Do you design your own RR, copy a plan, model an actual RR, or a hybrid

[Anonymous]

Well my layout is freelanced, with a little part of the great John Armstrong influence. It's UP with shared trackage rights w/BNSF and a branchline of the Southern Pacific from California. I like the freelance idea because it's YOUR expression of an idea that can grow and the love of MRRing!!!

[Train 284]

I designed my own railroad. I like the freelanced option better because you can do what you want and not have to worry about specific places. But thats only my [2c]

[waltersrails]

I design and copy actural RR's I model IC/CN Chessie/CSX and NS
www.ztrainman.tripod.com/

[Anonymous]

I am planning on doing a hybrid. Atlantic Coast Lile was the major railroad that served my town in the 50's so I am going to try and stick to types or engines and cars that would have been available to them back then. That said, I'm sure I'll dramatize and expand the role my town played in the area a bit to allow me to medel some local areas , but with out the restaint of being pureprototype.


Drew

[dinwitty]

modelrs often agonize about how to build,
usually any track plans from a book wont work for my space, tho nice ideas come from them.

its a mixup of everything for me, build an accurate scene but then work it for the space you have, and freelance around.

[joeh19012]

I voted generic. My plan is actually designed as an impression of a prototype, but I am about the furthest thing from a "rivet counter" that someone could find (no offense to all you historian and prototype fans out there).

I would have used Cadrail if it had been available at the time I wanted my design, but I had my layout professionally designed and got a blueprint that met all my requests. I subsequently digitized the blueprint at work--without really knowing what I was doing. I eventually had to modify the original plan to fit a somewhat contracted space from the original, this time using Cadrail.

The layout is supposed to be an impression of the Philadelphia area from around 1965-1985 (Conrail) and contains small vignettes of actual locations, but not reproductions. I consider this hobby part craft and part art. The craft comes from using all the materials to assemble something that shows a lot of work, attention to detail, and craftsmanship. The art is based on the modeler's decisions on what to model and how to arrange it.

So-----
I consider myself an impressionist, just trying to capture the spirit, feeling, memory, or look of a place without paying a lot of attention to duplicating a building, loco, or railroad car brick by brick or bolt by bolt.

Some time before I die, I may actually get to see what it all looks like! [:D]

[underworld]

My latest venture will include areas similar to NW Ohio, Detroit, Chicago, somewhere in Europe, and all of it rather otherworldy.......maybe underworldly?????

underworld

[}:)][:D][:P][:-,][(-D]

[JPowell]

QUOTE: Originally posted by howmus

QUOTE: Originally posted by JPowell

Howmus -
Living out in Geneva, do you follow the FGLK RR at all? I live in Syracuse and see them on occassion out in Solvey switching Solvey Paperboard.
JP

I see quite a bit of them down on 5 & 20. Hard to stop and just watch on a major highway though. LOL I have pulled into the Finger Lakes Trail parking area in Canandaigua and some other places to watch them. Very friendly crews. They are doing very well building up RR business in the area and are expanding and improving quite a bit of the line. The LHS has decals and other items in their colors.

An unofficial website about them: http://fglk.railfan.net/

and the "official" one: http://bnle.railfan.net/flmap-ct.htm

I was fortunate enough last summer to be driving by Solvay Paperboard and saw one of their engins sitting alongside the access road for the plant. I decided to drive down to do some railfanning and next thing I know, the crew asked me to join them while they did some switching. They were very friendly and I hated to leave after only riding with them for a hour, but I had other commitments to attend to. I'm going to try and get back out that way in the next few weeks and see if I can score another ride and Geneva is on my list of places to get to for railfanning and maybe even stop into one of the LHS's out there.
JP

[Anonymous]

I voted other. The railroad grande man and I are building is partway a track plan from a book [sorry, but i don't remember what it is called] and partly our own design.

[trainboyH16-44]

For small railroads, I like to use plans that other people have designed, because I'm not good at that aspect of design. For larger, I usually go with an around the walls with peninsula, maybe double decked, of my own design, with maybe a yard or industrial district from a plan.
trainboy
P.S. When I get internet at home, I'll be happy to design a railroad for someone, so send me an email, and I'll get on it as soon as I have internet.

