Jim Harper's Proto 48 Southern Pacific Railroad

Jim Jim Harper has built an amazing model railroad in the unusual scale of Proto 48 in Saint George Utah. Proto 48 strives to be the most accurate scale available with wheel profiles and track gauge 100% correct for 1:48 scale. "O" scale normally has a gauge that is way too wide and a wheel to wide and flange which is much bigger than scale.
~-~~-~~~-~~-~
Please watch: "The Trains of Santa Cruz California"
• The Trains of Santa Cr...
~-~~-~~~-~~-~

[@alexpiper9475]

dad and i met jim many years ago, dad thought well of him but i was not able to contact jim .once again , thank you for real good show. C'ya

[@ToyManTelevision]

He’s going to try to contact you. Look for a comment.

[@Retro_Spectrum97]

That is such a cool model train set, i dont think i could build one of these as detailed or as skilled as Jim did here. I am getting ready to start modeling a Southern Pacific trackless train ride. I am converting a riding lawn mower into a steam locomotive. It will be Garden Scale. The Locomotive im modeling is Southern Pacific 1221, a 1913 Baldwin steam locomotive S-10 Switcher. It was the San Jose California SP depot switcher for many years. It is on static display in Deming New Mexico. There were 29 S-10 switchers made for Southern Pacific. Today, there are only 7 left in existence. I am also building the tender and coaches for the trackless green pullman car from 1913 with El Paso and Southwestern Railroad on it, a 1950s style Union Pacific coach, and a Southern Pacific Caboose, no train is truly complete without a caboose. Each coach will carry two kids, same as the caboose. I am also going to put on an actual whistle for the locomotive as well as a small bell, soundboards will be too expensive. Im getting the whistle from Mintz Whistles. They make realistic whistles for $59 dollars. So far, for materials, i have 2 oil drum barrels for the locomotive and the lawn mower itself. I'll be using lightweight metal, and I'll get from the skins of an old refrigerators and whatnot, only ones from 20 years ago i'm not willing to cut up vintage appliances like a 1950s Frigidaire Electric Stove. The locomotive will be built first, then the coaches and caboose. This will be the closest i can get to bringing a Southern Pacific steam locomotive back to life. If you get the chance to see 1221, she is an absolute beauty. She is a 138,640-pound locomotive that was fueled with oil and equipped with superheating and piston valves. Each of the S-10 class locomotives cost around $967,156.06 in today’s money.

[@coloradooscalemodelers1354]

Jim is such a master in our beloved scale!

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Colorado O Scale Modelers I love P48. O in general is great. BUt what a great layout and what models!

[@NgaiOlaudah]

this is a very nice segment! a peaceful respite from the near psychotic hurly-burly. thank you so very much. arthur. ps/ i like proto 48... this segment suits my rivet counting ways... lol. a

[@ToyManTelevision]

Love this railroad. Planning to go back soon. Other railroads in the area.

[@dougwhetstone9037]

Jim is a dear friend and fellow NMRA member and a Master Modeler who has built a first class railroad. I am honored to have been there to help him reassemble the layout when he brought it from Reno. His modeling talents are second to none I have seen. Maybe we ought to get a drone in there and do some overhead shots.

[@jimpallen]

Jim's P-48 layout is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

[@ToyManTelevision]

Love that railroad. A fun show a week for Sunday on an On3 fishing village!

[@justindampier9017]

Very nice P:48 layout! St George is pretty. Was there in October

[@ToyManTelevision]

Update in just over a week…stay tuned.

[@nlron]

Very beautiful layout. Great work, Jim!

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Ronald Halma Great modeling

[@kevinching1975]

such a fantastic railroad nice to see modellers taking then time to be completely accurate with the scale thanks for showing this to us.

[@ToyManTelevision]

What a great layout right? We are in St George all the time. Need to get back.

[@prsearls]

Beautiful layout. Much attention to details besides Proto 48. What really impressed me is the beautiful, scale track. I have several SP, 2-rail locomotives. The five-foot gauge track they run on always looks odd to me. This dissatisfaction got me interested in On3 which is a little bit more scale and doesn't require so much real estate.

