Hah hah, Ralph sounds right. Your memory is better than mine! I just remember the cartoon but not the context. I still have a few of my old MR magazines - I've thinned them way down but keep a few for historical and posterity reasons.
As for handling my trains, yes, I actually handle them - so Ralph would not be happy. Sorry Ralph. However, I do try to only handle when needed - less handling less chance of breaking a part or something. It's never something I've given any thought to for many years but this forum comes up with all kinds of strange questions I'd never think of asking - many of them "whimsical" and from a lot of people with more time on their hands than I do to think of wierd stuff - you know the old saying about the idle mind! LOL
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761 Do you physically handle/move freight cars In the scene, it shows the layout owner picking up his steam engine which is parked in a house track. The famous visitor is SHOCKED and says, "You don't actually pick up your trains do you?" The layout owner is impossibly embarrassed and then the famous visitor explains how to build a feature into his layout so he doesn't have to pick up his trains. I always got a laugh out of that cartoon, the someone could actually react that way and never gave it a though again until this topic was started, jarring me back to that cartoon.
Do you physically handle/move freight cars
In the scene, it shows the layout owner picking up his steam engine which is parked in a house track. The famous visitor is SHOCKED and says, "You don't actually pick up your trains do you?" The layout owner is impossibly embarrassed and then the famous visitor explains how to build a feature into his layout so he doesn't have to pick up his trains.
I always got a laugh out of that cartoon, the someone could actually react that way and never gave it a though again until this topic was started, jarring me back to that cartoon.
I hate picking up cars, but sometimes there are derailments, and if I have uncoupling issues I have to find out what's wrong. One of these days, I'll have enough of everything to carry out my threat to make my layout truly dual-era, and then there will have to be wholesale swaps.
When possible, I'll only pull cars with locomotives. Isn't the whole purpose to run trains?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Interesting question
I am in the process of building a narrow staging track so I can remove outgoing cars and replace them with incoming cars from either level 2 of the SIW, a static display or from my new display case which is mostly locomotives.
Level 3 the subway display of course never needs touching as it's just a set of cars on Bachmann auto reversing track.
Level 4 is static Lionel around the ceiling and only gets touched when the holidays come and I put up my around the tree train.
Joe Staten Island West
I think there is a difference in the nature of the question if you're using the 0-5-0 switcher as a means of operation or if you handle cars to swap out for variety before or after operating.
I have need for about 25 cars, but own probably three times that many. I don't see where I would use valuable space to build multiple storage tracks for unboxed cars just for the purpose of never handling them. Not to mention they'll collect dust so I'll have to eventually handle them to clean them.
But I don't handle them as a means of operating the layout.
- Douglas
My layout covers a long timeframe (1915 to 1960). The buildings don't change but the locos and rolling stock and other vehicles can all be changed depending on what era I want to run. God's hand can do such miracles...
Simon
I thought everyone handled their cars. Just goes to show what I know...
In the photo below, there are three levels of staging tracks, with storage shelving below...
Cars are taken off the layout here and returned to their respective boxes, and others taken from the shelves and placed on the layout, so lots of cars are handled frequently.If you have highly detailed cars, you should already be aware of proper handling procedures, so no reason to not touch them if you need to.Locomotives generally stay on the layout, unless they need repairs or maintenance.Most of the details on the layout are not fastened in place, and I'll periodically move some of them around to different locations, especially vehicles and figures. I also load and unload open freight cars - gondolas and hoppers generally get "live" (loose) loads, and flat cars and some gondolas get custom-made loads meant for specific car types. For me, almost everything on the layout was well handled while I was building it, so no reason to leave it untouched now. If I happen to break something, I usually fix it so that it's unlikely to break next time.
Wayne
In the town of Port Mary there will be a carfloat.
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If everything goes right, this will be the only place where freight car are handled. They will be taken off of the float by the manual 0-5-0, and placed in nearby drawers. New cars will be taken from the drawers to restock the float.
Of coarse, all equipment needs to be handled for rerailing, maintenance, and repairs.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
The title of this topic reminds me of a cartoon in MR magazine back in the 1970's. It shows a layout owner getting a visit from a famous model RR figure who finally accepts an invitation to some see his layout - sort of like getting Tony Koester or someone else famous to visit.
NWP SWP The T-1s were pressed into freight service on the PRR when they were relegated from the premier passenger service, my T-1 is the original version #5501 with the streamlined pilot, later units had an unstreamlined pilot.
The T-1s were pressed into freight service on the PRR when they were relegated from the premier passenger service, my T-1 is the original version #5501 with the streamlined pilot, later units had an unstreamlined pilot.
That being said "having fun with trains" is the ultimate standard, and it sounds like you had tons with that one. (Won't talk about the "reality compromises" I've done without blinking...)
There was a wonderful story in Trains magazine years and years ago about a T1 that ended its days in work train service on the Pennsy -- the story was a classic about the engineer basically telling the fireman "watch this" as they tested what the T1 could really do, which of course was frightful speed .... .
