GEC's Layout Progress

[jwb]

I also hesitated since these are VERY modern cars, and certainly do NOT match my late 70s modeling.

That said, I had really wanted these cars since I ride them almost every time I go to New York City, and I like them alot.

This has seldom bothered me, and I don't believe it bothered John Allen -- whose modeling still has a great deal of appeal, since graffen has posted a new plan inspired by the G&D. I think John Allen had two big insights. One is that, although the era of equipment may vary, its function remains very similar over decades and now even centuries. A switcher is a switcher. A flat car is a flat car. But also, there's a lot of slop in what we see: there are plenty of Railboxes out there with 40-year-old paint. The UP stirs things up by restoring a Big Boy. Allen saw a layout as a way to experience and celebrate all this.