rrinker They make it there, there was an article in a recent issue of MRH where they did a visit to the plant.' Prior to the late 80's or so, the company was actually Rail Craft. Been around and advertising in MR since the 60's. In the name traisition timeframe, the ads would be for Micro Engineering, with products like Railcraft track. --Randy
They make it there, there was an article in a recent issue of MRH where they did a visit to the plant.'
Prior to the late 80's or so, the company was actually Rail Craft. Been around and advertising in MR since the 60's. In the name traisition timeframe, the ads would be for Micro Engineering, with products like Railcraft track.
--Randy
As an example in the December 1982 issue of MR there is an ad for Rail Craft headed "Rail Craft Flex-Trak is Back!" - which suggests that even back then their production was a now and then proposition. There were offering HO in Codes 100, 83, 70, and 55. HOn3 in Codes 70 and 55 (also dual HO/HOn3), HOn 2 1/2 in Code 55 and N in Codes 70 and 55. HO Code 100 flex was $15.85 for 6 three foot pieces, and a whopping $1.50 for shipping and handling on orders under $50.
Before you start to weep at those prices ("I shoulda stocked up, I coulda stocked up") the MR itself was $1.75 and a brass UP sleeper from Coach Yard was $92.50. And nobody was thinking MR and brass were cheap ....
Dave Nelson
Yeah just plug some of those "wow, the good old days" prices into an inflation claculator. It sounds impressive but when adjusted for inflation - not always so rosy.
Ha - just watched Goldfinger again last night, they're talking about gold being $50-$100 an ounce.
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
How many casts a day do you think a manufacturer runs? Take a look at the video, and tell me how many pieces of track do you think actually get drawn in a day? How many pieces of code 83 flex does ME actually sell in a year? I would be willing to bet quite a bit less than 10,000.
My figures were referring to die cast steam locomotive and car (resin) kit production, where casting problems are more obvious and more common. I mistakenly applied the die-cast figures to plastic, but after seeing how well aluminum molds don't hold up for multiple runs of plastic casting, I'm not sure steel molds could go more than 5K plastic pieces without refurbishing. Refurbishing could be as simple as a good cleaning and careful inspection. Or it could be small changes to the mold. Or repair of cracks and stress fractures and straightening warped sections. A good size run for a steam locomotive is considered 5K, which would tie in well.
The people who really knew this stuff were those who did casting work for Bowser. And they had to do extensive work on the Varney, Cary, and Penn Line tooling they bought to keep it producing usable product. The Arbour line could not be revived by Bowser as the tooling was too worn. As another example, look at the effort involved on Model Power's part to get the Mantua tooling back in production. Even the Athearn and MDC tooling had to be revamped for Horizon to import product from the old tooling.
Actual manufacturing is nowhere near as simple as many of us are led to believe.
just my thoughts and experiences
Fred W
fwright NP2626 ....All of the producers need to recoup the cost of the tooling over some period of time, whether Code 100/83/70/55/40, doesn't matter. Obviously, when the amortization of the tooling cost is complete the company could reduce the price of the product some as the tooling has been paid for. Unfortunately, dies and tooling have a limited life span. Depending on how the dies and tooling were made, refurbishment can be cheap or very expensive (think replacement). Hard steel dies are the most expensive to create, but the longest lasting. As the dies wear, cast detail is not as crisp, and there are considerably more rejects in the finished product. Model railroad manufacturers often take advantage of die refurbishment to make minor detail changes in the finished product. The molds for resin kits typically last only 2 batches of 30 casts before the reject rate gets too high, and the mold needs replacing. Steel molds for plastic casting generally need refurbishing/cleanup before a 1,000 casts are made. Aluminum molds are somewhere in the middle. However, why leave that money on the table? Also, when Code 83 was a new product, there was less demand for it so it commandeered a higher price. When demand for Code 83 increased over time, I think the manufacturers asked themselves why should they leave that money on the table, also? Don't kid yoursleves profit is what the manufacturers are after and I don't begrudge them for it and want them to be successful at they business! I don't believe any model railroad manufacturer - certainly not the family-owned ones - looks at money left on the table - in other words, charging the maximum the market will bear. Most got their start as providing a product or service to themselves and friends, where they tried to keep the price at just enough to break even. As (if) the business grew, raising the prices enough to support the full-time costs of the owners and employees has always been a problem. Which is why many small manufacturers pack it in after a decade - they lost their hobby, and they couldn't raise their prices enough to take their work from a labor of love to a solid business, and they could no longer justify the mess they were in. just my thoughts and experiences Fred W
NP2626 ....All of the producers need to recoup the cost of the tooling over some period of time, whether Code 100/83/70/55/40, doesn't matter. Obviously, when the amortization of the tooling cost is complete the company could reduce the price of the product some as the tooling has been paid for.
