Narrowing your scope

A very insightful discussion of using "focus" to improve the modeling and the total experience. Solidly confirming the direction I've been headed in my own quest toward prototype-based layout design and implementation. There is great advantage to NOT acquiring stuff and tying up limited hobby resources (time, space, energy, and funds).

Lots of wisdom, there, Jim!

The comments on specific freight cars contain valuable advice for any era of modeling; even my own which is set ca. 1974-76. These are processes that apply universally. Thank you!

--Jim ("other Jim")

Good approach

Only buying what you actually need is a good approach, one which I’ve been trying to follow for a number of years now.  Not necessarily easy, and changes of plans can result in wasted acquisitions, but certainly better than just buying stuff willy-nilly.

  "Not necessarily easy, and

Over the years I've modeled in many different scales so have bought and sold lots of stuff. It's time consuming but a good way to learn the advantages and dis-advantages of different scales and products. When I buy I never over pay so selling unused items to buy different items  doesn't usually create a loss other than my time and the postage costs  involved. I've finally settled into S and TT scales so my buying is pretty limited these days due to not much I want being offered in these scales, so that might be a solution for those with limited self control when it comes to over buying.:> )  ....DaveB

Another Great Article

Jim, 

Another really nice article.   I like your analysis approach and need to apply to my own world.   I have been considering a remarkably similar plan for a switching layout that can also be annexed to my larger layout with a large enough setup space.   

I was thinking that this might be a good candidate for a pre-1915 setting, and have been altering the Accurail/Roundhouse 36ft cars to represent some truss-rod cars with fewer safety gear, at a price point of less than $25 each (approximately), depending on the details/decals added.  Would need to add a few resin cars, most likely for a bit more each.  It might be difficult to get up to 100+ cars, as your analysis indicates for a similar design.

(would exclude USRA cars in this photo)--Work in progress. 

Enjoyed your interview on the TMTV.   

Keep 'em coming!

-Bob T. 

Your well deserved praise of

Your well deserved praise of Accurail also applies to Micro-Trains. They are also a highly efficient operation that produces high quality, low cost f(or full assembled) models entirely in the United States. They have an extensive product line covering many era's and I recently found reason to buy a short steam era NYC freight train. All the cars are Micro-Train and they are very pleasing. (except for the SP based wood caboose. Le Sigh!)

Clyde, Ohio in 1922

Is anyone else having difficulty in aligning Jim's track plan with his list of industries?  The plan shows a Standard Oil Jobber, but that is not listed.  The plan shows the interchange as B&O, not Big 4.  I can't locate the Cold Storage facility and the various pieces of the elevator, feed mill, coal, etc. are not clear.

I like the concept of a one town layout and Jim's model work is great, as always.  I would just like to make a better connection between the design and the industries.

Thanks,

Steve Hile

Jim,  I was lucky to meet a

Jim, 

I was lucky to meet a modeller in the 90s that steered me towards picking a year and it was worth it. It originally started at 1954, but ended up focusing on the summer of 56.

In between layouts I make an inglenook and got a bit nostalgic about 1974 so I started a collection for 1974, but it is only for display. 

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/21878

Though I have it narrowed

Though I have it narrowed down to a year and railroad, it is temping to buy something not really needed just for the heck of it for something different to do like making a fictitious car and weather it. I justify it by telling myself it hones my skills ; )

Spreadsheet car data

Dear Jim,

A question, the car-movement data in the Spreadsheet (figure 3),

was this data extrapolated from some prototype car-movement records of the nominated era,

or did you just manually enter values which "fit the model spur capacites"/"fit the desired target train-length per-session"?

Just trying to get a handle on how and where the data was sourced...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Yes, make/buy only what you need.

"I have heard many times that there
are not enough freight cars to
model before WWII in a realistic
manner, but this is false." For HO, I agree — this is my modeling scale for 1939, though, so I'm able to use many of the nice '30s cars.

Not enough????

"not enough freight cars to model before WWII" is, from what I see is not true in HO.  There are plenty of models available to model any decade from the 1860's to the end of WWII.  They might be craftsman kits, but they are available. Now passenger cars and motive power before 1880 is limited but there is plenty of freight cars available.

