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Things that irritate modelers.

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  • Member since
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Posted by NittanyLion on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 5:55 PM

angelob6660

Not enough Amfleet cars for your Amtrak trains in Phase III and IV. Including Viewliner Sleepers.

I would like to have Superliner II's in Phase IV and IVb. 

 

More prototypical Conrail coalporters and gondolas with correct rib panels.

 

There's plenty of Superliner IIs out there in those phases.  Less luck when it comes to a Phase IVB baggage car, though.  

But the Viewliner is a myth.  I'm not sure it ever happened.

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Posted by Texas Zepher on Monday, March 21, 2016 10:16 PM

Paul3

What is currently annoying is when you see a thread appear on a forum that sounds interesting, but when you click on it to read it, you find that you've already replied to it months ago.  Sometimes, it's years ago.  On other forums, when this is done it's called "Thread Necromancy":

I actually like people calling up the old threads instead of incessantly creating new ones with exactly the same topic.  Repeat repeat reapeat same stuff over and over - How many threads do we need on "What is the best DCC system?".

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Posted by SouthPenn on Sunday, March 20, 2016 9:18 PM

Don't know how it happened. Mice? It wouldn't be the first time mice have given me head aches. 

South Penn
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Posted by SETH CRAWFORD on Sunday, March 20, 2016 8:04 PM

SouthPenn

While cleaning your layout, finding a set of wheels inside a tunnel. Not a truck, but a brand new set of wheels. Huh?

 

 

 

How in the world did that happen? 

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Posted by angelob6660 on Saturday, March 19, 2016 11:58 AM

Not enough Amfleet cars for your Amtrak trains in Phase III and IV. Including Viewliner Sleepers.

I would like to have Superliner II's in Phase IV and IVb. 

 

More prototypical Conrail coalporters and gondolas with correct rib panels.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by SouthPenn on Saturday, March 19, 2016 11:42 AM

While cleaning your layout, finding a set of wheels inside a tunnel. Not a truck, but a brand new set of wheels. Huh?

South Penn
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Posted by ricktrains4824 on Friday, March 18, 2016 10:34 PM

ATLANTIC CENTRAL

 

 
Sir Madog

 

 
BRAKIE
I finish my coffee..Guess what I found in the bottom of my cup? Yup a set of wheels. What irk me is the wheel face had been painted yesterday morning. Thank goodness for quick drying Acrylic paint.

 

So it didn´t spoil your coffee!

What still eats me up that I have to install a dozen of tiny detail parts, made out of cheap and brittle plastic, on my $ 400 loco!

 

 

 

I don't have any $400 locos - at least not any that I paid $400 for. 

And I don't mind the plastic detail parts, applied by myself or the factory.

But what do I know......Nothing about the hobby bothers me much - it's all fun

Sheldon

 

I dislike breaking said detail parts while having to perform maintainance work on certain manufactured units when the cheap light bulbs they use burn out.... Never heard of LED's evidently....

Brakie: Can't say I have ever had anything land in my coffee,  as I don't care much for it. (Although, I will drink it when my asthma is really acting up, as the steam and caffeine both help relieve asthma symptoms.) Other beverages however....... 

Ricky W.

HO scale Proto-freelancer.

My Railroad rules:

1: It's my railroad, my rules.

2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.

3: Any objections, consult above rules.

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Posted by ATLANTIC CENTRAL on Friday, March 18, 2016 9:48 PM

Sir Madog

 

 
BRAKIE
I finish my coffee..Guess what I found in the bottom of my cup? Yup a set of wheels. What irk me is the wheel face had been painted yesterday morning. Thank goodness for quick drying Acrylic paint.

 

So it didn´t spoil your coffee!

What still eats me up that I have to install a dozen of tiny detail parts, made out of cheap and brittle plastic, on my $ 400 loco!

 

I don't have any $400 locos - at least not any that I paid $400 for. 

And I don't mind the plastic detail parts, applied by myself or the factory.

But what do I know......Nothing about the hobby bothers me much - it's all fun

Sheldon

    

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2016 9:13 AM

BRAKIE
I finish my coffee..Guess what I found in the bottom of my cup? Yup a set of wheels. What irk me is the wheel face had been painted yesterday morning. Thank goodness for quick drying Acrylic paint.

So it didn´t spoil your coffee!

What still eats me up that I have to install a dozen of tiny detail parts, made out of cheap and brittle plastic, on my $ 400 loco!

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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Thursday, March 17, 2016 8:28 AM

Soo Line fan
 
gunkhead

 

 
Soo Line fan

 

 
gunkhead
Walthers' track-cleaner reefer. The only car I have bought and actually regretted.

 

Whats the issue with it?

 

 

 

It's disappointingly crude - the only cleaning mechanism it has is an abrasive block. No pad, no reservoir for cleaning fluid, just an abrasive block glued to a metal plate suspended from the chassis. And speaking of the chassis, that thing's metal chassis is stupidly heavy. I think it weighs more than my Mantua Pacific. I have elected to scrap mine - the shell will become a storage shed or somesuch, the trucks will be used to help get some cars that I bought as shells-only onto the rails, and the roof walk can be cut up to make grilles for things like steam chests.

