Is railway modelling a kind of roleplay?

[Zomboid]

5 hours ago, t-b-g said:

I am still me and I still act and behave like me!

If you're you, and your taking the view if someone in a helicopter hovering over a railway with control of all the aspects of the operation, then you're probably not role playing.

 

If you're you, but you're trying to act like one of the miniature folk who you be living in that scene (or even more than one of them), and are trying to do things as they would, then it's role play of a sort.

 

It's not really a binary thing. If you only try to follow real railway rules in what you do, then there's a role play element going on. Or you could take it a whole lot further and act as the signaller, communicating mostly in bell codes with other signallers, and in signal positions with the train drivers.

[t-b-g]

3 hours ago, Zomboid said:

If you're you, and your taking the view if someone in a helicopter hovering over a railway with control of all the aspects of the operation, then you're probably not role playing.

 

If you're you, but you're trying to act like one of the miniature folk who you be living in that scene (or even more than one of them), and are trying to do things as they would, then it's role play of a sort.

 

It's not really a binary thing. If you only try to follow real railway rules in what you do, then there's a role play element going on. Or you could take it a whole lot further and act as the signaller, communicating mostly in bell codes with other signallers, and in signal positions with the train drivers.

 

We do have block instruments and working signals. We don't split the driving and signalman jobs. One person does both. 

 

I think we have quite different ideas about what constitutes roleplay. I will happily agree to disagree and leave it at that.

[Steamport Southport]

7 hours ago, t-b-g said:

 

We do have block instruments and working signals. We don't split the driving and signalman jobs. One person does both. 

 

I think we have quite different ideas about what constitutes roleplay. I will happily agree to disagree and leave it at that.

 

I agree. You are being you and acting like you would in real life. I would call that operating or running (as in running session/running a railway) rather than role playing.

 

You're not suddenly Fred Baggins of Upper Thingy On The Wold.

 

Maybe some do go into the characters mindsets. That's their business. Whatever floats you boat as they say.

 

 

 

Jason

[The Johnster]

On 11/11/2020 at 06:11, Zomboid said:

If you're you, and your taking the view if someone in a helicopter hovering over a railway with control of all the aspects of the operation, then you're probably not role playing.

 

If you're you, but you're trying to act like one of the miniature folk who you be living in that scene (or even more than one of them), and are trying to do things as they would, then it's role play of a sort.

 

It's not really a binary thing. If you only try to follow real railway rules in what you do, then there's a role play element going on. Or you could take it a whole lot further and act as the signaller, communicating mostly in bell codes with other signallers, and in signal positions with the train drivers.

By that definition, I role play when I am operating the railway, note I'm calling it a railway as opposed to a layout.  In my mind it is a real railway, not far away but in the 50s and small, and it sevves a colliery, the mining village attached to it, and the local industries, shops, and farms with a staff of characters that I imagine playing the roles of.  I try to be 'in character' for them; the signalman is a bit of a rocker and a tearaway (or likes to think he is on a BSA 125 and living with his mum) though he works the box absolutely to the bookl; the shunter, middle aged, is the one who owns the BSA 350 with the sidecar.  One of the drivers is notorious for slipping off into the club for a quick pint and having to be chased up at departure time, and the leading railman fought in the International Brigade in Spain 20 years before, and won't let anyone forget about it.  A porter is carrying on with several local married ladies and sometimes has to hide from the vengeance of jealous husbands in the locking room of the signal box.  The NCB driver is a jazz afficionado, and his fireman is a strident Welsh Nationalist and putative cottage burner who is convinced he is being followed by Special Branch, and perhaps he is...  Another porter has suffered from shell shock since Dunkirk, and is normally given the least stressful duties, away from loud noises.  The NCB shunter is religious in the worst possible Valleys chapel judgemental way, but is tolerated because he is in the local choir, and has a very fine baritone that he sings Welsh hymns with, but will not tolerate swearing in his earshot.  He claims to be teetotal but drinks secretly in the next Valley, sometimes disappearing for days at a time as he goes on occasional benders which are explained away as abscences due to his professional bad back.  Another BR driver is to all appearances a rough sort, but is in fact an accomplished water colour artist who has exhibited as far afield as Swansea, specialising in delicate depictions of vases of flowers...

 

None of them is particularly like me in character,  viewpoint, or abilities, and are all based on amalgamations of people I knew on the real railway.  I run to a real time WTT loosely based on the real one for Abergwmfi in 1960, and to the 1955 Rule Book, General Appendix, and I have some instructions from the Regional Appendix as well concerning shunting into the section, which dives down a very steep and curved 1 in 36 gradient that one of the gangers reckons is more like 1 in 30 in places, just beyond the scenic break.  It's only a few hundred yards, but is the last pitch of gradients that get progressively steeper from the junction, and you've already been climbing all the way from Bridgend, and is a problem for firemen of approaching trains as you have to build the fire to stand a chance of getting up it and it is then difficult once the train has cleared the summit and is on the short level stretch into the station, the regulator is closed and pressure rockets with a hot fire; it is very difficult to keep the loco from blowing off even by injecting cold water into the boiler, actually not that cold as it gets warm in the tanks under these circumstances.  Everybody complains about the noise, and they all know who to blame.

[cypherman]

Hi all,

Of course model railways are role play. You just have to look at kids with trainsets and think of what you did when you were younger with yours. Mine had everything from giant teddy bears attacking the trains to them ferrying troops to stop a Martian invasion. All with you in command. Now it is about being the engine drive, guard, porter and many more roles that are needed to run a railway. Just because the world is in miniature and you not running round swinging a plastic sword in some once face does not stop it being role play....

[muddy water]

In computer war games, they are divided into real time strategy (RTS) and first person shooter(FPS).

Both are role play, RTS you are a General and FPS normally a lowly private.

The difference being if you lose men or tanks in the RTS, there are more at hand and the game is not over. FPS if you die it is game over!

In model railways most of us ‘play’ in RTS mode, where we have overall control of what happens. (Apart from derailments and electrical gremlins!) Only a few can ‘play’ in FPS Engine driver mode where it is an ‘adventure’ controlled by the dispatcher and signalman played by other humans!

[rob D2]

Yeah, of course, it’s all roleplay .

I’m driver, signaller, shunter etc....

 

roleplay / cosplay is great - their geekiness outshines ours by a fair margin taking the heat off the model chuffers, see below ;-

 

 

[The Johnster]

They all look perfectly normal to me, with the exception of suit with name tag guy and woman in front of Spiderman striking an odd pose...

 

Some years back, the noughties IIRC, went with my Samba Band (my other life) to do a gig a Devizes Carnival, great fun, also attended by a coach load of Spidermen, all sorts of sizes, shapes, colours, ages, generally having a laugh.  They do this regularly apparently, it wasn't a stag.  Brilliant!

[RJS1977]

Of course it could be argued that the Automatic Crispin is a computer role-playing the part of a human operator! ;-P

[The Johnster]

Not just any human being either; it specifically role-played Crispin Denny, whose opinion of the whole thing is TTBOMK unrecorded.  He may have been the first person in history to be replaced by a computer.

 

You could easily build a computer to role play The Johnster.  It needs to sleep a lot, likes to be kept warm and given beer, and an occasional cwtch to reassure it, pretty low maintenance stuff really.  No point in letting it talk; nobody listens, not to the real one anyway. If it sat the other end of the sofa and responded to questions about whether it wants a cup of tea with yes, please, the squeeze would probably never notice...