The 2025 Colorado RPM will have three clinic rooms! Please let us know what you would like to hear or what you would be willing to present!
Send your requests or clinic ideas to George Bogatiuk at georgeb@soundtraxx.com
| Room | Day, Time | Presenter | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Room A | Saturday, 09/27 | |||
| Room A | 09/27, 09:30 | Chris Palmieri and Doug Watts | An Introduction to Freelance and the Meridian Speedway Journey | This presentation dives into the history of the freelance niche in the model railroad hobby beginning with the Godfather of Freelance, Frank Ellison. The topic continues with discussion of the niche’s evolution through the contemporary freelance scene. The clinic will then expound on freelance principles and relate them to the development of the Meridian Speedway. |
| Room A | 09/27, 11:00 | Jack Brown | The Cardinal System | The Cardinal System is a loose association of model railroads owned by Dean Freytag, MMR (South Ridge Lines); John Roberts, MMR (Blue Ridge and Southern); Hal Kattau (Iron Belt Railroad and Calumet & Lake Erie); and Jack Brown (New Hope and Jackson). The system name came about because all four lived in states that had the cardinal as the state bird, even though their individual railroads might have been located in other states. In their minds, the Cardinal System had just come into being and, like in the first days of Conrail, very little was lettered specifically for the system. |
| Room A | 09/27, 12:30 | Matt Gentry | The Yankeetown Dock Corp 2003-2023 – The Why and the What If | This presentation will share the story about the importance of the Yankeetown Dock Corporation to Matt as a model railroader and where this freelance concept came from. Mr. Gentry will tell the story of his modern interpretation of how this little railroad could still exist in today’s railroading world. Taking advantage of the principles of proto-freelance, this 26-mile railroad remains relevant in a landscape of Class I shippers! This clinic will include product announcements! |
| Room A | 09/27, 14:00 | Greg McComas | Growing Pains – How the Michigan Interstate’s Success Led to a Larger Family | Freelance model railroad Michigan Interstate’s owner talks about the corporate umbrella he created with his MAC Transportation system. What started with just the Michigan Interstate has grown into a network of family railroads with fellow modelers taking the helm at each of the respective properties. Greg McComas is also the owner of MACRail LLC which makes many great 3D-printed products for the model railroad community. This clinic will have a product announcement! |
| Room A | 09/27, 15:30 | Daniel Archer | Developing and Visualizing the Prototype World Through Freelance with the West Falls Northern | The creator of the West Falls Northern freelance model railroad describes the processes he used to create the WFN story. Daniel will explain how staying grounded in a freelance world better mimics a prototype railroad experience. This comprehensive clinic can serve as a blueprint for developing your own freelance model railroad. |
| Room B | Saturday. 09/27 | |||
| Room B | 09/27, 09:30 | Robert (Bob) Pilk | A Tale of Two Tail Cars | As a sequel to last years “Business Cars on a Budget” clinic, this presentation covers two current works-in-progress to create railcars in plastic, which otherwise have not been commercially available in plastic or brass. The “Utah” was private lounge/diner car often seen at the end of the Rio Grande (Denver Post) Ski Train in the 1990’s and 2000’s. The “Chicago” was a modernized heavyweight business car used during the last years of the Chicago and North Western Railroad. The work includes techniques to plan and fabricate these two railcars from commercial, kit-bashed and scratch-built parts. |
| Room B | 09/27, 11:00 | Doug Geiger | “Advanced Tools and Tips” | Tools and supplies can easily be the most important part of enhancing your modeling skills. Join us as we explore various modeling tools and supplies, ranging from advanced (for example, calipers and material organization), moving to exotic (punch and die sets and scribers to name just a few), and concluding with some power tools (slow speed drills and mini sawz-alls for instance) and recommendations of primers and paints. Many of these tools and supplies are not often seen in the model railroading world, but are used extensively in the IPMS world (International Plastic Modeling Society – those folks who build airplanes, armor, cars and ships). Modeling tips using these tools will also be discussed during the seminar. Some of the tools will be passed around for you to handle. Some of the more exotic supplies will also be discussed. |
| Room B | 09/27, 12:30 | Javier Cervantes | Prototype modeling in Brass and Plastic | This presentation is a summary of my approach to protype modeling for passenger and freight equipment during the transition era. – Modeling your own interests – Brass Painting – Adding Character to finished Brass Models – Improving Plastic Kits – Research and Reference Ideas – DCC Installation Overview – Q&A |
| Room B | 09/27, 14:00 | Neal Carnaby | Etched metal tips and techniques for beginners. | Scared by metal? Does the detail intimidate you? This clinic will provide an explanation of why these are easier than you think along with some ideas of tools that will make the job simpler. |
