This is just for fun so please be nice to each other!
What do you suppose are the most important elements of Model Railroading and/or being a Model Railroader?
Aside from the trains themselves of course-- but feel free to include them in your answer if you like-- we all like chatting about our trains, right? [:-^]
Is it your “mind’s eye view”-- some “essence” you’re trying to capture? The “construction” aspects? The modeling? Scratchbuilding/Kitbashing something? Getting an “overall aesthetic”? Capturing a piece of your youth? (a scene, a place, a time, a feeling, something along those lines?)
And when you think of your answer to the above-- whittle it down to the essential ingredients-- what is/are the most important element(s) of Model Railroading? Corny answers aside, if you were to remove “elements” one-by-one, when would it stop being “Model Railroading” to you? Or turned the other way around, what ingredients are essential to creating the “flavor” and “character” of the hobby?
EDIT: Please give some detail with your answers – elucidate more – that’s what makes these discussions fun, and gives people a chance to get to know you and/or think about the things you think are interesting and important.
Models are cool. Ship models, automobile models, aircraft models, dolls, model soldiers. We enjoy building them and enjoy displaying them. Actually, we would enjoy owning the real thing even more, but models are more affordable.
The coolest models are the ones that move under their own power. Railroad models can do this and they last longer than flying aircraft models which are subject to instant destruction from any mishap while airborne. I can remember a gorgeous control line flying model reduced to scraps of wood and shreds of paper due to engine failure at an inopportune moment. It wasn’t my model but I felt a terrible sadness all the same.
Railroad models have less chance of heartbreaking crashes.
While I could give a number of answers to your question as to what are the crucial elements of MRRing - for me, I would have to boil it down to one essential:
I enjoy learning the many skills involved with Model Railroading, being able to practice them and create a time and place where I have been or would rather be at this time.
I can relate to that too. When I was growing up, my brother was very fond of helicopters and airplanes. I remember when he had saved up all his money from doing chores, mowing lawns, and whatnot to the point he was able to purchase a starter model airplane. He worked on that thing for over a month fretting about every single element, tinkering with the engine and the rudder and the aelerons and the whole bit-- practiced taxiing and low-level takeoff and landings and finally when the big day came and he was ready to show it off to everybody-- we all assembled out in the field by the school-- and watched while he took off, got up in the air and was flying along pretty good, and then a big gust of wind smacked it to the ground and busted it up in a lot of pieces. I felt pretty bad for him then too.
A bunch of years later after he’d grown up, done his bit in the Navy, settled down and had kids-- he saved up for another aircraft, a helicopter this time, and he did his best not to have a repeat performance, but apparently helicopters are very tricky to fly and are notorious for turning upside down and crashing if you don’t have the hang of it…
Perhaps he should take up gardening or something [:D]
That’s a very good answer-- except for one thing-- when does it stop being “enjoyable”? What elements must remain for it to be enjoyable for you? (And your opinion / answers are the ones I’m interesting in hearing-- what are your motivations?)
For me, it’s definitely using the models and scenery to capture the essence of the railroad I have enjoyed studying for about 30 years.
It’s a progressive thing, there’s always a detail to add, or a change to make to get closer to what’s “right” in my mind’s eye. I’m presently reconstructing a significant portion of the layout so I can more faithfully represent the operations I’ve read about. Sort of like when you download a high res image… it’s blurry at first, then line by line the pixels come into focus until you see the whole thing clearly.
Now, when I say that, I don’t mean that I’m looking for every inch of track to be modeled, nor every rivet to be counted. I approach model railroading more as an art, and less a science. Much as a theater set is designed to create a sense of place, as well as provide a backdrop for the action, the layout has to “set the stage” for the railroad operations I enjoy.
So, in the end, each piece of rolling stock may not be right on, the paint on the engines may be a shade off. The track plan may be more crowded than that real thing, the trains shorter, and the buildings off by a bit. The mountains are definitely short, the river too narrow, and the road there just goes behind some trees and disappears.
