A journal following the history, design, construction and operation of Bernard Kempinski's O Scale model railroad depicting the U. S. Military Railroad (USMRR) Aquia-Falmouth line in 1863, and other model railroad projects.
©Bernard Kempinski All text and images, except as noted, on this blog are copyrighted by the author and may not be used without permission.
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January 8, 2018

Pining for the Fiords or Waxing Nostalgic?




Every now and then I get an email about one of my former layouts that had been published in various magazines. These notes usually lead to a moment of nostalgia and what might have been.

The most recent note was about the N scale DRGW Tennessee Pass layout. That layout was featured on the cover on Model Railroad Planning in 2006. It was that article where I first discussed the Layout Decision Matrix to help one decide what layout to build. 

I disassembled that layout around 2008, then started a building an N Scale C&O Mountain Sub layout that incorporated my oNeTRAK modules. The photo at the left which shows the Afton module being rebuilt into the home layout.  I ended up selling those modules to a fellow in the Chicago area. He never used them, as he switched to S scale modeling.  I don't know if they are still around or not.  I did get some great photos of the finished portion of that layout before selling it.  It was featured in Great Model Railroads in 2011.  When I halted work on that that layout, I launched the Aquia Line which I am still building 9 years later.


I kept a small 8-foot section of the Mitchell Curves area of the Tennessee Pass layout. And we have used it as a prop for photos over the years, for example the lead photo above. But, mostly it is collecting dust in my garage loft. I have most of the rolling stock and many of the pine trees from the layout. One of these days I plan to do something with them, but I have not decided what that will be. 

2 comments:

  1. Hi Bernard,

    I noticed your original blog posts on your fantastic DRGW have been taken down or is no longer active. I'm modeling the UP Roseville subdivision largely inspired by your earlier layout and was wondering what trees you used?

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    Replies
    1. That blog went away because I dropped that Yahoo account. I used Heki Pine trees for most of the trees. I used the economy pack of 100 trees.

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