Anything stands out when you see a different layout from yours?

Hi Tim

     I am a You Tube Junkie, when it comes to model railroading. I watch every video that is posted on the OGR Forum and the ones that You Tube emails to me. I watch all the scales. G • N • HO • OO • O • & Z.

     I am always looking for new ideas. Below is a video that was posted by a Forum Member this week. "Clifford" A lot of action and a lot to learn.

Gary - Cheers from The Detroit and Mackinac Railway - Check it out & Pass it on.

Check it out.......

What "stands out" for me when I see other layouts, in-person or via a forum or magazine, is the obvious fun everybody is having in their own particular way. The creativity is endlessly interesting and enjoyable to witness. It makes me feel good seeing folks having so much fun.

FrankM.

 

P.S. And when somebody likes seeing my interpretation on my layout of playing with trains, well, man-o-man, I sure do appreciate and like that, too!

I'm presently out in CA visiting my brother and tonight we took my 14 year old nephew to the Pasadena Train Club Open House (or so we thought). Lots of trouble locating it and when we did, the door was locked. We rang the bell and a guy opened the door and said...."Can I help you?" We told him we were looking for the Open House and he said..."we don't have one till November". Oh no!  Well, he asked where we were from and we told him NY and he said....."Come on in!"  And he gave us a personal guided tour of their huge layout. Until the Hamburg layout expanded, this was the biggest in the world.  It was a terrific night. I'm an O gauge guy, but figured that this is HO, but might be cool to see. Well, it was. The complexity and detail was amazing. And my nephew.....blown away. He'll definitely be carrying on the traditions and enthusiasm for our hobby. 

 

 

Roger

 I have a nine foot layout....it looks great from 9' away

 

They see that its done cheaply, and can be done easily by most.

 

Getting them to look closely at what is actually used, is half the battle.

 

 

 

I'd say, "good use of space".  From the time I doodled my first ideas on a napkin, the goal was to have as much going on in as little space as possible.  Three trains and two trolleys can operate simultaneously on my 4x8 layout.  Still trying to figure out how I can squeeze something else in there.  

 

I love seeing micro layouts where folks have been intensely creative in a small spot.

Tim,

First of all, thank you for asking so many thought provoking questions on the forum.  Some, like this one, have made me think about what I like or am doing now in this lifelong hobby.  I also enjoy the answers others give.

 

For me, this layout kind of takes me back to my teens when I first built an HO 4x8 layout in my parent's basement.  The reason is my current O gauge layout is 4x8 and reflects both temporary and simplicity.  Due to some physical,problems, I have lost a lot of my hand eye coordination, so this layout reflects more of a store bought look rather than my earlier sceniced with scratch built structures.  Due to a couple of surgeries and rehab, I am doing better than a year ago, so I hope to improve, but if I can't I am happy with where I am and what I am capable of.

 

To everyone, don't feel bad if your skills don't match someone else's.  Enjoy whatever you are able to do.  I for one am here to give praise and encouragement!

Yes, I'm amazed when I see a otherwise beautiful, well-detailed layout containing cheap "drug store" 1:43 cars (especially when they represent a 40 year time span). This was one reason why I quit buying "O" train magazines.

Tim.......on every layout I see my eyes go 1st to urban scenery.....that's what I like to create.

 

Peter

I'm often handcuffed by my own criticisms of my own layout. It's a side effect of having OCD.  All the little imperfections seem to stand out like flashing neon signs drawing everyone's attention to them.  When I visit someone  else's layout - even those which have been featured in magazines - I've come to realize they all have them but for some reason no one seems to notice.  I only do because I force myself to see past the grandeur.  What this does is help me realize mine isn't so bad and hopefully my new layout won't get me feeling like it's not up to snuff.  The hobby is about losing yourself for awhile and the people you meet....the trains almost seem unimportant. Anyway, that's what stands out to me.

-Greg

I'm glad someone else wrote that. I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum from most O scalers, in that I heavily research prototype and think strongly on what would be correct for the timeframe and location. For most of my life, I've done historical re-enactments and have been a professional artist, doing publication and print work in historical subjects, so the details for me are critical always.

The mindset of, "Just buy one of everything and never point out anything wrong with anything" mindset within 3-rail (and very strong on this forum) is, for me, is a big (though not the only) reason I've kept well away from 3-rail. Like any hobby, there are various places along the spectrum where each modeler winds up.

I've seen great work done with 'toys' turned into nice looking models. I, too, don't get at all why some folks go that far with benchwork, track, scenery and such, then place toys down into the middle of it.

To each their own, but it sure isn't my thing. The shiny stuff stays off the layout, either permanently or until I can make it look non-toy-like.