Is it heresy to do this just for fun ?

[Anonymous]

I've been imitated quite a bit by this forum, but the string on free lance railroads sorta gave me faith again.

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18767

I was getting worried that to get back into this hobby, I had to model a railway accurately down the number of ties, paint scheme correct on every car, heaven help me if I had an engine that wasn't in service on that line for another 2 years, and I sure better dedicate at least a 30' by 40' multi tier basement to my efforts, etc, etc.

Even as I read MR magazine, one review commented on how the miniscule horn was brass and should have been black or vice-versa. The layouts all seem to be bigger than my house.

I fully understand how some people are into the realism aspect that much and it's not only admirable, it's interesting, but I was getting back into this just of the fun of it. I even thought of trying to find some old cars I remember from my childhood where the logs got rolled onto the train or the little guy in a fork lift pushed a box onto a flat car. There is nothing realistic or prototypical about it, but I liked it.

I didn't grow up that interested in trains; I grew up more interested in model trains.

One thing I have noticed is that there seems to be a gap in information for people like me. There are a fair number of books on getting started and a lot of info on prototypical or big layouts, but not so much for the 'casual' model railroader. I'm also into astronomy and the two main magazines are Astronomy and Sky & Telescope. I think they found the same thing in that everyone was not an astrophysicist or had a 14" SMT telescope, so they recently came out with a new publication called Night Sky, catering to those interested in astronomy but who may be just starting, have a beginner scope, not know the night sky so well etc. I think it's a good idea and something the MR crowd might think about, I don't know the size of the potential market, but just a random thought.

Oh well thanks for listening, I feel better and I like I said I don't feel near as bad about my thoughts on a new model railroad as I was begining to have.

[ben10ben]

There are plenty of people out there who feel the same way you do. Head over to the Classic Toy Trains forum, and you will find that almost everyone on there feels the same way you do.

[ondrek]

I agree! two cheers for this post.

I am not interested in the real live trains anywhere near as much as i am in model trains. my layout is nowhere near "realistic" it has some realism, but i refuse to follow the "rules" that many hardcore realists employ in their layouts.

I am not saying that there is anything wrong with their approach. infact sometimes its very nice to see a layout that is perfect all the way down to the number of ties on the track. but for me, those details are not important, I am more interested in having fun with building the model and having it nice, some realism is good, but i am not going to go overboard with it.

so you are not alone with your approach to model railroading. do what makes you smile. :)

Kevin Ondre

[DSchmitt]

A magazine one published a cartoon of a crying modeler using a model crane with wrecking ball to destroy his scratchbuilt super detailed passenger terminal on his layout. He found out that the prototype had been torn down. Now that would be realism.

Lets have fun.

[Anonymous]

Of course not! It's just that some people's definition of fun is trying to duplicate real life in miniature. Others want to model the moving Tyco and Lionel stuff. Most are somewhere in between. It's a hobby! Whatever floats YOUR boat!

If it's not fun, why do it?

[Anonymous]

Funny u should mention astronomy, that's my other hobby too. I like playing with both my model trains and my telescope. I must look out for that new night sky mag u mentioned. Thanks! don

[ericsp]

I say the one should make ones layout how one wants it to be.

[Jetrock]

Exactly. I'm big on historical accuracy and prototypes, but not fanatical about it, because I really enjoy history and consider research and fact-finding to be as much fun as building models. I also find creating realistic scenery and detailing models to be immensely rewarding and fun. And I am into trains as well as model trains, so doing "prototype research" is a ball in itself.

I'm in it for fun too--but everyone's fun is different. Some folks find it fun to pull Amtrak Superliners with a 4-4-0 steam engine--which is just fine for them, I just don't consider that my idea of fun.

eBay can be a great source for those neat little Tyco "working pipe loader" etc. dioramas--just do a search for Tyco. They tend to go pretty cheap, too, making it an economical way to have a model railroad.

Get a 4x8 sheet of plywood, paint it green, tack down a loop of track, set up some of those inexpensive Tyco kits and plunk one of those vacuform hills-with-a-tunnel-through-it on a corner and have a ball.

There are also lots of people who don't have room for a monster layout: mine is only eight square feet right now (that's right, one-quarter the space of a 4x8) due to space limitations. Small layouts have their own advantages--they're compact, relatively inexpensive, and can be completed to a high level of detail in a short time (or to a moderate level of detail in an even shorter time.) And if you decide you want a bigger layout later, a small layout can become the nucleus of a larger system: my eight-footer will, at some indeterminate point, eventually spread out to perhaps forty or fifty square feet!! Check out www.carendt.com for some inspiration--and there are a couple of books out there on creating compact layouts, too.

It's your layout, and you get to make the rules. If you later find that you want to go farther with it, you certainly can--keep in mind that the Gorre & Daphetid started out as a cut-down 4x8 layout too!

[BRAKIE]

The best thing about this hobby there is no rules to follow..One is free to model the way he/she chooses.Wanna run a 4-4-0 next to a SD90MAC? Go for it..It's YOUR hobby to enjoy the way that pleases you.

