Large scale model train time !

[BigSki]

I know that a few members always like when I post my journey to the annual Great Scale Model Train Show held right here in Baltimore. The show goes 3 times a year, I usually go to the winter show just for a reason to get out of my room.

It seems like attendance is steadily declining at these shows, much like our segment of the RC hobby. I look at some of the prices of the new model railroad equipment, and although the level of detailing is truly incredible and DCC and sound are pretty much a standard, the price ta of over $200 for a single modern diesel locomotive makes me think that my Frankensteined RC piles are a relative bargain. One thing that I do see as a new trend is that RC is slowly creeping into some of the main stream model train for things like light and sound control.

There's a club around Baltimore that has been in place since the 50's and they operate large scale live steam locomotives, the ones that you can sit on top of a flat car and ride around the property. afew years ago merry-land cracked down on them for not have boiler operators licenses and made them remove some of the locomotives.

The club was forced to have their live steam boilers inspected and the operators were forced to have an operators license and of course, pay taxes and other fees to operate their equipment. They fought back by converting some of their locomotives to run on batteries.

I saw a new piece of equipment at the show this year, a fully function crane. It's built in 1/8 scale so it's enormous. It has (2) 2500 lb winches to operate the boom functions and it fully RC's for operating. It's all water jet cut steel and all TIG welded. The ME on the staff designed it and fabbed it in their shop outsourcing the water jet cutting. They have proof loaded it to 1000 lbs so that it can pick up their heaviest locomotive if need be.

This pic gives a good sense of scale.

Battery powered Shay. At one time it was live steam burning coal.

 

[Brake Weight]

Those are yuuuuuuge.

 

[OSRC]

That Shay is amazing! Riding behind one is on my bucket list for sure.

Thankfully the crazy licensing hasn't hit here in PA. Live steam is alive and well.

On a side note (kinda), I got invited to a playdate thinking I was going to be kinda bored... imagine my surprise when I walked into crazy train/hot rod heaven. The older brother is way into trains and had G scale in the living room, and an HO and N scale layout in the basement. Not to mention a large scale live steam 4-4-2 in the garage they run in Schwenksville. Plus so much drag racing stuff I couldn't even take it all in.... Moose Brothers racing, they were pretty big here in SE PA. Old pics, models, signs, even an old Weiand blower mounted on the wall. Could've hung out there all day - my kind of house!

Train hobby is dying slowly, it's a sad state. Some of the best and most creative modelling is in model railroads.

 

[Mike Flea]

I have to disagree that it is dying, plenty of modelers and hobby shops that still stock and supply parts and accessories for all scales.

Check out MyLargeScale.com and LargeScaleCentral.com, still a lot of guys into railroading

 

[BigSki]

I have to disagree that it is dying, plenty of modelers and hobby shops that still stock and supply parts and accessories for all scales.

Check out MyLargeScale.com and LargeScaleCentral.com, still a lot of guys into railroading

Lets hope so, it used to be a fairly normal hobby activity when I was growing up and most houses had a Lionel train running around the X-mas tree, not so much any more. It's a great hobby, you can learn so many different aspects of building a model railroad- construction techniques for the bench work, basic DC wiring, the artistry of building scenery, building and painting of equipment, ect

 

[Inspector86]

I have a collection of G scale rolling stock that is currently in boxes down in the basement. I want to get that stuff back out one of these days.

 

[PoorManRC]

I started as a Model Railroader, in 1975. I've learned more about scratchbuilding, kitbashing, weathering, Electronics and just making things out of NOTHING, working on my 8 Layouts over the years, than by any other means!
Of course, when I started, and even in the first 15-17 years, unless you went for Brass, Standard Gauge, or these ride-on Beauties... Model Railroading was CHEAP!! I mean like Athearn and Atlas Locomotives - $22 or LESS. Rolling Stock between $1.50-5.00!!

I really believe that the SHARP rise started, when Horizon bought Athearn. They killed the "Blue Box", and decided, almost for the whole Industry, that we were going to be a RTR World!! The "Hobby" was being cut out of the Hobby.
Now, in some ways, it's making a comeback.... But now it's FAR too expensive for most kids like I was, to even get started.
You almost CAN'T buy a new Locomotive, worth having, for UNDER $100.00 anymore! And with most Rolling Stock around the $30-50.. range, they're HURTING many newcomers! A lot of people think about the individual Car at the Hobby Shop, and say $30.00, not too bad......

