After seeing that FAIL of a fundraising pitch, I am thinking of modeling Penn Central. There are lots of broken PRR and NYC cars at the train shows.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL OK, that's fine, it's your little world. I don't even care to think about what might be going on in the heads of my little 1/87 people, or what their politics or beverage habits are..... But come to think of it, I have never installed a political sign on a layout, and never had a bar or a liquor store on one either........ Sheldon
OK, that's fine, it's your little world.
I don't even care to think about what might be going on in the heads of my little 1/87 people, or what their politics or beverage habits are.....
But come to think of it, I have never installed a political sign on a layout, and never had a bar or a liquor store on one either........
Sheldon
I have one liquor store and four bars on my layout. I've also got a brewery turning out Strumpet Beer and Ale, plus a delivery truck and an ice bunker reefer I've built for the same brand. I know my era is a bit late for billboard beer reefers, but I like them so I have them.
I'm not too harsh about enforcing era rules. There are a couple of early sixties autos, and the lastest thing on the layout is a Playboy centerfold from 1967, hung above a workbench inside the roundhouse. My structures are mostly either brick or clapboard, so they span many eras.
Boxcars all have roofwalks.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I set my date in 1954 with automobile billboards. That works well for me. Three advertisements for the 1954 cars that are a bit faded are fine.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
MisterBeasley ATLANTIC CENTRAL OK, that's fine, it's your little world. I don't even care to think about what might be going on in the heads of my little 1/87 people, or what their politics or beverage habits are..... But come to think of it, I have never installed a political sign on a layout, and never had a bar or a liquor store on one either........ Sheldon I have one liquor store and four bars on my layout. I've also got a brewery turning out Strumpet Beer and Ale, plus a delivery truck and an ice bunker reefer I've built for the same brand. I know my era is a bit late for billboard beer reefers, but I like them so I have them. I'm not too harsh about enforcing era rules. There are a couple of early sixties autos, and the lastest thing on the layout is a Playboy centerfold from 1967, hung above a workbench inside the roundhouse. My structures are mostly either brick or clapboard, so they span many eras. Boxcars all have roofwalks.
I have no issue with those who drink "adult" beverages, but having watched up close as a number of people have struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, I made the choice to set a specific different example. I don't drink.
Before making that choice I was only the most occasional social drinker. I don't miss it one bit, but then again I never craved it.
I think I have a billboard reefer or two floating around, but it is just something I don't think about. I could barely tell you the name or location of a liquor store here in our little town, so I have never thought to put one on the layout.
I don't go to "bars", we don't eat in the "bar" section at restaurants. It is just off my radar completely.
Lastspikemike Parts of this thread a tad alarming to those of us outside the USA. It is important to know about the history of the rest of the World.
Parts of this thread a tad alarming to those of us outside the USA.
It is important to know about the history of the rest of the World.
Once again, nothing from the OP Mr. Slade. Another one these post. Sorry I replied to begin with.
Mr. Slade can go back into hiding.
Mike.
My You Tube
mbinsewiOnce again, nothing from the OP Mr. Slade.
His post might have sat in the "waiting admin approval" queue for a couple days. In that time he probably assumed it was lost to gremlins, and went on.
I would like the forum to send an email to new members letting them know how this process works.
By the time we see it, and welcome them in, they might have given up already.
Or, Mr. Slade might have been turned off by the ugliness in some responses.
Yes, thank you Travis.
If we use his logic:
We can't model the 50's because of segregation.
We can't model the 40's because of Hitler and the Holocaust would be too much in focus.
We can't model the 30's because of the depression.
We can't model the 20's because of gangsters, speakeasy's and risky investments.
We can't model the teens because of the other ugly war and a flue pandemic.
And the 1860's would be totally off the table, as would the rest of the later 19th century.....
Etc, etc
I think Jim Slade may be held up by not posting more than once. He has to get multiple approvals before he gets off 'moderation'.
I for one am interested in the movement in that 'railroad Hamilton watch". It turns out to be true that some railroads did not approve 'older' watches, regardless of condition, for certain service -- one potential later reason being the risk of magnetization of the hairspring. That does not change the interest in the craftsmanship and precision that went into true railroad grade ... or in some of the schemes and scams that could accompany that...
