Terrific video, GORGEOUS layout (what are its dimensions?), excellent narration, and a stunning backdrop. BRAVO and instant subscriber. Wonderfully done!
@@HappyHoboTrains Really?? Thanks! Much to my great surprise, many organists are railroad enthusiasts and into model railroading, I hope that you can find your favourite hymns on my channel, so thanks for your interest and I'm looking forward to more of your excellent videos and btw, after the ALCo RS-2 my other favourite diesels are the E8, E9, F3, & F7 so I immediately liked your video before clicking on play lol. Thanks again!
This way over the top. My god I was mesmerized making up my own story. What a great escape and details and craftmanship to a whole new level. I don't want to leave. Wish I could make this my alternative world. Thanks for allowing us to go and be there. Now I must watch it again.
Thank you. There was some discussion about how the road got from Eastern Indiana and Ohio to Eastern Illinois without going through Western Indiana. We supposed it was through car floats that operated from Cleveland to Chicago through the Great Lakes. Probably leased from the Sequoia Buoyant RR. I believe it is possible to have some fun tongue-in-cheek without destroying the overall realism of the layout. Sometimes real life is even crazier. How many railroads with "Pacific" in their name never got anywhere near the Pacific? Research the story of how the LS&BC got nicknamed "Let's Steal Box Cars."
Immaculate production work in every way; the lighting, a warm light that casts a shadowy glow on the locomotive, trees and structures, camera work, train speed...I feel like I took a trip through that beautiful part of the Country! I like the curved switches. I bet they save layout space. And like how the train was always flanked by gorgeous rock cuts and trees - gives the scene a lot of symmetry. Nice trestle and my favorite structures are the passenger stations.
Yes, those Walthers curved switches are the business! Puts track in places that only could be done by hand building before, and they have been very reliable. Thanks for you thoughtful commentary!
One of The Best Model Train Videos I've Ever Watched. Being from that area and have traveled through those spots, I was transported back there through your video. Excellent Job!!! Cheers, Bugs
St. J is a perfect railroad town to model, as it is a small city with lots of railroad activity. The E.T.&H.K. Ide building is a landmark which I considered mandatory to represent. You immediately know where you are. Thanks for watching!
What a wonderful layout tour. My wife is from Maine, so I have a big collection of Boston and Maine equipment from the black and blue era. I saw the Cole’s Express truck in this video, too. My wife was the first lady driver for Cole’s Express. Needless to say, I have a huge Collection of Cole’s Express trucks. Or, maybe they’re my wife’s, LOL.
Very cool! I grew up in New Gloucester, Maine, and left in 1959, so I remember the maroon & gold, and then green and gold. Lots of red white & blue cars from BAR, and PFE cars in the fall. Small world!
Happy Hobo Trains my Aroostooc County potato rush includes BAR cars and PFE cars. My wife likes the blue Boston and Maine equipment. I think I am getting a GP 38 Dash 2 in N scale by Atlas in the blue scheme for my birthday..
I have watched a lot of these videos and I think that this is the best edited and narrated I've seen. In the "nothing for nothing" category, I grew up in Northern New York and the trains went right by my house on their way to and from the Lyon Mountain (NY) iron ore mines, now defunct. When I read the description, I noticed the city of St. Johnsbury, Vt., and I was intrigued as I had been there several times in my younger days.
Good to hear from someone from my former neck of the woods! St. J is a great little railroad town to model, with B&M, MEC, St. J & LC, and CP all meeting there, along with a bunch of industries. A little less hopeless to model than the "Big Cities"! Thanks for your thoughtful comments, and hope you subscribe so you don't miss the next video that we are working on.
Totally inspiring. smooth trackwork, scenery, backdrops, people, the whole works excellent. I was looking to see a few passengers on board the trains. I will have to watch this one more often, to strive to improve my railroad.
Why do makers of passenger cars make it so darn hard to get into them? I would love to populate the cars with passengers, or the railroad may go broke!
@@HappyHoboTrains Agreed, not a negative thought regarding your wonderful work though, so much to admire. Your track and the curved layouts are so very smooth, I don't see any rolling stock go wiggly wobbly over any of your track. Did you lay and spike your own track or did you use brebuilt track?
@@double-steel It's all pre-made stuff. Lots of Walthers switches, many Atlas, and one remaining Peco. Track is Atlas code 83 flex. The Intermountain wheelsets on many of my cars go a long way in providing smooth operation. They are always round and in gauge. Kadee's are good, too.
I want to live in this layout!!! Excellent detail!! Wait I do is this 12:30 Saint Johnsbury VT I live here! Moved from NYC 30 years ago and LOVE IT. Love this layout!!!
