Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
You may need to right click on the images to view it all. Looks like they are kind of large. I tried to make them smaller.
(Modified by Moderator on 2013-01-18 21:59:13)
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If you are in the Central Texas area, my layout is open to the public most years during the last weekend in October to coincide with the Austin Model Railroad Jamboree. I do open the layout to visitors on appointment at other times during the year. Drop me a note if you want to see the layout. I'll be happy to set up a time for you.
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My friend and I built this layout, however it was destroyed in the Northridge earthquake....My heart and soul can not get me back into this type of modeling anymore.
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01:41:12pm
Michael,
I am envious, my train set in the garage is all in boxes, One day I hope to have it put together even if it is a 1/10th of good looking as yours or Perry's layout is.
Alyn
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Perry, weren't there several articles that were published about various aspects of that layout? I see to remember an article on weathering the diesel with the Warbonnet paint scheme, as well as many other photos of that layout. Definitely a shame that such a fine layout was lost.
Alyn, this is the advice I give when I hear someone say that they want to have a layout. Do it! I had a friend whom I knew for around 20 years. He had some real nice models sitting in boxes. He kept saying that he will one day build his "dream layout" and be able to run his trains. He started building that layout last year and died a month later.
Also, don't be afraid of building a layout. Find a track plan that fits your needs and build it. If you haven't built one before, start small. I think the biggest problem that I have seen with people who are building a layout is that they don't have a track plan. The they run into problems because it isn't what they wanted, and it winds up on the curb. My current layout is the 9th that I have built. I started it in 1993. I built two others (10 and 11) for my boys when they were younger. One still exists and is located under my layout.
As far as building models and creating the scenery, it isn't hard, and as you go along in the process you get better at it. Plenty of how-to books about doing these things, and plenty of people willing to help.
When I see a layout like the one in the pictures that Perry posted, I say to myself, "I wish I could make mine look as good as that." I have been told by people who travel the country viewing layouts that mine is in the top 20% of layouts in the country. Perry's would be top 5%. My plan is to get mine up into the top 10%. It'll take alot of work to do that, but I'm working on it!
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One thing about the picture with the gravel quarry. You can see a couple of piles of yellowish rocks. These are actually gold from Colorado. I picked them up from a gold mine there. It's low grade ore and they just toss those rocks away as it costs too much to extract the gold. So, even though I model the northeast US, can always bend the rules a little. It is a hobby, and it is my layout!
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When my son was younger a few years ago, he was obssessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and all things trains. I even started a little Train topical collection which he could care less about. Anyway, we found out that there was this place called Northlandz which is about an hour from our house. It was quite impressive. My son loved it. He now has moved on from TTE and claims to not like trains anymore. Kind of sad about that.
Here is the link to the Northlandz website.
ttp://www.northlandz.com/
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I would like to visit that layout if I get a chance to go there. Supposed to be a real nice experience.
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I'm a model railroad want-a-bee. I'm amazed and the number of stamp collectors that I find that are into model trains.
And I'm sure you are correct Michael. I'm sure I've seen Perry's photos in train magazine articles.
Regards ... TIm.
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Correct this layout has been in Model Railroader. My friend who is my conhort in crime is the famous Pelle Soeborg. We will be protographing the Tehachapi mountain railroads on June 15th this year for new ideas on a possible dirama or perhaps an addtion to a future small layout. Perry
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Great Model set-ups. I remember... back in the early 70s, we had one of these set up in our two-car garage. Unfortunately I don't have any photos. But I remember the cars being much larger scale.. and metal. I believe they were antiques already, back then.I think he had sold the set up by the mid 70s..
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Great stuff, guys! I love adults who still play with their toys! Don't know why so many move away from playing. When I was about 2 or 3 years old I made a solemn promise to Peter Pan (Mary Martin) that I wouldn't grow up, and that vow remains intact.
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Very true, Zip -
always said;
"...I may grow old, but I'll never grow up..."
I think it was Saki who said' "...a boy becomes a man when a man is needed..."
....but a man isn't needed ALL the time....have some fun! (that goes for the ladies, too)
Keep them trains a-rollin'!
Randy
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An eye-popping display, Michael, and thank you for posting it.
John Derry
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People move away from model railroading because collecting two expensive hobbies at the same time is insanity Model trains & Stamps). I want a muscle car too, but $50,000 for a toy that needs constant attention is too much to ask from the wallet. Stamps are currently in my blood so...."the winner is".
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I hear you, Perry. I sold the two Camaros I had. Now I have trains and stamps, and a little Suzuki. Good, reliable car.
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Ahh, muscle cars....
Always wanted a GTO Judge....probably never happen!
Have kicked myself numerous times for sellin' my '61 Chevy Apache 10 sky blue pickup!
My last hope is to have the '72 Nova I've been droolin' over the last 3 years.
Some people around here think I'm kinda weird, bein' an auto mechanic who "plays with stamps", as they put it...LOL
Randy,
the baseball
, car
& stamp
guy
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How about the 1970 GTO with the 455 CID and 4 on the floor. I'm looking at one now but not being a mechanic I'm sure it's not to my best interest. I could have bought the plate blocks of the Zepplins for what this baby is selling for......Perry
I did give away my 1970 Challenger RT to my son or his 16th birthday.........he trashed it but someone still got it from him for near nothing. I understand it has been fully restored and worth a chunk of money.
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ya.....the 455 was a big-block beast!
I had one in my old Buick Electra and man, that big 'boat' could fly!
