I have mentioned this before and fully agree. My little 4-4-0 with five cars behind it putting around the layout at 25MPH makes my layout seem much larger. Even my 32" min. curves really look more sweeping with smaller steam. The layout still looks okay with two or three diesels p
Perhaps it’s the era that generates the interest to the individual, and therefore the era that is their reason for getting into model railroading. If a person has no interest in or passion for steam trains then odds are they really won’t enjoy modeling steam as a hobby. Personally, steam of any kind has zero interest for me. I have no interest in operating steam whatsoever. It’s not a slight towards steam or steam era modelers, rather a simple choice on my part. I appreciate the history of railroading as much as the next, and I appreciate, admire, and learn from steam era modelers. However I grew up around diesels, love their menacing look, love the sounds they make starting up, idling, and thundering by, love their smell (yes…their smell). My young Son is the same. Give him an Sd40-2, Sd60, or big Sd70ACe and he’s happy (heck even his Thomas The Tanks are mainly the diesel characters [;)]). I suspect many younger modelers have similar interests. Be that as it may, we all love this hobby for different reasons and have both common and diverse interests. A person can enjoy the modern era with limited space. It just may mean a smaller scale or space specific layout. But without the interest level, I just do not see a person staying or more importantly enjoying the hobby for very long.
The point was simply that smaller spaces do lend themselves to earlier eras.
Of course I am one of those who constantly suggests to modelers of all eras that bigger is always better reguarding curves and that I consider 30" radius about the practical minimum for most all HO modeling.
And that any kind of Class I modeling, in any era, really is better with 36" or larger curves.
On a similar note to your post, some on this forum have suggested that the &
If you like the modern era but have limited space, model a shortline. Many of these run short trains sometimes an engine and a couple of cars. And the track frequently has to be traveled at slower speeds.
Agree 100% and having unrealistic expectations is something modelers with interests in any era share. Bottom line, you have to play to your interests whatever they may be and work with whatever space, time, finances you have. It-is-what-it-is and we all can’t have the basement/garage/attic sized layouts we see gracing the pages of magazines each month. In the end, you may not have the layout you want, but in my ever so humble opinion, any layout, in any scale is better then no layout at all [;)].
Personally I find that modern Diesels are superior in several ways, one they are cheaper (huge plus on a tight budget), it is easier to find prototype information (just google it, or go and watch your local rails), and it sounds like they are easier to maintain (unscrew coupler boxes and screws under fuel tank vs don’t try to take the shell off you steam engine with out closes looking at the directions, and the diagrams are a bit confusing). And who said diesels seem too clean? Have you seen a modern diesel? Only the new ones or ones just repainted are clean, and after that it is all down hill, dirt and dust along with the exhaust makes that locomotives super dirty, and then they start to get rust spots and fade. You would think the railroads would wash off their locomotives once in awhile, wax them every so many years, and touch up the rust spots (it probably would extend the life of the paint job by a lot), but they don’t, and so diesels are dirty.