BRVRR posted this pic on “show Me Something”. I hope he doesn’t mind me borrowing his photo.
Here are a pair of GP-35s.
These engines look like they are rolling down the first fairway at the local country club. I was quickly reminded of a suburb of Vancouver that is suppose to be the wealthiest one in Canada. Through this metropolis runs what use to be the BCR mainline (now CN) to the port of Vancouver.
As a kid and as luck would have it as an adult through work, I spent a tremendous amount of time all along this line. Then and now
Provided you’re modeling a location where a scene like that makes sense, go ahead and include it. If the rest of the layout is well executed, visitors will probably be more likely to ask about the peculiar scene to satisfy their curiousity as opposed to scoffing. Including prototype photos on the fascia or valence to back up what you’ve modeled would help too.
If you are basically a loner or the scene means some thing yo you I’d include it, otherwise not because some visitors would look at and think it’s wierd but not ask.
This is Mount Surprise Station on a Far North Queensland branchline with the only traffic the Savannahlander tourist train. Don’t be fooled by the green grass, 80% of the trip is across volcanic outback savannah.
I suspect there are a lot of things that would look “wrong” on a model railroad, but are in fact based on real things. I can think of a couple from the area I grew up in.The rail line thru that area was built when it was all farms and prairie grass, so the towns of Richfield and Bloomington (Minnesota) grew up around the railroad.
So for example, the line ran through the grounds of RIchfield High School, between the main building and the football stadium / baseball field. There’s a spot where the single-track branchline splits into two tracks on one side of a bridge, crosses the bridge, then goes back to single track.
Normally a “real” railroad would build a single track bridge and then split on one side or the other of the bridge. I suspect in this case the tracks were in place many decades before the interstate was built in a lowered trench, so they just built the bridge under the existing tracks.
I would guess the Keddie Wye bridge in the Feather River Route would elecit some disbelief from onlookers who knew little about railroads. Even something like a helical tunnel path under a mountain might cause some to purse their lips and say it is something railroads couldn’t/wouldn’t do.
I think the ‘believability’ of Keddie Wye HAS come up before, when non-railroad peopel view a well done version of it.
I think Rob hit on the ideal solution for any ‘odd’ scenic elements - have pictures of the protoype on the fascia so visitors can see where they are supposed to be. Assuming of course you are replicating an actual prototype location and not just making something similar but not an exact replica. But things have to be really odd for a non-hobby person to get skeptical - it takes a bit less to bring out the rivet counters.
The last 2 summers have been hot and very dry here in New England. I find it difficult to believe that grass can actually be green.
In general, “grassy” areas of my layout have a lot of brown spots. I do have one house with a nice green lawn, and the park behind the Bridge Street trolley stop is also done with “perfect” grass, no brown or yellow turf added.
IIRC the Minneapolis and St.Louis had a line that ran thru the campus of a small college in Iowa - maybe Grinnell??
I know the ballpark used in…O well I forgot which baseball movie it was, but it’s the park where freight trains ran on tracks thru the outfield…was a real minor league ballpark.
Many years back on the Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota, the Great Northern and Missabe Road had lines that crossed each other at grade (as I recal roughly a 60-degree diamond) and the Mesaba Electric interurban line crossed over the crossing on a bridge.
If it’s a model then the trees are made by using individual leaves, a great accomplishment for sure, even the individual leaves on the willow in the upper foreground, who was the modeller?
I thought that the rail r/w through the golf course and parts of UBC was the property of the BC Electric Railroad which was owned by BC Hydro. They also had the r/w’s for the tram service through Vancouver to Burnaby as well. </
I was talking about the old PGE then BCR and now CN line through the Municipality of West Vancouver. Not The West side of Vancouver.[:)] It is the most expensive real estate in the country at two million for an average house price today.
Why wouldn’t it be believable? Trains run down paved streets through town in the US & Canada. Oshawa, ON being one of those towns. Why not through a golf course?
Railroad was there first then golf course sprouted up! Think of the possibilites, boxcar loads of golf balls to be delivered, flat cars full of golf carts! Think of the beer cart you could have! [;)]
