TV killed the radio, or so they say. But what if radio didn’t die, it just moved online? That is essentially the concept behind a podcast. They can be live or prerecorded. They can be audio only or they can be videos. However, all podcasts share the same basic concept; individuals making their own radio show that can be shared across the world through the internet.
One advantage podcasts have over traditional radio is that a podcast can be about almost anything. There are 4.4 million registered podcasts globally as of 2025 and is not a $3 billion dollar industry. Podcasts are growing in popularity as well since people can listen to conversations about their favorite subjects anytime they want. Podcasts offer the same benefits for model railroaders as well. Obviously, there’s not enough time in the day to listen to every minute of every podcast on a relevant subject. That’s why in this article I’d like to briefly explain three podcasts which I regularly listen to; The Around the Layout Podcast, What’s Neat with Ken Patterson, and the Second Section Podcast.
Hosted by Ray Arnott and Don Irace along with Paul Cassar acting as the producer, the “Around the Layout” podcast was created as a way to connect with people in the hobby in the post-pandemic era. Based out of New England, the Around the Layout Podcast has been going strong now for over two years putting out audio podcasts about once per week. Each episode is between a half hour and an hour in length, making these podcasts perfect for a commute to work or for easy listening while at the workbench on a Friday night. Since this podcast is audio-only, the files are easy to download and listen to later. Using the Facebook pages as a metric, the Around the Layout podcast has an audience of between 1,500 and 2,500 people.
The original model railroad podcast, Ken Patterson has been producing “What’s Neat” for over a decade. Originally, “What’s Neat” started as a monthly video produced by Ken Patterson for the digital-only Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine. As the segment gained popularity with readers, these “What’s Neat” segments became longer and more detailed. About seven years ago, “What’s Neat This Week” became a separate podcast on Ken Patterson’s Youtube channel. Ever since, new episodes have been coming out once or even twice a week alongside video segments for MRH magazine every month. All in all, Ken has put a lot of work into making what is easily the biggest model railroading podcast out there.
Viewership for podcasts are several thousand while MRH magazine’s segments get 10-15k viewers each month. Size isn’t everything, but it is indicative of the podcast’s quality. Ken makes an effort to get multiple guests on per month and has a rotation of different segments and even videos in the field from large events in the Midwest. Since the podcasts are all video-oriented, they are more difficult to listen to while driving or on the go, but they can be downloaded for things like airplane flights, riding shotgun in a car to the next train show, or while sitting at the workbench at home. What I especially like about “What’s Neat” is the emphasis on how-to subjects and other information which is difficult to communicate via articles.
Hopping on the bandwagon about three years ago, two Wisconsinite model railroaders, Andy Dorsh and Mike Ostertag decided to launch a long-format livestream podcast that has proven to be a very successful formula for model railroaders. In its current format, each episode is approximately two hours long and goes live every other Thursday. Episdoes feature either one big-name guest like Lance Mindheim or several model railroaders. I myself have appeared in one episode and a “brew with the crew” special this past winter.
If you are looking for a podcast to sit and listen or watch for a long, uninterrupted period of time, The Second Section is precisely what you are looking for. Between the helpful advice and the intriguing discussions, there is also a kind of camaraderie that is rarely seen in online communities. The “section crew” currently boasts over 1,600 members on Facebook. Each livestream regularly gets about 160 people tuning in and then after the fact it is not uncommon for episodes to surpass 3,000 views on the Youtube channel alone.
So, which one is the best?
At the risk of delivering a cop-out answer, the honest truth is that it depends. If you like watching videos, then “What’s Neat” and “The Second Section” are going to be the obvious choices. If you don’t have a spare two hours to sit down and listen to model railroaders talk about their hobby then the “Second Section” isn’t going to be for you. If you are looking for clear how-to presentations, then Ken Patterson has you covered with both his podcast and the MRH monthly videos he produces. My recommendation is to give each one a try and then pick one to focus on. For me, that is the Second Section because Andy and Mike are delivering content at such a rate that I can barely keep up. The online community is very supportive as well and fun to be involved with.
Whichever one you go with, one thing I do want to mention before closing this essay out is that each of these podcasts rely on community support in order to stay in operation. If you are a regular listener, have a few spare dollars, and know where to send the money then please give them a tip. Podcasts are just one piece in a much larger hobby, but that piece is key to moving away from traditional media formats and building an online community for all model railroaders.
