John Duffy
Western Thunderer
We are fortunate on this forum to see the creative output from a number of great modellers. There are some stunning layouts currently being built or displayed and many of these are smaller in nature, with limited scope for running multiple locomotives or a huge variety of stock. My own work, whilst not small in terms of physical area, represents a small, quiet station in a rural setting on a branch line with limited traffic.
What then are the thoughts of forum members regarding seeing these types of layouts? Do you mind seeing the same stock appear regularly, or does that get too repetitive? I'm conscious myself of using only two locomotives and at the moment having only a single coach passenger train. Perhaps different for a layout that is in development as you can see the progress that is being made, but what of a "finished" layout (if such a thing exists), do you mind seeing the same loco in different settings?
We have seen the rise of the cameo layout, which when viewed at an exhibition can be studied for a time and then we generally move on. We have had the development of how best to display these layouts with fascias, arches and lighting etc all playing a part. The operation though is unlikely to get repetitive as we probably won't stand and watch the layout for a very lengthy period. Even when we do, it might be the same little engine with a couple of different wagons. This seems fine when watching a layout live, but does this transfer to a couple of photos? With the extensive use of the online community, we are increasing viewing our railways electronically and can of course browse back whenever we wish. How do we make the best use of this to display the very fine work that is being produced without it ever appearing "samey?"
A forum such as this is one of the main ways for a builder of a layout - especially those in a fixed location - to publicly display their work, so I suppose the question should be, how best to do this? What do people like or prefer? What do you like to see? What doesn't work so well? Are there any pet hates?
I'm really interested to hear the thoughts of those, like me, who enjoy seeing work displayed on this forum and are keen to see modellers make the best use of it.
John
What then are the thoughts of forum members regarding seeing these types of layouts? Do you mind seeing the same stock appear regularly, or does that get too repetitive? I'm conscious myself of using only two locomotives and at the moment having only a single coach passenger train. Perhaps different for a layout that is in development as you can see the progress that is being made, but what of a "finished" layout (if such a thing exists), do you mind seeing the same loco in different settings?
We have seen the rise of the cameo layout, which when viewed at an exhibition can be studied for a time and then we generally move on. We have had the development of how best to display these layouts with fascias, arches and lighting etc all playing a part. The operation though is unlikely to get repetitive as we probably won't stand and watch the layout for a very lengthy period. Even when we do, it might be the same little engine with a couple of different wagons. This seems fine when watching a layout live, but does this transfer to a couple of photos? With the extensive use of the online community, we are increasing viewing our railways electronically and can of course browse back whenever we wish. How do we make the best use of this to display the very fine work that is being produced without it ever appearing "samey?"
A forum such as this is one of the main ways for a builder of a layout - especially those in a fixed location - to publicly display their work, so I suppose the question should be, how best to do this? What do people like or prefer? What do you like to see? What doesn't work so well? Are there any pet hates?
I'm really interested to hear the thoughts of those, like me, who enjoy seeing work displayed on this forum and are keen to see modellers make the best use of it.
John