Minor Revelation

I started a blog page. Not sure if that is the best way to chronicle the construction of "stevie's model railroad" I don't have a name for the railroad yet. I want to keep a sort of diary of the construction and purchases and dilemma's, along with photo's and video's. I think about 60% of it will be ramblings from the superintendent of everything. Is there a better way than just a blog? I don't want to do a website. That takes too much time.

The revelation I had was about watching video's. I have been watching a lot about DCC installs and video's of heavily detailed railroads. Having been out of the hobby for over 20 years I am noticing some stark contrasts.
Of course there is DCC and the nightmare of wiring and block control has become very simplified. And there is sound. That is huge! Not some generic diesel rattle but actually tailored to the exact prototype. I never imagined that.

There is online shopping. That is also huge also as you can find and instantly order just about anything. And in my case, I can shop for different brands of sound decoders on video's so I can hear what I want to buy. I don't know of any hobby shops anymore where I can test run things. If I had video's back then, I wouldn't have bought that GP-35 with a scale speed of 250 MPH that sounded like a worn out blender.

The biggest change I see is the level of scenic detail on multiple railroads. It is amazing that many model railroads have reached "museum quality". With quality backdrops and a little bit of work the effects are amazing. I actually took painting classes so I could paint my own backdrops. They worked but nothing like a 2 ft by 10 ft photo of the real thing. I really enjoy looking at video's of operations on heavily detailed scenery.

Here is a short video that sort of illustrates what I am thinking.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/vide...mozilla-003&hsimp=yhs-003&hspart=mozilla&tt=b
I showed it to my son to explain what I am trying to do in the basement.


We had a couple video's. Weathering and scenery. And you got one person's perspective. Today I have dozens of video's of just how to pour water. I got worn out today building some drawers and working on the benchwork. I had to take a break. So I did a search of scenery techniques. Making trees, mud, gravel, grass, bushes, all of it. And its dirt cheap and easy. That is the main difference. Creating a really interesting scene doesn't really take talent as much as it just takes knowledge. And the level of knowledge that is now readily available is my revelation. And that free knowledge and experience extends to all facets of this hobby. I was tapping in to that from day one without even thinking about what a change it is. I have a set of encyclopedia's. I called the bookstore and they don't want them, even for free. They are headed for the recycle bin. My how times have changed.

 

I think that your plan would be quite interesting to operate and follow. And I must agree with the two of you that things in the Hobby sure have changed over the years.

 

That video is pretty amazing. Who ever shot it may have known some about cinematography as the lens creates a real sense of depth resulting in a realistic look. Then again, maybe he just got lucky with the lens that he had. I'm inclined to think he knows his lenses though.

But you have to be careful looking at videos online as they really are designed to show off a layout in a way that the actual owner never see's it.

The talent/knowledge/experience equation is pretty subjective. To me it seems like more of a combo of all three. Then again, hands on experience trumps everything as far as I am concerned. I remember watching home repair videos on PBS. They made it all look so easy, but really it just isn't that easy. Ever tile a shower, or sweat copper pipe? It isn't as easy it looks in the videos.

Definitely the tutorials can get you really far with model railroading, but I expect the true artists are working from a great deal of self criticism and hands on experience.

 

I have no idea the level of scenery on that layout. But that scene does look finished! I watched a few other video's where they put a rail cam or whatever it is on the front of an engine and then toured a layout. That would actually be a good tool to tell you where your scenery is not complete. I don't need a camera. I am still putting together benchwork and making compromises with what can be now and what could be if I expand.