F&SM . And in fact the hours are countable . In one article time to build is discussed . The pace at which Mr. Selio works is truly extraordinary . Of course the detail and workmanship makes it even more impressive . I agree with you ,I will never achieve that level of perfection .
A guy creates an incredible build like this one has to be committed to living there for the remainder of his life. Fantastic scenery and integration! I can't begin to imagine the skill, the time, the construction, the detailing and weathering committed to making this incredible build! Bravo, you are a Master!
This is not something that saves the world, or helps anyone materially but it is a little world that we can all marvel at and dream in, the creators are to be congratulated.
Without a doubt, George's layout is THEE benchmark for all train layouts around the world regardless of scale or the technology involved. A miniature masterpiece by any measure.
Absolutely amazing. Very genuine question. If you want to change or modify something in the middle or obscure corner of this how in the world do you even access it without destroying something?
I've been watching a bunch of these "layout" videos in a row. This one just blows the rest out of the water. The detail is staggering! The artistry involved here is tremendous. Just beautiful!
I am a model builder. I’ve built them for engineers, architects, model train people, and war gamers. This is a spectacular work of art. The effort and attention to details is evident.
Wow wow wow!! I first learned of Mr Selios and his layout when i got started in the hobby 30 years ago and picked up my first issue of Model Railroader magazine. It was amazing then and still is now! I have never seen a video of it thank you so much for posting! Truly incredible work!😲
Random video of the day turns out to be absolutely brilliant, this is literally so good you couldn't describe how brilliant it is in a paragraph. The detail is amazing and the amount of hours this must have taken is gobsmacking. fantastic well done to those who created it.
You look at one shot and are blown away by the absolute brilliance and then the camera moves on and your even more blown away again and so it goes on, the rocks, the trees, the water on the harbour the weathering the bridges the buildings the design of the layout itself is absolutely phenomenal! I had to watch it three times back to back.
Anyone that's done 1/10,000 of what's been done here, wouldn't for an instant criticize any portion of this magnificent layout... Just any thing from the tracks, to the buildings, to the details is an extreme amount of work, dedication and artistic ability. The stuff dreams are made of. Thanks for posting this work of art.
Not only is the size of it mind-blowing, but any one of these building and the little scenes around it is a work of art in and of itself. And there are dozens on top of dozens. Incredible imagination, creativity, and detail.
Excellent illustration of a time gone by... no cell phones, no credit cards, no taxes, no stress!!! Sad, but it reminds me of a city that is slowly dying, ex: Mackenzie Milling Co. @ 8:42. Outstanding example of model building my friend. Your weathering techniques are incredible, though perhaps somewhat overdone (or dusty? ex: cab, frames 27:30 - 27:42) The cracks and grime in the sidewalks and roads are examples of the little things that make the entire project simply perfect. John Allen was hands down... the best model railroad builder in his time. You sir.. may be the best of your time. Pure Genius!
This is best American layout i have even seen. Who cares if the trains are ugly , the city , the scenario the tracks balst , the fine weathering detail is amazing, Great master piece this is.
I have zero interest in trains, and zero experience in model trains but this is a thing of beauty. I can imagine this as Arkham in a h p lovecraft story. Really breathtaking. The critics should hope they could ever have a fraction the talent and dedication it obviously took to make this. The work of a lifetime I'm guessing.
Ok, this is SPECTACULAR! I’ve always been more of a natural setting (mountains rivers etc) kinna guy, living and growing up in Oregon. The city/burg/outskirts theme is SO GREAT! My hat’s off to you!
Looks like the backdrop of a big-time movie back in the days before they used CGI. Utterly breathtaking! I don't want to know how many years of hard work and ingenuity are behind this fantastic model.
I just love it when everything's appropriately weathered, including the trains. This one is a masterpiece! You could spend a week looking at it and still not see it all.
