AsburySkinsFan Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 My son and I went yesterday to a train museum in Danville, Kentucky. Here's the information about it, needless to say I was more than impressed with the layout. John W.D. Bowling Model Train Museum The John W.D. Bowling Model Train Museum has 2,600 linear feet of track and 1-1/2 miles of wiring. Built in the HO scale of 1 to 87, it features a Kentucky autumn landscape of the 1950s. With 6,000 handmade trees, 1,200 figures, and 250 structures, it is the largest privately held permanent layout in Kentucky. He started building the train layout 9 years ago but has been modeling trains for a lot longer. He makes all the trees by hand and does all his own detail and weathering work on the structures. http://s52.photobucket.com/albums/g3/ocujer/Train%20Museum/ I also uploaded some videos that I took with the digital camera, they are a bit grainy, but not too bad. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1541854656667341154 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8614849266753306404 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4227004502514212657 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7151616562135491518 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6730688187829740463 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7917698570977290066 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1106632261389554336 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4957927623003214213 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 There's a massive layout in New Jersey that I've driven past a couple of times. Biggest in the world, or something like that. Looks impressive in the brochure. I'll post some pics when I finally get there someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 13, 2007 Author Share Posted January 13, 2007 There's a massive layout in New Jersey that I've driven past a couple of times. Biggest in the world, or something like that. Looks impressive in the brochure.I'll post some pics when I finally get there someday. That would be cool. I had no idea that this train museum was even around here, and from the sound of it no body else around does either. I did a google search and found this one listed in the sights of the city page. Apparently its the largest personally owned display in Kentucky. I was really impressed by the display and it kept my 5 year old interested for full 2 hours. If anyone ever has the chance to visit a model train museum, let me assure you they are definetly worth the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Harris Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 my son absolutely loves trains. does thomas count as "model trains?" we have a little place here called "joy line railraod." it's a small engine that you can ride on a little track, and they do have a little museum as well. my 80+ year old neighbor has a life times collection in his basement. it's really quite amazing. tracks suspended from the ceiling, wall cutouts into other rooms, they take up his entire basement. i take eli over there from time to time, i don't know who gets the bigger kick, eli from seeing it or glen (my neighbor) from sharing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 13, 2007 Author Share Posted January 13, 2007 my son absolutely loves trains. does thomas count as "model trains?"we have a little place here called "joy line railraod." it's a small engine that you can ride on a little track, and they do have a little museum as well. my 80+ year old neighbor has a life times collection in his basement. it's really quite amazing. tracks suspended from the ceiling, wall cutouts into other rooms, they take up his entire basement. i take eli over there from time to time, i don't know who gets the bigger kick, eli from seeing it or glen (my neighbor) from sharing it. LOL, your story sounds very similar to my own. The owner of the train museum, usually charges $6 per visitor, but after my son and I spent 2 hours pouring over the layout and watching all the trains I went to pay him and he looked at my son and said, "Watching his joy was all the payment I need." You could tell that he really enjoys his display and showing it to others. As for Thomas, well the die hard purists would say no, but me I will do anything I can to peak my son's interest in trains especially the old steam locomotives. Right now he's got a couple of small Thomas tracks where the trains pull cars and move around etc, he loves to watch them run. We are also saving our pennies to buy a Lionel Polar Express train starter set in the Spring. I'm going to begin building about a 5x8 foot permanent display for it, and then every Christmas it will be set up under the tree, just like when I was a kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartskins Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 My dad and I have around 400-500 N scale trains and models. Generally speaking, if it's something that Horizon Hobby carries, I'm interested in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 We picked up the Lionel Winter Wonderland set (O-gauge) a few years ago and have it going around our Christmas tree. We added 'Naughty' and 'Nice' carriages to it and a little extra track, but I don't think we'll get much more ambitious than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 13, 2007 Author Share Posted January 13, 2007 My dad and I have around 400-500 N scale trains and models. Generally speaking, if it's something that Horizon Hobby carries, I'm interested in it. N scale! Wow! Those things are tiny, I've got a 5 year old and a 20 month old so I'd never be able to get away with N scale. As for me and my house we go O gauge, its what my great gran-daddy used, its what my grandaddy used, its what my dad uses, its