But when I take in the whole thing, there’s no question about where I am, and what’s going on. The whole is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
There are so many elements to the hobby, as we all know. I will describe what sustains me in the hobby. The ultimate pleasure for me is sight of a train moving through what is (to me anyway!) pretty good looking scenery that depicts the mountains and small cities of the Appalachian and northeast regions of the US. Everything else I do in the hobby builds up to that sight and vision. Why is that a big deal to me? It’s recreating scenes in miniature of what exist as snapshots in my mind from childhood and later. To this day while driving, a railroad that’s within view can be more of a distraction than any cell phone! I can’t help but rubber neck and try to memorize the scene.
So, most of my modeling builds up to places I have seen in that part of the US - although sometimes flavored with other areas. I have an urban section on my railroad in which some tracks disappear under elevated roadways and buildings, inspired by seeing downtown Chicago.
Until i retired 10 years ago, I had a high stress job. Working on my layout, building structures, laying track, laying down scenery, etc., etc. was a great stress buster for me. It relieved the stress that had accumulated during the day. I felt much better after an hour or two in the basement. Now, no more stress, but, as someone else said, it’s just the pure enjoyment of working on the layout. It beats the heck out of vegging in front of the TV or the computer.
Yeah, I’m all for the ‘good enough’ approach as well. But I’m like you-- as I look ahead to the scenicking of my layout, I’m already seeing scenes I’ll inevitably need to revisit or even do over as my skills and methods improve. In the beginning my goal is to simply get the thing built, track laid, and everything running okay. Th
That’s very interesting George, I’m a lot like that too-- and in much the same locale. I’ve driven/ridden back and forth through the Appalachians myself more times than I care to count. And I have a particular fondness for Roanoke VA too, which I guess is not strictly Appalachian, but its pretty close. And whenever there’s a railroad nearby I have to slow down too or else wreck the car craning my head and neck to see it. If I’m a passenger and have a camera, I’m usually snapping away. On our last trip through sw PA, I pestered my poor wife to death to get snapshots of the concrete and grain (feed) bunkers and businesses along the way. She’s still annoyed at me-- but I have the photos
To me, working on structures, bridges and scenery is a relaxing activity. I’m trying to make the northern plains/prairies appear on my layout in terms of the atmosphere and the activity that I saw and experienced when I lived there awhile back. My layout, then, becomes that stage setting for the activities/people/scenery/trains I saw, as well as experienced, up there.
I may not get anywhere near the reality of being there but, at least, one can try[:P].
That’s really the truth. When I was just starting to get back into MR people kept saying that and I had a hard time really believing it-- laying track and all the construction-related stuff just seemed a nuisence to put up with to get to the “good part” of running the trains-- but as I’ve embraced the hobby and studied / learned and trying / implementing what I’ve learned to build my layout-- I’m discovering more and more that its a journey and not a destination. And I am often surprised when I go downstairs to “work on the layout” or (more recently) to “run the trains” and look up awhile later to discover that several hours have gone by unnoticed-- the answer seems clear.
There’s something about it that’s good for the soul. And the best part is my 2-1/2 yo son is having a blast running the trains and “working on the layout” with me-- that’s what he tells everybody, “Me and Daddy are going downstairs to ‘work on the layout’”, in that little serious, authoritative, matter-of-fact sort of way-- there’s just something about the way he says it makes me chuckle every time.
And he is very, very good with the trains too. We have a little ad-hoc “yard” (four spurs), a section of “mainline”, about maybe 20-25 feet, a yard lead (which he actually understands!!!), and a “industry switching” section with a couple of spurs and a run-around track. He’s too little to uncouple the cars by himself, and he can’t really read very well yet so I set up the locos for him, but he has a nic
The most important piece is that the trains move. A model railroad is a miniature world of action. Bringing lumber, track, engines, cars, wiring, control system together in a working railroad in miniature is the essence of model railroading. Scenery is the icing on the cake.
