Freemo USA 2018 Trent Valley meet.

[Covkid]

Just ask we do all contribute to the hall hire so there is a small contribution to cover a visit but you can run trains so you really do get involved. You don't even need your own loco as you can team up with someone else as we need two man crews and use theirs.

 

If I am not at work I will make an effort, and recognise the contribution.

Presume everything you run is DCC controlled with Kadee couplers.

Looks fun and will look the diary up early next year.

Thanks  

[PaulRhB]

Presume everything you run is DCC controlled with Kadee couplers.

Looks fun and will look the diary up early next year.

Thanks

Yes it is and if you sign up to the newsletter in Martyn's post above you'll know as soon as the date is announced

[Zomboid]

I wouldn't dissuade anyone from joining in with the American Freemo because it's brilliant, but also be aware that there is the RMWeb Modular Project in the "Layouts and Workbench" section of the forum, attempting to do the same kind of thing with British OO. So have a look in there too if UK OO is your thing.

 

The American version is much better established though, so don't expect anything like this kind of scale from that in the short term.

 

And remember that you can do both

[long island jack]

Tiny one, ah found it Fiddlestick! Plus topics and those inspirations you post as well, with Lance Mindheims bits and then Rays monster 59th & Rust warehouse tipped me over!

I've done the Pikestuff kits but needed to get on an build something bigger where they actually look bigger than the train serving them! I had forgotten how small Fiddlestick was but the pic I'd saved was the impression I was after so thanks for that and keep the ideas going

you mean End of the spur, don't you!!!!

[PaulRhB]

you mean End of the spur, don't you!!!!

Whoops yes

[Mike Kieran]

It's unfortunate that the Freemo that we have in the States isn't set up like you fine folks have it. That would be an amazing time.

[Glorious NSE]

It's unfortunate that the Freemo that we have in the States isn't set up like you fine folks have it. That would be an amazing time.

What's stopping you?

[Mike Kieran]

Trying to get a group of Americans to agree on anything takes a bit of divine intervention.

[Regularity]

Trying to get a group of Americans to agree on anything takes a bit of divine intervention.

Or a wealthy man with a strange haircut?

[Mike Kieran]

Or a wealthy man with a strange haircut?

 

What he said!

Edited October 3, 2018 by Mike Kieran

[Talltim]

It's unfortunate that the Freemo that we have in the States isn't set up like you fine folks have it. That would be an amazing time.

I thought it was, but bigger?

Is it the case that with size comes politics?

[Zomboid]

I thought we'd imported the idea from the US. Freemo is anathema to what most British modellers are into.

Maybe we got it from Europe? It's certainly bigger over there.

[Regularity]

There was the ‘15 inch group’ of GWR modellers in the late 70s/early 80s, who each built a 15” wide layout, with similar design requirements (height from floor, distance of connecting track from edge, wiring conventions, etc) which was covered in Model Railways magazine. I don’t think they made any claims for originality over the concept.

[Regularity]

Or a wealthy man with a strange haircut?

What he said!

Although to be fair, as with virtually all national leaders, opinions divide into 4 groups:

Like

Tolerate

Dislike

Ignorance (“Oh, do we have a national leader?”)

[Mike Kieran]

The funny thing is that I was talking about trying to get American modelers to agree on the train, location, and operation of the layout. You guys seem to basically string together a layout with a pretty basic theme. The political humor was a funny circumstance I wasn't even considering when I typed my comment.

 

The East Penn traction modules back in the 1970s we're my first exposure to the concept of a portable layout by a group of guys.

[Mike Kieran]

There is a Freemo group by me, but they are basically a 4 track mainline loop whose modules fit in a trailer box.

Edited October 4, 2018 by Mike Kieran

[Zomboid]

The funny thing is that I was talking about trying to get American modelers to agree on the train, location, and operation of the layout. You guys seem to basically string together a layout with a pretty basic theme. The political humor was a funny circumstance I wasn't even considering when I typed my comment.

 

The East Penn traction modules back in the 1970s we're my first exposure to the concept of a portable layout by a group of guys.

You can theme it of course, and only have CSX in Florida in the 90s modules, but I think it's still such a niche concern here that we can't really do that. I guess what we do is build what we like and turn a blind eye to things that don't really go together. My module looks like being SP in Louisiana (once there are any scenics), and it'll quite happily sit between something that's based on New Jersey and something else that's representing Wisconsin... You just ignore the clashes, such as using my Black Widow RS11 on a train including autoracks with no caboose, and focus on the fact that it's fun to switch cars on a massive train set.

[PaulRhB]

. You guys seem to basically string together a layout with a pretty basic theme.

I think the acceptance that our railroad company interests are really diverse helped there from the start

Having the established standard stopped the huge discussion that the UK version was slowed by, although we are giving that another go

[Regularity]

The funny thing is that I was talking about trying to get American modelers to agree on the train, location, and operation of the layout.

And yet you guys have a National MRA, and we don’t!

[Glorious NSE]

I thought we'd imported the idea from the US. Freemo is anathema to what most British modellers are into.

Maybe we got it from Europe? It's certainly bigger over there.

 

Historically, a mix...

 

Fremo in mainland Europe dates back to the 80s, the American's took the basic concepts, (nominally single track bi-directional modules,) modified it to suit their local usage and created Free-Mo back in the 90s.

 

We looked at both Fremo and Free-Mo, picked what we thought were the best bits of both, modified to suit local usage and started building freemo in the 00s.

