| As the years passed into the 60's and 70's, the term Model Railroading, not just railroading, started to appear in magazines and articles. What had happened was that the original tin and metal trains had matured into something even greater than was previously imagined. Now there were trains one could actually build, cars to put together, and painting, weathering, lighting, mountains and effects never dreamed of. The entire hobby exploded into these fantastic areas, revealing different ideas that could be applied to one's own dream layout. |
| At this stage in Model Railroading, there were more than just trains; there were different size trains, tracks and accessories. There was O scale (48:1), S scale (64:1), HO scale (87:1), N scale (160:1) and TT scale (101:1) (Allen, 2001). Each of these scales had its own scale people, houses, track, buildings and scenery. Now anyone could make any kind of layout or scenery, based on how much space one had. If you didn't have a lot of space, you could model the HO scale, which was half the size of the O scale. If HO scale was too large, you could go to N scale, which was half the size of the HO. Many choices meant many, many opportunities for everyone. All of these options in Model Railroading allowed individuals to develop their own special skills. |
| New opportunities allowed one to measure from a drawing, cut the pieces, build a boxcar out of wood, and, when finished, the model was painted any color that would fit your desired line of cars. If the first car wasn't so good, you got better on the next model, as you did with many other aspects of the hobby. This is a hobby that is very forgiving. It develops patience, attention to detail, balance in nature and a strong sense of accomplishment. Sometimes it might even require the help of a friend in order to make something work. These beginning steps in the hobby create a thumbnail sketch of what you could become someday: a master model railroader. |
| Model Railroading offers many opportunities to develop various artistic talents and abilities. Some of these talents are used in: kit building, scenery, layout design, painting, woodworking, and photography. |
| In its infancy in the 1950s, Model Railroading offered primarily metal and wood kits. Although the detail work was minimal compared to today's standards, the kits offered somewhat of a challenge since many had to be screwed together, soldered or solder-pasted. This was not as easy as one would think. Most pieces were not a perfect fit and had to be trimmed or filed in many cases. However, one early side-effect of metal kits was that they naturally started to rust after a couple of years. If a metal model accumulated enough years of service, sometimes surface rust would appear. An example can be seen here with an old 1950 Mantua tank car. Today, this kind of realism can be created with a special mixture of paints that simulates rust. This can be applied with a small brush or with an air brush mixture that has been diluted. Combining rust with other dust and dirt wash |