[tomwatkins]

Amen! It's a hobby. It's supposed to be something we do for the fun of it. Different people choose different ways to approach the hobby because of what they enjoy about it. There is no right way or wrong way to do it, unless the way you're doing it isn't fun for you. That would be the wrong way .
Have Fun,
Tom Watkins

[darth9x9]

I guess it all depends on what the fine print says on your modeler's license. I know mine says I can do anything I want, anytime I want, anywhere I want. I am also free to mix time periods and equipment, if I so choose.

If your modeler's license doesn't say the same, you should consider buying a new license. [:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by darth9x9

I guess it all depends on what the fine print says on your modeler's license. I know mine says I can do anything I want, anytime I want, anywhere I want. I am also free to mix time periods and equipment, if I so choose.

If your modeler's license doesn't say the same, you should consider buying a new license. [:D][:D][:D]

Mine had an amendment added 12 years ago. It said I had to leave adequate time to pay attention to the wife.

Another one got added 11 years ago. That one said I have to leave time for the kids and family activities.

So now I get to do anything they want, whenever they want, where they want. I can still mix time periods if I want to though.

[n2mopac]

Here! Here! I could not agree more. Modeling should be above all else fun!!! If counting rivets is fun for you, more power to you. I personally enjoy representing trains and scenes in a realisitc way, but I am by no means the detailed prototype modeler that some here are. I love building to my own satisfaction, and then I love watching the trains roll. I enjoy operations, but not so prototypical that it becomes work. I like watching real trains and identifying locomotives, but I don't travel all over the country to photograph the same train that went past my house last Tuesday. Again, HAVE FUN! and don't let anyone eles' idea of fun be imposed over your own or let anyone discourage you from your own idea of a fun hobby. (I even sometimes go for weeks/months without viewing this web site, though I often am here every day. I know this is blasphemy to many here, but I only come when I have time and when it is fun.)
Ron

[fec153]

hey- its train fair time. Run what ever you want next to what ever you have.
I like my doodle-bug pulling the Walthers Oscar and Piker. Sure as heck not proto-
typical but sure is fun.
Phil

[krump]

QUOTE: Originally posted by plane_crazy

. I'm also into astronomy and the two main magazines are Astronomy and Sky & Telescope. I think they found the same thing in that everyone was not an astrophysicist or had a 14" SMT telescope, so they recently came out with a new publication called Night Sky, catering to those interested in astronomy but who may be just starting, have a beginner scope, not know the night sky so well etc. I think it's a good idea and something the MR crowd might think about, I don't know the size of the potential market, but just a random thought.

Oh well thanks for listening, I feel better and I like I said I don't feel near as bad about my thoughts on a new model railroad as I was begining to have.

Welcome to the forum... and if you're plane_crazy, then I'm "plain-nuts" -- with those dual interests in trains and astronomy you might be interested in the UFO thread that I started quite some time ago...Walthers catalogue has a UFO spaceship as an item for sale (where is the realism? - after all these years people are still trying to get a good photo, let along know how to model such an item to scale
- for me it's a fun hobby
- my railroad, therefore my rules
- combining HO and On30 into one room filled layout (small budget - so small room)
- my kids (8,7,5) will all paint and number their own freight car (with their Name - realname, not railname, and DOB as railcar # dd/mm/yyyy.) I do have a limit though - they will be permitted to choose and paint ONE freight car each (pink, purple, and spiderman colours have been selected, oh well)
- NO TWO of my rolling stock look the same - creating multi colours or multi types of trains
- all duplicate rolling stock will be painted and decalled with the CAST-AWAY Railroad scheme (perfect description, a collection of other people's junk, initials of family members)
- I'm constructing models of the things that matter to me, for my lawout: homes I've lived in, places I've worked, memoreis etc.
it's YOUR Railroad, have fun ... now, time for the coffee room.
cheers

[rogerhensley]

Model Railroader magazine used to have 'Model Railroading is FUN" right on the cover. I think they have forgotten that as have many in this hobby that are now into what they consider 'accurate' details. That's fine for them, but I believe that your railroad is YOUR railroad and what you do should please you. Now, that said, if you say that your railroad represents the PRR in Anderson Indiana in 1956 , it had better because SOMEONE will know. :-)

So, enjoy your railroad. My East Central Indiana (HO) railroad started as a 4x7 and is still a small railroad although it has grown and changed over the past 20 years or so. See: http://cid.railfan.net/eci_new.html

[krump]

Roger - that's a wonderful link to you model r/r. is it a point to point with exchanges, or is there also a loop somewhere? Great workmanship.
cheers

[BNSFNUT]

Model Railroading for fun???
I thought that was the whole idea.

[rogerhensley]

QUOTE: Originally posted by krump

Roger - that's a wonderful link to you model r/r. is it a point to point with exchanges, or is there also a loop somewhere? Great workmanship.
cheers

It can be operated P-T-P or as a loop for tours, demos or for grandkids. Yes, there is a hidden reverse loop. Thanks for asking. :-)