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Model Railroad Hobbyist | October 2015 | #68 PUBLISHER’S MUSINGS Joe Fugate editorial doing layouts: time for toma? The process of doing a model railroad layout has come a long way since the early days in the first half of the previous century. The layouts in the 1930s and 40s filled a room with a big table and generally covered it with as much track as possible. Access on such layouts was always a problem, which is one rea- son why I think layout benchwork construction methods (and scenery methods) from that time put a high value on making the layout sturdy enough you could walk on it – because you just might need to do that. Or, barring that, locating numerous access hatches around the layout was a necessity. As the hobby progressed into the 1950s and 60s, it began to dawn on layout designers that railroads are inherently linear, and thinking “shelf ” rather than “table” had a lot of merits, not the least of which is access. But beyond access, there’s also being up close to the trains and being able to enjoy them more. Walkaround layout design became a hot topic in the ‘50s and ‘60s. MRHMAG.COM • TABLE OF CONTENTS • INDEX