 

 

 

I have been using one for many years and went through several cleaning blocks. I love mine, would not trade it for anything else on the market.

I love mine, too.

Dave

Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow

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Posted by BRAKIE on Thursday, March 17, 2016 8:28 AM

Well another another one and a first for me.

Yesterday evening a wheelset flew out of my hand and I could not find them anywhere after looking high and low and around and about..

I finish my coffee..Guess what I found in the bottom of my cup? Yup a set of wheels.

What irk me is the wheel face had been painted yesterday morning. Thank goodness for quick drying Acrylic paint.

Larry

Conductor.

Summerset Ry.


"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt  Safety First!"

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Thursday, March 17, 2016 7:12 AM

SETH CRAWFORD

- A lack of models for an entire region (Southeastern US) while favoring another region (Pacific coast needs to be watered down, seriously the market is oversaturated with them)

I'm stuck on the east coast and not seeing much of this Paciifc coast stuff.  Pray tell, I was raised in northern California and don't see much of it around here but would like to; mail order FTW. 

a lack of good research photos in case you want to re-number or repaint something to look a certain way

Once you learn how to do effective searches on rr-fallenflags and railcarphoto's, it's pretty amazing what you can turn up in terms of photo's.

Rivet counters

If riviet counters annoy you, maybe time to change hobby's?  They will always be with us in the train hobby cause they are really really into trains!

overpriced models (I'm looking at you Bachmann regarding your passenger cars) 

Hasn't the overpriced models shtick been beaten totally to death a few years ago already?  Bang Head  instead of dead horse emoticon.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by Soo Line fan on Thursday, March 17, 2016 7:09 AM

gunkhead

 

 
Soo Line fan

 

 
gunkhead
Walthers' track-cleaner reefer. The only car I have bought and actually regretted.

 

Whats the issue with it?

 

 

 

It's disappointingly crude - the only cleaning mechanism it has is an abrasive block. No pad, no reservoir for cleaning fluid, just an abrasive block glued to a metal plate suspended from the chassis. And speaking of the chassis, that thing's metal chassis is stupidly heavy. I think it weighs more than my Mantua Pacific. I have elected to scrap mine - the shell will become a storage shed or somesuch, the trucks will be used to help get some cars that I bought as shells-only onto the rails, and the roof walk can be cut up to make grilles for things like steam chests.

 

I have been using one for many years and went through several cleaning blocks. I love mine, would not trade it for anything else on the market.

 

Jim

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Posted by FRRYKid on Thursday, March 17, 2016 1:10 AM

blownout cylinder

My favorite. UPS or DHL both cannot find my address. But yet I get the sticker saying where I can pick them up?!?!?? Bang Head SoapBox

 

In that vein, FedEx never being able to get packages to the right door in your apartment building the first time that a particular type delivers to the building. Bang Head (The latest was a 2-day package being put by my landlady's door. She wasn't home and I was able to find it, but still it is annoying.) I called the local Ground hub and explained exactly how to do it. But I hadn't had a 2-day package before, so the problem happened again.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by SETH CRAWFORD on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 12:48 PM
  • That moment when you find out that the turntable you want is a completely different rail code than yours (my layout is code 100 but the turntable is code 83 T-T) 
  • A complete lack of research by a certain modeling company (BLI) on a certain trio of steam engines (SOU 4501, 630, and 722) 
  • A lack of models for an entire region (Southeastern US) while favoring another region (Pacific coast needs to be watered down, seriously the market is oversaturated with them) 
  • a lack of good research photos in case you want to re-number or repaint something to look a certain way
  • Rivet counters
  • a lack of paint codes and formulas to get the paint close to right
  • overpriced models (I'm looking at you Bachmann regarding your passenger cars) 
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Posted by riogrande5761 on Thursday, January 21, 2016 10:59 PM

ricktrains4824

 

 
Paul3

Oh, and I had a new annoyance last night: I dropped a part, and not only did it hit the floor, it hit two different floors.  I'm in an old house, and there's a floor vent under my workbench on the second floor.  The part I dropped fell onto the vent (I heard it hit), then it dropped through it all the way to the first floor.

So not only did I have to get on my hands and knees to look for a dropped part, I had to descend a flight of stairs to do so!

Paul A. Cutler III

 

 

 

Ouch.... I hate things hitting one floor.

How about this one: Having to reverse engineer a sound system in a locomotive because the manufacturer used a part with a extremely high failure rate.

If I am paying $250 and more for a single locomotive, the parts present better be good, and not a "high failure" item....

MRC sound decoder formerly used in Athearn Genesis loco's?

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by ricktrains4824 on Thursday, January 21, 2016 10:05 PM

Paul3

Oh, and I had a new annoyance last night: I dropped a part, and not only did it hit the floor, it hit two different floors.  I'm in an old house, and there's a floor vent under my workbench on the second floor.  The part I dropped fell onto the vent (I heard it hit), then it dropped through it all the way to the first floor.

So not only did I have to get on my hands and knees to look for a dropped part, I had to descend a flight of stairs to do so!