[@ToyManTelevision]

It’s the wheel profile that blows my mind. Perfect

[@PeterCPRail8748]

Exceptional layout. So much more the ordinary o scale. Great stuff.

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Peter CPRail8748 I love it. May not ever get into it, but glad to be able to see it.

[@efitter7]

Absolutely Amazing! One of the best layouts I have ever seen. Thanks so much for sharing. Happy Holidays to you and yours! -Ethan

[@ToyManTelevision]

+efitter7 Never seen anything like it. WOW

[@TheShadeTreeFixitMan]

Amazing stuff for sure.

[@ToyManTelevision]

+The Shade Tree Fix-it Man Love Proto!!! WOW!!

[@adli465]

Was für eine fantastische Anlage. Absolut realistisch gestaltet und eine Genuss anzuschauen. Mich begeisterten dazu die Nachtaufnahmen! Great modelrailroading!

[@ToyManTelevision]

+adli465 Ich liebe die Nacht Schüsse. Haben Sie die Videos auf Steve's On3 Eisenbahn auf dem Kanal? Ich erhalte immer zumindest ein paar Nacht aufnahmen. Eine neue Show kommt in ein paar Wochen auf seinem neuen Dorf. Es wird in der Schmalspurbahn Zeitung und ich bin läuft eine Show in der gleichen Zeit. In ca. 8 Wochen. Aber auch für die Älteren zeigt auf dem Kanal.

[@ThePaulv12]

This layout is indescribably delicious. Now imagine the cars weighted about 3 times heavier and that computer generated prototypical analogue despatch system of the other vid and it might be the perfect for everything. I admit that part of it mightn't be his thing but in the quest for perfection it could be.

[@ToyManTelevision]

Its a great layout and works so well....... I love building... But I get the operation love affair.

[@jonnyspeed]

Such an unbelievable railroad. I wasn't aware that P:48 started in the mid 1980's. I guess I would hope that it would have caught on more 30 years later. I really don't mean to critique this layout because it is way out of my league, but I will say that the only thing that jumped out immediately to me was the lack of smoke units in the steam engines. I just don't like steam engines that don't smoke. Especially in O scale where the smoke units are big enough to do a decent job. Other than that though, this is just spectacular. Thanks for sharing.

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Jonathan Hatfield New show on Steve in a few weeks. The new village of Lower Pandora!.

[@manda60]

The lack of crew in the steam loco cabs jarred me a bit. That nitpick aside - gorgeous layout.

[@upsd402]

Very nice. Merry Christmas....

[@ToyManTelevision]

+upsd402 Merry back at you! Still shopping too......

[@smeagolplaysgames4517]

+Toy Man Television Happy 3000 subs!

[@ToyManTelevision]

+SmeagolPlaysMC THANKS!!! WOW!!!!

[@coolrides]

Very cool...I had never heard of that gauge before! VERY realistic ! :) Jack

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Jack R Fun stuff!!!!! Weird scale, but great.

[@jonheller2307]

P-48 is exactly as Jim described, in terms of development, but it started earlier, first by the likes of William Clauser, and 17/64's which is turning the O5ft into 4'8 1/2" and makes the O scale locos and cars slightly larger. This evolved in the 60's to what became P48. Thanks for sharing!

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Jon Heller Love the fanatic love of accurate scale. God is in the details.

[@ericsoesbe3004]

Jon Heller More annals ...

[@billholt174]

Toy Man Television -- I absolutely agree! I love this kind of attention to detail and precision. It requires a particular mindset -- in endeavors other than model railroading, as well -- but there's a place for every type of person. ; ] You have great videos, often with best-of-the-best subjects, too. Fine editing here, also: the segue to 'when shadows fall' was poetic with the well-chosen shift in musical tone, and the look of the night scenes is fantastic. I always liked running my very modest Santa Fe train at night. That was literally comparative kid stuff alongside this level of model railroading. ; ] I wish I could find it, but I lost 'track' of a fabulous still shot I found in one of the hobby magazines back in the mid-'80s. It was a panoramic dusk scene of an HO Super Chief running about 16 cars across the desert of New Mexico, I believe, with faintly visible sands, grasses and brush, all set against a perfectly rendered deep-orange-to-deep-violet horizon with wispy clouds. As a night shot, that wasn't so much a showcase of what would generally be considered finely executed 'detail' as it was a display of 'God in the details', noting the artistry of a perfectly captured moment -- in modeling, no less. With the masterful lighting, both in-train and ambient, and the quality of the scenery, it was hard to believe that you were looking at a model train partially silhouetted against a pastel 'sky' that was painted on a wall. ; ] I also saw a video on KZbin posted by a British train club that prompted me to leave a comment about the lighting, as it was the most realistic-looking day-running layout in terms of sensing 'natural light' that I've ever seen. For me, no layout photo I've seen since the mid-'80s has topped the majesty captured by the one of the desert-streaming Super Chief. It's merely my opinion, but with so much high-caliber model railroading out there, I think that still says something. ; ]