My big sis had a '72 Charger which she decided she didn't want after a few months, so I told her to give me a couple weeks to get the cash together to buy it from her;
she sold it a week later - for $400! I think I did not speak to her for 2 weeks after that!
....those were the days....!
Randy
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Hey Perry, in case you didn't know, you friend, Pelle, has another article in Model Railroader (June 2013 issue). Nice photos too. Two of the photos show two different perspectives of buildings in the background with the backdrop. That is not the objective of the article, but the two photos answered a question I had about such perspectives as I am doing something similar, but in an urban setting.
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My friend Pelle is coming in July and we will be traveling around to come up with some new ideas for a layout. I never sold allof my surviving trains so I still would like to make a new layout, just not as large as before. He has taught me that imagination of the eye is more important than too many details. I was always a modeler first, layout second. He is the master at layout but does not care much about operations, my choice. We'll spend a couple weeks on the road and see what we will decide about a layout after that.
P
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That sounds like a FUN trip!
Nice bloody nose there!
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As you can see I'm a huge fan of Southern Pacific Railroad, before it was simulated by the borg Union Pacific Railroad...
Perry
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LOL, Perry. Yep, UP certainly assimilated many roads into itself.
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11:51:04am
What is there about trains that intrigues us so? Just seeing this post makes me want to go watch Breakheart Pass, Under Siege II, or Union Pacific again!
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My father had a large S gauge layout when I was a kid. He built a separate building in the back yard for it about as large as a 4-car garage. It was destroyed by fire (lightning strike) in the 70's. I helped him with a later HO gauge layout, mostly doing scenery. He died just 2 years before I decided to put in a layout in my son's bedroom. Wish he could have helped, but a few kind soles, like Michael, stepped forward with valuable advice:
I wanted an oval that circled the room about 6" below the ceiling. The engine is an L&N (Louisville & Nashville) engine. You will have to use your imagination as to why those two cities are important to the beginning and ending of the pregnancy. The engine was renumbered to his birth year.
We brought our son home from the Louisville hospital to his home in Paducah, so I wanted to create a P&L caboose. I had to modify a caboose kit to create a P&L caboose. A local model railroader helped with finding the correct color of green and providing a mini spray booth. The decals are available commercially, but took a lot of tracking down! The number is his month/day of birth.
The number of cars in the train (not counting engine and caboose) is always his age. He picks out a new car every year.
I did a few preventative things, like placing re-railers before every curve and installing a clear flexible plastic guard to prevent catastrophic crashes. I also added a timer switch and a potentiometer mounted in wall plates so he can turn on the power and control the speed of the train (up to the max speed I set on the transformer behind a locked panel in his closet). The timer automatically cuts off power to the transformer so it isn't left on.
After 5 years in service, there have been zero catastrophic crashes and only ONE derailing due to an episode involving socks being thrown around by my two sons that is best left unmentioned. What really surprises me is that there have only been 3 or 4 uncouplings in that time. The potentiometer acts as a "momentum on" switch, but still, only a handful of uncouplings that can easily be corrected by unlocking the panel in his closet, reversing the direction, and reconnecting is impressive to me. The coupler technology seems a lot better that what I remembered as a kid! I really like those Kadee knuckle couplers!
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"He built a separate building in the back yard for it about as large as a 4-car garage."
This is what I'm wanting to do for mine... get one of those "pre-built cabins", and move all my stuff from the basement, where I've got sitting on 5 4'x4' tables, to move it to somewhere where I have space to work on things, as I have a HUGE issue right now trying to get to the track layout to make fixes when needed.
As for me.. I'll still go with CSX cars/trains (when I can
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I heard an interview with Rod Stewart the other day. He is really in to Railroad Modeling. He builds stuff in his hotel room while tour. Never knew that before.
Bob
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Yes. Model Railroader magazine has featured Rod Stewart in a couple of issues a few years ago. He does some fantastic work and is quite into the hobby. At first when they mentioned that he is a model railroader I was wondering if he did his own work, or paid people to do it for him. Very nice to see that he does it mostly himself. He's just like the rest of us modelers!
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My boss at Texas Instruments in Dallas is very involved in model RR and helped design and build one of the original digital controllers. He had get togethers at his place once a month where each person had a set number of tasks to perform (move these cars from here to there, etc.) and 3 or 4 of them would do their thing for a few hours. One evening the special guest was a model RR fan that I would have never expected: Emmitt Smith! My boss said Emmitt held his own in completing his tasks as efficiently as the "old hands", but he did look funny with that tiny controller in his huge hands!
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LOL. There are plenty of model railroaders out there!
Those are called "operating sessions". I have held several on my layout, and I have participated in some at other people's layouts. They are alot of fun. It is especially fun to watch your own layout running like a real railroad as others run the trains.
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Operating sessions. OK. My father tried to explain it to me and even got a clock that ran at scale time or some weirdness like that, but it never sounded interesting to me. I enjoy building models (mostly cars and planes as a kid) so I built a lot of structures and bridges for him. At the time he was living in Kentucky and I was living in Dallas, so I would come up a couple of times a year to spend a week making models. He just had to keep me supplied with beer!
I guess I like building the railroad, but not running it.
I also have a seasonal layout that comes out at Thanksgiving and stays up until mid January. It's a 4' x 8' layout that goes under a Christmas tree in my home office. Right now it's a mixture of Thomas the Tank engine and normal stuff. Tidmouth Sheds has a working turntable! This is the layout my youngest gets to play with and we add something new each year. I'll take pictures after Thanksgiving when we figure out what to add.
