Let's face it railroading is a filthy dirty grimey business. Actually looking at the crud filled photo's from the last century is (for me) part of the attraction of modeling that era. Like everything else in todays world, even railroading seems too sterile (for the betterment of our health I'm sure)
I have dipped my toes into the weathering part of the hobby on some structures, vehicles and rolling stock. Fortunately for me and the eyes of others I have been able to reverse some, shall we say, overly enthusiastic early attemps at weathering. The trepedation of attacking one of my steamers is starting to wane to the point where I think I am ready to take the plunge. Thanks to guys like Doctor Wayne and the many others that guide us along our way, weathering is something that is becoming an enjoyable part of the hobby for me.
So can you get dirty wrong? Who'd a thought. Tells us of how far you have waded into the dirt pile.
Have you had the guts to attack your prize Locomotive yet?
Are you just dipping your toes?
Are you one of those guys that keeps everything looking like the day it came out of the box? (not that there's anything wrong with that)
Tell us about your filthy journey and how has it worked out for you so far?
Don't forget to post photo's of your biggest successes and disasters (if you still have'em)
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I am all in favor of weathering locos and rolling stock that "populate" a layout and are not intended to spend their service life in a display case, hoping they´d eventually appreciate in value.
That said, weathering can easily be overdone and is not easily reversed, should you not like the result. For that reason, it is quite important to determine the degree of weathering before putting the whole foot into weathering. Locos and cars don´t look pristine for a long time. A day out in the weather can be enough to steal the nice look they had when leaving the shop. A used, but not abused look and the heavily battered and beaten up look are miles apart.
For my prototype, it´s an easy choice. Swiss trains always look spick and span, so weathering must be really subtle if not hardly noticeable. My "oldest" loco, which had about 40 years of service life in the period I am modeling, has a slightly patched up paint job and a bit of grime around the louvers - that´s all!
I, too, thought long and hard about weathering some models. This pair of GP9s was "in the shop" for decoder work, so I had the shells off, and figured that was a good time. They form a before-and-after set, even though they're not physically the same engine.
I think I got that one right.
Here's another before-and-after. I weathered the pigs.
Again, a Milwaukee diesel:
These were cereal-box cars I've had for 50 years or so. I wouldn't put the originals on my layout, particularly with my childish paintjobs, but I found that severe rusting and weathering made them attractive additions to my scrap yard.
Finally, this tank engine got a complete grimy black paint job. It was undecorated to begin with.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
It's been quite awhile since I've done any painting, but I did do weathering "back in the day". The first stuff was pretty awful. One piece was INCREDIBLY awful. Until I actually saw something in real life that looked similar. Uh, wow!
I did get more subtle. The above was all done with paint brushes, but I finally got an air brush. And I used that for the weathering. It sorta looked OK, but not great.
Now I see some fantastic weathering (not so much, back then). So I figure I'll have to dive back in.
I've got a fair amount of Athearn blue box freight cars around that are surplus. I expect to practice on those first. Before I do the good stuff. I do have an instructional DVD that I think will help a lot. That, and the lack of fear 'cause I can toss my mistakes.
Ed
My own feeling is that quite a bit of weathering is overdone. I think back to the early 1980s when I'd still see 40 foot boxcars with 6 foot doors - obviously cars that had not been painted in a long time (seeing "Route of the 400s" on a C&NW car side is one giveaway!) and it was often surprising how well the original (lead!) paint and lettering held up.
Some steam locomotive models look like a flock of pigeons roosted above it for a year.
My big mistake in my earliest weathering efforts (emphasis on "efforts") was that I took it too easy on myself. That is, if I was weathering a diesel locomotive I'd leave the side handrails on because, well, because it took so much work to put them on I suppose. Similarly when weathering a freight car roof I'd leave the running board on and more or less weather around it. This gave some of that weathering a decidedly odd and distorted look.
I learned to take the steps necessary to at least give myself an honest chance at getting it right. That's not to say I do get it right - just that I have an honest chance at it.
