05-09-2014, 09:05 AM
Here's my take. The discussion so far is covering only the modeler himself and children. There are other options, like adult visitors, either individually, as part of operating groups, or during layout open houses. I used to do layout open houses, but have given it up as not worth the trouble, in part because visitors would wear jackets and backpacks, and you've got to ask them to remove those before they come in. This was SOP, at least among the more experienced layout owners in my area. A backpack in a layout aisle is, of course, a good way to sweep clean layout areas behind the goofball who's wearing it, as he suddenly turns to watch the train go by. A jacket is nearly as bad, as it will catch on rolling stock, trees, telephone poles, etc. That is the highest risk situation, but let's move to others.
Let's just take long sleeves among ordinarily attentive visitors, possibly including an operating group. Especially if the visitors are authorized to touch or get near rolling stock, such as while uncoupling, long sleeves will also catch on things. John Allen had a rule that only he touched equipment, which may sound fussy, but the more you deal with these situations, the better you understand the potential problems. But I've had problems with my own long sleeves, either during actual operation or during maintenance.
On the brass car above, naturally I admire the detail and workmanship, but I would really hesitate to use a car like that in operation, for several reasons. First, the air hoses, especially rigid metal ones, do in fact interfere with coupler operation. I say this from experience and do not use them. If you are just manually putting a train together and running it as a unit, it's less of a problem, but for actual operation involving regular coupling and uncoupling at magnets or with barbecue sticks, it's a problem. I say this only from experience and as a matter of preference.
Second, any projecting piece of wire is a problem, due to the long sleeve situation and the fact that hands will in fact get close to equipment during operation. I agree that wire in itself isn't necessarily fragile, but the actual issue again is long sleeves, coupler wands, etc, catching on them and causing a trip to the floor. On the brass car, I see several of those, as well as the metal air hose. That car is simply a display item in my book, a very nice one, but steht zur Vitrine. Your results may vary.
There are various ways to get around all this, including plexiglass barriers on the sides of the layout to prevent either wayward arms, clothing, etc, or to keep equipment from falling. My own preference is in general to have a clear idea of what the layout is for in relation to my own parameters of amusement. This includes minimizing risks, problems, maintenance issues, etc in the level of detail I add to rolling stock.
I don't think it should be controversial to say that there's operating stock and display stock.
Let's just take long sleeves among ordinarily attentive visitors, possibly including an operating group. Especially if the visitors are authorized to touch or get near rolling stock, such as while uncoupling, long sleeves will also catch on things. John Allen had a rule that only he touched equipment, which may sound fussy, but the more you deal with these situations, the better you understand the potential problems. But I've had problems with my own long sleeves, either during actual operation or during maintenance.
On the brass car above, naturally I admire the detail and workmanship, but I would really hesitate to use a car like that in operation, for several reasons. First, the air hoses, especially rigid metal ones, do in fact interfere with coupler operation. I say this from experience and do not use them. If you are just manually putting a train together and running it as a unit, it's less of a problem, but for actual operation involving regular coupling and uncoupling at magnets or with barbecue sticks, it's a problem. I say this only from experience and as a matter of preference.
Second, any projecting piece of wire is a problem, due to the long sleeve situation and the fact that hands will in fact get close to equipment during operation. I agree that wire in itself isn't necessarily fragile, but the actual issue again is long sleeves, coupler wands, etc, catching on them and causing a trip to the floor. On the brass car, I see several of those, as well as the metal air hose. That car is simply a display item in my book, a very nice one, but steht zur Vitrine. Your results may vary.
There are various ways to get around all this, including plexiglass barriers on the sides of the layout to prevent either wayward arms, clothing, etc, or to keep equipment from falling. My own preference is in general to have a clear idea of what the layout is for in relation to my own parameters of amusement. This includes minimizing risks, problems, maintenance issues, etc in the level of detail I add to rolling stock.
I don't think it should be controversial to say that there's operating stock and display stock.