What's your best toy train money making idea, never before tried?

[1688torpedo]

Doug - A company by the name of Rich-Art did make a McKeen Car in Standard Gauge a while ago. There may be one on ebay? While we're at it. A Model of the Delaware
& Hudson Gravity Railroad in Northeastern Pennsylvania from the 1800s. That would be interesting. Take Care.

[traindaddy1]

Trigtrax - FJ and G: I really enjoyed reading your comments and everyone's ideas.

[Anonymous]

Yeah more Monorails.

What a model of the old, old Pnuematic Subway proposed for under New York City. A section was built. There was to be a live Piano player in the stations. Really classy. Part of this was even found a couple years back under Broadway. Patent images of this used to line the wallpaper of Subway Sub Shops until recently. A real working model would be more fun than any helecopter cars. Whoosh...... there goes the express.

The McKeen is very nice and ran on several roads.

Old time trains would be great. I'll take almost any of the Wooden replicas in the B&O Museum. A coulple miles up the road from MTH HQ. A Grasshopper would give a Shay a run for it's money as far a wierd flailing goes.

[Brutus]

Okay - how about O gauge old time trains, like the John Bull, Layafette, DeWitt Clinton sets that Bachman put out in HO a while back?

[FJ and G]

QUOTE: Originally posted by traindaddy1

How about a graduated trestle set that has a breaking system on the downgrade so the train will run down at the same speed as it went up. (Sorry, if this is available, I have not seen it) Thanks for asking.

---------

He's onto something here. Let me elaborate on the idea, but take it in a different direction.

Make a 4X6 pre-fab'd layout using the same idea but using resistors to slow down the train going steeply down inside a mountain tunnel, then going uphill. You know, the disappearing train layout that amazes people, developed by Lionel in the 50s. Perhaps 1 or 2 sidings or passing track and gantry crane added. Could be 100% conventional using 027 and a small train.

[FJ and G]

That's pretty cool, Doug,

How abouts a gyroscope-balanced 1-rail railcar? Several of these systems were in operations. I know of one in Ireland and 1 in Malaysia. I think there were several others.



and for 2- or 3-rail operation, what about a bicycle. Unsure where the engine would go (perhaps in his body) or perhaps a windup key on his back?

[cnw1995]

We need a model of a McKeen Motor Car -

[trigtrax]

Since I actually manufacture stuff for the hobby I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

For one of your comments:
CNC milled windows for prototypical passenger car sides.
There's currently a used CNC Mill on Ebay for $28,000. Of course you'ld have to program it for each prototypical window frame.. But as far as a money maker how many window frames would you need to sell before you "break even" for just the cost of this mill?

How about a graduated trestle set that has a breaking system on the downgrade so the train will run down at the same speed as it went up.
I used to make a product called Trigger Trax. It was basicly a set/reset type of AC Flip-Flop. By placing it's sensors on the top and bottom of a graduated trestle you could switch between two variable transformers set at different voltages. This provided increased power for climbing the trestle and decreased power on the way down. I stopped making this device when TMCC came out, as these type engines operate at constant AC voltage and depend on FM Pulses to change speeds.
You now have both TMCC and DCS systems out there compounding the problem of "automatic" train control even more. I have, in fact, worked out the electronics to reproduce the device to work with TMCC command bases, but DCS is proprietary, and I'd need to reverse engineer it's software to start. I won't go there. [xx(]. But you can see how even a simple idea can become very complicated very quickly.[:D]

[dbaker48]

QUOTE: OK, I would like to see a National Parks series of boxcars with photo and facts on the individual parks. Then they could market these at the tourism centers. Think of how many kids will get their first train car from granny on tour? It would also share in the beauty of this country and educate some.
Dennis

I think this a great idea! Most people would not know how many cars would be in the train. And possibly confuse it with some of the Cadillac model names.

[riverrailfan]

Offer undecorated engines and roling stock but offer a line of different paints and decals with different road names and numbers including short line. With the decals there would be instrutions for placement locations of the decals.The decals will also include precut vinyl mask for striping. For years when I raced 1/24 scale slotcars, you had to use liquid mask on the inside of the lexan bodies to have clear windows. This worked but sometime gave bad results or was difficult to remove. Slotcar manufacuters started suppling vinyl mask with there bodies to cover the windows for painting. The vinyl mask could also be used for lettering to.
My dissapointment in this hobby is the use of the same road names which is understandable due to cost.

[traindaddy1]

How about a graduated trestle set that has a breaking system on the downgrade so the train will run down at the same speed as it went up. (Sorry, if this is available, I have not seen it) Thanks for asking.

[Anonymous]

CNC milled windows for prototypical passenger car sides. There was such variety in window placement this seems the best way to cover all bases in a relativly inexpensive way.

[Anonymous]

Hobby Shops with Stereo-Lithography Equipment for plastic and metal parts that are hard to make by hand and hard to find in paper catalogs.

Andrew F.

[palallin]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jaabat

QUOTE: Originally posted by DCmontana

Custom painted trains, rolling stock, engines, even sets. If you want the Milwaukee Road, you just order said car, etc. in that livery. Any road you want. It would cost more, but many would pay just to get whatever thay want in the RR they want.

Williams does that now. Not every livery is always in stock, but most are.

