There is always a question as to why some wisenheimer feels the need to grace the rest of us with the exposures of their own particular brand of insight, wisdom, homely or ‘expert’ opinion; so, no doubt, that question is potentially the first on your mind when approaching this article. The honest answer is simply this, I have nothing better to do but engage in a little useless musing on our hobby and I’m just foolish enough to think someone might be interested in my ravings, that being said lets get to the heart of the matter, shall we?

Recently there has been a struggle running within myself to find a perspective on the hobby that satisfies the varied levels that I have been seeking from an art form: inner expression, unique creation, physical reality, challenge and of course, satisfaction with the finished product. Model Railroading presents all of these things readily, except, for me at least, it is a challenge to find the Inner Expression; that process by which the artist takes an inner vision that belongs only to him or her and brings it from the inner world into the outer world. It is all well and good to have grand dreams and play out symphonies, poetry, stories or sculpt or paint great works in one’s head but it becomes a different matter to take the dream and push it through the tiny aperture of the artist’s skill and ability into the real world.

Unlike most, or so I presume, I came to the hobby not from being a fan or devotee of trains, which I have subsequently become, or even a fascination for them when young. I came into the hobby from the perspective of someone looking for a way to express an inner desire to create something both physically real and artistic. Am I sure there are many others who have come from this path also? Possibly, because of this my impressions and perspective on the hobby may be a bit different than the usual Model Railroader, but certainly not better or superior in any way, they may be in fact decidedly more challenged or lacking, but vive la difference!

Each art relates to every other discipline, painting and song are not as far removed as we might think. The stew of the arts bubbles into the pot of one media and back. Is wood sculpture and carpentry really so distantly related? However, where does the stew of our pot bubble into? A quick glance at our hobby shows us to be engineers, carpenters, electricians, painters, sculptures, landscapers, time efficiency mangers, photographers, and historians. As well as careful observers and modelers of the natural and man made world around us. Whew, that is quite a list to take head on and by no means a complete list at all just a small sampling of what goes into being a Railroad Modeler. What does it relate to, obviously those ones listed but what overall field can we find in other arts that also fits what we do. About now you are probably wishing that the point would come and perhaps getting a tad bored with this diatribe so I’ll hurry along the point. Bear with me just a bit more.

Before coming to the hobby there were influences in my life, as in all ours, that have had an impact on how I now go at Model Railroading. Two of those influences were my Mother and the teachings of Master Bruce Lee. How’s that for a weird turn? Most of my life I have watched my mother shift from one art form to another searching for the one that satisfied her artistic needs. She has found her passion for a number of years now. I am quite proud to say that she has become a respected and noteworthy textile artist. I watched her go from Needlepoint to Calligraphy and many other points in-between. But the one that left the deepest mark on me was Theater; my mother for a number of years was an actress, director and then finally a managing director of the New Arts Theater in Dallas, Texas before its untimely demise.

As a young person I would read through her theater books, plays, make-up references, clothing design books and so much more, but it was the books on the stage itself that always sparked my interest. The idea and process of taking a bare wood set and creating a world in that limited space that transported those viewing it into another time and place. I think about now you probably see where I am going so I’ll hurry on. One of Master Lee’s famous quotes is, “A good fight should be like a small play...but played seriously.” we take this to mean that a fight is in a way choreographed within the fighter, that it has a dimension of a story that the fighter plays out with his opponent, but plays out seriously as Master Lee reminds us.

So how does all this apply to Model Railroading? You are probably asking by now. It does so in this way, we as Railroad Modelers are stage Managers, we set the stage for a play, but one that is played out seriously, even if some of the scenes are lighthearted or whimsical, the model railroad is neither painting nor sculpture, its not just engineering or electrical work, its not even simple devotion to realism, or rivet counting if you prefer. It isn’t even just a good excuse to play with trains.

At its best Model Railroading is putting on a play. Let’s look for a moment at the comparisons. First to find the stage, we start looking for a space for our layout, we set out our space, mindful of leaving enough room for people to view the layout and run operations. We design and create the bench work to hold up or layout. We carefully pour over layout designs to maximize or trackage and fit our preconceived needs, be they freelanced or prototypical. We set down our track, put in our landscaping, set up our natural scenery from a bewildering series of kinds: rocks, water, plants, and trees. We build and set out structures, homes, offices, rural environments, urban environments. We lay out streets, avenues and dirt roads, and then as if this was not enough in go people of all shapes and colors and roles. Finally we are done? No, there is still color and lighting to check and put in, electrical bits and pieces to design and wire, facades, backdrops and fascia to install and all have the right color, form and shape. A daunting task indeed, but look at the stage a moment.

The stage must be built in the theater so that all can see it and enjoy it. Flats and freestanding “bench work” must be designed and built, to support whatever scenery will be added. Romeo and Juliet loses something without the balcony scene, sets must be painted and placed, furniture and props must be thought out and made, colors and lighting must be checked, electrical work designed and wired, backdrops placed and then that is still not enough. People must be added and clothed and given make up; starting to sound familiar? I believe it does sound familiar, in fact to me it is very much the same process, except that with us the Trains are the stars. We labor for our stars, making sure their weathering “make up” is just right, their consist “costumes” are all in order, and their “marks” are set so that will enter the play at just the right place and exit at just the right place.

How though does this benefit any of us though instead of just being an interesting metaphor? One way is it allows us to think outside the box, or is that boxcar, to see what we do in a new light. If all of this is a stage, where then is the play itself? What is our script for our actors? The answer comes immediately. It is our operations. The movement and interaction of our trains and their cars, how and where they go, what they do, pick up, move or return and then deal with each other; waiting at passings, or crossings etc this is the play, the Theater of Trains. If we can see it in this light perhaps we can add a good element to it: designing and telling a story for our audiences and our operators who become part of “living theater” where the audience participates in the play. It also opens up a new resource for us, the art and craft of the stage designer and manager, who must meet many if not all of the same challenges that we must, for whom there is also countless sources and resources available in libraries and on the internet. We also can, perhaps, consider some of our sessions in terms of a story and create a small play, but a play played seriously. Finally in some small and fun way, it allows us to thumb our noses at all those ‘serious’, ‘real’ artists who don’t know what fun they are missing, for in our art we are not simply presenting a play we are also getting to play.

In final reflection, it as the old man said “there is nothing new under the sun.” I am sure I am not the first or the last to expose this opinion. I lack the hubris to think this is anything new, but I hope it was at least thought provoking and hopefully not to tiresome. Thank you for taking the time to read the ranting of at least this wisenheimer.