Introduction to the Utah Midland Railway
Al LindopDescription
The Utah Midland Railway is not your average model railroad. For instance, this layout lacks lush scenes of foliage, or any sign of vegetation for that matter. This railway is surrounded by dusty sandstone cliffs and dry mountains. At first glance, this layout almost appears to be a ghost town, with only a few signs of civilization. Most model railroads seem to be bustling with cheerful commotion. This rundown town portrays a sense of eeriness. As you will quickly learn, this desert landscape is unique in many ways.
The Utah Midland Railway
Allen Keller pays a visit to Al Lindops home to checkout the Utah Midland Railway. This tour cannot be contained into one short video, but rather, is spread out across a seven part series covering many aspects of the Utah Midland Railway.
This is the introduction to the Utah Midland Railway owned and operated by Al. Allen provides a brief overview of the layout, at the same time, he asks Al a few questions about his model. As the series continues, Allen provides a behind-the-scenes tour and a look into the operations of the layout. Al shares his inspiration and modeling techniques, as well as goes into depth regarding rockwork scenery, building mines and weathering hopper cars.
The Utah Midland of Al Lindop is different from most model railroads you may have seen, no tree is in sight. The dryness of the desert landscape is almost tangible because Al has done such a magnificent job with his parched sandstone cliffs and mountains. The Utah Midland is a 20-mile shortline that hauls coal from the mines in Spring Canyon to a connection with the Denver & Rio Grande Western at summit. Most of the power is used steam engines. Now, in 1950, first-generation diesels are making inroads. I'm Allen Keller. This is Al Lindop, the owner of the Utah Midland. Al, why did you model Utah? Well, I really liked the mountain scenery, Allen, and I also like the Western roads that run through it. The HO scale Utah Midland is 13 by 30 feet. It's three times around dogbone track plan occupies much of Al's basement. The bench work is scrap lumber, wooden concrete forms, and anything else Al could find. The layout has been repeatedly updated and improved over the past 20 years. The entire modeled area represents Spring Canyon.
Share tips, start a discussion or ask other students a question. If you have a question for the instructor, please click here.
Already a member? Sign in
No Responses to “Introduction to the Utah Midland Railway”