Hardly. Williams porduces only a tiny fraction of the possible roadnames. In fact, the dearth of roadnames available is why the scale side of the hobby has historically so heavily invested in the decal manufacturers. Unfortunately, it's rare to get even an undecorated model in 3 rail, much less a roadname more obscure than Pennsy, NYC, or Santa Fe.

[Jumijo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DCmontana

Custom painted trains, rolling stock, engines, even sets. If you want the Milwaukee Road, you just order said car, etc. in that livery. Any road you want. It would cost more, but many would pay just to get whatever thay want in the RR they want.

Williams does that now. Not every livery is always in stock, but most are.

[DCmontana]

Custom painted trains, rolling stock, engines, even sets. If you want the Milwaukee Road, you just order said car, etc. in that livery. Any road you want. It would cost more, but many would pay just to get whatever thay want in the RR they want.

[Anonymous]

Clone Wars Volume 2 has Anti-Gravity Commuter Trains.

The Anti-Gravity Train that floats could be simulated by using angled mirrors on and around the trucks. The visual effects craftsmen and artists used that angled mirror technique for the anti-gravity Landspeeders on Tatooine.

Andrew F.

[Brutus]

There were trains in the Clone Wars Star Wars cartoons - a big fight scene occurs around some sort of futuristic train station - I think it's in the 2nd dvd. You don't really get to see the trains, though.

I think that rechargeable locomotive run on regular track with RC control is a great idea, and also being able to charge from track, either a siding or a yard.

I though of an idea of having magnetic pieces for locomotives that would dress them up for different holidays. See, you could sell a base locomotive and then have add-on sets for Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Arbor Day, etc. This would include side pieces for the cab with colorful "decals", eg "Christmas Express", as well as add on pieces like elves, holly, etc. For halloween, you could have spiders, snakes, candy, bats, vampires, etc.

[Anonymous]

At the risk of sounding like a huge nerd I have been thinking about a way to get more young collectors involved (who are just as obessive as many in here) asmart idea for some importer could be licencing a series of "Star Wars" cars from George Lucas. There would definitly be an influx of younger (20's and 30's) modelers. There are collectors of Starwars that will buy anything related to it.

If I were realy doing this I would start with a black "Empire" themed car and a brown and white "Rebel Alliance". Could be fun. It is a porven brand that is popular with many toy collectors so it may be an easy transition for them to make.

[Anonymous]

More O Scale Scenery for Trackside.

O Scale leaves for coniferous trees made by microengraving the structure of leaves on steel plates to mold the leaves out of thin sheets of plastic.

O Scale 100' tall bare coniferous trees made from plastic.
The closest approximation is to take apart large plastic plants that somwhat resemble trees.

O Scale Soybean plants.

Andrew Falconer

[Anonymous]

I'd love to share my ideas with you guys, but, if I did, about two years from now I would see them for sale in one of these rags as has happened in the past with R/C(aircraft) stuff and get all depressed because Id know that the guy selling it got the idea from me because I was talking about it on a forum and now he is going to be a millionaire from it. The worst part is he is not a hobbyist, but rather, a bidness man who just knows how to wangle things so people like me reach into thier pockets and give him money. To him it is about selling, product lines, advertisement, margins, Taiwan, Korea, China, and stuff like that. I would be interested to know how many Train store/ Hobbyshop owners actually participate in a hobby and consume what they sell.
My 2 cents.

blabree11

[laz 57]

I have said this before....
Make a train just like the ones they are expeimenting with in Japan and China and Germany, a electromagnetic version of the ACELA.
It would run on reverse polarity, no transformers no track.
laz57

[Jumijo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cnw1995

I know! I know! R/C rechargeable battery-powered trains - lose the powerpack forever - no more track wiring.

What would be cool is to have those R/C rechargeable battery-powered trains able to recharge from track power, say a block siding or yard. That way, they'd never have to leave the layout. They could sit there in neutral recharging while other trains run on unpowered mainline tracks.

Jim

[cnw1995]

I know! I know! R/C rechargeable battery-powered trains - lose the powerpack forever - no more track wiring.

[FJ and G]

John, we're looking for ways to make money, not take money [:D]

OK, here's another way to make a fast buck. Use the most underutilized modeling material in model railroads: clay

Supply modeling clay, molds and instructions to make figures and other such items. One could easily mass produce a town's entire population by baking them in the oven. Small modifications could be made by bending arms, legs, heads, once taken out of clay molds.

[Anonymous]

Producing a line of sheet-metal locomotives.

[Jumijo]

Never before tried? That's a little bit tough. Almost everything's been tried by now, but here goes.

Super elevated curved track. This would allow toy trains to run at faster speeds without flying off the track. Prototypical too!

If I were to try and make money in this hobby, I'd most likely try making hand-painted backdrops or start a model building service. I could assemble, paint, and detail structures for people who either don't want to or aren't good at it.

I could create custom water-slide decals for signage. I've done that plenty of times.

Or I could start mass-producing furnace filter trees.

Or I could charge admission to our layout. $5 for adults, $2.50 for kids (including my own).

Jim

[thor]

QUOTE: Originally posted by 351_DD-1

I would have the person who invented the traction tire seated in a dunk tank and I would charge three balls for a dollar.[:0]

Traction tyres! Triang (in the UK) brought out a small HO diesel switcher with KNURLED metal tyres for extra grip. I had one, the noise it made was amazing and the grip wasnt improved at all.

[Anonymous]

I would have the person who invented the traction tire seated in a dunk tank and I would charge three balls for a dollar.[:0]