The "Right Way" to Build a Layout

Okay, I know I've gotten up on my soap box these last few posts, but this is something has to be said. One biggest pet peeves about model railroading or any hobby in general is people who think their approach is the only right way. As far I'm concerned the "right approach" to model railroading is to build a layout you're proud of and provides you enjoyment. It doesn't matter if it's a super-accurate recreation of a prototype or a loop of Lionel tubular track on a sheet of plywood painted green.

How'd I get on this topic you ask? Well, week before last I had to have a medical test done and the doctor performing said test is notorious about being late. So I brought a copy of Sam Posey's book Playing With Trains. At one point in the book the author visits the layouts of Tony Koester and Malcolm Furlow. The two are both famous modelers whose approaches to the hobby are 180 degrees apart. Mr. Koester a staunch prototype modeler while Mr. Furlow was a freelancer who saw the layout as a form of artistic expression. There's nothing wrong with either approach.

While I'm quite familiar with Tony Koester since I always enjoy his Trains of Thought column in Model Railroader, I was very curious about Mr. Furlow. So I Googled him. What I found was a blog post that infuriated me.  Another model was wondering about Mr. Furlow and reached out to him. Here's what he had to say:

"I quit the hobby because most folks in it that I knew except for the likes of John Olson, and the work of John Allen, everyone else seemed a bit too tight-minded. I could not believe the anger that was associated with my participation in the hobby. I had a lot of admirers of my work in trains but the bombardment of hate mail just got ridiculous."

Hate mail? Really? If you're so perturbed by another modeler's approach to the hobby you'd write hate mail, I have to know, who the hell do you think you are? You need to get over yourself. Your way works for you and Furlow's way works for him. Just because you do model railroading a certain way does not make you God's gift to the hobby and being dogmatic about your approach to it does more harm than good by scaring off potential new hobbyists.

I've seen some spectacular layout that are strict models of prototypes like Jack Burgess' phenomenal Yosemite Valley (link). I've also seen some exceptional layouts that are purely freelanced yet operate in prototypical manor like Allen McClelland's legendary Virginian & Ohio and Dick Elwell's Hoosac Valley. And then there are folks like my Dad who just wants a place to run and display his childhood Lionel Trains and accessories.

As for me, my approach is somewhere between that of Tony Koester and Malcolm Furlow. I try to follow a particular prototype in a set time period. But, I do take some creative liberties. My intent is not to make a 1:160 scale carbon copy but rather to capture the basic flavor of places like Gallitzin, PA. This works for me, but it may not work for you and that's fine. After all, at the end of the day, we're just, as Sam Posey put it, playing with trains.