12-31-2010, 07:56 PM
Its nice to get the background story on the layouts we see here. Mikey, I like all of the personal tributes on yours. Several industries on my pike are named for friends and my wife. I grew up in the 1960's and 70's near the NYC's West Shore Line near Kingston NY and saw NYC and eventually Penn Central trains roll by regularly. Railroading for me meant black diesels and jade green boxcars! 
My Kings Port Division very vaguely suggests Kingston and the surrounding area. One day I thought it might be fun to paint a switch engine for a freelanced railroad that interchanged with the PC and chose blue and orange which were the colors of my beloved NY Mets back in the day. The one switcher was followed by a number of boxcars, some hoppers, and a couple of other locomotives...and the Kings Port & Western was born. I've often said that my modeling style is "impressionistic". I try to convey an idea of railroading that looks "railroady" overall and do it with inexpensive materials. I'm happy with a good portion of the work done with this approach but find myself going back and refining things as time goes by.
Ralph
My Kings Port Division very vaguely suggests Kingston and the surrounding area. One day I thought it might be fun to paint a switch engine for a freelanced railroad that interchanged with the PC and chose blue and orange which were the colors of my beloved NY Mets back in the day. The one switcher was followed by a number of boxcars, some hoppers, and a couple of other locomotives...and the Kings Port & Western was born. I've often said that my modeling style is "impressionistic". I try to convey an idea of railroading that looks "railroady" overall and do it with inexpensive materials. I'm happy with a good portion of the work done with this approach but find myself going back and refining things as time goes by.Ralph