For many of us, model railroading represents a place or a time or something that we wish to remember from the past. It is kind of like a comfort food, it makes us feel better when we can go to the train room and drop in on the thing we are trying to duplicate from full-size memories to our miniature world.
For me, a place is the thing, that iconic spot on the Canadian Pacifics mainline is the Stoney Creek bridge. When the dreams started off, of what I wanted on the layout first entered my tiny mind, the Stoney Creek bridge was the first thing that took up residence there.
Here is one of many famous photo's from the past, often used in ad's to promote travel by rail.
Here I have the curve to the right that will go over the bridge with the canyon to the floor. I am waffling as to whether I should do the original wooden trestle or its steel replacement.
Here is the original.
Or if I wanted to get really creative, I could have the new steel structure being built around the old wooden trestle.
So this weeks question is, what was your must have on the layout? Was it a geographical place, a particular piece of equipment (or several) Maybe a whole train (like the Canadian) a building (like a particular station or your home) Let us know, and if you have pic's please include them. It will tell us why your layout looks like it does. If you have nothing to show because it is still in your mind, tell us what "will be" or even "what would have been".
Looking forward to your answers.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I dunno, Brent....you're on the west coast and I'm currently on the east coast, but it's not yet Phriday even here! Anyway.....
No real "must haves" on my layout, although I did want at least a couple of water crossings and industries of a size sufficient to look as if they could support rail service.Still lots left to do, but here are a few views:
Wayne
doctorwayneI dunno, Brent....you're on the west coast and I'm currently on the east coast, but it's not yet Phriday even here!
Ahhhhh, but Wayne it is Friday only four hours to the West of me, so does that make me closer to Friday than you, even though you will get there first??????
Anyway, great pic's, thanks. I wish I was further along on getting things done, I can only hope to have things look so good.
My Swiss narrow gauge layout is actually built around one of the iconic scenes along the route to Zermatt. It´s the chapel and bridge at Stalden Neubrück.
... and on my layout:
Brent,As you know I favor ISLs and my eras is 77/78,84/85 and 94/95.
77/78 is a no brainer I love all of those colorful IPD shortline boxcars and there was still many railroads around and one could still see PRR and NYC rebuilt boxcars,SCL,ACL,Frisco,MP,WP and other like road names.
84/85 is the beginning of both NS and CSX locomotives replacing the older road names and the beginning of the end of railroading as we knew it..
94/95 Was "boom" years for the railfan traffic was high along with new locomotives to be seen..
I could never model the filthy 50s and the decaying 60s.IMHO it would be hard.
In the filthy 50s smoke residue and cinders covered every thing,long lines of dead steam engines awaiting the scrapper's torch,abandon roundhouses,steam backshops small shop office building stood abandon and water tanks without water columns was everywhere and coming down fast.
In the 60s railroads was caught between the trucking industry and their Interstates and losing freight hand over fist as well as money on dead and dying passenger trains..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BRAKIE I could never model the filthy 50s and the decaying 60s.
I could never model the filthy 50s and the decaying 60s.
BATMANFor many of us, model railroading represents a place or a time or something that we wish to remember from the past.
Boy, do I disagree. For some of you, should be the saying. For myself and many others on forums and in person, it has nothing to do with being alive in the past, but about what we just like.
There are many of us that grew up with steam and are bored by the steam era. Second generation and later diesel electric up to and beyond the 2000's is what model railroading is about for many. So, there I am done!
Ken G Price My N-Scale Layout
Digitrax Super Empire Builder Radio System. South Valley Texas Railroad. SVTRR
N-Scale out west. 1996-1998 or so! UP, SP, Missouri Pacific, C&NW.
BATMAN...what was your must have on the layout?
I wanted to capture the look of the everyday and ordinary world of rail business in the area modeled - northwestern Utah and northeastern Nevada - with a lot of empty space and uncrowded scenes.
Union Pacific yard at Riverdale, UT http://www.railpictures.net/photo/109570/ .
My fictitious Junction City yard.
Great Salt Lake desert near Wendover, UT http://www.railpictures.net/photo/20666/ .
WP somewhere in NV.
The wye at Delle, UT, with the Rowley branch taking off to the north.
My mainline heading east from fictitious Lakeview, UT.