The layout is DCC (Digital Command Control), so all locomotives have their own "address" and are independently controlled. The track has approximately 14V at all times. If you are referring to the track switches, or turnouts, they are operated by small (SG90) servos under the roadbed, controlled from a nearby control panel. I hope I understood the question correctly.
The only “flaw” I saw was the missing wooden pedestrian overpass going from the Crawford House Inn to the tennis courts located across the tracks from the station. Otherwise everything else was absolutely dead-on! {Boston & Maine RR Hist Soc. - “Mountain Division” ; the films of Stanley Y. Whitney.}
@@bryanthunderfootporter4436 I am actually glad you picked up on that! My wife and I have been discussing building the tennis courts and pedestrian bridge, so that may appear in some future video.
Absolutely outstanding. The narration is excellent. Blending of backdrop and foreground is perfect and the overall presentation of this layout is flawless. One of the most realist layouts I have seen in a very long time.
Glad you liked the backdrops, as most are relevant to the area I am trying to portray. Most are printed on a Canon Pro-100 from my own photos, many from years ago. It would be nice to be able to do them as a continuous roll to eliminate seams, but I'm afraid a printer capable of that is beyond my budget, so I'll have to live with the 13" x 19" format for now.
Marvelous layout and video! It really took my imagination on a scenic ride through New England. Excellent cab ride and narration. Thank you for brightening my day!
This is crazy awesome. Hard to believe it's only 19' by 23". Seems like it's triple that or more. HO was always my favorite gauge when I was a kid because it's the most realistic to me and always wanted to do something like this. It must have taken so much patience and time to complete this and an awful lot of money but congratulations! This is great!
I've been building and collecting for a long time. The oldest freight car on the layout is an Ambroid stock car I built when I was 14. (1957). 63 years later, a lot has accumulated!
Personally something I like was at the very beginning it was coming out of a tunnel which looks almost exactly like one in Worcester Ma that as a kid I walked through dozens of times,
I tried to have scenes based on something I have seen at one time or another, and though I don't remember that tunnel, it may be a subconscious memory, for I have certainly been to Worcester a time or two in my youth!
Thansk for the trip report. One thing though, the people at he train station and the cows seemed dead, as if they were made of plastic. :-) BTW, don't you need "W" trackside signs before crossings to signal to engineers to blow the whistle or was that not used on Boston and Maine ?
When I left Maine in 1959, I landed in Battle Creek with my parents. Our school held it's assemblies in Kellogg auditorium, which had a great Aeolian Skinner organ. Between the trains and the organ, I was pretty much screwn.
@@HappyHoboTrains That organ (if still playable/operating) is on my 'bucket list' of organs to play in Michigan including the organ in Hill auditorium in Ann Arbor and the great E.M. Skinner in Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian in Detroit. Lots of wonderful pipe organs in Michigan!
@@bhigdaddymark The Kellogg (Skinner Opus 904) I understand is undergoing restoration. As with historic steam locomotives, likely proceeding at the speed of money. www.wmuk.org/post/world-class-pipe-organ-hidden-battle-creek#stream/0
@@HappyHoboTrains You MUST be an organist, you're impressively well versed WOW! Organs and trains, they go together! Do you know the name Dr. John Weaver? MAJOR model railroading enthusiast. He was the first organist that I not only was acquainted with, but discovered loved trains as much as I did. Now I'm meeting many organists on Facebook who are train fans. It's such a small world indeed! I greatly appreciate you and thanks for the link. E.M. Skinner was and continues to be America's greatest pipe organ builder ever. Be safe.
A great video of a great layout. Beautiful scenery, structures and equipment. The backdrops are well executed. My only negative is the round headed nails in the track. They just drew my attention to them.
Yes, indeed. That has been bothering me, and am deciding the best way to deal with it. Nothing like some close-up photography to find all the defects in your work!
love how this is so period correct. That era is the best IMO to model, with motive power, vehicles, buildings even billboards..excellent detail. That's a ton of work, tho the track looks new and not weathered, the ballasting looks perfect..Needless to say thats alot of work in itself. What code is the track, 83, 70 or 55? Flextrack or hand laid.....I wanna start another layout someday
No model railroad is ever "finished" until the day you tear it down. There is always more to do, and the best way to see what that is is to look at it with a camera! Weathering track is a good example. Most of the track is code 83 flex, mostly Atlas with some Shinohara and some Micro Engineering.
Thank you for posting and sharing your layout. I really enjoy the layering and depth of your scenery from foreground to background, just fantastic. I have noticed a few items of humor (love it!!) but what I find shocking to me is ZERO comments on the Denny's billboard at 12:22....