[orsonroy]

I let the prototype do all the hard work for me, and have based my last layout (and my upcoming one) on prototype track charts for a specific RR division. Of course, I twist, turn and shorten things to fit the available space (and might even swap a couple of towns around on my new layout), but I follow the real track arrangements as closely as possible.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse

QUOTE: Originally posted by CARRfan

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse


Seems to me that there was some industry on the south/east side of town. Is that all gone?

Hey Chip,

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing downtown that a train stops for except for the passenger station. Not positive, but pretty sure.

I just bought John Signor's book, "Southern Pacific's Coast Line" that describes the development of the railroad between LA and SF. Seems Santa Barbara was a much busier railroading area a few decades ago. Very interesting stuff.

Okay, I'm really goijng to be shakey with the name but I think the freeway exit was Cabrillo. If you head inland towards the base of the foothills, I think there was industry all through there.

It's all pretty much gone now. I don't believe there is a single siding other than the passing siding on the mainline.

Check out google earth if you get a chance. Even on there it looks like there are no sidings.

Several years ago I rode my bike near the tracks (roads follow most of the tracks), and I don't recall any sidings.

You can see remnants of the yard tracks between Milpas and Garden. Pretty cool - the remnants I've found match the info in the book I just got.

I am becoming a sucker for modeling after a prototype, I think. It's so surprisingly satisfying for me to research the prototype.

I've also learned a small branchline here in Ventura used to be the mainline! I've only ever seen one loco on the tracks.

Prototype modeling just may end up being my cup of tea...

[jrbernier]

My layout is based on a Milwaukee road line that was never built. I completed the line and operate it set in the 50's. All of the towns(5) are freelanced, but based on the area where my tracks go.

Jim Bernier

[steveblackledge]

BNSFNUT [#ditto]

space is a problem, so i made up the plan using BN equipment (as far as possible) but as it's an imaginary location other railroad names appear regularly

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CARRfan

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse


Seems to me that there was some industry on the south/east side of town. Is that all gone?

Hey Chip,

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing downtown that a train stops for except for the passenger station. Not positive, but pretty sure.

I just bought John Signor's book, "Southern Pacific's Coast Line" that describes the development of the railroad between LA and SF. Seems Santa Barbara was a much busier railroading area a few decades ago. Very interesting stuff.

Okay, I'm really goijng to be shakey with the name but I think the freeway exit was Cabrillo. If you head inland towards the base of the foothills, I think there was industry all through there.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse

QUOTE: Originally posted by CARRfan

I've been working on designing a fictional module-sized layout, which would be SP and UP based, somewhere in California.

However, now I'm thinking very seriously about going with a specific prototype, Santa Barbara, CA, passenger and freight. The problem is selecting an era.

I may also have to do some compromising in terms of era, or some fictionalizing. There's no freight action in Santa Barbara today. So I either have to go with an older era, or go modern and pretend there is still some freight action.

Seems to me that there was some industry on the south/east side of town. Is that all gone?

Hey Chip,

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing downtown that a train stops for except for the passenger station. Not positive, but pretty sure.

I just bought John Signor's book, "Southern Pacific's Coast Line" that describes the development of the railroad between LA and SF. Seems Santa Barbara was a much busier railroading area a few decades ago. Very interesting stuff.

[Anonymous]

I clicked on generic, figuring that this would also mean "freelanced" you can read about my ficticious railroad and see photos of the layout on the website in my signature.

[1train1]

My layout is just flowing out of my head - totally fictional. I wanted something that was not too complicated but would enable me to run 70 + car consists. It will have 3 yards for a second operator to 'fiddle' with along with switching to industries.It will have CN power only and will be easy to run by my son who at this point is 7 years old.

[whitman500]

From reading the posts, it's interesting to see that most people are freelancing to some degree or another. MR magazine and some of the recent Kalmbach publications had given me the impression that everyone was slavishly copying particular sections of protoype railroads. Personally, I think the prototype trend has gotten a little excessive and suppressed some of the creativity and fun of the hobby so I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in bending the truth on my layout a little to squeeze in that scene or industry that I really like.

