jwhitten selector4. creating a believable and functioning whole that is greater than the sum of its parts (...sorry, many of you should have anticipated that statement. );-Crandell I've seen pictures of your layout. You've definitely achieved creating a hole that's every bit the sum of its parts, with a reverse loop through it no less.... ( ) John
selector4. creating a believable and functioning whole that is greater than the sum of its parts (...sorry, many of you should have anticipated that statement. );-Crandell
I've seen pictures of your layout. You've definitely achieved creating a hole that's every bit the sum of its parts, with a reverse loop through it no less....
( )
John
Ha, you got me there, John. I doubt I'll try that experiment again. No great regrets, all things considered, but my druthers would be to have a walk-in.
-Crandell
I think my favorite part of the hobby is investigating how railroads worked 50, 60, 70 yrs ago. The history and the people of the past that ran the railroads. I've found its much more interesting to look at photos from the past and not model them exactly, but try to capture the feel and period of time thats represented. A good model railroad to me is one that gives a sense of time, place, history and looks as if it is a real working railroad. Searching the internet for info on coal mining for instance has tought me so much about how railroads and mining were intertwined.
My explanation:
I am in love with rural Southwestern Wisconsin. The land and the culture. The region experienced a boom in the late 50', early 60's, and things were looking up. I enjoy creating the atmosphere of this time, as it was a great time for the region and the country. Both my parents grew up in this time period and location and can help me, since I did not personally experience it.
If that's not good enough for you, then you can discredit me as a Model Railroader.
Tyler
jwhitten...And the best part is my 2-1/2 yo son is having a blast running the trains and "working on the layout" with me... I can't wait for my other son to get old enough to help-- he's 9mo's now, but growing fast!
This is terrific.
I was going to chime in that one of the central elements for me is feeling a sense of connection to my grandfather. He loved trains, and when I was a little kid he'd take me trainwatching now and then when we'd go to visit. I had a few model trains as a teenager but they'd mostly sat in a box for the last few decades; I got re-interested about a year ago when something reminded me of some of the trains I'd watched all those years ago with my grandfather. So far I haven't done much other than acquire a bunch of locomotives and cars, but the ones that resonate with me typically have some connection to some personal experience from the past. I have an Empire Builder set because catching one rolling towards Chicago was the height of excitement with my grandfather all those years ago, I have Milwaukee Road E-units in Union Pacific colors because seeing an ad for one flashed me back thirty or forty years to watching those very trains pull in and out of Chicago-area stations, etc.
Whether or not your kids stick with model railroading as the years go by, I think you're building a great foundation of memories with them...and you never know when those will come back later in life and shape what they do as adults. Good for you for paying attention and enjoying it now!
Dean
selectorjwhitten selector4. creating a believable and functioning whole that is greater than the sum of its parts (...sorry, many of you should have anticipated that statement. );-Crandell I've seen pictures of your layout. You've definitely achieved creating a hole that's every bit the sum of its parts, with a reverse loop through it no less.... ( ) John Ha, you got me there, John. I doubt I'll try that experiment again. No great regrets, all things considered, but my druthers would be to have a walk-in. -Crandell
Crandell,
You have a beautiful layout and nothing to apologize for. I hope mine turns out half as nice as yours.
jwhittenAnd he *is* very, very good with the trains too. We have a little ad-hoc "yard" (four spurs), a section of "mainline", about maybe 20-25 feet, a yard lead (which he actually *understands*!!!), and a "industry switching" section with a couple of spurs and a run-around track. He's too little to uncouple the cars by himself, and he can't really read very well yet so I set up the locos for him, but he has a nice soft touch with the trains, knows how to make them creep through the yard and stop darn-near precisely where I point. And he's getting the hang of "switching" too-- he figured out what the runaround track was for yesterday and now he's making some pretty sophisticated moves (for a 2-1/2 yo).
Darn, he's better than some of the grown men I have over for ops sessions!