With today's ever more delicately detailed kit and RTR freight cars, various weathering methods of using pastels or powders become problematic because even a light brushing can dislodge minute details held in place with the merest whisp of cement. Thus when I start in on one of those delicately detailed kits, such as Red Caboose, IMWX (no longer produced), Intermountain, and the like, I think about certain weathering ideas even before commencing construction.
Dave Nelson
I have seen over weathered layouts where it looks like someone just sprayed brown paint on the whole layout. Yuck.
I think it is better if you start with just a little bit at first before going all out. I use water colors so if I don’t like the mess I made I can wash it off. I don’t weather items when I first get them. All rolling stock get to look new or freshly painted for a while until I get around to weathering them.
The one single thing to weather to make your pictures look better is your freight car trucks. All black trucks will disappear in pictures. They need to have some color.
Besides weathering your trains you should also weather your structures and vehicles, but not too much, remember people like to have shiny clean cars. The whole world isn’t brown and dirty. It is also full of bright vivid colorful objects.
I am in the dirt up to my neck. I have always liked beat up, rust bucket weathering. Can you do dirt wrong?? ... oh yeah!! I have made some pretty big mistakes weathering trains over the years. Most of these went to Ebay or were redone. I don’t regret a single moment of any of the cars that didn’t turn out as I learned lots about what does and doesn’t work when weathering.
At this point I am pretty confident in my weathering abilities. I always approach weathering as a pretty serious undertaking. The possibility that you will take a nice model and screw it up is always there. I try not to weather when I am tired or not in the right frame of mind. One of the key elements is assessing how the weathering looks and the amount needed. Judgment can be fleeting. Something that looks good in one instant may not look so good later….
Probably the biggest things I have picked up in terms of weathering are the oft repeated mantras: start out with less weathering and add more later - practice, practice, practice
I have not been so cavalier about locomotive weathering. After an early fairly dismal attempt, I have only recently started to weather some locos. This is especially tricky because I am using non-reverseable techniques on locos – airbrushing acrylics. If you don’t like it, you can tone it down maybe once but after that paint can get too thick and its strip and repaint to fix.
I thought it might be fun to take a look at some steam locomotive weathering:
Ok This is the first dismal attempt. I am undoubted trashing what little mojo I have in the modeling community by posting this shot. Mistakes are the colors are too extreme and no toning and blending. Dirt done wrong...
Here is the classic type of steam loco weathering (I bought the loco painted this way). The weathering ratioale for the the gray/blue hue is that it shows up well under layout lights. There are some pretty strong opinions about whether locos should be black like the real thing or whether they should be lighter colors to compensate for the lack of sunlight on the layout.
Here is an example of lighter weathering using the less is more principle - notice that it is pretty dark. Acrylic airbrush: rust followed by white followed by black.
Here is a much more heavily weathered loco that is closer to the gray style of weathering but it still retains some dark. Acrylic airbrush: rust followed by white followed by black. Brush painted black and rust on running gear.
Here is a controversial example. This loco was weathered by a friend of mine whom I consider to be a master at weathering. I really like this loco. It has caused some degree of disagreement among my local train buddies. The loco is a good example of how some look at heavy weathering as artful weathering and others regard it is as way too extreme. I give you two views.
In this shot you can see the extent of the weathering. Some might stay over done.
In this shot the loco appears somewhat differently (same weathering). I have gotten some great shots of this loco….
Too much from me,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Philosphically speaking, I have no desire to weather my layout. My layout reflects the world of my memories of my youth in the 50's. And in my memories there is no dirt. So except for some dust, my layout, rolling stock, structures, etc. are not weathered.
Most of the weathered models I have seen look very derelict. Some of them are very well done artistically. Realistic - no I'm afraid not. Unless you are modeling an abandon road of 50+ years ago.
Enjoy
Paul
IRONROOSTERRealistic - no I'm afraid not.
