Current Layout by Paul Washburn

Layout Status:

active

Track Type:

Railroad(s) Modeled:

Featured In:

The S Scale Resource, Dec 2020, pg 12

Notes:

Paul models a fictitious Southern Pacific branch line.

The Sundance local passes Copeland Feed while the local deliverty truck waits for his turn at the Depot loading dock. All models shown in this photo were scratchbuilt by Paul.

The switching crew has tied up on the house track for beans at the depot in the town of Guth. Also on hand is a welder and his rig. He's telling a fish story about the big one that got away while the fellow on the locomotive platform listens politely. The SW1 switcher is a brass import from Oriental Limited to which Paul added sun shades, a taller stack, and polished aluminum head and rear light lenses. He also painted the model and decaled it using Microscale Decals "SP Tiger Stripe Switchers" (part #64-46) from Des Plaines Hobbies. The B&O wagon top box car and CB&Q flat car in the background are kits from Smoky Mountain Model Works, Inc. The Santa Fe box car is a kit by Pacific Rail Shops. The welding truck started out as a Racing Champions 1940 Ford F-100 pickup. Paul used the cab, fenders, hood, grill, foot boards, and front bumper, but the rest of the truck is made from styrene and wire. The Southern Pacific medallion on the truck door is from an N-scale PMC decal set. The man telling the fish story is a figure from The Aspen Modeling Co. that Paul painted. The figure on the platform is from Arttista. The track and switches are hand-laid using code 70 rail and redwood ties purchased years ago from Clover House. This photo appeared on the inside cover of the October 2022 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman as part of the NASG promotional ad campaign.

Lots of activity at the depot/freighthouse.

A dedicated unloading/loading crane at the depot/freighthouse.

The crane is one that Paul built from a Lehigh Valley Models Brownhoist Pillar Crane kit. Paul recalls that the concrete platform in the foreground may have been from the Canadian company The Hopper Line (part #S-11; long out of production). The structure way in the background is the "Citrus Shed" kit by Showcase Miniatures. That kit was designed as a shallow-relief building, perfect for placing against backdrops. The cars are by various manufacturers, and most of the details in this scene are scratchbuilt by Paul.

Paul was experimenting with taking an extra-wide shot of a full train.

The entrance to the new peninsula.

A higher-up view of the same scene.

The remainder of the peninsula is still under construction. Track work has been completed. Paul uses Del-Aire components to control his turnouts. This photo also shows the layout room from one angle.

The view from the opposite side of the new peninsula. This photo shows the room from the door's perspective.

The first industry modeled on the new peninsula. Different angles of this large building are shown in the next two photos.

Paul scratchbuilt this double-door, outside-braced Western Pacific box car. The steeple engine is based on the Tidewater Southern, a subsidiary of the Western Pacific. Paul used two NWSL Stanton drives to power the model.

Shown here is an oil distributor building which Paul built completely from scratch. The next three photos show the different angles of the building.

Paul has completed the construction of another D&RGW steam locomotive, this time it is the C48 #1151, shown here pulling a mixed-freight train on his layout. The drivers are from North Yard and detailing parts are from P-B-L, Precision Scale Co., and River Raisin Models. The model was painted with Tamiya acrylic paints. Paul used San Juan D&RGW Steam Locomotive decals. The engine's crew are figures from Modelu in the UK (part #22050, #22005). The box car is an S Scale America Fowler kit (part #SSA708) painted with P-B-L Star Brand paint (part #str14) D&RGW faded box car red. The decals are also from S Scale America (part #ssaD&RGW). The bridge is made from a variety of wood parts. The pillars are 3/16" dowels from Cindoco Wood Products while bracing is made with Northeastern scale lumber. The bridge ties are from Clover House, and the small spikes and code 70 rail are from Micro Engineering. This photo appeared on the inside cover of the October 2023 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman magazine

Paul Washburn completed the construction of a Santa Fe 2-10-0, built from scratch. He decided to experiment with shooting the model in black-and-white as that was the only film type available during most of the steam era.