A distinction without a difference?

When I was in grade school I went through a wide range of hobbies in rapid succession. My mother was an art teacher and my father taught mechanical drafting and photography, so they were more supportive of my whims that involved making things. Model ships then model airplanes then model cars. Eventually I showed an interest in model trains and my parents allowed me space and helped with construction of a layout.


The setting and theme of a model railroad are prototype based

Back then, I was intent on building a model railroad while my parents thought a layout would better suit my needs. In the June 1971 Railroad Model Craftsman, Bill Livingston's article about his On30 Venango Valley Railway explores the difference between the two. As Bill sees it, the setting for a model railroad exists on maps. A geographic place in a particular timeframe. The theme of a model railroad can be developed by studying historic publications, trade journals, and taking rail fan trips.


The setting and theme of a layout are more about look and feel

The setting and theme of a layout are more about atmosphere. The setting is the room the layout occupies, and the theme is what the trains appear to be doing and how they are doing it. Bill sites the writing of Lin Moody and the preservation work of Ellis Atwood for providing him the inspiration for building an On30 layout. Personally, I might credit the writing of Garth Groff, H. Reid and Archie Robertson about the Nelson & Albemarle Railroad for providing a story around which a layout could be built.


Blocking together a scene with a hand painted backdrop and hand laid track

I would like my layout's setting to give a visitor the impression that the layout is hand made. I hand painted my backdrop, I hand laid my track. That motif will extend through construction of scenery and structures and even the locomotives and rolling stock. As Bill pointed out in his article, On30 is particularly well suited for hand made modeling. 30 inch gauge was never particularly popular among American railroads, so a 30 inch gauge layout seems to lack a priority on precisely depicting a prototype.


Switching cars at the mill is very similar in On30 as it is in any other scale or gauge

I would like my layout's theme to give a visitor the impression that I am interested in operation. Operation, with its high priority on functionality, is far more common on model railroads than layouts. Many excellent model railroads featuring operation are being built right now, and I am interested in following their progress. But I am often dismayed to find out how few model railroaders understand that operation is possible on narrow gauge layouts. It is different, but the basics of car forwarding and train management are the same.


Renderings do a better job of depicting the desired effect than mechanical drawings

Layout building, as my parents suspected, suits me. I like being able to interpret the historic facts and transfer them onto a project that is more creative and unique. A lot of creative thought goes into developing a scheme for operating my layout as well. The system should generate work for crews that complements the atmosphere and mood I am after.