Subject:
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Re: Question for model RR gurus
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Sat, 18 Aug 2001 06:34:04 GMT
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Viewed:
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567 times
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James Brown wrote:
>
> Why is it that there is such a huge chunk of the MRR hobby (both Lego and
> traditional) that puts sooooo much time into automation? My personal
> suspicion is that it's just because automation is cool and fun, but I'm not
> sure.
>
> A lot of the stuff that I see go by here (since I started paying attention,
> admittedly) is talking about automating switches, yards, roundhouses, or
> programmed routes through DCC or even more complicated automation. Maybe
> I'm seeing something that isn't there, but it seems like there's a stigma
> against doing things manually on a MRR, and that seems kinda odd to me.
>
> My confusion, I'll confess is stemming from the fact that I work near a
> fairly large switch yard, and this is all stuff that gets done manually. If
> a track needs to be switched, a guy in orange coveralls jumps out of a truck
> and flips the big lever.
I think there are a few reasons. One thing is that while in many places
in real life, everything is manual, in other places it isn't. Mailine
turnouts these days are probably remotely controlled (that's what an
interlocking tower does for one thing).
Another reason is to avoid having to touch the models. Especially in the
smaller scales (HO and smaller), a clumsy hand can make a mess (oops,
while I tried to uncouple the cars being set out, I knocked the whole
train off the tracks) or even damage the layout (oops - there goes those
nice telephone wires Fred spent all Saturday stringing).
Another reason is reach and laziness. It may not be easy to reach every
turnout or every place you might want to uncouple cars.
Another aspect is that many modelers think of themselves as dispatchers
not the engineers and brakemen, and as such, they want to direct the
trains, not operate them. Even if you think of yourself as the engineer,
you still generally don't do all that manual stuff.
DCC of course is a different animal. It actually allows you to operate
more realistically since it allows multiple locomotives to be
independently controlled on the same track, and dramatically reduces the
wiring if you want to run more than one or two trains on your layout.
The automation also allows a single individual to run a more complex
layout. If you do everything by hand, then you probably can't operate
more than one train (you may be able to let one or two trains run around
in circles, but you won't be operating more than one). With automation,
you might be able to do some operation with more than one train (though
really, to operate multiple trains, you really need multiple operators).
Another factor is that things which move by themselves are just more
interesting than doing it manually.
> So am I out to lunch, or is everyone else? ;)
I should be out to lunch, or at least off to bed...
--
Frank Filz
-----------------------------
Work: mailto:ffilz@us.ibm.com (business only please)
Home: mailto:ffilz@mindspring.com
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Question for model RR gurus
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| (...) That's what an interlocking tower USED to do. Nowadays they are getting rare. With CTC (Centralised Traffic Control) an entire division or more can be controlled from far far away. Umpteen thousand miles of the Union Pacific are all controlled (...) (23 years ago, 19-Aug-01, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Question for model RR gurus
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| Why is it that there is such a huge chunk of the MRR hobby (both Lego and traditional) that puts sooooo much time into automation? My personal suspicion is that it's just because automation is cool and fun, but I'm not sure. A lot of the stuff that (...) (23 years ago, 17-Aug-01, to lugnet.trains)
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