Model railroading is a multidimensional art form....I know of 5 dimensions, but there was once years back....a 6th dimension....scale sents. The dimensions are as I see them...basic 3 dimensional art, then movement, sound, and once on the market...scale odors. Anyone know of the company who once produced these? I think it was Olefactory Airs or something similar. Or anyone know of a 7th dimension?
HZ
Olfactory Airs from Mikros Corp. Minneapolis Minnesota found ads in Model Railroader Nov 85 through April 87.
I googled the company name. The current Mikros Corp is an electronic security company and not located in Minnesota..
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
No more smells for your pike! That stinks!
Sorry - I couldn't resist.
Seriously, I did find a company that apparently provides different smoke smells:
http://www.modelrailscenes.com/accesories-track-train-242101.htm
I've joked several times about having the proper smell for stock cars. If that is what you want just pay a visit to your local cattle farm!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Remember when I was looking for a way to incorporate that typical seaside smell of salt water and dead fish into my waterfront On30 layout? Someone suggested to place a dead mackerel under the layout
It is an interesting thought to incorporate another dimension into model railroading, after we have discovered sound - not only engine and train sounds, but ambient sounds. Adding scents is a difficult task, as you cannot scale scents and you cannot mix scents without getting some sort of "medley" which literally "stinks". Scents are also there to stay - you cannot just switch them off after your operating sessions ends. It takes a while for them to air out. In addition, some of those scents can prove to be irritating to one´s respiratory system, so my advice would be to just forget the issue.
As I'm running out of things to do on pike, i'm looking into other areas. I now have sound effects throughout entire layout in addition to having all locos equipped with sound. I am now installing electric eye controlled gastric music sounds triggered as one passes the several outhouses. (No, I'm not looking for outhouse smells, but I would love to add roundhouse odors...like burning coal, creosote, etc.) Restaurant fragrances could also be interesting. I once thought loco sounds were nuts and now it's almost the norm.
I would love to have the scent of creosote on my railroad! That's one of my favorite memories of walking along the tracks, smelling the creosote.
Ray:
Creosote brings back memories of my Air Cadet summer camps at CFB Trenton, Ontario. We were housed in 16 man tents which had been treated with creosote to waterproof and preserve them.
Its like smelling spilled gas. That brings back fond memories of the cottage when the boat was being refueled.
Good times all round!
This is an aspect I never knew existed in model railroading..... smells???? While I too love the smell of creosote baking in the sun and brimstone on the air from a recently passing steamer. I just never thought to add that to a model railroad.
I know you folks cant be really considering this, are you? It does bring to mind comical facial expressions from those who would walk into the train room.
For instance, I personally cannot stand seafood. And would probably upchuck all over the floor if i walked into a train room with a railroad that featured fish smells from a modelled marina.
I wonder if anyone makes an anti-kid/wife smell??? Be a great way to keep folks OUT of your railroad. Then again, a creosote smell would attrack some.
I wonder if they have bottled up some of that smell you get from a couple hours of operating trains. You know, the smell of electricity! And before some of you ask "does electricity have a smell?".... yes, it does.
Very interesting aspect - odors for model railroads. Just dont tell the wives, Im not fancy about my steamers smelling like Channel No. 5.
I remember when they were around. I thought it was stupid! Then a friend who has an amazingly detailed layout got them and used them. It was awesome.
He also had sounds to go with it. When you went by his apple orchard you smelled apples and heard birds chirping. Stand next to his roundhouse and you smelled hot grease & oily smells and heard arc welders, hammering and tool sounds. He had a bakery and it smelled like freshly baked bread. He had several more smells and sounds and it really did enhance the layout. This was before DCC and all the sound systems we have today.
It's a shame they aren't available as they really are neat. I don't know what they cost.
Roger Huber
They might be a unique feature for people who come to see / visit / operate the layout, but I think it would become too much for the guy who owns the layout and smells it all the time.
Might not be so bad if it was more like a solid that when warmed gave off its smell and could be turned off and allowed to dissipate. An oil that constantly gave off the smell would be too much after a while.
My local hobby shop has both R/C cars and trains. At one end of the store, it smells like hot rubber where guys keep checking out the tire glues and the other end smells like smokey bar-b-que where somebody spilled a few drops of this new Lionel smoke fluid. After a short period, you really need to move out of the area.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
PM RailfanThis is an aspect I never knew existed in model railroading..... smells????
For a side story see http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/89603.aspx
Update:
I checked an old ad, Yes they made #747 Creosote.
Also foundhttp://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/153988/1702390.aspx#1702390
Back in the olden days, I recall that people would heat up the original Castrol on their stoves to remind them of motorcycle racing. So I bought myself a can of creosote to replicate the sensation. It worked beautifully. I died a horrible death some years ago, and regret that my ability to sniff creosote now and then wasn't terminated earlier.
Happily, you all can die of an entirely different horrible death now.
Ed
"scale odors"? Tell me someone has managed to make certain molecular combinations at 1/87th their real world size! Then, I'll introduce you to the guy with the tin foil hat who has managed to create a shrinking ray, a la "Fantastic Voyage"!
Cedarwoodron
cedarwoodron "scale odors"? Tell me someone has managed to make certain molecular combinations at 1/87th their real world size! Then, I'll introduce you to the guy with the tin foil hat who has managed to create a shrinking ray, a la "Fantastic Voyage"! Cedarwoodron
1/87 sized molecules are not small enough. Molecules are 3 dimensional. An HO scale molecule would actually take up only 1/658503 the volume of a 1:1 molecule. In fact, the odor of an HO scale skunk would be so attenuated that even a bloodhound (1:1 size) would be incapable of picking up the scent. OTOH, enhancing a model of a large feedlot by spreading a pound or two of (preferably wet) manure under the layout is probably a feasible undertaking and will lend an air of aromatic authenticity to said feedlot. You just have ignore the naysayers who tell you your layout room smells like...... well, you know.
I'm also given to understand that putting a couple of dead sardines under a model of Monterey's Cannery Row would not only add the proper olfactory realism to the model, but would discourage all but the most enthusiastic from entering the layout room. Rumor has it that a generous dollop of Vicks VapoRub in each nostril will hold the stench of rotting fish at bay long enough to switch a cannery or two before one has to exit the layout room in search of breathable air and a socially acceptable location where one's stomach contents can be emptied.
Andre
Hey, I have a couple inches of creosote left in a gallon can. Maybe I could get some 1/2 oz bottles and get rich quick. Ain't nothing like the smell of creosote in the morning................
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
So, if I eat and digest a lot of sugar-cured baked beans and drink whole milk with my meal, then stand next to my layout for a while, that unspecificed building in the corner could be considered as a sewage treatment plant?
Let's call this one "aromatic sensory model railroading"!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cheneworth/2675395063/
Well, if you're going to raise a stink about it.........
https://www.flickr.com/photos/spike55151/144811260/