Re: Re: Prototype
"protolance" I like it!
Mike.
Originally posted by rcwatkins
And that's where we get protolance.
"protolance" I like it!
Mike.
Prototype or Freelanced?
- Thread starter SD90
- Start date
I'm a freelancer. Pure fantasy actually. Fictional railroad, fictional location, fictional country!
I like being the CEO of my own railroad. That way I can make my own decisions about what operates on my rails. I can mix US, British, Australian and Japanese prototypes because, as CEO, I can order locos and rolling stock from wherever I please to meet the requirements of my railroad.
Downside: Every piece of equipment I bring home from the hobby shop has to be stripped and repainted before I can place it "in service".
Photos of my freelanced railroad on this thread:-
http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2895&perpage=15&pagenumber=1
Gavin Miller
I like being the CEO of my own railroad. That way I can make my own decisions about what operates on my rails. I can mix US, British, Australian and Japanese prototypes because, as CEO, I can order locos and rolling stock from wherever I please to meet the requirements of my railroad.
Downside: Every piece of equipment I bring home from the hobby shop has to be stripped and repainted before I can place it "in service".
Photos of my freelanced railroad on this thread:-
http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2895&perpage=15&pagenumber=1
Gavin Miller
No, they don't have to: There were two "Great Northern" locos running in Sweden for a while (painted for the movie _Dancer in the Dark_) in ordinary revenue service.
Example: http://www.bildrallaren.com/Sverige/Diesellok/TMY/TMY-bilder/TMY 106 tagab Khn.jpg
That's of course an extreme example, but nowadays it happens locomotives gets leased or bought second hand without a repaint -- but with new reporting marks.
But most should of course be repainted, and that's what I'm planning for my freelanced H0 layout. I've not come up with a paint scheme, but I've made up car/coach classifications and started to assign numbers to the rolling stock which will be "owned" by me.
Rail Net
Gavin,
RAIL NET- Impressive. Neat paint scheme. In today's world we could see just about anybody's power on our railroads. Besides, like you mentioned............you are the CEO.:thumb:
Gavin,
RAIL NET- Impressive. Neat paint scheme. In today's world we could see just about anybody's power on our railroads. Besides, like you mentioned............you are the CEO.:thumb:
I think it does'nt matter if you do prototype or freelance as long as it feels and runs like a real railroad. I know when i started my N-Scale Norfolk Southern of the Pocahontas area i wanted industries on the line to switch plus the coal mines. This is when i told myself that i would freelance the railroad but keep the town names and all the train numbers that ran on the Pocahontas district. I still run the railroad like NS does on the line and that gives it a real railroad feel.
Scott
Scott
I grew up alongside the McCloud River in northeastern California, and that has influenced my modelwork heavily...
However, as fun and as much of a challenge as it would be, I am not willing at this time to modeling a specific prototype. So I have created a fictional railroad that will (someday) run from the Bend, OR area east to John Day, serving lumbering and mining facilities along the way. Railroad looks and feels a lot like the McCloud...in essence, it allows me to model the McCloud without having to actually model the McCloud (if that makes any sense...)
-JD Moore
http://www.trainweb.org/mccloudrails
However, as fun and as much of a challenge as it would be, I am not willing at this time to modeling a specific prototype. So I have created a fictional railroad that will (someday) run from the Bend, OR area east to John Day, serving lumbering and mining facilities along the way. Railroad looks and feels a lot like the McCloud...in essence, it allows me to model the McCloud without having to actually model the McCloud (if that makes any sense...)
-JD Moore
http://www.trainweb.org/mccloudrails
The photos aren't very good, but this shows the scheme I came up for my company on my US style H0 layout:
http://www.canit.se/~griffon/modrail/past_layouts/h0-us.html
In H0 I'm now back to a European setting, sort of like Sweden, but not quite. Most of the rolling stock is old (=small) and will retain their old fashioned schemes, but I'll come up with a bright scheme for the modern engines (if any) and cars.
http://www.canit.se/~griffon/modrail/past_layouts/h0-us.html
In H0 I'm now back to a European setting, sort of like Sweden, but not quite. Most of the rolling stock is old (=small) and will retain their old fashioned schemes, but I'll come up with a bright scheme for the modern engines (if any) and cars.
Ongoing debate with myself
I need a shrink! I love Pittsburgh shortlines, and have made n scale rolling stock, but I feel the need to duplicate the prototype exactly which is impossible due to space & money. I like the idea of protolance, but I like when a guest sees a section of the layout and can instantly recognize the scene. I might try a freelance plan with a couple of scenes that are "true" to the prototype.
babble babble babble
I need a shrink! I love Pittsburgh shortlines, and have made n scale rolling stock, but I feel the need to duplicate the prototype exactly which is impossible due to space & money. I like the idea of protolance, but I like when a guest sees a section of the layout and can instantly recognize the scene. I might try a freelance plan with a couple of scenes that are "true" to the prototype.
babble babble babble
My railroad is (or will be) prototypically freelanced. :thumb:
I would love to accurately model a specific area or line, but feel I don't have enough room or a big enough layout to do it justice. Selective compression and I don't get along too well.
