Author Archives: Alex Bogaski

I’m a Soldier. But unlike many who join the Army to get away, I never really wanted to leave my hometown. Sure, I wanted to see the world, and see it I have, from South Korea to Germany, but I have never really had much desire to live permanently anywhere other than Oklahoma. I knewContinue reading “There’s No Place Like Home”

I’ve been working on adding to my fleet for the layout, and thought I’d share some of that here. First off… they’re finally here! I’ve been eagerly awaiting these Farmrail “shuttle hoppers” from Intermountain Ry. Co. for years. They finally shipped! The models are excellent, and I was able to get all 9 road numbers.Continue reading “New Additions to the Roster”

There were once a couple cotton compresses that shipped by rail on the south side of Frederick, OK. That rail traffic seems to have dried up for Farmrail in the early 2000’s, hence my chosen modeling era. I constructed Dunavant Cotton out of a couple Pikestuff kits, but I for the Chickasha Compress, I onlyContinue reading “Chickasha Compress”

I have finally finished one of the two grain elevator complexes in Frederick, OK. Cassidy Grain, a local grain and farm supply company, is a fixture in the town. Although my model isn’t a perfect replica, I pushed myself to take on more challenging kit-bashing techniques and I’m pleased with the result. It reflects theContinue reading “Cassidy Grain”

I did some operating on the layout last weekend, and it was all kinds of fun! Its amazing how much operating potential a small layout can have. Its important to slow down, and try emulating prototype practices. First the train arrived in town with “light engines” and picked up outbound cars from the Farmers Co-op.Continue reading “Switching”

I’ve finally finished equipment acquisition to model Farmrail’s former excursion train! Farmrail used to own two VIA coaches (they’ve since been sold to the Oklahoma Railway Museum) that they once used to provide excursion rides for the local community. The caboose was sometimes used on the train, and was usually powered by a GP10 onContinue reading “The Varnish”

I’ve neglected to write updates lately because I was having some technical difficulties with the WordPress site, but all seems well again! Here’s some of what has been going on on the layout: The gas station from Summit Custom Cuts is mostly finished! Although this is definitely a proto-freelance scene, I was really excited toContinue reading “And We’re Back!”

I’m not from Frederick, OK. I’m from the west side of Oklahoma City. But the rural, western part of my home state is my favorite part of the state, and holds a lot of happy memories for me. So its really nice to see the layout scenery come together and remind me of home. IContinue reading “Its Starting to Feel a Bit Like Home…”

Hi, all! Sorry for the lack of updates! I’ve been so busy working on the layout, I haven’t taken much time to document my progress. However, here’s a sneak peek at what’s happening on the South End of the Grainbelt: I’ve always wanted a wheat field scene in a layout. Nothing says Oklahoma quite likeContinue reading “For Amber Waves of Grain…”

Howdy, all! I finished filming a layout tour of and the first operating session on the “South End of the Grainbelt” and you can see it here: I’d like to thank Tom Klimoski for his recent blog post about my work, too! He was all too kind. https://www.thomasklimoski.com/post/alex-bogaski-s-farmrail-layout Tom is a great guy, and hisContinue reading “New Video is Live!”