Australian National N scale convention 2013

In keeping this blog I have recently had the opportunity to reconnect with some old friends from down under. I am talking about Rod, Vic and John from Australia. Anyway Rod was telling me about an upcoming N scale convention being held in Melbourne. It sounds like its going to be a real fun event. These guys are a real great group of fellows and I expect that it will be a great event to attend. So if your living in Australia and you don't know about the National N scale convention check it out. If you're not from Australia or have never been there here is one more reason to go.   Australia is one of the most hospitable countries I have visited and I highly recommend visiting.  I will try to gather more information on the layouts that will be open and on tour during the convention.

It’s here

Wrightsvilleport n scale layout

Interview with Kuastav and Mouli Chatterjee

Interviewed by Joe Warren of nlayout.blogspot.com

Introduction

I first became familiar with Kaustav and Mouli’s work through TrainBoard where they have been reporting progress on their Wrightsvilleport N scale layout. The Wrightsvilleport is a fictious setting in North Carolina that they are creating in their home in India.   It was their location in India that peaked my interest and then my curiosity.  I had so many questions and I thought others would be interested as well so I requested an interview with Kaustav and Mouli and they graciously said yes.  So it my sincere pleasure to present their interview here on the nlayout blog.   I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Joe Warren

Joe:   You are modeling US prototype, yet you live in India.
What is it that inspired you to build a US prototype railroad?

Kaustav & Mouli:  Well, Wrightsville Port technically is not a prototype – it is more like a freelance layout set in the US. Though Wrightsville NC is a real place, there is no prominent port there that looks like the one we are building. None the less, we do have vast interest in US prototypes and we love US Railroads – it’s diversity and vastness move us, and has certain striking similarities with Indian Railways – that’s why it is easier for us to relate. On the other hand, it is easiest to find detailed information on US prototypes and their corresponding models on the internet.

The interest in US prototype did not spark in one day. In fact our first choice would have been a layout developed on Indian theme, provided there was any existence of ‘Indian Model Railway’ products – but unfortunately this hobby has no prominence in India. If you are interested in this hobby and you live in India, your only choice is to import foreign model railroad products (American, British or European) and build a foreign layout, or scratchbuild or kitbash everything, down to each coupler and axle to model Indian locomotives and rolling stock.

The only model railroad company that has authorized dealers and prominent presence in this country is Hornby. We did think about that, but OO was proving to be too big a scale for us. We wanted our model railroad to be small and portable, and we also didn’t have a big real estate in our disposal to build a layout in OO or HO, especially because we were not really looking forward to a pure shelf layout. So we had to look for N as an option, and as you will mostly agree, that there is no better place to look for N scale model trains that fit moderate budget than US.

We bought our first trains in 2006 – a couple of Bachmann train sets, one having a 4-8-4 Northern and another, a 0-6-0 switcher, with some 10 odd US rolling stocks. To build a layout with those we had to know about US prototypes, so we begun researching – that’s the start. Moreover, both of us have been working with US clients for a long time and have friends in US, so time to time, we talked about the railroads in America. Then we made friends through the online forums to become more and more accustom to US railroads and finally started falling in love with it. Then with the development of Wrightsville Port, which is originally a modified plan of Ian Rice’s HO plan, Coalport MD – we finally graduated to become US Model Railroaders based in India!

Joe: It is neat that you both share an interest in model railroading.
Do you have any tips on how others might encourage their spouses interest?

Kaustav: Honestly, I have no idea! Mouli started sharing interest in this hobby on her own, and I cannot thank her (or God) enough for that! We had built a ‘practice’ layout back in 2006-2007 with some cheap battery operated, made in China, Italian prototype trains when we were living in Bangalore. I had built some buildings and rock faces, and when I tried coloring them, I messed up big time, and I confess here – I might be good at building things, but when it comes to painting, I am no good than a 2 year old! So she offered help, given she loves painting and has a natural ability to understand colors – she painted the rocks, she painted the small buildings and finally ended up painting everything that I had built. Then we made a pact – I build, she paints. As this hobby kept growing in our lives, she basically became the ‘make-up artist cum costume designer’ for me – taking care of not only painting, but also weathering, designing and overall beautification. She is also a great help at carpentry.

I would say all I did was giving Mouli freedom to use her strengths where I lacked and not intervene in between. I tell her what I want, and I tell her if something doesn’t work for me, but she is the one who does it. On the other hand, she plays an important role in planning in terms of beauty and appearance when my imagination becomes limited. We just make a good team – that’s all!

Mouli: To be honest, there really is particular tip that might help. In some cases, it is an acquired taste, and in some cases, two people meet in the middle, like the pair of us.

