This model train hobbyist starts out his video with a great opening shot of his O Gauge layout, a 5 foot by 12 foot design, of three levels of track, three separate tracks, actually, that spiral around a mountain. This part of the layout is a very impressive 3-tier layout with the trains running simultaneously around the base, center, and peak of the mountain. The bottom two tracks emerge dramatically from tunnels on their own tiers while the model train at the peak takes a hair pin curve! What an opening!
An electric bass guitar thumps out a funky rhythm in the background as we get to watch this really nice O gauge model railroad zip and meander along the rails.
As the three trains linger out of the frame to the left, the video gives a few seconds of a shot at the buildings and landscape, giving the viewer a chance to admire the craftsmanship of this layout.
Then, surprise! Here comes a coal powered engine zooming along the bottom tier track, muscleing its cars though the tunnel on outer track of the lower tier!
The second scene of this Lionel / MTH O Gauge layout opens with a cross-fade into the center of the layout and again we are treated with a great shot of the three tiers of this model train design, and a central business district, the down town of this miniature world! The trains move in parallel and you can just feel the joy of the model railroader who created this!
But what's that, in the distance a fourth, here-to-fore unseen track hosts another model train and we can see not three but four trains running in concert!
Another cross fade, and pan to the right, and we see the right end of the layout, another mountain hosting the 4 tracks, and another ballet of model trains twisting around the bend and heading back to the valley below.
The next shot frames a close-up of a house, landscaped by excellently built pine trees, stretching up to the sky. The view of the house is eclipsed as one of the trains rolls by, showing us the coal car, grain cars, and a few flatbeds.
The next scene features the same train above emerging from a tunnel and the camera pans along with it as it zooms past some more buildings then off into the distance.
Two scenes later, we get a close-up of his tunnel construction and we can really see the great job the model railroader did on making an authentic cement faced, concrete block-supported tunnel, as well as the three-rail tracks and some nicely manicured grass between the two parallel three-rail tracks.
The video continues over several more scenes, each one getting more visually complex than the next, and providing various views.
The videography is really quite nice, and we an see the model railroad layout from several perspectives! A couple of areas that could use a bit of critique is one scene in particular in which the trains are being shot from inside the tracks, toward the outside of the room. We get a nice long view of the washer and dryer in this utility room where the model layout is housed. The shot is tight enough that some sort of backdrop could have been used to hide the distracting background.
One of my favorite scenes involves an eye-level shot of the train coming straight at the viewer, then turning sharply on a curve. It is visually exciting and we are given a great view of the rolling stock as each car rolls by at very close proximity!
We even get a great credit roll at the end!
In my opinion, this video is a great example of model trains o scale.
