/n/ — Model Railroading

>>2064738 (OP)
I’ve been doing it ever since I was a kid and it can be expensive but you just have to look around for deals. I do a lot of scratchbuilding so I get a lot of hours of enjoyment without the boomerbux. You don’t have to build a massive basement empire to enjoy it.

>>2064738 (OP)
Model railroading is dying because younger people neither have the expansive space to build stuff nor the money to afford miniatures. 3D printing probably helps a lot (I have a thick catalog from 1998, the price for even a small building is eye-popping when you consider the prices of what food and rent cost) but not enough to offset the decline.

Just visit a model railroad with cats that hit and knock the trains over instead. much more entertaining

>>2064746
I don't want to visit that, I want it in my house with my cats.

>>2064738 (OP)
buy second hand

a lament i have lamented all too often: the market that apparently demands realistic gauge-accurate powered models of trains, with electrical lights and sounds and bells and whistles and so on, will refuse to countenance the idea of cute cheap die-cast models of trains you can keep on a desk or something as a nick-nack, like there exists model Ferraris and Porsches and whatever

>>2064786
A lot of Japanese N scale comes in powered and unpowered versions so you can have a display model for much cheaper than the powered one. Model railroading thrives in Japan, maybe because so many people see and ride trains every day.

>>2064786
>>2064790
You used to be able to buy new dummy locos in the US, they were cheaper than powered units and it was an easy way to have a huge consist. You can still find them second hand. They were meant to be run though, chances are they'll have wear and tear on them you'll have to fix (and superdetail). Now if you want a 4 unit lashup it could be $1000 or more.

I actually don't like model locomotives with sound because people always crank the speakers up to max volume and it sounds like a room full of shitty cellphone speakers playing lo-fi train noises. I think the noise the motor itself makes is enough - no it's not realistic, but it beats having to hear some autismo realistically whistle a crossing every few seconds.

Very few people will be doing this hobby in 20 years. It's been on a downhill slide since the 80s or 90s I imagine. I don't know when the hobby "peaked," really. It's fun, I miss my little layout, but I just don't have the space for it now. Wish I did

RIP Athearn Blue Box models

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>>2064738 (OP)
Hell fuckin yeah I do, they kept deleting the threads I'd make about it but I have a shitload of rickety old 027 shit from eBay and I've already picked a room to dedicate solely to trains, life has just been kicking my fat ass left and right so it's all collecting dust so far.
And even when I get it all put up, it's not going to be anything like a stereotypical setup. No town, scenery, all that junk, just as many tracks as I can fit into one room on a bunch of folding tables. I even have a bunch of cheap shelves to try running the train up along the wall! Fun!
>>2064741
You can get super cheap old Lionel stuff but yeah the new stuff is only for rich boomers so I guess Lionel is going to die with them if they don't wise up

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I saw this layout at a train show near Seattle. First time I'd seen one done based on Mexico, but also with a sense of humor, called La Ruta de Cerveza (The Beer Route). Speakers were playing mariachi music. This is the town side, with kids in the background cropped out

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>>2064806
Back side of the town

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i always wanted to build a layout that was like a modern city with surface and underground tracks

So do you guys just watch the train go around in circles on a small-ass track? I feel like I would get bored of it after like 5 laps. I guess most of the appeal is in the layout building.

>>2064921
Some people do operating, with dispatchers, engineers, switch lists, etc. to try and mimic operations on a real railroad as much as possible. It’s usually on a bigass club layout or some boomer’s basement empire but also works on a small switching layout where you set out and pick up cars at various industries.

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>>2064800
Rich old Boomers dying is why older Lionel is pretty cheap these days. If you're a rivet counter you'll hate it, but parts are still available and anything made before 1990 has this heavy industrial feel to it. Sure, post war Lionel are more toy than model, but they're also these heavy machines in their own right.

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>>2064921

>>2064738 (OP)
I adore miniature/diorama art and am a train enthusiast, so I really appreciate model railroading. I got too many neglected hobbies to get into it myself, though. I get my train kicks from playing with the real thing as freight conductor for a number of years and freight hopper before, during, and after that. there's a few freight cars and perhaps engines I'd collect if I found them in model form but don't have the cash or time for anything beyond that. I do hope people keep making cool displays I can appreciate.