[@wernersievers3153]

Hallo. Sehr gutes Gesammtwerk in bild und Ton .Erstaunliche Fähigkeiten im Detail !

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Werner Sievers Liebe dieses Eisenbahn. Jim ist ein toller Kerl. Was für ein Job in einem dieser 400 Kilometer nach St. George.

[@apeadero5893]

Genial!!! Un gran saludo desde España!!

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Apeadero Nova Back at you from Utah!!!! Un gran saludo a usted!

[@apeadero5893]

Muchas gracias, igual para usted desde España!!

[@ToyManTelevision]

Apeadero Nova Muchas gracias to you. And please share with your friends.

[@apeadero5893]

Toy Man Television I'll do my friend, I hope to see you soon your next video, a big hello from Spain !!

[@CSXEMDTrainLover]

nice model train video.

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Mike Troina Great layout!!

[@CSXEMDTrainLover]

Toy Man Television it's not my layout or my video.

[@ToyManTelevision]

No, but its a great railroad. We had fun filming it. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@CSXEMDTrainLover]

Toy Man Television oh OK and your welcome.

[@cambridgeh.lutece6658]

Now how did he get a Sacramento Northern Steeplecab in Proto 48 scale? It seems nobody these days sell any model equipment of the SN besides the Car Barn (which I can't find any more steeple cabs to buy for some reason)!

[@shauncox27]

what greet layout and greet man

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Shaun Cox Amazing layout!

[@stevenbrown5693]

WOW WOW WOW!

[@ToyManTelevision]

Amazing right!!

[@redbuzzardbass]

I'm not sure I'd say O gauge is way too wide. O is 32mm between the rails, P48: 29.9mm. that's just 2.1mm difference, I'd be willing to bet that if you put an O gauge Big-Boy side by side with a Proto 48 Big-Boy almost no one would be able to spot the difference without a measuring instrument. I'll also bet there's a huge difference in the price. I will agree that the layout is amazing and beautifully detailed but I don't think the fact that it's P48 has a lot to do with that.

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Andrew Jackson I suppose if this much attention was paid to O it would look almost the same. But the wheels do look MUCH BETTER.

[@redbuzzardbass]

+Toy Man Television Check out Eric Segal's layout on Eric's Trains, I think you'll be impressed. Lionel Vision, MTH Premier and anything by Weaver are pretty fantastic. I don't generally get too concerned about the wheels unless they're way off.

[@walongloop6922]

+Andrew Jackson Hello Andrew, I think you would be (very pleasantly) surprised. I built a GP9 diesel to Proto:48 specs and I was really amazed at the dramatic improvement the scale-width trucks made in the appearance. Far more impact than I would have ever expected. Same goes for the freight car that I did.

[@ToyManTelevision]

Walong Loop Amazing what a small change does!! Perhaps the real change is in attitude. If you are going to go to the trouble to model in proto 48 then you are going to really strive to get it right.

[@44492611]

Looks awesome! But HUGE! What approximately is the smallest visible turn radius on the layout?

[@ToyManTelevision]

Gee not sure. Big though. Could be 72"?

[@pbyfr]

Superb layout. Never heard of Proto 48 (or proto 43.5 or proto 45) even if proto 87 is well know in France. But for me it is too much, I have already trouble finishing my 0e16.5 (0e14 is more proto at 1/43.5, but narrow gauge exists in many gauge). Will you speak of the amazing T scale (1/450)?

