The Plays the Thing
Or
All the world’s a staging yard
There is always a question as to why some wisenheimer feels the need to grace the rest of us with the exposures of their own particular brand of insight, wisdom, homely or ‘expert’ opinion; so, no doubt, that question is potentially the first on your mind when approaching this article. The honest answer is simply this, I have nothing better to do but engage in a little useless musing on our hobby and I’m just foolish enough to think someone might be interested in my ravings, that being said lets get to the heart of the matter, shall we?
Recently there has been a struggle running within myself to find a perspective on the hobby that satisfies the varied levels that I have been looking for from an art form: inner expression, unique creation, physical reality, challenge and of course satisfaction with the finished product. Model Railroading presents all of these things readily, accept, for myself at least, it is a challenge to find the Inner Expression; that process by which the artist takes an inner vision that belongs only to him or her and brings it out of the inner world into the outer world. It is all well and good to have grand dreams and play out symphonies, poetry, stories or sculpt or paint great works in one’s head but it becomes a different matter to take the dream and push it through the tiny aperture of the artist’s skill and ability into the real world.
Unlike most, or so I presume, I came to the hobby not from being a fan or devotee of trains, which I have subsequently become, or even a fascination for them when young, I came into the hobby from the perspective of someone looking for a way to express an inner desire to create something both physically real and artistic, am I sure there are many others who have come from this path also. Because of this my impre
Words of wisdom and artful insight into the world of model railroading! Great ideas and creativity are only limited to the imagination, art in any form is a creative process. You have the gift of gab, Coyote. I have read similar parallels to the ‘stage’ and play theme but cannot remember where I have seen them.
Great way of thinking about it! In my opinion Model railroading is one of the most creative types of artwork (This is comming from an artist who does painting, sculpture, computer animation, miniatures, photography, sketch, computer illustration, & of course model railroading) because you can break all of the traditional & modern rules & still make an elabrate world out of scratch or stuff. Ride on.
Certainly for me, there has to be more to it than running trains. Creativity is a key issue and there are lots of modes of expression. I have run the gambit of the arts. Writing (taught at College level). Drama (acting and directing local theater) Sundecks (featured in several magazines, eg Sunset and others). But Model Railroading holds the promise of artistic expression on so many levels. One only needs to look at the work of Malcom Furlow, John Allen, or George Sellios.
Which brings to mind a book that is missing from our hobby. Creative Layout Theory.
I worried (slightly) about people’s perception that I was “only playing with trains” and came up with an answer.
I have a large, terminal type RR but the only part of it that’s even partially sceniced is the upper level passenger depot and yards that take up a total of 49 ft of wall w/ a right angle bend in the middle. I model the 1945-55 period and if I were ever to get any patronizing comments my answer would be along the lines of:
“If I had made a 2 dimensional, static representation of America at the height of it’s industrial development in oils or acrylics covering an area 4 ft high and 50 ft long would you have thought it childish? Well then, if you think a three dimensional, kinescetic, multi media reprentation of the same thing is childish, is the problem the scene being viewed or your perception of it?”
Unfortunately I’ve never had occasion to use it, but should the occasion arise, I’m ready!
Coyote,
Excellent editorial! I often have thoughts like that running thru my mind, especially when mowing my lawn, driving long distances, or attending business meetings.
Many often assume us model railroaders are “just running toy trains” as noted. This does not apply in my case, as I do not have a layout to run trains on. My choice is a pair of modules that I operate with our local club only a few times a year. My main interest and focus has been model making - I have shelves full of my models, many more still in boxes and many projects still in my head.
For me it is a creative outlet, just like my photography. And I get to combine the two interests in one by taking photos of my models and sharing them with others.
So for me I don’t “play with trains”, I make scale models of railroad equipment and scenes.
I really enjoyed reading your musings. Ditto all the positive comments already expressed. I think (IMHO) that your thoughtful and well composed editorial above is worthy of the glossy-print pages of our forum’s gracious host. [8D][tup]
Ditto’s to the above. Maybe Coyote should apply for the editor position, but then he would have to move to cold Milwaukee.
