Do You Model Graffiti?

Do you model graffiti?

That simple question on the Atlas HO forum turned into a loud, boisterous and nasty discussion that eventually led to the thread being locked. When it comes to this form of urban "art," people sure have lots of opinions!

No matter what you think about graffiti, the fact is that if you want to plausibly model the modern scene, your rolling stock has to be tagged. Actually, tagging is just one form of graffiti, and the lowest form, at that. Other forms include "pieces" (as in "masterpieces), signatures and stencils.

(In some cities, there are graffiti "crews"—a group of "artists" who will tag a number of cars together.)



Since I model the early to mid-1990s, I need to have graffiti on some of my cars. Some of my cars have factory-applied decals, and others have after-market decals. But most I did myself with gel pens.

Gel pens are pens that allow large amounts of ink to flow freely when the tip is depressed on a writing surface. They can be bought at any office supply store.



Using gel pens is sort of like painting, but with a pen. I use it to create words, shapes, characters and squiggles—anything that looks like the prototype.

I also use a silver gel pen to simulate aluminum windows on locomotive side windows.

Many people would sooner give up the hobby than deface their rolling stock. Not me; I want my layout to look gritty and weathered, just like the real thing.

Is Model Railroading A Mental Disorder?

Is model railroading a mental disorder? That was the topic of a part serious, part tongue-in-cheek clinic at the recent NMRA 75th anniversary convention in Milwaukee.

Presented by Dr. Ron Mihordin, a model railroader and a psychiatrist, the clinic was described as “a classification of the psychological sub-types seen among model railroaders.”

It was also intended to “clarify and confirm what model railroaders and those who live with us have known, or suspected, by may not have put into words.”

I wasn’t there, but “Jim from Valencia, California” posted a précis of the eight categories on the Atlas HO forum.

The “Toy Railroader.” Can say: “I play with trains” without embarrassment. Can lash up a UP Big Boy with a CSX SD70Ace diesel to pull a train of Amtrak Superliner coaches with a PRR caboose and still sleep at night.

The Rivet Counter. Would rather eat a bug than own a boxcar with a non-prototypical road number Never leaves home without his pocket size magnifier or scale ruler.

The Kitbasher. His motto: “Modify or Die.” Has yet to find a model railroad manufacturer who accurately copies the prototype. Is often hard to distinguish from a Rivet Counter.

The Set Designer. The white stuff on his nose is hydrocal—not cocaine. Structure siding is done the prototypical way—one board at a time. Tracks and trains are OK as long as they don’t detract from the scenery.

The Operator. Considers development of the fast clock a technological breakthrough on par with penicillin. Prepares an annual report of the passenger train on time arrivals and departures and number of ton-miles of freight hauled on his layout in the previous year.

The collector. Seldom purchases only one item if a "complete set" or "complete series" is available. Shares the Ikea ideology that you don't have too much stuff—you have too little storage. Visits local hobbyshops semi-weekly. Has current orders, back orders and future orders with at least three on line hobby shops.

The planner. He thinks mantra of Model Railroader is "Dream it, Plan it.” Will build his layout when the kids leave home; he moves into a new house; he retires; he goes to one more workshop; the weather gets a little warmer; the weather gets a little cooler; etc.

The Socializer. Is a member of the NMRA, TCA, a modular layout club and nine historical societies. His favorite activity is talking about model railroading. His favorite railroad sound: His own voice.

According to Jim, "this was very tongue in cheek. The parts I presented are taken out of context. The whole audience was roaring with laughter throughout the clinic."

Responses To Are You Embarrassed For Others To Know You Are A Model Railroader?

I posted the question above on Model Railroad Forums and received a number of responses. Below find some samples; you can see all the posts at http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18722

"I'm happy to tell anyone that I participate in the model railroading hobby. If they are inquisitive, I'm happy to tell them about it and show them some of my work . . . if they are dismissive, they aren't worth worrying about . . . I think we do a greater disservice to ourselves when we are afraid to be who we are; there's enough dishonesty in the world as it is."

"I rarely give it a second thought. I have train and depot photos in my office at work, I have one of the Hallmark Great American Locomotives in a case on my desk, so most of my co workers know that I am interested in Trains and models. When an opportunity to discuss MR comes up lI am more than ready to show my interest, though I don't go around pushing it on others."

"I never hesitate to mention I'm into model railroading if the occasion occurs."

"A few of my friends think my modeling is sort of stupid, but I think the same about them still playing pokemon, so it's all good."

"I don't know if I'd bring it up on a first date , but I don't go out of my way to hide it."

"Like you, I don't go out of my way to announce it; just like I don't about my other interests and hobbies."

"While I don't walk around town wearing a sandwich board with I'M A MODEL RAILROADER! painted on it I'm not ashamed of it either."

