Where it all begins...

... is where it ended. Annexation of my childhood home by the city forced an end to twenty years of layout space. With it went my latest attempt at capturing in 1:87 scale the unique operations of the Canadian Pacific and Great Northern in southern British Columbia at the end of steam in 1953.

With the remnants of the layout and equipment packed away in boxes, I have been handed the unwanted opportunity of starting fresh. But what to do?

The old layout came down surprising quickly. Here in a state of deconstruction.

First things first, I had to reframe the situation as the opportunity that it was: I could start fresh, make corrections, try new techniques, and bring the new layout in line with my current skills and philosophy.

My heart still belongs to the GN and CP in the Kootenays at the twilight of steam. My connection to this is purely through history books and holidays in the area (often spent doing prototype research to the chagrin of whomever accompanies me). I have a passion for prototype fidelity, and admire the work of modellers who strive to capture both accurately and in essence a prototype railroad at a certain place and point in time.

The newly available layout space exists in the basement of my parents' new home: an almost 800 square foot undeveloped basement space, with high ceilings and mostly free of obstacles. The two main drawbacks are that the space is a thirty minute drive away, and the tenure at that location is uncertain.

With limited hobby time and a desire to experiment while I figure out what direction to take my main modelling interest, I am increasingly drawn to try something different. My interest has progressed steadily towards high-fidelity, prototypical modelling over the years. With that, finescale modelling has become more and more attractive.

Iain Rice introduced me to the idea of finescale modelling with his series in Model Railroader on his Roque Bluffs proto:87 shelf layout in 2003-2004. Andy Reichert's Proto:87 Stores supplied my appetite for more realistic looking track as I built my last layout. 

It was a layout at the 2011 National Train Show in Sacramento that first drew me to O scale. I strolled past a very detailed and sound-equipped GP9 in Southern Pacific's classic warbonnet Black Widow scheme. What really caught my attention was that, as it idled there before me at near-eye level, I could almost feel the bass resonating in my chest. It was as close as I have ever come while viewing a model to feeling as though I was standing trackside looking at the real thing - and this while in a cavernous convention centre.

Over the years I have followed finescale casually, and read with interest the few bits of 2-rail O scale that makes its way in to contemporary hobby publications. My hobby time has shifted more and more to reading instead of modelling - that and attending operating weekends and NMRA events in various cities every year. All along the way, the sensations and experience of that Geep have stuck with me... just waiting for an opportunity to attack my imagination.