The particular Flying Yankee I have is from Challenger Imports, made about 1993. There were not many made and could be very hard to find. N.J. International had one a few years prior, and they are scarce also. Maybe the best chance is to find a Con Cor Pioneer Zephyr and decorate it Maine Central - Boston & Maine. They are not identical, but pretty close. Even finding one of those could be a challenge!
This is awesome;the background and scenery work really comes through at track level.The camera doesn't lie!I especially liked at around the 10:00 minute mark when a parallel branch appears off to the right and crosses by the ball signal at Whitefield.Good stuff..
The track that crosses at the ball signal at Whitefield is only about 3' long, and is unpowered, but it does add some credibility to the scene there. I wish I had the space to actually have that line go somewhere! Thanks for the comments!
Beautiful layout, and a great presentation! But I really enjoyed your Denny's billboard starting at the 12:08 mark. I don't suspect they ever used that in an ad campaign, however, LOL.
Nice level of finish on the layout. Very good scenes and commentary. I like the camera level and the variety of shooting angles. The track work is smooth looking but drawback is the heavy rail and uneven ballast but still very good. The backdrops worked well. I presume you used foreground "backdrops" to cut out the aisle and other intrusion son the scenes - very effective. What camera did you use? And thanks for the video which I am sure took a lot of time to shoot and edit.
Rail is all code 83. I hate ballasting, and I guess it shows. Maybe it will get a little touchup but I don't expect a dramatic re-do! Cameras are: GoPro Hero Session 5, and Samsung Galaxy S-9.
I spent most of my paperboy money as a kid on my HO railroad company. 35 years later I just play Cities Skylines for a one time fee and it's far more satisfying.
Many of the vehicles are Mini Metals, along with some Athearn and others. There are quite a few 1961 model Chrysler cars done by Revell in 1961. Yes, I've been doing this a long time!
@@HappyHoboTrains At the 10:55 mark, there is a gray station wagon on the left hand side of the tracks. It immediately made me think of a 1954 Plymouth we had when I was a kid. Even the same color!! Do you know the year, make and model of the car on your set? This is the most detailed train layout I have ever seen. Spectacular work, and the videography is outstanding!
My model is 2.2% all the way, but in real life there are some steeper sections. Most of my grade is hidden in the helix and about 20' leading to Willy Brook, so it's a reliability ploy. Thanks for watching!
I wish I had a prize for you! You are the first to comment on this tongue-in-cheek model. There were several of these cars that ran on the Happy Hobo Train shop store layout from the early 90's to the early 2000's, when I sold the store. They ran all day, every day, 7 days a week for over 10 years, and very few people picked up on it. I like subtle humor that makes you lose count of the rivets.
Excellent job! One thing I notice in almost every train layout is the absence of graffiti.... All cities/towns have that element of reality. These/this layout is excellent but it looks too excellent. Just a thought.
This layout is set in the 50's-60's, which, unfortunately I remember well. Apart from an occasional "Kilroy was here", "Jesus saves", or "Vote Wallace", there wasn't a lot of graffiti. That seemed to really take off in the 70's. It seemed like there was always a Wallace running for something somewhere. I'll pay close attention to the historic photos, though, just in case! Thanks for your thoughtful comments!
@@HappyHoboTrains hi, was just saying the layout is really EXCELLENT and enjoyable watching. A lot of layouts look real perfect, example no garbage in the streets, oil stains in the road, advertisements you find on light polls or graffiti.... Growing up in NYC and no the civilized northeast is perhaps where I am coming from, literally and figuratively......
@@dougthegreat1808 You are absolutely correct. I was referring mainly to graffiti on freight cars. I remember NYC subway cars in the late 60's as a mess. Maine and New Hampshire were another world.
Great layout - fun to watch although I did find the 'Engine noise' too intrusive - It was fine when filmed from the train ahead of the filmed train - ie. 7.00 onwards to 7.28................
@@eddiebyword3363 Not a problem. It reminds me to pay attention to keeping a consistent volume level. That's constructive criticism, and I am not offended.
I have trains to watch, albeit 1/87 scale, and they run on my schedule. There are some nice trains to watch there in 12 inch to the foot scale too. Conway Scenic comes to mind, for example. They have a ride with better scenery than mine.
There is nothing even close to realistic looking in there. Just a bunch of wood and wires. I never dreamed of on-board cameras when I built the layout, or I might have dressed the inside of the tunnels for the camera's sake.
Terrific video, GORGEOUS layout (what are its dimensions?), excellent narration, and a stunning backdrop. BRAVO and instant subscriber. Wonderfully done!
The layout is in a room roughly 19' x 23'. Thanks for the kind words! (One of my other interests is organ music!)
