To reviewer Alan Houtz:
I was disappointed in your review of the Walthers SP cabooses. All of the grab iron numbers in the instructions are mislabeled and the sheet in general is hard to follow.
Also, and this is a biggie, after completing my cabooses I sprayed them with Testers Dullcote. The lettering wrinkled badly and could have been easily removed. I was able to save the lettering with some careful patting. It is the first time Dullcote has caused a problem in any paint situation for me.
I have been a modeler for many years and am in general happy with the new products and many quality choices we have in the hobby today.
Gary Balogh
Cottonwood, AZ
I did not use “Dullcote” on my cars, as they were already sporting a flat finish. I weathered them by dry brushing water based paints, using India ink washes, and airbrushing. I tried Microscale’s Solvaset, Walthers DDV and Champ Decal Set, and none of them had any effect on the lettering. How “wet” did you get the cars? In high enough concentrations, any solvent-based medium will damage lettering.
I believe I did note that there wasn’t much of anything in the way of written instructions, just exploded drawings showing parts fit-up. If I had done this model before I had done so many of the Walthers passenger cars (about a half a dozen sleepers and the Super Chief cars) I probably would have groused a little more about the quality of the instructions. Attempts to show the grabs and footsteps in some sort of isometric form makes things confusing. It was difficult to identify what was what on the sleepers.
By the time I reviewed this caboose, I had stopped trying to identify the various wire pieces by the drawings provided with any of the Walthers car kits. I simply separated all of the wire parts by type, and test fit them prior to gluing with ACC. If you tried to rely completely on the instructions to determine what went where, then things would get frustrating. The first passenger car I assembled tried my patience. I had to refer back to the drawing several times before I “got it.” This is where the skill level of the modeler comes into play. I have assembled brass models, resin kits, and craftsman level structure kits. The instructions for those often require you to “wing it” or decide for yourself the methods you will use to get a step done.
I have also been notified by some expert Southern Pacific modelers that there is a problem with the steps and the end platforms of the C-30-1. They are some 3-4 scale inches too narrow. This means that the model is about 1/16 of an inch too short in the 12 inches to the foot world, and I should have caught it. Sorry about that. Would I still buy it? You bet! Do I still think it is a good effort? Absolutely! I have seen expensive brass models with similar detail or dimensional mistakes. Most modelers will probably not be bothered by this. The most ambitious of us may try and do some surgery to correct the problem, if aftermarket parts are available. I intend to run mine just the way they are.
Is it reasonable to expect this in a thirty-dollar plastic freight car kit? Maybe not. We modelers all have different styles and preferences, and what doesn’t bother one of us will drive another to distraction. I stand by my original review. The SP modeler now has a very acceptable model of the C-30-1 that he or she does not have to pay $225.00-$250.00 a copy for in brass. I’m tickled pink, even if the instruction sheet isn’t as accurate as it could be. Remember when we bought a thirty-dollar diesel and seventy-five dollars worth of detail parts? Isn’t it a great time to be a model railroader? — Alan Houtz
I read your editorial about “The Magic of Model Railroad Clubs” (July 2003) and offer the following inquiry as a result:
I serve on the Board of Directors for the Historic Orient-Santa Fe Railway Museum in San Angelo, Texas. We have several model layouts representing various scales, a railway history museum, and several pieces of rolling stock all located in/at the 1915 KCMO depot in San Angelo. At our Board meeting last night, I suggested one way we could expand our sphere of service to the community would be by establishing a family model railroad club, starting from scratch, in a large room in our museum. Not surprisingly, the Board is enthused, and there appears to be significant interest from parents and kids to community leaders. Great! Yes, but as I have volunteered to undertake the development of this concept, I am writing your organization for advice, ideas, and suggestions on how to get started.
I would greatly appreciate hearing from you as soon as possible as we would like to plant the seeds for this community-centered idea before kids go back to school in the fall. My sincere thanks for any information you could get to me.
