Hi!
Like many of my fellow Forum members, I've been playing with trains for quite a long time, and have been a Forum regular for several years. Many of the posts we have seen bring out our individual preferences - many that we are very "loud and proud" about. We tend to consider these the "rule of thumb", and have a hard time understanding why others don't feel the same.
Soooo, just for grins, I thought I would ask each of us to bare our souls, and state those unbendable rules that we have for our railroads. Of course, since I brought it up, I will lay mine out on the table first..............
- A layout timeframe must be picked for the layout, and strictly adhered to - even if its a span of 10 years.
- All equipment and structures must have some degree of weathering, even if only a spray of Dull-Cote.
- The locos & cars on the layout must make sense. I.E., locos & cabooses of the same RR, etc., etc.
- Track is not laid directly on plywood, a roadbed of some sort is needed - even if sheet cork.
Being a "stubborn old man" model railroader for almost 60 years, I'm sure I have more "rules" - but I just can't remember them anymore..................
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
1. Prototype need not be adhered to.
2. I need not be true to my chosen era.
3. Weathering? We don't need no stinkin' weathering.
4. No lighted passenger cars and no people in the seats.
5. All store fronts must be empty.
6. No signs on any structures.
7. Signals can only be seen from one direction - - LOL
8. Signaling makes little or no sense in terms of prototype protocols.
9. Speed limits need not be observed.
10. It's my railroad, I will do as I wish, I will run what I want, build dates on rolling stock are irrelevant.
Rich
Alton Junction
My only "stubborn old man" rule is simple :Hands off! For those that may not understand that..Keep yer cottonin' pickin' paws off buddy boy.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
mobilman44 - A layout timeframe must be picked for the layout, and strictly adhered to - even if its a span of 10 years. - All equipment and structures must have some degree of weathering, even if only a spray of Dull-Cote. - The locos & cars on the layout must make sense. I.E., locos & cabooses of the same RR, etc., etc. - Track is not laid directly on plywood, a roadbed of some sort is needed - even if sheet cork.
In addition to the ones above:
1) No plastic wheels
2) No speeding
3) No spaghetti - the main line must pass only once thru any "visible" (non-staging) scene
4) All locos and cars must have a unique number
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
Route of LION:
1) No reverse moves allowed. (Well, they are not possible anyway)
2) Do not run into the train ahead of you. (To be fixed with new signal systems.)
3) LOOK at the situation before laying hands on the interlocking machine.
4) and in the MOW department: LOOK at the soldering iron before picking it up.
5) EXPECT a train at any time on any track: Keep your stuff off of the tracks.
6) BLUE BUTTONS stop the entire railroad. USE THEM when needed.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
ahhh, the LION reminded me of other rules,
Never pick up an Exacto knife by its blade.
Don't pour Woodland Scenics Realistic Water one inch deep.
MY "stubborn old man rule" for my layout???
If you ain't ME, DON'T TOUCH!
You can LQQK all you want, tough...
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Conductor will punch ticket or passenger whichever is applicable. ...
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
I guess some of mine include:
Metal wheels only.
Bench work is built sectional. Legs are L shaped and go under the sections - not beside them.
No weathering.
No rules against buying neat stuff just because it's not my era, scale, etc.
Keep all the train stuff I ever got.
Enjoy
Paul
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
My grandkids run my old Athearn locomotives and rolling stock I don't mind losing if there is a crash.
If it looks the way I want it to then that is the way it should be.
Look but don't touch, unless you are in my operating crew.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Heartland Division CB&Q Conductor will punch ticket or passenger whichever is applicable. ...
well in april it will be the start of year 2, hmmmmmmmmm...
obey scale speed limits (doing it by eye)
look but don't touch
keep trains in era (unless otherwise noted)
at all times there must be a 3:1 ratio of BN power on layout. ok maybe not.
Edit: I forgot to add every loco/ railroad needs a caboose, currently I'm breaking this rule because I don't have a caboose for my GN Alco F's.
SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide
Gary DuPrey
N scale model railroader
My stubborn old man rules:
1. No smoking in the train room.
3. If my layout begins to look to others like "it is my railroad and I can do anything I want" it is a day I should consider getting out of the hobby.
2. The day I start making hard and fast rules about the trains era/geography/roster is the day I should consider getting a different hobby.
Yes they are out of order for a purpose, because they sort of contradict and/or compliment each other depending on how one looks at it. That doesn't man I don't want a specific 10 year era, with logical and homogenous motive power and rolling stock rosters, and scenery that is correct for the geographic area. It just means that I am not going to arbitrarily limit myself and the layout based on some preconceived (probably ill conceived) rules I happen to dream up.
If you are a repairman repairing the hot water heater or the heating system itself, the layout is not a tool shelf to hold YOUR tools. DO NOT put your stuff for any reason on my layout. This has happened more than once. Nothing broken so far and I have learned to move anything on the layout in the area of the water heater and heating system.
I have a few simple rules that are absolutely unbendable, never mind unbreakable.
