Model Railroads and Art: Paintings as Inspiration

Tuschman's Photo

Edward Hopper's Original

I recently came across the work of photographer Richard Tuschman. He did a series of photos that were inspired by American Artist Edward Hopper. Here you can compare Tuschman's photo  to  Hopper's original "Hotel by a Railroad."

I like Hopper's work. It has is what I call near photo realism, but usually spare and stark. He really focused on painting sunlight and shadow. Tuschman's photos capture Hopper's style especially the use of light. I find it interesting that Tuschman uses doll house miniatures in creating some of his work. I recommend you take a look at his website (the link is here and above). His work with dollhouses is also intriguing. See his website for more.

Armstrong's model above and Hopper's painting below.
Photo from the late Carl  Ardent's web site

Hopper has inspired many model railroaders to recreate his scenes. It's understandable since Hopper painted many images that had a railroad theme or included a railroad as part of the composition. Perhaps the most famous modeler inspired by Hopper was the late John Armstrong, who built a O scale model of the cafe depicted in Hoppers "Nighthawks" painting.

To get the best comparison between Armstrong's model and painting, one needed to make sure the lights in the cafe model were on while the  room lights were off. A casual visitor to the layout could not get the right lighting in a snapshot.






Another great example of painting inspiring a model railroad is John Ott's "9:45 Accommodation." In this case, Ott's specific objective was to replicate a  E.L. Henry's 1867 painting.  Check out his website to see how well he did. You'll be amazed.

In my Aquia line layout, I've been using prototype photos as inspiration. Once I get the layout more complete, perhaps I will go back and try to replicate some scenes from famous paintings. Winslow Homer has several potential scenes that could be inspiration.

Merry Christmas 2012

Manassas Junction Art Print

I had a chance to visit with Chris Brannigan in Arlington, VA to see his layout plans and to get a sneak peek at Brian Kammerer's latest Civil War Battle print. Brian is doing a whole series of prints depicting the events of the civil war in the style of the American Heritage "aerial" views. You can see the the rest of the printed series at http://cwbattlemapart.com

His latest print of Manassas Junction in 1861 during the Confederate build-up is especially impressive. A low resolution image of the print is at the left, with a zoom-in of some of the detail shown below. The print is just filled with this level of authentic and highly researched detail. Based on the the highly detailed image, I plan to buy the biggest size he has available, which is 24 x 30 inches.

Brian is working on a Alexandria scene next and I am really looking forward to that.

Chris helped Brain research them Manassas image and has one of the first artist proof prints. I got a snapshot of Chris and the print in his home office.

The brass models below the print are some of the equipment Chris is using in his retro style W&OD layout. The layout will feature furniture grade benchwork, with unpainted brass and metal cars and structures. Chris is trying to capture the look of a model railroad as they were built in the 1950s with bullet proof operations over steep grades.

Chris was one of the original founders of the American Civil War Railroad Historical Society along with DC Cebula, Thom Radice, Lebron Matthews and Brian Kammerer. The group now has over 500 members.

Gettysburg Visitor Center and Cyclorama

I had a chance to visit the new Gettysburg Battlefield Visitor Center today. This is a completely new facility built about a mile east of the old center on Cemetery Ridge. The new center is really great. The museum is very well done, taking the visitor from the origins of the war through details of the battle and the aftermath. The movie theater played a circa 10 minute film narrated by Morgan Freeman called, "A New Birth of Freedom." The film frames the civil war around the issue of slavery, especially the problem of whether to incorporate the new western states as "slave" or "free."

These photos show some of the displays at the museum. The uniforms and equipment are great references for painting and detailing miniatures.

But the real gem of the center is the restored cyclorama. Originally painted by Paul Philippoteaux and a crew of 5 to 20 men, it has been thoroughly restored and expanded. The $16 million project results in a larger, spectacular image, has a better 3D diorama incorporated into it and has special lighting and sound effects that are quite stunning.

This has got to be the best backdrop ever painted! Check out the close up photo and look for where the 3D scenery transitions into the 2D painting. Click on the upper wide angle photo and examine the water well - half of the well is 3D while the back half is 2D. Seamless integration.

I was able to get these amazingly clear photos using my Canon 5D at ISO 1600 using the safety railing as a temporary "tripod." I panned the camera and combined the images in Photoshop using Photomerge. The images I posed here have are 1,200 to 2,000 pixels. The base images from the photomerge are 8,000 pixels across.

