How serious are you?

[Richie]

How serious are you in regards to your model railway layout. I have come across other folk who are so serious about authenticity that they will run there layouts to a strict timetable.

I personally am not that serious in creating an exact model to reflect a real location or time period. Although my layout is loosely based in the 80's BR era.

I also have some class 66's that I intend to run because to be honest, I like the look of them. I also have one steam engine because my Grandad liked it, and enjoys seeing it run.

My layout has been designed to be fun to operate with nephews in mind. I intend to create some good scenics but what there will be I am undecided.

What about you?

[TWICK9]

hi Richie, Like yourself I'm not to serious about timetables and such, I get more pleasure adding detail to the layout than actually running them,the only thing I'm strict on is the time period, Briford is set in the transitional period so I won't have locos on the layout that would not have been around at the time, but I do run some diesels from different regions that would not normally have be seen down south.

Brian.

[pete]

Hi Richie, well my (under concstruction) layout, is definately 50s era, I am not bothered about timetables or the like, mine would all be running late anyway LOL, but the only thing is I do want it 50s.
I am using my collection of British Railways lorries, to be loaded etc in the goods yard, at the moment I have two GWR tank engines and a Midland 4F,
I am waiting, hopefully this week for a new loco to be delivered, a Stanier class 8 2-8-0 No 8510. I think it should be 48510, but I will see when it arrives.

I have built a small town which I have called Ashfield. But the main concentration at the moment is the goods yard, which my layout is centred on. I do intend having a main line of sorts with a station with an up and down platform and a bay platform for my 3 car DMU, which is rather old in itself.
I am not too interested in Diesels of any sort, but my wife bought me the DMU some time ago, so it has got to be included for her.
But I am sure we all have our likes and dislikes dont we.

I prefer the 50s era because that is when I was on the footplate and although I worked with both diesel and electric (82s-84s-86s and 87s) on the WCML, I am at heart a steam man.

As soon as I can get it looking "something like", I will try and put some "pics" on here, let everyone see how I am getting on.

I also like to get broken or disused rolling stock and get them back in to running order, I get a lot of enjoyment out of that.
A friend of mine gave me a goods brakevan not long ago, it was in a poor old state, his kids had kicked it around the garden a few times, it was minus all wheels and the roof was off it, full of dirt etc, but now I have done it up and it runs around with the GWR tank engine.

By the way before I finish "woffling on ", do any of you know of a model place called ANTICS ?

I found them on the internet, had a look at what they had listed and that is where I have ordered my class 8 from.
Anybody know of them please ?

Pete.

[TWICK9]

Hi Pete, I've dealt with Antics a few times and never had any problems with them always been first class service.

Brian.

[Somershire]

Hi Richie
Im definitely of the 'Run What I Like' gang on my main layout. Realism but not necessarily Reality !! That said, its mostly 70s/80s blue diesels, with a few others, A4

I know that some ‘purists’ find my approach offensive to their hobby. In my opinion all aspects of the hobby need each other.

We need the ‘rivet counters’ to keep the manufactures improving their models; we need the Thomas & railroad type ranges to bring new blood into the hobby; we need those who build home layouts to ‘play trains’ for their enjoyment, so they keep buying new models and support the 2nd hand market; we even need those who keep all their models in boxes and never run them!!

We are all part of the same hobby in the end. As long as we are getting enjoyment from our own aspect of railway modelling, its all good. :D

How’s this look for Somershires stock list…… ;)

Hornby BR Class 06
Hornby Pullman Class 06
Bachmann BR Class 08
Bachmann FGW Class 08
Hornby BR Saddle Tank 0-4-0
Bachmann BR 57XX Pannier Tank
Bachmann GWR Class 56XX
Hornby BR Class 31
Hornby FGW Class 47
Heljan BR Class 47
Hornby BR Class 50
Hornby BR Class 56
Bachmann BR Class 25
Lima BR Class 33
Lima BR Class 33
Hornby BR Class A4
Hornby BR Royal Scot
BachmannBR Class 108
Hornby BR Class 121
Hornby BR Class 121
Lima GWR Railcar
Hornby BR Class 43 HST

Bachman Ethel 3/97252 (Ex 25314)
Triang BR 'Princess Victoria'
Triang Blue Pullman- 4 Car
Hornby GWR 101 0-4-0T '150'

Cheers
Dave

[pete]

Thanks Brian that is reassuring to know.

