Are you a 'Crayonista'; if so why?

[Sad Sprinter]

A simple question to us fantasists out there, inspired mainly from the ongoing Great Central Railway thread in the History/Nostalgia subforum - what makes you so interested in drawing imaginary lines on a map or conjuring up possible new routes and services? I think for me, it's because I found it fascinating when I was younger as I think most children/teenage train enthusiasts do when they don't know enough about the actual challenges of the railway.

Plus, it simply is really interesting. I remember the comment section of London Recconections back in the 2014-2016 days when rail growth seemed infinite, and all the posts from learned commenters on what new lines would be needed in London, where they'd go, what infrastructure upgrades you would need - it was absolutely fascinating. Sadly, the moderators of that site clamped down on "crayoning" posts quite severely and immediately "snipped" any speculative ideas out of comments. Which was a shame, because some of the old comment chains were amazing reads.

I know blabbing on about possible new routes and services infuriates many, but I personally love it.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Crayons - otherwise known as "virtual TBMs" (tunnel boring machines). Same shape, but much cheaper.

 

[Irascible]

Ocvasionally I find some route - closed or never built - that I'd like to travel & then see if there's any remote justification for building it. The answer is either "no" ( which I can handle ) or "yes, but not at what it would cost" which is often something that was a marginal case & shut. That tends to get me grinding my teeth a bit.

I just like rail travel, I find it relaxing and engrossing in a way coach travel isn't. Or at least it used to be relaxing. Networks are fascinating too, espevially one this old, and when more modern networks are ( well were ) your professional field.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

The original rail network, current plans (such as HS2), and motorway network (Pathetic Motorways website has a great section on planned motorways never built, and how they altered the shape of the built sections), were effectively draw up with crayons. If cash is available for a scheme, many rail shortcuts would pay for themselves.

Like, wouldn't an electric line from near Retford to Sheffield be awesome for speeding up journeys South? Easy a on crayon sheet, but someone will always pick on any plans because there is no room for more trains, even though sidings and extra tracks on current lines would be easier and cheaper to build than the new line.

Waste of time as the government doesn't care much about rail, and companies won't commit if their future is a short franchise arrangement. Use crayon ideas on Railroad Tycoon 3, or Trainz, much more useful.

 

[Purple Orange]

‘Crayonista’ is a little bit derided on here, but I think the people it describes are coming from a good place. It shows creativity, an interest in improving how we connect, and the aspect of networks requires a bit of a mathematical mind. Sometimes people can be too carried away, sometimes aspects are not fully thought through, but it shows a positive ‘can-do’ attitude.

The opposite side of the coin are the people who like to say ‘NO!’. There are a lot of these people on RailUK. There is a power play by saying ‘no’ and it comes with a righteousness sometimes. It’s not always a bad thing; some people are traditionalists and saying ‘no’ to a ‘crayonista’s’ idea protects that a little bit.

I think most people can flip from one camp to the other, but mostly spend more time in one or the other. I’ve been both a ‘crayonista’ and a person who says ‘NO!’ on this forum, but I think I spend more time in the ‘crayonista’ category generally.

 

[mr_jrt]

Many, many years ago I used to frequent uk.railway on usenet. There was one cantakerous old goat in particular on there who would very very stubbornly refuse to countenance any notion of East West Rail ever happening. Every project update I read about from EWR gives me a wry smile when I think back.