Drum roll, please!
Now I will tell you what inspired this topic after I read Mr. Coy's excellent article in the latest edition of OGR Magazine.
Like I said before, it relates to another passion of mine. That other passion is songwriting.
On 11/11/17 I posted a topic on this Forum entitled "Phil Klopp Layout and Model Train Song." You can hear my model train song, Who Am I (Rollin' By), by doing a Forum search for "Phil Klopp Layout and Model Train Song," and clicking on the YouTube link for my song in my 11/11/17 post. Then, you will not only hear the song, but see a video of Phil's magnificent O Gauge layout and trains, and his amazing Standard Gauge layout and trains, which descend by remote control from the ceiling!
The lyrics of the chorus of my song are:
"I'm a master model railroader, rollin' down the line,
In my little world I leave this troubled world behind,
Drivin' diesel, drivin' steam, clickety clack, down the tracks, of my dreams."
The lyrics of one of the verses are:
"I press a button, and logs unload,
A man spits out milk cans, along my railroad,
Rollin' by"
So you see, since the chorus of my song talks about a master model railroader, and one of the verses references the operating log loader and operating milk car, I was very interested to know if a hobbyist could qualify as a true master model railroader if he/she had those toy-like accessories on his/her layout. LOL.
It appears from reading all of your thoughtful contributions to this thread, that the answer is: maybe or possibly. It could be that this issue is of first impression with NMRA.
Fortunately for me, whatever the answer, my song should be fine thanks to poetic license. LOL.
Incidentally, what inspired me to write the song in the first place is two-fold. First, I decided I wanted to write a real train song, but came to the conclusion that I know little about real trains, but much more about model trains because I have had Lionel trains and accessories all my life. LOL. Secondly, I loved the McComey and Tuoy train video entitled "Pennsylvania Suite" that featured two great layouts, one of which was Phil Klopp's previous layout and the Shaker tune, Simple Gifts, which is heard while watching the video. That gave me the idea that music and model railroading can be a great combination.
By the way, I love getting feedback from others about my song.
Arnold
