I just thought i would list a few preconceptions about model railways and blow them clean out of the water.

"'model company A' is better than 'model company B'/don't buy Hornby, they only make cheap toys": Excuse my language, but this is complete and utter bullshit, it's not a question of what company is best full stop, it's a question of which company makes a particular model better. For instance, Bachmann's version of the B.R. 9F is far better than Hornby's version. But if you want a Model of a Class 08, Hornby's is better. If you want good P.O. freight wagons, go with Bachman, if you want good diesel locomotives, go with Heljan or Vitrains, the list goes on and on.

"D.C.C. is too complicated for me": again, not true, D.C.C is designed to be simple and easy to use (though it would, ironically, take too long to explain why), although it can be expensive at times, but the upsides are more than worth it in the long run.

[in an elitist tone]"Model trains are only for little children or sad old men living in sheds": I've lost count of the number of times people have poked fun at me for being a part of one of the world most popular hobbies, they just seem to think that it's impossible for anyone other than some 50+ year old man who stands on the ends of platforms in an anorak writing down the numbers of trains whilst bitching about the 'steam holocaust' to have an interest in trains. It's also possible for people to have other interests, I for one am a fan of heavy metal and art.

"You aren't a true modeler if you use set-track": how the track is manufactured has nothing to do with whether the individual is a modeller or not, the same goes for weathering stock and building kits.

"You have to have a model railway to have an interest in model railways": there is such a thing as 'armchair modelling' (it's like comparing practical work in school/college/university with theory work), perhaps an individual has an interest in model railways, but either they don't have the space at that particular point in time (like me), or they simply don't feel the need to build a layout.

"R-T-R models are inherently inaccurate compared to kits or scratch building": this may have been true 10 or 20 odd years ago, but R-T-R (Ready To Run) manufacturing is getting better all the time, standards of manufacturing are improving, and technology is constantly developing, allowing for stronger, more durable materials. Having said that, building a model kit is a good way to unwind over a few days, and you have that sense of accomplishment that you built the locomotive that is now proudly strutting its stuff at the head of a train, rather than some chinese man who is most likely under-paid and over-worked.

'You can't run D.C.C. fitted loco's on standard D.C. power': So, so untrue, and I've lost count of the number of times i've corrected people about this. All NMRA/NEM compliant decoders have to by law allow the locomotive to operate on Standard D.C. power, If anything, you shouldn't run standard D.C. locomotives on D.C.C.

'It's not modeling if you don't make it realistic': The bullshit is strong with this one. As my late dad used to say: 'You can't scale real life, you'll never get the exact number of blades of grass that existed at that location at that time, you'll never be able to find ballast that is the exact scale size, so surely, as long as it looks right, that should be enough'

'Tailchaser/circuit layouts are childish and belong in the realms of train sets': It's your model railway, you can do whatever the fuck you want. the same goes for running stock, if you want to run British stuff next to american stuff, then who's to stop you

3825895 THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

3826089 I've added a few more.

and you'd be surprised the amount of crap I've gotten off other people simply because of my hobby, I'm just sat there thinking.

'When the fuck did you think you can rule my life and decide what I can and can't like'

I kid you not, I was once called a, and you're gonna love this, 'train-hugger', my reaction, as well as those of the rest of the people that usually poke fun at me was 'Da fuk?'

3829010 Been called the same thing, and also called "the only person to be arrested for fucking a train"

'It's not modeling if you don't make it realistic': The bullshit is strong with this one. As my late dad used to say: 'You can't scale real life, you'll never get the exact number of blades of grass that existed at that location at that time, you'll never be able to find ballast that is the exact scale size, so surely, as long as it looks right, that should be enough'

I just direct people to the Gorre and Daphetid and John Armstrong's Canandaigua Southern.

3829082

"the only person to be arrested for fucking a train"

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3829158 Yep.