"Model Railraods Go To War"

Anyone looking to build a model railroad depicting a military or war theme needs to acquire this book by Bernie Kempinski. Bernie is known for both his modeling and his writing as he has been a contributor to Model Railroader magazine, other publications and the author of several other books on model railroading. In this, his latest book, Bernie covers the earliest uses of railroads such as the Crimea to our more contemporary era of "Rockets on Rails".

Bernie includes many period, prototype photos as wells as pictures of model railroads that are not often published because their builders are more focused on building their respective layouts. He includes many modeling tips, techniques and layout plans most of which Bernie has created, so he speaks from experience. Track plans include two of the American Civil War, one for WWI, two for WWII and two more contemporary settings. Place your order through Kalmbach Publishing. 
Although more that the American Civil War is presented, Model Railroads Go To War is another example of the possibilities for modeling this extraordinary era of our history.

Turntable Discussions, Episode 1 with DC Cebula

I have had the extraordinary good fortune to find some of the most gifted modelers and artists who have contributed to the this model railroad. More than displaying photos of their work and them, I thought to present each one in a manner that would connect viewers to what has motivated and inspired them to do what they do. The first foray was an interview on this blog last year with Brian Kammerer, our backdrop artist. Using the layout as the setting, our conversation was off-the-cuff and informal while Brian was in the act of painting. We received more comments about that posting and requests to do more interviews than any of the other blog posts. Months later I saw, and was inspired by, the MRR Video Plus Roundhouse Discussions where three MRR staff talk about a wide variety of model railroading. I found them to be very engaging, fun to watch and I learned nuances of modeling philosophy and practices. This helped shape the idea for "Turntable Interviews", using a similar format with our many modelers and historians.

DC Cebula is featured in this latest episode. He is our American Civil War Rail Roads Historical Society Yahoo group moderator. Some background, DC is from Delaware and acquired a degree in historical archeology. His vision has been to apply his passion and knowledge to the education, preservation and modeling of Civil War rail roads. If you have frequented our blog you have noticed that his work and photos are all over the place. He has been the key contributor to the ideas, planning, and construction of all aspects of this layout, plus a dear friend. Hope you enjoy the ride.