D&H in the Lone Star State.
The late Bill McClanahan of Dallas, employed with the Dallas Morning News, was well known for his freelanced Texas & Rio Grande Western HO scale layout located in the attic of his home in Big D. He also authored a well known paperback book on scenery for model railroaders which was published by Kalmbach. It was a popular publication and subsequently went through several printings over the years.
Bill was also a regular customer at Bobbye Hall's Hobby House in Dallas. Miss Hall, as she was affectionately known by most of her customers was the Queen of model railroading. Because she demanded only the best from her Asian brass importers and didn't take any bull off of them, became known as the Dragon Lady among them!
In his senior years, Bill found the Deleware & Hudson's blue and grey color scheme so attractive that he adobted it for his T&RGW. The D&H Texas style if you will? Though my heart remains in O gauge, I am still fasinated by large scale. A future project of mine will be to to obtain a well used LGB White Pass & Yukon Alco road switcher and have it professionally painted for my G gauge T&RGW, using the D&H scheme of course, not only as a tribute to Bill, but also the Bridge Line to New England as well.
Although my small basement here in my German apartment won't take much more than a compact around the wall mainline with a lift out bridge for continuous running in large scale, it's purpose will be to keep me active in the hobby. International shipping, including insurance and customs, not to mention the weight factor, is too expensive for me to order model trains from the States to begin with. Besides, LGB is readily available here in Deutschland anyway. An exception will be a Hartland Locomotive Works MACK switcher, which will receive solid black with the old red, white and blue D&RGW herald applied under the cab window. Item: By the way, Hartland products are Made in the Good Old USA, in their Indiana factory!
Why G gauge and instead of say Z in my small basement you ask? Having just passed Milepost 73 this Fourth of July my eyes like to see what's running on the layout without the aid of using a magnifine glass! Also, the early LGB Rio Grande stock car, that for some unknown reason received green instead of black, will finally feel right at home hauling cattle on my basement empire! The later released black painted Grande stock car will also be found on the T&RGW. It comes equipped with sound, albeit less any "PU" authentic smells, thank goodness!
Happy Rails Y'all!
Joe Toth