"I learned a long time ago that trying to explain it (or almost any hobby) was pointless. Those who think it strange aren't worth bothering with; and my true friends are more than accepting."

"It seems like competitive hobbies are more 'acceptable' for guys - golf, tennis, sailing, martial arts, hunting, fishing. People (usually) don't blink an eye if you tell them you're going deepsea fishing in the Keys or you just dropped $1,000 on a new set of clubs. Try telling somebody you dropped $500 on a brass steam engine."

"I'm not ashamed necessarily, it just isn't something people are use to hearing. It requires some explanation in order for them to grasp what it is that I do. Besides, I really am just playing with trains."

Are You Embarrassed For Others To Know You Are A Model Railroader?

Gary Coleman: A forlorn model railroader?

Are you embarrassed for others to know you are a model railroader?

That question came up on the Canadian Model Trains forum on Yahoo! following the death of actor Gary Coleman.

Coleman, as many know, was a model railroader (his layout appeared in the September, 1990 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman; see above). After his death, a number of writers noted his involvement in the hobby, a few in a smirking kind of manner.

The worst was Lynn Crosbie of Canada’sw national newspaper, the Globe and Mail. After noting aspects of Coleman’s tragic and difficult life, she wrote: “There is not much glamour or intrigue available in Coleman's story—in working stiff jobs, stunt-cast acting work, or isolation (like forlorn men everywhere Coleman had an abiding interest in model trains).”

That comment sparked a lot of discussion on the forum, with most dismissing the writer’s lack of knowledge about model railroading and the people who enjoy it. (“Whatchu talkin’ about forlorn, Crosbie?”) But it also raised some interesting observations about how others see our hobby—and how some of us prefer not to talk about being model railroaders in the “outside” world.

I know that’s true for me. I’m not embarrassed to be a model railroader—heck, look at this blog. But I’m also careful who I tell about it; and in what circumstances.

As a semi-public figure—I’m a columnist for my local newspaper, writing about religion and international relief and development issues—I wonder if people might dismiss my writing about these serious subjects if they thought I “played with trains.”

And that is how many see it. And they’re not wrong, in one sense; it is “play,” insofar as it isn’t work. We know it’s more than that, of course: It’s research and construction and modeling and creativity and imagination.

But, for many, trains are things you played with as a kid. Once you grow up, you play with “real” toys like boats, snow machines, motorcycles and SUVs, to name a few.

Then there’s the media; when the subject of hobbies and collecting comes up, it often is about people who cross the line from healthy pastime to ruinous compulsion or obsession—think of a movie like Vinyl, about obsessive record collectors.

It’s apparently worse in England, as one British journalist—and a model railroader—noted in a humorous way.

“You can see them in the newsagent's—shifty, furtive, eyes glancing to the left and to the right, in case anyone they know might see them,” he wrote.

“These men—and they are nearly always men—then slither over to the specialist magazine stands.

“With a quick movement, the required publication is grabbed and the till approached.

“Sometimes, the shame is too great; a disguise is needed. So another magazine is taken, something wholesome and respectable - anything will do - into the pages of which the offending publication can be slid.

"Then, at the till, the final hurdle, the hope that the cashier will not, as in that Woody Allen film, bark out the name of the publication across the shop floor.

“’Railway Modeller? Does anyone have a price for Railway Modeller?’ For then, the shame would be complete, the humiliation absolute.

“‘Hobby’, ‘Railways’ and ‘models’—are there any three more shameful words in the English language?”
American story teller Garrison Keillor also used humour to illustrate the challenge in a telling way:

"I, for example, would dearly love to receive a model train layout similar to the one of my childhood, which rusted and decayed," he wrote in an essay on the dangers of Christmas.

"I remind myself every year not to want it too much, but I do, and I never get it. A man my age can't simply walk into a store and buy a model train set for himself; people would talk, people would chuckle behind his back, and one day he'd come home to find an attorney sitting smiling in the living room, who would explain to him in easy-to-understand terms, using simple declarative sentences, why his financial affairs will hereafter be managed by his nephew Vince."

Again, I’m not embarrassed to be a model railroader. I will talk about it with others, if it’s appropriate to do so. But I usually wait to see if something like the topic of hobbies or interests comes up before mentioning it.

What about you: Are you careful who you tell about being a model railroader? Or don't you care who knows you “play with trains”?

Index Updated

The index to the CP Rail Manitoba & Minnesota Subdivision blog has been updated. It's something I should do regularly, but you know how it is: It's so easy to say I'll do it later. The problem is that when later comes, there are sometimes half a dozen or more posts to add.

You can find a link to the index on the right hand side of the page, in the About Me section, or you can click here to go to it.

The index is loosely organized by The Layout; Tips & Tricks; Railfanning the Prototype; Other Layouts & Things; and General Ruminations & Reflections.