John Widmar's Royal Gorge & Western

Under construction

What a Joy, Friday (12/1/06), this past, I had the honor of a personal tour of the Royal Gorge and Western. I can tell you that no pictures do it justice, and few words can describe what we saw. I said we, as my lovely wife Jeanne came along. Oh, how glad I was that she came.

Mr. John Widmar, Master Model Railroader

Link to John's Layout Pictures

Here is a taste of John Widmar's amazing work! These pictures do not require Words. John excavated a hole in his train room floor to build a step down eliminating the need for a duck under! At 6'2" I only had to nod my head to easily clear this masterpiece. The Colorado Royal Gorge in N scale is the theme of John's 15' X 20'

I have included these pictures more as evidence that I have seen this place. John has hundreds of pictures of his work posted at this Site Address.

By the way, there is no fake or misleading Photoshop action in these pictures, what you see is what he built. John is the real deal.




How does he do it? Is it patience or skill? It must be both! These pictures show John's amazing Air Museum. The quality surpasses anything you would expect in any museum, and it is in N Scale. Go inside, you find a completely detailed snack bar with donuts for sale on the counter. Too bad the camera I had that day did not have a macro lens!


John's Air Museum, N Scale of course





Here we get a view of the cafe on the left. Of course, there is a roof! Joe Daddy just forgot to take the picture!








Notice the tiny Wright flier on the right. A work of art all unto itself, lost in the beauty of this piece of art.







It is hard to see, but this museum has two floors, the second being what I would call a mezzanine with open air between them.

I know I have used the words amazing and unbelievable over and over, but I can tell you they are the right words. I am going to go back with a better camera and take more pictures. What a fellow this gentile man!

The engine maintenance facilities on the Royal Gorge and Western railroad, the product and output of John Widmar, Master Model Railroader is nothing short of breathtaking. John believes the in the inside out theory of model railroading. He starts on the inside and works his way out! These facilities are as intricate and elaborate on the inside as they are on the out.

I will remind all that this is an N Scale layout. This is a layout you examine with your bifocals on full power and a flashlight in your hands so you can appreciate true craftsmanship.

Five stars to John Widmar!


The Roundhouse (my apology for this terribly underexposed foto)



The passenger car shop



The car shop


For my 2 cents, John is the master of the backdrop effects. He knows how to project 3D effectively. Actually it was this portion of John's layout that first caught my attention and was the incentive for me to seek an audience with the master model railroader. In talking with John, he had this advice for creating effective 3D backgrounds. "If you can have at least three different levels, you'll likely achieve your goal of depth." That is a lesson learned worth remembering!

His rendition of the City of Pueblo is nothing short of stunning. See for yourself. Click on the picture for crisp details.



Here is another picture of the roundhouse area with a corner of the city of Pueblo in the background.



Joe Daddy hisself


Copyright joe-daddy.com 2006