Prototype modeling - how far can you take it?

[nkp_174]

Proto-lancing?
Thats a new one on me.

I'm sure it's not. Maybe you've just never heard it called that before. One of, if not THE most popular model railroad of all time was proto-freelanced...John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid. There are no hard-cut rules, but the basic premise is: take a freelanced railroad and operate it prototypically.

Actually, there was no prototype for the Gorre & Daphited. It was a true freelance railroad. Proto-freelance isn't about the modeling concept of "operation", it is about intentionally mixing freelance and prototypical modeling...such as the Alleghany Midland. The Midland Route was essentially a mythical extension of the Nickel Plate, with a high fidelity to the Nickel Plate, but with a different roadname on the side despite the NKP branding.

Operation is to run trains prototypically...not proto-freelance. It can be any thing from going easy on the throttle when changing speeds to full fledged train orders and time for the air brake pressure to be pumped up.

Prototype modeling is to emulate a 1:1 railroad.
Freelance modeling is to not emulate any specific railroad, just as a medieval "free-lance" wasn't tied to a Lord.
Proto-freelancing is when a specific railroad is emulated to a high degree, yet the railroad isn't supposed to be a prototype.

Something being prototypically correct does not mean that it follows a specific prototype, but rather that it conforms to standard practice. Mixing vacuum brakes, automatic air brakes, straight air brakes, and hand brakes would not be a prototypical practice due to the technical/practical limitations of such a system. So the Gorre & Daphited was very believable because it was built on prototypical practices...but these practices weren't specific to any particular prototype railroad.