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I seen the video of the Trestle fire in Texas. Looks like something from a movie. I would imagine that it will take a long time to rebuild. I wonder if it will be rplaced with another wooden one or will they use steel?
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Do you know what town that was near? I haven't heard of this one. From what I have seen on smaller trestles is that the wooden ones are being replaced with concrete ones.
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Yes, the bridge over the Colorado River between San Saba & Lometa. Ted.
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Here's a good video of the collapse:
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/22405613/2013/05/23/burning-railroad-bridge-collapses-in-central-texas
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Holy Cow! That was something! Thanks for the link.....
I have no idea what they're planning to do with that one. 300 yards is a long trestle. I'll check with a retired RR friend of mine sand see if he knows or can find out more about it. I'll be at a model railroad meeting on Saturday. Someone there might know too.
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Yeah, when I was watching it collapse I was thinking, "What's that little ribbon on top that is collapsing slower than the timbers?" and realized that was the RAIL. What a mess!
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Although I am not a model railroader I find many of these posts tremendous.
My son is a model rail enthusiast.He actually builds HO engines and carriages for Australian diesel enthusiasts.
Would anyone mind if I put up some photos of his work.I am very proud of the work he does and love to show it off.
Cheers
Dave
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Go right ahead and post the pictures Dave. This is the right thread for them and we have a number of model railroad enthusiasts among our members.
Regards ... Tim.
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Yes, Dave. Show us what you have in the way of pictures!!!
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YES!!!!! PLEASE DO!!!!!
Yes, I am shouting in anticipation! I love to see what other modelers are doing.
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NO, DON'T!
Just kidding. Please do.
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I am trying to send photo but keeps telling me too big.
Will have to work out what to do
Cheers
Dave
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Dave,
Scan you pictures at no more than 96dpi and keep the width to no more than 1200px. That will solve your problem. The images will come out just fine.
Regards ... Tim
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Hi Tim
My son sent these photographs as an email attachment.
I will ask him to retake at lower resoloution.
Thanks for the help.
Cheers
Dave
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03:04:25pm
Dave
They do not need to be "re-taken," just edited. Anyone with a decent photo viewer/editor (such as IrfanView - free download) can do it, yourself included.
-Bobby-
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Dave,
Bobby is right. Everyone need at least a simple photo editor. You can even use Paint which is a free Accessory that comes with Windows. That will take care of most of your needs, but you will find that a more robust photo editor like the freebie Bobby mentioned will come in quite handy and the learning curve is about like learning how to create a letter in Word or a spreadsheet in Excel. You'll be glad you have that tool!
Lars
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As you can see I listen to all the advice I get.
This is just one of the engines my son built.What does everybody think.
Cheers
David
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WOW! comes to my mind. Excellent job!
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Thanks michael78651
Thanks for your kind words I will pass them on to my son.He will be thrilled.
Cheers
Dave
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My father in law is a MRR (Model RailRoader), as are my kids. Each child wants their own scale, the only problem is there are 5 kids. No far we have HO, N and next is Z scale (my sausage fingers are too big). Will post some pics shortly.
Marc
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Here is a thread from a couple of years ago. Brought it back up in light of the renewed discussion.
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Where are the real trains -steam!!!!
Those of us watching railways in the 60s in the UK were watching steam trains - none of this new-fangled diesel rubbish ( of course you in the US had got rid of most steam years before) - but with home-hewed coal (relatively) cheap and imported oil very expensive no-one had properly explored the real economies of diesel trains, reduced downtime with diesels against the longevity of steam locomotives.
Until the Bete-noir of railway enthusiasts Dr. Beeching arrived and put us all in our place.
However all is not lost. There are a lot of preserved working steam railways in the UK which carry huge numbers of customers every weekend. Rather like the model railway (see my other post) they apply a holistic approach to the atmosphere with period buildings,signage etc. Modellers are still taking inspiration from these places as there is nothing like the real thing. These railways are run mostly by volunteeers,but as far as safety etc is concerned are (quite rightly) run to the highest professional standards, but because volunteers are required in great numbers mostly operate at weekends only -although those in holiday areas manage to run a limited service daily in summer. Most are based on old branch lines but some are able to operate along "secondary" trunk lines mostly closed by the aforementioned Dr. Beeching to eliminate route duplication at the same time as he got rid of steam. Probably the most well known of these latter is the "Severn Valley Railway". Most of these railways are members of an umbrella organisation and as such have links to other websites. Most also have a road running day where those (nuts) who preserve and renovate buses,lorries( trucks to you across the pond) and even steam traction engines strut their stuff alongside the trains.
Nostalgia, especially transport nostalgia is big business here, people preserve and restore everything from lawn-mowers to Jet Bombers, outside domestic toilets to stately homes and castles - and people are happy to pay to experience them. Fortunately most enterprises are able to secure charity status and the associated tax breaks, and many are able to attract local authority grants from those towns farsighted enough to see the tourism potential.It helps that this country got into the heritage business when it was unfashionable, and there were some notable eccentrics who got the whole thing moving before it was too late. It was also some time before people realised that before you take apart and rebuild a railway carriage or a bus you need somewhere to keep it warm and dry or in 10 years it will be back in the same state. A lot of irreplaceable so-called preserved items were lost while that particular lesson was learnt.