YEAH? Think about buying a TRAIN, with 20-40 of those Cars. OUCH!
There is one Company, made up of former Athearn employees. ScaleTrains.com. they do make over the top Stuff (like their $800.00 UP Turbine in HO Scale, but they also re-introduced the $13-18.99 Boxcar KIT!
So if you want to build or increase your fleet, please take a look at them! The only way they're going to stay in Business, is if they keep their Sales up... It works for us too.
No, I don't work for them in any capacity! I just believe in their products.

 

[goobs]

model RR is what got me into rc! i have a plethora of HO stuff that one of these years ill have a room for it all and a nice layout.

 

[Browneye]

I always said I'd get back into RRoading when I got too old to ride motorcycles. Getting close. ;-) :lmao:

I have some HO scratch-build stuff tucked away, some kits and cars, etc.

Awesome pics! "thumbsup"

 

[BigSki]

There is one Company, made up of former Athearn employees. ScaleTrains.com. they do make over the top Stuff (like their $800.00 UP Turbine in HO Scale), but they also re-introduced the $13-18.99 Boxcar KIT!
So if you want to build or increase your fleet, please take a look at them! The only way they're going to stay in Business, is if they keep their Sales up... It works for us too.
No, I don't work for them in any capacity! I just believe in their products.

Good to know this, as the Athearn kits were what got me going in the hobby when I was a kid. My dad also built those kits, so it was always a sense of pride taking a GP35 undecorated loco kit, learning how to paint it ( and later weather it, much to my dads disapproval) rewiring it with a constant volatge supply circuit that you built from an article in Model Railroader magazine, making metal handrails from wire stock, and then finally running it.

DCC is incredible, but it also stops a lot of people dead in their tracks. The last railroad stuff I did was HOn3. I loved the narrow gauge but again it was a lot of scratch building which devours a lot of time. I have 2 totes full of relatively modern locomotives and freight cars, maybe one day I'll be able to enjoy them.

 

[PoorManRC]

Good to know this, as the Athearn kits were what got me going in the hobby when I was a kid. My dad also built those kits, so it was always a sense of pride taking a GP35 undecorated loco kit, learning how to paint it ( and later weather it, much to my dads disapproval) rewiring it with a constant volatge supply circuit that you built from an article in Model Railroader magazine, making metal handrails from wire stock, and then finally running it.

DCC is incredible, but it also stops a lot of people dead in their tracks. The last railroad stuff I did was HOn3. I loved the narrow gauge but again it was a lot of scratch building which devours a lot of time. I have 2 totes full of relatively modern locomotives and freight cars, maybe one day I'll be able to enjoy them.

Yeah, those kits are pretty simple.... but then, so were the old BB kits. The mold quality is MUCH better, with sharper detail. They just lack the finite details that the grossly Overpriced trains Today.
That's the main problem. People have now been conditioned to expect their model Trains DONE. They have to have EVERY tiny detail, and every variation in details from RR to RR!

As far as DCC.... It's become quite user-friendly! The best by far, as far as ease of use, quality, Performance, and ability to upgrade - without having to TOSS the stuff you've already invested in - is NCE! Hands down.
You can start with their PowerCab System - $179.99 or less. You take it out of the box, run two wires from the output port to the Track, plug the Throttle into the output port (called a PCP), plug the Wall Wart into the PCP, and plug the outlet into the Wall....
Put a Loco on the Track (they're ALL sold with the default address 3). Select Loco 3 on the Throttle, and advance the Throttle.... And you're running a Train!! 8) Now, you'll want to change the address (clearly explained in the manual), so you can run more than one simultaneously. (MOST of us choose the Loco's Cab number)
There ARE many more functions and features, but you can address them in your own time!

I promise.... as someone approaching 60, once you get DCC going, and get comfortable with it, you'll WONDER how you ever got along without it!!!
The best selling point I can give: you will NEVER have to wire and fiddle with another Block - EVER again!!! :mrgreen: "thumbsup" "thumbsup"
(Unless you want to separate some area, where you just want the power off, like Loco storage tracks)

The only thing different you'll have to do, is run two Buss wires, under your mainline at least, and bring up feeder wires every 3 feet or less.

 

[CREEPERBOB]

This stuff is purely bitchin' "thumbsup", I grew up in going to the live steamer club in Riverside Ca. They had a beautiful Challenger in there roundhouse.
And Phoenix has a very large club as well that I visited a bunch the 5 years Iived there
OP, you thought rc's were expensive :ror:, you better get you a mill and lathe and stock up on brass and steel "thumbsup".
That's sad that that Shay had to be put on life support (electric).

