05-08-2014, 04:21 AM
SouthsiderO701 I would like to add my welcome to you, and I would like to offer the following;
Dear [Insert Loved One's Name or Names] Mum and Dad;
Please excuse me while I go and "play with my trains" as you put it.
While I am "playing with my trains" I may have to do some of the following activities;
Study the History of my Favourite Railroad;
Study the History of Railroading in General and in particular the History of The United States of America, with respect to The Civil War and then
the Westward Expansion and the Golden Spike Ceremony.
Study the History of U.S. Railroads and the War Effort by the railroads during World War Two.
Which leads into a study of Logistics, particularly during wartime.
Study the Geography of my Favourite Railroad; This involves the reading and understanding of maps and all the various symbols used to denote important
features in the terrain.
As I look at these maps while I study my favourite railroad I will begin to notice things like hills and valleys, mountains and lakes, rivers and streams,
and as trains traverse this terrain they need to go up and down or around these features, so I will have to learn about gradients and degrees of curvature and compensated grades, and to translate this into my model trains I will need to be able to calculate suitable grades and elevations for my locomotives
and rolling stock. Where real railroads have to cross or be crossed by other railroads or roads I will need to understand how bridges are used and the grades and other engineering requirements for using a bridge.
This may involve me having to do some maths and to learn basic engineering.
I will need to understand how individual cars are loaded and unloaded and how they are joined together to make up trains.
I will need to understand how these trains are to move a railcar from one side of the country to the other or to Canada or Mexico.
How will these trains safely interact with other trains to get to their destinations?
I will need to understand signalling and scheduling, not to mention time keeping and perhaps even time zones.
As I build my model railroad I will need to learn some basic carpentry skills which will also involve using maths and budgeting my allowance to spend on materials.
I will also need to learn some basic electronics skills and the difference between AC and DC electricity, positive and negative polarity, magnetism, conductive and non-conductive materials, so this may involve me using some of the things I have learnt in science at school.
I will need to use my maths and computer skills to draw up a scale plan of my hobby space and then to design track plans that will fit that space.
I will then need to learn how to translate them to my benchwork.
Once my benchwork is complete and I have laid out my trackwork, I will need to use skills learnt in Art at school in order to create the terrain and scenery for my trains to travel through.
This may also mean I will have to learn about the Weather and the Seasons and how it can affect railroad operations.
So if you will excuse me I will be off to "play with my trains" which just so happens to be a serious world wide hobby or perhaps you would rather I just sat in front of my computer and endlessly played mindless video games?
Love [insert your name here]
Hope you all enjoyed this,
Mark
Dear [Insert Loved One's Name or Names] Mum and Dad;
Please excuse me while I go and "play with my trains" as you put it.
While I am "playing with my trains" I may have to do some of the following activities;
Study the History of my Favourite Railroad;
Study the History of Railroading in General and in particular the History of The United States of America, with respect to The Civil War and then
the Westward Expansion and the Golden Spike Ceremony.
Study the History of U.S. Railroads and the War Effort by the railroads during World War Two.
Which leads into a study of Logistics, particularly during wartime.
Study the Geography of my Favourite Railroad; This involves the reading and understanding of maps and all the various symbols used to denote important
features in the terrain.
As I look at these maps while I study my favourite railroad I will begin to notice things like hills and valleys, mountains and lakes, rivers and streams,
and as trains traverse this terrain they need to go up and down or around these features, so I will have to learn about gradients and degrees of curvature and compensated grades, and to translate this into my model trains I will need to be able to calculate suitable grades and elevations for my locomotives
and rolling stock. Where real railroads have to cross or be crossed by other railroads or roads I will need to understand how bridges are used and the grades and other engineering requirements for using a bridge.
This may involve me having to do some maths and to learn basic engineering.
I will need to understand how individual cars are loaded and unloaded and how they are joined together to make up trains.
I will need to understand how these trains are to move a railcar from one side of the country to the other or to Canada or Mexico.
How will these trains safely interact with other trains to get to their destinations?
I will need to understand signalling and scheduling, not to mention time keeping and perhaps even time zones.
As I build my model railroad I will need to learn some basic carpentry skills which will also involve using maths and budgeting my allowance to spend on materials.
I will also need to learn some basic electronics skills and the difference between AC and DC electricity, positive and negative polarity, magnetism, conductive and non-conductive materials, so this may involve me using some of the things I have learnt in science at school.
I will need to use my maths and computer skills to draw up a scale plan of my hobby space and then to design track plans that will fit that space.
I will then need to learn how to translate them to my benchwork.
Once my benchwork is complete and I have laid out my trackwork, I will need to use skills learnt in Art at school in order to create the terrain and scenery for my trains to travel through.
This may also mean I will have to learn about the Weather and the Seasons and how it can affect railroad operations.
So if you will excuse me I will be off to "play with my trains" which just so happens to be a serious world wide hobby or perhaps you would rather I just sat in front of my computer and endlessly played mindless video games?
Love [insert your name here]
Hope you all enjoyed this,
Mark
Fake It till you Make It, then Fake It some More