In my opinion, it is over-weathered. The world is not only a dozen shades of brown. Yes, there are bits of color here and there, but as Oggy says, shouldn't there be things in new of better condition? Why does everything look the same? Not saying this isn't a masterpiece. It is stunning in scope and detail. But at the same time, it is not realistic. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I love miniature worlds. It feels like I could actually visit this place and its only a diorama. Incredible detail work on everything. Especially the roof details and utilities. I love how everything sags and has a worn look to it; not an easy thing to accomplish.
After watching this nearly 30 minute video of George Selios' Franklin and South Manchester railroad, I feel transported back in time to the 1910's and 1920's. Spectacular in every little detail! I was mesmerized by the depth and scale of this wonderful miniature city. From the weathering of the rolling stock, locomotives, and automobiles, to the rustic buildings and vegetation! The amount of time spent collecting, kit-bashing, or creating from scratch must have taken several years. There is nothing else like your railroad!! WOW!! Thank you for sharing this high quality recording. Felt like I was there.
Someone should make a street view stop motion story in this town. This is the most detailed model I've ever seen. I'm totally blown away. I want to live in there.
What a BLAST Just watching and enjoying this work of ART!!! The Detail is Just Incredible, the amount of work that has gone into this layout is hard to imagine!! WOW
Wow this is a wow, every details from buildings to slopping roads, mountains or even billboard it seems im in that place, that masterpiece it leads into perfection..credit to those person who made this. so much hardwork to put in it..
If layouts were rated like art museums, this is up there with The Louvre. Some of the finest scenic modeling I've ever seen. The density of the city scape is mind bogelling. Everything is so meticulously detailed and weathered. On a scale of 1 to 10, this is a 15!
WOW! This model is insane! But it really floats my boat, BIG TIME! Great model railway, detail on this layout is absolutely incredible & amazing. Like other folks, I have never seen a layout like this on camera before. Very impressive George. You Take Care! my friend & of your family too. STAY SAFE! Best regards from, Colin, Aberdeen (city) Scotland, U.K. :-)
Spectacular. The color palette is so subdued and perfectly sets the stage for the time. I love the touches of decay that indicate a passage of time that was not entirely beneficial to all.
You are the man.Your vision,your artistry,your talent off the chain. I wish my father (R.I.P.) was living so I could share this magnificent master model railroading venture with him. He is the one who got me loving this hobby.Nobody around the world can compete with this realism.Man I'm blown away ,that nothing looks toyish (I'm making it a word),or plastic.Weathering technique,and the water,speechless,just speechless.No Mo Talk!
Amazing! This gets 11 stars on a scale from 1 to 10. Just stunning. It is three-dimensional art. The attention to detail, even the back, wall scenes are to scale and trick the eye into making a realistic backdrop.
Absolutely amazing, a breathtaking layout. I'd love to see a cab ride through this one. It would be worth watching multiple times. I'm back (sort of) in the hobby I left in 1962. Model railroading has gone a long, long way since then. Thanks for posting the video of this incredible work of art and craftsmanship. - Dave
@@donnebes9421 Yeah. I compared prices from the fifties to today's prices but it's not as bad as it looks. I think the main thing is regular peoples disposable income has fallen a lot. That being said DCC and sound is quite expensive. Code 83 nickle silver flex track is a bit pricey as is trucks and Kaydee couplers. Rolling stock can be had at reasonable cost from ebay or thrift shops. I got three blueprint series reefer kits from ebay for about twenty bucks. It takes awhile to build one but the results are fantastic. I only built one so far and still need to decal an weather it. My two original DC Athearn F7's run great after mechanical refurbishment which required a lot of shell repair as did the rolling stock. (Some of the restoration work is up on my TH-cam site). Installing LED headlights was very inexpensive. I restored my Mantua "Mikado" to operating condition but it requires more work, installation of LED lighting and some detailing to make a half way decent looking model, even though the boiler and valve gear is not true to an actual heavy Mike. I had to replace the original worn out and bent up valve gear and broken "cow catcher". I also had to get another pilot just to replace a