To Count or Not to Count....

...rivets that is. Rivet counting, as it is in this hobby, is the faithful dedication to the prototype. While this is certainly a worthy endeavor, striving to model from the real world as it is, it's not something I could endure. For one thing, in actuality it's just not possible. While many modelers have grand plans of modeling accuracy, there really is no way to duplicate reality in miniature to such standards. So, it's with a grain of salt that us non-rivet counters, should take any slights towards our in-accurate attempts at recreating a railroad in a smaller scale.

I certainly agree that following a prototype as much as possible, is helpful as a guide, but the moment selective compression, for example, comes in to play - accuracy goes out the cab window. Nine times out of ten industries served on a layout could barely fill the back of my Honda with goods produced, let alone a boxcar. If that's the case why anguish over whether or not a railroad had this kind of signal but not that kind? Haynes bumper stops or Buda bumper stops?

This year BNSF is retiring their SD40-2's. My new SD40-2 as pictured above, just made it to the layout with newly installed sound - I'm certainly not going to follow the prototype and retire my new locomotive and I won't lose sleep over it. Instead, even though I am modeling 2009, I'll continue to pound the rails with my SD40-2, hitting the horn as often as I can. If I faithfully followed the BNSF as it is, none of my layout would exist. I'm doing this for fun, not to be a slave to reality.

The reality is that I'm not modeling a mile for a mile, if that were the case the area my layout represents would be about 80 feet wide by about a half mile in length. If that were the case then I really wouldn't need a railroad to get goods to and fro - a single box truck could do the work of managing goods over such a microscopic area. Even donkeys could handle the transportation needs of this miniscule geography.

If we wanted to count some rivets, we should be gluing individual hairs onto the heads of our Presier figures. The figures themselves should each have an individual history just like locomotives. We would have to go to each town we model, go door to door taking note of who lived and worked where. We'd have to a know what clothes they wore, what kind of car they drove...

Our scale automobiles would all have working headlights and state-correct license plates...they should all have drivers inside and more importantly they should move on our layout just like trains.

Most of us model a particular season - if we stick to the prototype, shouldn't the seasons change? Change out those green trees in October for autumn colored trees, then rip all the foliage off and then dump fake snow on your layout and start all over again come Spring. Reak havoc on your thermostat and adjust it accordingly to duplicate the prototypes climate.

We strive to get accurate sounds in our DCC locomotives, why not smells? Burn a small lantern with diesel fuel for true accuracy or some coal. Too bad for me as I'm going to model a landfill; I'm sure the smell of rotting garbage will bring a closeness to the prototype to a whole new level.

Of course I'm suggesting extremes here, but you get my point. I fully respect the idea of rivet counting, I just don't think it's 100% possible, maybe five percent in the scheme of all things that can be modeled. And that's enough; it works for so many modelers and the results are worth the effort. It's satisfying to view a layout, yours or someone elses, and recognize the effort, research and determination that captures a slice of reality in miniature. And as I mentioned, the prototype is a great guide, your model railroading sherpa, so your not guessing in the dark.

But, if your struggling with whether or not you are being true to the BNSF or the Pennsy or whatever railroad you model, it's nothing to fret over. I'm doing this for one reason and one reason only; to have a good time. If someone balks over that fact that I'm running a retired locomotive on my layout, so be it, I'll just have to lay into the horn - that you can count on.