Freelanced Model Railroad?

[Anonymous]

why doesn't anybody talk about their freelanced model railroad?
Look for updates for my freelanced model railroad at
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/outerbanksman303/teanmr-spectacular.html[:)][;)][8D]

[RMax1]

I do from time to time. The U & O ! I have a bunch of Amtrak, BN, and MKT running around with some UP and RI thrown in. The layout is loosely based in and around the southern Oklahoma/North Texas border. around 1975. The fictious Useless & Ornamental hauls undec. boxcars to no where in particular. I've been working on a roadname for the boxcars. Something like UG&W I think may work. The Undecorated Generic and Western. Freelancing can be great fun!

RMax

[orsonroy]

Maybe because most really ARE talking about their freelance road? Well over half of the hobby is made up of freelancers, or people who couldn't care one way or the other. I think the percentage is something less than 25% for modelers who are proto modelers or proto based.

It's the craftsmen and authors who are the ones who are mostly the latter 25%, however. Except for a few old-timers like George Sellios, most of the people scratchbuilding their own freight cars or steamers (or even diesels) and then writing about their efforts for magazines, are proto modelers. The good old days of "how to freelance your Mantua 2-8-2 into a 6-4-2T" are mostly gone.

[MAbruce]

Mine is free lance too. The Belmar Valley is a fictitious place somewhere in the mid-Atlantic states in the 1960’s. It’s supposed to be mainly served by N&W, but if you wait around long enough, you could even see a UP loco go by hauling cars that would likely never be seen together in the real world. [:-^]

How’s that for a freelance? [:D][:D][;)]

I really tip my hat to those who take it a step further by creating their own railroads – right down to the paint scheme and logos. Now that’s high end freelancing! [bow]

[vsmith]

Mine is freelanced, large scale narrow gauge indoor layout, the Borracho Springs RR. I refer to it from time to time, I just dont talk much about it unless I have a question or need advice. Then Its usually related to the specific issue. Not a general question. I think thats pretty true for most forum members, we talk about what specifically we need help on, or can offer help for.

[Anonymous]

It really depends what you call freelance ...

.... the majority of modellers I've met or spoken with over the yeras don't atempt to model a specific place. As they are not actually modelling a bit of a prototype this is freelancing. Its actually very very rare for someone to try and model a bit of a specific place with any kind of accuracy, for the simple reason you need an awful lotta space!!!

Both my layout at home and the layout of the club I belong to (Alton Model Railway Group http://www.altonmrg.co.uk) fit into this type of freelancing. My home layout is a fictional bit of the Maine Central although I run prototype 50s era MEC rolling stock, nowhere on my layout itself is prototypical - I just hope to catch a flavour of the area the MEC ran through - one day when its finished! You can check out progress on my web page if you feel curious enough.

The club layout (http://www.altonmrg.co.uk/PineBluffs/default.htm) is even more freelance its a completely fictious Colorado short line, it has its own road name The Pine Bluffs & Ceda Falls Railroad and paint scheme (when any of us actually get round to painting anything), the towns it runs through are completely invented, but the diesels are stock units and the steamers based on photographs of real engines that worked out in the west.

Whilst many of us will invent model buildings (with or without a quantity of research before launching into it) inventing freelance rolling stock and engines is a different matter altogether, as orsonroy says its not much done these days. To get a "freelance" engine to look believable is much more difficult than it first looks. The only real preserve of this type of freelancing is among narrow gauge modellers, probably because so much weird and wacky stuff did actaully exist in real life on the narrow gauges! Bitish narrow guagers seem to be at it most, some models look believable - others don't.

[Anonymous]

Mine is the Wisconsin & Iowa Railroad Co. (WIAR registered with the NMRA), operating fictitiously in Wisconsin, Iowa, Upper Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota and North Dakota. I operate lots of other railroad equipment from systems inside and outside that region (SOO, ROCK, EL, PC, MILW, GN, NP, etc.). I actually have only a passenger train and one GP18 done-up in WIAR colors but I have a feeling more are on the way this winter. I've worked-out a general operating map with the fictitious towns I've modelled identified. Each section (I have 6 so far) is actually a different region along the route (not one condensed line in a contiguous scene), though the "modules" are not NMRA-compliant in design (they seperate/integrate only when I move and that isn't gonna happen again for a loooooong time).