missing spring. All in all I probably spent fifty bucks to get it running. My buddy who lives in S.C brings the occasional HO piece he gets for just a couple of bucks at flea markets. A "looks good at a distance" four car Amtrack "Train set" that is shown in my video introduction, and an A+B F7 duo in New Haven livery (It's missing one stirrup step - I'll pull a mold from one of the other locos and cast a new step to replace it when I get a chance), and a very detailed flatcar that models an early piggyback rig. The F7's are "Hi-F" rubber band drive. With tuning they can be made to run as slow as ten or so scale MPH. All of the open frame motors draw current that is at the high end of DCC compatibility so replacing them with can motors might make DCC conversion possible. Also there isn't a lot of room in the shells and rumor has it that the dimensions are incorrect. Parts and engineering to replace the belt drives is problematic though so I don't know if it is worth the effort. They all might end up being "hanger queens". Once in awhile a decent DC/DCC ready diesel locomotive can be found for under a hundred bucks. I missed out on a good deal while dithering about spending the money and still regret not pulling the trigger on that one. One of my cars from the fifties is still being sold today at a whopping big price of around thirty five bucks. At 10x the fifties price the cost is not really that much higher. I purchased a box of miscellaneous HO stuff from a small computer shop. The owner got them as a part of an estate sale. Lots of sectional track and a few toy train transformers, one of which I use to run replacement switch machines. Included were a bunch of those horrible Atlas turnouts which can be made to work with a lot of effort. I use Atlas electrical switches left over from the fifties to toggle the two turnouts that I have installed in my test layout. I haven't found any cheap flex track though. I had three lengths left over from the fifties. Sectional track can be converted into short pieces of flex track if necessary. Not having the time or resources to build a decent layout right now, my cobbled together layout will have to do for now. I've had a lot of fun doing the restorations, building the kit and getting the test layout up and running, as well as making videos of the process. Real life has interfered so I haven't done any model work for awhile but hope to get back to it soon. I have a lot of video footage that needs to be put together and uploaded though. -dave
George Sellios is the best in the world. I’ve followed this layout for many years. No one comes close to this work of art. The detail, weathering, story telling scenes, structures, period vehicles, people, track work, everything about this layout is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. One day this will be in the Smithsonian.
I'm 70 and I've NEVER saw a model rr so captivating and natural looking. Nothing on the layout really looks out of place. Utterly amazing.
I don't know how anyone could build a more realistic city than this owner has. It's so easy to immerse yourself into this 1920's recreational masterpiece.
On the close ups, I found myself wanting to wander those streets. Go into those stores. Touch the brick and mortar with my hands. It's just wonderful, and very well done.
Something cool to add: A recording in the background of city noises. Kids yelling...playing in the street. An occasional ambulance or cop siren. Cars running. Maybe a jackhammer going with two guys digging up the street. People talking. Just a bunch of city noises.
I never tire of looking at this masterpiece.
It is mind numbing to try to calculate the uncountable hours, the incredible talent, perseverance and just plain hard work that went into the making and maintenance of this outstanding body of work. I am in complete and utter awe !
I still have the magazines that featured the F&SM . And in fact the hours are countable . In one article time to build is discussed . The pace at which Mr. Selio works is truly extraordinary . Of course the detail and workmanship makes it even more impressive . I agree with you ,I will never achieve that level of perfection .
Only person that ever did was John Allen with Gorre and Daphetid.
That makes 2 of us because I agree 👍 💯
He might be the best in the world. This will need to be in a museum one day.
A guy creates an incredible build like this one has to be committed to living there for the remainder of his life. Fantastic scenery and integration! I can't begin to imagine the skill, the time, the construction, the detailing and weathering committed to making this incredible build! Bravo, you are a Master!
This man is the MICHAELANGELO OF model railroading! It is a shame that this form of kinetic art is not recognized or appreciated by more.