@@HappyHoboTrains
Really?? Thanks! Much to my great surprise, many organists are railroad enthusiasts and into model railroading, I hope that you can find your favourite hymns on my channel, so thanks for your interest and I'm looking forward to more of your excellent videos and btw, after the ALCo RS-2 my other favourite diesels are the E8, E9, F3, & F7 so I immediately liked your video before clicking on play lol. Thanks again!
The level of detail here is incredible, thank you for making this video.
Thanks for your comments. I do have some ideas for some new video, but it make take me some time.
@@HappyHoboTrains Good content takes time
Fantastic ! Great background scenery integration with the video.
Thanks for the kind comments!
Very very nice! Inspired my O scale layout.
Thank you very much! Very glad to hear I was inspirational! Hope to see video soon!
@@HappyHoboTrains I have a few on my you tube. Nothing recently
Stay encouraged to make more videos! Thanks and keep up the great work.
Thank you! Will do!
Fantastic! I’ve ridden both the MEC Ans latter day CSR through the notch and you’ve got it down!
Thank you for your kind comments! My goal was to create something at least recognizable in the available space and time.
BEST foliage IV'E EVER seen on a layout
Very kind! I use a bit of everything.
Very nice representation of Portland in the 1950's. Impressive work.
Thank you very much!
This way over the top. My god I was mesmerized making up my own story. What a great escape and details and craftmanship to a whole new level. I don't want to leave. Wish I could make this my alternative world. Thanks for allowing us to go and be there. Now I must watch it again.
This is my alternative world. Thanks for watching, and please subscribe if you already haven't. It helps to keep me going!
Very well done video and an outstanding layout with fun details including the "E.I.E.I.O." Farm Belt Route!
Thank you. There was some discussion about how the road got from Eastern Indiana and Ohio to Eastern Illinois without going through Western Indiana. We supposed it was through car floats that operated from Cleveland to Chicago through the Great Lakes. Probably leased from the Sequoia Buoyant RR.
I believe it is possible to have some fun tongue-in-cheek without destroying the overall realism of the layout. Sometimes real life is even crazier. How many railroads with "Pacific" in their name never got anywhere near the Pacific? Research the story of how the LS&BC got nicknamed "Let's Steal Box Cars."
Excellent rail movie! Thumbs Up Best Regards from France Bruno
Thanks for your kind comments. Please subscribe to be sure not to miss the next video we are working on now!
This is beautiful! Spectacular, nice job!
Thank you for watching and for your kind comments!
TANKS VERY NAICE VIDEOCLIP VERY NAICE MOVIE MY FRIEND VERY NAICE TRAIN COLLECTION 👍👍👍
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your kind comments, and please don't forget to subscribe!
Immaculate production work in every way; the lighting, a warm light that casts a shadowy glow on the locomotive, trees and structures, camera work, train speed...I feel like I took a trip through that beautiful part of the Country!
I like the curved switches. I bet they save layout space. And like how the train was always flanked by gorgeous rock cuts and trees - gives the scene a lot of symmetry.
Nice trestle and my favorite structures are the passenger stations.
Yes, those Walthers curved switches are the business! Puts track in places that only could be done by hand building before, and they have been very reliable. Thanks for you thoughtful commentary!
One of The Best Model Train Videos I've Ever Watched. Being from that area and have traveled through those spots, I was transported back there through your video. Excellent Job!!!
Cheers,
Bugs
Wow, thanks! I hope my representation of St. J. is complimentary!
Very nice layout. Great scenery. Glad to see the Eyde company represented. I've been to St. J. And still have relation there.
St. J is a perfect railroad town to model, as it is a small city with lots of railroad activity. The E.T.&H.K. Ide building is a landmark which I considered mandatory to represent. You immediately know where you are. Thanks for watching!
Beautiful scenicked ride.. stunning realism. Very much enjoyed the narration as well. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for your kind comments. I will be sharing more in the near future!
Like the realistic scenery.
Me too! I am actually doing a little scenery work today, mostly more static grass. I love watching a scene take shape. Thank you again for watching.
Thank you for a beautiful ride around the layout. Very nice job on the entire layout
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!
The tempo allowed us to view all your amazing work. Excellent video. Thanks
Thank you for your comments. Happy you approve, and hope you will subscribe so we can continue to do more of this, trying to improve as we go!
Incredible detail and awesome video!
Glad you enjoyed it.
What a wonderful layout tour. My wife is from Maine, so I have a big collection of Boston and Maine equipment from the black and blue era. I saw the Cole’s Express truck in this video, too. My wife was the first lady driver for Cole’s Express. Needless to say, I have a huge Collection of Cole’s Express trucks. Or, maybe they’re my wife’s, LOL.
Very cool! I grew up in New Gloucester, Maine, and left in 1959, so I remember the maroon & gold, and then green and gold. Lots of red white & blue cars from BAR, and PFE cars in the fall. Small world!