Or maybe so.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/204/471324544_fbf72800b5_b.jpg
http://johanhedback.com/blogbilder/yellow.jpg
http://www.bronx-terminal.com/wp-content/uploads/1a34816u.jpg
Steve S
When weather and dent cars remember customers can refuse to accept a car or cars for loading if they deem it unsafe and it can be refused in interchange if its deem unsafe.
Also a lot of unkempt locomotives may be nearing their end of service life before being deadlined for the scrappers..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Fading, and exhaust stains? Yes.
Rust and grime on boxcar roofs? Yes.
Dirt, grime, rust on wheels and trucks? Yes.
Anything else? No.
Fading on all, varied degrees based on color and age, exhaust on loco roofs, black inside grills for depth, grime and fade on rail car roofs, fade on sides, rust on boxcar roofs, rust, dirt and grime on wheels and trucks only, that is the extent of what I call weathering. (Except on my model of WNYP 431, which I need to finish. The model is just too clean!)
However, dirt just for dirt? No. I have seen over-weathered rail are and locomotives, and have over-weathered my one in the past. Now, I only fade, then slight other work, based on type. Nothing else gets done. (Except for maybe adding reflective "conspicuity stripes" as needed, due to era. Zero gra***ty though.)
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
A few simple thoughts on weathering:
Generally less is more......
From a distance, specific features of "weathering" are not noticable in real life - at three feet away in HO you are 270 feet away from the train you are viewing.
Dirt and grime are different from rust and decay - dirt and grime effect all eras and types of railroads to some degree - rust and decay not as much, and can be more specific to older equipment, specific eras, etc.
In the 50's in particular, some roads kept locos, cabooses, and passenger cars amazingly clean and in good repair. Similarly, early diesels saw the paint shop rather frequently - every 3-5 years - as marked by the evolving paint schemes on many lines - how bad could it get in 5 years? Dirty - yes, falling apart - no.
The 60's was a "run down" era, as is current railroading to some degree - but I have seen lots of color photos of trains in the 50's - not so much so.
One reason the 50's was "newer" looking is that the railroads came out of WWII flush with cash but somewhat neglected - so large percentages of equipment were being replaced with new - steam went to the dead line - replaced by shinny new diesels from ALCO and EMD..........
New, bigger better box cars replaced "war emergency" stuff as quickly as possible, and one last ditch effort was put into passenger service with lots of new equipment - big example the C&O passenger car purchases of lightweight cars.....
But even the Depression was not a time of total rust and ruination - first off the '29 crash did not really hurt the day to day economy until it was combined with the dust bowl, with '34-'37 being the worst years - the world infrastructure did not fall apart in 5 years........no matter how George Sellios models it........
Personally, I keep weathering to a minimum, with only an ocassional piece of rolling stock looking in "disrepair", and a fair percentage looking new but just a little dirty.
As for resale - I give that no regard for any of my models - they are like used cars, they lost most of their value as they slid out of the box.......
Sheldon
I weather pretty-well everything, but although I'm modelling the late '30s, there's not much that's overly dirty or dilapitated.
When I first started painting for others, I tried to suit the weathering to their tastes. Some of my own early stuff was weathered fairly heavily:
Once I had acquired an airbrush, I became a little more aware of the weathering process and of what appealed to me:
There's a little soot along the boiler top and cab roof, and some road dust on the pilot, running gear, and lower areas of the tender, but this is meant to represent a well-kept locomotive with many of the latest technical advances. The railroad and its employees are proud of its capabilities and keep it in top notch condition.
This one was done for a close friend, many years ago, and he was thrilled with the weathering job:
After seeing my more recent stuff, though, he asked if I could redo his in the same manner. Here's the revised version:
This freelanced BLI Mikado was done for another friend, and it illustrates how some of the weathering is included in the original paint job. There is not yet any dirt or grime added, but the smokebox and firebox are painted to represent their appearance after the locomotive has been fired and has become hot enough to discolour the metal:
I added light layers of weathering (and sent photos after each application) until the loco acquired the near-the-end-of-service appearance desired by its owner:
Weathering is certainly a matter of personal preference, though, and I've seen heavy weathering jobs which were well-done and also ones which didn't take into account why and how a locomotive weathers. I'm also not a fan of no weathering: in my opinion, even a coat of flat clear finish will improve most out-of-the-box locos or rolling stock. In most cases, as Sheldon notes, the re-sale value shouldn't be a consideration.
