Reverse Running commentary
I
love this photo of Brian
Bennett from one of Mike
Confalone’s operating
sessions. To me, this photo
speaks to the fantastic job
Mike Confalone has done
creating a model railroad in
miniature that feels like it’s a
real railroad.
Not everyone is into prototype
or proto-freelance modeling
operations. I recall the janitor
at my high school liked model railroading, and so did I. The janitor
didn’t care one iota about ops, but did he love building models! We
had a great time talking trains, leaving many fond memories.
But for me, it’s the operations side that excites me the most
about the hobby. The model building, the wiring, the benchwork
and trackwork – that’s all a means to get to the part I love the
best: running the trains realistically.
When I think back to what fascinates me most about trains, it’s
the noisy, gritty, big machines hauling tonnage.
MRH has been doing what we call our “Allagash Bash” with the
two-part railfan trip in January/February, and the new eBook
series since January – not because we think modeling 1980s
Maine in April is cool. No, we think Mike Confalone has captured
the essence of really railroading with his models in a way that
more modelers need to learn about.
Reverse Running: Stepping outside the box with a contrary view
by Joe Fugate
Really railroading!
As part of gathering content for the Allagash Bash, I attended
one of Mike’s operating sessions in July of 2013. I must confess,
I was impressed – and as one who has seen hundreds of model
railroads now, it’s not easy to impress me at the “that’s amaz-
ing” level, but Mike’s HO Allagash managed to do that for me.
First, Mike has executed his layout scenery and photo back-
drops with finesse. The scenery-to-track ratio often favors the
scenery, further driving home the rural setting.
Second, there were no derailments I can recall during the
entire op session. That is rare. It takes good equipment and
trackwork to pull that off, as well as an experienced crew
that’s not making a lot of mistakes like running turnouts
thrown against them.
Thirdly, Mike overweights his rolling stock by roughly double
the NMRA weight standard. As a result, all the trains on the
Allagash feel more massive, the cars don’t “wobble” and
everything stays on the track better. The trains feel more like
“tonnage” when they roll by because they actually do have
more mass.
Finally, every loco on Mike’s layout has sound. All too often
sound can become annoying, but Mike’s got it just right. Mike
turns the volume down so you can’t hear locos from across
the room – the sound isn’t blaring. You need to be close to
the loco to really hear it well.
The total effect of all this makes the Allagash feel different than
many model railroads. It seems like you are looking at a scaled-
down version of a real railroad rather than just some plastic toys.
You get pulled into the action like few model railroads I’ve seen;
you feel as if you’re really railroading, with those big gritty, noisy
machines pulling some serious tonnage!
MRH-Jun 2014
