Structures Within the Tuolumne Forks Railroad
Bob BrownDescription
Tuolumne Forks is a O&3 freelanced narrow gauge logging and mining railroad. Bob Brown is the editor and publisher of the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette.This layout combines mining and logging with a tourist line. The operation follows the Lake Tahoe Railway and Navigation Company’s transport of tourists from Workshop to the Lake Tahoe Resort. The railroad is famous among narrow gauge enthusiasts like Bob Brown.
The two thirds of the structures found within the Tuolumne Forks Railroad model are kits. Bob used kits by Tom York, Chooch, and trains of Texas for this layout. He mostly used kits not only because he could not possibly replicate the structure as nicely as the manufactures created them, but he also gets kits to use for a review in the magazine. With the wooden buildings within Tuolumne Forks Railroad, Bob scratch-built those.
Kits or scratch-build? Kits are more simple and scratch-builds are more complex. How you build depends on which type of structure you would want to use.
Watch more from Allen Keller’s Great Model Railroads series in the Model Railroad Academy archives.
Are most of your structures kits? Most of them are about, 2/3 of them are kits. This is primarily because we have a wonderful range of kits in quarter-inch scale. Mmm, hmm. The kits put out by Tom York and, and Chooch in the early days and trains of Texas, just to name a few. And I, of course I do get a lot of these for review in the magazine. So, and I do assemble them to reveal them. And this is why I've used them on the land. And I couldn't, in the case, in most cases, there're plaster. And I could not possibly replicate them as nicely as the manufacturers have. When it comes to a wooden building, then I tend to scratch-build and my mines, and my hotel and my saw mill are scratch built. Which do you like better scratch-building or kits, or? I like them both again. It's this turn on I talk about. Sometimes, I'm turned on to a more simple model, like a kit. Mmm, hmm. Sometimes I want to get very into it, and do a board-by-board contest quality model, if you will. That's what I enjoy the most. But it's harder to get turned on to doing that. Yeah. And usually I need the motivation of a contest or an exhibit, or an open house, to turn me on to doing that. But, and if I were to do another layout I think I would pick and choose the models here. And then build contest quality models. Period. Period, for the lab. Because I've had my big walk-in model railroad. I've done it. This is something I wanted to do. And I do see in most cases, when you do a layout this big, you do start compromising and I'm compromising... You have to to get it done. You have to get it done. And I know some people will disagree with that. But I have to feel progress. Sure. To keep going back to my workbench. And so, therefore, the kits helped me do that.
O&3 RR ? never heard of this gauge .............On3 , perhaps ...........