While I've painted or re-painted many brass locomotives for the friend who owns the twice-painted CNR 3529, he did bring me a loco for weathering which I dissuaded him from doing. The fact that it was a $2,000.00 model played a very minor part in that, though. Instead, I suggested that he leave it as an example of a just-out-of-the-shop locomotive:
While the detail is exquisite and the factory paint job every bit as good as anything I could do, this is also one of the nicest-running locomotives (steam or diesel) that I have ever seen or (not) heard. Brass locomotives' values can go up or down, but I thought it best to leave it as is - even the best weathering wouldn't have made it any nicer.
Wayne
Poor weathering on a model can look like a MODEL that has been mishandled, like smudgy fingerprints, or it can look deliberate (usually brush applied). I weather things like freight cars in bunches, ang go fairly lightly. I use an airbrush and fade it on slowly until it looks good to my eyes. Freight car trucks esprcially need attention, those shiny black trucks kill realism instantly.
Wayne, in every photo you have ever posted, weathered heavily or lightly, your models always display a key point I was making - they always look realistic at normal operating/viewing distance. They have that softness or subtle look that makes them look natural.
I have seen too many models where too much effort was put into "specific" weathering details - a rust stain from a leaky pipe for example - and it seems no matter how hard the modeler tried, what should have been a small rust stain could be seen from 150 scale feet away.
That kind of weathering may look good viewing the model from a foot away with my glasses on, but looks over done as the train passes me on the layout at three feet away.....
Just my view.....
My observations are that prior to the grafitti era, locomotives, and freight cars were dull and dirty, but not rusty or decrepit in appearance.
Weathering, should be minimal, predominately at the bottom of the car and the underbody, where the dust and silica particles tend to attach themselves. Rust spots would mainly be around doors, and car sides, showing scrapes and punctures made by collisions with fork lifts. Interiors of open bulk loads such as gondolas and coal hoppers would show more bare metal and rust than the outside of the cars. Over all less is more. In some cases an overspray of dullcote to kill the shine, is all that is necessary.
Mr. Beasley,
How great that is that you paid tribute to our old Friend Wolfgang Dudler with your Tank Engine. I still miss his posts and his creative mind and skilled hands.
You are remembered Wolfgang and the Westport Teminal. R.I.P.
Johnboy out..................
MisterBeasley Finally, this tank engine got a complete grimy black paint job. It was undecorated to begin with.
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
Thanks for your very kind words, Sheldon.
Your comment about specific stains is correct: if you wish to add such effects, it's often best done with a brush (not always, though), and usually before the final over-all weathering is applied. After all, the weathering common to just about everything is airborne (or waterborne) and accumulates over such specific stains regularly.Another thing to keep in mind is that weathering occurs on things which were painted with glossy paints, too. While they will dull over time, dirt will accumulate while the paint is still glossy, too. If your car or locomotive represents one that has just recently entered service, keep the weathering light and forego the Dullcote, or, if you're using an airbrush, mix a semi-gloss to spray the model before weathering to give it a not-quite-new appearance. I almost never Dullcote over the weathering, even if it has been done with pastels.
BATMANHave you had the guts to attack your prize Locomotive yet?
BATMANAre you just dipping your toes?
BATMANTell us about your filthy journey and how has it worked out for you so far?
Cheers, the heavy handed, hypocritical, chicken, Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
John Pryke did at least a couple articles on detailing and then weathering steam engines. His method was to rather over do it on all the weathering effects; the rust streaks were too red, the whitish fade from steam was too white, other lighter fades looked too light over the basic too dark locomotive.
