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Where do I draw the line in the sand that is too much?  Asking people to pass the fireman, conductor and engineer rulebook examination before operating on my layout.  That is about where I think it is too much.  Will I attempt to teach you prototype rules, yes.  Timetable and Train Order (yes), CTC, yes.  Why: my layout, my rules. [quote user="eaglescout"] I think Madog said it best in that when we were much younger the thrill and excitement of our trains did not depend on how much we had or how detailed they were. Our imagination filled in the blanks and in our minds we saw much more on our layout than what the adult mind would see.[/quote] I dont know, I got bored with my first layout.  There was no "stiffling of my imagination".  Probably had something to do with having a loop of track nailed to a piece of plywood an nothing to "do" but watch a train go around in circles. That layout existed from when I was 9-10 until I was 17, I can count on my hand the number of times I played with it, my brio got more use (way more).   Why, because I could use my imagination and change the track plan to infinity (with Brio).  Scale model trains and track are not meant to be taken apart and put back to gether over and over again.  They wear out quickly, get broken, etc.  It took me building a 3 rail O scale layout with my own $$$ to realize that I cannot stand what a fellow club member calls "baseball".   Drives me nuts.  [quote user="eaglescout"]I am not opposed to those who want all the newer and better stuff for their own enjoyment but still feels it stifles creativity and imagination in children if there is nothing else left for them to imagine.[/quote] The point of all the scenery and detail is transfering your imagination into 3 dimensions.  Its a form of art.  What exactly are you advocating here?    Not one child that attended the Amherst show at Springfield, MA bothered to stop to look at my modules when there was no detail for them to look at.  They watched the trains run through other peoples scenery, but moved past mine because it was plain and boring.  So I think your ascertation that I am stiffling a childerns creativity is a little off the mark.  Also there is a whole model railroad club which its whole purpose is to let kids run their Lionel and MTH 3 rail trains (incidentally its called Kids Run Trains).  Those layouts get varying degrees of scenery.  Most of it durable so that kids can touch. That having been said. A block of wood could actually make a pretty affordable and easy to build piece of rolling stock.  You could even make it in the shape of an NMRA guage to check your clearances on your layout.   So I guess thank you for bringing up this topic, because Larry's comment before gave me an idea.
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