Pete

[pete]

Blimey Dave, that is quite an assortment you have. "Good on yer" mate.

I quite aggree what you say, as long as each one of us is happy doing what we do in the model railway world, so be it.
I am very much a novice, a retired railwayman of many years standing , but I am enjoying this world of model railways very much, particulary the repairing old wagons etc, I know that my layout, fully built and fully operational is far in the future, in fact very far in the future, but so what I am enjoying it so much. A lot of the enjoyment is when I finish a bit more and see that come to life.

Lets carry on modelling and enjoying, long may it continue.

Pete.

[Chris]

Well, w/e before last I was exhibiting Breitefurt at the Elgin MRC's annual Modelfair in, guess where, Elgin. Analysing the photos after the event I noticed that, at one time in the station, I had a late 30's DRG Henschel Wegmann BR61 with its streamlined coaches, a Baden P8 pulling a mixed traffic train and a KPEV P8 with a freight train. So much for my original concept of running only epoch 1 (pre WW1) trains. As for timetables, I just ran what I felt like. No-one was there long enough to notice that there were only 7 trains on the layout.

It's your railway so it is up to you haw you decide to use it. There is room for all types from purists who model a specific year to timetable to the run-what-I-like types running a sequence of anachronisms!

All the best,
Chris.

[Richie]

Thats a relief that I am not the only non 'purist' on the site. :)

Upto know I only have my track laid and wired but am getting much enjoyment just running my trains round.

Unfortunatly, the youngest nephew wants to play on the layout with his transformer toys which would make my layout about 2000 years in the future. :eek:

[pete]

Yes chaps, "each to their own", lets all do our own thing, whatever we prefer, that is what makes the hobby so innofensive and interesting.
Good on "yer", all of you.

Peter.

[Chris]

Hi Richie.

You have a nephew, I have a cat! (See my website.)

My only concession is that I am getting rid of some of my Epoch 3 and most of my Epoch 4 stuff as I think the full length coaches look totally stupid going round 195mm curves. Anyway, I thing the older stuff looks nicer.

BTW, Elgin exhibition went really we and I won the Best Operating Layout cup! I am putting together a webpage which be on-line later tonight at http://trains.manvell.org.uk/exhibitions/20081122-Elgin/. Also, you can see 'cat' on my website at http://trains.manvell.org.uk/z-scale/layout/.

All the best,
Chris.

[nickinwestwales]

Well gents,I appreciate that as a `newby` I am prolly not supposed to offer opinions but what the heck-Here is my take on it --refer to rule #1-it`s MY layout-pretty much generic,interchangable buildings.....depending on my mood I can run filthy dirty S&D steam (the original concept) ,green with a hint of blue diesels,Canadian National/Ontario Northland heavyweight monsters ( a recent interest) and on special occasions the Swiss electrics I inherited from my late & lamented father in law.

I will go to the barricades in defense of those who model Little Snoring by sea on the 13th June 1908 right down to the station cat -I view them as historians as much as modellers,and all power to them......

Equally ,I will stand behind those who are happy to run class 66`s with a string of private owner coal trucks..-It`s a broad church hobby we have here and there is room for all-personally,I like the idea of making my model a realistic representation but I also enjoy those long summer evenings when we have had the boys in the band round for a barbie and after a few beers we can step into the shed and play with the train set......the gaugemaster inertia control gets them every time :)-and causes me a few uneasy moments

P.S =Chris-we have 3 cats,next door have 5,the next cottage over have two-all of the little horrors do their level best to get into the train shed and hide in the tunnels,this is without the 3 terriers next door,the 2 dozen chickens,the 4 pheasant chicks,the Welsh black cattle in the field at the end of the garden and the badgers who have a transitory sett under the shed...gotta love this country living

[hairyhandedfool]

I tend to have a guideline historical period, but I'm not going to stop running a loco because the real one was cut up twenty years before that time period, or because someone has pointed that out, why should I?