And THEN, he'd go back over the entire model with an airbrush with very well thinned coats of the loco's final basic color, usually a medium to darkish gray until everything was blended and faded to just the right degree. They look fantastic.
I have one issue of MR with his article in my painting room, and when I get to my steamers, I'm gonna follow it closely. The cool thing about his method is that it really gives the model painter incremental control over the final weathering effects.
Wayne, your engines look great! Thanks for posting how your learning progressed and refined.
I have begun weathering my rolling stock to varying degrees. My feeling is some should be heavily weathered, others looking like they just came out of the shop, and everything else somewhere in between. That is how it would be in the protoype world. There is no right mixture. Same with structures. Not all should look like they have been standing for 80 years. Some should look like they were recently built. Others should also appear that they have recently been rennovated and/or received a fresh coat of paint.
I do plan to weather my locos as well but I have been a little reluctant to take that on. If I mess up a $15 Accurail box car it's not the end of the world. I'd hate to do that on a DCC & sound equipped steamer that I just shelled out $350 for. I've got some old DC Rivarrosi steamers to practice on before I take on my active locos. Right now I've got other modeling priorities so the only weathering my locos are getting is a nice coat of dust.
Maybe this has already been covered in this topic but since my modeling railroading is limited to the cold weather months I may have missed it. The idea is similar to that expressed in the OP and it occurred to me last week in writing about my town of Willoughby which is an idylic town at the end of my branchline. It was inspired by an episode of The Twilight Zone and is the kind of place you could imagine Beaver Cleaver having grown up in. It is in sharp contrast to the other town on the branchline which is Summit Station. It is something of a sin city, with some of the structures coming from the Downtown Deco series. Anyone familiar with that line probably knows the kind of establishments I am talking about. So a possible future topic for FF might be whether modeler's layouts represent an idealistic world or a more gritty, realistic world, warts and all.
jecorbett Maybe this has already been covered in this topic but since my modeling railroading is limited to the cold weather months I may have missed it. The idea is similar to that expressed in the OP and it occurred to me last week in writing about my town of Willoughby which is an idylic town at the end of my branchline. It was inspired by an episode of The Twilight Zone and is the kind of place you could imagine Beaver Cleaver having grown up in. It is in sharp contrast to the other town on the branchline which is Summit Station. It is something of a sin city, with some of the structures coming from the Downtown Deco series. Anyone familiar with that line probably knows the kind of establishments I am talking about. So a possible future topic for FF might be whether modeler's layouts represent an idealistic world or a more gritty, realistic world, warts and all.
I do agree that some stuff should look new, others things lightly worn, other things worn out - that is real life......
As to you second point above, I lean toward a somewhat idealistic world in my modeling - no visable crime, no slums, no fires in progress, etc. And I am inclined to "leave out" some things that are not part of my real life - no Bars, for example.
And, as a result of this view, nearly all my weathering leans to the lighter side, I paint buildings bright cheerful colors, even if I then weather them slightly, etc.
I want a realistic version of a "good" world, even if that is a contradiction.
Crime would only be shown if it involved a clear depiction of the bad guys loosing......but I would rather not bother.
Lone Wolf and Santa Fe I have seen over weathered layouts where it looks like someone just sprayed brown paint on the whole layout. Yuck.
Yes, railroading is dirty, but badly weathered trains and layouts look even worse. Thats the trick, weathering done right but it's not necessarily a gimmie to have "right" looking weathering.
More often than not I see people post photo's of their effort, it looks like they painted brown on the box car and looks like crap and very unrealistic. People usually try to say nice things but in the end, it still looks awful.