Can we see pictures of the watch and its inner workings?
OvermodI think Jim Slade may be held up by not posting more than once. He has to get multiple approvals before he gets off 'moderation'.
OK, I guess, I thought once your post showed up, you were already approved, and the post was allowed to be.
So, after he posted this, then he went into moderation?
Whatever, agree with Kevin, they should let new members know this proceedure.
Usually the first 5 or so posts by a new member are moderated. Unless there is reason to continue moderation, the admins will generally clear a member for unlimited posting after this probationary period.
I did check the moderation forum yesterday and today and Jim has not submitted another post. Therefore, it's speculation as to the reason or reasons he has not posted again. We'll just have to wait and see...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I think he's humbly lurking while he reads the opinions. He needs to be "proactive" in posting multiple times at the beginning, which might 'go against the grain' for someone new -- but I think it is advisable, and I've furnished one 'excuse'.
SeeYou190 Or, Mr. Slade might have been turned off by the ugliness in some responses. -Kevin
I think Kevin nailed it.The OP stated “First off, love model railroads.”
I’ll be surprised if he stays. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I think its presumptive to assume that others are as offended as we are, for whatever it was that was even offensive in this thread.
I've seen a lot of OPs give up on a thread after posing a question.
- Douglas
RR_Mel SeeYou190 Or, Mr. Slade might have been turned off by the ugliness in some responses. -Kevin I think Kevin nailed it.The OP stated “First off, love model railroads.” I’ll be surprised if he stays. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Well, Travis "suggested" that modeling the Southeast United States "too correctly" in the 1940's or 50's might imply one is not "racially sensitive" enough for todays politically correct climate.
Maybe the OP did not take well to the idea of being called a racist because he likes trains from the 40's and 50's?
However obsurd the connection might be. And it is an absurd connection, that's why I called him on it.
To me that sparks a tangential question, what is model railroading?
If you're modeling people to the degree that there should be the "proper" level of diversity and social awareness, it kind of gets into the depths of modeling. Stuff I would address after the layout is mainly finished. I'd be still working on the correct angle and look of a caged ladder on a cement silo, adding broken pallets to a loading dock, than thinking about that stuff, if I ever would make the time to do so.
Its certainly modeling. And could be very good modeling. What's being modeled, I'm not sure.
Doughless What's being modeled, I'm not sure.
My layout is a fantasy. Most I would categorize as caricatures. I have never seen any layout that tried to model to social strife of its time period except for the occassional picket line or gathering of beatnicks.
I have seen more godzillas and king kongs on layouts than people getting arrested.
Let's get back to having fun.
There is a gentleman who I believe lives in Los Angeles, and he tries to model very realistically the contemporary era. He has or had videos on YouTube. He said he almost never runs the trains. His layout shows people getting arrested, victims of crime, and, IIRC, a burning building. If that's your thing, great, but I would never think of doing something like this.
SeeYou190Or, Mr. Slade might have been turned off by the ugliness in some responses. -Kevin
Or pontificating by those who ad-nauseum loudly self exalt themselves belaboring narcisstic comments such as "I always life long make the right choices for the right reason and rarely if ever make a mistakes". /out hear before the lock
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I'm going to go against the grain and say why I didn't go with the transition era.
Variety, documentation, and aesthetics.
While, yes, the 40s/50s definitely had more road names to pick from and there's more kinds of 40' boxcar than I could ever hope to understand, railcars have had a relentless march towards specialization. Aside from stockcars vanishing, every type of railcar that existed then, exists now. But, there were few covered hoppers, none of them the big 3, 4, 5, or 6 bay ones that come in all kinds of shapes and size. Tank cars didn't come in the massive variety they do now. The entire set of intermodal didn't exist. Automobiles still went in boxcars. Even the simple hopper didn't have as big a family tree. Coil cars, one of my personal favorites, were still in the future.
