Dear MRN Staff,
I greatly enjoy Model Railroad News and look forward to receiving it each month. I especially like the in-depth prototype information included in the product reviews; I learn something with every issue. Keep up the great work.
Gary L. Howard
Bonaire, GA
Dear Editor:
Perhaps we should put our national security secrets in charge of model railroad manufacturers who refuse to disclose their paint schemes. They put great effort and expense into producing a variety of superb paint schemes. Then they discourage sales by keeping them secret.
Just listing road names doesn’t tell us much. Most roads and most equipment have been through several paint schemes.
Some manufacturers include the paint scheme nickname, or “original”, “as delivered”, “simplified”, “early”, or “late.” But who knows what this means for every railroad, especially beginners? And who has more to gain from encouraging new people into the hobby then manufacturers?
Some manufacturers show paint schemes on the Internet. But not everyone is on the Internet, which requires the customer to seek out what the manufacturer should be promoting.
A print ad with color pictures is worth a thousand sales. Who hasn’t bought an item just because it looked good in an ad?
I’m baffled by manufacturers who run large ads showing only one paint scheme. Don’t they want to sell the others? Not seeing means not buying. Sure, have a large photo to show details, but include small photos to show the item in the other schemes.
It’s a loss to the manufacturer, dealer, and customer when a modeler discovers an item he or she would have bought, had they seen it, now operating on someone else’s layout, and no longer available.
A rarely modeled diesel was recently announced, with only a list of road names. Thinking of buying several if they look good, I requested a flyer showing paint schemes. The manufacturer couldn’t send me such, but I could send them $8.00 for their catalog. I’m not interested in their entire line. If the new item is included in the catalog, it will probably only show one paint scheme.
Do we have to special order each roadname through a hobby shop or mail order firm and then return the ones we don’t want?
It’s expensive to bring out a new model. It makes sense to produce it in several road names. But it’s pointless if modelers don’t see them and buy them.
So, come on manufacturers. We’re your supporters, not your enemies. Stop keeping secrets from us. Show and Sell
Ed Bigelow
Palm Bay, FL
To the Editor:
After reading Victor Roseman’s letter in the Sept. 2001 issue of Model Railroad News, I’d like to take the issue a little farther. I am not a neophyte model railroader. My involvement in the hobby began in Denver in August, 1949. So, I have seen a lot of good in the hobby, plus some bad.
The write-ups in today’s magazines do a lot of blowing and going on about how nice and heavy most of the new HO diesels are and how well they pull, on and on, adnauseum.
Then, in the steam locomotives write-ups, Athearn’s USRA Mike and Proto 2000 USRA 2-8-8-2 for example, they tell how many cars they will pull on straight level track. And I’d be willing to bet any of these writers fifty bucks the cars aren’t weighted to NMRA recommendations.
The reason I say this is from my own experience. I bought one of the Athearn Mikes, and the damned thing is a fraud. The N gauge mentality split weight (and I use the term “weight” loosely), is so light, with no room to add more, the engine would not pull more than four Younge cars up a 2% curving grade.
You will recall all the yammering from purchasers about the tender not staying on the track. The tender weighs about as much as a postage stamp, and a fly landing on one side would almost tip it over. Then, as if that were not enough, that stupid, stiff bundle of wires going into the tender aggravated the problem. My example went back to the store and sold at a loss. But, on my layout, the engine was totally useless.
The Proto 2000 USRA 2-8-8-2 is somewhat better, and there is room inside to stuff a bit more weight in it. But, why should this buyer have to resort to this?
The engine runs very nicely, but there again, it will only handle ten, four-ounce cars on that 2% curving grade. Add one more car, she’s like a cow on ice. And, as the engine accumulated some running hours, it became more slippery. That engine should be able to take 18 or 20, four-ounce cars up that grade.
A PFM Sierra will. A Neanderthal Varney 2-8-2 with it’s lead boiler will pull 25 cars up that grade. An old all metal roundhouse 0-6-0 will pull seven four- ounce cars up that 2% grade. I put an ounce-and-a-half of lead in it’s belly years ago. It will drag a Proto 2000 USRA 0-8-0 backwards.
In short, they don’t make’em like they used to. In some respects, we’ve lost something. The 50 year old technology Mr. Roseman mentions still has a lot going for it. Some new motors and regearing will work wonders, too.
Pete Ellis MMR
Cascade, MT
Dear Mr. Pratt,
After reading your June, 2001 editorial concerning affordability in this hobby, my thought is maybe you are too young to realize how really affordable model railroading is today for youngsters (or anyone on a limited budget) as compared to when us senior citizens got involved 50 years ago.
I entered the hobby as a teenager in the late forties when the availability of key items in HO scale such as locos, track and power supplies were very limited. Also the source of income (part time jobs) for young people was even more limited! The following comments may give you some appreciation for what I’m talking about:
When I first saw the new Varney F-3A at my local hobby shop, I thought, “Wow, this is really something special at only $19.95 (plus tax).” I soon purchased one with earnings from my part time job at a gas station. At my 75¢ an hour pay rate it took only about 27 hours of work to pay for it! Remember, discounting in the model railroad field was virtually unheard of. That new locomotive had four wheel drive and electrical pickup, no flywheel, no lights, no window glazing and I got to assemble, paint and letter it as well. In contrast, today there is a wide choice of decent running, good looking locomotives from Athearn, Bachmann (Plus and Spectrum), Proto 1000 and others at discount prices in the $20 to $50 range. At today’s minimum wage, it takes only four to ten hours work to pay for one of these units. The same comparison can be made for rolling stock, track and other items.
In today’s world where teenagers ride $300 plus bicycles wearing $100 a pair athletic shoes I don’t think cost is a barrier to entering this hobby. The love of trains and modeling them will bring people into the hobby despite limited budgets. The hours of enjoyment this hobby provides for the amount of money spent is truly a bargain and just looking at the great new items you review and report on each month in MRN tells me we’ve never had it so good!
Ray Fernandes
Shingle Springs, CA
Dear John Sipple:
In response to the letter from Marty in the September 2001 Edition of Model Railroad News, American Models (www.americanmodels.com) has been producing GG-1’s for at least the last eight years. They are available in both Brunswick Green and Tuscan Red with RP-25 or Hirail wheels.
Gordon Michael
via the internet
