"It's my layout!"

[Dave Vollmer]

We see the mantra "It's my layout; I can run what I want!" trotted out quite frequently here.  It got me to wondering...

Does anybody run what they don't want?

[simon1966]

I have an old LifeLike beater that I don't want but run because my son likes Conrail blue.

[pcarrell]

My son loves my N&W J class loco, even though I model mid-coast Maine in the 1930's.

[SOU Fan]

Bachmann GP50's that I got for a Christmas present

[Shilshole]

Yup, past gifts from daughters -- BN 3-car Husky Stack set and Mantua "Special First Edition" Seattle Seahawks NFL reefer in team colors -- running behind their favorite loco, a PFM Climax, just don't feel right...

[Anonymous]

I allowed a friend to run his U boats once. Just that one time. He was happy but I still have a need to go to counsling as to why I allowed such bad engines on "My" line decades ago. =)

I think maybe it was a duty to crack that throttle and see the whole thing rattle into motion. I think I did it to get him off the sectional track on the carpet situation because I was running on a bit of plywood and cork at the time.

My brother never did run "My" engines very much because it was truly "HIS" layout Sibling competition combined with whose engine was better made for a bit of tension at times.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I have some Bachmann steamers that I'm not particularly fond of but I run them once in a while anyway.

[orsonroy]

For my prototype, I have to run at least two icky diesels, in an otherwise pristine steam realm...

[Don Gibson]

SURE NO ARGUEMENT,  BUT Isn't that simply A LAME COP OUT?

'Get off my back'. IT'S MINE  - sort of a juvenile 'Don't tell me what to do' (I can do what I want) - shoot my dog, beat my wife, etc.

or "It's my BEER. I'll drink it warm..."  OK with me.

[Tracklayer]

Though the statement may very well be true, you won't ever see me actually say such a childish thing here on the forum like I've seen others do... It may very well be my layout and my property, but I follow strict, specific rules, as in, the layout itself and trains are all serious copies of the "real world" in every respect, not clownish things out of my wild imagination like some I've seen. You won't ever see me run steam locos and mixed era rolling stock when the layout is set up for modern trains, or diesels when the layout is set up for the steam era with the wrong caboose or something. As for the question. No, I don't run things on my layout that I dislike, and if someone happens to give me an item for Christmas, my birthday or otherwise that I don't feel right about-which does occur from time to time, I accept it gratefully, then sale it on ebay or trade it to one of my model railroading buddies for something I prefer ASAP!... Tracklayer 

[Dave Vollmer]

The "It's my layout" chant seems to be voiced most often when there is some perception of persecution by the evil rivet counters.

As someone who tries to follow prototype practice (to a degree; as far as Pennsy modelers tend to go, I'm pretty mild!) sure, there are some things I like but wouldn't probably run on my layout, but then choosing a prototype doesn't somehow force me to do something I don't want to do.  Prototype modelers have not necessarily tossed creativity to the wind and shackled themselves to the dungeon wall.

I freelanced for a long time, but my current prototype-based layout is probably the most plausible, coherent layout I've built, because it stays within a certain set of real-life constraints.  Even the best freelanced layouts out there (V&O, AM, Utah Belt, etc.) all voluntarily impose a fairly rigid set of guidelines (era, locale, roster, etc.) which make them so plausible.

Again, "It's my layout; I can run what I want."  It seems to imply that others are somehow running what they don't want because they've set certain rules for themselves...  So, I figured I'd ask if that were really the case!

[MisterBeasley]

My sister gave me this one.  I only put it on the layout when she comes over.

 

Yeah, the colors are really like that.  But it's not as bad as the "Toys 'R' Us" car with bright orange trim.

 

[Anonymous]

(sung to Lesley Gore's "It's My Party")

It's my hobby, and I'll play if I want to
Play if I want to, play if I want to
You should play too, and that is my view

Just for fun!