Great introspect of the hobby. And I agree with others, many look at us like we are men still longing for a childhood, but I feel we are taking the scenes, operations, modeling to a level that many can’t or won’t do because of a preconcived notion that they can’t or would be embarassed to try.
It’s funny. I mention I have a model railroad to friends or when I was running a business my hobby, and I was amazed at the response from the male population. They also liked trains, had one or always wanted too. Hmmm, I would bet this hobby would be larger, if we only could find the key to unlock and bring them all in.
I re-read your commentary and I have a comment. I too came to the hobby not so much from the standpoint of fascination with trains (which I have been developing) but from the standpoint as developing a hobby that 1) I can share with my son. 2) Allows creative expression.
When we take Model Railroading to an art form, and I’m not saying we shouldn’t by the way, a shift occurs. A visual artist paints so that people can see their work. A writer writes for others and an actor performs for others. Rare indeed it the artist that isn’t looking for accolades. It is what drives us as artists forward to find new and exciting frontiers in art.
So when we create our art in the form of a basement empire we are by default limiting our audience to people we can drag down or viewers of the Photo Funs.
With Model Railroading, then we have to grow as artists to create for ourselves. Yes, this is different from the modelers that “only do it for themselves” and do not push for creative excellence. We have to build it, and know that unlike the Cosner movie, no one will come. Unless, of course, you build in a high level of operational ability, and get on a circuit or form you own operational team.
This is where John Allen excelled, and where Malcolm Furlow falls short. Obviously, Furlow is the artist (and artist in profession) that has no operational sessions, whereas Allen delighted in sharing his creation with operators and the rest of the world through networking, photos and articles. Furlow then, would have to have evolved to the point of excellence for himself alone to create such a fantastic layout so far removed from civilization.
So to go the Allen you need both the artistic skills and patience, and you need the working knowledge of both what a railroad does and a sense of what makes “playing with trains” fun. I get satisfaction from building a building, weathering it and creating a scene, but it does not compare to the fun of having my son r
Sorry guys I don’t subscribe to the thought that model railroading is a art by any definition…No,I see model railroading as poetry in motion.That is to say it has a rhyme and reason for moving trains…Art? No art doesn’t move nor does it require any great knowledge unless one happens to be a art dealer or collector.
Have you looked at Malcom Furlows layout. I would suggest that for Furlow it all about the art. My guess is Tony Koester would go nuts trying to get a train order that made sense.
I’m sure there are many layouts out there that never get past a rudimentay scenery stage because art is not important to them. But others, like Furlow, Allen and Sellios, wouldn’t dream of creating an empire without the art.
Never in a million years would I have thought about it in this way, but you’re all absolutely right. To the letter. There’s so much more to model railroading than putting track on a table, hooking up a power supply, and running a train. Those are the simplest basics, the core necessity. Everything else is up to the individual. I’ve dwelled too much on trying to make my layout and the ideas I have for future ones better than the ones I see in our magazine. But I don’t need to.
I got into this hobby earlier this year for a couple of reasons.
I had a simple 4x8 HO figure 8 when I was a kid.
I needed something to do besides sit on my***playing computer games.
I have two boys of my own and wanted to develop something with them that would allow me to spend time with them which will be more and more sacred over the coming year when I transfer back to sea duty (I’m active duty Navy) and will in turn give them something that reminds them of me when it’s time for me to deploy again.
It’s something that my wife can get involved with as well, not only from the aspect of #3, but her own art skills as well.
This is one of the most fun and creative hobbies I’ve ever been involved with. I put up with being called a “train dork” and other various labels, but that’s fine. Once my layout, such as it is due to space, is up and running, the ones that choose to label me out of simple ignorace will be coming over to run a train and will probably be hooked as well.
Can there not be art in the operations and not just the scenery?
Coyote,
No need to apologize. Your reason for being in this hobby is different than mine and mine is different from someone else’s etc etc. But that’s cool. Just like lots of other things, there is no wrong or right reason for being a model railroader. I enjoyed reading your post and learning about what is it that brought you to this hobby and what aspects you enjoy and why that is. Even if a person’s interests and motivations in this hobby are different than mine I still enjoy reading about them - kinda helps me see folks as not just a userid, but as a human being.