Modellers "of a certain age" model steam, and in my long-ago modelling days those who modelled diesels were thought "a little odd", and the accessories available to them were sparse while steam "fixtures and fittings" were commonplace. It has to be said though that railway modelling here is now a long way from "toy trains" and is much more model engineering - and the real afficianadoes handbuild everything from the track to the sack- barrow on the station platform - and are much more interested in "painting a picture in time", where the train operation is only part of the process.
The skill and knowledge required by the people who take this approach to modelling is awesome, and when you realise that most of these people have had no trade or engineering training or experience ( they are teachers,doctors,office workers, bus drivers etc)it makes it even more awesome. Unfortunately I have never had the skill to work to this standard,and having seen it done so well I bowed out some decades ago and relegated my model to a train set for my sons to play with!
Slightly off-topic I am intrigued by the fact that those who collect stamps usually have interest in larger historical artefacts ( even if a passive one). Perhaps being able to collect small items like stamps is a sublimal substitute for collecting railway engines or roman armour - which take up too much space ??
Malcolm
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I model the late 1960s, so no steam for me! Even if I were to do steam, the railroad that I model, New Haven, was one of the first to completely dieselize (1952).
I like watching the steam locomotives, and during my summers in Germany late 1960s and early 1970s, I watched steam trains running along the Rhine, Mosel and in Saarbrucken. Stood on a bridge overpass as a steam train passed underneath. Never did that again! Oh the stupidity of being 14!
About 15 years or so ago I had the opportunity to ride in the cab of a steam locomotive. That was fun!
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@Michael,
What happened when the train passed??? Did you get soaking wet? Even worse, did you get BURNED? LOL
Ernie
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LOL, neither of the two. However, the steam came up and totally encircled us (at least I wasn't the only stupid one there). It wasn't hot enough to scald. I just couldn't breath, it was so thick.
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Great Railroad Michael
I never had the room to start one of my own, but have always loved them.
I did recently stumble across an old set that was a gift to my brother and I from Santa back in 1952. Found out it had been buried in my Dad's Attic for the last 45 years. It's a Lionel 027 gauge three rail system. The Loco and cars are covered in dirt and oily grime. I have a feeling most of the parts that move have gummed up and I don't have a clue how to clean them. I was able to take the transformer control, clean it and verify all the voltages (variable and fixed) do work properly. Can't seem to find any RR clubs or shops within 50 miles of my location and even at that, not sure I'd trust them with this ancient gear.
I'd love to get it reconditioned and running for my Grandson.
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There are three dealers in Virginia that advertise that they do repairs. I don't know where you are located, but here's the towns where they are: Ashland, Roanoke, and Chantilly.
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Since Michael revived this thread, I will posit a question I asked him (and I don't think I was very clear so I will try to do better this time):
My son with the loop track in his room turns 12 next month. Does anyone know of an HO maker (engines and/or rolling stock) of "radical" or "trendy" stuff - like a Zombie Apocalypse train or something crazy like that? My youngest has a great little HO Thomas the Train set on a separate layout, but my oldest is getting bored with his train. I would like to renew his interest if possible.
Lars
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The older fantasy stuff was done by the low end manufacturers. You can find high priced fantasy stuff like the John Wayne train, Harley Davidson, NFL and many other subjects that are being done by Bachmann for places like Bradford Exchange. Yes, the price is quite high for those items, and the quality is the lower end Bachmann line.
It just came to me that Athearn did a John Deere train several years ago. Better quality for sure, but long out of production.
Train shows and eBay are good places to try to find this stuff. From what I have seen, the models are often broken. One has to consider that the targeted audience for this stuff was children.
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Here's a link to starter sets and packs category on eBay.
HO Scale Train Sets
I looked through this and found train sets for:
- The A Team
- various Christmas-themed sets
- NFL Superbowl
- Monopoly (first time I have seen this)
- STP Richard Petty
- Ringling Brothers Circus
- Eckerd Drug Stores
- Toy Story
- Harry Potter (actually a good quality set)
- Campbells Soup
- John Deere (Athearn and expensive)
- Snap-On Tools
- US Army
- US Air Force (didn't see this, but I know it was made)
- Price Chopper Grocery Stores
There are many more. Seems like anyone wanting to get a specialty train made for their business is able to do so. All the ones I listed above are new in the box. Also, unless I mentioned otherwise, all are low-end manufacturers.
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" Does anyone know of an HO maker (engines and/or rolling stock) of "radical" or "trendy" stuff - like a Zombie Apocalypse train or something crazy like that?"
Why not create that yourself? If his existing train isn't an expensive one, ask him what he would do and build the zombie train together. You can find lots of zombie and skull type figures and such, especially in the Halloween season. They can be had for cheap the day after the holiday
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Here are some pictures of my HO Scale model railroad. It is modeled after the Berkshire Line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The layout is roughly 324 square feet in a two-car garage. The track plan is freelance, but the operations match the prototype, so when a train runs on my layout, it is an historical recreation of true operations. I also model the Boston & Albany (New York Central) Railroad. The general time period is the mid 1960s. Hope you like the pictures. Some areas are still under construction, and some have been changed a little since the pictures were taken, and since the video was made.
You may need to right click on the images to view it all. Looks like they are kind of large. I tried to make them smaller.
(Modified by Moderator on 2013-01-18 21:59:13)
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re: Model Railroading
If you are in the Central Texas area, my layout is open to the public most years during the last weekend in October to coincide with the Austin Model Railroad Jamboree. I do open the layout to visitors on appointment at other times during the year. Drop me a note if you want to see the layout. I'll be happy to set up a time for you.
