esngblog

Following on from the last post, an amusing little tale from Marty McGuirk….

Recently I attended a corporate retreat day where one of presentations that stuck in my head was titled “How to Measure Progress: Moving Forward Toward the Big Picture vs. Getting Caught up in the Details.” Quite a mouthful, but I immediately thought of model railroading. The instructor opened with a quote – not from a business tycoon or marketing giant, but an artist:

 “Nothing is less real than realism. Details are confusing. It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis, that we get at the real meaning of things.” ― Georgia O’Keeffe

This is often described as a golden age for model railroading. Never have we had it so good. We get detailed models, fresh out of the factory that reflect even the most minor differences between prototypes.

I’ll never forget when I was at Intermountain and we released the D&RGW version of the N scale SD40T-2. (Yes, some N scalers will recall the first run of the model had some teething pains, but that’s not the point of the story).   I’ll never forget the phone call I received a couple of weeks later from an irate (I mean really ticked off) modeler who sounded like he was about to have a coronary on the phone as he described the source of his angst:

“The jacking pads are the wrong shape on the SP tunnel motors. I’ve bought six of them, now I have to return them. And you <expletive deleted> SOB… now that you’ve ruined them no one will ever make them.”

“Excuse me,” I said, “the jacking pads?”

“Yes, the <f@#$ing> jacking pads. On the SP the tops are rounded – you <f@#%ers> did the Rio Grande ones and they’re squared off but you’re selling them as prototypical for the SP!!!”

This went on for what seemed like an eternity – I knew nothing was going to make this guy happy. At first I decided maybe he just needed to vent. After a while I almost started hoping for the aforementioned coronary to put him out of my, and what was clearly his, misery. For the record what he was referring to was the representation the metal stamping on the ends of the jacking pads located above the trucks of the sides of the jacking pads – the shape was less than 1/64” of inch. No one, and I mean not one person, ever commented on the shape of the jacking pads after that. But clearly it was important to him.

If that guy – who never mentioned his name – is reading this I’m sorry I ruined your enjoyment of the hobby. (And I almost mean that seriously.)

I bring this up to illustrate how we need to pick and choose which details we emphasize.  Models are, at their very essence, representations of a real object. Locomotives are big, heavy objects. Shape or form, color, and perhaps some use of light and shadow (“weathering”) to impact a sense of mass can be far more important to create the impression of a hard working piece of machinery than fretting over any individual minor detail.

In the context of a model railroad layout that entire locomotive is just another element. Just as a painting is made up of numerous brush strokes, the layout is comprised of numerous “micro details.” That locomotive, the track, and each car, structure and trees, are each “micro” details – that combine to create the “macro” item – a model railroad layout.

True artists have the ability to capture the essence of a subject in their chosen medium. And in some cases, less is more.

Another gem from Mike Cougill’s OST Blog.  I wish I could express my thoughts as well as Mike does….

There are a lot of definitions imposed on model railroading. Look here and you’ll get one view. Look over there and you’ll find another. This pundit has his notions and so does Joe Average.

At the risk of merely adding to the noise, here’s a thought: model railroading is what you make of it.

If you approach it as a craft, then for you, it’s a craft. If you see it as art, then for you, it’s an art form. If all you see is a way to fill your space with cheap stuff, then all you’ll have is a basement full of cheap stuff.

I like to call it a craft instead of a hobby because that’s how I see and enjoy it. I also call it a craft because I respect and value what it brings to my life. For me it’s a way to learn and practice ideas like patience and self-discipline. I’m no longer modeling trains just to have model trains; I use my interest in the work as a way to work on myself. It’s therapy of a sort. It’s a way to relax and understand who I am. It’s a form of expression where I decide what values are important. This approach works for me and that’s all I can ask of it. If it didn’t add to my life in a positive way, then why bother?

I understand how different this is from the mainstream fun and good times playing train mind-set and I’m okay with that. The fun and good time crowd gets to do their thing and I get to practice my craft. As long as each one understands the choice they’ve made, then no harm, no foul.

It goes off the rails quickly when people insist that their ideas are the only ideas worth pursuing. That’s where tempers flare, egos get ruffled and that’s a shame because none of this is worth it. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius had a useful thought that applies here: “If the cucumber is bitter, then throw it out.” In other words, the solution is often quite simple: you don’t have to agree with or embrace every idea.

I’ve grown disillusioned with the generic hobby and the things it emphasizes. I no longer have any taste for big layouts, cheap hacks for everything and the relentless consumer hype. That’s just one man’s opinion though, as others find all of those things useful to their enjoyment of model trains.

Model railroading is not a homogenized pastime. It means different things to people and keeping that in mind will save a lot of wasted time worrying about the other guy. I can’t control what others like or dislike. I can only control my own actions and response. I can also choose the path that’s meaningful for me. We each decide whether the cucumber is bitter to the taste or not.

If all that’s a bit heavy for you, just go and run a train or hack some plastic or brass about!  But it again strikes a chord with me.  Looking at ESNG we have collectors, operators (or just train runners), and a few builders.  We all enjoy our hobby slightly differently, but manage to be polite to each other on club nights, and combine our skills when we go to a show.  Long may this continue!!