My current plan will have 47430 in Railfreight Construction livery on it. The layout is set around 2002 and 47430 was stored in 1992 and never returned to service, but in my little piece of history, it soldiered on.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll50/hairyhandedfool/47430.jpg

[Simon]

i like my layout to look consistant, but im not fussed about minor details of a loco, or building etc. some people have to have there railway as perfect to the date they have chosen, probably down to the exact day. i my self like what looks good. i tend to choose a 'Big Four' company or a perticualy region of British Rail. but i give no consern to numbering them all corectly, or anything like that. im currently hopeing to make an LMS layout, and all im going to care about is if it has LMS on the side and looks right for the 1920's to 1940's. so no moden cars/houses etc.

as for a time table, if done right they are very good as they can add structre to a layout, to make it seam a bit more like the realy thing. but iv only ever used one layout with a time table, years ago at a club one.

[Whissendine Junction]

well like you lot i run what i like when i like :) i have an advantage being my railway has a mainline and a heritage railway running alongside. But when i make or run exibition layouts im a lot stricter with it i dont run to timetable but i use the correct stock in the correct way. At home tho its i like this one lets drive it for a while :p

[Heinz57]

I'm not totaly serious about it. I run what I want how I want. I also include what I want on my layout.

I wouldn't have a problem running a 1970s BR Blue diesel next to a post privatisation HST, or voyager or whatever.

I'm not to botherd about region either. I wouldn't have a problem running something like a ScotRail DMU next to a Midland Mainline HST.

Timetableing my layout is something I would never do. I don't think I'd beable to stand giving myself rules for my own layout. To be honest, I probably wouldn't stick to it anyway ;)

[Tony House]

Richie

My current railway layout is multi regional and era. covering Triang Transcontinental, GWR, LMS, LNER, BR steam Early and Late, BR Diesel Green and Corporate Blue with coaches and trucks to match.

I have 130 plus Locos with a 100 plus coaches and 120 plus trucks many in company colours brought over the last thirty years.

I run a GWR day/week followed by a LMS the next day/week followed by a BR corporate blue day / week the next followed by what ever I feel like using the same stations and senery. Railway is not signalled so do not have to change them.

I do not run a timetable.

I agree with other coments about the need for the experts to improve our hobby but we who are not profectionists should not be discounted because we want to have enjoyment playing at being the fat controller whilst running our miniture railway.

[railwaybuddy]

It's your railway so it is up to you haw you decide to use it.

hi chris,
it is ok saying this but when you exhibit the railway and it is not exatly to scale people come up too you and say `that shouldnt be there...' `...that is out of scale...' and put you down

e.g: i went to alexandra palace and there was a lay out with all the old triang stuff ,battle space, griffe car etc. then there was two men who said `why is this here, it should be destroyed and be a long lost forgotten age of model railway of which the buildings and acc. were not too scale (1:761/2)'

and i thought it was one of the best layouts there

so when my railway is built u have taken it too a few exhibitions, i will teel people with comments like the one above to get lost

railwaybuddy
(daniel budd)

[whoppit47555]

I look at it like im trying to paint an image in 3-d, if it looks right to my eye then i am happy! Ive seen so many purists malign other peoples work especially at exhibitions, the bottom line is what YOU get out of a layout. I got so annoyed with one guy at a show pointing to a layout across the way and telling me his was a perfect scale representation that i subtly pointed outed to him that ive never seen tension lock couplings or glossy people stood on plastic bases in real life!

Paul

[david43qld]

I don't think it matters how serious a person is regarding the hobby so long as they are having fun.

I myself would be the worlds worst authentic modeller because I like to be different than everyone else, all my locos and rolling stock get spray painted into my own livery,I use a mixture of Japanese, British and American locos etc, I model most things from memory and photos but they always have a very loose resemblance to wherever it is I want to model.

There is an old saying "If you please yourself you plesae everybody", don't know if thats the case with model railways but who cares?.

[Nick Weathering]

I model the 1950's era mostly as it also allows me to bend the rules a little bit and sneak in some locos from the very late 40s from time to time but I dont really stick to any set region as I find it can be quite restricting and I don't run to a timetable. I've always found especially at exhibitions that when you watch a layout that runs to a timetable there's always less activity and people do become bored unless that layout offers something that can really captivate an audience. But I do agree that each to there own is the best way to go. As long as your happy with the way you operate there's no need pleasing others as you can't please them all.
Nick