 

[OSRC]

I've got 2 totes of old Athearn locomotives. Didn't know Horizon purchased them. THey used to be pretty cheap - $30-$50 range when I picked them up. I used to build, paint, and weather them and just display them. Most haven't even been run. Most are early EMD - I've got a GP9/GP9/GP38 Conrail lashup pulling a freight across my kitchen shelf. Way up high where the kids and cats can't reach!

My grandfather worked at Penn-Line making molds and I've been slowly collecting a few bits here and there as I can afford them. I inherited a few pieces including and old EMD F-unit. It was my grandfathers, then my uncles as a kid and now mine. Hasn't seen power in 40+ years. Put it on a test track and it powered right up! Needs a good cleaning and oiling, but amazed it still works fine.

 

[Mike Flea]

While electric is good, and my G can still be run on electric, I've been getting into Live Steam with the purchase of a Roundhouse engine last year.

And for you guys in HO scale, oddly enough, there are a couple companies that make Live Steam HO engines https://www.ministeam.com/acatalog/Live-Steam-Trains.html

Scroll down almost to the bottom of the page, and there's even an HO RC Steam set

 

[BigSki]

I was still active in the hobby when the Proto-2000 stuff hit the market. It was a quantum leap forward in quality and fit/finish and a decent value at the time. I have a few of those in the totes as well as few of the Athearn Genesis SDM60 AC locos in the 'waving flag' scheme for UP.

I have this one old Atlas SD-35 that I had repainted/lettered for ICG because I thought that the orange and white color scheme looked cool ( I was 12 at the time ) my dad lost his mind because it wasn't another B&O or Chessie system Loco :roll: It's been sitting for so long wrapped up in plastic I'd be afraid to open it up and set it on some rails, it's been dormant for probably 20 years.

I have considered looking into one of the modular clubs in my area, it might be neat to build a module then lug it to a show a few times a year, just to enjoy the hobby a bit.

 

[PoorManRC]

Well..... That's cool that several of you have had or started in Model Railroading! The Modular idea sounds great. I may have to look into one. I know there's at least ONE in the Phoenix/Tucson area.
I currently have a HO Scale Layout, 5' x 21'. It's been collecting dust lately, because of lack of funds (MODS: I'M NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING!!), and some indecision. I've done ALL the major Scales over the years, but mainly HO.
I'm starting to think that my old eyes and arthritic fingers may need larger....

Larger as in On30 Scale, or O Scale Narrow Gauge, designed to run on HO Scale Track (which I have 4 Locos and 12 Cars, 5 of them, scratchbuilt).... They can run on about 80% of the Track that I've already laid.

OR, step WAY up to G Scale - but Indoors. (I'm way too broken to crawl around in my yard) THAT would require a LOT of scratchbuilding, which I'm fine with. G Scale Structures are incredibly expensive. But I've only got Two Locomotives and 4 Cars, and the only Track is B'mann's Hollow Steel....

Anyway, you guys with your 20+ year old Locomotives - GET THEM OUT!!! Drip a little lubricant on them, and unless there's a catastrophic problem - WILL run!! They're not the high-strung, over-tech Locos of late. They have few moving parts and they were built to LAST! "thumbsup"

SOME First-gen Atlas (GP38-40 and SD24-35 and FP7) may have problems with disintegrating Plastic Bodies... However, due to a resurgence of these still fine running Beauties, there's a surprising amount of replacement Bodies for them!

OLD, Blue Box Athearn.... LUBE AND RUN!! ;-) They were built out of ROCKS!
I've got 2 Locomotives, that my Dad got me when I was BORN (1964!!). They still run great today!! Of course, back then, they operated by RUBBER BANDS from the Motor Shafts to the Wheels, so they need those replaced frequently. The Drive Bands are STILL available NEW from Athearn!! :shock:

 

[Mike Flea]

I'm in the same boat, my G layout use to be on the ground around a pond, now it's elevated 2 ft. The back and the knees aren't so good anymore. The wife has been constructing the buildings, and it's at the right height for me to sit and work on it. Some guys build the decks at a height of 4 ft

 

[jcburn]

I started in trains, moved to RC for a long time and now doing both. My experience with RC led me to install receivers and speed controls in my locomotives/tenders, gets around buying DCC, don't have to worry about dirty rail etc. I belive they refer to it as "dead rail" now in some of the RR forums.

I've ridden directly in front of and behind a Shay numerous times at Cass Senic RR at Cass WV. Nothing like it.