Bruce McLaren
San Angelo, TX
I would say to go back to basics. The basic reason for having a family is children. Despite some modern trends, most families have a man and a woman at their core. Men are easier to hook on trains; women take more work. Thus, if you create activities for children of all ages, you also will have the support of the women. The children are the future of the hobby, so any efforts to involve them will be rewarded with another generation of train freaks. I would create a large play area which features big, tough trains which the little ones can maul to their heart’s content. I’d also have a video running at all times, usually Thomas the Tank Engine. For the early school crowd, garden railroad-sized trains are easy for them to manipulate. This scale is excellent for establishing the truth that tracks and flanges steer trains.
Around 4th-6th grade, children begin to have the fine motor skills to deal appropriately with HO or N scale. Many children would enjoy the chance to make cars, buildings, or scenery items such as trees and bushes. This is a good way to introduce children to the concept of scale. I have been to many club layouts where children were barely tolerated — if at all — and where their interest and fascination was punished. I encourage my grandchildren to touch my trains, especially those in the garden. We have “touching places” where they can sit or squat to touch the trains as they move slowly past them.
Finally, my experience with trains in the classroom has taught me that some kids have problems with honesty and will pocket small train items. Rather than having a repressive atmosphere, I was careful with the distribution of small items. In your club, I’d also work to create a buying club where parents could experience train items and then purchase new copies of those which their children really like, reducing the incentive to steal. You may also need a crew of volunteers to disinfect everything after every session!
I promise you that if you build it, they will come! Parents are always looking for a place where they can take their kids, watch them at play, and where the kids always want to return. — Ed.
The letter from Wait Kimbro in the July issue concerning the Pullman Company prompts me to write and add a few details. My grandfather, Lowell M. Greenlaw, was Vice President and General Counsel of Pullman during the lengthy antitrust case brought against Pullman by the government. Discussions began in 1938, the suit was filed in 1940, and the final dissolution of the company and sale of the sleeping car operating business to 59 railroads occurred in 1947.
The crux of the case was that Pullman had a monopoly because they built the cars, and the railroads had to use their cars since Pullman operated the sleeping car business. In later years, it always offended Granddad when he had to walk through, or worse yet, sleep in a Budd car!
The railroads long ago wrote off their investment in The Pullman Company, but the shareholders of Pullman, Inc., which continued to own the large manufacturing company, Pullman-Standard, have today ended up as stockholders in Honeywell. The Newberry Library in Chicago has many of The Pullman Company’s records and they are available for interesting browsing.
Carter G. Baker
Nashville, TN
While visiting my local hobby shop, I learned from the owner that he has had problems with Horizon Hobbies in the past, when he was told by their sales personnel that the retailer must meet “minimum ordering” requirements to the sum of $500.00 minimum per order. Large volume shops would not have a problem, but for the small family train shops, placing an order for that amount each month, would be difficult at times. If Horizon is to be the sole distributor of Athearn products, and just recently, MDC/RoundHouse and insists on these “minimum orders” the small shops may not be able to properly provide services to their customers. My local shop has been using Walthers as a supplier, but if Walthers will no longer be able to act as a distributor for Athearn and MDC/Roundhouse, my shop and others may be forced to deal directly with Horizon. They will have to either meet the minimum order requirement or regretfully tell their customers they cannot fill special item orders from these two companies.
I find this a bit disturbing, as I feel support should go to our small local shops, rather than always dealing with some of the larger discount firms.
Bob Laine
Manassas, VA
I have talked to a number of local hobby shop owners who tell me that to stay in business they need gross sales in the neighborhood of $10,000 per month, given the cost of rent, utilities, and all of the other expenses they face. This includes their sales of model airplanes, cars, boats, and general supplies. Against that backdrop, averaging $500 a month should be a piece of cake. That only represents four or five locos and a dozen cars, they get to toss their Christmas sales against the slow months, and it also would include products purchased in other hobbies such as general supplies, model planes. and so on. Most of the local hobby shops I’m in touch with have no problem dealing with Horizon. — Ed.
There is a lawsuit going on between MTH and BLI regarding their use of what I understand to be the use of load compensation or I believe “back EMF.” I am a little rusty on my electronics, but how does this differ from the “back EMF” mentioned in the piece on page 43 of the July MRN regarding the new Lenz decoder with “SUSI”? I am somewhat confused by all of this.
