Welcome to the podcast! Here, you’ll be able to find the episodes from both the Beginner’s Guide to Model Railroading and the Proto-Future Podcast. Happy listening!
This episode brings up some listener feedback about scenery techniques, answers some questions about what sort of layout beginners should build, and addresses some comments about the tone and ideas of Proto-Future.
The subsequent interview with Tom Barbalet on Model Rail Radio is linked here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/model-rail-radio/id335536272?i=1000634820061
This trailer succinctly describes the purpose and scope of Proto-Future, and the long-term plan for how it fits in with the Beginner’s Guide to Model Railroading.
In this episode, I wrap up a few loose ends before we finally get to layout construction. First, I finish off explaining a wide variety of railroad-related terminology, going into all the depth you would need to know about what most major railroad components are and how they work. Then, I list off and describe all the tools you would need to build a model railroad. Importantly, I then follow this up with modeling safety, and close out the episode with a little bonus, proving that model railroading is not just for nerds.
Or Quran, or Torah, or God Delusion, or Tripitaka, whichever floats your boat.
Whenever a new modeler enters the hobby, there is a strong incentive to cut a few corners for the purpose of speeding completion of the railroad, or there might simply be a lack of knowledge on what is generally accepted to be a higher fidelity way to approach any given problem. The Beginner's Bible is an amalgamation of advice comprised of lessons that I have learned the hard way. Take heed of this advice, as it may prove quite useful.
As always, if you have comments or suggestions from your own modeling experiences, feel free to drop me a line on the contact page, and your additions will be compiled into an updated Beginner's Bible.
Special thanks to the Scathing Atheist Podcast, found here.
Proto-Future is attempting to do something which has never been done in model railroading before. I am here to ruffle feathers, seed ideas, get rusty gears turning, and help the hobby escape the transition-era worshiping rut we’ve been in for 30+ years, thereby better appealing to younger generations and improving the world around us along the way. If you have any thoughts at all – good or bad – pause for a second, think them through, make sure they’re logical, then email me, and we’ll see where it goes.
While the podcast is transitioning to Proto-Future, I still happily accept beginner questions and will address them on-air every now and then. Feel free to email me via the contact form, and I’ll do my best to help you in your quest.
