Undec. vs. Painted and RTR

12 gauge or 20 gauge?

Eric

Gary W. Mc "Should've used a Remington..."

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Eric
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Ohhh boy... I'm afraid to walk into this land mine... but since you've asked, I owe you the courtesy of a reply. After the F&SM thread began to spin out of control I haven't bothered to read all of the follow-up messages on the subject so please forgive me if I'm being redundant here.

It's hard to put a finger on what exactly defines a model railroad (and a model railroader) and what exactly excludes something from being a model railroad. But it seems clear that I take a much broader view of what should be included in the hobby than you do.

As Don Cardiff pointed out in his wonderful message ("Model Railroading is Fun," 7/29/03), there are lots of facets to this hobby, and a person doesn't need to be an expert in (or even try) all of them to be a model railroader.

Here's my take on the situation: We're a hobby -- a leisure pursuit. If what a person is doing seems like model railroading to them, and if what they are building seems like a layout to them, I'm inclined to go along with their definition of how they see themselves and their work.

o If a person is most interested in operations and has a double- deck layout without scenery and uses R-T-R rolling stock: Yes, I would consider that a model railroad. Would I consider that person a model railroader? Sure I would.

o If a person doesn't have the space at home and builds a module that he can use three times a year at local train shows: Yes, I would consider that a model railroad and he is a model railroader.

o If a person is mainly interested in scenery and that is the highlight of his layout, with trains crossing grand canyons and forested mountains: Yes, I would consider that a model railroad and he is a model railroader.

o If a person is interested in collecting tinplate and they mostly want an oval or two where they can run their smoking trains at 150 mph through O-27 curves on a sheet of green plywood: Yes, I would consider that a model railroad. Would I consider that person a model railroader? Hmmm... Yes I would, although it is marginal to me.

o If a person is new to the hobby and has a few kits and a layout that isn't much more than some L-girders without any track laid at all: Yes, that person is a model railroader, and yes that is a model railroad. I won't exclude it just because it's under construction.

o If a person owns a hobby shop and has a dogbone of track on a shelf where they can run their latest R-T-R locomotive to arrive from China or test why a customer's DCC installation is making the headlight blink on and off: Yes, I would consider that a model railroad, but certainly a marginal one at that. But it is serving a purpose in our hobby and I'll go along with including it on those grounds.

o If a person is interested in the historical aspect of trains and has a non-working diorama showing how the railroad in his home town looked in 1895: Yes that person is a model railroader. Would I consider that a model railroad? Hmmm... Yes I would, although again it is pretty marginal to me.

o If a person is thinking about getting into the hobby because they had a layout as a kid so they pick up the latest copy of a model railroad magazine: Yes, I think they've already passed through the threshold of being a model railroader. (But he certainly doesn't have a model railroad yet.)

o If a three-year-old is playing with her Brio train set: No, she's not a model railroader and no, that's not a model railroad. But I'm sure at her young age she isn't viewing what she is doing as model railroading. It's just "playing with trains like my daddy does."

What constitutes a model railroad and a model railroader is more in the eye of the creator than it is in the eye of the beholder. So I'll repeat: If what a person is doing seems like model railroading to them, and if what they are building seems like a layout to them, I'm inclined to go along with their definition of how they see themselves and their work.

Since this is a hobby and not a life-and-death situation we really aren't causing much harm by erring on the side of inclusion, are we? (If this were a debate about what constitutes a "surgeon" or a "hospital" or an "engineer" or a "design," then I'd think we'd have more of a dilemma on our hands and it would be prudent to not overreach on the definition.)

That's my 824 words on the subject.

- Mark Mathu Whitefish Bay, Wis. The Green Bay Route:

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Mark Mathu

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