Interesting Backdrop Painting

The conventional wisdom on backdrop painting is to keep it indistinct and neutral. But when a good artist is able to paint a backdrop the effect can be spectacular. The best backdrops I have ever seen in person were Mike Danneman's and Ed Louiseaux's. Ed hired a professional artist to do his, while Mike, a professional artist, did his own. Mike's backdrop and layout lighting is so skillfully done, that a visitor has a hard time discerning where the layout ends and the backdrop starts.

I happened to see recently Troels Kirk's blog that is documenting the construction of his layout. Troels is a Danish professional artist living in Sweden. His backdrop is stunning. Click the link to see more. He models the 1930's along the Maine coast in On30. (Photos by Troels Kirk)








Dare I tried something similar over my harbor scene? This is a Photoshop file I did as a test for a backdrop. The ships are composites from photos I took of contemporary ships with editing to backdate them, such as removing radars and antennas, and some artwork from a book on civil war ships. Brian Kammerer volunteered the artwork for the car ferry after he saw my original, unsatisfactory attempt. The water and distant tree line is from an actual photograph of the Potomac River taken last March.

I need to practice my painting techniques if I hope to capture this scene. I could try a large computer print as before, but I am concerned about how to blend it with the rest of the backdrop. Maybe a combination of cutouts and hand painting will work.

Winslow Homer, "Home, Sweet Home"

I was at the US National Gallery recently to see the "Art of Power" display. While attempting to "Home, Sweet Home." A scene showing two Union soldiers in camp during a lull in battle. In a brief glance I must admit I was blown away by the painting. I took a few moments to study it up close. The prints you see on-line do not do it justice. His color palette and techniques are flawless. The image just glows. Really amazing. I found it interesting that much of the painting has impressive detail except for the faces of the soldiers, which are depicted nearly featureless and in shadow. I think I have to move this one to the top of my list of favorite paintings.

leave the museum I happened upon Winslow Homer's painting

I was also impressed by the painting of The Virgin of Mercy with the Family of the Catholic Monarchs, c. 1486 at the "Art of Power" display. It is amazing that oil paintings can look that great after nearly 525 years. Again, the on-line image does not capture the radiance of the original. It's worth a trip to check it out,though the link above will take you to a Flickr site with images of all the of objects in the display.

Stopping by the National Gallery during a lunch break is one of the unheralded perks of working in downtown DC adjacent to the Mall.

Stoneman's Station

There are several photos that show Stoneman's Station on the USMRR Aquia Line. What is not clear to me, was Stoneman's Station (or Stoneman's Switch" as shown on the map on my earlier post) a station on the original RF&P or just a military station?

The Union Cavalry commander at this time was General George Stoneman. He lead the Union cavalry of the Army of the Potomac until spring 1863 when Hooker relieved him of command. But he soon returned to field service in the western theaters. He was once captured, becoming the highest ranking Union officer prisoner of the war. Once paroled, he lead several famous raids deep in Confederate territory as the war wound down.

It was a common practice for USMRR to name stations after the commander's of the units the station served. I have searched my RF&P references and did not see a mention of Stoneman's Station. The earliest time table I have on the RF&P was 1871, and it only shows Brooke Station, but no Stoneman's Station. The current VRE has a station stop at Brooke and Leland Road, which is very close to where Stoneman's Station was. But I conclude that Stoneman's Station was named after General Stoneman.

There are several photos in the Library of Congress showing views of Stoneman's Station. Four are shown here.


In comparing the scenes of the railroad station area, it is not clear to me that the third photo is the same location as the first two images. The track and buildings don't match up. The dirt pile in front of the loading platform is not visibile in the third photo. The caption for the third photo has the word "Stoneman's" scratched out and the word, "Brandy" replacing it. But is cataloged in the LoC as "Stoneman's."



This shot shows a typical winter camp scene. Note how the tents have log walls at the floor level.


There is also a picture of a large bakery named after Stoneman, but I suspect it is not on the Aquia line, as a fairly large city can be seen in the background.

During the winter, several Union units were stationed near Stoneman's Station. This Paul Strain painting shows the 20th Maine marching to battle from Stoneman's Station.