Access to documentation is different too. I didn't go with my childhood because I didn't trust my own memories, plus there was something of a transition going on in my area in the late 80s and early 90s. Contemporary modeling gave me access to a period of time with large scale digital photography. No one had to digitize someone's old slides. They just natively uploaded them to websites. Shifting a few years ahead of my original plan gave me Street View. I have a literal time machine. Plus, by going with my own adulthood, I have personal documentation. I don't envy those guys that I see at the shows digging through the binders of slides. I can still drive over to a spot to check something out.
Honestly, judging from my family photos and recollections, Western Pennsylvania in the 40s and 50s was ugly. Everything was filthy. The sky was a uniform battleship gray. My mom recalls the days they weren't allowed to go play in the snow because it was orange, from pollution from the nearby sintering plant. Everything had a thin film of coal dust on it, year round. Most surprisingly, is that there wasn't a dang tree anywhere in sight. The woods I played in as a kid were barren scrubland when my parents were kids. Frankly, it isn't an environment I was interested in duplicating. We have pictures that are color pictures, but you would only know if someone told you. It was a dirty, nasty place.
NittanyLionWhile, yes, the 40s/50s definitely had more road names to pick from and there's more kinds of 40' boxcar than I could ever hope to understand, railcars have had a relentless march towards specialization.
In my boxcar fleet, I have dozens of different styles of 40 foot boxcars, but 90% of them are reddish brown. I can certainly understand the attraction of a more colorful world that modern eras offer.
NittanyLionHonestly, judging from my family photos and recollections, Western Pennsylvania in the 40s and 50s was ugly. Everything was filthy.
Yes. The more I researched 1954, I was amazed at how dirty and filthy everything was. I model the myth, not the reality.
The beauty of model railroading. There is no right or wrong as far as I can see.
Whatever a modeler builds is entirely up to them and if they enjoy it, great.
Keep it that way.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
SeeYou190 NittanyLion While, yes, the 40s/50s definitely had more road names to pick from and there's more kinds of 40' boxcar than I could ever hope to understand, railcars have had a relentless march towards specialization. In my boxcar fleet, I have dozens of different styles of 40 foot boxcars, but 90% of them are reddish brown. I can certainly understand the attraction of a more colorful world that modern eras offer. NittanyLion Honestly, judging from my family photos and recollections, Western Pennsylvania in the 40s and 50s was ugly. Everything was filthy. Yes. The more I researched 1954, I was amazed at how dirty and filthy everything was. I model the myth, not the reality. -Kevin
NittanyLion While, yes, the 40s/50s definitely had more road names to pick from and there's more kinds of 40' boxcar than I could ever hope to understand, railcars have had a relentless march towards specialization.
NittanyLion Honestly, judging from my family photos and recollections, Western Pennsylvania in the 40s and 50s was ugly. Everything was filthy.
Yes, the industrial areas in big cities were dirty in the 50's, and the 60's, 70's and the 80's when I sold MATCO TOOLS in southeast Baltimore. And those old industrial areas are still working and they are still dirty today.........
SeeYou190 Doughless What's being modeled, I'm not sure. My layout is a fantasy. Most I would categorize as caricatures. I have never seen any layout that tried to model to social strife of its time period except for the occassional picket line or gathering of beatnicks. I have seen more godzillas and king kongs on layouts than people getting arrested. Let's get back to having fun. -Kevin
The choice between fantasy or realism is in the beholder. Whether its dinosaur fights or people getting arrested neither really has to do with supporting the trains. Its fine that folks do that, and it is fun and harmless since its just a modeling scene, I was just commenting that the kinds of scenes that folks are talking about modeling or avoiding modeling simply do get much consideration from me.
Maybe because I haven't gotten as far into the fine details and I'm still building landscaping, structures, and ballasting before the layout has to be taken down.
I have really attempted to stick to a 1950's era, late steam/early diesel layout, and I just can't do it because for me there's too much modern equipment that I like, and said modern equipment looks silly behind a big articulated. Don't get me wrong, I love steam and the early diesels, always wanted a CB&Q E-5A, yet at the same time, I was not there and have absolutely no memories of that era or even the '60's. So I always cave and switch back to late '70's/early '80's which I do remember.
Yes, I have a few GP-7's, but they are in later paint schemes worn well after the steam era, and I'm only planning to have one steam engine, a 2-8-8-4, for myself (son will have 3). All the rest of my rolling stock fits pretty well in the 1970's and 1980's at this point.