In terms of track planning, I recommend designing your own from scratch. I bought Cadrail about 2 months ago and while it took a few hours to learn, it made the planning process much easier and it turned out to be a lot of fun. You'll never find a track plan that has everything you want right of a book and designing your own will not only give you a more satisfying layout in the long run, but you'll also have a lot of thought-provoking fun along the way since you will really need to think about how you want to operate the railroad as you lay out the yard, sidings, passing tracks, etc.

[joeyegarner]

I model Southern Pacific, mostly the 50's and 60's but it varies some, I got interested in Up little later after the buy out....then I seen pics of Sp working with Rio Grande, all of these things happend much later than era I have most recently modeled, but hey its my railroad and it's a good excuse to get more stuff!!!
I recently got permission from my very understanding wife to take the spare bedroom and make it a train room!!! [:D][:D][:D]I will continue with more stuff for my current roster and scenes that I see on other layouts and real life as well.

[DigitalGriffin]

Definitely do my own. But I get ideas and inspirations from looking at many many track plans and pictures.

Right now I'm stumped as I'm designing a layout plan for my new basement and progress has been slow.

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CARRfan

I've been working on designing a fictional module-sized layout, which would be SP and UP based, somewhere in California.

However, now I'm thinking very seriously about going with a specific prototype, Santa Barbara, CA, passenger and freight. The problem is selecting an era.

I may also have to do some compromising in terms of era, or some fictionalizing. There's no freight action in Santa Barbara today. So I either have to go with an older era, or go modern and pretend there is still some freight action.

Seems to me that there was some industry on the south/east side of town. Is that all gone?

[Anonymous]

I've been working on designing a fictional module-sized layout, which would be SP and UP based, somewhere in California.

However, now I'm thinking very seriously about going with a specific prototype, Santa Barbara, CA, passenger and freight. The problem is selecting an era.

I may also have to do some compromising in terms of era, or some fictionalizing. There's no freight action in Santa Barbara today. So I either have to go with an older era, or go modern and pretend there is still some freight action.

[cmrproducts]

Doing the CR Lowgrade line from Dubois to East Brady, PA. The line includes 4 shortline interchanges that were on the real rail line and extensions/staging to Driftwood, PA. Additional trackage includes parts of the Pittsburgh to Oil City mainline through Ford City, Kittanning and Redbank (Low Gread Line interchange)

I used the CR 1984 ZTS maps to layout each of the towns as close as posible to the maps within the limits of the room.

BOB H - Clarion, PA

[Anonymous]

My layout itself is generic, meaning no particular place or time. The trains are mostly C&NW but I have others - especially ones that I have actually ridden or others that have just tickled my fancy. After all, it is all my own little universe so it runs my way.

[Pruitt]

My layout is based on the CB&Q line from Orin Junction to Frannie, WY, with a link to Laurel, MT, where it interchanges with the NP transatlantic line. Staging represents the NP and the CB&Q east of Orin Junction and south of Orin towards Wendover WY.

I also include the C&NW Cowboy line from Shobon WY to Lander WY.

[CP5415]

I took the basic idea of a track plan from Kalmbachs 101 Track Plans "Wisconsin Central" & modified it slightly.
Almost half of it is now double tracked with 2 through passenger station tracks, a passing sideing for freight trains, a small yard & a couple of "major" traffic producing industries to keep the switchers busy.

Another modifcation to the track plan has a wye, an interchange with another small yard so that I can have what ever "other" brand of locomotive ( aka NOT Canadian Pacific ) interchange cars in a small but useable space.

As we plan on moving next year, this is only a test if you will on my layout design.
My next layout, I plan on having it in an area where I can have it about 4-5 feet above the floor or so that I won't have any duck under as the one I have now is literally a pain on the back to get under.

Gordon

[ddechamp71]

I'm modelling chosen parts of the Tehachapi Pass, mainly (of course with selective compression) Bena-Illmon-Caliente-Bealville location. That's why I voted for "model a section of RR".

Dominique

[twhite]

The Yuba River Sub is a fictional portion of a fictional Rio Grande "California Extension" that runs through the Sierra Nevada mountains of California along the Yuba River watershed between Nevada City and Sierraville, CA, generally following state route 49. There never was a railroad along this route, so the design is original, the equipment is Rio Grande prototype (WWII steam), and the country is as authentic as I can model it. So whatever one wants to call it, that's what it is.
Tom [:P][:P]