Happy Hobo Trains my Aroostooc County potato rush includes BAR cars and PFE cars. My wife likes the blue Boston and Maine equipment. I think I am getting a GP 38 Dash 2 in N scale by Atlas in the blue scheme for my birthday..
@@kentcourtney5535 Lucky man! I have a wife like that, too, so I know!
This blows me away....fantastic!!
You made me smile!
I have watched a lot of these videos and I think that this is the best edited and narrated I've seen. In the "nothing for nothing" category, I grew up in Northern New York and the trains went right by my house on their way to and from the Lyon Mountain (NY) iron ore mines, now defunct. When I read the description, I noticed the city of St. Johnsbury, Vt., and I was intrigued as I had been there several times in my younger days.
Good to hear from someone from my former neck of the woods! St. J is a great little railroad town to model, with B&M, MEC, St. J & LC, and CP all meeting there, along with a bunch of industries. A little less hopeless to model than the "Big Cities"! Thanks for your thoughtful comments, and hope you subscribe so you don't miss the next video that we are working on.
Beautiful work on the layout. Very cleanly done.
Thank you very much! Maybe too cleanly. Lots of weathering left to do.
Well done
Glad you approve! Please subscribe so you will be sure to see our next video which we are currently working on. You are the reason I do this.
Totally inspiring. smooth trackwork, scenery, backdrops, people, the whole works excellent. I was looking to see a few passengers on board the trains. I will have to watch this one more often, to strive to improve my railroad.
Why do makers of passenger cars make it so darn hard to get into them? I would love to populate the cars with passengers, or the railroad may go broke!
@@HappyHoboTrains Agreed, not a negative thought regarding your wonderful work though, so much to admire. Your track and the curved layouts are so very smooth, I don't see any rolling stock go wiggly wobbly over any of your track. Did you lay and spike your own track or did you use brebuilt track?
@@double-steel It's all pre-made stuff. Lots of Walthers switches, many Atlas, and one remaining Peco. Track is Atlas code 83 flex. The Intermountain wheelsets on many of my cars go a long way in providing smooth operation. They are always round and in gauge. Kadee's are good, too.
I want to live in this layout!!! Excellent detail!! Wait
I do is this 12:30 Saint Johnsbury VT I live here! Moved from NYC 30 years ago and LOVE IT. Love this layout!!!
Very cool!
Absolutely fantastic!!
Thank you kindly!
How did you "turn off one train to have another train on, On the same track? This is seen @ 9:24 in the video. Also how did the switch work?
The layout is DCC (Digital Command Control), so all locomotives have their own "address" and are independently controlled. The track has approximately 14V at all times. If you are referring to the track switches, or turnouts, they are operated by small (SG90) servos under the roadbed, controlled from a nearby control panel. I hope I understood the question correctly.
The "Overview" video will show explain some of the details mentioned above. ua-cam.com/video/vIpIsNDumwA/v-deo.html
Absolutely love your narration and attention to detail in all, absolutely fantastic sir!!!
Thanks for the kind comments. I hope to keep it up, and improving.
I’m still searching to see if anyone else but ourselfs that have even modeled this particular area of the mountain division
The only “flaw” I saw was the missing wooden pedestrian overpass going from the Crawford House Inn to the tennis courts located across the tracks from the station. Otherwise everything else was absolutely dead-on! {Boston & Maine RR Hist Soc. - “Mountain Division” ; the films of Stanley Y. Whitney.}
@@bryanthunderfootporter4436 Stay Tuned ! We are far from finished with the layout!
@@bryanthunderfootporter4436 I am actually glad you picked up on that! My wife and I have been discussing building the tennis courts and pedestrian bridge, so that may appear in some future video.
Like this clip much.
Seem like I am really being in small world...as one episode of Twilight zone.
Happy you like it! Thanks for the comment.
Awesome job guy's
Attention to detail is next level 😃
Happy that you approve! A model railroad is always a work in progress.
thank you take ride around beauty detail layout as great watch the video
Glad you enjoyed it
nice trip ! thanks, your layout looks great
I appreciate your comments. Stay tuned, we will be making more in the near future.
Don, WOW... This is the best one Yet... Great Job.. Look forward to MORE....K
More will come!
Fantastic layout and the attention to detail is truly amazing. I'm hooked.
Thanks, Chuck. I'm not done yet!
Excellent!
Many thanks! Please don't forget to subscribe, as I have more in the works!
Thanks for sharing this journey on your beautiful layout. Is the Frankenstein trestle on this route?
In the real world it is, and if I had more space I would have tried to include it. In my world, it is "offstage".
Absolutely outstanding. The narration is excellent. Blending of backdrop and foreground is perfect and the overall presentation of this layout is flawless. One of the most realist layouts I have seen in a very long time.
