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Do you enjoy prototypical operations on your model railroad?
The results of our latest reader poll are (in my opinion) somewhat surprising with 56% not really interested in applying prototypical operations on their layout. I thought that figure would have been lower, so it seems I was wrong in my assumption.
429 readers voted in our recent poll which asked “Do you enjoy prototypical operations on your model railroad? (with switchlists, waybills, regulations, timetables etc.)”
Results are as follows:
–> NO – that’s not really me (56%, 242 Votes)
–> YES – sometimes I do (15%, 63 Votes)
–> YES – definitely (10%, 45 Votes)
–> YES – most of the time (7%, 28 Votes)
–> I haven’t got a layout yet (12%, 51 Votes)
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It doesn’t surprise me at all – it’s all too involved for most people – me, I like to come home make up a couple of trains quickly and then watch ’em tour the countryside – sometimes they go for two or three hours and at 66 years old it has NEVER bored me to do that (was 6 when got first train set) – ever notice at a train show how many people just stand there and watch trains for 10 or 15 minutes on each layout – like kids at a Christmas store display. At least it’s like that around here.
Hi David,
Totally agree……over a lot of my 74 years I have reduced the “fun” in several endeavors due to becoming overly absorbed with “perfectionist detail”…say OCD here.
I truly enjoyed just watching my first Flyer run ay the age of nine.
Now I have again learned to “just watch” the trains run with my Grandchildren.
David Woodruff
Couldn’t agree more with David, I though it was only me. This obsessive behaviour of some people with getting everything right up to the exact amount of rivets on a boxcar has never appealed to me. It is a hobby, not work, with all the rules and regulations that I have had to adhere to in my working life. I just enjoy thge show, like David says.
I agree totally with Han de Roos and David. My layout has absolutely no scenery whatsoever, the baseboard isn’t even painted. I own locos and rolling stock from many different countries, so whose scenery do I build? USA, Europe, SA, etc. which one? I like to run my trains as they come out of the boxes, I don’t count rivets. But do not get me wrong, I am not crying down the prototypical scale people, I admire their skills very much. Also prototypical operation requires a full crew with special skills. But for me, it is restoration work and running that gives me the greatest pleasure. To bring back a wreck to operation is really satisfying.
Agree
With both Dave and Han De Roos. I would like scenery on the road instead of in my head though.
I suspect that what led to the negative response was your including the qualifier “(with switchlists, waybills, regulations, timetables etc.).” Probably many more people try to operate somewhat realistically without all the fuss of paperwork. That’s my intention.
I agree with Dante. I think its the qualifier “(with switchlists, waybills, regulations, timetables etc.)” that might be throwing people off. I love to run “somewhat” prototypical in that I enjoy keeping the speed and building a train and working industries and being somewhat realistic with my scenery. I like adding realistic details, etc. But being OCD about everything having to be as real as possible takes the fun out for me. I like to build a train, let it run and work on areas of my layout that need it while enjoying the sights and sounds of the train rolling around my little world of retreat.
My sentiments exactly. If I wanted the hassle of regulations, waybills, etc. I would go work for the Santa Fe. Model railroading should be about what one enjoys. I personally like just building the layout, turning it on, and letting it run,
I think it is not an all or nothing proposition….Some times you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t….Having a switch list and prototypically picking up and dropping off cars can be fun, as well as just winding them up and letting them go. Night operations are great fun and a real change too. Set up to have as many options as possible and enjoy!
Hey Robert Lee, you have it right! ENJOY-we have the greatest hobby, whether we have prototypical operations or not. ENJOY is the operative word!
I have a Hogwarts campus complete with characters on my layout and I run a Hogwarts special. So, no, I am not prone to prototypes. If I try to display one hour of one day of one month of one year, I worry about who and what was on the station platform that hour and why. Are they still living? Where? Why were they on the platform? If I am going to really get it right, that is important to know! Too much research. I just like to watch the trains and create my own perfect world (except for wiring…that’s a whole other story!)
Retired…downsized to a townhouse…have space limits so, I am enjoying a 30″ circular micro, HO venture. It’s a great hobby be it big, small or micro.