Kaveman
Treehouser
Every body has dreams, things they want to accomplish in life, or a particular "place" they want to be. Those things beyond the day to day, those things we want just because we want them, no matter how silly or intangible...
A 7 1/4 inch hobby railroad would be at the top of that list of silly dreams. Needs a piece of land, preferably fairly flat, and a great deal of work.
There is an alternative goal, one that grew out of my hobby railroad fantasy meeting pragmatism. A traction engine. Not full size, but not a tiny toy. Something about this size, or a bit bigger.
Much larger initial outlay, but no need for rails or maintenance thereof, and I'm definitely not confined to my own property, or worried near so much about hills and grades. Bumps though...
Despite my going on at length about a hobby railroad, I'm really leaning towards a traction engine. Regardless, I'll be giving little kids rides and having a great time, but I could drive the traction engine in the local parades. BUT, a train doesn't have to be steam, a traction engine does, else it's just a weird, small tractor thing. A train could be gas, electric, a combination of both, or even diesel electric! That makes a locomotive much cheaper to buy build.
My favorite steam locos are the Challengers, Big Boys, and the PRR T1. My favorite diesel locos are the EMD SD70 and the Alco Century 420.
Alco C420, in my favorite livery, from my favorite shortline Apache Railway.
EMD SD70, grandad used to work on these.
The famous Big Boy, 'nuff said
Challenger, the loco Big Boys design was based on
Pennsylvania Railroad T1, possibly the fastest model of steam train ever built.
Steam is very expensive, regardless which kind of road it runs on, arguably, building a scaled down diesel-electric is the most attainable, regardless of actual power source. If I can get in contact with some other hobby railroaders, I could likely find places to take my locomotive to, and run around on someone else's track, till I build my own. Oh, yeah, I kinda have to have an engine before I build any track, because it has to be tested once it's built.
What do yall think? Which locomotive is your favorite? Should I shoot for the traction engine, or become a tiny train tycoon/tyrant?
It's all a long way off, but everyone needs something to reach for.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and know I cut a LOT of autism out of this post. There were rambles about grades and tractive effort, and maths that nobody wants to see...