The eye to notice details on prototypes, i.e. built date, load limit, weight limit, etc.
The ability to see outside the box
The ability to be a city designer
Being able to be an architect
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
trwroute BATMAN You need to be an ambassador of the hobby.
BATMAN
You need to be an ambassador of the hobby.
Brent, if I may, what Wayne may take issue with is "need" to be an ambassador. I agree with Wayne, being a model railroader does not mean we need to do that. You are welcome to yes if you find that is some thing you desire to do, but many can enjoy the hobby without needing to be an ambassador. I'd guess the more socially outgoing would be best at preaching the gospel of trains be while the more introverted, less so.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
doctorwayneat least for me, is imagination.
Wayne, I fully agree because that is the base root of the hobby.
I have limited my facets of the hobby to the ones I feel is important to the hobby as far as basics and advance operation,freight cars that fits the era I model and ISL designs based on prototype.
Another true facet is to fully enjoy your modeling style.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
SeeYou190...It looks like it came back, so I edited the original post again to include some new ideas.
Okay, I'll try to offer something a little more positive.
I'm not sure that it would be considered a facet of model railroading, but one of the most important "skills", at least for me, is imagination. I wouldn't be in this hobby without it.
Wayne
doctorwayneThat's similar to the "How long is a rope?" question. Each modeller will embrace only the facets which apply to his or her interests.
.
That is the point of the idea this thread was associated to. It looked like it was degenerating into a "what is a REAL model railroader" thread, so I let it go.
It looks like it came back, so I edited the original post again to include some new ideas.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
A lot has been written here, but has anyone suggested AUTHOR yet
Good topic
Rob
doctorwayneIf I can put the track together, and place a locomotive on it, and plug in the transformer and make the train move, am I not a model railroader of sorts?
Very well said!
I am in this hobby 55 years now and I have built numerous layouts since I got started in 1963. The first few were just what a teenager is able to accomplish, but the last ones were -weel, one could say little pieces of art.
Then disaster struck in form of an illness, which has taken away much of my ability to control my hands. Handling "hot" tool, like a soldering iron, or "sharp" tools has turned into a hazard with a high risk of bad injuries. I am glad I can still handle knife and fork an, yes, I am still able to place a loco on the track, but just because it has pizza cutter flanges.
I have come to terms with that illness and found a way to stay in the hobby. I am even building a small layout, which is a rather primitive layout, build on a simple table top, using Marklin´s infamous 3-rail AC tinplate track.
Most of the items on that list are now beyond my capabilities, as I lack the "hands of a watchmaker" I stated in my earlier post. But I still have the eyes of an artist, the persistence of a long distance runner and the heart of child, which enable to come up with something which is a small miracle for me!
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Many of us have layouts in unfinished basements, attics annex rooms or even detached, dedicated buildings (I seem to recall onewolf contributing many photos of his building/layout).
My layout began with a concrete saw and jack hammer as I had to move the laundry tubs and machines and relocate the drain lines. Then came studs, insulation, drop ceiling, wiring, lighting, flooring, finish drywall and carpentry.
It is all part of a skillset needed for a successful/comfortable/clean layout environment.
So, add home construction skills to the list.
Add geology, too, as I had to learn about Sharon Conglomerate so that I could have the correct rock formations for my modeled area.
Cheers, Ed
IRONROOSTER Civil engineering. Developing a trackplan/layout design and then building it, modifying as you go where necessary to make it all work. Project management. Pulling it all together in the right sequence to have a finished layout. Paul
Civil engineering. Developing a trackplan/layout design and then building it, modifying as you go where necessary to make it all work.
Project management. Pulling it all together in the right sequence to have a finished layout.
Paul
First, it all depends on what we individually want to get out of model railroading. That being said, the following is subjective, but it can be a huge factor for SOME of us...
Well stated Paul. I lean heavily on your use of the word "modifying". For me, track planning is the most difficult aspect of RR modeling, and the part I don't enjoy at all. I am fine with the more technical- mechanical things, but my layout design had to come by long hard evolution.
