With the recent resurrection of "The Box" thread, I though it might be wise to give a short "history lesson" for the members who have joined since "The Box" was last a hot topic.
It all started when Model Railroader ran an article about a club whose members all had a polar bear somewhere on their layout - it may have been part of a ice cream stand or diner or something, I forget. Someone proposed that members of The Gauge could also have some sort of a common thing on their layouts.
After much discussion, and considering the fact that members have layouts ranging in size and scale from small to large, in era from early steam to modern day, and in development from almost complete to a mental image, "The Box" was decided upon (as much as we can ever decide on anything around here!)
So what is "The Box"? It's simply a box that has the word "Gauge" (or "The Gauge") on it. Size is not specified, nor is color nor is location. It can be a flat car load, or a shipping crate located on a freight platform, or where and what ever a box-like thing would logically (or illogically) go and be. It can even be a desk ornament if you don't have a layout to put it on (yet).
It all started when Model Railroader ran an article about a club whose members all had a polar bear somewhere on their layout - it may have been part of a ice cream stand or diner or something, I forget. Someone proposed that members of The Gauge could also have some sort of a common thing on their layouts.
After much discussion, and considering the fact that members have layouts ranging in size and scale from small to large, in era from early steam to modern day, and in development from almost complete to a mental image, "The Box" was decided upon (as much as we can ever decide on anything around here!)
So what is "The Box"? It's simply a box that has the word "Gauge" (or "The Gauge") on it. Size is not specified, nor is color nor is location. It can be a flat car load, or a shipping crate located on a freight platform, or where and what ever a box-like thing would logically (or illogically) go and be. It can even be a desk ornament if you don't have a layout to put it on (yet).
