Busy fingers and your layout

George S posted:

Love the fact you put your policy in Germanglish.  You must know enough German to accomplish that so effectively!  Love it.

George

Actually lifted it from Wikipedia and changed a word to Train.  We had that inscription on my college FM radio station transmitter right above the door handle.. People could however admire the glowing tube filaments through the window!

Model train layouts are so attractive - to the "trained" and the "untrained" eye - that they are bound to entice touching. It's almost like sculptures in a museum, which are so attractive that visitors frequently want to reach out and touch them. Hence, among the most popular statues, guards are often on duty, just for the purpose of telling people "Please, do not touch. (Keep your greasy, sugar-coated paws off the marble !)" The same even happens in galleries for paintings. People do reach out to touch them, they are so beguiling in their truth.

What's my point? It's a layout's very attractiveness that is causing intrusions to happen - it's almost a compliment  to what we have created that folks want to interact with and touch them, esp. when hosting the company of a very, very hands-on-device(s) generation to enjoy our electronic, non-static, miniature worlds.

The advice expressed about asking visitors ahead of time not to touch or, at the very least, to be careful about what they go near, seems a reasonable approach. It is difficult to balance friendliness, an invitation (enticement) into involvement into our hobby, and the practical monetary aspects to these treasures, which takes almost as much skill as crafting the layouts in the first place. IMHO.

(Yes, the several above puns were intended.)

FrankM.

P.S. Concerning my own layout, I have never said a word  (it would not occur to me) cautioning or forbidding anybody about touching the layout. For us, Number One is that they are guests in our home, so hospitality is primary for my wife and me. That also means we only invite folks who we anticipate know how to conduct themselves  around something so relatively rare and valuable. That has worked out fine for us since the first layout was ready for guests back in 1995. And that includes an entire children's' choir on two occasions.

Timothy Sprague posted:

Have had very little problem with juvenile visitors to the layout. But I usually change out the trains to some marx or williams, cheap stuff with not value. But still, have had little trouble. I also understand that they'll push things a little when running trains. 

Now, if you want to talk a bout a fifty year old picking up a 1955 GG1 by the stripes at the local TCA show....I've had that problem a few times.

Tim

Yeah, along those lines. When I used to sell at train shows, I had a #51 Navy Switcher with undamaged window struts. Guy walks up and picks it up, thumbs squarely on the window struts.  I politely but audibly ask him to be careful, the struts are fragile. To which he replied, "I know they are but you didn't say I couldn't pick it up." (implying that is was my fault).  I'm like, What???.

What's wrong with picking it up by the stripes?  You prefer, maybe, the pantographs?☺

I can appreciate the car show problems. But having a DMC you get used to the fact that people just have to touch stainless steel! At least the finger prints wipe off. Not had someone sit in it yet without asking though.

As far as trains go both my kids have been fine playing with the trains. The youngest age 7 is very into the trains. He plays with them all. I am not about to be that Dad who wouldn't let his kids play with the trains. I do however stress that some are more fragile than others.

 He sets up his army men and cars etc. on the layout. He loves it. 

Nick

Unfortunately, some parents arent teaching their children properly.  I have taught my children the proper way to behave at the train store and public layouts.  We've never had one issue.  Recently, the owner of my LHS complemented me on how well my children behave in his store.  Unfortunately, I've had numerous train guys act negatively towards me and the children as soon as we walked through the door.  One vendor in the Orange Hall at York yelled at us for looking at an item I was about to purchase.  My children never laid a hand on the item.  I was the one that picked it up for inspection.  I was about to spend a decent amount of money at their booth.  Instead l, I walked away vowing to never spend a dime at their store.

I understand that some children destroy layouts.  Don't get angry at every child because of a few misbehaved children.  With that said, you have to protect your layout.  The plexiglass seems like a good idea.

rrman posted:

 

George S posted:

Love the fact you put your policy in Germanglish.  You must know enough German to accomplish that so effectively!  Love it.

George

Actually lifted it from Wikipedia and changed a word to Train.  We had that inscription on my college FM radio station transmitter right above the door handle.. People could however admire the glowing tube filaments through the window!

I would have let them touch the tubes on the transmitter (or the antenna) - they'd only do it once, to be sure! 

I teach my kids respect for the trains.  Both my daughter who is 6 & my son who is 3 are pretty good with them. He can be a bit rough, but once you show him the correct way , he's fine. Part of the reason I decided to sell all my hi rail stuff & get back into conventional postwar was b/c of my kids.  The details on the new stuff are not made for little hands & while I had that layout up, I found myself saying more than a few times - don't touch! After a bit of this, it hit me - I didn't want to be that guy that doesn't let kids near the trains. The trains are for the kids enjoyment as much as mine.  Now with a postwar style layout, the kids can interact w/ the accessories & I don't mind if they touch stuff, as long as they are careful.  That being said, if someone comes into my train room & just starts hitting things , etc they have no respect for me or anyone in my house - I will say something.    I prefer to make the kids part of the solution rather than the problem. 

RJR posted:

What's wrong with picking it up by the stripes?  You prefer, maybe, the pantographs?☺

um, the steps rub off.  How about picking it up with two hands by the frame? Are you being sarcastic? I'm too tired tonight to tell.

Tim

Timothy Sprague posted:

RJR posted:

What's wrong with picking it up by the stripes?  You prefer, maybe, the pantographs?☺

um, the steps rub off.  How about picking it up with two hands by the frame? Are you being sarcastic? I'm too tired tonight to tell.

Tim

When I go to train shows my policy is I let the owner do the picking up and showing, that way if s/he drops it or part breaks off, then it ain't my fault.

Way off the subject, we went to an outdoor antique show and saw a nice display of insulators some rare and others unfamiliar for sale.  Anyway the owner didn't want anyone touching or going near them which I understood give the values he priced them at.  But his attitude was, well he was acting like a donkey rear with everyone even those wanting to buy.  The upshot was a sudden Iowa windstorm blew in and over went display to SMASH.

Don't know what they were worth but all he could do was stand there and curse like a sailor.  Sometimes karma will get you.

Timothy.  I'm devastated to think that anyone could deem sweet little me as having a sarcastic bone in my body.��