what I will use, and its what I will pass on to my son. Here's the layout that I'm going to start in the Spring, I am making one change to it however; I'm adding some track to complete the lower right corner this way I will have an outter loop two turn arounds, and room for a spur to be added later on. I might leave out one of the turn around loops and a detour that runs into the center of the main loop. I really like all the scenery but with my space and budget the layout is going to be more about the train than the scenery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 My dad and I have around 400-500 N scale trains and models. Generally speaking, if it's something that Horizon Hobby carries, I'm interested in it. BTW, we need pics! I love seeing train layouts, and locomotives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartskins Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Generally speaking, I think most layouts tend to be more about the trains than the scenery. The last layout that my dad and I worked on, (which, sadly, I'd completely wired for all switches, lights, etc.) has been demolished. All of the trains, from the Bachman crap to the Kato beauties are packed away in boxes. I wish I had some pics...most of the stuff is ATSF, some random Micro trains cars, some random Amtrak, some UP, and some BNSF. LOTS of ore cars. The era that we were modeling was the 30s/40s/50s, right when steam permantently gave way (or so we believed) to diesel. It's a fantastic hobby. I just don't have the space for it. I'd love to make a rail line that ran through the entire house, but I don't think my wife would go for it. Any chance you're in to R/C? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Ten or more years back, around the holidays, we visited the Carnegie Science Museum in Pittsburgh. They had a massive model train layout. Villages, towns, farms, a minature amusement park. The setup would go from day to night and all the lights of the towns, homes, and the amusement park would come on. They even had minature fireworks over the amusement park, using filament or fiber optic wire. Really amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 Generally speaking, I think most layouts tend to be more about the trains than the scenery. The last layout that my dad and I worked on, (which, sadly, I'd completely wired for all switches, lights, etc.) has been demolished. All of the trains, from the Bachman crap to the Kato beauties are packed away in boxes. I wish I had some pics...most of the stuff is ATSF, some random Micro trains cars, some random Amtrak, some UP, and some BNSF. LOTS of ore cars. The era that we were modeling was the 30s/40s/50s, right when steam permantently gave way (or so we believed) to diesel. It's a fantastic hobby. I just don't have the space for it. I'd love to make a rail line that ran through the entire house, but I don't think my wife would go for it. Any chance you're in to R/C? R/C, nah, nothing there outside of an R/C Jeep I bought for my son from Wally World. As for the trains it does seem that most of the fellas that are into the hobby work around the 1930's-40's-50's, or course most of the guys that are in the hobby were kids around that time, so it really does make sense. With the trains that you work with, do you model a single line or company? My father models some Pennsylvania stuff, and the guy we saw yesterday has the Louisville & Nashville line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 Ten or more years back, around the holidays, we visited the Carnegie Science Museum in Pittsburgh. They had a massive model train layout. Villages, towns, farms, a minature amusement park. The setup would go from day to night and all the lights of the towns, homes, and the amusement park would come on. They even had minature fireworks over the amusement park, using filament or fiber optic wire. Really amazing. Yeah, it really is incredible how much effort and $$$ some guys put into these train layouts. I mean the guy we saw yesterday who owns the museum, actually built a building just to build his train layout in, and the building looks like an old rail-house, just insane. This is one hobby where it is easy to see who has thick wallets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Yeah, it really is incredible how much effort and $$$ some guys put into these train layouts. I mean the guy we saw yesterday who owns the museum, actually built a building just to build his train layout in, and the building looks like an old rail-house, just insane. This is one hobby where it is easy to see who has thick wallets. I'm sure the costs can really skyrocket as the layouts get more elaborate. I'm not a model railroad hobbyist, but I really like seeing the layouts. To me the coolest part is the miniaturization of everything - the landscape, the buildings, vehicles, people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 My father is huge into the things. We had a bunch of trains from his childhood for the longest time, but circumstances had us sell the things for the money, ( after Dad left and man. Those things were something). He is getting back into it now. A modern version of the ones he had as a kid. I'm going to be going back to his place some time to help him build the train room. He's all excited and has the thing already laid out along with a bunch of trains ready to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Celebrity side note: Rocker Neil Young was big into Lionel trains, and ended up buying into the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartskins Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 R/C, nah, nothing there outside of an R/C Jeep I bought for my son from Wally World.As for the trains it does seem that most of the fellas that are into the hobby work around the 1930's-40's-50's, or course most of the guys that are in the hobby were kids around that time, so it really does make sense. With the trains that you work with, do you model a single line or company? My father models some Pennsylvania stuff, and the guy we saw yesterday has the Louisville & Nashville line. We have primarily ATSF and BNSF. