Author Archives: Alex Bogaski

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!”

I finished all of the track and wiring on the new “South End of the Grainbelt” layout. I now have a mechanically functioning layout to operate, and its the largest layout I’ve build to-date. Tony Koester recently wrote a column in which he praised the clean, presentable look of James McNab’s Iowa Interstate Hills LineContinue reading “Channeling David Barrow”

I realized that I’ve been sharing photos without having posted the track plan for the “South End of the Grainbelt” model railroad! I have some more to share on recent progress, but first, I give you the track plan. Please forgive my hand drawn sketch. The layout measures 11′ x 10′ 6″ and is 44″Continue reading “Track Plan”

I thought I’d share some recent construction progress on my model of Frederick, OK on the Farmrail/Grainbelt System. I’ve titled the layout “South End of the Grainbelt” which is shamelessly taken from the title of the “Railroad You Can Model” article in 1992 Model Railroader. I’m not the best a laying flex track, but IContinue reading “Under Construction!”

I recently purchased this slide on eBay recently. It depicts Farmrail (GNBC) 331 “Caddo”, a former Milwaukee GP9 tied down on a spur. I’m not exactly sure of the location or date, but I think its likely Elk City, OK in the mid 90’s. I like this photo because there’s more to it than aContinue reading “A Locomotive at Rest”

The more I examined Frederick, the more it seemed like the perfect prototype. Two elevators, carload traffic of fertilizer, two cotton related industries, and interchange with another short line. All at a “stub terminal” and in a relatively small area. Of course, I wasn’t the first to arrive at that conclusion. There was a greatContinue reading “Frederick, OK – Planning the Layout”

I thought I’d start of blogging about the new model railroad and its design by discussing how I got to this prototype. Of course, if you click on the link on the top of this site, you can see all my previous layouts and my modeling journey of what I have constructed. But how didContinue reading “How Did We Get Here?”

I’ve had the time to do some work on the new railroad lately. Here’s a quick preview of my new layout, this time depicting the southern end of the Grainbelt in Frederick, OK, circa 1995-2005. The layout was constructed in three “modules” resting on top of Ikea IVAR shelving. Frederick, OK is in southwest OklahomaContinue reading “Adding a New Layout to the Fold!”