Think I could get him over to give lessons?
Jarrell
pbjwilsonI think my favorite part of the hobby is investigating how railroads worked 50, 60, 70 yrs ago. The history and the people of the past that ran the railroads. I've found its much more interesting to look at photos from the past and not model them exactly, but try to capture the feel and period of time thats represented. A good model railroad to me is one that gives a sense of time, place, history and looks as if it is a real working railroad. Searching the internet for info on coal mining for instance has tought me so much about how railroads and mining were intertwined.
That sounds like a sensible approach. Do you have a particular prototype you follow?
MadSingerMy explanation: I am in love with rural Southwestern Wisconsin. The land and the culture. The region experienced a boom in the late 50', early 60's, and things were looking up. I enjoy creating the atmosphere of this time, as it was a great time for the region and the country. Both my parents grew up in this time period and location and can help me, since I did not personally experience it. If that's not good enough for you, then you can discredit me as a Model Railroader. Tyler
Well maybe, but not before a pop quiz-- quick, what local roads operate(d) in Southwestern Wisconsin? And for extra credit-- describe their appeal.
bulldog_fanjwhitten...And the best part is my 2-1/2 yo son is having a blast running the trains and "working on the layout" with me... I can't wait for my other son to get old enough to help-- he's 9mo's now, but growing fast! This is terrific.I was going to chime in that one of the central elements for me is feeling a sense of connection to my grandfather. He loved trains, and when I was a little kid he'd take me trainwatching now and then when we'd go to visit. I had a few model trains as a teenager but they'd mostly sat in a box for the last few decades; I got re-interested about a year ago when something reminded me of some of the trains I'd watched all those years ago with my grandfather. So far I haven't done much other than acquire a bunch of locomotives and cars, but the ones that resonate with me typically have some connection to some personal experience from the past. I have an Empire Builder set because catching one rolling towards Chicago was the height of excitement with my grandfather all those years ago, I have Milwaukee Road E-units in Union Pacific colors because seeing an ad for one flashed me back thirty or forty years to watching those very trains pull in and out of Chicago-area stations, etc.Whether or not your kids stick with model railroading as the years go by, I think you're building a great foundation of memories with them...and you never know when those will come back later in life and shape what they do as adults. Good for you for paying attention and enjoying it now!Dean
Your account is very similar to my own. My grandfather and uncle were both into railroading, both as real-life railfans and model railroaders. They lived in Delaware and were Pennsy fans-- I come by it honestly :-) My dad and my uncle built a layout for me when I was a kid-- re-built one of my uncle's actually-- one that I remember from when I was even younger and have fond memories of helping my uncle to operate. His memories may perhaps not be quite as fond... I think a couple of his trains may have taken a shortcut over the side. Come to think of it, sometimes I think it may be a miracle that I survived my childhood...
I love spending time with my kids--they are the delight of my life. And I'm glad they're having fun with the trains-- even if, as you suggest, they grow out of it later, I and hopefully they, will have a lifetime of good memories. And hopefully they'll learn some useful skills and how to think for themselves and solve problems methodically. Stuff that is hard to learn in today's overworked, underfunded, overcrowded schools.
jacon12jwhittenAnd he *is* very, very good with the trains too. We have a little ad-hoc "yard" (four spurs), a section of "mainline", about maybe 20-25 feet, a yard lead (which he actually *understands*!!!), and a "industry switching" section with a couple of spurs and a run-around track. He's too little to uncouple the cars by himself, and he can't really read very well yet so I set up the locos for him, but he has a nice soft touch with the trains, knows how to make them creep through the yard and stop darn-near precisely where I point. And he's getting the hang of "switching" too-- he figured out what the runaround track was for yesterday and now he's making some pretty sophisticated moves (for a 2-1/2 yo). Darn, he's better than some of the grown men I have over for ops sessions! Think I could get him over to give lessons? Jarrell
Well, getting him over to run the trains would be the easy part. Getting him to stop and go home would be a little trickier...