Paul A. Cutler III

 

Ouch.... I hate things hitting one floor.

How about this one: Having to reverse engineer a sound system in a locomotive because the manufacturer used a part with a extremely high failure rate.

If I am paying $250 and more for a single locomotive, the parts present better be good, and not a "high failure" item....

Ricky W.

HO scale Proto-freelancer.

My Railroad rules:

1: It's my railroad, my rules.

2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.

3: Any objections, consult above rules.

  • Member since
    May 2002
  • From: Massachusetts
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Posted by Paul3 on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 5:22 PM

Oh, and I had a new annoyance last night: I dropped a part, and not only did it hit the floor, it hit two different floors.  I'm in an old house, and there's a floor vent under my workbench on the second floor.  The part I dropped fell onto the vent (I heard it hit), then it dropped through it all the way to the first floor.

So not only did I have to get on my hands and knees to look for a dropped part, I had to descend a flight of stairs to do so!

Paul A. Cutler III

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  • From: Massachusetts
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Posted by Paul3 on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 5:16 PM

FWIW, my club owns half a dozen of the Walthers track cleaning cars.  We've found them to work great for us.

Before we got them, we'd clean the track before an Open House with the CMX Clean Machine (brass tank car) dripping mineral spirts, laquer thinner, or alcohol (we tried all three) on the pad.  However, half way through the 7 hour Open House, the track would get so dirty that we'd have to send out the Clean Machine again during the show.  And, the lead loco of every train needed cleaning at some point in the day or else.

Now, we try to put one Walthers track cleaning car in each freight train and drag it around for the show.  As a result, we no longer have to clean the layout during the show with the Clean Machine, and trains can run all 7 hours without the need for cleaning wheels in the middle of the day.

Our club's dirty track problem is caused by dust, with forced air HVAC, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and hundreds of people walking through the doors.  So a simple pad as on the Walthers car works well for us after the track has already been cleaned with the Clean Machine.

Paul A. Cutler III

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Posted by blownout cylinder on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 2:15 PM

My favorite. UPS or DHL both cannot find my address. But yet I get the sticker saying where I can pick them up?!?!?? Bang Head SoapBox

Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry

I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...

http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 12:16 PM

angelob6660

when its hits you a holiday Bang Head

Or worse, the items you've been waiting for over a year came in stock at your favorite online vendor while you are flying overseas (items that typically sell out in a matter of hours!)  I had been tracking those on Athearns site and sure enough they came in stock the day I was flying overseas to England and was at the airport in Paris France when they showed up in stock.  (I knew this was going to happen!)

Thankfully, by some quirk, I was able to wait until I could borrow a laptop when I got to England and order the engines.  (they happened to be the Athearn Genesis D&RGW GP40-2's).  By early January they were pretty much sold out everywhere, but thankfully I managed to get all 4 numbers.  I guess D&RGW is VERY popular, but what a fiasco getting them.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by fieryturbo on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 12:04 PM

Mosquito bites.

Julian

Modeling Pre-WP merger UP (1974-81)

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Posted by angelob6660 on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 12:51 AM

Buying things over the internet and realizing the item well be here Monday; when its hits you a holiday Bang Head and have to wait another day.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by blownout cylinder on Monday, January 18, 2016 11:33 PM

Why does my space always shrink? Whistling

Kiboshing my noggin upon getting out from under my benchwork....oooo...that smarts...Black EyeDead

Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry

I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...

http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/

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Posted by gunkhead on Monday, January 18, 2016 11:20 PM

Soo Line fan

 

 
gunkhead
Walthers' track-cleaner reefer. The only car I have bought and actually regretted.

 

Whats the issue with it?

 

It's disappointingly crude - the only cleaning mechanism it has is an abrasive block. No pad, no reservoir for cleaning fluid, just an abrasive block glued to a metal plate suspended from the chassis. And speaking of the chassis, that thing's metal chassis is stupidly heavy. I think it weighs more than my Mantua Pacific. I have elected to scrap mine - the shell will become a storage shed or somesuch, the trucks will be used to help get some cars that I bought as shells-only onto the rails, and the roof walk can be cut up to make grilles for things like steam chests.

Interiors and people figures make such a difference. Especially the people.

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Posted by Soo Line fan on Monday, January 18, 2016 8:46 PM

gunkhead
Walthers' track-cleaner reefer. The only car I have bought and actually regretted.

Whats the issue with it?

Jim

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Posted by middleman on Monday, January 18, 2016 8:12 PM

never mind.....

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Posted by jecorbett on Monday, January 18, 2016 6:28 PM

What irritates me about this hobby? Lots of things. Probably the #1 would be the general poor quality of products even high end. There is way to much junk sold at premium prices.

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Posted by Southgate on Monday, January 18, 2016 3:33 AM

Mr Positive; You say they (Kadee) are just around the corner... Does that mean you live in the Medford area?  I gotta get over there and see the place. I'm in central Oregon.

OK, to stay on topic; There's nothing that irritates me about the hobby enough to make me wanna leave it. Even the worst problem (to me) as I mentioned earlier, the track/wheel electrial barrier can be dealt with. Dan

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