I have just read the messages on this subject concerning live steam (and 7/8" scale). On my outfit there are just two locomotives, a live steamer and a i/c locomotive. This is really all that a small industrial railway would have or need. I myself run the live steam engine on my garden railway in a realistic manner (manual-no radio control) and it has been made to look realistic, i.e. grubby and work-used! The locomotives pictured on this line of messages look like they belong to a tourist line with a good supply of steam-cleaning equipment. Its up to the individual person how he shows his engines but I never saw locomotives like that when I was a kid! I am not sure if a 7/8" section would work on this group or for that matter a live steam group, as judging by the web site’s I have visited scattered through the various sections you mostly seem ‘G’ scale modellers with more or less ‘straight out of the box’. Every man can do his own thing the way he wants to but I think there is a very large gulf between 7/8" and live steam and the average modeller on Large Scale Central.
Yeah Bill but they tolerate us weirdos…you really need to post some pics over in here Bill…
Bill ,
Not tourist line , just models of "as delivered " locos . Just have a look at some of the cane lines , they were quite well cleaned , some of them . I dirty up my quarry stuff , that keeps me happy .
Weathering a live steamer is a bit of a waste if the weathering gets wiped off during maintenance .
Egads, young William…
To suggest that anything I run is straight out of the box would be a loooooong stretch.
True; I don’t weather anything; depending on real weather, and use, to improve the appearances, along with loads of normal dust. None of my stuff ever gets on the track without a number of upgrades and changes, to say nothing of not using track power.
I’m a bit like you, in that I only have the locos that I need to operate the railroad. My line being a bit more like a moderate size NG pike; it does require about 6-8 locomotives in order to serve the needs of the on line customers and bridge route traffic.
You suggest that on this web site, you think we are more “Out-of-the-box” type model railroaders. NOT by a long shot.; as compared to most other groups. In fact a lot don’t spend a lot of time here; according to their comments to me; because we seem to be too in depth as modellers, for their tastes. Out-of-the-boxers or “OTBers” seem to congrigate over where they find comfort with others of their like, or on the Aristo , or B’mann sites.
Ferd,
Do you think the statement was meant to be “out of the box” or “outside the box”? I feel most of us are sitting outside the box of normal large scale toy train people and criminy look at Bart. Do you think anyone could fit him in a box? Even custom made? I mean the dude is definetly “one of a kind”, a true prototype. 
Mr. Reynolds, I am honored by your presence. I’m working toward the 7/8’s world, but its going to be a long journey. Right now, I haven’t made it to 1:20.3, but I have gotten past the 1:22.5. Kinda stuck in the middle there, right now. I would also like to have just two engines, I just can’t force meself to give up any of them.
But I certainly would also enjoy the posting of some of your pictures and it just makes our leader, Mr. Bob, get real excited about that stuff.
An interesting discussion - I think I lie somewhere between the two camps.
Yes, my steamers are clean. That’s because they’re new…
They don’t get cleaned other than a wipe down, and will weather naturally as they get run - which is often! I appreciate the Brit outline is of little interest to many in the USA, but they are all trains. Besides, the ‘yellow’ one is Australian…
My line is simple, so not a lot of ‘operation’ in the USA sense can take place, but I don’t charge around in circles either. My r/c locos are VERY controllable, and I switch with the consists after a few ‘miles’ of running, and go the other way around, change the order of the cars, cut some out to leave in the passing siding, meet with another train (battery powered) etc. Not operation like I do with my HO (car cards, waybills etc) but not this high speed tail chasing some LS people go in for - don’t understand that myself! It seems much more prevalent in the USA than the UK - not sure why. The standard gauge 1 crowd in the UK do soo to go more for this approach though, the narrow gauge types seem to prefer a more realistic line, but that is not a general rule.
My line isn’t ‘scenic’ in the way an indoor line is - that just is not the point of a ‘garden railway(road)’ - it’s just a different way of doing things. There are several British lines that are very scenic that I have seen in the UK garden rail magazine though, it’s just not my bag. Too much maintenance, too little time!
A raised line also has some benefits for access - I carry some old injuries that sometimes restrict my movement, and others have more significant mobility problems - so you have to consider that too.
Similarly, the whole scale/gauge/prototype thing is another aspect of large scale that is a hot potato to say the least. The ‘G Scale Mad’ forum I post on in the UK (worth a look!) currently is debating this point! I am in the ‘rule 8’ camp - it’s my railroad, I’ll do what I like on it! My indoor HO line is pretty prototypical (New Haven, 1950’s) but outside, anything goes.
Oops, rambling now. I’ll go.
