Modeling your local area


R

railroaderboy

Friend = U.P.S. Man
I live in north Texas and it is flat as can be here. I personally hate where I live if I was to model it because the idea of the flat Texas planes. I would like to model the Rio Grande Railway after I finish my first layout and I might be able to find some space to place the layout. Anyways, how many other people would hate to model the railroad in the are that you live in?
 
how many other people would hate to model the railroad in the are that you live in?
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Well I have no problem with the scenery where I live it's beautiful and in fact it's said to be an extension of the Appalachians. The only thing marring the sights is those new wind driven generators which seem to be popping up all aver the place.
If you don't like the area model something you do like and run whatever road you want to on it. It's your RR and you can do what ever you want to do with it. :D

Cheers
Willis
 
i live in the northeast, the terrain and the scenery is breathtaking, theres water everywheres in new york, and theres a large variety of industries here, so there plenty to model, so to answer your question, no i would not hate to model where i live.
 
The direct area I live I would not model but I the over all region I plan on doing some full on prototype with mixed freelanced modeling because there is so much around here just need a little ad lib for a model railroad.
 
My area is one of the most "modelgenic" on the continent: The B&O's Old Main Line passes within a mile of my house. It winds along the Patapsco river, with lots of curves, tunnels and rock faces.

Only one problem: I'm modeling a steel mill on the south shore of Lake Erie, that's the only way I can incorporate my 6ft-long ore boat into the layout. Ships like this one never even get anywhere near salt water. Otherwise, you can bet I'd be modeling Sparrow's Point and the OML!
 
Modeling Houston would be very difficult as I don't anyone can cram that many lines in a single space!

why do you have to model where you are? Model what you WANT, regardless of where you are, or it is, or if it even exists!
 
Living in Iowa I have a wide variety of scenery for inspiration. Even though your area might not look appealing at first if you really analyze the terrian you can find something interesting to model. Even in the flats of Texas you have ravines, dry creek beds, and other areas that have interesting traits to model.
 
i'm about a mile north of some of the former soo line headed towards iowa. kinda boring although Elgin has some unique possibilities. since i'm still in the planning stages though i am thinking pretty much the extreme opposite in modeling Florida. it's flat, swampy, and hot with palm trees, waterways, and brightly painted buildings. kind of like a mini-vacation every time i work on it
 
Only one problem: I'm modeling a steel mill on the south shore of Lake Erie, that's the only way I can incorporate my 6ft-long ore boat into the layout. Ships like this one never even get anywhere near salt water. Otherwise, you can bet I'd be modeling Sparrow's Point and the OML!
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Well in the town of Pictou NS while the shipyard was in operation a few years back I seen lakers tied to the wharves unloading steel. This coming year the yard will again be in operation but this time they are dismantling 2 old destroyers so maybe they'll come again to take the scrap away.

Cheers
Willis
 
I started modeling the C&O of Indiana, I model the town I live in now and its the town I was born in. ITS FLAT!
Its tough.

I previously modeled the former PRR mainline across Central Indiana which is also pretty flat, its tough, but fun.
 
Modeling my hometown has been more rewarding than I had ever thought possible. Part of my enjoyment comes from an interest in local history. I almost get more out of the research than the modeling. Where I live happens to be a pretty area with interesting scenery to build as well. If I modeled outside of town I'd have to do fields and fields of corn and soy beans. You haven't seen flat until you get into the rural areas of southern Minnesota. Thank God for river valleys!:D
 
I would like to model my hometown from back in the day. The old B&O branchline runs through my town which is now RJ Corman. We get about 1 train a day through here. I could model the line from Massillon to Warwick which would provide a ton of industry modeling since Massillon had the steel mills, Canal Fulton (my town) had a B&O station along with a coal depot, feed mill, and a small factory. (everything but the factory is gone including the steel mills) Warwick yard would also provide plenty of activity. I can't wait until I get my own house and build an around the wall layout.
 
railroaderboy said:
I live in north Texas and it is flat as can be here. I personally hate where I live if I was to model it because the idea of the flat Texas planes. I would like to model the Rio Grande Railway after I finish my first layout and I might be able to find some space to place the layout. Anyways, how many other people would hate to model the railroad in the are that you live in?
Click to expand...

I understand where you're coming from (literally and figuratively, being in north Texas myself), but it's not that bad. You don't have to model the flat areas necessarily. There are plenty of river crossings in north Texas that have plenty of elevation difference. Some parts of the trip from Fort Worth to Wichita Falls features some nice terrain to model. It could be worse: you could be trying to model Houston. Now that's flat terrain!

