Your thoughts on "How to Build Realistic Layouts"

[n2mopac]

My copy of the new special edition, How to Build Realisitc Layouts came today. I am just beginning to read it, but I thought we just as well open up the discussion. What are your thoughts? What did/didn't you like? What did you learn? At first glance it looks promising to me, but I'll weigh in more as I read more.

Ron

[Anonymous]

You won't get a realistic model of a railroad out of a book about model railroads.

If you want to model something that looks realistic look at the real thing... or at least lots of photos of it. Use your eyes and develop your own interpretation of what you see.

AND HAVE FUN!

[Anonymous]

I think he wants critiques on the magazine LOL. I don't get them until the cover is tore off or they are at the used book store. :D Let you know in a few years LOL Fred

[n2mopac]

So far I have enjoyed Joe Fugate's article on weathering track, though I had read most of the content on his clinic thread here, and the article on signage along the ROW is good. That is as far as I have gotten, but i'm really enjoying it.

Ron

[Anonymous]

I don't have it yet, but will be looking forward to seeing it on the store shelves.

I learned my lesson with the last MRP - you save a buck by ordering it earlier, but it shows up faster on the store shelves anyway, so for a buck you're starved of the awesome content for a couple weeks!

[n2mopac]

I usually pre-order the special editions and when I do I always get them about 2 weeks before they his the local newsstands.

Ron

[Bill54]

I ordered mine back in March knowing it should be out in May. I haven't received mine yet. I guess it'll be here by the end of the month.

Bill

[BRAKIE]

I fully agree with David..He is 100% correct..You can't get a realistic railroad out of a book written by anybody.One must have prototype knowledge in order to understand what makes good realistic track design....That can only come by first hand observation of the prototype through railfaning,pictures and DVD/ videos..

Remember this folks "experts" tend to complicate the simple and overstate the obvious.Not to mention they change their minds every time a sour wind blows.

[steamage]

Maybe the name should have been Modeling After the Prototype. I found the information about Signaling and Towers most useful. If anything, How to Build Realistic Layouts will teach a modeler about observing the prototype.

[Bob grech]

I think one of the most over looked aspects of a good design is operation. IMO, Operation is what separates a dull design (a layout having trains go round and round) to one that provides many years of enjoyment.

[Anonymous]

I did not mean to comment on the publication... perhaps I came out a bit quick with a prejudice I have...SORRY! [:I] I know that some of those named produce some really useful ideas and good guides on how to do things.

I haven't seen the book so I can't comment on it except to say That Joe Fugate's stuff is good and that he does tell us to go and look at the real thing. If they're all doing the same...GREAT [8D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bob grech

I think one of the most over looked aspects of a good design is operation. IMO, Operation is what separates a dull design (a layout having trains go round and round) to one that provides many years of enjoyment.

I totally agree! The huge difficulty is that so many of us are tempted to follow layouts we see at shows and in mags. The trouble is that we only spend a short time looking at them at a show. In a mag we get a frozen frame.
One good guide to how good a layout is (as in how interesting to run trains on) is to take a look at how numb the operators have gone at different times of day. If they're bored brainless... you have your answer.

One operator of a really good layout i saw had an answer to end-of-the-second-day-blues... when asked he explained that he was colour-co-ordinating the box cars...[:D]

I know that it's difficult, especially for first timers, but the thing to try to do is to work out what you will be able to do with it (other than scrap it and start again) when you have completed it.

I like to try to provide for 3 things
1. trundling round and being entertaining while I'm working on something else - and when the inlaws come.
2. point-to-point service running... for when I want to play trains and enthusiasts are around.
3. A bit of switching- but not too much - that can go on while 1 and/or 2 are happening but will occasionally interupt them... this is for really playing trains [:p]

The important thing is to enjoy it.[^]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by David Foster

You won't get a realistic model of a railroad out of a book about model railroads.

If you want to model something that looks realistic look at the real thing... or at least lots of photos of it. Use your eyes and develop your own interpretation of what you see.

AND HAVE FUN!

I think that pretty much sums it up best. The books are helpful but the fun part of the hobby ( for me at least ) is trying to recreate what I like in the "real world".
[2c]

[MRTerry]

"I don't get them until the cover is tore off or they are at the used book store."

Dear readers,
We know that some vendors sell magazines without covers, but here's some information about what that means. Copies without covers (or with the top half of the cover removed) are copies that the original vendor reported as unsold and destroyed. We don't ask them to return the whole magazine because of the cost of shipping, just the cover. They don't pay for those copies. Thus, any magazines you see with covers removed are basically stolen merchandise. They may pass through several hands before you see them offered for sale, but they were never paid for. Kalmbach Publishing does not sell magazines without covers. I guess it's between you and your conscience whether you buy them, but I thought it was worth clearing that up. As long as any copies at a used book store or hobby shop have full covers, they were originally purchased legally.
Thanks for reading MR, and enjoy Realistic Layouts. I think Andy and the team did a great job on it, and we look forward to your suggestions for improvements or for other topics you think that model railroaders might enjoy. We're always looking for ideas, and readers like you are a great source of them.
Best wishes, and thanks again.
Terry

[Anonymous]

Terry I don't know but I took it that what was meant was that the book/mag was so old that the cover was torn with use.

For myself... this last weekend I struck gold at my LHS with 1975 and 1980 folder copies of MR. The 1975 in particular includes an article on street running in Chicago which is EXACTLY what I have been looking for for ages. These two years must be part of the few remaining gaps that I have had in my collection of mags going back well into the 60s (My UK mags go back into the 30s....it's hard work moving house!)

I guess that this is an enormous plug for how useful model mags (and books) are.

I have been forced to make decisions between mags and "makings" in the last couple of years. i don't know about anyone else but something that really put me off and still puts me off mags is the intermixing of editorial material with adverts.

I know that adverts both inform readers and provide the publisher with revenue which makes the mag possible, keeps the price down or both but this mixing still drives me nuts.

As far as content ideas goes... the short but pithy articles on the real thing are far out the best and most useful for someone several thousand miles away. The "how to's" ( like those I've praised above) are next best. Layouts are (sort of) interesting... BUT someone's already done that.

The big point I rather rushed in to make was directly related to this last... we can start to see models based on models rather than on the real thing. So whatever issues one layout may have from compression may get made worse and worse again as we progress from the real thing.

OOPS...must go out... will comment again later

Thanks for the mags, books and forum :-)

I'm back! [:)]

If I may hijack the thread briefly to make some suggestions...
Things that would be useful to me as a UK railwayman looking at US Railroads would be articles on operation. This is not just Rules and "procedure" but what a journey or switching job is like from the footplate. Or what a towerman's shift or a ZDispatcher's shift is like.
Again guidance on just what can be seen in a photo of the real thing is useful. We get some stuff on identifying characteristics of specific locos and sometimes cars... taken furtherthis could include what is around a depot, yard... just a set of switches. i know that some stuff like this has been done...MORE PLEASE!

The responses that developed to my thread "Aliens on the track" were really useful.

Someone raised a thread on buildings around a staging yard... fantastic! An endless source for taking a pic apart and saying "look at this detail".

Hope this is useful. [8D][8D][8D]