....All of the producers need to recoup the cost of the tooling over some period of time, whether Code 100/83/70/55/40, doesn't matter. Obviously, when the amortization of the tooling cost is complete the company could reduce the price of the product some as the tooling has been paid for.
Unfortunately, dies and tooling have a limited life span. Depending on how the dies and tooling were made, refurbishment can be cheap or very expensive (think replacement). Hard steel dies are the most expensive to create, but the longest lasting. As the dies wear, cast detail is not as crisp, and there are considerably more rejects in the finished product. Model railroad manufacturers often take advantage of die refurbishment to make minor detail changes in the finished product.
The molds for resin kits typically last only 2 batches of 30 casts before the reject rate gets too high, and the mold needs replacing. Steel molds for plastic casting generally need refurbishing/cleanup before a 1,000 casts are made. Aluminum molds are somewhere in the middle.
However, why leave that money on the table? Also, when Code 83 was a new product, there was less demand for it so it commandeered a higher price. When demand for Code 83 increased over time, I think the manufacturers asked themselves why should they leave that money on the table, also? Don't kid yoursleves profit is what the manufacturers are after and I don't begrudge them for it and want them to be successful at they business!
Don't kid yoursleves profit is what the manufacturers are after and I don't begrudge them for it and want them to be successful at they business!
I don't believe any model railroad manufacturer - certainly not the family-owned ones - looks at money left on the table - in other words, charging the maximum the market will bear. Most got their start as providing a product or service to themselves and friends, where they tried to keep the price at just enough to break even. As (if) the business grew, raising the prices enough to support the full-time costs of the owners and employees has always been a problem. Which is why many small manufacturers pack it in after a decade - they lost their hobby, and they couldn't raise their prices enough to take their work from a labor of love to a solid business, and they could no longer justify the mess they were in.
As applies to manufacturers making track for model railroading, there likely never would have been a time when they were making small batches of track for friends, as the process is far to complex and costly to get into, unless focused on a commercial, profit making venture!
If your talking about resin or wood car kits, the scenario you alluded to, sounds plausible; but, not for track, which is what this thread is about.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
NP2626 As applies to manufacturers making track for model railroading, there likely never would have been a time when they were making small batches of track for friends, as the process is far to complex and costly to get into, unless focused on a commercial, profit making venture!
How about track aging , by the time nickel rail will be rusty and we had to cleaned in particular time. I think price would be add reliability to rusting factor of the track it self. Kato rail is more durable providing electricity than atlas after so many year. How's your experience?
MOCH NUR MOCHLISIN How about track aging , by the time nickel rail will be rusty and we had to cleaned in particular time. I think price would be add reliability to rusting factor of the track it self. Kato rail is more durable providing electricity than atlas after so many year. How's your experience?
Welcome to the forum. Nickel-silver rail doesn’t rust in the traditional sense. The oxidate that forms on it over time is reportedly somewhat conductive itself. But the track does need cleaning, especially if not operated frequently.
KATO uses a similar nickel-silver for rail as Atlas and others. So it needs to be cleaned occasionally as well.
One difference is the built-in KATO Unijoiner that conducts electricity better than rail joiners used with other track. Most folks solder connections to traditional track for long-term reliability anyway, which solves that problem.
But rail-to-wheel conductivity is exactly the same for Unitrack and any nickel-silver flextrack. It has to be, the materials are the same.
Byron
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
Holy necro topic batman!
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
The price differences in code 83 flex track now are not as extreme as when this thread was new.
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Atlas is going up in price faster than the others it seems.
Rapido left before I could try theirs. I never saw it for sale anywhere, maybe that had something to do with it.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Not nentuoned for micro engineering (ME) as was the other brands, ME track is made in USA.