| Room B | 09/27, 15:30 | Bill Kepner | The OC&E Comes Alive! | How Dave Trussell transformed the OC&E from a logging railroad into the proto-freelance layout it is today. |
| Room C | Saturday, 09/27 | |||
| Room C | 09/27, 09:30 | Gerry Glancy | Maritime Railroading, History and Modeling Opportunities | This clinic would cover the wide variety of ways that the railroads, in times past, interfaced with oceans, lakes, and rivers. The clinic will then segue into modeling techniques. Current modeling resources will be utilized to show how I have constructed an extensive HO scale maritime operation on my own layout. Modeled on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, kit bashing and scratch building was used to depict piers, transit sheds with bulkhead buildings, car floats (ATSF) and car ferries (WP’s Las Plumas). Ships and lighters are also described. There is even part of the story of interest to Narrow Gaugers! |
| Room C | 09/27, 11:00 | Bill Schneider | How We Make Little Choo Choos at Rapido | Bill Schneider, senior product designer at Rapido Trains, walks us through the process of researching, designing and manufacturing models for today’s market, with some unique Rapido twists! Includes discussion of choosing what to make, the design process, and working with the Chinese factories. |
| Room C | 09/27, 12:30 | Nick Santo | What is a Decoder Buddy | Nick will introduce you to the Nix Trains Decoder Buddy. What is it used for and how is it installed in your models! |
| Room C | 09/27, 14:00 | George Bogatiuk | Fun with Blunami | George will tell you all the cool things to learn about Blunami that makes you want to go buy it! |
| Room C | 09/27, 15:30 | Scottie Hicks | Benchwork and Layout Design | Scott will be discussing how layout design and the bench work methods go hand in hand. He’ll cover layout planning methods, the tools needed to build the bench work, different types of benchwork techniques for L-Girder, flat table, raised roadbed elevation, incorporating a helix and how to mount the layout in the space. He will briefly touch on the uses of back drops, lighting and animated effects to help bring a layout to life and make it more realistic sharing the knowledge gained from using various Kalmbach books and other sources. |
| Room A | Sunday, 09/28 | |||
| Room A | 09/28, 09:30 | Chris Palomarez | The Case for Proto-Freelance – A Manufacturer’s Assessment of Freelance Model Railroading | This clinic by Chris Palomarez of InterMountain Model Railroad Company offers a unique perspective on the value of the Freelance niche from the perspective of a model manufacturer. Chris will share some industry insight, vision insight, and maybe even make a product announcement…or two! |
| Room A | 09/28, 11:00 | Jeremy Sur | Creation of the Arvada Western: The prototype inspiration, history, and idea | Step into an alternate Colorado where the echoes of the past still clatter along steel rails, where abandoned narrow-gauge lines never faded into silence, but were reborn, reshaped, and reimagined. The Arvada Western Railroad is a proto-freelanced model line that breathes life into that history, a richly woven “what-if” tapestry set in HO scale, where realism meets creative reinvention. In this clinic, you’ll be taken behind the curtain: from the spark of inspiration, colorful legends of the Colorado & Southern and the vanished Golden Subdivision, to the concrete realities of implementation: locomotive roster, branding, and growth. We’ll chart how the railroad was born during changing economic tides, how terrain and local industries shaped its routes, how inventing a believable back-story guided every decision. You’ll see how identity was forged, the paint schemes, the logo, the names, and how those elements bind a fictional railroad to its real-world inspirations so that it feels rooted, authentic. Finally, this clinic is not just about telling a story, it’s about helping you. You’ll walk away with tools, insights, and bold ideas to craft your own proto-freelanced railroad. Ideas about how to build history from scratch, how to choose which lines might have survived, what companies would have persisted, how geography, economics, and culture shape railroads, even in fiction. |
| Room A | 09/28, 12:30 | John Parker | Freelancing on a Prototype-Based Layout | John Parker will discuss freelance aspects of the awe-inspiring BNSF Fall River Division. How, when, where and why freelance options were chosen and applied. John will also review a recently completed freelance industry on the layout that was designed, constructed, and operates based on prototype inspiration. We might even be treated to a relevant product announcement. |
| Room A | 09/28, 14:00 | Jimmy Brannon | The Denver Terminal Railway: Using simple resources to represent big time railroading | What if you could build a proto-freelanced model railroad that looks and feels real, then share it so people think it is real? The Denver Terminal Railway (The DT) is a proto-freelanced HO-scale short-line/regional inspired by railroads in Colorado. In this clinic, we’ll tear back the curtain on everything from how to make a small layout look large and believable, to how to craft images so convincing they could pass for real railroad photos. Whether you have a basic module setup, or are starting fresh, you’ll learn how tools like photo editing software and careful photographic techniques can dramatically elevate your photos. We’ll also explore the nuts and bolts of The DT itself, its layout planning, its operations philosophy, its BNSF inspired elements, and how those guide the design decisions. Topics covered will include: – How to use modest space (modules or small layout sections) to build depth, detail, and realism – Photo composition, lighting, angles, and post-processing tricks so your model shots look almost prototype-authentic – Using graphic tools (like Photoshop or GIMP) for finishing touches – The story of The Denver Terminal Railway: operational goals, layout footprint, track plans, and how real railroad practices inform its scheme You’ll walk out of this clinic not just with ideas, but with practical strategies to make your model railroad, and how you share it, look far bigger, far more professional, far more real than its physical size suggests. |