So thats the rub for this philsophical issue. Whats worse, a clean box car, which could have looked that way for a little while at least, or a badly weather box car which never looked like that in real life. Moral of the story, YMMV but always best to go easy if realism is the goal.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
ATLANTIC CENTRAL jecorbett Maybe this has already been covered in this topic but since my modeling railroading is limited to the cold weather months I may have missed it. The idea is similar to that expressed in the OP and it occurred to me last week in writing about my town of Willoughby which is an idylic town at the end of my branchline. It was inspired by an episode of The Twilight Zone and is the kind of place you could imagine Beaver Cleaver having grown up in. It is in sharp contrast to the other town on the branchline which is Summit Station. It is something of a sin city, with some of the structures coming from the Downtown Deco series. Anyone familiar with that line probably knows the kind of establishments I am talking about. So a possible future topic for FF might be whether modeler's layouts represent an idealistic world or a more gritty, realistic world, warts and all. I do agree that some stuff should look new, others things lightly worn, other things worn out - that is real life...... As to you second point above, I lean toward a somewhat idealistic world in my modeling - no visable crime, no slums, no fires in progress, etc. And I am inclined to "leave out" some things that are not part of my real life - no Bars, for example. And, as a result of this view, nearly all my weathering leans to the lighter side, I paint buildings bright cheerful colors, even if I then weather them slightly, etc. I want a realistic version of a "good" world, even if that is a contradiction. Crime would only be shown if it involved a clear depiction of the bad guys loosing......but I would rather not bother. Sheldon
Even my idylic town of of Willoughby has a couple taverns. It is after all a lakeside resort town and naturally the visitors would want a place to wet their whistle. Nothing wrong with Dad stopping in for a beer after work either. As for the other types of establishments which I won't name because this is a family oriented website, I'll leave that for the sin city. As for crime, Willoughy does have a city hall/police station that is one of the more prominent structures but one could imagine Andy and Barney keeping the order in this peaceful burg. Just in case, it is right next to the bank.
Things were incredibly dirty during the steam and transition era in much of the country. Soft coal was burned for everything from steam locomotives to home heating. When I was a boy in the 1960s we lived in a house that had a coal furnace for awhile. The dirt, grime and dust was unbelievable. Let's not forget that many larger cities were taking steps to curtail the use of coal as far back as the early 1900s. It was laws passed to eliminate the use of coal fired locomatives that prompted electrification of the railroads in many areas.
Photos from that era, especially color photos will reveal just how dirty things were. I agree that weathering is easily overdone, but I don't think you can accurately model the steam and transition era without weathering and in some places that weathering needs to be very heavy.
This video which is mostly in color will give you some idea of how dirty things were in those days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEdoxdnHwRY
There is a shot of IC 4-8-2 2550 being washed at 10:48 on the video. There is so much soot and grime on the engine that it almost looks grey. It's very revealing as to just how dirty a locomotive got. The IC (like the PRR) painted the roof of the cabs and the tops of the tenders a box car red color. But a lot of people don't realize it because from the photos of the era the locomotives are so dirty that you would think they were all black. The lettering on IC steam was aluminum, yet many of the manufacturers of the few RTR locos in IC colors use white lettering. Again because the dirt and the mainly black and white photography from that era makes the lettering look white.
This general dirty look doesn't just apply to the railroad equipment. Structures along the right of way also were covered with dirt and grime. Here is a photo of an IC cypress water tower that is still standing in Centralia, IL. This water tower is nearly a block from the tracks and fed a water spout located at the passenger platform. You can see how black it is.
I do most of my weathering with acrylic washes.
I think that you have to weather for the lighting on the layout. The last picture is of a roof taken with the flash. It looks very overdone and garish under the bright light. But under room light it looks pretty good. A lot like applying makeup for the stage or film.
You can also look at the vintage color photography from Jack Delano during WWII online. Everything was dirty in that era. Of course, there were new cars, cars fresh from rebuilding with new paint and lot or railroads kept their passenger equipment washed the way most of us wash our cars. So I think there needs to be a mix. My personal philosphy is that I model the transition era and the the equipment, the structures along the right of way and in towns in the North where there was a lot of coal heating got pretty dirty.
