MONROE - There's always room for more on a model railroad layout.
The Green County Model Railroaders will prove it to you at their annual show this weekend at the SLICE arena in Monroe.
Tom Moore, a longtime club member from Argyle, has been a model railroad enthusiast for more than 50 years. For this show, he's bringing the circus to town - just one module of his full layout that occupies most of the basement in his home.
Much of Moore's layout is handmade. If he can't find the pieces he wants, or if they come at an exorbitant price, he makes them. He recommends newcomers to the hobby do the same.
Model railroading doesn't have to be expensive, he said.
"Use your imagination. Everything is out there someplace," he said.
His circus module includes an amusement ride with airplanes and helicopters. It really works, and like real amusement rides, it sometimes runs backwards. Moore made it out of the motor and plate arm of a discarded microwave, the rim of a plastic flower pot, a plastic coffee can lid, some scrap wood and metal, and some garage sale toys. A little bright paint makes it not only festive but also indistinguishable from its original parts.
Moore gets specific when it comes to replicating actual train equipment, because size does matter. He starts with photos of the actual machines, takes measurements and then draws out templates to scale. Patterns are transferred to flat tin, and discarded galvanized sheet metal ductwork is just fine for him.
And then, "bend away," he said. "You'll get there after a while."
He made a model of the Robert Stephenson's 1829 Rocket, which marked one of the key advances in railway technology, the basic architecture for the steam locomotive. There's a great history lesson in that engine; if you ask Moore, he can tell you.
Moore has also made a railroad tie crane, complete with little grabber hooks. He made that model in about 20 hours over the course of a month.
A load of gravel in a train car looks heavy, and Moore has outfitted it with a black, metal snowplow head. The gravel is a half-log of Styrofoam coated with vermiculite, he said.
In Moore's layout, old radio and television parts may become gas tanks or other equipment accessories. Pizza boxes, hair spray cans, clothing snaps, inner tube caps - anything that settles to the bottom of that kitchen junk draw might come in useful someday.
Sometimes the junk itself demands a showcase, like the little plastic fish on top of a bait shop, which then needed some rowboats, which Moore carved, and sailboats and signage. And a motel, complete with cars, next door.
Some pieces aren't so demanding. Tiny, white rabbits appear to bound through a gorge, away from the on-coming train noise. And over the hill, dinosaur bones lie.
Not everybody gets into creating the full-blown model railroad layout. Though he's become an expert in train repairs and scenery, "it's just a small part of a very enjoyable and rewarding hobby," Moore said.
"There's memorabilia; some people only do scenery; and some just collect the (train) pieces," he said. There's even engineers and conductors who like running the trains with crews, using strict schedules, waybills and switchlists.
If a person, young or old, is even slightly interested in the model railroad hobby, Moore recommends to get them started with a small piece and add a magazine that they can look through and see what sparks their interest. And, of course, visit the model railroaders' show.
The Green County Model Railroaders will prove it to you at their annual show this weekend at the SLICE arena in Monroe.
Tom Moore, a longtime club member from Argyle, has been a model railroad enthusiast for more than 50 years. For this show, he's bringing the circus to town - just one module of his full layout that occupies most of the basement in his home.
Much of Moore's layout is handmade. If he can't find the pieces he wants, or if they come at an exorbitant price, he makes them. He recommends newcomers to the hobby do the same.
Model railroading doesn't have to be expensive, he said.
"Use your imagination. Everything is out there someplace," he said.
His circus module includes an amusement ride with airplanes and helicopters. It really works, and like real amusement rides, it sometimes runs backwards. Moore made it out of the motor and plate arm of a discarded microwave, the rim of a plastic flower pot, a plastic coffee can lid, some scrap wood and metal, and some garage sale toys. A little bright paint makes it not only festive but also indistinguishable from its original parts.
Moore gets specific when it comes to replicating actual train equipment, because size does matter. He starts with photos of the actual machines, takes measurements and then draws out templates to scale. Patterns are transferred to flat tin, and discarded galvanized sheet metal ductwork is just fine for him.
And then, "bend away," he said. "You'll get there after a while."
He made a model of the Robert Stephenson's 1829 Rocket, which marked one of the key advances in railway technology, the basic architecture for the steam locomotive. There's a great history lesson in that engine; if you ask Moore, he can tell you.
Moore has also made a railroad tie crane, complete with little grabber hooks. He made that model in about 20 hours over the course of a month.
A load of gravel in a train car looks heavy, and Moore has outfitted it with a black, metal snowplow head. The gravel is a half-log of Styrofoam coated with vermiculite, he said.
In Moore's layout, old radio and television parts may become gas tanks or other equipment accessories. Pizza boxes, hair spray cans, clothing snaps, inner tube caps - anything that settles to the bottom of that kitchen junk draw might come in useful someday.
Sometimes the junk itself demands a showcase, like the little plastic fish on top of a bait shop, which then needed some rowboats, which Moore carved, and sailboats and signage. And a motel, complete with cars, next door.
Some pieces aren't so demanding. Tiny, white rabbits appear to bound through a gorge, away from the on-coming train noise. And over the hill, dinosaur bones lie.
Not everybody gets into creating the full-blown model railroad layout. Though he's become an expert in train repairs and scenery, "it's just a small part of a very enjoyable and rewarding hobby," Moore said.
"There's memorabilia; some people only do scenery; and some just collect the (train) pieces," he said. There's even engineers and conductors who like running the trains with crews, using strict schedules, waybills and switchlists.
If a person, young or old, is even slightly interested in the model railroad hobby, Moore recommends to get them started with a small piece and add a magazine that they can look through and see what sparks their interest. And, of course, visit the model railroaders' show.