[wd45]

I am freelancing, as well. Mine is set in the 1970's, with 2 fictional lines; The Detroit, Indianapolis, & Nashville, and the Raleigh, Asheville, & Western, plus a belt line, the Indianapolis Belt Terminal. Right now, all I can model is a 4x8 setup, but in the future, will hopefully have more room, that will allow me to model operations around Indianapolis and Nashville. Just finished painting some rolling stock for the DI&N; prairie gold & red (colors taken from Minneapolis-Moline farm equipment).
Mike

[Anonymous]

Once upon a time I superdetailed a Seaboard U36B for a friend of mine. He showed it to his brother, who was a real SCL fanatic. This guy pointed out things like the bell was a scale foot too far forward and while the horn was correct for U36Bs numbered 1802-1812, since I had modeled 1815 I should have installed a Nathan P3 horn instead of the P5 horn I used.

I model the New Haven in 1999, or what I think the New Haven would have been like if the Pennsy and later mergers hadn't happened. So I can use any horn I want and nobody can complain that I'm wrong.

[BRAKIE]

I always thought there is some confusion between freelance railroad and freelance layout.
A freelance railroad would be like the V&O,Utah Belt,the old AM,my C&HV and other such freelance railroads that has locomotive and cars lettered for their given freelance railroad.
A freelance layout follows no set pattern and every locomotive from a 4-4-0 to a SD90 MAC in any road name can be found running on that freelance layout.
Then you have layouts that represents a given prototype set in a given year or years and modeled as closely as possible to that given railroad and the division its serves plus you have freelance prototype modeling that is a given prototype railroad but a fictitious division or branch line...
Now which is the correct way to model? Only YOU can answer that question for yourself according to the way YOU want to enjoy the hobby base solely on your given and druthers..

[Junctionfan]

I am designing a layout for the future in HO scale. I call it Metropolis Junction. Basically it is a triple track CSX mainline, a double track NS/CP mainline and a double track UP line crossing each other like Fostoria only the lines are closer together. Runing parallel to the NS/CP mainline is CN/BNSF double track viaduct and each railroad has its own yard. Ambitious huh?

[Anonymous]

I'm designing what will be my third (and probably last, if everything goes according to plan) layout that I hope to start as a series of small dioramas that, when I eventually buy a house, form the spiritual core of my Allegheny, Mercer, and Lake Erie RR. Based heavily on the old Bessemer & Lake Erie (or CN Bessemer Division nowadays). I wanted to model the area I live in and places I'm extremely familar with, but the B&LE runs almost exclusively coal and iron ore. I wanted double stacks and autoracks.

A little research told me that the B&LE was originally the Pittsburg, Shenango, and Lake Erie. Pittsburg/Pittsburgh sits in Allegheny county and Shenango is Mercer county, so I took the county names for the railroad name. I rationalized that the NS wanted a short-cut from Canada and western NY to their assets in Pittsburgh and the kind of traffic I wanted was born. By completely replacing the B&LE, my AM&LE was allowed to steal its right-of-way to allow me to model specific places I wanted to.

[IRONROOSTER]

I see there are many definitions of free lancing.

Mine is a free lance road the Virginia and Lake Erie (VLE). The VLE was planned to run from Norfolk, Va to Erie, Pa through Pittsburgh with branches go to Richmond and Chicago, but never quite made it and wound up being a shortline some where in Virginia and Maryland. It has trackage rights with the PRR.

I am modeling a small section of the PRR double track main line that passes through the fictional Wacketshire Junction. At the junction it interchanges with a 2 foot narrow gauge railroad that runs to the river port of Wacketshire. The time period is 1950's.

The locomotive roster is patterned after the Maryland and Pennsylvania RR for the standard gauge VLE plus a PRR GG1. It will be free lanced for the narrow gauge so I can use MDC HOn3 loco kits converted to Sn2. Narrow gauge rolling stock will be patterned after the Maine two footers. Most of the standard gauge rolling stock will be PRR and eastern roads with a few pieces lettered for the VLE.

Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

I model the Rock in modern times as if it never went bankrupt. The only railroad I model that is not a fallen flag is the BNSF. I also have locos in CNW and SP,with some UP patch jobs as it is a fallen flag here. I also have a shortline. the SCD line. It serves the local industries. The layout is basically an interchange between the four and is based no where specific. Just needed some scenery to help the models look right.[:D]

Jeremy

[ClinchValleySD40]

There is a difference between freelance and proto-freelance. If you model a prototype (like The Rock that Jeremy is doing) that is proto-freelance. If you have your own railroad that didn't exist, that's freelance.

Mine is freelance, Clinch Valley RR Co. I couldn't find a prototype that did everything I wanted to do, so picked the actual prototype lines and "borrowed" them. I use real town names and parts of the SRR Appalachian Div, N&W Clinch Valley Div, C&O Logan Div.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by clinchvalley
If you model a prototype that is proto-freelance. If you have your own railroad that didn't exist, that's freelance.

Not always, for instance the Virginian & Ohio is proto-freelance, in fact I think Allen McClelland started the term.

[Anonymous]

I'm vaccillating between a Fictional sub of a prototype road (CN) and a shortline with it's power leased from said prototype road.