I know a number of graffiti guys that get miniatures to paint their art onto, which I also like. Would be cool to see those get worked into displays more.

>>2064964
>Rich old Boomers dying is why older Lionel is pretty cheap
Same with G scale outdoor trains. I made an incredible estate sale score for $100–locomotives, rolling stock and miles of track. I flipped what I didn’t want for hundreds of bucks and used the rest in my backyard.
I don’t understand the boomer hate but feel bad watching a lot of old heads I know die or slip into dementia. Some of them were even WWII vets and I admire the OGs who had to make everything themselves, and I learned a lot from them. I’m glad their stuff didn’t end up in a dumpster or thrift store.

>>2064973
Edit—I understand the boomer hate…

>>2064810
When I were a little autist, I used to build towns where my toys 'lived'
I bought cheap plastic toy trains from flea markets (Like 5 uros each) and layered them, using my dad's empty beer cans as support pillars, so I had like two underground lines, a surface line and an elevated line, complete with stops and stations and shit.
I never had a chance to get a gf, did I.

>>2064810
https://www.eastpenn.org/
There’s people in this group that do urban modeling with subways and you can find some photos if you search the site. A great resource for all kinds of electric powered prototypes, from streetcars to heavy electric.

>>2064964
That engine looks SICK, too bad I'm limited to what can fit around an 027 curve simply because that's what 95% of my curves are

>>2064806
Reminds me of those old Taco Bells

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>>2065102
Yeah, that thing isn't running on O27 Curves. But believe it or not, these will. Except for the big scale Hudson, Lionel engineered all of their post war six driver steamers to run on O27. And the locomotives derived from post war tooling will as well. Also, the small conventional Polar Express engine and cars will, too.

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>>2065174
K Line sets came with O27 track and their ALCO passenger sets had cars with interiors.

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>>2065176
K Lines basic steam engine was a 4-6-2 Pacific derived from old Marx tooling.

>>2065174
I have a 671 and a 675, I love them

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this really appeals to me for some reason

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>>2065178
some extra ties and ballast can make tubular three rail look pretty good.

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What's /n/'s opinion of large scale live steam model railroading?

>>2066142
How large? Like ride-on stuff or 45 mm gauge? There’s a group in the metro Detroit area where I live that runs 7 1/2” gauge trains in two local parks, some steam but also a lot of internal combustion or battery powered. It’s something I fantasize about but don’t have boomerbux or a machine shop. I can’t even afford live steam for my little G gauge garden railway as even 0-4-0s start at $6-700.

>>2064738 (OP)
There was an open house for some hobbyists so I checked it out.
All male boomers.
The tech has advanced a lot. You can control the locomotives vis Bluetooth.
Pretty boring overall.
I think most younger people are building models out of LEGO.

>>2066542
>All male boomers
Most of them with autism and poor personal hygiene. Were you expecting women? I’ve seen more trannies than bio girls. I’ve met a few cool modelers of different ages but it’s a freak magnet hobby for better or worse.

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autism: the hobby
do you guys wear engineer hats when you play with [?] them?

I almost got into it but my autism dictates they have to be passenger trains, and my parents only got me cargo trains because they're cheaper :(

>>2066623
Yeah I have an engineer hat

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>>2066623
No but I had one when I was a kid. I’d like to get a trolley conductor or motorman’s hat for one of these hat badges.

What else should I spend my salary on? I sit in front of a computer at work all day, beeing able to build something and see physical results of my work is great fun.

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>>2066142
I got all excited when i saw 7.5" gauge live steam engines. Then i looked up costs. Granted, this is at the upper end, but a Lima built style Berkshire like this one ran about $50,000 used seven years ago. That did include a transport trailer and servicing tools and equipment, though.

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>>2066623
I have one I got at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum when I did a cab ride. Damned if I know where I put it.

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>>2066662
I ended up obsessing about the Southern 4501 for awhile and got two different versions of it in three rail O. Neither are scale or prototype accurate, but it's three rail O, so I don't mind. The Green one is basically a Lionel 736 Berkshire with a single axle trailing truck replacing the standard two axle truck to make it a Mikado. It's from the 1980's and is wearing the passenger scheme it wore while part of the Southern Steam Heritage program. They're painting her green again this year. The Black one is a Newer Mikado Jr built to run on O27 curves and fit with smaller O27 rolling stock.

