recorders, though even they manipulate images for various reasons.  But, the goal of fine art photographers is to convey feeling.  Beginners fail to appreciate the artifacts built into digital technology which impact what the camera captures (such as the complex algorithms which render colors as numbers) and guarantee that no two cameras will capture the same image at the same moment.  They also ignore the dark room editing which photographers of old used – yes, even Ansel Adams – to create the images for which they are famous.  It is the manipulation of images which elevates photos to art. RPM is an example of similar attraction to replicating reality and capturing a moment in time as a goal, and losing focus on art and creativity as a result.  Don’t get me wrong, the objective of model railroading is to have fun, not create art or replicate reality in miniature.  If fun means coming as close as possible to replicating a day on a specific piece of track on a specific day, to experience as much as possible what it was like to be there working on the railroad?  Awesome!  If fun means creating a unique vision and a fictional railroad world which is more like art?  Also awesome! Model railroading is a continuum, with no model railroad being completely freelanced, or 100% prototypical.  Even the most prototypical model is still a scale model with many compromises to the laws of physics and the limitations of materials.  Any place on the RPM to highly freelanced model railroad spectrum is honorable. As RPM gains what I believe is inevitable ascendancy, we need to guard the place of freelancing in the hobby.  RPM practitioners must avoid looking down their noses at the more toy-like, fanciful, highly freelanced model railroads.  There will always be model railroads on the highly freelanced end of the spectrum displaying artistic creativity and imagination, and all model railroads on the spectrum have a rightful place.  While freelanced railroads may lack fidelity to a prototype and historical accuracy, that doesn’t mean they aren’t examples of good modeling and more art than the best RPM creation.  Plus, it is freelanced model railroads that capture the joy of children, and delight the inner child in all of us, supporting the growth of model railroading and keeping another kind of fun in this great hobby! Postscript:  After writing the above, I saw the results of the Model Railroad Hobbyist (MRH) e-zine reader survey for 2016. It indicated that 66% of the hobby are involved in some form of freelancing - at least proto-freelancing with their own roadname, if not full-blown fantasy freelancing.  So, RPM may not be rising as quickly as I suspect.  It should be noted that the average age of MRH readers is somewhat advanced, so RPM may be more prevelant in the younger generations.  Who knows?