Union Pacific Malad branch near Corinne, UT.
West of my Junction City yard.
Mount Ogden behind the former location of the Bamberger interurban yard.
Mount Ogden behind my unfinished industrial branch.
Rob Spangler
BATMANSo this weeks question is, what was your must have on the layout?
Batman,
I don't think that is a Fillosophy question, but my problem is every time I come up with a "must have" on the layout, I end up changing my mind about what I am modeling. Each new idea and plan comes with its own "must have".
My original "must have" when I was in Jr. High was the Santa Fe El Capitain.In High School I discovered the Great Northern railroad and the big sky blue paint scheme. About that same time Model Railroader ran an article on the big domes, so I switched my "must have" to the Empire Builder with dome cars.In College I learned about and studied free lance railroads. My must have started moving toward prototypical operations.After college 1979 I got interested in Command control and on-board sound those became my must have with CTC-16 and a PFM sound unit, so I switched to HO scale so I could fit all that electronic equipment into the units.etc.
My current must have is the Canon City & San Juan Railroad (Santa Fe) built hanging bridge of the Arkansas River.
Here is someone elses photo of it from bridgehunter.com .
Alas, my 'must have' will 'never be'.
I wanted to model the swing bridge at Little Current on the Manitoulin Island. However, when I drew up a diagram, reality set in.
The bridge in HO scale would have been about 6 1/2' long including the approaches, and it would have cost several hundred dollars in brass stock. OK, I could have used styrene with a metal beam to support it, but I still didn't have the space. Compressing it enough to make it fit what space I had simply took away the feel of the real thing so I didn't want to go there.
Then, of course, there was the fact that mostly what happens at the bridge is waiting for it. Not condusive to a lot of action.
At least I have a nice drawing to show for my efforts. I will content myself with a couple of Micro Engineering structures and a wooden trestle.
Here is the bridge. It is now 103 years old and still going strong, although its only vehicular traffic now. The trains stopped long ago:
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Steam locomotive. At least one. I prefer the smaller ones like the 4-4-0, 0-4-0, 0-6-0, 2-6-0, etc. But a bigger one will do. My brothers and I had Fleischmann trains (we were living in Germany when Dad bought us each a train) and they were small engines. We loved them and incorporated them into our lead soldier wars. I still have one that I run occaisionally.
Enjoy
Paul
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Ulrich, We had friends who are big shots in the movie industry over last night and he said you should be making models for the movie industry. He is into trains, trust me when i say that is a real compliment if you new where it was coming from. Google movies and TV shows filmed in British Columbia, he has involvement with a large percentage of them.
Brakie, I can see why you like the bright colours and probably clean as well. I loved the multicoloured grain cars we had up here when they were all new and clean.
Lake, I did use the word "many" and not the word "most" for a reason. However, I shall try and phrase my sentences to be more inclusive in the future.
Rob, I have always admired your layout and you have really nailed it as far as place and time.
Well, Texas Zephyr impersonator, I agree it isn't a very filosophical question, but it is the best my tiny mind could come up with this week. When someone complains about the dinner around my house, they get the pleasure of making dinner the next night. So I look forward to you providing the filosophy Phriday question this week. In the meantime, I'll be upgrading my BAT software version 1.0 from 1957 so I can get with the program.
Dave, keep dreaming and remember some walls can be removed you know.
Paul, my major industry on the layout is a pusher station in the steam era, for the simple reason, it allows me to have lots of engines without having to provide rolling stock for them all. Plus I do like running loco's just by themselves.
Bear, an ISL that will include a stable of carfloats will look nice in the corner of the living room. Please have it done by my next visit to New Zealand.
Thanks to all that participated this week and my apologies for disappearing completely after posting last week. Demanding kids don't ya know.
Lake BATMAN For many of us, model railroading represents a place or a time or something that we wish to remember from the past. Boy, do I disagree. For some of you, should be the saying. For myself and many others on forums and in person, it has nothing to do with being alive in the past, but about what we just like. There are many of us that grew up with steam and are bored by the steam era. Second generation and later diesel electric up to and beyond the 2000's is what model railroading is about for many. So, there I am done!
BATMAN For many of us, model railroading represents a place or a time or something that we wish to remember from the past.
