Model Railroad Hobbyist | June 2015 | #64 ASSISTANT EDITOR Don Hanley editorial Model railroading as art? The late Frank Ellison said “model railroading is an art, and the trains are the actors,” so as you read the editorial, keep this in mind. In last month’s Getting Real column, (mrhmag.com/magazine/ mrh-2015-05-may), Marty McGuirk showed how he used a photo of a roadway to extend a scene into his backdrop. The column generated a lot of reader feedback, so I thought I would take advantage, and expand on it. Before the mid-’90s, using photographic backdrops was pretty much nonexistent. The technology needed for the large photos required for backdrops was limited, and the cost to produce such photos was out of reach for the typical modeler. While the cost to do a photo backdrop of a large layout may be cost- prohibitive for most of us, with medium to small layouts it is becom- ing a real possibility. Add to that what Bill Geiger introduced using computer-generated backdrops, mrhpub.com/2014-07-jul/land/#56 and we have another element added to the backdrop possibilities. In the discussion at mrhmag.com/magazine/mrh-2015-05-may/ gr_using-photo-on-backdrop, Publisher Joe Fugate postulated MRHMAG.COM • TABLE OF CONTENTS • INDEX