The subtle psychology of semantics and word choice can be fascinating. Often we make very telling word choices without even knowing it. Case in point: the terms “just” and “only.” These words come across as an apology, even when it’s not intended to be. For example, saying “I was hoping you could just consider raising your hand before speaking,” can sound like an apology when it could be more directly stated as “Please raise your hand before speaking.”
The issue always comes up in model railroading with layout size, especially small ones. It’s “just” a switching layout or It’s “only” a switching layout. I was reminded of this language when I received a thoughtful and well-intentioned email from a reader after my East Rail story was published in the September issue of RMC.
“Sure, American homes keep on getting bigger but many young adults have not reached the salary level where they can yet afford the behemoth homes we see getting built seemingly everywhere,” they wrote. “Until the day that a modeler has that large basement, layouts such as East Rail II fit the bill nicely.”
The author made a fine point that plenty of people are not in the position to have a massive basement to fill with trains. But I also think they missed something important: Some of us want smaller layouts!
Switching layouts, because of their size, are sometimes viewed as substandard ventures by those who don’t have them. They’re even looked upon with pity. What’s worse is that those who own them give their own layouts the same negative connotation.
It’s a failing of human nature, particularly in modern times, to associate quality with size. Doing so is a sign of artistic ignorance, maybe benign ignorance, but ignorance just the same. The Mona Lisa and Vermeer’s Woman Holding A Balance, considered some of the most brilliant works of all time, are relatively small (15×14” in the case of the Vermeer). Pierre Koenig’s Stahl House in Los Angeles, considered an architectural masterpiece, is a relatively small home at 2,300 sq. ft..
There are excellent model railroads of all sizes. John Wright’s Federal Street and Tim Nicholson’s South Bend Branch (featured in September 2023 RMC) are on the small side, while Tom Johnson’s Cass County (October 2022 RMC) and Tom Klimoski’s Georgia Northeastern are in the medium range, and Mike Confalone’s Allagash Railway on the large side. Each is one is excellent for its own reasons, and size has nothing to do with it.
There are really two factors that come into play in planning and ultimately selecting your format. Surprisingly, available space isn’t often one of them. I would say that more than half of the switching layout owners I know are either financially comfortable or even quite a bit more than comfortable. They have average to large homes. So lack of space often isn’t the driver for selecting that format. So what are the considerations?
First, is the preferred railfan style you like most. It’s like chocolate vs. vanilla; your tastes are what they are and won’t change. There are two groups. The largest is those who enjoy main line running. To them, watching a train (often a long one) go from A to B to C to D is where their interest lies. Math being what it is, this format requires more space and a longer run to pull off.
The second group, the switching layout crowd, is more interested in what happens at a single location. That’s me. I love watching the slow rhythm of a train working an industry and the crew dynamics. You can’t get this with a container training whizzing by at 50 miles per hour. From a railfan standpoint, switching operations give you a much longer “movie” to watch. A main line train appears on the horizon and then passes by in minutes. End of show. With switching, you can watch a single operation for twenty or thirty minutes… or hours in the case of a yard.
The second consideration when selecting a layout size is resource-related, especially time. By virtue of their smaller size, you can bring a switching layout to critical mass faster. It’s easier to bring an intense level of focus to them. It’s easier to create a higher quality level of modeling to the table because you aren’t looking down the gun barrel of another thousand square feet of layout that needs attention. Many of the owners of switching layouts I know are successful professionally. Those professions don’t leave a lot of free time. They may have large basements, but they don’t have the time to fill them with layout so they make the wise decision to not attempt something they don’t have the time to work on, or maintain.
Make your layout format decision based on the operational style you prefer and the amount of time you want to allocate to the hobby. Stand by that decision, do good work, and stop apologizing for something that doesn’t need to be apologized for in the first place.
—Lance Mindheim