A correction for a major error! I know the truth, I was there! SARS did not do away with the NMRA Toronto Convention! SARS did discourage mostly American publishers and manufacturers from participating in the National Train Show (not to be confused with the NMRA National Convention, Maple Leaf 2003). In fact, more than 1500 registered for the Convention and attended.
I spent 16 days in Toronto and the St. Lawrence Valley. Not even once did I see a person with a mask! 200 cases of SARS in a population of six million and the media created a disaster? Kudos to the 2003 Committee for pulling together a wonderful train show in less than five weeks! Toronto was a full convention despite the inability of the American commercial groups to participate.
A final word about Toronto, there were valid business liability reasons for businesses and even the NMRA Headquarters Staff not to attend, given the media hype. Had an employee been sickened because the employer sent them knowing there might be an even remote risk to employee health could result in lawsuits with disastrous financial consequences for, what generally are, small businesses. Prudence prevailed for most!
Now a word about Seattle’s PSX2004 (July 4-11). As outside Activities Chair, I can assure you that there will be more than 100 layouts to be visited in all scales, indoors and out! There will be a triple headed geared steam excursion, a 2-8-2 excursion, diesels to ride and even bid for an operating opportunity, a visit to a logging museum, a trolley museum, a glass bottle plant, a coal mine, a cement manufacturing plant, the Kenworth manufacturing plant, the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle, and even a certain aircraft manufacturing plant! Non-rail activities will occur on land and sea! The Seahawks Exhibition hall with over 250,000 square feet of floor will host the National Train Show July 9-11. When you are not busy, ride the Talgo Train to Vancouver, BC, visit Canadian modelers' layouts, ride the BC Sky Train, visit two shortline railroads, visit and observe Operating and Design SIGS, attend nonstop clinics, hands on half day building sessions, King Street Station, ride the Sounder commuter rail and the Tacoma Link light rail that has just started operation.
John, in your own words, “The NMRA Convention . . . , perhaps the grandaddy of model railroad conventions. . .” is accepting registrations now. (Check the PSX 2004 web site for details).
Roger H. Ferris
NMRA-PNR Trustee
Outside Activities Chair PSX 2004
I was anticipating that I would see the final installment of the Woodland Scenics layout project in your September 2003 issue of MRN. Is it planned for October ? If not, when?
Thank you,
Jess A. Puccio
Highland, NY
Thanks for the nice review of our Accurail kits in the October 2003 issue of Model Railroad News. Both my partner Bob and I are long time model railroaders, and we certainly agree that those who don’t build kits are “missing out on all the fun.” While the enjoyment and satisfaction of building something with one’s own hands is certainly the most compelling reason to build kits, we both believe that the author missed another of equal importance: building kits increases the level of one’s modeling skills.
Both Bob and myself have been in this hobby a very long time, have built a few models, written a few articles, and now produce kits for others to build. But we both started in the same place — building kits. Building simple plastic or wood kits not only gives one the skills to use the tools required, it gives some insight into how models go together, which in turn gives one the confidence to tackle more complex kits. At some point the realization sets in that one doesn’t need a kit to model that favorite structure or freight car; given some published drawings and some basic material, it is easy to create one’s own “kit” from scratch, based on how all the others went together. In another time this was known as “scratch building,” a term that seems to scare most modelers these days. The personal satisfaction derived from creating a unique model from one’s own design is immense, yet all the required skills come from building progressively more complex kits. It’s a pity that so many of today’s modelers are destined to become simply collectors and never experience this feeling of great satisfaction.
On a related subject, I see in the review that the author recommends using silicone caulk or Liquid Nails Small Project adhesive to attach the car weights. I’m not familiar with this particular product, although I imagine that it is one of the water clean up varieties, but feel compelled to stress that there are many different products sold under the Liquid Nails name, and some of them contain solvents that may eventually cause our plastic models to swell and warp if they are trapped inside the closed car body. The silicone caulk shouldn’t have this problem, but may leave the model smelling like a car load of bottled vinegar waiting for the damage claims inspector, as the acetic acid that evaporates out of the caulk will take a long time to finally leave the model. My recommendation is to clean the rust preventative off the steel weight with rubbing alcohol, and attach it with a couple of squares of double faced foam tape, after cementing all the details in place from the back side of the floor.