Thanks for the comments, and am very happy you approve!
What an incredible video and layout. Thanks for sharing.
Happy that you approve! Thanks for the comment.
Great layout in every way!
Glad you like it!
Really nice layout, Its fine art that's fun as well as beautiful.......
Thanks. It does continue to be fun!
Terrific scenery, great buildings, pleasing/soothing narration! Extremely well made video. Thanks for letting us all see this gorgeous layout.
Thanks for the comments, David.
Amazing scenery, video and backdrops! Some very surprising shots in between. Truly great work.
Glad you liked the backdrops, as most are relevant to the area I am trying to portray. Most are printed on a Canon Pro-100 from my own photos, many from years ago. It would be nice to be able to do them as a continuous roll to eliminate seams, but I'm afraid a printer capable of that is beyond my budget, so I'll have to live with the 13" x 19" format for now.
Never mind the budget ! The result is stunning, and that's what counts!
@@Lakeside1943 You are very kind.
Marvelous layout and video! It really took my imagination on a scenic ride through New England. Excellent cab ride and narration. Thank you for brightening my day!
Thanks for watching and your kind comments. The railroad helps me relive my memories too!
Great scenery.
Thank you. I'll keep at it!
Happy Hobo Trains Truly and Amazing Layout Very Stunning Details Just like the real Railroad .. I just Subscribed to your channel Wow... 👍
Thanks, Henry! People like you are the reason I do this!
Great video. Extraordinary detail.
Thank you for watching, and taking the time to comment.
Nice trains, beautiful layout
This is a lifetime hobby, so I guess I'll have to stay at it! Thanks for the comments!
This is crazy awesome. Hard to believe it's only 19' by 23". Seems like it's triple that or more. HO was always my favorite gauge when I was a kid because it's the most realistic to me and always wanted to do something like this. It must have taken so much patience and time to complete this and an awful lot of money but congratulations! This is great!
I've been building and collecting for a long time. The oldest freight car on the layout is an Ambroid stock car I built when I was 14. (1957). 63 years later, a lot has accumulated!
Breathtaking.
Thanks! Keep watching, and breathing!
Personally something I like was at the very beginning it was coming out of a tunnel which looks almost exactly like one in Worcester Ma that as a kid I walked through dozens of times,
I tried to have scenes based on something I have seen at one time or another, and though I don't remember that tunnel, it may be a subconscious memory, for I have certainly been to Worcester a time or two in my youth!
that's some impressive ops.
Thank you! glad you liked it.
Fantastic production quality, and gorgeous layout great work so glad you shared.
You are most kind. Thanks for the comments, and we will be doing more in the future, so stay tuned!
I really enjoyed your video. to rate job. Well done.
Glad you enjoyed it
GREAT LAYOUT AND GOOD VIDEO!
Glad you enjoyed it
very cool video...thx 4 sharing.. vinny
This hobby needs to be shared, I think. Glad you approve!
Great detail!
Thanks! This is still a work in progress, so be sure to subscribe to see future videos as we progress!
Thansk for the trip report. One thing though, the people at he train station and the cows seemed dead, as if they were made of plastic. :-)
BTW, don't you need "W" trackside signs before crossings to signal to engineers to blow the whistle or was that not used on Boston and Maine ?
Yeah, a bunch of stiffs. And yes, I should have whistle posts!
Your distant backdrop at 6:00 is stunning.
YES!!
When I left Maine in 1959, I landed in Battle Creek with my parents. Our school held it's assemblies in Kellogg auditorium, which had a great Aeolian Skinner organ. Between the trains and the organ, I was pretty much screwn.
@@HappyHoboTrains
That organ (if still playable/operating) is on my 'bucket list' of organs to play in Michigan including the organ in Hill auditorium in Ann Arbor and the great E.M. Skinner in Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian in Detroit. Lots of wonderful pipe organs in Michigan!
@@bhigdaddymark The Kellogg (Skinner Opus 904) I understand is undergoing restoration. As with historic steam locomotives, likely proceeding at the speed of money. www.wmuk.org/post/world-class-pipe-organ-hidden-battle-creek#stream/0
@@HappyHoboTrains
You MUST be an organist, you're impressively well versed WOW! Organs and trains, they go together! Do you know the name Dr. John Weaver? MAJOR model railroading enthusiast. He was the first organist that I not only was acquainted with, but discovered loved trains as much as I did. Now I'm meeting many organists on Facebook who are train fans. It's such a small world indeed! I greatly appreciate you and thanks for the link. E.M. Skinner was and continues to be America's greatest pipe organ builder ever. Be safe.
Very well done layout Thanks ,got some idea's .
