Chesapeake Division Content Submission Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in contributing content to the Chesapeake Division website and The Relay newsletter. Member contributions help showcase the creativity, knowledge, and activities of our division. Whether you are sharing a layout tour, modeling project, operating session report, prototype railroad article, event recap, or photographs, we encourage you to submit your work.

What Can I Submit?

We welcome a variety of model railroad-related content, including:

  • Layout tours and layout updates
  • Structure, scenery, locomotive, and rolling stock projects
  • Operations articles and operating session reports
  • Prototype railroad history and railfanning stories
  • Event reports and convention experiences
  • Achievement Program experiences and tips
  • Product reviews
  • Modeling techniques and how-to articles
  • Historical articles related to railroads or model railroading
  • High-quality railroad and model railroad photographs
Article Length

There is no strict length requirement, but the following guidelines are helpful:

  • Short articles: 300–600 words
  • Standard feature articles: 600–1,500 words
  • In-depth features: 1,500+ words

Don’t worry if writing isn’t your strength. The editorial team can assist with editing, formatting, and proofreading.

Photos

Good photographs greatly enhance an article and help tell the story.

When submitting photos:

  • Send the original image files whenever possible.
  • Use high-resolution images.
  • Avoid screenshots or images copied from social media.
  • Include captions when appropriate.
  • Identify people, locations, layouts, or models shown in the photographs.
  • Provide the photographer’s name if photo credit is desired.
How Many Photos Should I Include?

As a general guideline, authors should aim to provide approximately one photograph for every 150–250 words of text. For example, a 750-word article might include 3–5 photographs, while a 1,500-word feature article could include 6–10 photographs.

Quality is more important than quantity. A few well-composed, high-resolution photographs that support the story are often more effective than a large number of similar images. When selecting photographs, choose images that help illustrate the subject matter, showcase important details, or enhance the reader’s understanding of the article.

Important

Do not embed photographs inside your document.

Instead, submit photographs as separate image files. Embedding images in Word or Google documents often reduces image quality and makes publication more difficult.

If a photograph belongs with a specific portion of the article, indicate its placement by inserting the filename in brackets directly into the text.

Example:

The station area recently received new scenery and lighting improvements. [image_0321.jpg]

If a photograph requires a caption, include the caption immediately following the image reference.

Example:

The station area recently received new scenery and lighting improvements. [image_0321.jpg]

Caption: The completed station scene features scratchbuilt lighting and detailed landscaping.

When referring to photographs within the article, use natural language such as:

  • “As shown in the station scene below…”
  • “The locomotive is pictured in Figure 1…”
  • “The freight house shown in the accompanying photograph…”
  • “The scene shown in the photo below demonstrates…”

Providing image references and captions within the article helps ensure photographs are placed correctly during publication.

Preferred Submission Method

The preferred method for submitting articles and photographs is through a shared Google Drive folder.

  1. Create a folder in Google Drive.
  2. Place your article document in the folder.
  3. Place all photographs in the same folder as separate image files.
  4. Include any supporting documents, captions, or reference materials in the folder.
  5. Share the folder with the Chesapeake Division publication team.
  6. Send the sharing link along with any notes about the article.

Using a shared folder helps preserve image quality, keeps files organized, and simplifies the publication process.

File Formats
Articles

Preferred formats:

  • Google Docs
  • Microsoft Word (.docx)
  • Plain text (.txt)
Photos

Preferred formats:

  • JPG/JPEG
  • PNG
Example Submission
Google Drive Folder Contents
  • My_Layout_Tour.docx
  • image_0321.jpg
  • image_0322.jpg
  • image_0323.jpg
Article Excerpt

The freight house was weathered using chalk powders and acrylic washes. [image_0322.jpg]

Caption: The completed freight house awaiting its first freight shipment.

The adjacent team track serves several local industries and provides additional switching opportunities during operating sessions. [image_0323.jpg]

Caption: Local freight cars spotted at the team track during an operating session.

Editing and Publication

All submissions may be edited for grammar, spelling, formatting, clarity, and length. Editors may also adjust image placement, captions, and article formatting to fit the needs of the website or newsletter.

Submission does not guarantee publication, but every effort will be made to publish member-contributed content whenever possible.

NMRA Achievement Program

Publishing articles may qualify toward the NMRA Achievement Program’s Author certificate when the article meets the requirements established by the NMRA. Members pursuing the Achievement Program are encouraged to discuss publication opportunities with the editorial team.

Questions or Submissions

Questions about submissions, article ideas, or potential content may be directed to:

We welcome inquiries before you begin writing and are happy to help develop article ideas or determine whether a topic would be a good fit for publication.

Remember: You do not need to be a professional writer or photographer to contribute. If you have a story, project, operating session report, railfanning experience, or modeling technique that may interest fellow model railroaders, we would love to share it with the membership.