Model trains in their "Lilliputian" world!

An entrancing quality

An indoor hobby would be most useful at present, most therapeutic. Winter's most bleak period arrives at about the time of the MLK holiday, to the extent you even recognize that. So it's January. And I'm thinking of indoor hobbies because of model railroading. 

So many boys get exposed to this with the "starter" setup that is so often a Christmas gift. Very thoughtful of parents to give their children some enjoyment with that. 

Shall I specify boys? Seemed like a male-oriented gift when I was young. 

Thing is, kids can get bored with their gifts. And let's think of the model railroad starter version with the small circle of tracks. Round and 'round the train goes. Let's be frank and say the novelty quickly erodes. And yet model railroading as a hobby can get very involved. As you probe the pastime you'll see photos and videos of the quite elaborate layouts. 

I think my generation of boys got attracted to the "HO" scale because of a big feature in Boys Life magazine. That's the magazine associated with the Boy Scouts. And do "Boy Scouts" even exist any more? My generation accepted the organization as a staple of growing up as a boy. I guess it encountered the same shoals as the Catholic Church, if you know what I mean. 

And the whole concept of gender has gotten so complicated. We never could have dreamt. Many people were inclined to vote Republican in the last election because of being upset about a member of the San Jose State volleyball team. And I must say that while I am an outlier and continue to vote Democratic, I feel no support for the "trans" thing at all, zero. Don't even talk to me about it, don't try to "enlighten" me. 

There are two genders. Girls deserve to play on sports teams in leagues that are 100 percent biological girls. 

I suppose people at our UMM in Morris would point fingers at me. But I'm not certain of that now. I think UMM is focused now on simple survival. Oddball political causes are to be put aside. And these causes did not all come from the political left. We saw an absolutely incendiary tone coming from the right wing as represented by "Northstar." It was a dangerous publication and one that made me want to avoid coming on campus. 

 

Model railroad sizes

The HO scale of model railroads got planted in my mind as the "standard" or most accepted "gauge." I came to consider the "N" scale as being the smaller alternative. I began to wonder why the hobbyists would get attracted to a particular gauge or scale. Because there certainly are several of these and the size varies substantially. 

You might think that people with limited space would go smaller. Then again, HO seems quite small to begin with. I've seen the argument that the small "N" scale allows you to do more with scenery. But you can go so much smaller than "N" if you want. Kind of blows your mind what some people can do with the very smallest size. "Z" is extremely small but I believe there is one even smaller than that. 

 

The image shows well-known "N" scale enthusiast Todd Treaster of Pennsylvania.

 

Oh but let's go larger too! "O" gauge is considered the standard larger size, and you might immediately place the "Lionel" name. "Lionel" has no aversion to calling their trains "toy" trains and that's interesting. There is one realism issue with Lionel and that is the middle rail with the tracks. Hobbyists don't seem to give that much mind. 

I'm impressed by the sense of power projected by the "O" gauge trains. These hobbyists generally speaking don't make sheer realism as much of a priority. The miniature houses and structures can have a "toy" look to them. Nevertheless I am impressed watching the videos. 

Videos on YouTube are a great way to appreciate the hobby. They have become endless. But what hasn't become endless on YouTube? I would also suggest they are therapeutic, i.e. soothing. On and on these videos go, drawing us into this alternative tiny dimension of the model trains. Quite surreal. 

And of course in real life, train tracks are never as dense as what you see in these layouts. So the whole "realism" thing has an asterisk attached right there. And where in real life are the trains confined to basically go around in circles? Even in an elaborate layout - and some are incredibly elaborate - a train will end up where it started. Oh but we can overlook that. 

Some hobbyists get carried away to where they have roads with moving vehicles on them. A friend suggested to me that this is probably accomplished using magnets underneath. So much trouble and so much expense to try to replicate the real world. What really is accomplished by all this? Let's not use raw logic to evaluate one's "hobby." It fills a legitimate psych need. 

An escape? A fantasy? Let's get more real: I don't think the purpose of the hobby is so we can watch the trains basically go in circles. To state the obvious: it would get "old" so fast! So I think the reward comes as simply learning the techniques in planning such a layout and then doing it over time, feeling the satisfaction afterward. 

Me? I can have the best of both worlds, you might say: I can appreciate the hobby immensely through YouTube videos, yet am spared the expense and hard work of developing a layout. Truth be told, I'd have to do a lot of research on methods. So many of the hobbyists get so immersed. I can't help but think it's excessive in many cases, even though the final product can be awe-inspiring. But tiny autos/trucks too? Going to and fro on the little roads? Ah, Lilliputian! 

This seems obsessive

And toward what end, really? Just to show you can do it? A boy who gets the standard "Christmas train" with the small circle of track is barely scratching the surface with the hobby. Just look at the most elaborate layouts and compare - there really is no comparison. 

Maybe Lionel is best with the minimalist landscape features, perhaps just some green felt on which the tracks are placed. Just place around some plastic buildings. No need to simulate forests or mountains. To each his own! Anyone who enjoys a hobby, well all the more power to them. 

Then again, I can't help but be reminded by a thought from the columnist Dave Barry: "There is a fine line between having a hobby and mental illness." 

"Lilliputians" might be from a model train layout!

 

Addendum: Remember the classic "Airplane" scenario where the nun is reading "Boys Life" and then we see the boy reading "Nun's Life?"

  

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com