Another frustrating Sunday spent putting all the parts on USA Trains Diesals. The parts that they pack in the boxes of their RTR diesals. Parts too small to find after they fall, Parts to small to handle with adult fingers and missing parts in the packages. Drilling out pre-drilled holes that are too small, figuring out their instuction book that was meant to be understood by someone with ESP. Is it just me thats wrong or does anyone else suffer this frustration with USA Trains?
I've got new Aristo big diesals sitting in their boxes and they don't need finishing work after they come out of the boxes. Can't use them until I rip up my railroad that I started in 2004 because dumb a** me did not do any research back then on track diamater befire using the 4 foot diameter cr** that comes in LGB sarter sets as the basis for my backyard railroad. Took that start to a 60 foot (20x10) mainline oval with a long siding and wondered why the big engines I was buying could not make the turns. Another graduate of the school of hard knocks here. Maybe my wife will let me have more yard space when I fully retire so I can rip up my stuff and start over again.
Sorry about the whining and crying here. It was either fling the current USA Trains GP9 that I'm working on thru my tool shed wall or cry here
RUDY JAGER, CEO OF THE LONE WOLF RAILROAD
TRUST ME--I USED TO WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT!
The Home of Articulated Ugliness
The head is gray, hands don't work , back is weak, legs give out, eyes are gone, money go's and my wife still love's Me.
Has any of you (ex. Cab) ever put a kit together? Or models as a kid?
Toad
Oh I dont wanna sound like I'm pickin on anyone cause I'm really not, but yours truely, the King of the R1 curve, constantly tells new people you really have to KNOW your layouts limits and READ the product requirements BEFORE you make your purchases. Much gnashing of teeth can be avoided by doing so.
Sorry your newest purchases are balking on the layout but its NOT the curves fault. Knowing our layouts limits and purchase accordingly should be a given OR instead of buying that shiny new big engine purchase new appropriate trackage and rebuild so when you eventually do buy that shiny new big engine it can go right onto the layout.
Now if your going to blow up the layout anyway, and your going to buy new track, but are kinda space constircted, try to buy no smaller that 6.5' diameter, this while still limiting for very large engines, will still allow you to run about 75% of the offerings out there. If you have the room, use 8' dia. thats rapidly becoming the miniumum diameter for the large engine crowd.
Me, I'll stick with my R1s for now, if I get the oppurtunity to go outdoors, I'll see how wide I can go.
Have fun with your trains
kc heritage wrote: This is called a model railroad hobby and you would expect a little do-it-yourself along the way, right?
Wrong!
If I considered this a "model railroad hobby" I'd be doing H0 and subscribing to Model Railroader Magazine. I'd be more true to scale and not have a variety of scales mismatched on my outdoor backyard GARDEN railroad while pursuing my Garden Railroad Hobby. I do a lot of "do it yourself" on buildings, bridges and such. I don't enjoy putting the finishing touches on engines and cars that come RTR when I'm on my hands and knees on my tool shed floor looking for a part thats so small I need a magnifier to find it.
Yeah, I put together a bunch of models in Killeen when I was a kid. I could see better. Had better use of my fingers and bought the kits and models as what they were. Kits and Models.
I used to enjoy that then. Don't enjoy it now. Diecast has ruined me
Independent Operator wrote: kc heritage wrote: This is called a model railroad hobby and you would expect a little do-it-yourself along the way, right?Wrong! If I considered this a "model railroad hobby" I'd be doing H0 and subscribing to Model Railroader Magazine. I'd be more true to scale and not have a variety of scales mismatched on my outdoor backyard GARDEN railroad while pursuing my Garden Railroad Hobby. I do a lot of "do it yourself" on buildings, bridges and such. I don't enjoy putting the finishing touches on engines and cars that come RTR when I'm on my hands and knees on my tool shed floor looking for a part thats so small I need a magnifier to find it.
Enjoy your cry. That is allowed here....
Now let's get to reality.....
Yes there are size differences in this "G" scale, let the manufacturers know you are unhappy with this, and yes this is a start, here on this venue.
The REAL reality is......"YOU" will need to do your research a bit more,---MAYBE ????
Research as to what?? You may ask....As to what SIZE "YOU" want on your line....7/8th's, 1/20.5, 1/29, 1/32....etc....or what ever SCALE "YOU" might want to DO "YOURSELF"....
Just because "YOU" are now doing "G" scale, does not mean that the task of "MODELING" disappears from the "HOBBY" or should I say from the Equation, this is still "MODELING."
As such...... Things do need to be assembled quite often, to some extent....weather we have good eye sight or not.....that is why I chose the larger "SCALES"----Now.....
As to working on the floor, kitchen table, in the sand, or, where ever.....Sounds to "ME", like "YOU" need to build "YOURSELF" a WORK BENCH/Station....Than it might be a bit less frustrating to "YOU".....And yes, it is going to require, MORE SPACE....After all this is LARGESCALE......
Been there....Done that....
So for now "YOU" might want to Especially take a bit of advice from someone like Vic Smith, he too, is limited on the space "HE" is CHOOSING to model in....Anyway, so it seems to appear from my perspective vantage point. Correct me if I'm wrong Vic.....
And from what he has shared with us here, his layout is QUITE nice.....
"YOU" need to start somewhere.....if you can't go LARGE for now, than work in the Box/Space that you have......LARGESCALE can fit into smaller spaces......Don't give-up my friend.....
