Is Your Layout Freelance or Prototypical


Proto or freelanced? Yes. The name is from a real (fallen flag) road. Many of the scenes/buildings are taken from the real thing, but as with any model, the trackplan is made to fit the space available and show off what I want to feature. :)
 
I have an N scale layout consisting of a double line code 80 rectangular oval on a 36" x 80" door. Has four manual switches to allow moving the train back and forth between inside and outside loops...without changing direction. So far this is all.....no grass...no scenery...no buildings...no cows....no nuns....no amish farmers....no porsche dealerships.

However in the near future I see some dinosaur skulls and egyptian artifacts from king tuts tomb....scattered around a mostly desert canyon landscape......and other cool stuff. This may put me in the freelance category.

Railfan has spoken
(desert prairie soothsayer)
 
I'm fairly sure Burlington Northern never owned a Challenger, so I'll go with freelance I think! ;) I'm sticking solidly to early BN locos apart from that though, and will be modelling an alpine area with plenty of hills and coniferous forest as far as the eye can see. I'm going to have pine tree making down to a fine art by the time I'm finished, or the folks at Woodland Scenics will be a whole lot richer. :p BN was large enough that I'm sure they travelled through such a region, though I've never bothered to check this because it's of no concern to me. :D I chose to model Burlington Northern based almost entirely on their colour scheme.
 
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Since this topic was started in Sept. 2004 by Willis I've changed my layout 100%. It's still Modern Freelance & I've added a lot of engines & also changed the size from 18 by 36ft to 24 by 36ft. In 2004 the table heighth was 52 to 55 inches & now the whole thing is 42" high. This layout was started in Sept. 2007.:D:):rolleyes:
 
I'm fairly sure Burlington Northern never owned a Challenger, so I'll go with freelance I think! ;) I'm sticking solidly to early BN locos apart from that though, and will be modelling an alpine area with plenty of hills and coniferous forest as far as the eye can see. I'm going to have pine tree making down to a fine art by the time I'm finished, or the folks at Woodland Scenics will be a whole lot richer. :p BN was large enough that I'm sure they travelled through such a region, though I've never bothered to check this because it's of no concern to me. :D I chose to model Burlington Northern based almost entirely on their colour scheme.

You are correct on the BN never owning a challenger. When the BN came about in March of 1973 with the merger of 5 railroads, steam was long gone. That's what's nice about freelancing, nobody can say something doesn't belong.
 
I get visitors all the time that tell me something doesn't belong. I guess I should take my sign down that says, "Rivet Counters Welcome".:D:)
 
I try to stay very close within my time period of 1957. I grew up during the steam to diesel transition period. I can very clearly remember riding on a number of steam locomotives. My freelanced railroad connects to the NP and Milwaukee Road. The few locomotives I have for those roads are extremely accurate, but for my own road, I run what I want. I keep the locomotives true to the time period ( no modern equipment ), but after that anything goes.
 
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Pretty much protolancing using Frisco's High Line set in 1964. The real line was only 192 miles long and was in it's waning years in '64. However, in my version of reality, a new coal seam was found in Harvey which revitalized the entire line. Newer industries sprung up and line's business increased. Chicken train continued, Boy Scouts used the line to get to scout camp, Missouri Pacific and the Kansas City Southern had access to line during highwater events, yada, yada.

My signed and dated Modelers License from Bill McKeen will be prominately displayed.
 
The Union Pacific Soggy Bottoms Division is a protolanced line of the UP. Soggy Bottoms, Ne. is located on the Nebraska-Northern Colorado border, just up the line from the Denver-Cheyenne split. It is so named for the wetlands located about 5 miles outside of town. The town motto is "Welcome to Soggy Bottoms! We Luv to Pamper People!"
The town is a stopover and and division point for passenger and freight traffic. It is also a termination point for the Soggy Bottoms-Alliance local passenger train. There is a lot of traffic on this line, both passenger and freight. Ranchers from northern Colorado and western Nebraska ship a lot of livestock across these rails as well. The veranda turbines make regular non-stops from Ogden to Council Bluffs (gotta love those 22000 gallon bunker C fuel oil tenders!).
The town is known to be located in the middle of a space/time vortex, though, so periodically a modern diesel has been known to show up to startle the local populace. ;)
The time frame is the somewhere sorta kinda halfway close to the mid-50's, give or take 5 years. (Except for when that space/time vortex acts up.)
Most of the work is still done by steam but the growlers are beginning to make their presence known as well. Eventually, North Platte and Denver will take over most of Soggy Bottoms responsibilities, but those days are still in the future. For now, the town is prosperous and thriving.
 
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I get visitors all the time that tell me something doesn't belong. I guess I should take my sign down that says, "Rivet Counters Welcome".:D:)

I used to have a sign and box on an old layout that said, "Nit pickers, Please Leave All Fingers Here! You May Pick Them Up When You Leave"!!!:D:D;);)
 
I used to have a sign and box on an old layout that said, "Nit pickers, Please Leave All Fingers Here! You May Pick Them Up When You Leave"!!!:D:D;);)

I found this here:
http://www.joly.org.uk/gordo/quotes/achtung.html

Achtung!
ACHTUNG! Alles Touristen and Non-technischen Lookens Peepers!

Das machine control is nicht fur Gerfingerpoken, Mittengrabben, Knobbentwisten, Buttonpushin, Dialenturnin, und Switchenthrowen. Oderwise is easy to Schnappen der Spriggenwerk, Blowenfuze, and Poppencorken causen das Spitzensparken, Sparkenflyen, Smokenrollen, und der Ownercussen.

Der machine is diggen by Experten only. Ist nicht fur geverken by das Dumnkopfen. Das Rubbernecken Sightseenen sittenzi back, keepen das cottenpicken hands in das pockets und watchen das Blinkenlight und hearen das beepen noisen.

Danke.



I plan to make a sign out of this and display it my train room.:D
 



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