Dennis Storzek
Accurail, Inc.
To editor John Sipple:
How timely was your editorial on excursion trains. My wife Dawn and I just returned from two weeks of riding excursion trains. In the past, we took vacations to do genealogy with only thoughts of riding trains. This time, the trip was solely for the purpose of riding trains.
We found that at this time of year the trains run mainly on the weekends, so scheduling was very critical. We also found that many of the steam engines were in the shop for repairs or boiler inspections. That was somewhat disappointing; however, we had a great time.
Our first destination was Cass, West Virginia. The Cass Scenic Railroad is fantastic and the locomotives are in pristine condition. For an aside, you can visit the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, WV which is a very short distance from Cass.
Next we traveled to Scranton, PA where we visited Steamtown. The trains only run on the weekend so we just took the tour of the facilities. Turned out we were the only two on the tour so the Park Ranger took us places in the shops that most tourists don’t get to see. Great place; everyone should visit.
From Scranton we drove to Mt. Washington, New Hampshire to experience a ride on the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. It is powered by a steam engine that looks like the boiler is bent. Mt. Washington is the highest peek in the Eastern U.S. and the railway was completed in 1869. Wow!
Then it was down state to North Conway, New Hampshire for a ride on the Conway Scenic Railroad. Their steam engine is awaiting a boiler inspection so we had to ride behind a “stinky diesel” as my wife puts it. In addition, it is a must to visit the HO Scale layout of the North Conway Model Railroad Club. They have a fantastic layout.
In Essex, Connecticut we rode the Essex Steam Train, or Connecticut Valley Railroad. They have a beautifully restored steam engine which travels along the Connecticut River. At Deep River Landing you detrain and board a riverboat for a tour of the area. Then back on the train for a ride back to your point of origin. That was fun.
Down to New Jersey where we rode the Black River and Western Railroad located in Ringoes, NJ. Once again their steam engine was in the shop. It was literally in pieces.
Our last ride was on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad located in Dillsboro, North Carolina. And once again, their steam engine was in for repairs. This railroad is owned by the same people who own the Durango and Silverton.
By the time we got back to Texas, my wife said that was enough, no more train rides for awhile. Even though I am a died in the wool railroad buff and model railroader, I had to agree with her.
Maybe in a few years we will get out west and ride the excursion railroads out there.
Ride a train, it’s fun, and as John says it stimulates the modeling juices. Thanks for the article, John.
Charlie Spangler
San Antonio, Texas
To TAMR’s Peter Maurath:
I’m not a teen, but I read your article in the Sept MRN and have a comment. Though I am sorry no one entered your contest, I don’t think it should point to the end of our hobby. Teens are indeed pulled in every direction; they are busy and have many interests. But if my own history is an example, then they will come back someday — after high school, after college, maybe after they get married and have/raise kids. All that matters is planting that initial seed when they are young — get ‘em hooked early in life on “playing with trains.” Though they grow up and develop other interests, the seed is still there waiting to be watered by a copy of MRN or a local model railroad show or a WGH function or sign at a local hobby shop where they are buying Barbies for their daughters. Then the memories will flood their minds with the trains they once “played” with and, viola! They are hooked — all over again!
Tim Stuck
Burnsville, MN
(Age 36 with 2 daughters, (4 & 7) who love to watch trains with Daddy and beg him to work on his railroad so they can run trains, too.)
I just received the current issue of MRN and was reading the review of the Life-Like RS2 loco. For the price, it is a great unit.
One thing I would like to point out with the one I purchased, there was no instructions for setting up the DCC on this loco. Having installed many decoders over the past few years, I knew about the “X” marks on the Life-Like circuit boards and how to cut the section out to make the board DCC ready. WRONG! It seems the Life-Like in their infinite wisdom, saw fit to put an “X” section on the bottom of the circuit board that has to be removed before the loco will run on DCC. This means removing the circuit board to access the underneath “X” point. Without the DCC instructions showing where the cuts need to be made, a modeler could easily blow out a decoder resulting in an extra cost repair and much frustration.
So when you buy a Life-Like Proto 1000 loco and go to put in a decoder, take a moment and look at both sides of the circuit board for the “X” cutout points.
