It just looks different...

Yup! I think this sums it all up quite well.



Boxcab E50

 

Geeky:
I didn't catch this thread when it started last month, but would like to offer this (belated) perspective...

Much of our "work" in model railroading is done mentally: we daydream about how our layouts will look, picturing some scene we've actually seen first-hand, or maybe saw pictures of in a magazine, or maybe heard someone describe so well we can imagine what it looked like. We mentally create a visual image that we want to reproduce on our layouts that is perfect, the ideal or dream image that we are shooting for when we model something.

But to make a model of the dream image requires we make hundred or thousands of compromises as we try to make a scale representation of our dream image. The primary compromises come about in the massive selective compression required to fit the envisioned RR empire--or even a complete small town!--in a basement, spare room, or (especially challenging) on a hollow core door or desktop.

Most of us are reconciled to the realities of settling for a modeled representation of our ideal image that falls far short of what we would like to have. But that doesn't stop us from searching catalogs or train store shelves for "perfect" models, going to swap meets or modeling clinics, reading magazines, searching the internet, asking questions on Trainboard, talking to friends, etc...all in an attempt to bring our modeled layout closer to our dream image.

For myself, I know I constantly hold the dream images in my head, and when I watch my trains traveling on the P&PU Ry in N, I'm filling in all the blank spaces with the dream images. I've put up dozens of mock-ups to see how I'll be able to make the modeled RR come closer to the dream images, but I'm still filling in the gap between those mock-ups and the dream image with imagined buildings, scenery, detailing, etc.

Some of my earlier mock-ups were made of cardboard and were too far from my dream image to tolerate; so I upgraded to more precisely shaped foamboard mock-ups and eventually will get even more finely detailed models. But, I know there will always be a gap between the reality of my model and the perfect dream image I'd like to represent...so I'll always superimpose the dream image over the modeled reality, no matter how close my modeling comes to the dream.

When you put those buildings down on the layout, you brought your modeled representation closer to your dream image, but you also realized you still had a way to go. You may have imagined how the buildings would look and had high hopes, but when you actually set them on the layout, the differences from the dream image were still too glaring.

In disappointment (or maybe frustration) you walked away for a while. Your mind worked on the problem (consciously or subconsciously), and later the differences weren't so jarring...you had probably come up with some other ideas for making the layout fit your dream image a little better, perhaps even incorporating the very structures that looked so out of place just a while back.

Probably one reason some of our layouts are never finished is because we're always comparing the reality of our modeling with the dream image in our head, and we say, "Hmmm...maybe if I tried it this other way...."

 

Is Layout Dementia a clinical diagnosis? Yes! The syndrome was first identified by noted psychiatrist and Master Model Railroader, Inda Traynes.
The primary diagnostic indicators are mild hallucinations and misperceptions experienced while viewing a model railroad layout. Persons with the syndrome often report seeing their model trains passing stations, industries, or structures that are not apparent to other individuals. They also exhibit a marked tendancy toward exaggerations regarding distances traveled between cities, and misperceptions about the number of RR sidings it takes to adequately serve a very large industry such as an oil refinery, paper mill, or power plant.
Other syndrome characteristics include:
1. frequent daydreaming about model train layouts,
2. manic track planning,
3. preoccupations with
--- single letters (notably G, H (usually paired with O), N, O, S, and Z),
---letter combinations (including but not limited to: AAR,BNSF, CNW, CSX, DRGW, FEC, GP, IC/CN, NMRA, SD, UP),
--- numbers (usually 87, but increasingly 160),
--- concepts (including layout design elements, helixes, and selective compression),
4. periods of great activity are often followed--seemingly without predictability--by episodes of intense pride or feelings of frustration and disappointment when looking at their own layout. (This can be especially disconcerting to family members who are often unable to see significant differences between the quality of the product leading to pride and the quality of the product that led to frustration or disappointment.)
5. sudden curiousity and envy when looking at others' layouts,
6. self-consciousness about size, often accompanied by persistent requests of other family members for more space.

Treatment:
1. Provide the individual with information about the relatively benign nature of the condition and its very high incidence, especially among adult males involved in model railroading.
2. Encourage the individual to self-administer liberal doses of Trainboard.com reality checks on an as-needed basis.
3. Caution the individual that if left untreated and in its more virulent form, it is known to strain interpersonal relationships. Best practice guidelines suggest that Layout Dementia treatment plans include performing frequent actions designed to cultivate stronger interpersonal relationships with family and friends.
4. Medications have been helpful in some severe cases, but most other treatment strategies have produced mixed results.
--- Frequent trips to LHSs, train meets, and layout tours have been reported to reduce symptoms, but are sometimes expensive and have been documented to aggravate symptoms, as well.
---Affiliation with others carrying the same diagnosis seems to reduce symptoms in some individuals on some occasions and increase symptoms at other times.

Insurance Coverage:
This condition is not covered by most insurance companies; however, individuals should be warned that inquiring about said coverage may precipitate a referral by the insurance company for a more severe condition that IS covered under some mental health insurance plans.