Mark Pelletier
That’s a question we get all the time from visitors to our model railroad layout. To folks not involved with the hobby, it seems surprising that there must be so many companies making all the various items you see which make up a model railroad. But there are; although manufacturers come and go, merge or go out of business just like in any other industry.
A number of companies produce and sell locomotives and railroad cars. Most come ready-to-run now, but the more finely detailed railcars quite often are kits requiring assembly – sometimes meticulous assembly.
“Do you make all these buildings?” is another common query. Yes, we do – but there are a number of different ways to do that. Predominantly the buildings are plastic kits, designed to be the components of a steel mill, a depot, a grain elevator or another specific structure. Other kits may be of a generic factory or store building, but produced in a predefined configuration. Obviously we have to put the kits together. Although they are molded in colored plastic, we usually paint and decorate them for added detail. Also available are plastic modular pieces: walls, windows and doors, which allow the modeler to create a custom configuration, suited for a certain modeled industry or designed to fit in the available space.
Technology today allows small producers – some are just one-man shops – to offer kits in wood, laser cut to exacting shapes, for the hobbyist to construct. And the most talented modelers scratch build structures starting out with only wood or plastic and a drawing or even just an idea. We have such a structure on our layout – a power generating station complete with interior detail.
You are most welcome to visit us on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the Eagle’s Nest Activity Center, Room 106. Other times may be arranged with Mark Pelletier at 847-224-5653. We are also on the web at www.pcmrc.org.