To Life-Like, I say, you make a nice product, but its time to come to the party and make your circuit boards a little more “DCC” friendly. Go with the NMRA Standard 8-pin plug-in socket.
Keep up the great work with your magazine!
E. C. Koch
Helena, MT
To “Thinking of DCC’s” John Sipple:
Just got the latest issue of Model Railroad News (October); in fact I have gone through it a couple of times since this morning’s trip to the Post Office. I always read the Thinking of DCC column first. One of the last issues painted a kind of complicated picture of DCC. After reading that I wondered if I should do something different. But my new layout is already started and I am going to use DCC, no matter what. Now I don’t know much about DCC and I also don’t have anyone around here that knows anything about DCC. (I really don’t have another model railroader for about 60 or 70 miles. I guess that’s to be expected when you live this far out in the sticks!) I do have my sons who are also going into layouts with DCC, so I can call them for morale support. But that is more like the blind leading the blind! I was beginning to wonder if I am just too plain old to try something like this, but I then decided that my learning curve at 62 is okay; why not learn something new? And your column keeps me on that track pretty well. Thanks again for that.
My new layout is taking shape real well. The bench work is done and up. I am now laying track; started with the staging yard first. My son designed my layout and he did an excellent job. But I have really had to think about things more that I ever did on the old layouts. I purchased the Digitrax Zephyr and I have 4 engines that are the first that I will convert to DCC. From there, not sure what I will do with the other 20 or so engines I have. Will climb that mountain later. Right now I think these 4 will work out okay, with a little luck anyway.
I have been thinking about how to control my turnouts and this issue also gave me an idea for solving that problem. Your article on the Hump Yard Purveyance Turnout Controls was just what I needed to read. Wow, two great articles in the same issue! Keep that up, please! These should work real well on the turnouts in the staging area of my layout. I am using Peco turnouts with the springs; hope this will work with them. Anyway, I am going to try it, at least when I get that far.
I should have a lot of help with all of this during Thanksgiving as both of my sons will be home for the entire week. Free labor for old Dad! And they seem real excited about helping. So we should really be off and running then.
The first DCC decoder I am going to install is for the Intermountain EMD FT Diesels that I purchased. From what I have read on these, it seems to be a straight forward install. These are N scale engines so my big fingers might be a little bit of a problem, but hopefully one that I can overcome. Then I have a Kato E8/E9 that I will try next. Following that, I have two steam engines I would like to install decoders in. One is a Kato 2-8-2 and the other is a Bachmann 2-8-0. (Hope I didn’t mix these around.)
Again thanks for the info contained in those two great articles. More will be appreciated. Boy am I going to have fun when retirement gets here next year! Things should be humming in the basement by then.
Chauncey J. Linn
Thedford, NE
To “Thinking of DCC’s” John Sipple:
I believe the “yellow tape” or “a piece of yellow cellophane tape” you refer to in the article is not that at all. Actually, it’s Kapton (DuPont trade name) tape, made of a polyimide material with adhesive on one side. This polyimide is a very good electrical insulator (i.e. dielectric), and yet very thin. It is also very “hard” in that it will resist abrasion well, and that’s why it may be somewhat difficult to cut through! This type of tape is used to insulate electrical conductors in aircraft, nuclear power plants, and spacecraft (e.g. the Apollo lunar missions), and has been around for at least 30 years. Its also quite expensive, and that’s why they probably give you such a small piece along with the decoder.
I thought that your readers might find this interesting, and also so they don’t try to use just any tape to attempt to insulate their decoders!
Good article!
Rich Dulski
Elma, NY
Niagara Orleans Model Railroad Engineers (NOMRE)
To “Larger View’s” John Sipple:
I went to Reno last week and took a couple of MRNs along to read. I read your column about using a caliper to help with modeling. I saw in the Kragen Sunday ad an 0 to 6 inch Stainless Steel Digital Caliper with case for $19.99. I bought it. It seems to be very good. I have one of the old PFM calipers that measure in HO feet and inches, but I dropped it once and broke off a small piece from the point of the part used for inside measurements. Also my eyesight isn’t what it used to be, and the digital one solves that problem. Scale conversion is easy by setting it to read millimeters and remembering that HO scale is 3.5mm equals 1.0 feet! Thanks for the idea to go digital.
Frank Weishaar
Oakdale, CA
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