Thank you! I always find my own videos give me ideas, too! Always things to improve or do better.
A great video of a great layout. Beautiful scenery, structures and equipment. The backdrops are well executed. My only negative is the round headed nails in the track. They just drew my attention to them.
Yes, indeed. That has been bothering me, and am deciding the best way to deal with it. Nothing like some close-up photography to find all the defects in your work!
@12:23 that billboard slayed me
Glad you liked it! All in good humor.
love how this is so period correct. That era is the best IMO to model, with motive power, vehicles, buildings even billboards..excellent detail. That's a ton of work, tho the track looks new and not weathered, the ballasting looks perfect..Needless to say thats alot of work in itself. What code is the track, 83, 70 or 55? Flextrack or hand laid.....I wanna start another layout someday
No model railroad is ever "finished" until the day you tear it down. There is always more to do, and the best way to see what that is is to look at it with a camera! Weathering track is a good example. Most of the track is code 83 flex, mostly Atlas with some Shinohara and some Micro Engineering.
Most cab view videos do not also do track side views of the train. Congrats on doing that!
I feel that any single camera view, however good, needs to change once in a while to keep it interesting.
Thank you for posting and sharing your layout. I really enjoy the layering and depth of your scenery from foreground to background, just fantastic. I have noticed a few items of humor (love it!!) but what I find shocking to me is ZERO comments on the Denny's billboard at 12:22....
Thanks for your kind comments. I did have one person comment on the billboard on one of the other videos. I try not to take things too seriously!
I must know where and how to get the Yankee Flyer HO scale. I can’t find it
The particular Flying Yankee I have is from Challenger Imports, made about 1993. There were not many made and could be very hard to find. N.J. International had one a few years prior, and they are scarce also. Maybe the best chance is to find a Con Cor Pioneer Zephyr and decorate it Maine Central - Boston & Maine. They are not identical, but pretty close. Even finding one of those could be a challenge!
This is awesome;the background and scenery work really comes through at track level.The camera doesn't lie!I especially liked at around the 10:00 minute mark when a parallel branch appears off to the right and crosses by the ball signal at Whitefield.Good stuff..
The track that crosses at the ball signal at Whitefield is only about 3' long, and is unpowered, but it does add some credibility to the scene there. I wish I had the space to actually have that line go somewhere! Thanks for the comments!
Great looking layout!!!
You are very kind. Thanks for the comments.
Beautiful layout, and a great presentation! But I really enjoyed your Denny's billboard starting at the 12:08 mark. I don't suspect they ever used that in an ad campaign, however, LOL.
I hope Denny's appreciates it too. All advertising is good, I think! Thanks for watching, and don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already.
AWESOME!!!💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢
Thanks! 😄
Excellent video editing. Great work on your layout. Thank you!
I appreciate your comments. This is truly OJT!
What are you using to record the video?
The on-board video is done with a GoPro Session 5.
Amazing layout! How did you have 2 trains running in different directions on the same tracks?
With DCC you can do that, and a lot more. Thanks for watching!
One of the best model train dioramas i've ever seen. What kind of moron took his stinky thumb down ?
If you stand on the corner and hand out $20 bills, somebody is going to complain that it's not $100 bills.
Great job. Nice camera shots.
Thanks so much!
Nice level of finish on the layout. Very good scenes and commentary. I like the camera level and the variety of shooting angles. The track work is smooth looking but drawback is the heavy rail and uneven ballast but still very good. The backdrops worked well. I presume you used foreground "backdrops" to cut out the aisle and other intrusion son the scenes - very effective. What camera did you use? And thanks for the video which I am sure took a lot of time to shoot and edit.
Rail is all code 83. I hate ballasting, and I guess it shows. Maybe it will get a little touchup but I don't expect a dramatic re-do! Cameras are: GoPro Hero Session 5, and Samsung Galaxy S-9.
@@HappyHoboTrains Forgot to mention that the buildings are also great.
@@coquihallaman7143 I like building more than ballasting!
Beautiful layout! Enjoyed the ride.
Thanks Todd!
I spent most of my paperboy money as a kid on my HO railroad company. 35 years later I just play Cities Skylines for a one time fee and it's far more satisfying.
We all have our favorite activities, and especially now, we need them.
Very impressive layout with wonderful details and camera work!! Where did you find all the vintage vehicles (cars and trucks...wow)??
Many of the vehicles are Mini Metals, along with some Athearn and others. There are quite a few 1961 model Chrysler cars done by Revell in 1961. Yes, I've been doing this a long time!
@@HappyHoboTrains At the 10:55 mark, there is a gray station wagon on the left hand side of the tracks. It immediately made me think of a 1954 Plymouth we had when I was a kid. Even the same color!! Do you know the year, make and model of the car on your set? This is the most detailed train layout I have ever seen. Spectacular work, and the videography is outstanding!
