I created this blog to document the planning and eventual construction of my next model railroad, to be built sometime in the distant future, when I have the necessary space. My last layout, built around 2002, was small (4×8) and mountainous, but I stopped construction and gave it away when I moved across the country in 2004. There is no space in my current home for a layout of any size, but I’ve come to realize that I can still enjoy the hobby without building a layout, by learning new skills and working on small projects that can be incorporated into my future layout.
Some of the first projects I have in mind are building my own electronic circuits for automated signaling systems with block detection, grade-crossing circuits, scratch-building signals, and practicing airbrushing and weathering techniques. When it comes to practicing techniques, I could purchase some cheap structures, rolling stock, or locomotives on eBay, just to practice on them and then re-sell on eBay when I’m done with them. If my scratch-built signals turn out well, maybe I could make extras and sell them on eBay.
Before I can make certain decisions for my next layout, like which railroad(s) or location(s) to model, I’ll need to do some more research to find out things like, what type of signaling systems were used by the railroads I consider, (because maybe I don’t want the challenge of animated semaphores or position lights with at least 7 points of light per signal head…), what types of locomotives and rolling stock did they use, etc. I will document my research here.
I’ll use this blog primarily as a place to document plans and research for future reference, but I’m leaving it visible to the general public, because some of the content may be of interest to other modelers at some point in the future.
It’s been over 15 years since I last worked on a model railroad, and before I started that one, it had been about 10 years since my previous layout. The last one was never completed, but what had been completed was done with a higher level of craftsmanship and better planning than any of my previous layouts (they had practically no planning). I attribute that partly to years of reading how-to articles in Model Railroader magazine and on websites, but part of that also comes from having developed a better eye for detail and project management skills learned in college and in my web and graphic design profession. Thus, the blog title Diverging Approach, while also being a reference to the railroad signal aspect, is an acknowledgement of taking a different (and better) approach to model railroad planning and design than I had taken in the past. (Update: Two years after starting this blog, I decided the model railroad would be set in Pittsburgh in the late 1940s, which was also when the city began its first efforts to reduce air pollution and shake its reputation for being “The Smoky City”. In July 2022, I registered the domain thesmokycity.com and renamed the blog to match.)
It will be many years before I have the space for a new model railroad. In the meantime, I will conduct research, practice scenery-building and weathering techniques, plan and build electronic circuits, and piece together the basis for an eventual layout design, so that I’ll be more prepared when I do have the necessary space.
This blog is primarily a personal journal of the process of researching, planning and building my next model railroad. It enables me to look back and see how far I’ve come in my knowledge, modeling skills and planning. I left it visible to the public because I like being able to share things I learn with other modelers. Comments are turned off because I don’t want spambots and vitriol befouling what is mainly a personal tool.