Canadian Jason Shron eats, sleeps, and dreams trains. He also builds replicas of full-size ones and puts them in his basement.
And it doesn’t end there. With the pandemic keeping him home over the last year, Shron turned his attention to another project that he says has been on his mind since he was a kid: Creating a model of the Kingston Subdivision railroad that runs from Toronto to Montreal.
Now, as that particular line is around 300 miles long, it seems unlikely that Shron will re-create the entire length of the route, though we wouldn’t put it past him.
He has, however, already built a portion of the line, re-creating a miniature version of Ontario’s Brockville Station. But here’s the best bit. The self-confessed train obsessive had an idea to attach GoPro’s smallest camera, the discontinued Session, to one of his model cars and then use it to capture footage as it trundled along his model train track toward his own version of Brockville Station. He then superimposed the footage over the window of the replica train car in his basement to make it look like real life passing by.
To make it feel even more authentic, Shron added sound effects to the final video (top), too. The result, we’re sure you’ll agree, is very impressive.
“I just love watching my model railroad from on board one of my model trains,” Shron enthuses at the end of the video, adding, “This shows what you can accomplish with the hobby of model railroads.”
Many of the those who dropped messages in the video’s comments section were also bowled over by Shron’s efforts.
“This is seriously impressive,” one wrote. “For me it’s the soundscape that makes it come to life. We all get involved in the look of layouts, but hearing the bottles shaking in the racks, the windows creak as the coach frame distorts, and the low level chatter is amazing.”
Another wrote: “Absolutely outstanding accomplishment in modeling and in video work. Jason, you are truly a man with many talents!”
If Shron’s project has given you an idea for one of your own and you need a tiny camera to do it, this new device from Insta360 might be just the ticket.