Byron
Independent Operator wrote:[quote user="ToadFrog&WhiteLightn"] Has any of you (ex. Cab) ever put a kit together? Or models as a kid?Toad Yeah, I put together a bunch of models in Killeen when I was a kid. I could see better. Had better use of my fingers and bought the kits and models as what they were. Kits and Models.I used to enjoy that then. Don't enjoy it now. Diecast has ruined me
You can enjoy this "SCALE" just as well, as others.... BUTTTT....As already pointed out...."YOU" need to decide what is gonna be best for "YOU".....In "YOUR" space, For "YOUR" eyesight, What "YOUR" wife.....Allows.....
Nuff said on that subject.....
Rudy, just cry.
Poor wife, uh, Rene?
Toadster
I was not complaining about the differences in scales. Just using that as a sample of why I don't consider G gauge to be model railroading (in the purist sense that people in other gauges take it all to). Matter of fact I kind of like the leeway it gives me to not be a purist. The name of my road "Hodge Podge and Reality Check" says it all for me. I admit that I ended up doing my research after the fact but thats still a learning experiece for now while I'm still doing things to this road and for later when I start over. As for being on my hands and knees on the tool shed floor; thats after I dropped something off of my work bench. Some of these little parts from the USA Trains RTR's are really small beleive me. I really do have a work bench
I'm not giving up on this hobby and still find things to add to the layout as I adjust the theme and story line of it a bit to allow for the changes that I make.
As for whether this is model railroading or garden railroading or toys for big boys as my wife has said; Each of us has mind set ourselves as to how we see the hobby. It's good to be able to go online here and kick it all back and forth at times.
I'm attaching a few new shots of my small space backyard layout. It's a hodge podge, over crowded with the military on one side, Brown and Root in the middle and the civilains on the other side. For the miltary folks here; this is a national guard base in the desert that has been fully activated to train guard troops going to the war we are currently in. Brown and Root (Cheny and his band of builders have a huggggggggggge contract to repair/build roads and the infrastructure while the base is in full operation. The town in all the midst of this is enclosed on all sides by military land and the military does give them easement rights.
VSMITH states that 8 diameter foot is a minimum, but USA now has some equipment that needs even bigger curves to look good when running. The PA with the passenger cars are really long, and so is the USA Hudson. These may run on 8 foot, but look 'funny'. They look great on 20 foot diameter, and a lot of members do not have a yard big enough for anything this size.
Note that all LGB rolling stock was designed for 4 foot (R1) curves. Might look 'funny' but will run just fine on your present layout. The Unitah mallet looks real funny on these curves.
piercedan wrote: VSMITH states that 8 diameter foot is a minimum, but USA now has some equipment that needs even bigger curves to look good when running. The PA with the passenger cars are really long, and so is the USA Hudson. These may run on 8 foot, but look 'funny'. They look great on 20 foot diameter, and a lot of members do not have a yard big enough for anything this size. Note that all LGB rolling stock was designed for 4 foot (R1) curves. Might look 'funny' but will run just fine on your present layout. The Unitah mallet looks real funny on these curves.___________________________________________________________________________I've been eyeballing the LGB White Pass/Yukon Diesals on ebay for some time now. Been leary of buying one because of my 4 foot curves. The biggest diesal I've been able to run that does stay on track both thru the turnouts and curves pulling cars is the USA Trains GP 38-2 model. I have to use a car right behind it that I took out the hook from on the hook and loop coupler. What happens is with hooks on both the engine coupler and car coupler when going thru a curve the hooks bind and off the track the car goes. Removing the hook on the car cured that. I'm almost at the push the button on ebay point to get one of them now. I collect (accumulate) Alaska Railroad and Yukon/White Pass rolling stock. Have to admit they look funny though on my California desert theme railroad. As far as I know there are no connecting lines from way up north to way down in California.Any other pros or con's on running the LGB diesals on 4 ft. curves please?
___________________________________________________________________________
I've been eyeballing the LGB White Pass/Yukon Diesals on ebay for some time now. Been leary of buying one because of my 4 foot curves. The biggest diesal I've been able to run that does stay on track both thru the turnouts and curves pulling cars is the USA Trains GP 38-2 model. I have to use a car right behind it that I took out the hook from on the hook and loop coupler. What happens is with hooks on both the engine coupler and car coupler when going thru a curve the hooks bind and off the track the car goes. Removing the hook on the car cured that. I'm almost at the push the button on ebay point to get one of them now. I collect (accumulate) Alaska Railroad and Yukon/White Pass rolling stock. Have to admit they look funny though on my California desert theme railroad. As far as I know there are no connecting lines from way up north to way down in California.
Any other pros or con's on running the LGB diesals on 4 ft. curves please?
Redo the track with all 8' and larger if you can.
piercedan wrote: VSMITH states that 8 diameter foot is a minimum, but USA now has some equipment that needs even bigger curves to look good when running. The PA with the passenger cars are really long, and so is the USA Hudson. These may run on 8 foot, but look 'funny'. They look great on 20 foot diameter, and a lot of members do not have a yard big enough for anything this size.Note that all LGB rolling stock was designed for 4 foot (R1) curves. Might look 'funny' but will run just fine on your present layout. The Unitah mallet looks real funny on these curves.
Errr...Not quite, what I trying to said was that 8' is becoming the DEFACTO minimum for large train operation, only for those who want to run larger stock. I also never made any judgement calls about what size curves are astheticly pleasing, I leave that to the individual, I only pointed out whats needed to operate the bigger engines on.
As for the Uintah Mallet not looking right on the R1 curves, you are of course aware that the REAL Uintah Rwy had hairpin curves that were only 66' in radius? That engines look perfectly NORMAL on R1s.
BTW those hairpins were also on 7% grades
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