Jack Burgess on Prototyping Yosemite Valley Railway

For some modelers, the joy of the hobby lies in creating something in your mind that’s never existed on another railroad. For others, ultimate satisfaction comes from duplicating a once grandiose railroad in small scale. The buildings, the trackage, the landscape and scenery — all of it captured perfectly. Such was the goal of master modeler Jack Burgess when he set out to build a scale model of California’s Yosemite Valley Railway.

In this insightful conversation, Allen Keller sits with Jack to find out what made this expert prototyper keep coming back to the workshop after nearly two decades of labor. Jack talks about his passion for freezing in time the sights and sounds of a real operational railroad, and explains why he chose to model the YV as it appeared in August, 1939. You’ll also discover why Jack prefers to avoid freelancing a layout, and learn what he enjoys most about working with a prototype. This is one expert layout you don’t want to miss!