I happen to be handy with tools, don’t ask me how, but I manage to wield a hammer and a drill better than Kaustav. Also, the fact that he trusts me enough to have a free rein helps a lot.

 So, between the two of us, we had the want to spend our time doing something creative and that’s how it began.

Joe  What is your favorite part of model railroading?

Kaustav: The most difficult of all the questions, because the answer is not singular! I love scratchbuilding for sure – but that’s not Model Railroad specific – I love building things whether it’s model railroad or not, kind of my second nature. But yes, that is my biggest drive in this hobby. Specific to model railroading, let’s see – layout planning, layout designing and track planning, I love it. Carpentry – OK, electrical and wiring – hate it big time! Track work – I like it, scenery – getting a hang of it and started liking it (the feeling is very similar to scratchbuilding though), Operation – love it (well that’s the objective anyway, playing with the trains, isn’t it?), but above all, just looking at a slow train going around the layout, through the bridge and the tunnel, zig-zagging through crossings, sometimes partially hiding behind the buildings – I would say the very life of a layout and it’s representation of the world around us in its unique static yet dynamic format!

Mouli: Painting, definitely! I love making each of the models, ours. No matter how small or trivial it might look at from the outside, I like to do justice to the amount of time Kaustav spends on them just building them from scratch, and try to make them as eye-catching as possible. Not to mention, b/w the two of us, I do have the steadier hands with the brush.

Joe: How did you come up with the fictitious Wrightsville port?

Mouli: It was me that came up with the name actually. I remember having read a story that took place there. And for some reason that place stayed on my mind. Not to mention, it fit. We were looking for a place which would have an inland port of sorts, and NC does have the geography for it. All we had to do is make up the Port! ;)

Kaustav: That’s about how we named the project, but how we arrived at the design is a completely different story all together. We thought of making a port layout back in 2008 when we started building our first ship model, Sirius. Since then I made numerous designs, followed designs made by people around the globe, and finally zeroed in on Ian Rice’s Coalport MD layout sometime in mid of 2010. I did make some significant changes in the design to suit my needs, likings and limitations.

Joe:  Have you lived in or visited the USA?

Kaustav & Mouli  Sadly, no.

Joe: Most Model Railroaders have dreams of their next layout designs before they finish the one they are working on.  I noticed that you have part of you blog devoted to other layout designs.

 

Mouli: Yes, that is part the crazy addiction Kaustav has to RTS (That software can make him forget dinner, scratch that! It can make him forget even modeling!). Till we actually nailed the tracks on the board, the plan kept changing.

So when, our layout had no more room for more improvisation, he started designing new ones!

Kaustav: C’mon! Who doesn’t like armchair modeling! Well I sometimes feel lazy and sometimes people ask for favors – well, not technically they say that you design a layout for me, but hey, they do say that they need help – don’t they? It’s more for the general good that I spend time designing layouts… J

Our next project would probably be an extension to the Wrightsville Port. But I have developed some special interest to a very special project to build a detailed layout of the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. We have completed our initial prototype study as you can see in the website, but development of the plan is yet to start. Not before Wrightsville Port is complete.

Joe: Do you have intentions to build another layout?  If so what will your next railroad be like?  What scale?

Kaustav: Yes, most possibly the DHR. Since we now have more understanding of the hobby and the technical part of it, I am becoming more and more inclined to build an Indian Prototype – a proper one doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. As for scale, it will most probably be N, but I am also looking at Z. Don’t like to get into larger scale till I have suitable real estate at my disposal.

Joe:  I assume finding n scale model railroading equipment in India is not easy.  How and where do you acquire your models and supplies?

Kaustav: You’re right, it’s definitely not easy. Most of our equipment are shipped from the US, and believe me when I say, we’ve spent almost as much in shipping as the actual stuff we bought. Thanks to modeltrainstuff.com, who do ship to India, and has reasonable prices of stuff, we managed to gather what we needed over a period of 5 years.

Joe: It appears that you do a lot of scratch building with card stock.  Is that the way you prefer to build?

Kaustav:  I use mostly what I can get my hands on, to be honest. And card stock, yes, that definitely is my favorite. It’s easy to cut, shape and paste together with the least amount of hassle. Also, can you think about anything that would be just as easily available at a place where modeling is as much of a foreign concept?

p.s: It also holds color the best, makes paining them a breeze.

Joe:  Are there very many n scale model railroads in India?