I do not mean to infer that others should do what I'm doing at all; it's just the time period that I vaguely remember. I specifically remember all the pre-Conrail rolling stock fading into history. I also have good memories of the bicentennial celebrations and of seeing the eastern Freedom Train in person. It was a good time to be a kid.
John
NittanyLion I'm going to go against the grain and say why I didn't go with the transition era. Variety, documentation, and aesthetics. While, yes, the 40s/50s definitely had more road names to pick from and there's more kinds of 40' boxcar than I could ever hope to understand, railcars have had a relentless march towards specialization. Aside from stockcars vanishing, every type of railcar that existed then, exists now. But, there were few covered hoppers, none of them the big 3, 4, 5, or 6 bay ones that come in all kinds of shapes and size. Tank cars didn't come in the massive variety they do now. The entire set of intermodal didn't exist. Automobiles still went in boxcars. Even the simple hopper didn't have as big a family tree. Coil cars, one of my personal favorites, were still in the future. Access to documentation is different too. I didn't go with my childhood because I didn't trust my own memories, plus there was something of a transition going on in my area in the late 80s and early 90s. Contemporary modeling gave me access to a period of time with large scale digital photography. No one had to digitize someone's old slides. They just natively uploaded them to websites. Shifting a few years ahead of my original plan gave me Street View. I have a literal time machine. Plus, by going with my own adulthood, I have personal documentation. I don't envy those guys that I see at the shows digging through the binders of slides. I can still drive over to a spot to check something out. Honestly, judging from my family photos and recollections, Western Pennsylvania in the 40s and 50s was ugly. Everything was filthy. The sky was a uniform battleship gray. My mom recalls the days they weren't allowed to go play in the snow because it was orange, from pollution from the nearby sintering plant. Everything had a thin film of coal dust on it, year round. Most surprisingly, is that there wasn't a dang tree anywhere in sight. The woods I played in as a kid were barren scrubland when my parents were kids. Frankly, it isn't an environment I was interested in duplicating. We have pictures that are color pictures, but you would only know if someone told you. It was a dirty, nasty place.
This is a good comment. It mirrors my feelings well. I usually just say that I like to model what I see (or saw 10 to 15 years ago that has been pressed into my memory that it seems like yesterday). Your explanation provides more detail about how I think about my interests.
Interesting comments about industrial areas. My experience with real life railroads comes from small towns, rural areas, or suburbs. Pole type buildings, prefab concrete walls, warehouse looking structures located outside of congested older areas. I guess its a bit cleaner and newer environment than other things that can be modeled.
Interestingly, at age 58 I find that in my memories of my youth, and in my memories of traveling through the countryside during the bulk of my career from age 22 to 50, its always a warm sunny day in the spring or summer. Which I find strange for a person who lived in the midwest where its cold and cloudy probably 40-50% of the days. I guess I'm an optimist at the heart, and somehow can't recall the gloomier times. I don't think I could model a winter or leafless brown/gray late autumn timeframe.
Doughless I don't think I could model a winter or leafless brown/gray late autumn timeframe. I bet you could do a small section of your layout. Be a little different. A little gray sky. Not many leaves on the trees. Fifty shades of brown. An old bird's nest in a tree. I know you can do it. Dare yourself to have a layout that is a little different. David
I don't think I could model a winter or leafless brown/gray late autumn timeframe.
I bet you could do a small section of your layout. Be a little different.
A little gray sky. Not many leaves on the trees. Fifty shades of brown. An old bird's nest in a tree. I know you can do it. Dare yourself to have a layout that is a little different.
Doughless I don't think I could model a winter or leafless brown/gray late autumn timeframe.
I like what Mike Confalone did with his Allagash. Gray skies, bare trees, some snow.
Not to get off topic,
There is another guy out there, can't think of his name.
I model thee CGW(loosly) in the 50s. That was the era of my childhood.
Mike
LastspikemikeI find it interesting that movie sets usually show
Everything on a set is posed, positioned, lighted, and focused to intentionally set a mood for the production.
The cleanliness of any automobiles it decided upon to set mood, era, and possibly locale.