Essay - Story Boards and Easels Tell Your Story

Copyright 2020 Nicholas Kalis

Essay

Each model railroad tells or should tell a story (era, purpose, geographic location, etc.) if it is to engage visitors. Yet, your layout by itself may not be able to tell the full story of the railroad and environs you model. Rather than try to squeeze too much into your physical layout, alternatives exist. Squeezing too much into a layout is natural impulse that should be kept in check lest one end up with a layout that just does not look right. As Lance Mindheim, and others have written, many if not most layouts require some negative space to be effective. Put more simply, effective layouts need some open space where not much is going on so to speak. One alternative to over-stuffing your layout is to create a web site or a blog that tells the story your layout could not do justice to; I will lead that to another essay.

Here is another way to let your layout tell its story. I used two easels and sheets of black foam core to explain how my model railroad's prototype operated. Trim your illustrations using a paper trimmer (also called a "guillotine paper cutter") and then spray the back with adhesive spray. My efforts were a bit slapdash but my readers will surely be more careful in arranging their photos.

Without fail, guests enjoy my easel displays - they like pointing out images that were also included on the physical layout and that they noted. But where the layout could not tell the complete story, visitors enjoy seeing photos or maps that round out the story.

Easels such as these can be purchased at carts stores such as Michael's or online (what cannot?). Just set them up somewhere where guests will not inadvertently knock them over. It is up to you to decide just how many easels you will need to tell your layout's story. One can start small - say, one easel and then see whether additional easels are required. Given that layout builders are often pressed for space, that should work to limit the number of easels. Though easels can be located where a layout's footprint just would not work (in front of a closet? appliance?)

Thanks go to Doug Gurin for inspiring me on this project.

Revised November 28 2021