quote:Originally posted by ChiloquinRuss:
... lets say you want your layout to be sometime in the 40's. That's a pretty busy time for railroads and the country in general. So on your layout anything made in 1940 is going to be NEW unless its an industrial piece in which case it might be dirty from the use BUT the colors will still be bright. If its a vehicle or whatever from the 30's it might be showing signs of wear. Buildings from the thirty's will NOT be ramshackle falling down shacks but only 10 or 15 year old structures. Structures from the teens might be showing heavy wear but even they are still relatively new. Any road NOT dirt will be almost brand new. Just some of my observations regarding weathering. If you are using pix from today to set your weathering for a steam era railroad, you might just want to rethink a little bit of it. My 2 cents!Russ
I have found this viewpoint to be something worth a second read; in fact, I've read it three times. You have given me plenty to think about, Russ.
That is, when we elect to "weather," exactly what are we saying is represented? Perhaps, it is saying that certain neighborhoods have been well-worn over time and are still present among us in contemporary times. Or perhaps, we are modeling only an older factory area which shows its long history of wear. In contrast, I have been in neighborhoods where every single house is pristine and seems only days old; anything ramshakle would have been reported to the local authorities as "in violation" of local standards.
So, if we were to heavily weather a steam locomotive, for example, and place it among a 60's environment, wouldn't it still have been well-kempt? If the environment were of the 80's, wouldn't the locomotive be washed and nicely restored as an artifact?
If I were modeling the 40's, wouldn't all the steam locomtives be kept in tip-top shape by their railroads and not be grimy at all? I was a child during the later 40's and throughout the 50's, and I don't recall ever seeing a dirty or "weathered" steam engine, not that I was ever-alert to every passing train. They were huffing and puffing, spitting out water and steam and cinders/soot from every possible seam and orafice, it seemed, but dirty? Not that I recall. And that was in and around the steel mills of greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dirty and old, very worn houses, yes, but locomotives, I'm not sure.
Eh?
In certain given areas, everything isn't old and worn; nor is everything new and fresh, either, in other areas. Isn't life a mixture (outside of DisneyWorld)?
Frank
(Kindly, consider this li'l tome a musing, please.)