BTW, I found out today that the first building on one of the industry spurs is a "Spaghetti Factory" and the second building on the spur, where we spot the tank cars, is a "Spaghetti Sauce Factory"
It's creating a little world of my own for me. It's a view of a now vintage time, the 40s and 50s in America. It's a world that is based upon honesty and simple work ethics to achieve success. It's also a world of broken down sawmills and dilapidated rolling stock, a place that is sometimes held together with chicken wire and spit, and hope for better days. Maybe it's a place called Willoughby, or something like that.
Maybe it's wishful thinking nestled in a hidden part of a man's mind, or maybe it's the last stop in the vast design of things, or perhaps, for a man like Mr. Gart Williams, who climbed on a world that went by too fast, it's a place around the bend where he could jump off. Willoughby? Whatever it is, it comes with sunlight and serenity and is a part of the Twilight Zone.
Sorry, got a little carried away...
The best thing for me is to develop skills that I never knew I had. I am a pretty decent carpenter and electrician but I never thought I was 'artistic' until I began to tackle scenery. It's a whole new dimension for me that I never knew existed. Then to be able to take that skill and develop it is what the hobby has done for me. Then along with that it has allows me to create scenes from places I have visited at one time or another and that have only existed in my memory. So when I go to the lower level (read, basement) I can see something that I have created which to me is the best part of all.
There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....
jwhitten Do you ever wonder where John Allen would be with his railroading if he were still alive (or had just lived longer) ?? Do you think the G&D was his crowning achievement or would he have ripped it down and started a new one (a la Allen McClelland or Tony Koester) ??
Do you ever wonder where John Allen would be with his railroading if he were still alive (or had just lived longer) ?? Do you think the G&D was his crowning achievement or would he have ripped it down and started a new one (a la Allen McClelland or Tony Koester) ??
This question, to my mind, is a far more fascinating one to explore and ponder than this thread's original subject. And quite possibly the answers might prove to be more surprising than many hobbyist might think.
From a number of period items I've read that might offer insight into J.A. and the G&D, I've gotten the impression that toward the end J.A. might not really have been all that happy about the hobby's take on the whole G&D thing. John was certainly an outstanding modeler, as well as a professional photographer of sorts. However, I think too much of what we saw of his work in print was tongue-in-cheek, like the caricature-style aspects of the Varney ads, or images of excessively rotund little men atop absurdly swayback rolling stock in Trackside Photos. This comical aspect overshadowed much of J.A.'s real talent as a master modeler (see his great instructional articles in 50's and 60's MRs).
John was known for his sense of humor and indeed did many amusing things when operating the G&D, but I wonder just how far this really carried? It's fairly well known that he was eventually unhappy with the gimmicky G&D name, and I suspect also that he might have felt that his serious modeling might not be nearly as much appreciated as it really should have been.
An artist, if he should become famous for some off the cuff cartoon he might have scribbled, can become very unhappy with his situation when his true artistry is not fully appreciated - just consider the situation of writer Arthur Conan Doyle and his creation Sherlock Holmes. So, I've more than once tended to suspect that this might have been true of J.A. and his G&D. In that light, had he not had health concerns and lived longer, I think that he would very likely have replaced the G&D with a very realistic, prototype layout, that did not have nearly as much of the fantasy aspect as did the old G&D.
It would certainly be interesting to hear Andy's insight on this question, given that he was part of the original G&D crew.
CNJ831
jwhitten blownout cylinder To me, working on structures, bridges and scenery is a relaxing activity. I'm trying to make the northern plains/prairies appear on my layout in terms of the atmosphere and the activity that I saw and experienced when I lived there awhile back. My layout, then, becomes that stage setting for the activities/people/scenery/trains I saw, as well as experienced, up there. I may not get anywhere near the reality of being there but, at least, one can try. So are you going for a "big sky" look?
blownout cylinder To me, working on structures, bridges and scenery is a relaxing activity. I'm trying to make the northern plains/prairies appear on my layout in terms of the atmosphere and the activity that I saw and experienced when I lived there awhile back. My layout, then, becomes that stage setting for the activities/people/scenery/trains I saw, as well as experienced, up there. I may not get anywhere near the reality of being there but, at least, one can try.