What Layout I have is strictly prototypical though, as I've just got a set of modules that I bought to be the core of my layout, which are a model of a stretch of CN mainline.

I'm straddling the Proto and proto-freelance groups, as I've got a definite interest in Prototype Modelling, at least as to power and rolling stock.

[Isambard]

My Grizzly Northern Railway is a freelanced fictional subsidiary of the CPR running between Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, through the Rockies, Selkirks and Monashees to Kamloops, British Columbia.
It's fictional in more than one sense, as the GNR equipment runs on a local club layout until I can rescue enough space for a layout, now that we're empty nesters. The era is 1930's, early 1940's steam, with both Grizzly Northern and CPR locomotives - a Spectrum 2-8-0, 2 2-10-0's, a 3 truck Shay and a Proto 0-8-0 so far. I' m building up rolling stock with attention to maintaining the 30's 40's era and western railway look eg mainly Grizzly Northern (GNR) and CPR markings,the odd CNR and Great Northern stray and some other industry cars.
The layout, when I get to it, will represent the very small railway town of Geiranger, at the foot of a steep grade on the GNR's mainline, similar to Field, BC in early 1940. A small roundhouse, turntable and other service facilities will b provided for locomotives running through and for pushers stationed there. A branchline will service local mines.
I've had much fun writing the history of the Grizzly Northern and describing Geiranger, the GNR's route map, divisions and mile boards. It's another way of model railroading.
I'm curious as to whether others have done the same for their roads?

[Anonymous]

Well, the road that I model was real (the BN,) but as for place, it is totally freelance. It is supposedly somewhere in the northeast where there is a LOT of action (coal, steel, gravel, asphalt, passenger service, cement, grain, oil and autos.) I wanted the most operating potential and variety I could get. On my last layout that didn't get very far I went a little overboard with literally a building planned in EVERY clear space. I think it was going to be 12 industries on a 4x8 layout. Now I have 10 in a 10x9.5 layout.
Reed

[CBQ_Guy]

I am what they call "proto-freelancing" or "proto-lancing" That means that my layout is based on a real, existing prototype, The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy RR (CB&Q). It is set in a fairly specific area and I try to follow what the actual railroad did as far as trains through the area and motive power used, etc.

The free-lanced part is the fictional, rural branchline off of it which runs through a few, rural Midwest towns (also fictional) and ends at a coal mine, which I "pretend" is jointly owned by both the 'Q and the IC.

Best of both worlds...

[Junctionfan]

I changed my mind and am going with my Great Lakes and Atlantic Railroad Idea.

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JamesT1

It really depends what you call freelance ...

.......

Both my layout at home and the layout of the club I belong to (Alton Model Railway Group http://www.altonmrg.co.uk) fit into this type of freelancing. My home layout is a fictional bit of the Maine Central although I run prototype 50s era MEC rolling stock, nowhere on my layout itself is prototypical - I just hope to catch a flavour of the area the MEC ran through - one day when its finished! You can check out progress on my web page if you feel curious enough.

.......

Odd that you should mention the Maine Central Mountain Division. Herron Rail Video has a nice tape or DVD of the MEC Mountain Divison of about 1950. It includes some nice footage of B&M's summer season train, the Mountaineer. I don't know if the video is available in PAL format, however.

Since I spend about 6 months a year in Maine, I'd be glad to correspond with you.

Andre

[Anonymous]

James,

I just looked over your web site and I really like what you're up to. If you have need of any New England information please let me know. I was going to reference the book "Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn" when I saw you already had found it! I also like how you took the N&W plan and expanded it a bit.

My railroad is also somewhat free-lanced. After getting sick and tired of trying to cram the real world in my way too small space I finally decided to model a prototype railroad(s) -- in my case the Central Vermont with a little B&M and Maine Central thrown in -- with fictional towns and track routings.

I started by creating a list of "signature elements" for a theme of New England railroading in the 1950s -- things like a paper mill, village, shallow rocky streams, and covered bridges -- not to mention "mixed bag" passenger trains and milk cars and creameries. Then the layout design process was a much simpler matter of fitting all those pieces of the puzzle in place in a visually interesting and appealing manner.

Much more enjoyable -- to me anyway -- than simply trying to take track maps and cram all the lines into my space.

Take care,

Marty McGuirk

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Intermountain

James,

I just looked over your web site and I really like what you're up to. If you have need of any New England information please let me know. I was going to reference the book "Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn" when I saw you already had found it! I also like how you took the N&W plan and expanded it a bit.

My railroad is also somewhat free-lanced. After getting sick and tired of trying to cram the real world in my way too small space I finally decided to model a prototype railroad(s) -- in my case the Central Vermont with a little B&M and Maine Central thrown in -- with fictional towns and track routings.

