What is your favorite aspect of model railroading? Vote then share your comments below.
The challenge of having somany skills but for me it would be just having fun.
If I were running this poll, I’d add detailing passenger cars, superdetailing buildings, and building scenery!
Having said that, just watching the trains go 'round is enough some days.
There are so many aspects to this hobby that I am sure the majority would have picked the overall category like I did. Some days, I’m happy doing any one of the subjects posted, and more. Short of wiring, what appeals is darn near everything. Sometimes my attention focuses on one aspect-- right now it’s scenery, but I can’t wait to kitbash and build, and I have a fleet waiting for weathering. Lots of locos need repair, so maybe one week I’ll open the backshop. Then another time, I’ll be back to designing yet another modular concept. On and on, it never gets old.
Tough choice this one between overall skils and scratchbuilding (PS: you left out scratchbuilding rolling stock), but I could only choose one.
Kim
Even though I enjoy about every aspect, you tie it all together with operation.
Pity I could only pick one. There’s so many great things involved with this hobby. I lived in the UK, USA and Ireland and making new modeller friends are great. I still have contact with several of them all over the world, although I currently live in my “home town” of Cape Town, South Africa. This IS the world’s best hobby.
Cheers
Ed Keown
Cape Town
Yes; only onre choice is tough. But I really enjoyed,on this my first layout, the learning and correcting process of growing the track from an 8.5 x 11 inch sketch to full size on the living room floor to an inch-grid on the layout table to a 2nd AND a third re-lay. Still getting a boot out of adding a siding here and a larger loop there( on a three inch cantileveralong one third of one side. Why noy, hey!
Another like-best: the challenge of relearning skills from jjr high years model making and adding knowledge & techniques in such a variety of new skills.
I’m one of those guys who enjoys nearly all aspects of model railroading, but I must admit that I love wiring. I wired a really nice control panel for my layout for block control, but now that I have switched to DCC I have a new challenge of reducing the number of blocks to just the staging area (and that is only so I don’t waste the headlights on the locos, cabeese and passenger cars). I used to diagnose and repair control wiring for Direct Digital Control Systems for the refrigeration industry, so that probably explains why I really enjoy wiring locos with decoders.
All of the above but prototype operation is my main interest.
I really into the locomotives. I just recently recieved 2 LL P2K GP30’s, & plan to paint one in BNSF H1 Orange & Green, & one in WC Maroon & gold. The part I like is making it look like the real locomotive. I actually look for the road number find pictures & make every detail. I’m very detail orientated!
Josh
Right now I’m super detailing a couple of N.P. Brass cabooses and having a great time. I also have kit bashed locos and liked doing that to.
Please, could you add " Scenery Construction" to the list?
You left out scenery building as a favorite part of model railroading, so your poll is flawed from my standpoint.
Like many, I said the variety of skills required in the hobby. But another aspect which has proven delightful is the friends I have made. I would have never dreamt how “social” the hobby is, looking from the outside.
Great question, and there are so many interesting facets about this hobby its hard to call any one of them a favorite. I think the most interesting challenge is learning the basics of real life railroading. Guess that explains why I took seven courses on railroading, ranging from railroad history to ground school, at my local city college. In the process I even managed to pick up an associate degree in railroad operations. The more you know about real world railroad operations, then and now, the better job you can do of recreating that world in miniature.
This list could have gone on and on, but the two I would have added would be building the layout and railfan running the trains (vs operating session). But its all fun.
Paul
Would you believe getting my new model magazines? Also visiting other home and club layouts and train conventions. And I am not an armchair model railroader.
I like to watch and opperate my model trains, for me seeing somthing that I have built running through a realistic enviroment is the goal.
Having fun and trying to improve each project that is worked on.