| Room B | Sunday. 09/28 | |||
| Room B | 09/28, 09:30 | Doug Junda | Update on the Como Project | With your help, we are on our way to restoring the entire Como Railroad Complex including the roundhouse, depot, hotel and Water tower built in the 19th century by the Denver Sounth Park and Pacific. This is in addition to the historic locomotive and rolling stock we’ve acquired as well. The South Park Rail Society has big plans for the complex at Como! |
| Room B | 09/28, 11:00 | Glenn Gibson | “Capturing the Character of Trinidad CO – 1953” | “Glenn will discuss how he has attempted to embrace the character of Trinidad in a small corner of his HO scale AT&SF Trinidad & Raton Pass layout, which is set in 1953. The area of concentration is Commercial Street near the Purgatory River and the Santa Fe tracks and station. The chosen area has an eclectic mixture of commercial buildings, hotels, bars, cafes, warehouses, and repair shops. He has mainly utilized commercially available materials and structures, modifying and kitbashing them as needed to get the look desired and to fit into the available space. A mirror was used to expand the space, and he will “reflect” on the pros and cons of using that method. His review will include modeling the river and the Commercial Street bridge.” |
| Room B | 09/28, 12:30 | Rich Gibson | Creating your own photo backdrops | No single thing has a greater impact on creating scenic depth and establishing the setting of a model railroad than a well-done backdrop. Photo-backdrops used to require specialized skills and were expensive to produce. However, technological developments have brought their creation and printing within the realm of anyone with average photographic and computer skills and a reasonable budget. Although nice, generic commercial photo-backdrops can be purchased, creating your own allows you to accurately blend with the foreground scenery of your layout and create a totally unique layout environment. In this clinic, I will show the processes I’ve used for generating approximately 300’ of backdrop on my Maine Central Portland Division layout. I will discuss recommendations for photography; backdrop planning, assembly, and editing; printing; and installation. Although I will be using specific software tools to illustrate the work, there are numerous options beyond those I’ve chosen. As a result, this will not be a software tutorial. Finally, I will do a “live” (recorded) demonstration of the overall process using a local (Colorado) example. |
| Room B | 09/28, 14:00 | John Crawford | Working on the DRGW | John will talk about the DRGW and what he got to do as a (former) conductor on the Standard and Narrow Gauge Rio Grande |
| Room C | Sunday. 09/28 | |||
| Room C | 09/28, 09:30 | Bill Schneider | The Old Woman in the New Basement | Bill Schneider discusses researching and building his personal 18’x30’ double deck prototype-based layout based on the New York, Ontario & Western in upstate New York state circa 1947. The discussion will include where he finds prototype information and how he tries to capture the essence of a scene. He will also discuss designing and making your own laser-cut structures with a hobby-level laser cutter, making your own photo backdrops and more. |
| Room C | 09/28, 11:00 | Ken Zeiska | Creating the Story of Operations in the First and Last Mile | This presentation shares my journey into operations to show how I created an operations scheme as a play with 5 acts. Each act is played out on a unique stage with a script that allows the operators to be a part of the story. I will share how my preparation culminated into operations set in the mid to late 1960s during harvest season, the railroad is bustling with traffic, but the weather is beautiful, trains are running smoothly, and there’s a sense of calm in the air. |
| Room C | 09/28, 12:30 | Bill Kepner | “Narrow Gauge Caboose Rivet Counting” | Over the last 30 years, there have been a number of high profile narrow gauge caboose restorations. This clinic will describe some of the projects that have been completed, what it took to be successful, and how they came out. For the modeller, we’ll show how these cars were constructed, considerations of what it takes to restore and maintain them, and things that need to be considered during operation. While the primary focus will be D&RGW cabooses currently on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RR, we’ll also show some other projects. |
| Room C | 09/28, 14:00 | Michelle Kempema | Narrow Gauge Gathering | Discussion group on what the NNG would like to do in the future at the CO RPM – there will be snacks. |
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