Lynda

[dknelson]

It may very well be my layout and my property, but I follow strict, specific rules, as in, the layout itself and trains are all serious copies of the "real world" in every respect, not clownish things out of my wild imagination like some I've seen.

Well ......I am following a specific prototype, too, but even there, there comes a time when you find yourself saying "I do it this way because I want to."  Let me give examples.  Ask someone what era they model and they are likely to state it in terms of 5 or 10 years: "I model 1950 - 1955" or "I model the 1970s."  But what that really means is that you model 1955 or 1979 and allow some inaccuracies and anachronisms.  Some darn (am I allowed to say that here?) expert is going to point out that THIS locomotive could never have run with THAT freight car or if THAT automobile is on the layout then that locomotive cannot possibly have been painted THAT way, or some such (getting right down to street signs, automobile license plate colors, whether a tree was there or not).  In theory true prototype modeling gets you down to a specific year, or month or even day.  Even hour I suppose.  That is not the same as making an excuse for running a Toys R Us boxcar behind the General and an F unit or whatever but accuracy is in the eye of the beholder, and while we might say we never rely on the "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to" excuse, in the right circumstances we might need to.

Example I model the Chicago & North Western in the 1960 and a good buddy, who has written Morning Sun books and is a nationally recognized expert on all things passenger train, is constantly reminding me that my Rivarossi CNW coaches are not at all realistic.  My response is that I am modeling a town where the passenger trains were never seen at speeds less than 75 mph and the cars were a blur of green and yellow.  All I want is that blur.  Moreover I have spent all I want to on my passenger fleet.  In other words ... yes ... "it's my layout and ......"

Dave Nelson

 

[Anonymous]

My 6-year-old son pulls a 14-car freight train behind his Amtrak liveried P-42 and three Amcoaches. 

[DigitalGriffin]

I have this LL docksider which I loathe.  I have to use it for my dockside scene.  I do have a cast metal one with wonderful details from the 60's.  But it needs more work to be reliable.

[andrechapelon]

We see the mantra "It's my layout; I can run what I want!" trotted out quite frequently here.  It got me to wondering...

Does anybody run what they don't want?

Curses upon you, Dave Vollmer! I saw the title of this thread and immediately an old Leslie Gore song started going through my head and now I can't get rid of it. May the great blue bird of paradise drop a nasty surprise on top of your next birthday cake.

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to,

Cry if I want to, cry if I want to.

You would cry too, if it happened to you..."

Only now, it's:

"It's my layout and I'll run what I want to

Run what I want to, run what I want to

You can kiss my if I'll listen to you..."

Andre - teenager of the early to mid 60's, auld phart of the 21st century.

 

 

[andrechapelon]

(sung to Lesley Gore's "It's My Party")

It's my hobby, and I'll play if I want to
Play if I want to, play if I want to
You should play too, and that is my view

Just for fun!

Lynda

I knew there was a reason I liked you (see my version above).

Andre 

[oleirish]

I have two bachmann GP50's in "N" scale and they run and pull great,I only wish bachmann would put more roads out with diffrent numbers on them,saves re-painting them.

JIM

[jecorbett]

I've always liked running mixed trains

[BRAKIE]

I have notice the chant of "It's my layout; I can run what I want!" usually comes up during a serious discussion of prototypical operation and staying era specific in our modeling.Of course many may not understand why some of us model that way and they have no useful comment other then the off topic  cry of "It's my layout; I can run what I want!" Why bother to reply with that useless cry?

[SteamFreak]

I've always liked running mixed trains

The proper term is "model railroad diversity." Trains from different railroads and different time periods all joining couplers and working together toward a common goal. It's *sniff* inspiring!

Express your individuality. That's why I run a mink covered Big Boy.

[BRAKIE]

I've always liked running mixed trains

 

Looks like a museum move!!

[jecorbett]

I've always liked running mixed trains

 

Looks like a museum move!!

That's inspired!

They say there is a prototype for everything.

You just gave one to me.

