A CONTROVERSIAL
SERIES BY Hal Pelta
Let me start by saying that the Reader will have
to take full responsibility for any conflicts and hostilities that may break
out in Traction Modeling as a result of this article. I’m presenting a very
personal slant because, although I’m very peaceable myself and tend to avoid
contention, confrontation, and sturm und
drang , I like to challenge people’s preconceptions. So-o-o ..... here’s an
idea that you may consider controversial … or creative and challenging !
With very few exceptions, the term “Large scale” as currently
used in trolley modeling refers to the scales clustered around
one-half-inch-to-the-foot (1 : 24 )
--- so-called G Gauge, LGB size or Garden Railway.
CAN WE USE THE TERM "DisplayScale" WITHOUT
INCURRING THE WRATH OF MATTEL ?
For traction modelers looking for something different, we
will consider the truly Very Large Scale
: two inches to the foot, or (1:6). The Mattel Corporation (Barbie et alia) has labeled 1:6 scale as PlayScale, and has undoubtedly
copyrighted that term and registered it as a trademark. Therefore, for purposes
of this discussion, let’s call it DisplayScale. That name says a great
deal about this concept, because of the many ways it lends itself to dioramas
and displays. DisPlayScale (1:6) is the primary subject of this discussion
DIORAMAS and
REALISTIC SCENES
There is an entire sub-culture (another very descriptive and
underutilized term) that devotes itself to building dioramas ---- elaborate
depictions of real life situations,
representations of a particular place, frozen in time, to portray a
scene that almost cannot be distinguished from a three-dimensional photograph.
AROUND AND AROUND
Let’s consider a typical traction layout : track laid out
into a small series of curves that frequently (almost inevitably in the United
States) curve back on themselves in the topological equivalent of a circle, so
that the model trolley repetitively circles the same pattern of track over and
over, a characteristic ensuring sleep after the third or fourth circuit .
I suppose that no one has ever questioned that paradigm
since the first track placed around a Christmas tree by Joshua Lionel Cowan,
founder of Lionel . I understand that he persuaded department store managers and
window dressers (once an esteemed profession) to place these track circles
around Christmas trees in their display windows and run them continually ...
the motion attracted attention from passing pedestrian shoppers, which is
exactly what both Lionel and the department store wanted . Folks stood gaping outside
in the snow, watching the train go around . Unfortunately, the idea became too closely
entangled with model trains, and most American layouts today are designed using
some variation of that paradigm .
HANDS-ON CONTROL
In earlier times, the electronics required for the necessary
remote control of locomotives had not yet reached the degree of technical sophistication
and capability that they have today. Therefore, back then, hands-on control of
speed, direction, and sound by an onboard engineer was necessary. This set the theme
for all riding scale locomotives for, it was thought, all eternity.
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO RIDE A TROLLEY LAYOUT
WITH OVERHEAD WIRE
Building and running trolley models meant straddling the
roof and destroying the trolley poles or pantographs, ripping up the catenary
as you went. We did not say prevented;
we have seen spectacular models of
trolleys in 1½ inch scale (e.g., by Bruce G. Moffat), but they are outdoor and few
in number .
REALISM IS DESTROYED
Spectators’ expectations have increased dramatically over
the past 30 to 40 years. The audience has become increasingly sophisticated,
and wants to view a realistic scene (“viewscape”) with everything to scale.
Seeing a giant human being (the engineer or operator) astride a model or riding
on a tiny trailing car destroys the illusion for most people. With the
introduction of computer games, the necessary willingness to suspend disbelief
has diminished greatly.
As we heard in reports from Iraq and Afghanistan, the wars
in the Mideast have been conducted using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles operated by
personnel hundreds or thousands of miles away. I advocate fully electric unmanned motive
power, modeled primarily on electric prototypes --- trolleys, box cabs, transit,
and light rail, heavy traction, etc. --- featuring the very highly developed electronic
control systems that are now available.
In this series of articles, we will be examining such
subjects as
I . Watch ‘em;
don’t ride ‘em;
II. Accurate street
III. If Barbie
and her World War II friends can do it, why can’t we?
IV. Realistic passengers
V. Repetitive routes,
or ‘round and ‘round:
VI. Forced
Perspective : The
closer, the larger; the farther, the smaller !
VII. Benchwork
: The Jimmy Sparkman Approach --- eight, weight, and slotted aluminum construction
VIII. The use
of backdrops; AND
IX. “What
scale do I model in? Why, all of them !!”. The Magic of Modeling in multiple
scales.