Wil Davis
Dayton, OH
Just one little note you might want to think about. In the July issue you stated that you tinned the wire before inserting it into the screw connector on a DCC command station. While that’s probably okay, it’s not the best.
I assume you were using stranded wire: When inserting tinned wire into the connector, you limit the contact points to that which touches the top and bottom of the round bundle by the flat clamp jaws. By leaving the stranded wires un-tinned, the connector clamps can mash them out to take the shape of the complete cavity — providing many wires making contact against the flat jaws of the clamp.
Under light use (low amperage), it probably doesn’t make any difference at all. But with heavy current use, it could make a difference — limiting current flow through the small touch. If the connectors were such that you could clamp down really tight on the tinned wire that would probably be better, mashing it down to make a larger flat spot on the bundle for the flat jaws. But....
Also, with care, you can get a larger gauge of stranded wire into the connector than you can if you tin it. And, again, it probably doesn’t matter with low current usage, but... it’s just a small thing, something to think about.
One absolute no-no that should always be mentioned in conjunction with these types of connectors is that these screw connectors are not designed to handle solid core wire. Using solid core wire of sufficient gauge for the job will put undue stress on the connector any time the box is moved.
My recommendation, if you’re using solid core bus wiring, is to bring the heavy gauge solid core up to within a foot of the booster, then splice in a short piece of fine stranded 16AWG wire. With a little attention, one can even get fine stranded 14AWG wire into the hole. Again, with low currents on smaller layouts....
Loy Spurlock
Loy’s Toys
I come from a time of vacuum tubes and point-to-point wiring where I had thumped into my head that all stranded wires should be tinned. I tend to take the “Larger View” but when I dare to think small, what you say makes perfect sense. See, you can teach an old dog new tricks! I only use solid wire in household current applications, but your warning regarding the use of solid wire into DCC screw terminals should be heeded by everyone. Your workaround takes a little effort but will pay off in the long run (or perhaps right away!) — John
Just like David Otte, I too had trouble with the C628 not running out of the box! Thanks to the insistence of the salesman at Willis Hobbies that the locos be put on the test track, it was discovered that they did not run!
The headlights were lighting up but no motion. Another staff member, Steve Ford, came over and took the body shells off and discovered a problem with a clip, he said. (I did not see exactly what he meant as the test track is behind counter). Both locos I bought then ran flawlessly.
If anyone else had this problem, it would be interesting to know. I think this should be brought to Atlas’ attention (if not done by now). I would like to know Atlas’ comments on this problem.
Joe Daly
Oakland Gardens, NY
I would like to see more news items and related articles on Märklin AC trains. I have switched from American HO to Märklin HO. Big problem is there is not much press on Märklin Trains. Could you be the first to do this?
I do enjoy Model Railroad News very much, and I’m a subscriber. I’m also into LGB and O gauge 3 rail.
Gilbert Klassy Jr.
Sunland, CA
Creators of Counterfeit Red Ball Kits Must Cease and Desist
It has come to our attention that one or more parties have recently engaged in the practice of creating counterfeit copies of Red Ball model rail car kits and advertising them for sale on eBay using the brand name Red Ball. The Red Ball brand for model rail kits has been in the marketplace since 1939 and has been the sole property of Wabash Valley Lines, Inc. since 1976. The kit design and original tooling for the kits in question and some 400 others are likewise the property of Wabash Valley Lines, Inc., or its operator, Model Railroad Warehouse. Model Railroad Warehouse is the only firm authorized to produce kits with Red Ball tooling and employ or authorize use of the Red Ball trade name and marks in marketing model rail kits. A limited number of former Red Ball cast metal/wood kit designs and their tooling are the property of BC Models (Robert Cook) of Florida whose ownership permits only his reference to their “former Red Ball” heritage.
Notice is hereby given that Wabash Valley Lines, Inc., will pursue any or all legal remedies to protect its property rights against the unauthorized use of the Red Ball trade names, trade marks, carside art, and kit or tooling design. Those directly involved or those aiding them in their marketing are hereby directed to cease and desist. Anyone patronizing them is knowingly trafficking in counterfeit products.
Merle D. Rice
VP Wabash Valley Lines, Inc
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