Well, I purposely did not reply to this thread early on, because its question does not really apply to me.
I have a list of "must have" operational and scenic features, but the scenic features can be, and are completely freelanced.
And none of it comes from some "memory" I wish to recreate - I model a time before I was even born, let alone a time I actually remember.
Just the opposite of Lake, I have virtually no interest in current railroading, or even the railroading of my youth or young adulthood.
I'm 59, born in 1957, my layout is set in 1954, easily a decade before I had any real specific memories of prototype trains. There was little to no railroading close to my home for me to see day to day, trains were something "in/near the city" a place we did not go to often.
I can't identify one modern diesel by sight, nor do I care to. Were I to pick a different era to model, my second choice would be even farther into the past - 1910/1915.
I am building a swing bridge scene on my layout, and it crosses a 6' wide river complete with approach bridges - in keeping with my view that a bigger layout means the oppertunity to have things more to scale, not to have more things or more complexity.
Like Lake, for me it just about "what I like", and I like the early 50's, filthy or not.
Sheldon
Sheldon:
I'll be following your swing bridge progress with interest. You are using about the same space as what the Little Current bridge would require.
Will the actual swing bridge be the full 6' width of the river or will the approaches extend into the river? How large is your layout room?
I haven't built the layout yet so there is still the possibility of doing the Little Current bridge. The actual swing bridge is 4.5' in HO and the approaches are 1' each. Unfortunately I would have to eliminate a lot of features that I really want in the layout in order to fit the swing bridge in, even if I shortened the approaches.
Cheers
BATMANUlrich, We had friends who are big shots in the movie industry over last night and he said you should be making models for the movie industry.
Brent - I surely feel flattered, but believe me, there are folks in here who are real artists and much, much better than I am. You´ll be able to understand me when you see the layout in person ...
hon30critter Sheldon: I'll be following your swing bridge progress with interest. You are using about the same space as what the Little Current bridge would require. Will the actual swing bridge be the full 6' width of the river or will the approaches extend into the river? How large is your layout room? I haven't built the layout yet so there is still the possibility of doing the Little Current bridge. The actual swing bridge is 4.5' in HO and the approaches are 1' each. Unfortunately I would have to eliminate a lot of features that I really want in the layout in order to fit the swing bridge in, even if I shortened the approaches. Cheers Dave
Dave,
I will try to post some pictures later. I am using the Walthers swing bridge with thru truss approach bridges from Micro Engineering. It is still in the benchwork phase, but it is far enough allow for you to get the idea. Pictures later - if my photo skills hold up.....
My layout room is 25 x 40, my original layout was fully double decked and fairly complex. Before it was complete I decided to make it sectional for a move down the road - that rebuild has been going slowly, but I also simplified the layout as well.
ATLANTIC CENTRALJust the opposite of Lake, I have virtually no interest in current railroading, or even the railroading of my youth or young adulthood.
Well, I had no real interest in any of those either when I started his layout. What happened was, I started with steam, mid 1930's. Then soon realized, before I bought to much, that it was just not what I wanted. Then moved to the 1950's. F and E's, and a few Alco S2's. Lots of 40ft rail cars also.
Still not quite right. Moved up to the early seventies, then modern which was to modern. So the mid 1990's just happened, though not really planned.
It does let me run UP, SP, CNW, MP and NP engines on the same layout.
hon30critter Alas, my 'must have' will 'never be'. I wanted to model the swing bridge at Little Current on the Manitoulin Island. However, when I drew up a diagram, reality set in. The bridge in HO scale would have been about 6 1/2' long including the approaches, and it would have cost several hundred dollars in brass stock. OK, I could have used styrene with a metal beam to support it, but I still didn't have the space. Compressing it enough to make it fit what space I had simply took away the feel of the real thing so I didn't want to go there. Then, of course, there was the fact that mostly what happens at the bridge is waiting for it. Not condusive to a lot of action. At least I have a nice drawing to show for my efforts. I will content myself with a couple of Micro Engineering structures and a wooden trestle. Here is the bridge. It is now 103 years old and still going strong, although its only vehicular traffic now. The trains stopped long ago: Dave
BRAKIE I could never model the filthy 50s and the decaying 60s.IMHO it would be hard. In the filthy 50s smoke residue and cinders covered every thing,long lines of dead steam engines awaiting the scrapper's torch,abandon roundhouses,steam backshops small shop office building stood abandon and water tanks without water columns was everywhere and coming down fast. In the 60s railroads was caught between the trucking industry and their Interstates and losing freight hand over fist as well as money on dead and dying passenger trains..
