Model Railroad Economy

[Ralph]

One thing that has bothered me is that people have lost interest in "Having fun" and are now more concerned with making everything as realistic as possible.

It seems now days if you build an "old-school" layout you are considered to not be a "Real" model railroader. I happen to like building ISls, but there are lots of people who like to build model railroads just to see trains run, and there is nothing wrong with that, I wouldn't say that the hobby has "Grown up", I just think that people such as Lance Mindheim have made building ISLs more acceptable.

There were switching layouts in hobby mags going back to the 70's, but these were for people who had small spaces, and they were treated the same way we treat 4x8 layouts now, back then if you had a switching layout you weren't a "Real" model railroader, Since back then model railroading was all about making trains go in circles, and if you couldn't do that it wasn't a "Real" layout. I am sure in another 10 years there will be another new trend in model railroading, and ISLs will not longer be "Real" layouts.

Some very good points that resonate with me as the owner of a folded dogbone track plan designed to allow two trains to run continuously over a long main line...ducking into tunnels that momentarily confound new viewers ("where does the train come out?"). Sure, over the last several years the hobby publications seem to reflect a standard for layouts that tends to be more "realistic"...i.e. trains only go through a scene once, there aren't often more than one level of track in a scene, plans are often point to point with off-layout staging, and switching opportunities reflect real world practices. Like Justin I'm curious to see what the future trends in model railroad design might be, and I wonder if there will be room for layouts designed to be "fun". Maybe we just need to develop some sort of language to describe what we're doing in the hobby so there won't be perceptions that one isn't a "real" model railroader. Certainly referring to oneself as a prototypical or realistic modeler might convey the idea of trying to capture the real world as closely as possible. I respect that but its not where the enjoyment for me lies. I've tended to call myself an "impressionist" in the hobby. I try to convey railroading but am not bound to representing it as realistically as some other modelers might be. I'm not sure what other self-describing labels might be appropriate and maybe I shouldn't even bring up the idea!

As for the idea originally brought up by Brain above, I recall several layouts that had compatible industries; certainly the coal mine and power plant being a classic example. I think the "loads in/loads out with a backdrop wall or view blocking scenic mountain in between the two industries was a way of trying to make that idea more "realistic". The ultimate criteria of "who are you building the layout for?' (i.e. your satisfaction or other's) really determines what's right for you.

Ralph