tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-335908432024-03-05T18:30:02.507-05:00The Fos BlogWelcome to the Fos Blog. You'll occasionally find info and updates about our latest kit and DVD releases, but mainly you'll read about progress or lack of progress on my New Haven themed layout. It's a freelanced version loosely depicting areas of Connecticut and some Brooklyn waterfront.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33590843.post-16722870619428592702011-09-19T20:09:00.003-04:002011-09-19T20:22:05.000-04:00New DVD Coming Soon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiW1oEA-jN5SEJgnhmQxjqB4Q8r3iOhOvLdktk2N4M6oUlYKM6IhCAg407BQJt-7ERWYvM3Qq7WMU3L6-agoLGCqGu8GqDhUcoGscN_5Kjnd89VOuBWwBmjD3nKfL5aH68sKXx/s1600/SECKLER_COVER.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiW1oEA-jN5SEJgnhmQxjqB4Q8r3iOhOvLdktk2N4M6oUlYKM6IhCAg407BQJt-7ERWYvM3Qq7WMU3L6-agoLGCqGu8GqDhUcoGscN_5Kjnd89VOuBWwBmjD3nKfL5aH68sKXx/s400/SECKLER_COVER.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654227383186805666" border="0" /></a>Our newest and 10th DVD will be available around October 1st. This latest DVD, Robert Seckler's Dutchess & Hudson Valley Railroads, features the layout of an accomplished modeler and a good friend. Rob's approach to modeling is fairly straight forward - just have fun. Ultimately, that's the goal of any hobby - we're dedicating our time and effort for sheer enjoyment. Sure there are plenty of other motivating factors for spending hours and dollars building models but it's all rather useless if what you are doing doesn't bring you happiness.<br /><br />Rob builds much of the layout with a group of his friends. Along the way his family has gotten involved as well. In the end it's been something friends and family can be a part of, share ideas, measure progress, sharpen skills and laugh their way through it.<br /><br />Hopefully all of us can extract that kind of satisfaction from our modeling. If you feel you're falling short in that department, this DVD might inspire you get to your workbench and have a good time building and creating.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<br />
<br />The dilemma as always is what to model as my interests vary from Brooklyn waterfront circa 1955 to modern day BNSF across Iowa to the NYC Subway. In fact my ideal layout is one that would be less than half a foot deep and only feature a cutaway view of the subway tunnels, perhaps with the occasional street level entrances to stations. Additionally a section of elevated subway would be on the list as well.
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<br />Of all the choices the NYC subway is at the top of my list for numerous reasons. One of which is that it's seldom modeled. Even with all the new subway cars available from Life Like; I've yet to see a subway layout grace the pages of the RMC or MR. Second to that, is that for me, the subway represents a home away from home; I've spent most of my life using the subway for one reason or another - from one of my first childhood memories at the age of three, on a street that was completely dug up as they built the subway in the open, to be covered when completed by the street to my high school years on Second Avenue & 57th and then later in life at various city jobs.
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<br /> Of late, living in Connecticut for the last 6 years, my trips to NY are sporadic, about every three weeks, so I'm not using the subway as much - but it's even more apparent when I'm back on the Downtown 6 or the cross town shuttle, I feel right at home. It's like a good friend who even if you don't see in a while, you pick up right where you left off.
<br />
<br />And I like modeling things that have meaning to me. The modeling becomes an extension of my life; a three dimensional, sentimental photo album. So, the more substantive the meaning, the more likely I'll be motivated to work on it.
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<br />But as usual my modeling habits can turn on a dime, subject to change. In the meantime, I'll be considering how I might make HO scale turnstiles and token booths.
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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I've been watching the construction progress from the beginning, since the early weeks of 9/11 when it was still a smoking pile of debris. It's been both a subject of interest for many reasons, some personal, knowing two people who perished in the attacks; one a college acquaintance, the other a childhood friend who became a fireman . Others are my interest in architecture and personal memories of my countless visits to the WTC as a child and beyond, including a first date with Anna Maria to the observation deck.<div><br /></div><div>This weekend I came across a gallery that displayed the master plan model for the site, including the proposed new transportation hub for the PATH and subway trains. I'd been following the design progress of the station by Santiago Calatrava since it was announced back in 2004. At the time the design seemed like a breath of fresh air; the design was unlike anything built in NY before - yet at the same time the design appeared more appropriate for an airport than for trains. The roof appeared like skeletal wings; intentionally bird like. </div><div><br /></div><div>The two wings could be separated, providing fresh air to the train station below; that I liked. Of late, the design has been diluted, modified and pared down. At one point it soared passed it's budget of $2 billion to $3.2 billion. What once looked like a bird ready to take flight , literally looks like a bird carcass picked clean. Impatience and the unfortunate practicality of commercial development have morphed what could have been potentially a dynamic and quite literally a refreshing civic space, into a disappointing boondoggle. The roof will no longer open or close. The two main entrances are merely insignificant slits, muting any sense of arrival or departure. Due to the current location within the site, commuters will have to walk almost two blocks of underground corridors to get in and out and instead of filtering through the main hall as you would at Grand Central Terminal, you'll be forced to walk the upper levels, passing the retail shops. </div><div><br /></div><div>That last bit seems like some slight of hand by the developer, misconstruing a train station for a shopping mall. I understand it pays the rent and at Grand Central, the retail avenues helped pave the way for its restoration 15 years ago. But I'm sure there are ways to balance both the need for grand space and retail space , without being pushed into a cash register.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this point though I'm glad any progress is being made. It'll be a decade , 16 months from now, since that dark day. It was thrilling to see over twenty stories already built for the new 1 World Trade Center Tower. At the moment it looks like a steel fortress - not unlike the Borg cube ship from Star Trek. Eventually it will be sheathed in reflective glass and will be a sight to see. The footprints of the former Twin Towers are now defined, being turned into memorial space, with simple yet effective reflecting pools.</div><div><br /></div><div>I just wish that $2 billion dollars was being well spent. I'd rather see the temporary station stay as is and take that money and rebuild Penn Station, a space that took into account that people actually use it, enter and exit and arrive or depart, kind of like a train station.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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