IN WHICH CONTINENT or COUNTRY IS YOUR MODEL RR SITUATED ?

[CBQ_Guy]

Well I'm modeling a U.S. (fallen flag) grainger railroad, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in the Midwest part of the country which I describe as "...rural area, 'somewhere between Chicago and Galesburg, Illinois' "

Don't mean to be offensive but I never cared for the look of "foreign" railroad equipment. The first time I saw some as a kid they just looked "funny" to me, with those weird looking bumper thingies and all that. Probably has something to do with where you live and what you see everyday.

Recently, I seem to be getting a bit of curiousity on Austrailian RR. I have Trainz with an Aussie ore hauler line and I kind of like the look of the diesels; they look "American" to me. My father in law also gave me a two hour video to watch that he taped off of the local PBS (public broadcasting) TV station on Australian railways which I actually found kind of interesting for the most part. I guess the history of the railways, no matter where in the world they are, is apparently something I've recently realized I have may some latent interest in.

[lupo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

I think that a more scientific survey would have results that would show something like 90% to 95% of us choose to model railroads close to home, and the ones who don't have visited or once lived in or near the locations that they do model.

The other factor that may influence a person's decision of what to model is product availability. We can get European models in North America, but they simply aren't as popular here, and most stores don't bother to carry them.

Hey Lupo, is the same true in Europe? My guess is that American products are slightly more available there, but are they popular?

Sure, If you put a similar question on a european forum you get the same result: most modellers choose to model a RR close to home.
and yes, one of the reasons I model US RR were my visits to your country : [C):-)]Dallas: Age of steam museum, UP 4018,(need I say more), and I loved the wide open spaces, miles of road and no people around (holland is SO cramped) Barstow, Las Vegas, Durango-Silverton, CP coal trains 150 hoppers long ( in holland a train that long would connect one city with another or would be called an iron curtain) could go on for pages.. . . . . [sigh]


Dutch LHS mostly don't carry US models, and the major European model-brands have but a few US locomotives (1 or 2) in their catalogues, but with the release of the Marklin / Trix BigBoy more Europeans became interested in US RR.
Most of the RR stuff I buy I find on swap-meets were are some US selling merchands and from browsing the same Internet stores as you all use, the goods are send ( and sometimes tortured ) by USPS but we european modellers need to have patience, sometimes it takes 10 - 12 weeks for the stuff to get overhere, but it can also be a nice suprise if you forgot what you ordered . . and Internet discount pricing is OK even if you add the shipping costs and dutch sales tax = 19% ( this is NO typing error ) you pay less than for european brands model RR stuff ,
I have the same problem with Marklin / Trix pricing as most of you, for the money they charge for their 4884's I bought 2 new Rivarossi 4884's and one a second-hand, and even Italian Rivarossi models are cheaper and more easy to get in the US than in Europe

[Jetrock]

Not so much the equipment running on them as the backgrounds--the landscape of the American West is something utterly unlike Europe--although the space between Chicago and Omaha doesn't exactly qualify, unless one considers near-endless fields of corn exotic...

I model a railroad that ran as close as four blocks from where I am sitting now. I'm into the local stuff.

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Nieuweboer

I live in the Netherlands (aka Holland) but dutch railways are dull and other european countries don't interest me. I like the exotic of american railroads and specifically of the mighty old class 1 roads ATSF, SP, UP and BN. So I took a Rand McNally atlas and looked were I was liable to find all of them at some time or other. Between Chicago and Omaha-Sioux City, so that where I situated my layout.

American Railroads EXOTIC????? of all the terms I could use to describe US rail, Exotic isnt one of them...I'm laughing right now because I would have thought of European trains like the Eurostar or the TGV as "exotic". Guess it really does depend on your perspective. Whats common and dull to one, is exotic and exciting to another.[;)]

[Nieuweboer]

I live in the Netherlands (aka Holland) but dutch railways are dull and other european countries don't interest me. I like the exotic of american railroads and specifically of the mighty old class 1 roads ATSF, SP, UP and BN. So I took a Rand McNally atlas and looked were I was liable to find all of them at some time or other. Between Chicago and Omaha-Sioux City, so that where I situated my layout.

[BentnoseWillie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by RhB_HJ

Yeah well, that was before "Juan" paid a visit.

It still looks very nice, thank you very much. We just have fewer old trees than we used to....[B)]

p.s. Fergus, do we know each other?