It really is "civil engineering", and it just had to be developed the hard way, at least for ME to enjoy MY layout. I do finally like the layout.
Dan
SeeYou190How many facets are there to being a Model Railroader
That's similar to the "How long is a rope?" question. Each modeller will embrace only the facets which apply to his or her interests.
SeeYou190It is an all-encompassing hobby that required many skills.
The hobby indeed may encompass many skills, but not all are required by all modellers. If I can put the track together, and place a locomotive on it, and plug in the transformer and make the train move, am I not a model railroader of sorts? And if I build a live steamer, using all the myriad skills needed to do so, I am also a model railroader - no "better" than the first person, I think, but definitely different.
I'm uncertain as to your reasons for pursuing such a list, but it seems to me that it's destined to be inconclusive.
I am having problems with this thread, but you may attribute that to my bad command of the English language!
I got my first train set when I was 7 years old. Had my Dad told me at that time, that I´d have to develop skills and knowledge in:
and have to learn how to be an ambassador for the hobby, I´d have problably screamed and run away, never to touch model trains again.
IMHO, the most important facet is our love for trains and their model representation, this is the driving force behind our hobby, which lets us develop the skills we need for it. That and, last but not least, having fun in what we are doing.
I have the feeling that the fun part is forgotten.
j. c.i know this is not what your looking for but to be a modeler you do not need most of the skills that have been listed , the first and formost thing is the desire ,
Correct.
This is not meant to be a list if what it takes to be a model railroader, but a list of what is included under the massive umbrella of model railroading.
MapGuy42Budgeting
My late father in law on his wife's spending:
"They sell, we buy"
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
i know this is not what your looking for but to be a modeler you do not need most of the skills that have been listed , the first and formost thing is the desire , then the skills come as you advance into the hobby, some never advance past the first level a loop of track , then others move into the hobby for other reasons some listed ones some are not listed.
Any votes for mathematician, civil engineer, and/or draftsman?
In addition to the stuff listed elsewhere, I use those three all the time. The size, shape, and dimensions required to bring the layout into existence were a breeze.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
You need research skills and the mindset of both a museum curator and a librarian.
Research skills to find both the prototype information and the modeling information. Even knowing how to search these Forums and this website takes some skill. Knowing how best to use the "Advanced Search" function on the Walthers website takes some experience and skill.
Museum Curator to know what to keep and prize, what can be discarded and its value; what is and is not duplicative and what is best used as trade bait.
Librarian -- related to research skills, but how to organize the materials you have so that they can be found. I refer not just to traditional library "literary" materials such as useful articles, books, digital and 35mm images, and favorite websites, but also the "library" of parts, tools, materials and supplies that all of us acquire.
Needless to say diplomatic skills can also be beneficial. A subset of that is negotiating skills, useful not only on the homefront, but at swap meets.
Dave Nelson
I decided to add Brent's suggestion of being an ambassador for the hobby. Even though this is something I do not do anymore, it is something that others might feel is a large part of the enjoyment.
In fact, twenty-five years ago when I was a club officer in Scale Rails of Southwest Florida, I took being a hobby ambassador very seriously.
trwroute BATMAN You need to be an ambassador of the hobby. With all due respect, why? I don't get it. I think we should just do it because we like it. No need to explain it to anyone.
BATMAN You need to be an ambassador of the hobby.
With all due respect, why? I don't get it. I think we should just do it because we like it. No need to explain it to anyone.
I recently had another batch of relatives in from England. They wanted to see the layout after my sister told them about it. I could have taken them into the trainroom and said there it is and after a look gone back to the kitchen.
Instead, I fired it up and with my wireless DCC controller had a couple of trains running, was moving engines on and off the turntable and in and out of the roundhouse all with the same controller.
I then showed the bundle of wire underneath the TT/RH for all the feeders and a bunch of the other wiring involved with the layout. This peaked the husbands' interest immediately as he is in the tech business.