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>>2066663

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>>2066664

>>2066661
If you're getting into live steam especially at the 7.25" and 7.5" scales, you really need to be a machinist to keep it running. If you were insanely rich you could find machinists to do it for you. Any time something breaks or needs adjustment, often you'll have to make the new piece or alteration yourself. A lot of live steamers were built from scaled down historical society blueprints by guys with a backyard machine shop over the course of a decade or more. Even the live steam kits require a fair amount of machining to assemble.

One way to get around that is to use an ICE or battery power, you can buy 7.5" scale diesels that are ready to run and most people can learn how to troubleshoot and service them on their own. But there again, it's still thousands of dollars and you'll need a way to haul it around and somewhere to store and work on it. (All of those locos weigh hundreds if not a thousand pounds or more.)

>>2066662
I bet they've got them in their gift shop.

>>2066663
>They're painting 4501 green again this year.
About time. I don't care if it never had that paint in service, it looks great with it and attracts far more attention than painted "realistically"

>>2066666
>you'll need a way to haul it around and somewhere to store and work on it.
plus somewhere to run it
space is probably the bigger barrier than cost when it comes to miniature trains

>>2066615
>Most of them with autism and poor personal hygiene.
When anons tell on themselves

>>2066676
I have giga train autism but like to take showers and use deodorant

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>>2064790
I wish I had the money and space to recreate Shin-Okubo station and it's nearby street

>>2066759
Up until Covid you could mail order Japanese trains for incredibly low prices and shipping. Things got worse and now it’s really bad with tariffs but take a look at sites like Plaza Japan and Hobby Search. The amount of Japanese N scale is staggering and very little of it makes it to the U.S. apart from things like Kato track and U.S. prototype locos and rolling stock.

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I like railway guns, does it count?

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>>2066769
If you have the infrastructure to move it about then yes.
Having lots of guys make a track to point it in the correct direction seems to defeat the point of mobile artillery.

How do I get started with modelling?
My railway interests are 40s and 50s England, modern Scotland, and modern Japan, so I am have quite broad taste. Assume that space and money are non-issues. I just need some advice on the technical front, like skill development, brands, etc.

>>2066835
>Assume that space and money are non-issues.
Make two separated models, one modern nipland and the other, old england trains and shire with one modern scottish train running around.

>>2066835
If you’re interested in Japan you should go N scale, as there’s a ton of cool stuff from steam to trams to Shinkansen. Kato and Tomix are the major brands but there’s a lot of other makers. In a previous post I talked about mail order from Japan.
I model U.S. streetcars and try to do historically accurate scenes but have no problem running some anime themed Japanese trams for fun. You can roll like that or build separate layouts.

>>2066835
The classic entry point is a “starter set” with an oval of track, locomotive, a few cars and a controller. If you’re interested in Japan, a Kato N scale starter set is a good pick. Their track and locomotives are very reliable. I’m all about cheapness and making do but it could be a big turnoff for a beginner to get frustrated with cheap crap that doesn’t run.
From there you just keep buying more stuff and learn skills. Is there a brick and mortar hobby shop near you? A club? You’ll encounter some crusty old boomers but some might be cool and may give you a deal. Train shows are another good place to buy and learn—a big hall filled with vendors and portable layouts. At the end of the day vendors are willing to cut deals as they’d rather not load it back in the van for the next show.
Are you in the UK, or where? That has some bearing on brands and terminology.

>>2066846
>>2066867
>>2066871
Thank you! I'm in the UK. I'll look into this.

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>>2066907
Again, if space is not an issue, think about a double themed table like pic related, with city on one side and countryside/seaside on the other

>>2064741
not even, its just a lack of interest
the boomers who love modelling are engineers themselves or at least have a passing interest in the mechanics of stuff, ie how something internally works
mechanics are unpopular in modern society though, where the entire social status quo revolves around externals and understanding the external rather than internals, and i personally believe this has a psychological impact on internal behaviour and our interest in internal mechanisms (both in terms of humans and objects)

>>2064738 (OP)
AH! Model railroads! I LOVE to watch them! Either in real life or over YouTube!

I always toy with the idea myself but then I remember that this takes both huge amount of space and money. Then I remember my budget and that I should dust the whole thing off regularly.

And i just skip it.