Bob sent me these great pics of his layout. Check out some of the prewar Jefferson Sales features (like the trees) features he has on the layout. You'll need to blow it up to really catch the detail.Even in larger tinplate the attention to the little things (like people and cars and the wall around the power station) really has an impact.
Also, click on the link above to see Bob's gorgeous 390E in action (a movie at the end of the pictures) as well as his family's amazing Flyer collection. This guy has one heck of a diverse layout and collection. I am really glad he shared it with us.
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Some additional info from Bob:
Marc,
Glad you liked the PICS. A few additional bits of info about the layout:
1. The outer loop is dual gauge O and Std. The O gauge inner trackage is fitted with prewar Flyer turnouts. Lionel runs on Flyer switches, but prewar Gilbert will not run on Lionel's. They look kinda cool, as well. Rick Johnson rubber roadbed was used, which when combined with Cellotex below gives a quiet layout (It is a shame that Rick doesn't make prewar-gray roadbed).
2. All of the structures are vintage or reasonably accurate repros. No postwar Marx or Skyline litho is used -- the color dies and paint pigments used postwar were different, less muted, and more contrasty.* Prewar is cream to postwar's Amana white. The Hellgate chosen is a T-Repro because the colors are somewhat closer to what Cowen used. "Tuning" the layout to some authenticity, yields a result showing that the prewar world was one biased towards (muted) earth tones. Just think how striking the Blue Comet, Blue Bird, and Presidential sets looked when they first appeared!
3. Although the layout is TMCC-equipped for new trains, the prewar-style trains (vintage and MTH/Lionel repros) are all "traditional." Modern electronic sounds interfere with the creation of a time and place. Smoke is a postwar innovation. Ever see "Somewhere in Time?" ;-)
A bit more philosophy. You will see me making some grumpy posts at times on OGRR about folks being overly dependent on what MTH does and does not. Nothing wrong with Mike's stuff (as side from the colors being a bit too bright) -- I own some of it myself -- but, chasing the vintage bits and doing the homework to do so is easily half the fun.
Bob
* PS: An aside and minor point for you -- the Plasticville on the Flyer S gauge layout is original -- modern plastics and pigments are different from those during the Eisenhower Era, and they look it!
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