Agreed, This is a work of art.
This is not something that saves the world, or helps anyone materially but it is a little world that we can all marvel at and dream in, the creators are to be congratulated.
Michaelangelo, yup (and we don't mean the turtle) Even Rod Stewart saw that and claimed that was the inspiration for HIS layout
Yeh man if i could do this for a living ide be a happy man!
Iain Botham or 4D because it moves too
Without a doubt, George's layout is THEE benchmark for all train layouts around the world regardless of scale or the technology involved. A miniature masterpiece by any measure.
MY GOD! I'm literally speechless. Best model railway I've ever seen...
Yeah - its one of the best and most famous - Selios made a killing selling his kits as Fine Scale Miniatures (FSM) - well deserved for his brilliance
Agreed 110%.... this blows them away in every detail. Simply genius.
If not for those 'giants' wandering about, it seems like a REAL old-timey city!
Wow
Absolutely amazing. Very genuine question. If you want to change or modify something in the middle or obscure corner of this how in the world do you even access it without destroying something?
I've been watching a bunch of these "layout" videos in a row. This one just blows the rest out of the water. The detail is staggering! The artistry involved here is tremendous. Just beautiful!
I had to find an old Webster to find the right words to describe this master piece.I'm still looking!!
Well, there's half an hour I won't get back....and I'm not mad about it at all!!!
AWESOME!!!
It’s almost too vast to comprehend...Unbelievable . What an achievement of passion and talent. WOW!!!
I am a model builder. I’ve built them for engineers, architects, model train people, and war gamers. This is a spectacular work of art. The effort and attention to details is evident.
The detail of this modelworld is simply mind blowing. I can't believe it. Could watch this for weeks.
Wow wow wow!! I first learned of Mr Selios and his layout when i got started in the hobby 30 years ago and picked up my first issue of Model Railroader magazine. It was amazing then and still is now! I have never seen a video of it thank you so much for posting! Truly incredible work!😲
The creative touch is strong with this immense diorama, truly majestic.
This layout belongs in a museum with other masterpieces. It is a work of love.
I have NEVER seen such artistic craftsmanship. I dont know how to express my amazement. WOW!
Like looking at a photograph of an actual cityscape. Tremendous artistic accomplishment.
Incredible attention to detail! The best I've ever seen! Amazing!
I think IT is the most beautiful diorama I've ever seen!
The density of detailed art in a layout this size is astonishing.
I am at a loss for words! Absolutely stunning craftsmanship and vision. Master modelmaker!
Random video of the day turns out to be absolutely brilliant, this is literally so good you couldn't describe how brilliant it is in a paragraph. The detail is amazing and the amount of hours this must have taken is gobsmacking. fantastic well done to those who created it.
I don't think I will ever see a layout as detailed as this one. Bravo!!!
What a beautiful hobby created with perfection. A Joy to see
You look at one shot and are blown away by the absolute brilliance and then the camera moves on and your even more blown away again and so it goes on, the rocks, the trees, the water on the harbour the weathering the bridges the buildings the design of the layout itself is absolutely phenomenal! I had to watch it three times back to back.
Had a dream about two weeks back, involved a model railroad; and this looks exactly what was in the dream.
Genuinely a masterpiece.
Anyone that's done 1/10,000 of what's been done here, wouldn't for an instant criticize any portion of this magnificent layout... Just any thing from the tracks, to the buildings, to the details is an extreme amount of work, dedication and artistic ability. The stuff dreams are made of. Thanks for posting this work of art.
Das ist wirklich nicht mehr normal! So ein realistische Modelleisenbahn hab ich noch nie gesehen! Es ist einfach nur wunderschön! 😍❤
Not only is the size of it mind-blowing, but any one of these building and the little scenes around it is a work of art in and of itself. And there are dozens on top of dozens. Incredible imagination, creativity, and detail.