I'm not putting my modeling and weathering up as an example to follow. I'm not that talented, but it pleases me. The good thing about using acrylic washes if you can always wash it off and redo it until you fix it in place with a flat clear coat.
jecorbett ATLANTIC CENTRAL jecorbett Maybe this has already been covered in this topic but since my modeling railroading is limited to the cold weather months I may have missed it. The idea is similar to that expressed in the OP and it occurred to me last week in writing about my town of Willoughby which is an idylic town at the end of my branchline. It was inspired by an episode of The Twilight Zone and is the kind of place you could imagine Beaver Cleaver having grown up in. It is in sharp contrast to the other town on the branchline which is Summit Station. It is something of a sin city, with some of the structures coming from the Downtown Deco series. Anyone familiar with that line probably knows the kind of establishments I am talking about. So a possible future topic for FF might be whether modeler's layouts represent an idealistic world or a more gritty, realistic world, warts and all. I do agree that some stuff should look new, others things lightly worn, other things worn out - that is real life...... As to you second point above, I lean toward a somewhat idealistic world in my modeling - no visable crime, no slums, no fires in progress, etc. And I am inclined to "leave out" some things that are not part of my real life - no Bars, for example. And, as a result of this view, nearly all my weathering leans to the lighter side, I paint buildings bright cheerful colors, even if I then weather them slightly, etc. I want a realistic version of a "good" world, even if that is a contradiction. Crime would only be shown if it involved a clear depiction of the bad guys loosing......but I would rather not bother. Sheldon Even my idylic town of of Willoughby has a couple taverns. It is after all a lakeside resort town and naturally the visitors would want a place to wet their whistle. Nothing wrong with Dad stopping in for a beer after work either. As for the other types of establishments which I won't name because this is a family oriented website, I'll leave that for the sin city. As for crime, Willoughy does have a city hall/police station that is one of the more prominent structures but one could imagine Andy and Barney keeping the order in this peaceful burg. Just in case, it is right next to the bank.
I don't have anything against taverns/bars, it's just not part of my lifestyle......
I do model police and fire stations - my father was a volunteer fire fighter, my son is a fire fighter and EMT - I just don't feel any need to model either "in action".
As for other "vice" crime, I know some modelers who think that is "cute", but I will pass. Respectfully, I think some who model such things actually never had any "problems" in their lives, so it is "adventurous" to put that stuff on thier layouts. My life has had enough real life drama with one ex-wife, three grown children and three grown step children - I don't need even a hint of drama on my layout.......
I prefer to set a different example for my grand children......and other viewers.
JWhite Things were incredibly dirty during the steam and transition era in much of the country. Soft coal was burned for everything from steam locomotives to home heating. When I was a boy in the 1960s we lived in a house that had a coal furnace for awhile. The dirt, grime and dust was unbelievable. Let's not forget that many larger cities were taking steps to curtail the use of coal as far back as the early 1900s. It was laws passed to eliminate the use of coal fired locomatives that prompted electrification of the railroads in many areas. Photos from that era, especially color photos will reveal just how dirty things were. I agree that weathering is easily overdone, but I don't think you can accurately model the steam and transition era without weathering and in some places that weathering needs to be very heavy.
I remember a black and white photo of Pittsburg in our geography books and it's hard to believe people lived there. I visited Pittsburg for the first time in the early 1980s and thought it was one of the most beautiful cities I'd ever been in although a royal pain to drive into or out of. I do remember driving through Gary, Indiana in the late 1960s on our way to Chicago and the air was so bad we had to roll the windows up in the middle of summer with no AC. I'm guessing that too has improved from an air quality standpoint.
Of course you can get dirt and weathering wrong. To avoid that, I spend some time researching how to weather and what colors are often seen on different cars. Freight cars are meant to get dirty and do things. Having them sit with their shiny finishes makes them look toy-like.
I've not touched my first loco yet, b/c I'm focusing on trackwork and scenery on my expanded layout. I will hit the loco soon, but will follow the same philosphy of how to weather the loco so it looks 'loved' without being overdone.