[@ToyManTelevision]

+pbyfr YES!! Amazing for sure.

[@XL883CNick]

Very cool. Didn't know you had a Chrysler Sebring convertible?

[@ToyManTelevision]

Yup. Loved it. Bought it new. Drove it till it died. Keeps overheating. Gunk in the block that said. Vapor locking. So I gave er up. Sad day 250,000 miles though.

[@XL883CNick]

@@ToyManTelevision impressive, used to work at a local Chrysler dealership in service, saw that dash/interior brought back memories. Wondering if you have done any movies about your Mustangs or Honda?

[@daviemaclean61]

A beautiful layout and fine scale detail, but, if I hadn't been told the difference in the gauge I'd be none the wiser. Each to his own though.

[@ToyManTelevision]

+davie maclean HO can be amazing. Planning a HOn3 layout for the basement. AND a 1:20.3 in Garagemahall.

[@jadenstookey7676]

that railroad there is pretty realistic you were right when you said they tried to get every detail

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Mr goat Hard to imagine more cold be done.

[@XxExoTicLiFe]

have you gone to portland, oregon yet?

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Carson Kane STILL WANT TO!!!

[@rogerhuber3133]

What a magnificent layout and modeling! Great operation of the equipment . Unfortunately, for a man that wants things prototypically accurate and correct why not install crews in the engines? There's even a turntable operator in the shack but the engines are not populated. Just goes against what his primary goals were to me.

[@ToyManTelevision]

You know I hadn’t noticed that you pointed out. Could be that he’s got some of those newfangled radio controlled locomotives and the operators standing near the track somewhere

[@XxExoTicLiFe]

hey toy man, you have a beautiful puppy I have a chiweenie half chiwauwa and half weiner dog

[@ToyManTelevision]

+Carson Kane My Bro has a chiweenie named Oscar. Oscar Mayer. TRUE STORY

[@XxExoTicLiFe]

+Toy Man Television awesome my bro. has a tyco ho scale Oscar mayer boxcar

[@XxExoTicLiFe]

+Toy Man Television and that's a cool/funny name

[@notsowickedbonez8344]

Why do the engines and rolling stock look bigger than traditional O scale?

[@ToyManTelevision]

Not So Wicked Bonez I love to get in close and that makes them look bigger than they really are

[@Buck1954]

I always hated the middle rail in O gauge. I like the realism of this track. I'm still annoyed that model cars don't seem to match, however.

[@ToyManTelevision]

The middle rail is great for running, no reversing problems, but looks bad. As a kid I loved the look of HO only because the track looked so much better.

[@alexpiper9475]

at the risk of being too personal on public venue, could somebody forward amessage jimmy harper that my dad ed passed away two years ago? thank you!

[@ToyManTelevision]

????

[@ToyManTelevision]

Done.

[@paintertrainproductions2355]

I'm confused, I thought O scale like Lionel is 1:48 scale?

[@ToyManTelevision]

Yes, it is. However most of the manufactures cheat that. Even the NMRA has fudged the standards. So Proto is 100% true 1/48. Lionel is something mostly accurate, sometimes small by almost 30%!!

[@paintertrainproductions2355]

Toy Man Television oh wow! Good to know!

[@mtashland1]

Is proto 48 the same as two rail o scale?

[@ToyManTelevision]

No. Really close. But 2 rail is always 1.25 inch gauge. Usually 1:48 scale. Sometimes 1:46 scale. But it’s not a fixed thing. And when the normal 1.25 inch gauge 1:48 scale the prototype gauge becomes 5 feet which should be 4 feet 8.5 inches. So in Proto 48 everything is accurate to 1:48! So the gauge is changed to 1.177 inches. To make it accurate. Everything is held to true 1:48 scale.

[@mtashland1]

Toy Man Television awesome thanks!!

[@agosxxx]

but the site eletrica you do turn on plastic and produzzione American and I have a war booty of war and much like our crocodile Italian though but I have to say that as we train from coal to the three-phase eletriche well and we had disel trains more beautiful in the world when we were fs doc

[@ToyManTelevision]

+paolo balegno I love steam. However, the high speed electric trains are amazing. I have modeled some of the older electric and diesel trains, but my first love is steam.