Kaustav: Unfortunately, no. There aren’t many modelers, period! Let alone N-scale. Its only recently that we’ve even spotted model railroad merchandize in some of the bigger toy stores, but even those are mostly 00 scale. Growing up, I’d only ever seen one person who had a model railroad in Calcutta – not one, but 2! One N and one HO. Recently we made good friend with another fellow modeler named Rohit who still doesn’t have layout but planning on it. We know a handful of people all across the country who is interested in model railroading. There is serious effort to promote this hobby in India, but it requires huge investments in time and money. Most importantly no presence of Indian Locos and Rolling stocks make it even more difficult, since people cannot relate.

Joe:   In the USA, model railroading is often perceived as childish by those not into the hobby.  Culturally, the hobby is not well accepted in the USA as an adult hobby.  As a result of this perception, many model railroaders don’t discuss their hobby with friends that are not into the hobby themselves.
How do your friends in India respond to your interest in Model Railroading? 

Kaustav: To be honest, most don’t understand it. It’s just a novelty to almost everyone. Our families humor us, and some of our friends appreciate it.  In the US it might not be culturally accepted, in India, it’s culturally foreign!

It’s only the in online modeling community that we even got any kind of recognition for what it is that we actually do. The whole model railroading, that is. Sure, some people who know about models and handicraft appreciate the work, but to most, it’s just small pieces of artwork, that takes a lot of time and effort to create.

A hobby like this is not very common in India. A lot of people don’t even know what scale modeling is, let alone Model Railroading. So the challenge is actually bigger here in India where you don’t even have a proper community that understands this. But my personal opinion is that that actually leaves this hobby with a huge advantage in this country. If there is proper promotion of this hobby in India backed by large corporations interested to make Indian Prototype Models at reasonable cost – a HUGE market lies here in India that can be as big as Model Railroad market in US (There is also talk about a Government sponsored project of an Indian Model Railway display in New Delhi). We have seen people who showed interest in the hobby, liked the concept and few even been awestruck that something like this exists, but most of them couldn’t relate to it and thought it’s too expensive to maintain it by importing everything from abroad.

Joe:   Do you openly share your interest in the hobby with others? 

Kaustav: Yes, we do. We’re crazy about modeling and people who are close to us will definitely confirm that we can’t really hold a proper conversation without bringing up trains and/or model railroading into it.

Joe:  What kind of response do you get from your friends when they find out about your hobby?

Mouli:The question that we are hit with the most is, ‘What will you do with it?’ and ‘How much do they cost?’ Which is immediately followed by disbelieving and shocked gasps at our craziness for indulging in it.

Okay, that’s probably me being very cynical about the whole thing, but that’s mostly what it is like. Since it’s not a common hobby, not many people know what we’re doing. Maybe they will appreciate it more when it’s completed and looks like something, but while it is still in the process of being built, not many can visualize where it’s going. And so as of now, it’s just a… thing.

Joe:  Do you have any comments or statements that you would like to make in closing?

Kaustav & Mouli:  Firstly: Thank you so much Joe. It’s really nice to see your work appreciated and you definitely made us feel more than.

Second: To everyone who has showed support and appreciation for Wrightsville Port, a big thank you! It would have definitely been a lot less exciting to pick up a tool otherwise. J

Happy Modeling!

Interview coming soon

It’s been about a year since the nlayout.blogspot was first posted.  In contemplating the past year I am glad that I initiated this blog.  Even if only for my own personal enjoyment it has been worth the effort but it really gives me additional enthusiasm when I see that others have been using it as well.  That is the Blog seems to have caught on a bit thanks to a couple of fellow N scale bloggers that have linked to it.    

The next step I am planning to take is to interview some of the fellow N scaler’s whom are on the list here.   I have made contact with Kaustav and Mouli Chattergee.  They are husband and wife who live in India and they share an interest in N scale model railroading.  They own the Wrightsvilleport and they have agreed to be interviewed.  If you are not familiar with their N layout then you need to check it out.  It is set in a portside scene with nice bridge work and ships.  They utilize US railroad prototype equipment depicting a fictional place called Wrightsville North Carolina.  Let me warn you first that their enthusiasm for N scale model railroading is contagious.  So be prepared and you will be inspired because they have created a very unique and interesting layout. 

Another note on the Wrightsvilleport.blogspot is if you dig a little deeper into their blog you will find that they are also prototype (full sized the real thing) Rail fans.  You'll find photos with various prototype shots in some exceptionally interesting places.  Anyway I highly recommend their blog.  I hope to be posting there interview soon.

JoeW

New Years resolution layouts 2012

If your New Years resolution is to get a layout started in 2012 let me know and or send me the link to your blog or web page.  Contact N layout list