Heh, that maglev train is pretty cool, although I must say there's something bizarre about a steam loco with no wheels!
Kaffis Mark V wrote:
Model Railroader Raid Content!
Yeah, that's basically what it is. These old guys that have been doing the hobby for 30-40 years are basically "raiders" and the level of preparation they put into doing this stuff is incredible. They have operating handbooks, fast clocks, track warrants, radio comms, and.. man it just goes on and on. Last year there was an entire special issue of model railroader just dedicated to duplicating real railroad operations.
Some of these layouts, like, well the one in the video, are just enormous, too. I've seen some over 40 feet from one side to the other and over 30' in the other dimension; HO layouts in excess of 1000' square (overall, not one big table that's 1000 square feet) are a thing with clubs and guys that have big basements and years to work on them. These are so far in excess of my level that it's kind of intimidating.
Layouts that big really are designed for a "raid crew" to run too; unless you just want to watch trains go around a big scene, one person just cannot run them. They're like raids that way too; you need to people to make it happen. I don't know at what point, if ever, I'll be able to do that sort of thing. It is pretty cool to see how it's actually done, though.
One thing about model railroaders - they are a lot nicer than MMO types on forums and about people doing what they want on their own layouts. If you show up to their session or club, though, you better be prepared to do everything the way they want it done, or you might not come back! Touching a model with your hands when you aren't supposed to is a big no-no for example! They're a lot like raiders that way, except older, and they built the raid content themselves!
I may have to watch that one a few more times. There's a lot I could learn in that video. My wife likes the little Ice cream stand a lot.