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re: Model Railroading
My friend and I built this layout, however it was destroyed in the Northridge earthquake....My heart and soul can not get me back into this type of modeling anymore.
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webmaster for the ISWSC http://iswsc.org and ATA http://www.americantopicalassn.org
18 Jan 2013
01:41:12pm
re: Model Railroading
Michael,
I am envious, my train set in the garage is all in boxes, One day I hope to have it put together even if it is a 1/10th of good looking as yours or Perry's layout is.
Alyn
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re: Model Railroading
Perry, weren't there several articles that were published about various aspects of that layout? I see to remember an article on weathering the diesel with the Warbonnet paint scheme, as well as many other photos of that layout. Definitely a shame that such a fine layout was lost.
Alyn, this is the advice I give when I hear someone say that they want to have a layout. Do it! I had a friend whom I knew for around 20 years. He had some real nice models sitting in boxes. He kept saying that he will one day build his "dream layout" and be able to run his trains. He started building that layout last year and died a month later.
Also, don't be afraid of building a layout. Find a track plan that fits your needs and build it. If you haven't built one before, start small. I think the biggest problem that I have seen with people who are building a layout is that they don't have a track plan. The they run into problems because it isn't what they wanted, and it winds up on the curb. My current layout is the 9th that I have built. I started it in 1993. I built two others (10 and 11) for my boys when they were younger. One still exists and is located under my layout.
As far as building models and creating the scenery, it isn't hard, and as you go along in the process you get better at it. Plenty of how-to books about doing these things, and plenty of people willing to help.
When I see a layout like the one in the pictures that Perry posted, I say to myself, "I wish I could make mine look as good as that." I have been told by people who travel the country viewing layouts that mine is in the top 20% of layouts in the country. Perry's would be top 5%. My plan is to get mine up into the top 10%. It'll take alot of work to do that, but I'm working on it!
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re: Model Railroading
One thing about the picture with the gravel quarry. You can see a couple of piles of yellowish rocks. These are actually gold from Colorado. I picked them up from a gold mine there. It's low grade ore and they just toss those rocks away as it costs too much to extract the gold. So, even though I model the northeast US, can always bend the rules a little. It is a hobby, and it is my layout!
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President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
18 Jan 2013
04:46:34pm
re: Model Railroading
When my son was younger a few years ago, he was obssessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and all things trains. I even started a little Train topical collection which he could care less about. Anyway, we found out that there was this place called Northlandz which is about an hour from our house. It was quite impressive. My son loved it. He now has moved on from TTE and claims to not like trains anymore. Kind of sad about that.
Here is the link to the Northlandz website.
ttp://www.northlandz.com/
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re: Model Railroading
I would like to visit that layout if I get a chance to go there. Supposed to be a real nice experience.
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Auctions - Approvals
re: Model Railroading
I'm a model railroad want-a-bee. I'm amazed and the number of stamp collectors that I find that are into model trains.
And I'm sure you are correct Michael. I'm sure I've seen Perry's photos in train magazine articles.
Regards ... TIm.
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re: Model Railroading
Correct this layout has been in Model Railroader. My friend who is my conhort in crime is the famous Pelle Soeborg. We will be protographing the Tehachapi mountain railroads on June 15th this year for new ideas on a possible dirama or perhaps an addtion to a future small layout. Perry
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re: Model Railroading
Great Model set-ups. I remember... back in the early 70s, we had one of these set up in our two-car garage. Unfortunately I don't have any photos. But I remember the cars being much larger scale.. and metal. I believe they were antiques already, back then.I think he had sold the set up by the mid 70s..
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Dogs are my favorite people. I hang with this one as often as I can.
19 Jan 2013
08:06:01pm
re: Model Railroading
Great stuff, guys! I love adults who still play with their toys! Don't know why so many move away from playing. When I was about 2 or 3 years old I made a solemn promise to Peter Pan (Mary Martin) that I wouldn't grow up, and that vow remains intact.
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Very true, Zip -
always said;
"...I may grow old, but I'll never grow up..."
I think it was Saki who said' "...a boy becomes a man when a man is needed..."
....but a man isn't needed ALL the time....have some fun! (that goes for the ladies, too)
Keep them trains a-rollin'!
Randy
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The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.
20 Jan 2013
02:19:08pm
re: Model Railroading
An eye-popping display, Michael, and thank you for posting it.
John Derry
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People move away from model railroading because collecting two expensive hobbies at the same time is insanity Model trains & Stamps). I want a muscle car too, but $50,000 for a toy that needs constant attention is too much to ask from the wallet. Stamps are currently in my blood so...."the winner is".
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I hear you, Perry. I sold the two Camaros I had. Now I have trains and stamps, and a little Suzuki. Good, reliable car.
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Ahh, muscle cars....
Always wanted a GTO Judge....probably never happen!
Have kicked myself numerous times for sellin' my '61 Chevy Apache 10 sky blue pickup!
My last hope is to have the '72 Nova I've been droolin' over the last 3 years.
Some people around here think I'm kinda weird, bein' an auto mechanic who "plays with stamps", as they put it...LOL
Randy,
the baseball, car & stamp guy
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How about the 1970 GTO with the 455 CID and 4 on the floor. I'm looking at one now but not being a mechanic I'm sure it's not to my best interest. I could have bought the plate blocks of the Zepplins for what this baby is selling for......Perry
I did give away my 1970 Challenger RT to my son or his 16th birthday.........he trashed it but someone still got it from him for near nothing. I understand it has been fully restored and worth a chunk of money.