Excellent illustration of a time gone by... no cell phones, no credit cards, no taxes, no stress!!! Sad, but it reminds me of a city that is slowly dying, ex: Mackenzie Milling Co. @ 8:42. Outstanding example of model building my friend. Your weathering techniques are incredible, though perhaps somewhat overdone (or dusty? ex: cab, frames 27:30 - 27:42) The cracks and grime in the sidewalks and roads are examples of the little things that make the entire project simply perfect. John Allen was hands down... the best model railroad builder in his time. You sir.. may be the best of your time. Pure Genius!
This is one heck of a gigantic layout, which a colossal work of art.
This is best American layout i have even seen. Who cares if the trains are ugly , the city , the scenario the tracks balst , the fine weathering detail is amazing, Great master piece this is.
By far this has got to be the most spectacular layout I've ever seen. I'd rank it in the top 5 of all time.
In terms of realism I'd say it's the best on the planet.
Yep, only takes $$$$$$$$$$$$$ and you can do anything.
This is absolutely incredible. The craftmanship and the thousands of hours of work that went into creating this layout are apparent.
This is so beautiful I think I’m gonna cry
There aren't sufficient words, simply an amazing layout. The weathering and scratch building is remarkable.
I have zero interest in trains, and zero experience in model trains but this is a thing of beauty. I can imagine this as Arkham in a h p lovecraft story. Really breathtaking. The critics should hope they could ever have a fraction the talent and dedication it obviously took to make this. The work of a lifetime I'm guessing.
Love it ,attention to detail and a great insight to the old world .
Some of the best building work ive ever seen on a layout. Massive amount of work there
If I visited there, I’d stay all day and take my time studying every stunning detail. This is awesome!
I never tire of seeing this awesome layout it is without a doubt one of the greatest layouts in the world today truly inspirational
This is the most detailed and captivating layout EVER!
Gritty and very real - a snapshot of a moment in time. Excellent work. I applaud the obsession to detail...
Apart from absolutely everything else, I love the faded adverts on the buildings.
Ok, this is SPECTACULAR! I’ve always been more of a natural setting (mountains rivers etc) kinna guy, living and growing up in Oregon. The city/burg/outskirts theme is SO GREAT! My hat’s off to you!
Looks like the backdrop of a big-time movie back in the days before they used CGI. Utterly breathtaking! I don't want to know how many years of hard work and ingenuity are behind this fantastic model.
I just love it when everything's appropriately weathered, including the trains. This one is a masterpiece! You could spend a week looking at it and still not see it all.
In my opinion, it is over-weathered. The world is not only a dozen shades of brown. Yes, there are bits of color here and there, but as Oggy says, shouldn't there be things in new of better condition? Why does everything look the same?
Not saying this isn't a masterpiece. It is stunning in scope and detail. But at the same time, it is not realistic.
Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
makes me wish I could shrink myself to a tiny person so I could walk around the entire thing. Amazing layout.
God damn! Whoever put that together is a grand master of creation!
Stunning weathering. most realistic I've seen
Every view from every vantage point is a beautifully crafted epic scene!
Incredible....! Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱.
I love miniature worlds. It feels like I could actually visit this place and its only a diorama. Incredible detail work on everything. Especially the roof details and utilities. I love how everything sags and has a worn look to it; not an easy thing to accomplish.
Wow. That's amazing I could stare at that all day.UNBELIEVABLE .
Most Excellent , the craftsmanship is self evident, better than no less than half the movie sets I’ve seen, I love it.
Good job guys ‘and gals’.
After watching this nearly 30 minute video of George Selios' Franklin and South Manchester railroad, I feel transported back in time to the 1910's and 1920's. Spectacular in every little detail! I was mesmerized by the depth and scale of this wonderful miniature city. From the weathering of the rolling stock, locomotives, and automobiles, to the rustic buildings and vegetation! The amount of time spent collecting, kit-bashing, or creating from scratch must have taken several years. There is nothing else like your railroad!! WOW!! Thank you for sharing this high quality recording. Felt like I was there.