@@chaspfrank It's a Mini Metal Ford station wagon, I think about a 1952 vintage.
@@HappyHoboTrains Wow, thanks for the quick reply!!
Awesome layout with great detail and very realistic. What are the dimensions of it?
Thanks for the kind words! The layout is in a room roughly 19' x 23'. The main peninsula runs at an approximate 45 degree diagonal.
11:12 Three Volkswagen's waiting at the crossing, what are the odd's?
Maybe a VW club on an outing?
Never understood Ho scale. How big is it? This is best super-smooth travel I've seen.
This is HO scale (1/87) in a room about 19' x 23'.
VERY GOOD,,,,,,
Thank you very much!
My brother is subscribed to your channel and IAM going to
Thank you, I appreciate you subscribing! I also will be following the progress of your videos, as well.
Holy s#$t, nearly 3 %!!!!!
My model is 2.2% all the way, but in real life there are some steeper sections. Most of my grade is hidden in the helix and about 20' leading to Willy Brook, so it's a reliability ploy. Thanks for watching!
I caught the Easter egg. There was a boxcar from the Eastern Illinois, Eastern Indiana & Ohio R.R. with the reporting mark EIEIO.
I wish I had a prize for you! You are the first to comment on this tongue-in-cheek model. There were several of these cars that ran on the Happy Hobo Train shop store layout from the early 90's to the early 2000's, when I sold the store. They ran all day, every day, 7 days a week for over 10 years, and very few people picked up on it. I like subtle humor that makes you lose count of the rivets.
Why are there 8 people who's lives are so miserable that they can't find this enjoyable.
I wish I could answer that. Thanks for watching and your comment.
Excellent job! One thing I notice in almost every train layout is the absence of graffiti.... All cities/towns have that element of reality. These/this layout is excellent but it looks too excellent. Just a thought.
This layout is set in the 50's-60's, which, unfortunately I remember well. Apart from an occasional "Kilroy was here", "Jesus saves", or "Vote Wallace", there wasn't a lot of graffiti. That seemed to really take off in the 70's. It seemed like there was always a Wallace running for something somewhere. I'll pay close attention to the historic photos, though, just in case! Thanks for your thoughtful comments!
@@HappyHoboTrains hi, was just saying the layout is really EXCELLENT and enjoyable watching. A lot of layouts look real perfect, example no garbage in the streets, oil stains in the road, advertisements you find on light polls or graffiti.... Growing up in NYC and no the civilized northeast is perhaps where I am coming from, literally and figuratively......
@@dougthegreat1808 You are absolutely correct. I was referring mainly to graffiti on freight cars. I remember NYC subway cars in the late 60's as a mess. Maine and New Hampshire were another world.
Great layout - fun to watch although I did find the 'Engine noise' too intrusive - It was fine when filmed from the train ahead of the filmed train - ie. 7.00 onwards to 7.28................
Thanks for the comments. I'll strive for better audio on future productions. Glad you had fun!
@@HappyHoboTrains Doh..............I just realised, I could have turned the sound down a bit..........sorry..........
@@eddiebyword3363 Not a problem. It reminds me to pay attention to keeping a consistent volume level. That's constructive criticism, and I am not offended.
@@HappyHoboTrains Ok, thanks...
Beautiful layout and rolling stock. Clearly, you love the northern New England scene. I’m just sorry that you have no trains to watch
I have trains to watch, albeit 1/87 scale, and they run on my schedule. There are some nice trains to watch there in 12 inch to the foot scale too. Conway Scenic comes to mind, for example. They have a ride with better scenery than mine.
@@HappyHoboTrains your layout rockes great job hat's off to you sir.👏👏👍
@@myspaceworld5839 Hat's off good. Keep the mask and gloves on for a while! Seriously, be safe, and thanks for the comments!
Great video. Heads up the Tom channel and the Ximer Tracks channel are automated. Stay well. 👍
Covid 19 is keeping me close to the train room. Not all bad, I guess.
Why do you skip going through the tunnels?
There is nothing even close to realistic looking in there. Just a bunch of wood and wires. I never dreamed of on-board cameras when I built the layout, or I might have dressed the inside of the tunnels for the camera's sake.
Good stuff. Only thing better would have been S scale... Nice job, thanks for posting.
Oh, my. In another lifetime I could start over, and S scale would be fantastic!
Love your trans I have some videos as well .
Thank you. I will check out your videos!
5:41 Willard is my last name 😂
Maybe you had explorers or surveyors in your heritage! Thanks for the comment!
Dumbest mistake Portland ever did was tear down Union Station.
You will have lots of folks agreeing with that!