I would love to accurately model a specific area or line, but feel I don't have enough room or a big enough layout to do it justice. Selective compression and I don't get along too well.
Well, since I'm limited to a 31"x32" shelf layout it will be totally freelanced. Tiny but ... as I am wont to say after a heart attack this past June 26th ... it sure beats the alternative 
I'm protolance. My plan is CN & CP in Southern Ontario sometime close to the current era. No specific locations, but I'll be "borrowing" from various locations across S. Ontario. I don't like the idea of being restricted in what I can and can't model in terms industries and operations.
For example, because I don't have empire sized space, CP will have running rights on CN for part of the layout, like CP trackage rights on the CN Oakville Sub. But in other areas they'll be separate mains, but close to one another, like they are between Newtonville & Belleville and the west side of London.
Now I'm also not going to take serious liberites (no coal mines or international seaports), but rather stick to industries and operations that are seen throughout the area.
I will be more strict with equipment. So I'm gonna be selling off some stuff to meet that requirement. I'll try to be as faithful to the prototype as possible.
Mike
For example, because I don't have empire sized space, CP will have running rights on CN for part of the layout, like CP trackage rights on the CN Oakville Sub. But in other areas they'll be separate mains, but close to one another, like they are between Newtonville & Belleville and the west side of London.
Now I'm also not going to take serious liberites (no coal mines or international seaports), but rather stick to industries and operations that are seen throughout the area.
I will be more strict with equipment. So I'm gonna be selling off some stuff to meet that requirement. I'll try to be as faithful to the prototype as possible.
Mike
I'm probably offering up something very similar to Mike... Protolance CN Rail mostly, based on what I see around me here in Southern Ontario. I don't have any ports, and there is the occasional intermodal train that makes its way through, but the primary industries addressed by rail here seem to be Automotive (Auto Racks and 60' Boxcars), Gas (liquified petroleum cars), Agriculture (Fertilizer cars, and Grain Hoppers), and Cement (Covered Hoppers). There are other goods that flow through the area, standard boxcars are common, as are flatcars carrying insulation, paper, and manufactured goods hither and yon. It allows for a wide variety of stuff to model.
The difficulty is for me is developing a layout in a small space that can also handle the prototype autoracks and big locos that I see on the mainlines. I'm trying to keep my turning radii above 13"... All on what will probably be a 36x80" door...
The difficulty is for me is developing a layout in a small space that can also handle the prototype autoracks and big locos that I see on the mainlines. I'm trying to keep my turning radii above 13"... All on what will probably be a 36x80" door...
For those of you who, like me, do not have the huge amount of space to build an "empire" (like Ray's or Mike's) but still want to operate long trains, why not consider my philosophy.
I have built just one NTRAK module.
By attaching a "turning" module at each end of my main module, I can operate the three module combination as a mini home "layout". This could easily be expanded with additional modules in the future.
My concept is to model a "scene" from a railroad rather than an entire railroad operation. A "diorama" if you like.
You can see photos of my railroad "diorama" and an explanation of my philosophy here:-
http://users.bigpond.net.au/miller_site/Ntrak2.html
Gavin Miller
CEO, RailNet (National Rail Network Authority)
I have built just one NTRAK module.
By attaching a "turning" module at each end of my main module, I can operate the three module combination as a mini home "layout". This could easily be expanded with additional modules in the future.
My concept is to model a "scene" from a railroad rather than an entire railroad operation. A "diorama" if you like.
You can see photos of my railroad "diorama" and an explanation of my philosophy here:-
http://users.bigpond.net.au/miller_site/Ntrak2.html
Gavin Miller
CEO, RailNet (National Rail Network Authority)
Gavin, Love how your layout looks and feels... very nice, very professional...
I'm considering a number of different options, and either NTrak or Bendtrack do have a certain amount of appeal. However, I'm also very much a beginner. I understand a great deal of the concepts, but have never put down N-Scale track, and it's been a great many years since I worked with HO track. A small scale set up (door layout) is what I am anticipating building first, before looking towards a basement empire. Needs both industry and switching to keep me interested... hence the protolance idea with the local CN lines.
I'm considering a number of different options, and either NTrak or Bendtrack do have a certain amount of appeal. However, I'm also very much a beginner. I understand a great deal of the concepts, but have never put down N-Scale track, and it's been a great many years since I worked with HO track. A small scale set up (door layout) is what I am anticipating building first, before looking towards a basement empire. Needs both industry and switching to keep me interested... hence the protolance idea with the local CN lines.