Inspiration

Iain Rice book image from Amazon

Inspiration, for me, comes from several sources. One is from model railroad authors; I am by nature a reader. One such very influential author was Iain Rice, who I learned passed away on October 8. His book, Small, Smart, & Practical Track Plans, was the first book I purchased when I returned to the hobby as an adult. My interests and approaches to model railroading (fixations with backdrops and smaller/compact design) are probably most influenced by his writings. In my analysis of what I hope to achieve with version 2 of the 4th Subdivision, I find that I am echoing Iain Rice's comment from one of his Kalmbach books:

 "My own goals in layout design have always put realism and atmosphere alongside interesting operation at the top of the want list."

Iain Rice c.1948 -- October 8, 2022

Also on October 8, I attended the Garden State Division's Fall Meet. Even though they are a different NMRA region and division than the one to which I have been assigned, their meeting in Hope, New Jersey was quite close. One of the features of their meeting was having several model railroads open in the afternoon after the meeting. I had the privilege of visiting Ted Pamperin's C&O and Tony Koester's Nickel Plate railroads. Both were excellent and inspiring. As mentioned above, I am a reader, so I was well aware of Tony Koester's work, but Ted Pamperin's amazing New River Gorge depiction was new to me. Clearly, visiting other layouts is an important source of inspiration. 

Visiting Tony Koester's railroad with train bulletins posted at each town provided an aha moment (an important form of inspiration). Not only did his railroad provide examples of backdrop and interchange techniques, but his quality fascia and valance presentation also provided a solution to one of my operations planning conundrums: How will train movement/authority work in my initial one-town TOMA section of Nooksack? The answer: the initial Nooksack section will follow yard limit rules and a posted train bulletin will give the timing of any first class trains. With a broad conceptual plan, but no real track plan for the rest of the 4th Subdivision, I can create a train bulletin for Nooksack without having the data to create a full timetable for the balance of the railroad, before I have a detailed plan for the rest of the railroad. 

I fully expected to learn more about, view in person, and gather photographic evidence of the junction/interchange and backdrop techniques I had read about in Mr. Koester's books and articles, but the truly inspiring part of my visit was the unexpected solution to a planning conundrum based on a small atmospheric detail posted on his valances. 

Before I switch to perspiration, the other half of the unstated formula, I expect to post about another example of inspiration. Last week I traveled to the Mid Atlantic RPM meet where I experienced more in-person inspiration from the clinics and railroad visits of the first RPM that I have attended.