PUBLISHER’S EDITORIAL: A history of 43 years doing the hobby, part 2 Musings from the MRH founder
About the Publisher
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Wow, I’ve spent 43 years in the model railroading hobby as of this year ...
I
n 1987 I attended my very first
NMRA National Convention, which happened to be in Eugene, Oregon, my “home stomping grounds” since I grew up in southern Oregon. At this convention, I discovered the Layout Design Special Interest Group (LDSIG) and elected to become a member.
I didn’t know it then, but joining the
LDSIG has turned out to be one of the smartest things I’ve ever done. The LDSIG’s publications gave me
many new insights on how to think about layout design. For instance, the LDSIG published a discussion they had among the members on layout height. As part of the discussion, the SIG interviewed existing layout owners about the heights of their layouts. Many of the layout owners had built
their layouts between 40” - 48” from the floor – but when asked what they would do if starting over, most said they would build higher the next time!
Joe Fugate is the featured expert in many Model-TrainsVideo.com videos, and he’s also the founder and publisher of Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine. To learn more about Joe, click here.
Thanks to the LDSIG discussion in the late 1980s about what makes the most satisfying layout, I went
back to my railroading roots and elected to model the Southern Pacific’s Siskiyou Line in southern Oregon where I grew up. In hindsight, that was excellent advice because modeling this SP line has made for a deeply satisfying layout. Page 12 • Issue 8 • Jul/Aug 2010 • Publisher’s Editorial, page 1
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Contents
Index