F&SM New England Model Railroad Design Plans and Inspirations

It’s fascinating to delve into the mind of an expert when you are passionate about a particular hobby. There are many great model railroad design experts. One notable modeler goes by the name of George Sellios. He is the owner of Fine Scale Miniatures, a business that creates wooden structure kits for model railroad layouts. George has used many of his kits in his very own layout called the Franklin & South Manchester railroad. His design is modeled after a freelance railroad that served the Boston area in 1935. MRA’s Allen Keller sits down with George Sellios to ask about his F&SM model railroad design plans and inspirations.

Model Railroad Design and Inspiration for the Franklin & South Manchester

George has largely influenced the art of model railroad design, whether it be modelers replicating scenes from his layout or using his craftsman kits. A surprising amount of people plan their trips around a visit to the Franklin and South Manchester layout to get an intimate view. George has noticed that even other manufactures have copied his designs, but he perceives this as an honor and notes that even he has copied designs from articles out of magazines.

One modeler in particular that George admits to copying is John Allen. He attempted to replicate John’s work in his Franklin & South Manchester layout. He describes himself as a “big John Allen fan.” He aimed to duplicate John’s scenery by adding a nearly 3 foot high mountain into his layout. With the help of his friend, George came to the conclusion that this type of scenery did not fit the New England aesthetic. Ultimately, he was able to visualize and materialize what he wanted for his own layout. Greenery is what he believed to be a perfect fit for his layout. He filled the entire layout with thousands of trees.

George reveals many other means of inspiration for his Franklin & South Manchester model railroad design throughout this video. Listen along as Allen Keller and George discuss the journey of creating and building the F&SM layout.