Someone should make a street view stop motion story in this town. This is the most detailed model I've ever seen. I'm totally blown away. I want to live in there.
This man is the Malcolm Furloughs of model railroading this is simply stunning!!!!
What an unbelievably beautiful bit of modeling. Bravo!
Just incredible, just the buildings alone are a piece of art.
Absolutely mesmerized by this layout. Couldn't take my eyes off of the entire vlog. The depth and the attention to detail is just amazing.
Gary Hardin topp of the line.beatefull. cant not speake.the best.
What a BLAST Just watching and enjoying this work of ART!!! The Detail is Just Incredible, the amount of work that has gone into this layout is hard to imagine!! WOW
That is insane,I've seen layouts like this in model railroad mags but only bits and pieces.That is a butt load of work and passion.
OK! I'm not a railway modeler, but this IS a thing of incredible beauty! incredible detail and depth, much respect.
Wow this is a wow, every details from buildings to slopping roads, mountains or even billboard it seems im in that place, that masterpiece it leads into perfection..credit to those person who made this. so much hardwork to put in it..
This is a work of art, and light years better than the usual.
If layouts were rated like art museums, this is up there with The Louvre. Some of the finest scenic modeling I've ever seen. The density of the city scape is mind bogelling. Everything is so meticulously detailed and weathered. On a scale of 1 to 10, this is a 15!
Each little piece of this is a masterpiece. The thing as a whole is beyond incredible.
WOW! This model is insane! But it really floats my boat, BIG TIME! Great model railway, detail on this layout is absolutely incredible & amazing. Like other folks, I have never seen a layout like this on camera before. Very impressive George. You Take Care! my friend & of your family too. STAY SAFE! Best regards from, Colin, Aberdeen (city) Scotland, U.K. :-)
INCREDIBLE layout. Wow! Just stunning, and a real work of art.
A masterwork of model railroad cityscaping.
Beautiful layout...deserves to be professionally photographed.
Spectacular. The color palette is so subdued and perfectly sets the stage for the time. I love the touches of decay that indicate a passage of time that was not entirely beneficial to all.
This is truly amazing!
I have seen this lay-out some years ago in MR.
Truly a masterpiece.....
I could look at this for days.
You are the man.Your vision,your artistry,your talent off the chain. I wish my father (R.I.P.) was living so I could share this magnificent master model railroading venture with him. He is the one who got me loving this hobby.Nobody around the world can compete with this realism.Man I'm blown away ,that nothing looks toyish (I'm making it a word),or plastic.Weathering technique,and the water,speechless,just speechless.No Mo Talk!
incredible. attention to detail is off the chart. priceless model tbh
Absolutely beautiful! This is in the class of John Armstrong’s Gorre & Daphetid!
Truly artwork and paying attention to detail at it's finest. That is what I would like my layout to aspire to.
Amazing! This gets 11 stars on a scale from 1 to 10. Just stunning. It is three-dimensional art. The attention to detail, even the back, wall scenes are to scale and trick the eye into making a realistic backdrop.
I can't stop watching this. The very best ever.
I wonder how many years it took to finish this marvelous layout.
A childhood favorite this layout was that was featured in a model railroading magazine in the early 70s always stood out as a modeling masterpiece.
Hands down, the most detailed layout I've ever seen. This thing is a legend in its own right.
speechless all that detail , excellent work
Absolutely amazing, a breathtaking layout. I'd love to see a cab ride through this one. It would be worth watching multiple times. I'm back (sort of) in the hobby I left in 1962. Model railroading has gone a long, long way since then. Thanks for posting the video of this incredible work of art and craftsmanship. - Dave
Oh. please. someone do a total cab-view, please.
I watched one of these cab view videos with my little 4 yr old granddaughter who was absolutely transfixed, it was a joy to watch her.
A cab ride PLEASE!
Yeah so haven’t the prices.