Having lived in Bayfield and Durango, Colorado several years ago, I can certainly relate to how appealing that scenery is to model. But unless you've got loads of space for a layout it is difficult to model that kind of terrain convincingly.

I don't know where in north Texas you are, but if you're going to be around Fort Worth this Friday or Saturday, contact me and see about coming to our Free-mo ops session.
 
Funny you should mention that. I really like the Alabama scenery and our old southern towns so that's what my layout is based on. OTOH, I've been a big UP and NKP fan all my life. So, on my fictional, poverty stricken Alabama shortline, UP power occasionally shows up and, sometimes, a ghostly NKP train appears out of the mists. As others have said, it's your layout, so do what make you happy.
 
try modeling Long Island,NY. Were all passenger service
with a few gp38's and mp15's pull 6 or 7 freight cars:eek:
 
Too much of a good thing

Well living in Chicago, the problem is what <1% of my area to model! Too many possibilities, too many options, too little
space. Also I like my trains to go to somewhere, but outside of Chicago it's just a lot of flat corn.:( So I
made up a Chicago-like city in more scenic Wisconsin, with a little more hilly contryside. The big advantage of modeling
Chicago is that you can run equipment from almost any railroad and it would be correct. I figure that I can fudge that
in WI for my enjoyment.:)
 
Gary B said:
Well living in Chicago, the problem is what <1% of my area to model! Too many possibilities, too many options, too little
space.
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Yeah, me too. I'm a within a 10 minute drive of BNSF (ex-BN) and CN (ex-EJE), within 30 minutes of BNSF (ex-ATSF), UP (ex-CNW) Proviso Yard, and CP (ex-Soo) Bensenville Yard, Manufacturer's Junction, Illinois Railway...

BNSF's Eola yard is about 20 minutes away from me, so I have more than enough I could model here. And that's why I model the Bay Line in the Florida Panhandle and ATSF in the desert. ;)
 
railroaderboy said:
I live in north Texas and it is flat as can be here. I personally hate where I live if I was to model it because the idea of the flat Texas planes. I would like to model the Rio Grande Railway after I finish my first layout and I might be able to find some space to place the layout. Anyways, how many other people would hate to model the railroad in the are that you live in?
Click to expand...

First of all, the "scene" in which you set YOUR rr, is limited only by your imagination...like I said, it's YOUR rr, & your world!

That said, I think a lot of us gravitate toward what we are familiar with...where we live, where we grew up, childhood memories, oh...& did I forget to mention...Our favorite railroads!

There's beauty in all geography though, IMHO...I live in KY, so I tend mainly to model coal country...rolling woodlands, & Appalachian scenery...
But even in flat country, there are interesting scenic elements to be modeled both above & below track level...streams/washes, grade crossings, structures...just because you don't have an abundance of trees & hills doesn't mean there's not a lot of visual interest, & therefore modeling inspiration!

But hey, if you prefer, there are plenty of photos out there of the Rio Grande cuttin' through the Rockies! If that's what gets your juices flowin', go for it! Do it your way! That's the beauty of this hobby, you can go anywhere you want with it!
 
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To the two Chicago guys who are trying to figure out what 1% of Chicago to model:

This is EASY, Model the IHB main line! Why?? IHB crosses just about every other railroad in Chicago, and just about every other railroad uses IHB's track to some extent. That is the option I'm going to use when I start a layout. That way, you're not too limited which railroads you can run. Only problem is which era do you want to model??? I'm going to model mid 70's to early 80's.

Another option for good Chicago modelling would be to model BRC's line and yard. Everyone uses that, too.
 
I live near Carrizo Gorge and famous Goat Canyon Trestle in San Diego Imperial Counties, Baja Mex.
Old San Diego & Arizona Railway "Impossible Railroad"
So someday I'd like to model parts of it from the Baldwin steam era. Passengers and Pacific Fruit Express reffers etc.
http://www.cgrp.us/photosczry.html
Ans run some of the later Southern Pacific diesels, maybe the WWII US military troop trains that used to run it too.
I'm also putting together a UP diesel consist with cement hoppers like Los Angeles to El Paso Texas "Sunset Route" that runs through southern Arizona, Tucson. Too many posibilities
Fun to hear all the local ideas in this thread.
Of course having a built in DCC Oscillation Overthruster from Yoyodyne or a Flux Capacitor helps cross any transdimentionl restriction creating a rift in the space time continuom so you can model and run whatever is fun for you. :D
 
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