RIVET COUNTING, GOOD or BAD?

[Anonymous]

Dkelly, You had to challenge me didn't you!

I have to say all the flaming posts I've seen were made from wood and are not riveted. Generally riveted materials are metallic and hard to get to burn without excessive heat (this is why steel steam engine boilers were so popular). Wood construction is far superior for flaming posts. Personally I like cresote treated posts (RR ties are good).

[Anonymous]

HEY Y'ALL. I'M IN THIS FOR THE PLEASURE,MY PLEASURE. YOU SEE,I'M INTO HI-RAIL. I KNOW THAT'S A DIRTY WORD TO THE PURIST OUT THERE,BUT NO MATTER. ONE OF MY FAVORITE LOCOMOTIVES IS A 2-6-4 THAT I RUN. NOW WE ALL KNOW THERE WAS NO SUCH THING,BUT HAS LONG AS I HAVN'T TOLD THE LITTLE PEOPLE ON MY LAYOUT ABOUT THAT, I DON'T THINK THEY WILL CARE. Y'ALL ENJOY NOW & TAKE CARE.

[Jetrock]

One feature of wooden construction of this sort, I have noted, is that potential for flame and structural strength tend to be inversely proportionate.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DeSchane

Generally riveted materials are metallic and hard to get to burn without excessive heat (this is why steel steam engine boilers were so popular).

Oh, but the less popular wooden boilers were so much more fun!

[Anonymous]

Wooden Boilers... disposable power. Maintaince free and no need to service after use.

[Anonymous]

Wooden Boilers wouldn't rust either :)

[johncolley]

An offshoot of this theme unfortunately applies to life it seems. There is altogether too much of an "us vs them" mentality. Why can't we all just enjoy our hobby in all its forms and appreciate craftsmanship when we encounter it, while allowing others the enjoyment of their round and round, if that's what pleases them?

[vsmith]

My goal is to have a realistic looking railroad, which means that I'll base my judgements on what level of detail I am happy with, and not worry about what others might think. I'll be the judge of how accurate I want my stuff to look. I want realism, not rivet counting mouth foaming accuracy. I'm not modeling any prototypical RR just for that reason. It gives me the freedom to model based on my own eye's judgement.
Example

an LGB 8-10ton Porter , not a hugely accurate model to start with, original garish plasticy colors painted over, some added details and moderate weathering and its now far more realistic looking.

[grayfox1119]

There are all degrees of quality, and you find this not only in our hobby, but in everything in life that man does (or woman). Speaking only of this hobby, some people take great pride in being true scale, and accurate to the 9th degree. I don't critize them for this, because it is what THEY want, and maybe it makes them really happy with their work.
Others want to set up and operate. They are more interested in running a railroad. Still other just like to build a nice layout, enjoy the aspects of designing and operating theri own layout.
As we all know, this question has no right or wrong answer because it is extremely subjective. For me, I am not a rivet counter. Why? Because I want to design, build, operate and enjoy before I die (66 YO). For those that are.......enjoy yourself, it is YOUR decision.

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[howmus]

One of the great things about modeling a railroad that never existed is that you really don't need to count rivets (I hear some rivets now and then, but that is from the frogs in the pond - or are they "ribets"?). However, it is still fun to do some historical reasearch in the era and area that the pike is supposed to be from. Some of the greatest layouts are those that never existed as prototypes but have a great deal of attention to detail.

BTW, easter, there actually was some 2-6-4 locos. They were called "Adriatic". None were ever found in North America and they were very rare, but they did exist. My point is that almost anything someone does in modeling probably actauly existed somewhere at some time. I personally like to "count rivets" on my own layout, but find it interesting and great that this hobby can be for everyone.

Have fun out there! [:)]

Ray

[Jetrock]

The eye is the best judge and the easiest to fool--heck, we're all trying to create the illusion that these teeny little trains are full-sized! I

[trolleyboy]

To rivet or not to rivet what a question. Personally I model canadian prototype so you can count rivets but in my case there in the wrong place anyway .Therefore I and a great many others put up with close enough move on and have fun if we were to make everything completly perfect none of us would have time to lay track and enjoy our handywork. I think you have to pick your own level of detail and let others do their thing in the end we are all happy and we have all contributed to the greatest hobby on earth. TB

[PennsyHoosier]

I'm not a rivet counter, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

There's nothing wrong with rivet counting if that's what floats your boat. It only becomes a problem when you start to see "patterns" and "codes" for explaining the universe in the rivets.

Now that I think about it, I'm going to write a novel based on the rivets of a K4s. A sort of PRR take-off of the DaVinci Code. It will be about as historically accurate as that book, too. [}:)]