@@donnebes9421 Yeah. I compared prices from the fifties to today's prices but it's not as bad as it looks. I think the main thing is regular peoples disposable income has fallen a lot. That being said DCC and sound is quite expensive. Code 83 nickle silver flex track is a bit pricey as is trucks and Kaydee couplers.
Rolling stock can be had at reasonable cost from ebay or thrift shops. I got three blueprint series reefer kits from ebay for about twenty bucks. It takes awhile to build one but the results are fantastic. I only built one so far and still need to decal an weather it.
My two original DC Athearn F7's run great after mechanical refurbishment which required a lot of shell repair as did the rolling stock. (Some of the restoration work is up on my TH-cam site). Installing LED headlights was very inexpensive.
I restored my Mantua "Mikado" to operating condition but it requires more work, installation of LED lighting and some detailing to make a half way decent looking model, even though the boiler and valve gear is not true to an actual heavy Mike. I had to replace the original worn out and bent up valve gear and broken "cow catcher". I also had to get another pilot just to replace a missing spring. All in all I probably spent fifty bucks to get it running.
My buddy who lives in S.C brings the occasional HO piece he gets for just a couple of bucks at flea markets. A "looks good at a distance" four car Amtrack "Train set" that is shown in my video introduction, and an A+B F7 duo in New Haven livery (It's missing one stirrup step - I'll pull a mold from one of the other locos and cast a new step to replace it when I get a chance), and a very detailed flatcar that models an early piggyback rig.
The F7's are "Hi-F" rubber band drive. With tuning they can be made to run as slow as ten or so scale MPH. All of the open frame motors draw current that is at the high end of DCC compatibility so replacing them with can motors might make DCC conversion possible. Also there isn't a lot of room in the shells and rumor has it that the dimensions are incorrect. Parts and engineering to replace the belt drives is problematic though so I don't know if it is worth the effort. They all might end up being "hanger queens".
Once in awhile a decent DC/DCC ready diesel locomotive can be found for under a hundred bucks. I missed out on a good deal while dithering about spending the money and still regret not pulling the trigger on that one.
One of my cars from the fifties is still being sold today at a whopping big price of around thirty five bucks. At 10x the fifties price the cost is not really that much higher.
I purchased a box of miscellaneous HO stuff from a small computer shop. The owner got them as a part of an estate sale. Lots of sectional track and a few toy train transformers, one of which I use to run replacement switch machines. Included were a bunch of those horrible Atlas turnouts which can be made to work with a lot of effort. I use Atlas electrical switches left over from the fifties to toggle the two turnouts that I have installed in my test layout.
I haven't found any cheap flex track though. I had three lengths left over from the fifties. Sectional track can be converted into short pieces of flex track if necessary.
Not having the time or resources to build a decent layout right now, my cobbled together layout will have to do for now.
I've had a lot of fun doing the restorations, building the kit and getting the test layout up and running, as well as making videos of the process.
Real life has interfered so I haven't done any model work for awhile but hope to get back to it soon. I have a lot of video footage that needs to be put together and uploaded though.
-dave
just watched it again. best structures & scenery I have ever seen!
It's like a movie set for Godzilla. Amazing work!
this is absolutely incredible and inspiring.
Every structure tells a story, so much detail.
This is the most cools modal railway I’ve ever seen so cool I want to see more of it.
I'm into the more modern era modeling. But I am a awe at this masterpiece. Awesome layout!
JUST MAGNIFICENT. AMERICAN ARTISTRY AT ITS FINEST! THANK YOU!
ABSOLUTELY THE BEST I'VE SEEN . AND HE IS FROM MASS, WHICH MAKES IT EVEN BETTER. HOPEFULLY HE SHOPS AT CHARLES RO !!!
Simply stunning....thats passion as its best....thx for sharing...
top notch the best I have every seen I couldn't stop watching it, so much details, very very awesome . Thank you John
This is a modeling MASTERPIECE!!!!