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe--the two lines that run through where my dad lives (New Mexico, and where I was born, coincidentally). Although BNSF wasn't around as a combined entity in the 30s/40s/50s era--we don't have a problem with it. Celebrity side note: Rocker Neil Young was big into Lionel trains, and ended up buying into the company. Neil Young also has a large house out in New Mexico that my dad has worked on that has an AMAZING outdoor layout. Apparently one of Neil's sons has severe disabilities and thoroughly enjoys the trains. I think that's at least part of why he has invested so much in trains. Some of my dad's other very affluent customer's also have enormous train layouts. Some of them are just gorgeous. Cool to hear about that layout Dan. I saw something similar in a Swiss Museum a long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 I'm sure the costs can really skyrocket as the layouts get more elaborate. I'm not a model railroad hobbyist, but I really like seeing the layouts. To me the coolest part is the miniaturization of everything - the landscape, the buildings, vehicles, people. I agree completely! I've been pouring over the photos that I took yesterday and I am still finding little details that I missed. This guy that we saw will buy a kit from one of the manufacturers, but he doesn't just slap that kit onto the layout. First he takes it and begins to airbrush details onto the buildings and the trains themselves (dirt). It was simply incredible, heck on some of the buildings he even placed his own name "Bowling Grain Service" and "J.M. Bowling Creamery", plus for each town in the layout (Louisville, Winchester, Dant, Hazard, and Pineville) he has a water tower with the name of the town on it. On some of the water towers, in the more rural towns, he's even made them look a little rusted. It is simply incredible to see all the work that he had done, and to see the things that he was working on really helped me appreciate how much the guy really does enjoy this hobby. It was really a wow moment for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 I agree completely! I've been pouring over the photos that I took yesterday and I am still finding little details that I missed. This guy that we saw will buy a kit from one of the manufacturers, but he doesn't just slap that kit onto the layout. First he takes it and begins to airbrush details onto the buildings and the trains themselves (dirt). It was simply incredible, heck on some of the buildings he even placed his own name "Bowling Grain Service" and "J.M. Bowling Creamery", plus for each town in the layout (Louisville, Winchester, Dant, Hazard, and Pineville) he has a water tower with the name of the town on it. On some of the water towers, in the more rural towns, he's even made them look a little rusted. It is simply incredible to see all the work that he had done, and to see the things that he was working on really helped me appreciate how much the guy really does enjoy this hobby. It was really a wow moment for me. Yeah, that type of detail is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Neil Young also has a large house out in New Mexico that my dad has worked on that has an AMAZING outdoor layout. Apparently one of Neil's sons has severe disabilities and thoroughly enjoys the trains. I think that's at least part of why he has invested so much in trains. Some of my dad's other very affluent customer's also have enormous train layouts. Some of them are just gorgeous. Cool to hear about that layout Dan. I saw something similar in a Swiss Museum a long time ago. I guess outdoor layouts is a whole different deal. With Neil Young's pocketbook, I'll bet it is indeed an amazing setup. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 I guess outdoor layouts is a whole different deal. With Neil Young's pocketbook, I'll bet it is indeed an amazing setup. . . Yeah, I'm not big on the outdoor set ups, personally I think it is very hard to maintain the illusion of scale when you have a real tree that is towering 50 feet above the train. I've seen lots of videos and pics of these outdoor scenes and I guess they're just not for me. While I'm all about the trains and not as key on the scenery I still think that the scenery can and should help maintain the illusion of scale. But that's just my :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyholetsgogrant Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 I used to be obessed when I was a kid; I heard the Museum of Scienca and industry in Chicago has a huge model train layout. http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/great_train_story/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoGood28 Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 My stepfather has probably spent about 5 of the 17 years in the basement tending to his massive train layout since he married my Mother. It drives me crazy, and he takes it down and sets it up again everytime we move. These aren't the cheap plastic toy trains that you might me picturing. They are very realistic and he spends HOURS and HOURS putting them together with his tiny tweezers and magnifying glass then painting them. He is from Oregon so his layout is based in the upper northwest around the WWII time period. He constructs mountains, streams, and forests. Biggest waste of time and money I've ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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