[jecorbett]

I've always liked running mixed trains

The proper term is "model railroad diversity." Trains from different railroads and different time periods all joining couplers and working together toward a common goal. It's *sniff* inspiring!

Express your individuality. That's why I run a mink covered Big Boy.

I hate to disillusion you, but they really haven't joined couplers. Some of this stuff still has the original horn hooks that it came with.

Some of the pieces have natural weathering, as in 20 years of dust collection.

[Anonymous]

Could someone actually point to some threads where, upon being criticized for running something non-prototype, someone actually responded "It's my layout, I'll run what I want?"

Now, there have been threads where someone asked if it's OK to run Engine A with car B and some have responded it's not proto but it's your layout so go ahead if you want, but that's really not what we're talking about here.

There seems to be a belief that folks are "chanting" this mantra in response to prototype questions. Hence, the request for pointers to threads in which this happened.

Mike Tennent

[Anonymous]

off-topic- I'm happy- Thursday is over and tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!!

I have no problem with the "it's my layout..." theory. I practice it myself (to an extent). Neither do I have a problem with the person that has to have EVERY detail perfect. As long as they keep that attitude to their own layout. I do model a prototype and several locations based on prototype locations, and my loco and rolling stock roster is loosely based on the era I model. It doesn't bother me to run a steam powered freight or passenger train (I've done that a lot lately). If you have a problem with seeing a 4-6-2 that dates form the 1940s pulling a freight from the early 1980s, I'll show you to the door.

[Milwhiawatha]

Isnt this really called freelancing? I will admit I like to run things that dont belong but its fun. Then theres the ones who run steam and diesels together cant one call this rail Excurions (spelling) ? I have boughten older equipment but I wont run them I just like how it looked.

[Dave Vollmer]

Isnt this really called freelancing? I will admit I like to run things that dont belong but its fun. Then theres the ones who run steam and diesels together cant one call this rail Excurions (spelling) ? I have boughten older equipment but I wont run them I just like how it looked.

I don't think anyone's saying you can't.  Neither do I think anyone's saying freelancing's bad.

Actually, I really got a kick out of those modern NYC diesels I saw in another thread.  Totally unprototypical, but way, way cool!!!

I just find it interesting when the "It's my layout" defense comes out because it makes me wonder if someone might believe that it's really not their layout (i.e., it has to, by gosh, be an exact replica of dumpty-dump so I can't have any fun with it).  I sense (and I could be wrong) a perception among the less prototype-oriented modelers that the prototype guys have less fun because they've constrained themselves.

I thought about starting a thread regarding plausibility of layouts (both freelanced and prototype), but I figured for certain that would slide downhill into a slugfest.  IMHO, constraining yourself to a time, place, collection of roadnames, and equipment leads to a more "plausible" layout, meaning one that requires less back-story for the casual observer to find believable.  This can be done with freelancing.  And, running steam and antique diesel excursions on a modern layout also fit within the limits of plausibility (assuming you're not double-heading a woodburning 4-4-0 with a Big Boy!).

Plausibility is not as important to some as it is to me, and I respect that.

[rogertra]

I freelance, yet I freelance within a strict set of rules that I impose upon myself.

Why do I impose a strict set of rules on a freelance railway? 

Simple, because when people look at my GER I want them to be able to easily identify the era and, if possible, the location.  When people look at the GER I want them to believe it is a model of a real railway, set in a real time and location.  In my mind, and in the written history which I use as a guide line for purchases, the GER really exists and I model it as it was in the not too distant past.

I do this because, "It's my layout" and that's the way I like it.

However, if Joe down the street wants to run tail chasing modern GE Superpower diesels, with intermodal cars trailing iced reefers letters for various colas and beers and boxcars lettered for American states or Canadian provinces and American theme parks all switched by a Shay in the yard, more power Joe.  He gets his kicks out of his trains his way, and I get my enjoyment out of running and modelling my way.  Neither of us is right nor wrong.