So this scenario isn't entirely off base except for the Louisiana circa 1970-80 part.
Dave Nelson
LensCapOn NWP SWP At the club yesterday I ran a loads train to a power plant and then returned with empties, I was running my T-1 ....... Wait! WHAT!!! Doesn't seem normal use for a T-1, what with the 80' drivers and all. (must be a shortage of Pennsy fans for them not to have jumped all over this...)
NWP SWP At the club yesterday I ran a loads train to a power plant and then returned with empties, I was running my T-1 .......
At the club yesterday I ran a loads train to a power plant and then returned with empties, I was running my T-1 .......
Wait! WHAT!!!
Doesn't seem normal use for a T-1, what with the 80' drivers and all. (must be a shortage of Pennsy fans for them not to have jumped all over this...)
The T-1s were pressed into freight service on the PRR when they were relegated from the premier passenger service, my T-1 is the original version #5501 with the streamlined pilot, later units had an unstreamlined pilot. Oh also it was pulling an NS loads train with an NS caboose, so theoretically it could actually be #5550 in special revenue service, oh and my club is based on the Midsouth RR in Louisiana circa 1970-1980.
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
I have more cars and locomotives than my layout can hold so I have a fiddle track that doubles as a rip track and test track (to test coupler height). Other than fixing derailments it is the only place I touch cars. I shuffle them on and off as I see fit. I have plastic storage drawers which hold them while not in use. I never use the 0-5-0 hand switcher because my yard works almost like a hump yard and is very efficient. I believe that the less you handle a car the better. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve broken the window shades off of my locomotives.
One reason to physically touch the freight cars is to avoid the feeling "Haven't I run this same train before?" And after all most of us have enough cars to stock several layouts in addition to our own!
On some layouts that is the task of the person running the hidden staging yard(s): arriving trains have cars destined for foreign roads taken off the layout and put into storage. Various car forwarding methods and systems allow for this. On one guys layout it might be a year (not a fast clock year, a real year) or more before that car is seen again, which is kind of neat.
This was no big deal in an era of durable but not highly fragile cars, but the new generation of highly detailed cars is much more risky to touch in any way. Indeed there is a highly detailed and expensive center beam flatcar which can be easily almost destroyed if it is picked up in the most visually obvious manner. Makes me nervous as heck.
A fairly recent layout video tour on MR Video Plus shows the car cassettes that Ken Thompson created for his BN Peoria Subdivision layout, and using those cassettes as the storage method means he no longer has to touch the cars themselves. That gives you the realism of a constantly fresh supply of cars appearing on the layout without the risks of damage.
Only when I have to - the rare derailment or pick up for maintenance or the like.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Just a suggestion, all of your last replys don't mention who your replying to, or at least a quote as to what post your replying to.
Mike.
My You Tube
Thanks everyone for your inputs. My curiosity is satisfied. :)
Yep, thanks. Depending on what I'm working on I've been known to do that.
At the club yesterday I ran a loads train to a power plant and then returned with empties, I was running my T-1 and there's no turning facilities on that section of road, you know what I did? I ran the T-1 backwards with a caboose in front of the tender. I felt that was more prototypical than picking it up and rotating the locomotive "manually"
We all have the rules we choose to play by. For me, other than avoiding damage, I see no reason to avoid picking up cars. If you're careful, you'll still avoid damage.
Mostly I move cars to reset after the tyical partially completed ops session. They might otherwise never get moved if they're in that train that's at the tail end of the lineup, don't you know?
Shouldn't I just waybill and forward such cars? To each his own. I'd rather concentrate on a satisfying operating session than on getting cars to a certain place first in order to keep my RR Karma straight.
I also don't build yards to be giant parking lots where every car needs to get back to REST UP before the next run. Real RRs don't host all available car online, all the time, yet that seems to be the approach taken very often. Remember it's a big, big rail network out there.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
It's an unavoidable fact of life for a modular layout that is set up at train shows. However, once on the layout, we avoid handling rolling stock as much as possible. Each member is responsible for his/her own rolling stock.
Fred W
...modeling foggy costal Oregon, where it's always 1900...
I try not to pick up any cars or engines. Sometimes if I want to add one or two cars to a train, I will pick them up by hand from the storage tracks.
I do to put them on and off the layout. I don't have a staging area, I build my trains right in front of me, as what I want to see, and what cars I need to drop off for switching.
Speaking of switching, I've been busy with projects, so it's about time I do some!
The same cars, sitting too long in one spot.
Mike
Every day.. I detest switching the same cars on my ISL so,I rotate them once or twice daily.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Just the other day, I was planting some trees on the far side of the layout. There were two boxcars in my way. Instead of just pushing them down aways, I fired up the RS3, deadheaded all the way from town,to hook up and pull them to clear my work space.
that answer your question