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Layouts submitted to the open classcategory must be 4-by-2 feet, and atrain element is encouraged. (Photo byDJ Arlia)

This is Arlia’s !rst time designing amodern layout – he typically likes tomodel the 80s. (Photo by DJ Arlia)

Meet Walthers Open Class Contestant DJArliaBy Sammi DiVito | April 16, 2021

This railroad engineer turned YouTuber is ready to go full steam ahead

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WAUKESHA, Wis. — It’s mid-April and the second-annual Walthers National Model RailroadBuild-o" is well-underway. Across the country, modelers are hard at work on their layouts.With four di"erent categories and hundreds of contestants, the judges are sure to see noshortage of talent from this year’s submissions.

“Open class” contestant Domenic Joseph Arlia,otherwise known as DJ, is one of the manyenthusiastic modelers who have decided to puttheir skills to the test. And as a former CSXTransportation conductor-turned railroad engineer-turned model YouTuber, Arlia has years ofexperience working with trains both on and o" thelayout.

When he was !rst approached by Walthers to enterthe contest as an “in#uencer”, he was ecstatic. “Igrew up with Walthers,” said Arlia, “I’ve built prettymuch everything that Walthers has ever come outwith.”

His entry, an N-scale layout designed to look like an old chemical plant based in Pittsburg,where he lives now, is a little out of his usual comfort zone.

“I always tell people: model what inspired you as a kid,” said Arlia. But this time, he’s ignoringhis own advice and designing a layout based largely from his imagination. It’s his !rst-everattempt at modeling a modern layout, and he wants to tell the story of a business that – oncepopular in its heyday – now stays open by the sheer will of a few loyal customers.

Built to look both dilapidated, but rich with history, Arlia’s layout will feature a short stretch oftrack because, according to him, “The less track, the less stress.” He instead wants to focusmore of his energy on perfecting the scenery, which is one of his favorite parts of modeling.

Since he works odd hours as an engineer, Arlia often comes home at three in the morning andworks on his layout for the build-o". (Photo by DJ Arlia)

He entered the open class category, which was introduced by Walthers for the !rst time thisyear, because it was the only one that allowed the submission of an N-scale layout. Unlike theHO-youth, HO-adult individual, and HO-adult team categories, the open class category is openfor applicants of any age and can be completed in HO, N, or O scale, and requires no purchasefor entry.

Arlia is a longtime fan of modeling in N-scale. He !nds that the size permits so much to go intoa small area, allowing for people to build all they want in that spare bedroom or basementcorner.

“The details are phenomenal, and the price is good for even entry level people. There’s so manyupsides to N-scale.”

Arlia says that one of his favorite parts of modeling are when people mistake photographs ofhis layout for the real thing. (Photo by DJ Arlia)

Arlia’s career as a YouTuber started almost by accident back in 2010, when he was selling somehis of own scratch-built trains on eBay and a customer requested to see a product from adi"erent angle. He decided to make a short video of the train to post on YouTube, and hischannel quickly snowballed.

Now, ten years later, the YouTube channel DJsTrains has 234 videos, almost 38,000 subscribers,and a collective view count of over 5 million. He’s since branched out to Instagram, Facebook,Twitter, and Patreon, making sure to take some time each day to post content for hisworldwide audience. Arlia even has his own website, where he o"ers everything from buildingtips to branded merchandise.

Arlia makes mostly how-to videos, and evenrecently acquired a drone operator license tocapture overhead shots of railroads, but still !ndsthat his scenery and track planning videos tend tobe the most popular.

“Everybody likes to start with a sheet of plywoodand think, ‘How can I make this more realistic?’That’s when I come in.”

When Arlia isn’t working for the railroad, he’sspending countless hours each week !lming,editing, and answering emails. His light-hearted videos, !lled with helpful tips and jokes alike,are a re#ection of his personality. And his response has won over the masses, making him amentor for many.

“People are afraid to try,” said Arlia, “But you got to start, and each time you’ll get better.”

His parting tip for modelers looking to hone their skills? When taking pictures of a layout, Arliaadvises people to put their camera lens as low as they can possibly go. “You want to view yourlayouts as though you were standing right there. The pictures turn out a million times better.”

Arlia has been documenting the progress of his layout on social media since February. (Photoby DJ Arlia)

To follow along with Arlia as he documents the progression of his layout, check out hisInstagram or Youtube channel. Although he is unable to win the contest due to restrictionsplaced on Walthers “in#uencers”, his scenery-laden N-scale layout is worth taking a look at.

The last day to submit a layout for judging is May 30. Although the deadline to enter the HO-youth, HO-adult individual, and HO-adult team categories has o$cially passed, contestants canstill enter via the open class category right up until the !nal day.

More information is available from Walthers’ website.

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