Discussing my Books on This Blog

Several people have suggested that I start a blog to discuss my books, especially the track plan book that just came out.  While I have tried maintaining multiple blogs in the past, I now prefer to just have one. So if you will bear with me, I am opening this blog to discussions about my books.

To begin, Trevor Marshall has written a nice review of my latest book, "45 Original Track Plans."  See here. In my view, Trevor clearly "gets it." The purpose of this book is to inspire and entertain all model railroaders, from folks in the armchair to those that have already built  their layouts.  I hope this book does that.

My intent was not to provide detailed blueprints on how to build an exact layout. Very few people will have the exact space that I show in the plans.

I intended these plans as design studies to indicate the possible. As such I use CAD tools to draw the track and structures to make sure that what I draw could be built. I also use artistic software to present the plans in a pleasing way.  Hopefully the reader will enjoy looking at the plans, learning about the prototypes (that is why I included some off-beat subjects) and perhaps find ideas that they can use.  I suspect that most modelers will want to adapt any particular plan to the era and railroad to match their space and interests.

Trevor's comment about building a plan in the next smaller scale is right on the money. I like the example he used. In my next book I need to explicitly discuss this point, as I agree whole heartedly with the concept.

In my first track planning book,  "Mid-Size Track Plans for Realistic Layouts" I had a examples that showed how one could model a given subject in different scales. Thus each chapter took an in depth look at one subject. I used a different approach in the latest book, where I covered more subjects, but with only one plan and not in as much depth. Both approaches have their merits. I think I prefer this latest approach, as I can cover more ground.


Don't forget you can order signed copies of my books from my website at Alkem Scale Models
The books are also available at Amazon,  and the Kalmbach On-line Bookstore.