It's your railroad

[railman]

yeah!!! Free-lancers unite!

[chaya]

Yup, it's our hobby, and the only way to do it is the way that makes us happy. For some the joy is in modeling a perfect slice of history. I value these modelers because they are doing their part to preserve history and make it come alive for later generations. I'm not like that, though. I want to start with the prototype and then stretch it to say, "What if?" And in my little layout, the what if is a BNSF merger in a little out-of-the-way New Mexican town that can only afford used motive power but doesn't have the money to re-paint it, and freight and passenger cars that are likewise maintained forever but never re-painted. Because, basically, who cares? It's a manana world down here, and that's what I'm trying to capture: a time and place and a "what if." It wouldn't make me angry if someone criticized it, I don't think. Everyone has different reasons to be in the hobby.

So alongside my Santa Fe switcher I have a GN SD-7 and a NP GP-18. It makes me happy.

[2c]

[n2mopac]

I thouroughly agree. I model BNSF's Wichita Falls sub and enjoy recreating specific buildings and locals with recognizable details. But I also enjoy addin my own flavor, like a cafe in a small town strip named for my daughter. I also "freelance" my operations, though they still reflect the types of freight and trains seen on this prototype line.

Ron