one of the other threads reminded me of this, so i thought I would share it. I wrote this “philosophy” to focus us on the right things when building my South Pacific Lines:
Reliable
This is the foundation principle. SPL needs to work flawlessly, or as close as we can get. “Like a Swiss watch”. Operating is no fun if things go wrong, nor is just showing off our work to visitors. I have no patience for things that don’t work. Personally, getting things smooth does not give me great pleasure for its own sake, but failing to do so destroys the pleasure I get from the next five principles:
Intricate
The purist simplicity of, for example, David Barrow’s recent work is interesting, but it does not attract me. Except where it makes reliability unobtainable, the SPL will showcase intricate systems like signalling and car forwarding operations, and intricate lighting and scenic super-detailing.
Representational
If we are ever to finish SPL, we must limit the Intricacy principle with a “good enough” principle. The SPL is allowed to be representational rather than realistic where it suits us. Rolling stock does not have to be super detailed, some of the trees will not bear close examination, plastic building kits are OK.
Believable
Representational is OK, so long as the overall effect is believable. One thing we do not seek is to be prototypical: the SPL exists in a mythical parallel universe, as can be seen from the scene-setting scenario. We can do anything we want: in effect there is no prototype. We are modelling American railroading set down in 1970s New Zealand. The result must be believable: it could have happened that way; given the scenario, it might have looked like that.
Clever
The elegance of a well-thought-out solution; the use of good research; the application of knowledge; great engineering; cool ideas. These are all things that make a model railroad attractive or ad
chuck