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ya.....the 455 was a big-block beast!
I had one in my old Buick Electra and man, that big 'boat' could fly!
My big sis had a '72 Charger which she decided she didn't want after a few months, so I told her to give me a couple weeks to get the cash together to buy it from her;
she sold it a week later - for $400! I think I did not speak to her for 2 weeks after that!
....those were the days....!
Randy
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Hey Perry, in case you didn't know, you friend, Pelle, has another article in Model Railroader (June 2013 issue). Nice photos too. Two of the photos show two different perspectives of buildings in the background with the backdrop. That is not the objective of the article, but the two photos answered a question I had about such perspectives as I am doing something similar, but in an urban setting.
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My friend Pelle is coming in July and we will be traveling around to come up with some new ideas for a layout. I never sold allof my surviving trains so I still would like to make a new layout, just not as large as before. He has taught me that imagination of the eye is more important than too many details. I was always a modeler first, layout second. He is the master at layout but does not care much about operations, my choice. We'll spend a couple weeks on the road and see what we will decide about a layout after that.
P
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That sounds like a FUN trip!
Nice bloody nose there!
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As you can see I'm a huge fan of Southern Pacific Railroad, before it was simulated by the borg Union Pacific Railroad...
Perry
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LOL, Perry. Yep, UP certainly assimilated many roads into itself.
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
01 May 2013
11:51:04am
re: Model Railroading
What is there about trains that intrigues us so? Just seeing this post makes me want to go watch Breakheart Pass, Under Siege II, or Union Pacific again!
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My father had a large S gauge layout when I was a kid. He built a separate building in the back yard for it about as large as a 4-car garage. It was destroyed by fire (lightning strike) in the 70's. I helped him with a later HO gauge layout, mostly doing scenery. He died just 2 years before I decided to put in a layout in my son's bedroom. Wish he could have helped, but a few kind soles, like Michael, stepped forward with valuable advice:
I wanted an oval that circled the room about 6" below the ceiling. The engine is an L&N (Louisville & Nashville) engine. You will have to use your imagination as to why those two cities are important to the beginning and ending of the pregnancy. The engine was renumbered to his birth year.
We brought our son home from the Louisville hospital to his home in Paducah, so I wanted to create a P&L caboose. I had to modify a caboose kit to create a P&L caboose. A local model railroader helped with finding the correct color of green and providing a mini spray booth. The decals are available commercially, but took a lot of tracking down! The number is his month/day of birth.
The number of cars in the train (not counting engine and caboose) is always his age. He picks out a new car every year.
I did a few preventative things, like placing re-railers before every curve and installing a clear flexible plastic guard to prevent catastrophic crashes. I also added a timer switch and a potentiometer mounted in wall plates so he can turn on the power and control the speed of the train (up to the max speed I set on the transformer behind a locked panel in his closet). The timer automatically cuts off power to the transformer so it isn't left on.
After 5 years in service, there have been zero catastrophic crashes and only ONE derailing due to an episode involving socks being thrown around by my two sons that is best left unmentioned. What really surprises me is that there have only been 3 or 4 uncouplings in that time. The potentiometer acts as a "momentum on" switch, but still, only a handful of uncouplings that can easily be corrected by unlocking the panel in his closet, reversing the direction, and reconnecting is impressive to me. The coupler technology seems a lot better that what I remembered as a kid! I really like those Kadee knuckle couplers!
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"He built a separate building in the back yard for it about as large as a 4-car garage."
This is what I'm wanting to do for mine... get one of those "pre-built cabins", and move all my stuff from the basement, where I've got sitting on 5 4'x4' tables, to move it to somewhere where I have space to work on things, as I have a HUGE issue right now trying to get to the track layout to make fixes when needed.
As for me.. I'll still go with CSX cars/trains (when I can
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President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
22 May 2013
12:02:32pm
re: Model Railroading
I heard an interview with Rod Stewart the other day. He is really in to Railroad Modeling. He builds stuff in his hotel room while tour. Never knew that before.
Bob
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Yes. Model Railroader magazine has featured Rod Stewart in a couple of issues a few years ago. He does some fantastic work and is quite into the hobby. At first when they mentioned that he is a model railroader I was wondering if he did his own work, or paid people to do it for him. Very nice to see that he does it mostly himself. He's just like the rest of us modelers!
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My boss at Texas Instruments in Dallas is very involved in model RR and helped design and build one of the original digital controllers. He had get togethers at his place once a month where each person had a set number of tasks to perform (move these cars from here to there, etc.) and 3 or 4 of them would do their thing for a few hours. One evening the special guest was a model RR fan that I would have never expected: Emmitt Smith! My boss said Emmitt held his own in completing his tasks as efficiently as the "old hands", but he did look funny with that tiny controller in his huge hands!
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LOL. There are plenty of model railroaders out there!
Those are called "operating sessions". I have held several on my layout, and I have participated in some at other people's layouts. They are alot of fun. It is especially fun to watch your own layout running like a real railroad as others run the trains.
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Operating sessions. OK. My father tried to explain it to me and even got a clock that ran at scale time or some weirdness like that, but it never sounded interesting to me. I enjoy building models (mostly cars and planes as a kid) so I built a lot of structures and bridges for him. At the time he was living in Kentucky and I was living in Dallas, so I would come up a couple of times a year to spend a week making models. He just had to keep me supplied with beer!
