How prototypical is your layout?


How prototypical is your layout?

  • Absolutely 100% accurate.

    Votes: 2 2.0%

  • Selective compression, but otherwise an exact "model" of a railroad.

    Votes: 9 8.8%

  • "Selectively freelanced", somewhat follows a prototype road.

    Votes: 50 49.0%

  • Completely freelanced.

    Votes: 41 40.2%
  • Total voters
    102
SigfanUSAF

SigfanUSAF

Gunsmith
I'm asking because the closer I get to building my benchwork, the more and more "freelanced" changes are occuring to my locomotive and rolling stock fleet.

I started with a true to life Guilford roster, SD26 & 45, GP 7, 35, 38, and 40. Then I had to have an SD30:) Well, what else would you have it lettered on a modern New England layout?:p
So now I find my Guilford Rail System "bought" the bankrupt Bangor and Aroostook in 2000, and ol Tim Mellon sprung for a dozen SD40-2s of varying NS heritage after the 20 CN GP40-2Ws arrived:rolleyes: I love the SD7/9, so now I have one sublettered B&M. Where does it end!
I seem to be getting gurther and further from the idea of a "true to life" HO GRS layout. But the thing that got the "artistic license" in gear was the whole layout is gonna be a ficticious location anyway:eek:

So, with selective compression and all the other compromises one must make to model a portion of a rail road in HO scale, where does one draw the line?
 
The point of linking you to my website is that the entire reason we all got into this hobby is to HAVE FUN. There is nothing wrong with straying from prototypical, in fact many of us have fantasy railroads that never existed or have modernized historic fallen flags.

Bottom line: It's YOUR railroad, and your interpretation of reality.
 
If you strive for 100% realistic, you will always be disappointed. And some lifeless nitpicker will find exception to some detail somewhere.

Do your own thing, make no apologies and have please yourself.
 
Let's see...I run UP, Southern, CSX, GM&O, NS, SP, and my own shortline, the Prattville and Northern. The county seat of Hillside doesn't exist anywhere but on my layout. I have vehicles from 1938 Mack trucks to Land Rover Discovery. Yep, I guess I fall into the 100% freelanced category. :) I've already been thorugh the phase of faithfully modeling a small portion of the UP. It was fun while it lasted but I found it was very limiting in terms of trying to have everything in the right place and the right era. As Ken wrote, no matter how hard you tried, some nitpicker wil show you where the UP never had that kind of signal during the period you are modeling. Just not worth the grief.
 
kenw said:
If you strive for 100% realistic, you will always be disappointed. And some lifeless nitpicker will find exception to some detail somewhere.

Do your own thing, make no apologies and have please yourself.
Click to expand...
Rock on! I'm making a t-shirt, well two, one shall say "No rivet counting allowed." and the other "Warning! Rivet counting in effect." :eek:

Anyways, I took "Selective compression, but otherwise an exact "model" of a railroad." though its not quite accurate, its the closest. I intend to get the full essence of Cajon, on a double deck layout, I'm figuring 95% correct for the modeled compressed version. However, the level of accuracy will be somewhere around 85-90%, as I love proto-freelance stuff, such as mtrpls's NYCS & Pawtucket Ale cars, my Planned fleet of DUFF beer cars, Ken L's IB locomotive, ect...
 
my Planned fleet of DUFF beer cars
Click to expand...


I've lost my drink on that one.......:D

Thanks for some great advise guys, I'm feeling better 'bout my recent painting & decaling stints.

As soon as I get past the one locomotive per car/2 sections of flextrack mainline thing, I like where this is going:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I should note I AM in fact working on getting more rolling stock............One of my reasons for so many locos is I plan on modeling a GRS "deadline" of at least 7 locomotives and a switcher or 2:D

Gotta keep something prototypical with Guilford;)
 
Dave, KenW said it perfectly. I chose to model my own little and imaginary world and let the museums model the prototypes. The closest I got to accurate modeling was geographical; I have hills just like the Southern Appalachians.:D :D
 
I have a sign in my train room that says; Rivet Counters Welcome. That way I don't have to argue about noth'in.
Anyway, there was never a "Gulf-Atlantic-Pacific" railroad.

Larry
 
I model British rail, from the late 1980's through to the early 1990's, everything more or less fits the era, there was great diversification during this period with some very old rolling stock still in use along side brand new stuff, my buildings are suited to the period as well, more or less.

No rivit counting allowed
 
I model the WWII era, concentrating on Rio Grande and Southern Pacific big steam. I'm as close to 'authentic' as I can get about the locomotives I run--no 'Generics' with either Rio Grande or SP decals slapped on--and try and keep the rolling stock and accessories within the 1939-1950 period.

That being said, my "Rio Grande" is set in Northern California and set in the Yuba River watershed of the Sierras where no rails ever ran. It's a fictional "California Extension" between Salt Lake and Oakland, between SP's Donner Pass route to the south and Western Pacific's Feather River Canyon to the north.

I also have 'borrowed' steam power from other railroads such as Burlington, N&W and C&O, in keeping with the 'leasing' that went on between railroads during WWII.

And I have a fleet of Missabe-style Yellowstones (Rio Grande borrowed them during WWII, BTW), but instead of 'leasing' them, I just had Rio Grande go to Baldwin and buy their own, turning them into the 'never-was' L-140 #3900 series.

So overall, my Yuba River Sub is a figment of my imagination. Rivet counters are always welcome as long as they do their giggling out of ear-shot.

Tom :p
 
My layout will be pretty much freelanced although I do use actual structures and such to keep them at least realistic within themselves.

For now, all of my locos and rolling stock follow the correct numbering for each piece and such although I would not count out having a fictitious line down the way either. One of those things that appeals to me. :)
 
The layout I'm planning will be a mixture of the modern day Rock Island (which doesn't exist), Farmrail (which wouldn't exist if the Rock was still in business), and the ATSF. I'm also planning on building covered hoppers with reporting marks from my own railcar leasing company (which doesn't exist either).

Try not to have a stroke rivet counters!
 
RonP said:
I wanna know something, I have never seen a rivet counters layout.

Have you ?
Click to expand...
Sort of but not exactly. Most self proclaimed "rivet counters", only seem to count certain things. I met a guy years ago that duplicated, down to the rivet, every detail on rolling stock, yet used cheap card stock structures. :rolleyes:
 
So far, the only prototypical thing on my layout is the width of a road that leads past some industries. I know it's prototypical because the road it's based on, I had a friend measure it for me.

The only other thing that will be prototypical is maybe one tree that I'll make from a picture of a tree somewhere in North America....

:D

Kennedy
 
I chose 'selective freelanced', because I want my model rr to at least appear plausible. IOW, correct type of scenery for the region I'm modeling (northern Ohio), and trains/vehicles that would have been seen during the modeled period (early-to-mid 1990's). My goal is to be able to snap photographs of selected layout areas and have people think they're looking at an actual scene somewhere in Ohio [until they notice the un-cabled utility poles, LOL :D ]

Regarding the rivet-counters-and-layouts question: I know a prototype modeler - I won't call him a "rivet counter" because of the negative connotations - who has a gigantic basement layout depicting the N&W Shenandoah Division as it existed during the month of August, 1956. Beautiful layout! He lets people run their own trains from any era/region on there informally, but during official structured op sessions only the period-correct stuff is used. He's a really great guy, the only rivets he counts are his own!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top