The Hills Line

Nothing beside remains

July 2, 2019October 3, 2019 by James McNab, posted in Philosophy

I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . I've gotten several messages recently, all asking variations of the same question. Why'd you get rid of the Grimes Line? For the record, I didn't get to make that decision. Near them, … Continue reading Nothing beside remains

A Layout Divided

June 27, 2019June 27, 2019 by James McNab, posted in Design

Blame Iain Rice. He taught me how to make a model railroad work in our basement. Our basement, like so many others, is a less than ideal environment. Low ceilings, exposed pipes, uneven walls, you name it we've got it. But by far the biggest impediment to layout design is the need to pass through. … Continue reading A Layout Divided

What’s in a name?

June 21, 2019December 28, 2019 by James McNab, posted in Design

I had numerous choices when deciding on the name for this new layout. The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway (the owner of the line) officially uses CIC for its reporting marks. But everyone knows it as the CRANDIC, a simple but catchy combination of the railroad's namesake cities. Formally, my modeled portion is the … Continue reading What’s in a name?