The clashings of color

[FJ and G]

Color is an especially important part of toy trains. Most of us like our toy trains to be colorful as in warbonnet or UP armor color with nifty billboard reefers sporting plethoras of color.

MTH and Lionel know this weakness that we have and they sometimes even add colors that the prototype never had (boy are the prototype people dumb for not adding more color!).

Color can turn off or turn on.

When I got to work this morning, I was floored to see that the 3rd corridor of the 3rd floor of the Pentagon, was repainted overnight from yellow to pink. Man, I thought I was in the wrong place!

Some colors I cannot get used to. Forest green fascia, while beautiful to some, to me looks strange, preferring instead the tanish beige colors. Same with green curtains that block the clutter under the layout.

These colors are not wrong; just not my preference.

Same goes w/real RRs. Never did get used to Penn Central black and dislike BNSF's color scheme that will soon come out with a funny arrow. But naturally, there are some who love those colors.

My own color choice for sky backdrop is controversial and goes way against the dictum (read that law) that backdrop should not distract from trains.

Many (most?) will hate it, but that's my preference.

To each his or her own.

Sky and mountains that call too much attention to themselves violate Model Railroading 101's cardinal rule, as layed down by the NMRA:





Tri-colored beagle. She likes her colors.

[cnw1995]

I may be contrary here - my layout's backdrop features nothing fancier than light blue banquet table plastic wrap that hides what I found distracting: the fuzzy pink wall insulation. I like well-crafted backdrops like yours or the ones I've seen in magazines featuring artist's renditions of mountain vistas or giant size Lionel advertising posters. In some cases, this probably enhances the trains - as they go through the landscape - this may also be a scale issue - when I was in N scale - the landscape ruled - in most cases dominating the trains.

[wrmcclellan]

Dave,

I think your use of color is innovative and wish I had the skills to do what you are achieving. Everyone in this hobby specializes in a different way of presentation. Some folks build a huge layout and it never gets beyond 20% scenicked - operation or modeling trains their specialty. Others build spectacular layouts, fully scenicked, and the trains do not run well - modeling the scene being their specialty.

You have chosen a path that may encourage others to break out. Your concept is no different than the guy who makes an 8 foot floor to ceiling mountain the focus of his layout or the commercial layout where there is a huge reproduction of a Lionel catalog cover as the background.

My layout is rather bland, but I use it to run the trains I collect. Scenery is not my specialty and I do not particularly enjoy doing it. I just did not want a plain or simple painted table.

I admire and enjoy the presentation of each layout I see. i.e. One without scenery may have intricate trackwork to admire.

Keep on truckin...
Roy