I started by creating a list of "signature elements" for a theme of New England railroading in the 1950s -- things like a paper mill, village, shallow rocky streams, and covered bridges -- not to mention "mixed bag" passenger trains and milk cars and creameries. Then the layout design process was a much simpler matter of fitting all those pieces of the puzzle in place in a visually interesting and appealing manner.

Much more enjoyable -- to me anyway -- than simply trying to take track maps and cram all the lines into my space.

Take care,

Marty McGuirk

Marty,

How IS your railroad coming? The last I heard of it was in Model Railroad Planning 2000.

Fortunately, or unfortunately (I still haven't figured which), I also seem to have been bitten by the New England bug. What makes that so excruciatingly painful is that I'm a Californian and a SP/Santa Fe fan by natural inclination. However, I've been drawn to the MEC Mountain Division ever since I bought Herron Rail Videos' tape on the subject.

My wife and I have started spending 6 months of the year out here in rural Maine and we just acquired a nice basement with some kind of structure on top of it to keep the rain out. I use to think my real problem was a lack of space. WRONG! The problem is trying to decide on a theme for a layout to occupy the basement. In fact, I wrote an essay a couple of days ago on my descent into madness and posted it here.

Andre

aka Damba Phino

aka Mike NeSmith - (NOTE: I am NOT one of the Monkees)

[Anonymous]

Andre,

The new layout (the layout in MRP was torn down when we moved to Colorado) is finally approaching a stage when it can be shown publicly without too much embarrassment. In fact, I'm been finishing up some trees and ballast this last week and hope to be able to get enough done to send in a Trackside Photo or two to MR.

Marty

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a neat layout, hopefully we'll be seeing this in MR soon.

[Anonymous]

Dougal,

I just realized there is a photo of my new layout in the next MR (we just got our advance copy yesterday) -- look at the picture of the Stafford General Store in the YesterYear Models ad. I took that on my new layout -- although the building is only in a temporary "photo" spot in that particular view.

Marty

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Intermountain

Andre,

The new layout (the layout in MRP was torn down when we moved to Colorado) is finally approaching a stage when it can be shown publicly without too much embarrassment. In fact, I'm been finishing up some trees and ballast this last week and hope to be able to get enough done to send in a Trackside Photo or two to MR.

Marty

Marty,

Sounds like you kinda gave up on the Southern New England RR idea and moved north a bit. I look forward to seeing photos of your new layout and hopefully a track plan as well. In a truly perfect world, an article on your layout would include some pungent comments by Iain Rice, if only to complain that your move to Colorado means that his flying time is increased by an additional 2 hours. [;)]

I hope you took the full course of anti-narrow gauge shots before you moved. I understand that the narrow gauge bug bites hard and that SGDD (Standard Gauge Deficiency Disorder) is incurable, although some palliative measures have been shown to relieve a few of the lesser symptoms.

Andre

[Anonymous]

Andre,

Iain had little, if anything to do with the design of the present layout -- he was busy with other issues at the time I planned the thing -- although he certainly looked the plan over and we went back and forth on some issues it wasn't really as much of a collaboration as the old SNE layout was.

The new layout has a lot of elements from various parts of New England, although so far everything is meshing fairly well -- even to my eye. Most all of the equipment will be CV (with some B&M here and there), and I can't resist MEC Harvest Green and Yellow, though that stuff stays on the shelf until no one else is around to see me watching it run around the layout.

Seriously, the layout will be something like Paul Dolkos' B&M -- a compilation of scenes and elements from various places arranged in what I hope will be a logical and appealing manner.

I haven't been completely immune from narrow gauge, and have done some narrow gauge modeling (Sn3) since I moved out here -- another reason for the apparent slow rise of the New England layout. I decided that an Sn3 module was fine, and I didn't need to fill the basement with an Sn3 layout when there were boxes of my pet HO New England models (and lots of detailed and finished freight cars) in the store room.

I think Andy S was a little disppointed though -- he kept offering to give my resin freight cars a good home . . . .

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys for your kind words about my sadly spacially challenged bit of "New England".

QUOTE: Odd that you should mention the Maine Central Mountain Division. Herron Rail Video has a nice tape or DVD of the MEC Mountain Divison of about 1950. It includes some nice footage of B&M's summer season train, the Mountaineer. I don't know if the video is available in PAL format, however.

Is this a new tape/DVD or has it been around for a while? I'd really like to get my hands on that (NTSC tapes are not a problem for me my VCR can handle it[:D])

I got the New England bug when my wife and I vacationed there a couple of years ago, I remeber standing at Crawford's Notch Depot and thinking - great scenery, this would make a great model railroad - if only I had the space ....