Railroad modeling counts as an art

Post Reply New Topic

Railroad modeling counts as an art - by the time one sorts out layout composition, colors, lighting; and then makes the scenery, considering that same composition, coloring, and lighting, plus texture, and what media to make it in; and then paints everything considering season, lighting, age, weathering effects, coloring shade, tint, and hue, sounds a lot like "art" to me
And then there's making the trains with still having to consider all the same factors!

If you don't think a model railroad is "Art", have a look at this, and take into mind it's all paper, even the people!
http://forum.gn15.info/viewtopic.php?t=5197&highlight=pirate+cove
Well, mechanical parts of the train aren't paper, after all a paper motor won't run!
And, no, it's not my work. Oh well, I'll get better.

For anyone who cares, here's my latest project, a train itself.

As my wife will all to readily volunteer to tell you, I can't seem to leave a train alone 5 minutes after getting it home till something is getting sawn off, one or more holes are drilled in it, or its paint is getting changed.
Bachmann catalog photo.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=1354

Got this train set with my economic stimulus check. It is "G scale" (G "gauge" actually, but that's another tangental rant for another time) which often stands for "Garden" scale. I have no garden in this 2nd floor apartment; but what they hey, I Wanted That Train. Have had a long-standing interest in the Virginia & Truckee since way way back when parents got me a green colored book The Age of Steam by a Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg.
(Hey! it's on Google Books with a different cover The Age of Steam book )


Anyway, back to our story. Started on it awhile back, it got put away for a bit while the rest of life happened.
*Loco is more freelance than prototypical anyway (anyone who's familiar with the real Virginia & Truckee RR from the 1870s to 1950 will be saying no kidding, how could you tell?), so some 'artistic license' will be taken with this project.

As of this writing she sure ain't "Box Stock" any more

Something about the locomotive was really bugging me: being done up as a woodburner with spark arresting stack, boiler molding had extended smokebox a coal burner with built-in spark arresting screen would have.
Not right.
It had to go.
Sawed it off this morning.
All was going fine till just about done gluing smokebox front on - got a glue drip blemish on side of boiler up by sand pipes. Arrrrrr.
Well, hmmm, those molded-on sand pipes have been bugging me, if the paint is going to have to be fixed anyway, might as well carve of the sand pipes and add real wire - there holes for wire in the running boards, so why not!
A bit of work with a chisel blade in the craft knife, some wet sanding, and all done. Happy modeler Very Happy

Hmmmm, while boiler is disassembled and I'm hacking bits off, there's that turbogenerator for electric lighting up between cab and steam dome - it don't look right for an 1870 style painted woodburner.
Would be a bit of work to carve off molded base and fill hole in boiler top. But . . .

Anyway, back to shortened smokebox - it really changes apparent proportions of the thing, a lot stockier. I want to say it looks like such-and-such a loco but that isn't coming to mind right now
Side effects of the shortening include:
1. having to make a headlight bracket. Am intending to replace dim headlight bulb with an LED. (drumhead was much brighter than H/L !?!?!
2. needing to make a pilot deck. Have some Plastruct tread plate will use for that job, prototypes may have been smooth metal, I want tread plate for visual interest.
3. smoke generator had to go, not enough room, but that's okay, couldn't be using it anyway.
4. okay, turbogenerator is now going to be gone for sure
*5. not yet decided what color to repaint light blue boiler.
Have some touch up paint which turned out a bit too dark for my silver-blue Dodge Dynasty, so . . .

There's some work to do inside cab too.

Passenger cars need:
1. a lot of green trim painted, including clerestory sides
2. roofs changed from grey to black
3. interior painted, especially walls from yellow to wood color.
May actually cover walls with woodgrain paper as per here:
Trolley with printed paper interior
4. Want to change interior lighting on cars as well, going from 2 bare bulbs in the middle of a bunch of transparent plastic to 3 of those O scale "pool table" lamps with green and white shades to kinda-sorta throw off light like oil lamps with reflectors/vent cones
5. knowing some early passenger cars have underbody same color as sides, decided to paint underbody green like platforms
6. knowing wheels were often black early on, decided to paint them rust for contrast
7. trying to match Bachmann's green with mixing what PollyScale is on hand has been interesting

None of this is macro lens detailing, more like "three feet back" type 'impressionistic improvements'

later,

southwestforest,
Model railroading is a great hobby. I'm suprised there aren't more of us on here with all the views that have shon on this thread. I just wish the DCC people and manufatrures wouldn't have driven up the cost so much. It's now an exspensive hobby and most kids today would rather play X-box than paint or deatil an car or loco.

JC.

Of course Railroad Modeling is art!! As an artist I havent taken part of many modeling railroads but I know for sure there is a lot of artwork behind them. I checked out your links and it would be great to see some of your own work southwestforests!

It would be nice to see.

I remember when I was a young school age child that our local fairground always had one exhibition building that had several amazing train systems set up and on display. It was always a must see stop every year as they were always so amazing to see, all with beautifully crafted, painted, and detail oriented 'world' for the trains to run through and around.

Am quite sure this hobby is a form of Art.The creativity involved and detail is amazing to me . Many times when observing Layouts of Railroad dioramas. It was amazing to see the incredible details in many many of these set ups.
And in my life have considered myself priviledged to see many private Layouts . By nothing less than extreme artisans
of life like layouts . And they do it with attention to years of their railroad systems they wished to portray . Old and new
Locomotives and railroad cars that would have been used in those times .