[Big_Boy_4005]

I think that a more scientific survey would have results that would show something like 90% to 95% of us choose to model railroads close to home, and the ones who don't have visited or once lived in or near the locations that they do model.

The other factor that may influence a person's decision of what to model is product availability. We can get European models in North America, but they simply aren't as popular here, and most stores don't bother to carry them.

Hey Lupo, is the same true in Europe? My guess is that American products are slightly more available there, but are they popular?

[michaelstevens]

[;)]
Supermicha's closer on the seven continents issue.

Just need to correct "Artica" (which is all ice) to "Antarctica" (which has land under its ice)

[:D] I just knew it was one of those "big islands" covered in ice !! [:D]

[Anonymous]

I model northeastern US.

[CP5415]

The USA is where my layout is modeled after. But it is a CANADIAN railroad I am modeling.
That way I shouldn't have problems with scenery.
It's a lot easier to get American stuff such as cop cars, etc etc etc... than it is Canadian unfortunately.

Gordon

[Supermicha]

Boys, did you had geography in school? we have 7 continents on earth:

-Asia
-Africa
-Europe
-Australia
-North America
-South America
-Arctica

I´m from germany bud i model Amtrak and electric engines in the US, germany models are too expensive for me and american engines are much nicer for me.

Micha

[lupo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

WOW I didnt know Canada was its own Continent? I thought there were only five, North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, and Austrailia

[#oops] forgot the USA - CANADA politics, corrected this, so I possibly offend somebody else I think . . . .[#oops]
[:I] and I added country to the poll title [:I]

[Anonymous]

None of the above. My land is a fictious, very large island in the South Atlantic called Dalreada.

[michaelstevens]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

WOW I didnt know Canada was its own Continent? I thought there were only five, North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, and Austrailia

[:)]Vic [:D]
[8D] I really think that its officially seven.
Add Greenland and split Europe and Asia, at the Volga River (I think).

[:)] Great idea Lupo [:)]

Of course my HO layout is actually in a Philadelphia basement -- therefore on the North American continent -- and I do model US railroads, part of the time -- but the main purpose was as a stage for my British OO models [:D]

Therefore my layout probably likes to think that it is in Europe !!

[:D][:D]

[RhB_HJ]

Vic,

QUOTE: "Traveling thru Hyperspace is rather like being drunk" said Ford.
"Whats wrong with that?' asked Arthur,
"Ask a glass of water" replied Ford, Arthur thought about that....
Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Yep, the Adams books (I guess you guys considered him one of yours) together with what Hiaasen writes are definitely a redeeming factor.[;)][:I][:D]

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by RhB_HJ

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

WOW I didnt know Canada was its own Continent? I thought there were only five, North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, and Austrailia

Vic,[;)][:)]

I didn't know that USA was either; general opinion of resident population notwithstanding.[;)][}:)][:o)][:o)][:D]

I'm sure alot of canadians WI***hey were on a seperate continent from the US .[:D]Ha HA![:p]

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

WOW I didnt know Canada was its own Continent? I thought there were only five, North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, and Austrailia

Vic,[;)][:)]

I didn't know that USA was either; general opinion of resident population notwithstanding.[;)][}:)][:o)][:o)][:D]

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

The best part of Canada, where else?


Lets stir that pot

Now if you really wanna stir that pot you should organize a phone-in for the pronounciation of "Musquodoboit".

That should be good for plenty of laughs.[:o)][:I][:D]

[vsmith]

WOW I didnt know Canada was its own Continent? I thought there were only five, North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, and Austrailia

[RhB_HJ]

Lupo,

I model RhB, the proto is 9 time zones removed from here.

[RhB_HJ]

Yeah well, that was before "Juan" paid a visit.

[Anonymous]

The best part of Canada, where else?


Lets stir that pot

[lupo]

In which part of the world is your model railroad situated, I think most forum members are Americans modelling American railroads, prototypical or fiction, but browsing the forums I found out some of you model "a long way from home"

BTW: I am from Holland and I model the UP (this may seem like foul language to some of the members nowadays, but It appealled to me because it is one of the biggest american RR's and have had some awsome locomotives through the years ) I guess it is as corny to you as an American modelling a dutch RR ( we have 3 or so ) with a windmill next to a canal and a dude wearing wooden shoes putting his finger in a dike seems to me.