Model Railroading on the Cheap

   On my layout I have an industry that I call the Western Railway Equipment eXperimenters. They do feasibility work for alternate designs of railroad rolling stock. This is how I justify my diversions in rolling stock designs. I have enjoyed many hours chopping common plastic cars into something you can’t buy in the store. I wanted to include a photo of the WREX work-shop and some of its wares, but had a hard time picking a favorite. I have settled for this one; perhaps the better approach would be a separate book about the cars they have produced. This imaginary industry is located on the layout upper level of the Yardley and Hillton, easy to see between the Ramswell Bulldozer factory and the Crest – Mount Travel Trailer Co. just behind the scrap yard spur track. – Makes one wonder where they get their material!

   Imagination is a wonderful thing. It can pass wondering time and also contribute to tangible things. In support of something for my imagination to cultivate in the early 1990s I enjoyed chopping cheap plastic cars to alter the appearance slightly just for the fun of making something different. I have probably done over four dozen cars and cabooses. Some modifications are a different cupola or chopping the body and rearranging the pieces.

   Now I will tell of my attitude about this hobby and why I like a freelance model RR. Some hobbyists seem content with little more than plywood and track. Perhaps they find time for more important things.  Other fellows want the best scenery taken from historical maps and photos, train movement schedules using sound equipped locomotives with individual control. I place myself in the middle of these extremes.