The May issue now available
http://mrhpub.com/2016-05-may/online/

Just read the editorial, asking for more articles. I found it hilarious that they consider 'small' layouts to be anything under 500 square feet!

Quote from: jrb on May 24, 2016, 07:08:45 AM
Just read the editorial, asking for more articles. I found it hilarious that they consider 'small' layouts to be anything under 500 square feet!

I noticed that. 500 sq feet is bigger than the floor plan of my house!

I saw that, surely that's not average, even in the US?!

must be Texas

It's a different world... I like the Rapido Trains ad on the page opposite to where they mention the 500sq feet.

Now, am I the only one who keeps reading the title of this thread "Model Railroad Hobbit"?

Quote from: railsquid on May 24, 2016, 02:33:31 PM
Now, am I the only one who keeps reading the title of this thread "Model Railroad Hobbit"?

Finger poking problem.

Quote from: Ditape on May 24, 2016, 02:37:35 PM

Quote from: railsquid on May 24, 2016, 02:33:31 PM
Now, am I the only one who keeps reading the title of this thread "Model Railroad Hobbit"?

Finger poking problem.

Paul

In English, hobbist is not what they think it means. The word should be hobbyist.

I thought the article on building the fuel depot was very good

Quote from: Malc on May 24, 2016, 06:52:22 PM
In English, hobbist is not what they think it means. The word should be hobbyist.

It is, there's a typo in the thread title...

Quote from: njee20 on May 24, 2016, 08:30:35 PM

Quote from: Malc on May 24, 2016, 06:52:22 PM
In English, hobbist is not what they think it means. The word should be hobbyist.

It is, there's a typo in the thread title...

finger poking problem now corrected.

Regarding 500sq/ft layouts in the US... It actually doesn't surprise me. Most home based layouts are built in the basement, or sometimes the garage.

Given the average size of an American house is something like 2400sq/ft over two floors, that would give you a basement of up to 1200sq/ft, if you devote less than half your basement to a layout you have 500sq/ft quite easily, particularly in HO.

A typical new build 4 bedroom home these days is more like 3500sq/ft with a 3 car garage, need I say more And before anyone asks, my layout is about 100 sq/ft...

I can believe the layout is housed in a room that size, but that's a huge difference to having a layout area of 500sq/ft, or rather that simply being the threshold for small! Not even average.

I guess it's skewed because they're wanting people to write articles, and those who write articles are probably the ones with the huge layouts to show off.

Is there an exhibiting culture in the US? Vast basement layouts don't lend themselves to it, and I recall most layouts I've seen in Model Railroader over the years do tend to be exactly that.

Quote from: njee20 on May 24, 2016, 08:46:13 PM
I can believe the layout is housed in a room that size, but that's a huge difference to having a layout area of 500sq/ft, or rather that simply being the threshold for small! Not even average.

I guess it's skewed because they're wanting people to write articles, and those who write articles are probably the ones with the huge layouts to show off.

Is there an exhibiting culture in the US? Vast basement layouts don't lend themselves to it, and I recall most layouts I've seen in Model Railroader over the years do tend to be exactly that.

I have to agree 500sq/ft is large A lot of US layouts are a meandering single track design with lots of peninsulas containing loops of track. There also tends not to be standard baseboard structures, most layouts comprise a cut plywood track bed attached to a baseboard frame, with the scenery built up, or down or extended flat from the plywood track bed. Perhaps the 500 sq/ft relates to the floor area the layout meanders through rather than just the baseboard size?

To answer your second question, yes there are model railway clubs and yes there are exhibitions, but significantly fewer of both than in the UK. Exhibition layouts are typically smaller and often modular eg to N Trak standards. For example in Philadelphia where I live (population 1.5 million), I am only aware of 3 or 4 clubs and I think most of them are in the suburbs outside of the city limits! Open house exhibitions are more common, held at both the model railway club and individual homes, which makes sense given these basement behemoths!