I model in the early 1880's. Freight cars are plentiful and there are enough  passenger cars available now. Every few month on average there are new offering. For example, A new MFG, 3dptrain.com is making kits for St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba boxcars and flatcars. Engines is another story. We have only the Bachmann 4-4-0 and the Athearn/MDC consolidation (maybe a late 1880's though saying late 1890's is probably more accurate). Both are fine performers and easy to accessorize to be more modern or earlier in appearance.

I haven't read the article but I have practiced a narrow scope in my hobby interest for the last 30 years. I consider only what is in my era. That has not always easy. Right now there is a new product, a Porter in HOn3 that Is calling me but as lovely as it is (and a good price) it's the wrong gauge and wrong era. I also limit my research from the civil war to about WWI. That to saves me time and money.

Now if I can just limit my Youtub and internet surfing.........

Bob

Great insight

I just might be a bit odd. Go ahead and pile on I am a large man and have thick skin. I have been collecting rolling stock for my era for years. The acquisitions with very few exceptions, some were misidentified, have all been for my era of choice. So have my structure choices. The models I will be getting rid of will be due to better models becoming available and I have little invested in them.

Your article is a great reminder to buy and build what you need. In the discussion you are dealing with a layout that is smaller than the "basement filler" and is in fact a section of light duty railroad when compared to say horseshoe curve on the Pennsy. Even if the layout was to be a basement filler or in Texas a barn filler all of your points are just as applicable or maybe even more applicable.

I have been focusing on the same era and location for model railroading since I was a teenager. It was not until many of the concepts such as the one town layout were covered in these pages that things jelled so I could begin planning the layout in earnest.

Now in my case I am not planning 12 to 20 car trains but 50 car to 100 car trains. One can go through a lot of kits to amass rolling stock for those trains. Imagine if you were just buying every thing that came down the hobby    shop counter or over the internet wire. It would be a disaster in terms of wasted money and time.

Now before someone says I spent all that time not doing anything I had a 4x8 layout. I also joined a model railroad club and was able to run my monster trains and perfect the performance of my models so they will do just what I wanted them to do. 

I truly find the pages of this magazine and the associated forum to be the best place for good solid information regarding the hobby we all enjoy.

This series of articles has been the missing piece I have been searching for for years. I will say that the limited modeler concept works very well weather you are limited by a single wall of a small room or a gymnasium and the tips and goals work regardless of available space.

buy and build what you need

The achilles' heel of that approach is that over time your modeling interests are likely to change so by the time you get the space,time,and money to build it you'll likely need different stuff than what you spent years collecting.Even a collection of wide ranging freight cars that could look good on many layout schemes becomes useless if you decide to model in a different scale. ....DaveB

WOW!!!

What a great bunch of postings about my November column. It will take me a while to reply to all of them as I am getting ready to teach a class at 0800 this morning.

As to where I got my data for my freight car analysis, it came from discussions with Ray Breyer and a lot of reading about operation on the old LS&MS line between Cleveland and Toledo. I have studied traffic patterns on the line back before 1930. I have also studied the businesses served by the railroad in Clyde and in Monroeville -- both on the same line. I have studied interchange patterns as well. What have not found are any historical data that tells train makeup along the line. 

So, my analysis is based upon putting together all the information found to create car types and car quantities that were switched to and from the businesses in Clyde. While I am sure it is not accurate down to the exact number of cars, what I have come up with is very plausible and I am assuming a good representation of what actually took place. I am confident that nobody is going to come up with more exacting information!

I will say that doing the freight traffic analysis was a lot of fun and produced useable results!

Jim

Accurail 36 ft truss rod cars

Bob T. would it be possible to see a photo of the underside of the truss rod cars. I would like to do the Accurail conversion.

Ken R.

Accurail 36 ft truss rod cars

Hey @APR steamer (Ken R.), 

Yes, will do.   Been away for the past few weeks, but will try to post a few build photos and references later this weekend.  

-Bob T.