Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canadas-biggest-model-railway-masterpiece-built-over-decades-113008768.html

so... i figure, why not knock on their doors for a good final bout of apocalypse to actually trash it?

still, its pretty sad to see this go...

wow, that really sucks :(

40yrs is a long time for one build, probably some ancient model rail sections in there.

Vandil wrote:40yrs is a long time for one build, probably some ancient model rail sections in there.

i know... with so much space, its just begging... BEGGING for just ONE chance as an apocalypse tabletop

I wonder if those two German chaps that own this http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/, would help them out...?

What can they do? Really it isn't feasible to do anything.

I think there problem is they have a private layout for a club that allows outsiders in twice a year.

Miniatur wunderland on the other hand is open every day to the public, and acts more of a museum, where as this is a club where they pretend to be running a rail line (not dissing the hobby here, I wish I could get into it)

Shame to see it go. I used to be into model trains when I was a kid. I still have my track & engines but have not had the room to set it up in 20 years.

As sparkywtf points out, unlike Miniatur wunderland they were not running it as a business. They had five years notice maybe they should have opend it up more.

A sign that Games Workshoppers are not the only ones being priced out of their hobby.

it's a shame, but it's not like they weren't told that it would happen. Besides, most model railway layouts aren't really that useful as gaming terrain. They are too open - unless you are playing with abstracted LOS where a stand of trees will block LOS.

One of my older brothers-in-law is into model trains. His club uses an old signal box at a local railway station (it is open to the public ONCE a year, during the local STEAMFEST).

He also plays at a local full scale steam railway museum, and a couple of local miniature railway attractions (ride ons). They own the track and buildings at those places though.

Cut the terrain into 6'x4' sections.

You would think the train company (the real one, the reason for the displacement) could spend a couple grand to make sure it gets moved and put in a railway museum or something proper.

It would buy them a ton of cheap goodwill.

Schmapdi wrote:You would think the train company (the real one, the reason for the displacement) could spend a couple grand to make sure it gets moved and put in a railway museum or something proper.

It would buy them a ton of cheap goodwill.

Good cheap goodwill doesn't make shareholders and the like happy.

And just like with GW, it is about the bottom line, not about how a few hundred people will view your company. Moving the club would make the people in the club happy for a couple years. General public won't care, and the club will forget a few years after.

As noted above, the club only lets folks see the railway once or twice a year. On their website it says that they do this to promote the hobby. I appreciate that they do it, but that's not alot of promotion for a hobby that is in dire need of promotion.

As sad as it is that the railway is going away, it's not as though the club had done much to make the layout part of the community anyway. They've had since 1973 to make the effort to become a community asset, that the public might care about and they haven't. Also, they've had 5 years notice from their landlords that they would need to relocate.

This probably comes across as pretty negative when a great model is being destroyed, but it just doesn't seem like the club has done much to help themselves.

It actually sounded to me like, towards the end of the article, that they were looking forward to starting over.

If it's been there for 38 years, there must be plenty they'd wished they could redo... and now's their chance.

Seems like you could make a great movie by flooding the thing and then adding special effects, or some such... 2012 anyone?

LOL

It's all about the bottom line. Too bad for the older guys, they are the ones that are going to suffer the most.


Model railroading has more affinity to the older guys then the general public.

Most of the time, its more about the building, then it is the results, so they do have a chance to start over, but its crap that they have to lose it and can't move it.

RiTides wrote:It actually sounded to me like, towards the end of the article, that they were looking forward to starting over.

If it's been there for 38 years, there must be plenty they'd wished they could redo... and now's their chance.

Seems like you could make a great movie by flooding the thing and then adding special effects, or some such... 2012 anyone?

damn, got me on that one. It would definately do that pretty well, or for anything for that fact..... If they were really looking for a buck....... Im pretty sure it is to be made. I know for sure that if the Iron Sky production team had access to something like this, they'd go absolutely nuts!