To me, working on structures, bridges and scenery is a relaxing activity. I'm trying to make the northern plains/prairies appear on my layout in terms of the atmosphere and the activity that I saw and experienced when I lived there awhile back. My layout, then, becomes that stage setting for the activities/people/scenery/trains I saw, as well as experienced, up there.
I may not get anywhere near the reality of being there but, at least, one can try.
So are you going for a "big sky" look?
That may be. Considering that I only have 7 actual sites that have any "population" of any sort on it! I'm sort of thinking along the lines of Lance Mindheim's approach to his "Monon Route"(?) layout. Except mine is approaching high season, I guess---
JohnCNJ: I've been kind of wondering about that phase of JA's myself. Even with the humourous aspect I found that his modelling, at least from my viewpoint, was actually such that he was far more effective than most others at that point. To me the modelling was really good---humour or no.
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Two Truck ShayIt's creating a little world of my own for me. It's a view of a now vintage time, the 40s and 50s in America. It's a world that is based upon honesty and simple work ethics to achieve success. It's also a world of broken down sawmills and dilapidated rolling stock, a place that is sometimes held together with chicken wire and spit, and hope for better days. Maybe it's a place called Willoughby, or something like that. Maybe it's wishful thinking nestled in a hidden part of a man's mind, or maybe it's the last stop in the vast design of things, or perhaps, for a man like Mr. Gart Williams, who climbed on a world that went by too fast, it's a place around the bend where he could jump off. Willoughby? Whatever it is, it comes with sunlight and serenity and is a part of the Twilight Zone. Sorry, got a little carried away...
The most important elements of a MRR are the trains!
Seriously, though, they're all important, IMO.
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
First I MUST say, the scene Lee posted is just fantastic!
Now to the thought at hand.
The most important element to me, is being able to create a world that I like. Leave the hub bub of real life and create a place I'd like to be. Whether it be a real place, or fictitious place or, a combo of both. The way I'd like it to be now, or return to a time I enjoyed. For whatever reason the time or place, Model Railroading allows me to go there. It also allows me to relax while I am doing this and spend time reflecting, or dreaming. And as it gets closer to completion or upon completion, if there is a thing, the result isn't just a dream, but reality.
Many have said the same thing but just wanted to say more than "ditto".
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
The most important elements of model railroading are locomotives. When I look at a layout or look at pictures of layouts the first things I look for are locomotives. The locomotives are the stars of the show, while the track, the scenery, the structures, and the rolling stock are the supporting cast.
Modeling the Motor City
Model railroading is fun. (If it isn't, you're in the wrong hobby...)
Of course, fun takes many different forms:
The practical:
And the whimsical:
But, above all, the feeling that everything in this little world is the way that it is because that's the way the modeler wants it to be.
Do I resemble any of the above. Guilty as charged...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
jwhittenWhat do you suppose are the most important elements of Model Railroading and/or being a Model Railroader?Aside from the trains themselves of course--
Aside from the trains themselves of course--
Is it your "mind's eye view"-- some "essence" you're trying to capture? The "construction" aspects? The modeling? Scratchbuilding/Kitbashing something? Getting an "overall aesthetic"? Capturing a piece of your youth? (a scene, a place, a time, a feeling, something along those lines?)
It is yet a third completely different question asking which elements of designing / constructing / operating the model railroads is most enjoyable to us as a modeler.
~G4
19 Years old, modeling the Cowlitz, Chehalis, and Cascade Railroad of Western Washington in 1927 in 6X6 feet.