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Around The Bend, Springdale, AR (2026)

09/09/2023

The "One-Town Approach"

Having read the article from Railroad Model Craftsman Sept. 2023, called "One-Town Layouts", I have reworked my operating plan and vision on my Penn-Reading Industrial Division layout. Given the size of my layout (6x14 rectangle with loops), it's hard for operators to grasp the "distance" in between towns. The layout was split into four vignettes with scenic dividers seprating the towns of Vine and Emma. The concept visually does the trick but operating speaking, it can be done better.

After sitting in Jack Ellis' clinics on structure details and creating a scene at the 2023 NMRA Convention, it encouraged me to convert Vine into an extension of the town of Emma and making it a city scene. The only true scenery divider that will be separate from Emma will be Durbin Grove. Visually if you stretched the layout into a straight line, Emma will be 28ft long with the Vine extension.

To me, this changes the layout into one big town being served by both railroads with operations on both sides and using cassettes to bring trains on and of the layout. Now the Penn-Reading Industrial Division will become a true Industrial layout!

Below are some inspired photos of what I want Vine St. to look like.

04/26/2023

Take A Break
By Joseph Giunto

This isn't giving up. Taking a break on our hobby allows us to refocus with a fresh mindset. Sometimes this helps us create a different vision on a project and helps us overcome a "road block".
I personally rather step away from a project when I am tired or frustrated. This is a hobby not a chore. Don't let your project be the result of your anger, frustration, and tiredness. This goes with just about anything in life.
Being a full time railroader doesn't give me a lot of time for anything outside of the job especially working on clients' models. There were times I had to put the models away and be honest with my client letting them know I will get back to it as soon as I can. I rather not work on a project if the result of completion won't be satisfactory to me nor my client.

Finding Motivation

If I am looking for motivation I will scroll through my YouTube subscribers' newest videos and photos of their projects to reading a railroad book. These suggestions give me the motivation to continue or at least return to a model or scene that I am working on. Another suggestion is, if close by, stop by the railroad tracks and wait for a train. Being outdoors can clear your mind. Listening to podcasts or music helps me stay motivated as well.

Time Management

Our lives don't evolve around our hobby even if your career is in model railroading. Family life takes over most if not all of our time as well. I now try to give myself thirty minutes a day to work on a project. Sometimes it's more or less. Don't get discouraged. Keep at it. Take photos of your progress, share your content on social media, invite modelers to see your project in its stages.

The below photo is a project Joseph was working on. He said this took him close to a year to complete but like he said above, finding the motivation and working on a little bit at a time helped him finish the project and to his client's satisfaction. The project included adding all the detail parts, painting and weathering.

04/22/2023

We will like to welcome our new followers! We are still working out the logistics on creating and organizing categories so that your articles can be properly sorted. If you are interested in writing an article or blog, contact us through here. We will be happy to start sharing your knowledge and talents with other model railroaders. Enjoy your weekend and look forward to exciting things happening around the bend!
-Around The Bend Team

04/21/2023

"Good Enough" is Good Enough

By Joseph Giunto

The great model railroader pioneer, Allen McClelland once said, "As long as I supplied enough context for the viewer to see that he or she was indeed visiting central Appalachia in a given time period, my time could be better spent on doing other things rather than super-detailing or finessing the 'Good Enough' parts".

Mr. McClelland was telling us that to complete a scene, one doesn't need to completely detail as long as the scene is a believable representation of a period of time or location that is being modeled. This will allow time to put towards other projects and goals to further along your layout and modeling endeavors. That is what Allen McClelland did on his HO Scale Virginian & Ohio Afton Division layout.

The question to ask yourself is "what makes a scene believable without adding so much detail that will take time away from other projects"? Surely you can add unlimited amount of detail parts to structures, rolling stock and locomotives. This all depends on what your limit is but remember a building is a building regardless of curtains being added, bricks colored different shades, etc.

For example on my HO Scale Penn-Reading Industrial Division switching layout, all of the buildings have simple weathering with minor details added to them. The scenery is basic in that the vegetation was created to represent a branch line in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

As much as I love creating effective scenery, my priority was solid track work and operations. On my next layout, the Allegheny and Pittsburgh Lines, I will use Mr. McClelland's approach. Considering the size of the new layout, my goal is to have effective scenery and operations but not be bogged down detailing everything at once. Later on, if I so choose, I will go back and super-detail certain scenes that I feel are necessary.

We can conclude that based on the photos exemplified here, Allen McClelland's "Good Enough" approach is one that both the beginner and advanced modelers can learn and use on their layouts. Remember that it is about the big picture and using what is necessary to create a scene.

04/21/2023

Welcome to Around The Bend. This is a online publication featuring model railroaders sharing their tips, techniques, news and weekly blogs. Contact us if you will like contribute an article or blog. Enjoy the ride and look forward to exciting things happening around the bend!

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