TrainWeb.org Facebook Page
Railfanning My Layout

Railfanning My Layout

John Bruce's Los Feliz and North Western Railroad

You can e-mail me at johnbruce3(at)att.net (replace the (at) with an at-sign).


Edison Electric Power Plant, Zenith

The Los Feliz and North Western Railroad is an HO scale model railroad that hauls forest products, coal, grain, chemicals, and general merchandise.

It reflects my interest in railroads and routes I've gotten to know over the years, as well as some I wish I knew better. These include all the roads that are now part of the BNSF and Union Pacific, as well as the roads that went into Conrail. Add to that some others like the Boston and Maine, Bangor and Aroostook, Central Vermont, and the Northwestern Pacific.

I treat model railroading as a hobby. However, I don't mean this to imply that I don't put effort into it, or that I don't care if things are done right. Model railroading is a "serious" lifetime pursuit that can be an outlet for true creativity. It can provide opportunities for research, technical skills, travel, and fellowship that people might not otherwise have.

Rutland RS-3 205 at State Route 17 Underpass, Woollett

I think that over the years, a number of major figures in the hobby have had things about right: these include E.P.Alexander, Eric Stevens, John Armstrong, Linn Westcott, Paul Larson, Bill McClanahan, John Allen, and Whit Towers. More recent modelers whose layouts I admire include Earl Smallshaw, Bob Brown, and Jim Vail; I've had the chance to visit the outstanding layouts of these three gentlemen. In fact, I visited Jim's Glenwood and Black Creek during the planning process for my layout, and it had a big influence on my designing it with visually separated scenes linked by a main line route. I haven't visited Ron Kuykendall's layouts, but I've also been an admirer of his work for a long time.

I'm pretty flexible about era and location, just like many of the past and present masters of the hobby whose work I admire. I'm a member of several technical and historical societies covering railroads in different regions of the country; I happily build and run models whose prototypes normally wouldn't be seen together.

Click on the headings below to find out more about parts of my layout. I hope to expand and update the information on this site as time goes on.

Zenith Yard



Updated 10/10/03

Following the East Local




Following the West Local



Updated January 20, 2004

Operation

Updated 9/24/03

Track Plan

Updated 4/18/04

About the Photos


Larry's Truck and Electric: A Neglected Idea for an Industry or Micro Layout


Updated 10/8/03

List of Very Short North American Railroads


Updated February 27, 2012

The Sociology of Model Railroading


Updated June 30, 2007

Links




Updated April 23, 2007

All original content on this site is copyright © John Bruce 2003-2007.. All Rights Reserved. Material may be downloaded for personal non-commercial use. All statements on the site represent the perceptions and opinions of the author.


Updated February 27, 2012



click here to visit