Description
Allen McClelland encouraged modelers to look at their layouts not as stand-alone entities, but as links in the North American rail system — looking beyond the basement. Take a look at Allen’s HO scale Virginian & Ohio layout, one of the best-known layouts of all time. This inspirational layout pioneered many concepts that later became standards in layout design.
Allen became well-known not just for his V&O’s realistic scenery, setting, and theme, but for showing us how to:
- Use walkaround command control to take advantage of linear track plans
- Choose a railroad name and theme that reflect prototype regions and railroads
- Adopt operating procedures based on prototype practices
Find inspiration in how the Virginian & Ohio was conceived and developed, and get ideas for applying the same concepts to your own layout!
Author: Tony Koester
Size: 8.25 x 10.75
Pages: 112
Author Bio
Tony Koester has written 10+ books on Model Railroading for Kalmbach. Tony spent a quarter of a century designing, building, and operating (with his friends) the Allegheny Midland, a freelanced coal-hauling HO railroad. He is now hard at work completing a multi-deck HO layout that accurately depicts the Nickel Plate Road's St. Louis Division as it appeared in 1954. Tony has been the editor of
Model Railroad Planning, a special annual issue of
Model Railroader, since its inception in 1995. He is a contributing editor to
Model Railroader and writes the popular "Trains of Thought" column and numerous feature articles.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The revolution began here
Chapter 1: Beyond the basement
Chapter 2: Linear layout design
Chapter 3: Walkaround command control
Chapter 4: The development of Centralized Traffic Control
Chapter 5: The debut of plastic models
Chapter 6: Plausibility over showmanship
Chapter 7: What's in a name?
Chapter 8: The "Good Enough" Principle
Chapter 9: The Appalachian Lines and subsequent V&O railroads
Chapter 10: The McClelland legacy
Chapter 11: Photo Gallery