 

Fascinatingly, the European Fremo movement in the 80s seems to be based on European modellers who were inspired by the way US modellers were developing operations, as seen through Model Railroader...   https://www.fremo-net.eu/en/about-fremo/the-beginning/

 

You can theme it of course, and only have CSX in Florida in the 90s modules, but I think it's still such a niche concern here that we can't really do that. I guess what we do is build what we like and turn a blind eye to things that don't really go together. My module looks like being SP in Louisiana (once there are any scenics), and it'll quite happily sit between something that's based on New Jersey and something else that's representing Wisconsin... You just ignore the clashes, such as using my Black Widow RS11 on a train including autoracks with no caboose, and focus on the fact that it's fun to switch cars on a massive train set.   

 

      

 

When i'm setting up a meet*, I tend to try and keep the freightcar fleet *somewhere* post-1970s, there will be anachronisms, but they shouldn't jump out too much visually.

 

*Personally*, I don't see any issue with using older motive power with the kind of railroading we do, there's no shortage of real smaller railroads out there that use older power and paint schemes derived from the past. Here's an excellent example!: http://www.smsrail.com/history.html#prettyPhoto[galh]/2/

 

Whilst ancient power on new stock looks okay, the same doesn't work the other way though - an SD70ACE will always look pretty stupid on a train of early 1900s built cars, hence the 'modern-ish' stock.

 

I do find it interesting that the '60s/'70s modellers amongst us seem to have absorbed the way that works, and will tend not to run with a caboose even though nobody makes them do that.

 

I have thought about doing a setup with a 'tighter' theme, there are certainly people from who we could source a large enough homogenous loco/caboose fleet to make various layout scenario's work, i'm just not sure how it would go down.

 

(*And I'll caveat, I wasn't responsible for this one, and i'm certainly not suggesting everyone setting up a meet *has* to do it this way....)

 

 

 

 

I think the acceptance that our railroad company interests are really diverse helped there from the start

 

Absolutely - we're lucky enough to have the people within in our "niche-within-a-niche" to do this without getting too picky.

 

Though it helps that a lot of us seem to like almost everything.   

 

 

Edited October 4, 2018 by Glorious NSE

[Zomboid]

I do find it interesting that the '60s/'70s modellers amongst us seem to have absorbed the way that works, and will tend not to run with a caboose even though nobody makes them do that.

 

I have thought about doing a setup with a 'tighter' theme, there are certainly people from who we could source a large enough homogenous loco/caboose fleet to make various layout scenario's work, i'm just not sure how it would go down

I'm probably a glutton for punishment because I like to run with a caboose (they often get very much in the way, but that's kind of the point...). But I have also been known to show up with a steam engine, of all things.

 

I'm not really sure what I'd make of a tighter themed event. I guess I'd be very much up for a transition era SP one, and less interested in a 2000s New England event. I'd probably still try to get to the NE one, because I do like pretty much everything (other than UP). The problem would be modules more than people, mine will only really be useful for an anything goes event, I suspect, and I wouldn't be alone in that.

 

I wonder if it's caught on here more because most of us have essentially no hope of a Basement Empire, and the only way we can get anywhere near that is to hire the village hall. But if you can have a Basement Empire then you don't need to make the compromises that we do.

[Glorious NSE]

Another 'wrong era' loco from SMS...
http://www.mikeyuhas.org/albums/2015/20152252.php




 

[Zomboid]

Having the established standard stopped the huge discussion that the UK version was slowed by, although we are giving that another go

That was very nearly killed by arguing over what name it should have, wasn't it... (Should have just spent 5 minutes adopting Freemo with peco streamline spacing for 2 track board ends, but that's another story).

[Talltim]

The funny thing is that I was talking about trying to get American modelers to agree on the train, location, and operation of the layout. You guys seem to basically string together a layout with a pretty basic theme. The political humor was a funny circumstance I wasn't even considering when I typed my comment.

 

The East Penn traction modules back in the 1970s we're my first exposure to the concept of a portable layout by a group of guys.

There is a Freemo group by me, but they are basically a 4 track mainline loop whose modules fit in a trailer box.

Ah, I think I get what you mean now. Currently in the UK most modules are a one/two person effort, with a few being built by a small informal group. In the US there do seem to a fair few more formal groups who build much bigger modules, obviously within a module you do want to go for some period/location consistency thus you need agreement.

Also, doing some googling it appears there are groups who build a layout of a specific line, but using Free-mo standards, an example here http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=1193

Edited October 4, 2018 by Talltim

[PaulRhB]

I'd be up for themed meets but I know some like to run their own stock as they don't get much chance at home. I think the informal group that sort of started through Rmweb and a few local groups works because the majority are happy to just go with the flow. We've had discussions on how tightly we stick to standards and the as long as it works approach seems to work best. I have to say once we are up and running it's one of the most relaxing types of meet with no pressure to put on a show and you can run intensively or watch and anywhere inbetween. I've based my 009 standard on the ideas and others asked to join in. One or two started 'suggesting' changes but I politely said this is it simply because of the way Freemo worked while Britmod stalled. Having a set standard for the basic working and allowing a few fuzzy edges on the physical board just works. So many who came along to the meets have kept coming because they could take just what they wanted, whether just running, building modules or both.

I think the main secret is Freemo is set up to focus on building an operating railroad rather than just a big layout. We noted this year a decided lack of passenger sets, just one this year, it proves how flexible the setups can be in traffic supported.

It's given me ideas for the Britmod meet too so we can offer both operation and just running with no hindrance to either preference.