His wife (my Cousin) had a real fascination with the foam mountains and how I made them. I took a hunk of foam and showed her how by just gouging chunks out of it you got the shapes and showed her the thirty odd colours I used to paint them. I showed her all my coffee cans of sifted dirt, ground foam, leaves, and homemade static grass applicator.
Then I showed them the wiring I was working on to light the RH. LED/lampshade. The result was they learned just what is involved with the hobby, so much more than they had thought. They have since returned to England and have purchased not a starter set, but track and two good quality engines and a few freight cars. So by being an ambassador and explaining whats involved they developed a keen interest that I hope last. People do not know what they don't know. Like anything in life. Effort in, reward out.
Then I showed them the wiring I was working on to light the RH. LED/lampshade.
The result was they learned just what is involved with the hobby, so much more than they had thought.
They have since returned to England and have purchased not a starter set, but track and two good quality engines and a few freight cars.
So by being an ambassador and explaining whats involved they developed a keen interest that I hope last.
People do not know what they don't know.
Like anything in life.
Effort in, reward out.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
gmpullman I don't know why anyone would not want to promote model railroading. Cheers, Ed
I don't know why anyone would not want to promote model railroading.
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
When I was younger I used to "hide" the fact that I was a modeler. It was much easier for me to avoid the usual "plays with toy trains" mentality.
Since then, I've matured and I'm not inhibited to share my hobby with others. Over the years I have had some positive influence introducing about six individuals to the hobby. Some I met at social events, some were co-workers. Three of them have since built small layouts and have purchased models and supplies and publications. This "customer base" helps us all in new product development and a greater "knowledge base" of information out there.
I meet up with these folks, and others, at train shows and invite them to my layout. I'm glad to have encouraged these people to be a part of the hobby.
I — and in turn — all modelers can benefit from having larger numbers of participants in the hobby.
Tinplate Toddler You need to have the eyes of an artist, the hands of a watchmaker, the legs/persistence of a long distance runner and the heart of a child to be a model railroader.
You need to have the eyes of an artist, the hands of a watchmaker, the legs/persistence of a long distance runner and the heart of a child to be a model railroader.
Tinplate,
That sums it up perfectly . Wonderful quote.
Patrick
Fear an Ignorant Man more than a Lion- Turkish proverb
Modeling an ficticious HO scale intergrated Scrap Yard & Steel Mill Melt Shop.
Southland Industrial Railway or S.I.R for short. Enterchanging with Norfolk Southern.
Inventory Management
Computer Programming
Budgeting
You need to be an ambassador of the hobby. Explain all the facets involved and why it is enjoyable. When people are not inquisitive enough to educate themselves about anything, they become dismissive at best and fearful at worst. Showing them some wiring under the layout is something that peaks their interest and I find elevates their mindset to a higher plane.
Brush painting and airbrushing. I know model railroaders who have only two skills: putting an engine and cars on a track and making them run... And can be really bad at it!
Simon
I think you have to be
1-Open-minded
2-Want to have fun.
3-Willingness to learn
If you're not having fun doing something, you shouldn't be doing it!
Neal
PLEASE BE CAREFUL HOW YOU REPLY. I am not looking for any oppinions or long responses, and I really do not want to start much discussion. I just need input for an idea I am trying to put together. I need help. Your help is very much appreciated.
How many facets are there to being a Model Railroader? It is an all-encompassing hobby that required many skills. I am trying to put together a list of the skills and interests included in the hobby of Model Railroading. I know I have not come up with all of them.
Prototype operation
Watching trains run
Electronics/electrical
Woodworking
Researching prototype history
Mechanical design
Landscape/scenery design
Building models
Collecting equipment/models
Displaying models
ADDED BY SUGGESTION:
SNJROY: Painting (Airbrush and had), I can't believe I missed this one.
MAPGUY: Computer Programming
MAPGUY: Inventory Management
BRENT: Being an ambassador for the hobby
IRON ROOSTER: Civil Engineering
ED: Home Construction Skills
ROB: Author
Dr WAYNE: Imagination/Creativity
That cannot be all. What should I add to the list?
I will add your ideas to this orginal post to keep a cummulative list up to date.