How about being a teenage model railroader?

Think of yourself as the representative of your generation - what got you into model railroading, what keeps you there... what era do you model/want to model and why? What seems to be the biggest advantage to being a younger model railroader - what's are the biggest disadvantages? 

You should be able to get several blog posts out of that. 

GOOD COUNSEL

Jeff, what a great counsel !!!!!  That would be so neat, to see how the upcoming generation looks at this hobby, their hobby !!  That would be a great view !!!

Great idea I will

LISTEN AND READ

This is one of the hardest things to do in the world. I did not learn it until I was out of childhood, age 40.  Now 70 and trying to learn.  Many times you do not have to say a word to be the smartest one in the room.

How the real railroads do or did it

One thing missing in blogs and MRH in general is coverage of how railroads do things or did things in the past.  This would be very helpful for prototypical operations and general interest.  

Model Railroader and Trains magazine both have monthly sections either answering such questions and/or an article on such subjects.

Signaling, rules, how things work, why things are designed in such a way, why a railroad performs certain operations, the list is endless.  

Joe

Prototype railroad information?

Hmmm ... we've devoted almost 100 pages so far in 2015 to prototype railroad topics (and it's only Feb) - SP passenger trains and this month's cover story on multi-compartment tank cars - and you say we're not covering prototype topics? Looking back over the last year or so we've devoted 50+ pages to freight trucks 1900-1960 and we did an extensive photo-rich article on brake wheels.

We have a prototype modeling column - Getting Real: Jack Burgess and Tony Thompson especially have talked about many prototype topics in their column over the last few years.

Guess I'm puzzled at what that material was if not prototype railroading info - and at a depth you won't get in the paper magazines. Maybe I'm just dense, but what would this missing coverage be in MRH if it was there?

To bring this back to the OP's question - what prototype info would you like to know? That could make for some good blogging entries, too.

Re: HELLO I NEED IDEAS

First don't scream, and second think (and don't get hurt in the process). Jose.

Yes and No

I agree Joe that MRH has provided some great prototypical content in regards to rolling stock, locomotives, and their relation to scale model counterparts.  (Have not looked back through every issue so if there's more topics that's great!) 

What I would be interested in is more articles not directly related on how to model (examples:XYZ railroad opted for this type of locomotive for road switching because......  Movement/operations/rules in non-signaled or "dark areas"....  History/ evolution of locomotive brake systems.... ) 

Having a forum specific to prototypical operation and/or railroads in general would be great!

The guy "who asks" should also be willing to give so plan on submitting a blog on a prototypical railroading subject in the next few days.

Joe

The question was 'what to blog about'.

Why blog at all? Join in the conversations here and on some railroad forums. What would be the purpose of a blog that you don't know what it is about? 

A good rule of thumb: If you

A good rule of thumb: If you don't have anything to say, then don't say it.

Ops

MRH has an "Operations and Maintenance" topic already.  I will say it is by far the least posted to topic.  It adds a new topic in days or weeks while the other topics run hours or days.   If you want prototype operations discussions the OpSig's Yahoo Group is by far the most active with the MR site a distant 2nd.

I love ops discussion but it's tough to maintain any thread on this site more than 72 hrs or more than 10 or so posts.  

Typically ops ops discussions start with a question from the audience (the more specific or detailed the scenario is described, era, railroad or rule book, method of main track authority). Even those tend to die a quick death on this forum. To have a good discussion requires a core group of people who are knowledgeable and willing to stick their necks out to offer an opinion or to counter another opinion.   MR has a go-to guy on ops in Sperandeo, does MRH have somebody who is the resident expert on form E train orders?  Or the difference between a work extra and a work between?

You have an opportunity encourage other youth.

You have an opportunity encourage other youth.  Your layout looks fine.

Instead of blogging you could choose "topics" aimed at youth, associated with how you began in the MR hobby.  I believe it would  encourage others, in your generation, to consider model railroading as a hobby.

You should give it a shot.

G. T.