I guess I like building the railroad, but not running it.
I also have a seasonal layout that comes out at Thanksgiving and stays up until mid January. It's a 4' x 8' layout that goes under a Christmas tree in my home office. Right now it's a mixture of Thomas the Tank engine and normal stuff. Tidmouth Sheds has a working turntable! This is the layout my youngest gets to play with and we add something new each year. I'll take pictures after Thanksgiving when we figure out what to add.
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10:13:41am
re: Model Railroading
I seen the video of the Trestle fire in Texas. Looks like something from a movie. I would imagine that it will take a long time to rebuild. I wonder if it will be rplaced with another wooden one or will they use steel?
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Do you know what town that was near? I haven't heard of this one. From what I have seen on smaller trestles is that the wooden ones are being replaced with concrete ones.
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09:30:55pm
re: Model Railroading
Yes, the bridge over the Colorado River between San Saba & Lometa. Ted.
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Here's a good video of the collapse:
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/22405613/2013/05/23/burning-railroad-bridge-collapses-in-central-texas
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Holy Cow! That was something! Thanks for the link.....
I have no idea what they're planning to do with that one. 300 yards is a long trestle. I'll check with a retired RR friend of mine sand see if he knows or can find out more about it. I'll be at a model railroad meeting on Saturday. Someone there might know too.
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Yeah, when I was watching it collapse I was thinking, "What's that little ribbon on top that is collapsing slower than the timbers?" and realized that was the RAIL. What a mess!
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09:02:41pm
re: Model Railroading
Although I am not a model railroader I find many of these posts tremendous.
My son is a model rail enthusiast.He actually builds HO engines and carriages for Australian diesel enthusiasts.
Would anyone mind if I put up some photos of his work.I am very proud of the work he does and love to show it off.
Cheers
Dave
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Go right ahead and post the pictures Dave. This is the right thread for them and we have a number of model railroad enthusiasts among our members.
Regards ... Tim.
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Yes, Dave. Show us what you have in the way of pictures!!!
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YES!!!!! PLEASE DO!!!!!
Yes, I am shouting in anticipation! I love to see what other modelers are doing.
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NO, DON'T!
Just kidding. Please do.
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06:46:33am
re: Model Railroading
I am trying to send photo but keeps telling me too big.
Will have to work out what to do
Cheers
Dave
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Dave,
Scan you pictures at no more than 96dpi and keep the width to no more than 1200px. That will solve your problem. The images will come out just fine.
Regards ... Tim
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02:33:45pm
re: Model Railroading
Hi Tim
My son sent these photographs as an email attachment.
I will ask him to retake at lower resoloution.
Thanks for the help.
Cheers
Dave
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
09 Jun 2013
03:04:25pm
re: Model Railroading
Dave
They do not need to be "re-taken," just edited. Anyone with a decent photo viewer/editor (such as IrfanView - free download) can do it, yourself included.
-Bobby-
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Dave,
Bobby is right. Everyone need at least a simple photo editor. You can even use Paint which is a free Accessory that comes with Windows. That will take care of most of your needs, but you will find that a more robust photo editor like the freebie Bobby mentioned will come in quite handy and the learning curve is about like learning how to create a letter in Word or a spreadsheet in Excel. You'll be glad you have that tool!
Lars
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07:07:09pm
re: Model Railroading
As you can see I listen to all the advice I get.
This is just one of the engines my son built.What does everybody think.
Cheers
David
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WOW! comes to my mind. Excellent job!
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02:45:21am
re: Model Railroading
Thanks michael78651
Thanks for your kind words I will pass them on to my son.He will be thrilled.
Cheers
Dave
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My father in law is a MRR (Model RailRoader), as are my kids. Each child wants their own scale, the only problem is there are 5 kids. No far we have HO, N and next is Z scale (my sausage fingers are too big). Will post some pics shortly.
Marc
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Here is a thread from a couple of years ago. Brought it back up in light of the renewed discussion.
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06:30:38am
re: Model Railroading
Where are the real trains -steam!!!!
Those of us watching railways in the 60s in the UK were watching steam trains - none of this new-fangled diesel rubbish ( of course you in the US had got rid of most steam years before) - but with home-hewed coal (relatively) cheap and imported oil very expensive no-one had properly explored the real economies of diesel trains, reduced downtime with diesels against the longevity of steam locomotives.
Until the Bete-noir of railway enthusiasts Dr. Beeching arrived and put us all in our place.
However all is not lost. There are a lot of preserved working steam railways in the UK which carry huge numbers of customers every weekend. Rather like the model railway (see my other post) they apply a holistic approach to the atmosphere with period buildings,signage etc. Modellers are still taking inspiration from these places as there is nothing like the real thing. These railways are run mostly by volunteeers,but as far as safety etc is concerned are (quite rightly) run to the highest professional standards, but because volunteers are required in great numbers mostly operate at weekends only -although those in holiday areas manage to run a limited service daily in summer. Most are based on old branch lines but some are able to operate along "secondary" trunk lines mostly closed by the aforementioned Dr. Beeching to eliminate route duplication at the same time as he got rid of steam. Probably the most well known of these latter is the "Severn Valley Railway". Most of these railways are members of an umbrella organisation and as such have links to other websites. Most also have a road running day where those (nuts) who preserve and renovate buses,lorries( trucks to you across the pond) and even steam traction engines strut their stuff alongside the trains.