Modeling the Pennsy and loving it!
I got a couple more: anyone who makes a rude/non constructive comment about my trains and/ or layout on my youtube channel will be told off in a very impolite way especially if they have no proof or things showing their trains.
all visitors may be cleared by my conductor Oskar(my dog)
railfanning is always welcome
there is not set rule to absolutely have trains in era(yeah it's a contradiction, couldn't help it but an RS1 from SP&S would look sweet alongside a BN NW2)
1). The following rules apply to my Model Railroad, only! How you model your's is totally up to you and I encourage you to follow your own rules and not listen to people who are critical of others and think everyone should follow their rules!
2). Metal wheel sets, only.
3). Kadee couplers, only.
4). Rolling stock and structures to the highest degree to be built from "kits":or scratch built, only. Exceptions are locomotives, for which kits are no longer being made.
5). Everything "Weathered" the way I feel looks right
6). Time era is the year 1955.
7). Equipment as would be found on the Northern Pacific Railway in Western Montana.
8). All locomotives must have engine crew and cabooses to be "peopled", when practical.
Beyond the above restrictions, as applied to my railroad only, anything goes.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Around my layout, stubborn old men are considered overgrown "stubborn old boys" (yeah, make that into an acronym ), as operating on a layout seems to be an excuse for crankiness among some. Conductors and other train crew have been instructed to treat them like hobos with a bad attitude and put them off the train at the earliest possible point if they should become obnoxious.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Let the kids play and touch, that's how they learn. Touching does not equal destruction when respect is present.
Richard
1. Time era is from 1935 to 1955. Try to be within +/- of that for operations and faithful to that for open houses.
2. Metal wheels/Kadee couplers are to be the norm, short time frames of Kadee clones is acceptable. Non metal wheels are only acceptable if they are from Athearn.
3. Weathering is a grab bagged. Somethings look good weathered, some don't. It's in the eye of the wife and kids.
4. There are only 2 dieseals allowed. That is a pair of F7A/Bs that were bought before the COO was even in the picture. They are allowed because they are bullet proof and there is little the kids can do to hurt them, including the 3.5' drop to the floor.
5. All engines must be either electric or steam. See rule 4.
6. Comments about proto fidelity to anthro-geographic constructions and institutions will be noted and filed. How the comment is phrased determines which file it goes to.
7. When in doubt, have fun first see Rules 1-3, and 5-6, otherwise. 4 is non-negotiable, the wife said so.
Pretty well covered everything but can add a couple of more.
Don't leave fingerprints in the dust on top the box cars. I prefer to do my own weathering.
If you don't like Santa Fe (just before they became the Big Nasty Santa Fe), don't bother to visit.
If you don't like Oklahoma scenery, then go to Texas or Kansas.
If you don't like three level deck layouts, then don't bother to come.
If you don't like the 1989 era, then don't bother coming.
If you don't like to listen to grumpy old men (modelers), then visit the layout three blocks away.
If you don't like HO layouts, you can go outside and my wife will give you the tour of the garden railroad. If you don't like that, the next layout is 3 blocks away.
Bob
Well, since I'm a Lone Wolf and don't have 'open houses' (except for anyone that wanders out to the garage during a dinner party or wanders into the garage when I've got the door up), I just have a few rules, mainly for close friends.
1: No smoking inside the garage.
2: Don't bother the raccoons if they walk through on their way to the back yard.
3: Time era is 1934-1953, so don't ask to see my AMTRAK or double-stacks. For that matter, don't expect much in the way of diesels, period.
4: I don't do weathering, unless it's a steam locomotive. Everyhthing else is on its own.
5: No, there is no actual railroad along the middle and north forks of the Yuba River. It's called Protolancing.
6: Yes, that orange lump on the cab of the locomotive is more than likely a Ladybug--I use them and Praying Mantids in the garden instead of insecticide. They do occasionally fly in and hitch rides (not the Mantids, though).
7: Please don't ask to see how 'fast' they'll go--that's an actual 6-foot drop from the top of Yuba Pass to the cement garage floor.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Hey, I resemble that remark!
Just so we're not singling any particular age group out, here is some information all should take note of: There are all kinds of "Stubborn Young Men! In fact, I've run across plenty of "Grumpy Young Men, here on the Model Railroader Forums, also!
Simple
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=5959
If one could roll back the hands of time... They would be waiting for the next train into the future. A. H. Francey 1921-2007
RIGHT-ON , FERGIE. I have the same thing on my wall. TEFFY gave it to me.
Safe sailing, Squid.
Flip
I have to give Bob a call as I haven't talked to him in a dog's age
NP2626 What are your "stubborn old man" rules for your railroad? Hey, I resemble that remark! Just so we're not singling any particular age group out, here is some information all should take note of: There are all kinds of "Stubborn Young Men! In fact, I've run across plenty of "Grumpy Young Men, here on the Model Railroader Forums, also!
Gary- IT'S called LIFE. Win some , lose some. Sorta like E-Bay. lol
Heck, ask anyone in the Diner.