All the images presented here are miniature models of outdoor scenes of everyday life during various decades. Model railroad photography reveals the fine craftsmanship practiced by many model railroaders. This scene was taken with a Canon T-1, EF-S 18-55 mm lens. Multiple frames with different focus points were combined using Helicon Focus software to increase the depth of field. Paul Dolkos
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The most popular railroad modeling scale is HO with 3.5 mm equaling one foot. In this view a HO scale diesel switcher model is on a turntable prior to being run into the roundhouse for servicing. Helicon Focus was also used to create this image. Paul DolkosThe Chesapeake & Ohio railroad that served the coal regions of West Virginia had graceful cantilevered signal bridges and distinctive lineside architecture that makes it a popular prototype for modelers. Lowel Tota-light halogen hot lights are used to create the sunlight effect. Paul DolkosIn the 1950s the Canadian Pacific and Boston & Maine railroads had a joint passenger train, the Alouette, which ran daily between Montreal and Boston. Paul DolkosAs in Mother Nature, model scenes with snow are great to look at, but are problematic if you also want to run the miniature trains. The snow here is marble dust applied temporarily for the photo, then vacuumed up. Paul DolkosThis miniature farm scene was based on a New Hampshire prototype. Paul DolkosWhen the walker sees the moose he treats it with respect and stands back. Paul DolkosModel railroads with 1/4 inch scale Lionel trains and similar models tend to be more whimsical and often feature lighted buildings as seen in this model downtown street. Paul DolkosThis large-scale layout is based on a Miami industrial park, the scene here representing a CSX railroad crew working a siding after a brief afternoon shower. Paul DolkosThe location and era are established on model railroads not only with train models, but also with the right model road vehicles of the selected period. Paul DolkosA 3/16-inch scale narrow gauge train runs along a cove in the costal region of Maine. Paul DolkosShip models are also frequently incorporated into model railroad scenery. Paul DolkosAmong the smallest commercially available model trains are Z-scale models, which are 1/220 the size of the prototypes. Model locomotives may be less than two inches long. On this Z-scale layout two trains meet in the Swiss Alps on an approach to the Goddard tunnel on the border with Italy. Paul DolkosSteel mills provide a lot of rail traffic so this activity is a popular theme for modelers to depict. The haze was created with a diffusion spray can, not by using Photoshop. Paul DolkosStreetcars and interurban electric railways provided local transportation in the first half of the 20th century. This scene modeled in O-scale portrays an Indiana Railroad interurban rambling down Mulberry St. on the northern outskirts of Muncie, Ind. in 1940. Paul DolkosThis O-scale model accurately depicts the prototype Denver South Park & Pacific railroad locomotive servicing facility as it appeared in 1880s in Como, Colorado. Paul DolkosLooking down Park Ave. circa 1916 on the HO scale Aiken, S.C. Visitors Center Railroad Station museum diorama. Paul DolkosDeep in the Colorado mountains a 3 ft. gauge train works a coalmine siding on a 1/4-inch scale model railroad. Paul DolkosA lone traveler waits for the afternoon passenger train at a country depot on a chilly November day. Paul DolkosA passenger train with a streamlined steam locomotive (left) and a coal train being pushed up a mountain grade meet on double track in the Virginia mountains. Paul Dolkos