Nostalgia, especially transport nostalgia is big business here, people preserve and restore everything from lawn-mowers to Jet Bombers, outside domestic toilets to stately homes and castles - and people are happy to pay to experience them. Fortunately most enterprises are able to secure charity status and the associated tax breaks, and many are able to attract local authority grants from those towns farsighted enough to see the tourism potential.It helps that this country got into the heritage business when it was unfashionable, and there were some notable eccentrics who got the whole thing moving before it was too late. It was also some time before people realised that before you take apart and rebuild a railway carriage or a bus you need somewhere to keep it warm and dry or in 10 years it will be back in the same state. A lot of irreplaceable so-called preserved items were lost while that particular lesson was learnt.
Modellers "of a certain age" model steam, and in my long-ago modelling days those who modelled diesels were thought "a little odd", and the accessories available to them were sparse while steam "fixtures and fittings" were commonplace. It has to be said though that railway modelling here is now a long way from "toy trains" and is much more model engineering - and the real afficianadoes handbuild everything from the track to the sack- barrow on the station platform - and are much more interested in "painting a picture in time", where the train operation is only part of the process.
The skill and knowledge required by the people who take this approach to modelling is awesome, and when you realise that most of these people have had no trade or engineering training or experience ( they are teachers,doctors,office workers, bus drivers etc)it makes it even more awesome. Unfortunately I have never had the skill to work to this standard,and having seen it done so well I bowed out some decades ago and relegated my model to a train set for my sons to play with!
Slightly off-topic I am intrigued by the fact that those who collect stamps usually have interest in larger historical artefacts ( even if a passive one). Perhaps being able to collect small items like stamps is a sublimal substitute for collecting railway engines or roman armour - which take up too much space ??
Malcolm
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re: Model Railroading
I model the late 1960s, so no steam for me! Even if I were to do steam, the railroad that I model, New Haven, was one of the first to completely dieselize (1952).
I like watching the steam locomotives, and during my summers in Germany late 1960s and early 1970s, I watched steam trains running along the Rhine, Mosel and in Saarbrucken. Stood on a bridge overpass as a steam train passed underneath. Never did that again! Oh the stupidity of being 14!
About 15 years or so ago I had the opportunity to ride in the cab of a steam locomotive. That was fun!
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@Michael,
What happened when the train passed??? Did you get soaking wet? Even worse, did you get BURNED? LOL
Ernie
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LOL, neither of the two. However, the steam came up and totally encircled us (at least I wasn't the only stupid one there). It wasn't hot enough to scald. I just couldn't breath, it was so thick.
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Great Railroad Michael
I never had the room to start one of my own, but have always loved them.
I did recently stumble across an old set that was a gift to my brother and I from Santa back in 1952. Found out it had been buried in my Dad's Attic for the last 45 years. It's a Lionel 027 gauge three rail system. The Loco and cars are covered in dirt and oily grime. I have a feeling most of the parts that move have gummed up and I don't have a clue how to clean them. I was able to take the transformer control, clean it and verify all the voltages (variable and fixed) do work properly. Can't seem to find any RR clubs or shops within 50 miles of my location and even at that, not sure I'd trust them with this ancient gear.
I'd love to get it reconditioned and running for my Grandson.
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There are three dealers in Virginia that advertise that they do repairs. I don't know where you are located, but here's the towns where they are: Ashland, Roanoke, and Chantilly.
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Since Michael revived this thread, I will posit a question I asked him (and I don't think I was very clear so I will try to do better this time):
My son with the loop track in his room turns 12 next month. Does anyone know of an HO maker (engines and/or rolling stock) of "radical" or "trendy" stuff - like a Zombie Apocalypse train or something crazy like that? My youngest has a great little HO Thomas the Train set on a separate layout, but my oldest is getting bored with his train. I would like to renew his interest if possible.
Lars
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re: Model Railroading
The older fantasy stuff was done by the low end manufacturers. You can find high priced fantasy stuff like the John Wayne train, Harley Davidson, NFL and many other subjects that are being done by Bachmann for places like Bradford Exchange. Yes, the price is quite high for those items, and the quality is the lower end Bachmann line.
It just came to me that Athearn did a John Deere train several years ago. Better quality for sure, but long out of production.
Train shows and eBay are good places to try to find this stuff. From what I have seen, the models are often broken. One has to consider that the targeted audience for this stuff was children.
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Here's a link to starter sets and packs category on eBay.
HO Scale Train Sets
I looked through this and found train sets for:
- The A Team
- various Christmas-themed sets
- NFL Superbowl
- Monopoly (first time I have seen this)
- STP Richard Petty
- Ringling Brothers Circus
- Eckerd Drug Stores
- Toy Story
- Harry Potter (actually a good quality set)
- Campbells Soup
- John Deere (Athearn and expensive)
- Snap-On Tools
- US Army
- US Air Force (didn't see this, but I know it was made)
- Price Chopper Grocery Stores
There are many more. Seems like anyone wanting to get a specialty train made for their business is able to do so. All the ones I listed above are new in the box. Also, unless I mentioned otherwise, all are low-end manufacturers.
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" Does anyone know of an HO maker (engines and/or rolling stock) of "radical" or "trendy" stuff - like a Zombie Apocalypse train or something crazy like that?"
Why not create that yourself? If his existing train isn't an expensive one, ask him what he would do and build the zombie train together. You can find lots of zombie and skull type figures and such, especially in the Halloween season. They can be had for cheap the day after the holiday
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