Must be Fr Fred’s holy water?
Neil.
I think the waters are getting muddied here .
The weather or not to thing is not cofined to steam , live or dead .
Operations are not confined to other than steam .
Good English is not confined to Englishmen .
A lot of the foregoing arguments, points , whatever you like to call them transcend the Steam / Not Steam discussion .
Try to keep to why you don’t like / like / love / drink/ can’t stand the smell of / steam .
I like steam because it gives a loco model more life .
I like steam because it attracts more attention from children than electric propulsion .
I like steam because on a cold winter day , I can warm my hands on the loco , and see clouds of steam wafting away on the crisp air .
I like steam because even when it is stationary , a loco exudes power , steam escaping sizzling and bubbling around tiny leaks .
BUT , I also have a ratio of 150:1 electrically driven models over live steam models .
I think basically I just like trains .
If they sizzle and get hot , I like 'em a bit better .
Ric Golding said:
Ferd,Do you think the statement was meant to be “out of the box” or “outside the box”? I feel most of us are sitting outside the box of normal large scale toy train people and criminy look at Bart. Do you think anyone could fit him in a box? Even custom made? I mean the dude is definetly “one of a kind”, a true prototype!
Geeeeee, I resemble that remark!!!
OK Mike:-
I like full size trains.
I like full size steam trains best.
I can’t afford a full size train.
Therefore:-
I have model trains.
I like model steam trains best.
I can’t afford a lot of them.
My steam/sparkie ratio is similar to yours!
I still like trains.
All of 'em.
(Well, except that GM train of the future thing…and that UP worm-like job).
NH
Neil , another true train man . Welcome .
Sorry if I sound ignorant but when you say “post some pictures” do you mean as attachments on these messages or a file in this group?? I ask this as I do not see a clickable button on these reply pages to attach one of my many 7/8" pictures!
Bill - If your photos are already saved somewhere on the web, all you need to do is type the complete URL of the photo in your message. If you were to put the following (without the word Code:) in a message body [code]
[/code] it would produce this photo in the message.
If your photos are not on the web, but in your computer you’ll need to upload then somewhere. Bob offers a picture storage Freight Shed if you need a place to store files on the web. We’d all love to see your pictures. JR
Bill ,
Be patient , these chaps taught me how to post pictures --now there’s no stopping me , power .power .I LOVE IT , Ahem .
If perchance you have PICASA as a photo thingy on your computer , I can give you a blow by blow of how to get your pictures into the Freight Shed—but you have to cross Bob’s palm with silver first . So , let us know what you want to do . Picasa , which is dead handy , can be downloaded for free by putting Picasa in yer search engine .
Mike
Oooooh, lookit them FL9’s with my initials on them…no wonder I model the New Haven!
Mike - yup, train crazy.
Neil.
Thanks Mike for that direction however I suddenly relised ( I believe you people over there call it a 'Senior Moment?) that I was pointed to the Fotopic pages a few weeks ago by others on the 7/8" egroup…http://billreynolds917.fotopic.net I have typed in the address and presume the computer will turn the address blue!?? Sorry if I sound ignorant but my wife is the computer wizard in our house! Regretfully there is only one shot of my No. 1 in steam…a sort of suicide shot as the engine came along the track and me lifting the camera quickly away!! My wife now has a better digital camera and I need to put a ‘steamy’ section on Photopic. This is now dead easy as I used a spare boiler ‘take-off’ to add another regulater and a pipe under the engine and up the chimney. Now ‘Jennifs’ does not have to MOVE to get perfect steam shots EVERY time!
Oh dear, the address did not turn blue like on my email signiture, it seems you lot have got to type in the address…sorry!
Bill ,
Be patient , you’ll get there .
Mike
Neil Hay said:
Oooooh, lookit them FL9's with my initials on them........no wonder I model the New Haven!Mike - yup, train crazy.
Neil.
Or, in my case, Central Vermont
Me, plain crazy.
CV…ah yes! Also my favorite road…
Warren
Actually yes it would have Bill…except that you had a bunch of periods leading up to it. When Posting a linl as such I always find it handy to skip a line
http://billreynolds917.fotopic.net
Then continue with the topic. To post individual fotos (to quote the illustrious Mr Lix)… you can do the same with a simple Copy and Paste Operation…
http://images5.fotopic.net/?iid=yj4c37&outx=640&quality=70
Bills Pigs are well known in the 7/8 scale community!!! It appears that fotopic is one of those services that inserts things into urls that cause them to be dispalyed as a link instead of an active pic…but at least folks can get a taste of what the AC is about!