Model Railroading > Don't sweat the small stuff

A thread below on locomotive details reminded me of some thoughts I had the other day while doing a locomotive inspection (photo below was taken years ago). That even the most detailed model you've ever seen still leaves a lot of prototype details off or with crude representations. Like the brake adjustment rods on EMD trucks being represented by a long cylinder and leaving off the adjustment details. BTW, only a truly experainced railroader can tell me was is odd in that photo, and perhaps why it is that way.  How many of you have been on the gangway of the locomotive looking up into the dynamic brake grill of a SD40-2 and seeing the that resistance "ribbon" zig-zagging" between the hooks along the framework of the dynamic brake grid? That detail is just behind the grill work of the dynamic brake hatch. These and many more details could be incorporated into models, but would come at a steep cost to the manufacture for a minor gain. In the end we all must determind our personal level of "good enough" so we don't go crazy.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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Looks like they are using a track spike for the adjustment pin.
G

Next time you are looking up at the dynamic brake grilles of a Scaletrains SD40-2 or SD40T-s look into the grilles.

ExSPCondr Wrote:
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> Looks like they are using a track spike for the
> adjustment pin.
> G

Yep, used a spike to replace a missing pin.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Fredo Wrote:
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> Next time you are looking up at the dynamic brake
> grilles of a Scaletrains SD40-2 or SD40T-s look
> into the grilles.

Well that is true, they even had the adjustment details that wasn't on a Bowser SD40-2 and Atlas GP40-2 I had handy. But there were some other details that were missing or misrepresented that are very common in the industry. But I really don't see the need to go there.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

My favorite is the double air hoses, one on the body and one on the coupler. Agree that there's a happy medium, in advertising, price as well as how the model runs and looks. Whatever, I'm not leaving the hobby anytime soon.

Everyone has to decide when good enough is enough.  It is more foe some and less for others.  If you are happy with what you have done, that is good enougfh.