Lake ATLANTIC CENTRAL Just the opposite of Lake, I have virtually no interest in current railroading, or even the railroading of my youth or young adulthood. Well, I had no real interest in any of those either when I started his layout. What happened was, I started with steam, mid 1930's. Then soon realized, before I bought to much, that it was just not what I wanted. Then moved to the 1950's. F and E's, and a few Alco S2's. Lots of 40ft rail cars also. Still not quite right. Moved up to the early seventies, then modern which was to modern. So the mid 1990's just happened, though not really planned. It does let me run UP, SP, CNW, MP and NP engines on the same layout.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Just the opposite of Lake, I have virtually no interest in current railroading, or even the railroading of my youth or young adulthood.
I started in this hobby pretty young, at 10/11 years old I had a nice 5 x 18 layout with some help from my father - that was the late 60's and most of the equipment on it was 1950's prototypes.
As an older teen, I had a very brief interest in the current railroading of that time, mid 70's, but soon was back to the early 50's - nothing has temped me away from that era in more than 35 years.
Built several layouts, been in several clubs, but it's still 1954 in my layout room.
I don't even own one locomotive who's prototypes was built after 1954, and only have about 6 pieces of rolling stock left over from the brief interest in the 70's.
But I that's because I don't buy anything that does not fit the layout theme.
OK, here are a few photos of the swing bridge project. The river is about 6' wide, or about 500 scale feet - still very much selectively compressed.
I'm a big believer in selective compression, but I believe it fails when taken too far.
I'm building a freight yard - 8 tracks wide, 20' long, to handle the 30-40 car trains I run. I model a time and place where normal mixed freights were typically 40-70 cars. I feel that running trains in the 30-40 car range captures that feel. Any less does not justify the 3 unit diesels or the large steam on the head end.
Your bridge looks great, and the approaches still look long despite the compression. It will be nice to see it finished.
Hi Stix:
wjstixIn this case, I suspect a bridge around 24-28" long could still capture the 'feel' of the real bridge.
Believe me, I have studied that possibility.
I did several drawings of compressed versions of the bridge but I wasn't happy with the results. I got the actual bridge down to about 36" from 52" uncompressed, and the approaches were much shortened, but it just didn't have the appearance that I wanted. Anything shorter than 36" didn't have the look at all. I decided that I didn't want just another swing bridge (like they are a dime a dozen eh!!) Also, including the bridge required that several other scenes be even more compressed or entirely eliminated. Too many compromises IMHO. I was trying to do too much in the space I had.
The Little Current swing bridge has a special place in my heart. My family pioneered on the Manitoulin Island and they road the Algoma Eastern Railroad many many times across that bridge. In fact I have a distant ancestor who was an engineer on the railway. I have gone across and under the bridge many times. It always gives me a thrill. Even getting stuck in traffic when the bridge is open is fun because you get to watch the bridge rotate.
Thanks for your input.
hon30critter Sheldon: Your bridge looks great, and the approaches still look long despite the compression. It will be nice to see it finished. Dave
Thank you, modeling time has been limited recently, but I will surely keep you posted as I make progress on this project.
Sir Madog BATMAN Ulrich, We had friends who are big shots in the movie industry over last night and he said you should be making models for the movie industry. Brent - I surely feel flattered, but believe me, there are folks in here who are real artists and much, much better than I am. You´ll be able to understand me when you see the layout in person ...
BATMAN Ulrich, We had friends who are big shots in the movie industry over last night and he said you should be making models for the movie industry.
Actually, Ulrich, he was saying he would just take the church and bridge and green screen around it. He could take them to any time period and insert a train from any era. You may think it isn't good, all I can say is, it caught his eye.
Here are some examples of greenscreen work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvfW0KNCrqM
Sheldon, I really like the bridge. I can visualize some Dr. Wayne type water effects around it. It is going to be great.