riogrande5761If they do that, they aren't real Rio Grande fans, but fair weather fans.
.
Fair Weather Railfans?
I wonder how many Santa Fe or Union Pacific modellers would jump ship to another prototype of they did not have an abundance of product to choose from.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
xboxtravis7992Hit the market to late, and the people who wanted to model Rio Grande may have moved onto another railroad due to product availability.
If they do that, they aren't real Rio Grande fans, but fair weather fans.
As I mentioned, if someone really want Rio Grande rolling stock, check eBay and train shows. Mostly eBay. It's out there.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
My friends who work at a hobby store here in Utah give me the impression that Rio Grande stuff just sells out fast despite all their best efforts to keep it in stock. Like Colorado, Utah is of course Grande country so its no surprise it has a big following here too. A search for Rio Grande on their website showing their current stock just showed a ton of sold out items. The ScaleTrains SD40T-2's were hot ticket items and really flew off the shelves for them (well a lot of ScaleTrains stuff tends to do that it seems). Also as mentioned before, some product launches are cyclical so while there may have been a big launch of GP30's and SD9's and GP9's all in Rio Grande a few years back, the manufactureres might be holding off for a few more years until they do another massive Grande launch, especially with those ScaleTrains tunnel motors hogging the spotlight right now. At the end of the day, the US model railroad market is a constant game of launch releases and products trying to enter a small market without canabalizing each other. We're not like Britain for example, that only had four major steam railroads for a large chunk of its existance and then one big national line; the US was for most of its history a large patchwork of Class One's and countless regionals and shortlines, only consolidating to a few major railroads within the last twenty-five years or so. Guessing when to release a Rio Grande unit or say a Seaboard Coast Line unit, Canadian National, or Penn Central unit instead is a crazy guessing game the manufacturers have to play constantly. Hit the market the same time as another person releasing Rio Grande you risk damaging both your sales. Hit the market with old tooling (like Athearn's tunnel motors) and you might completely loose the market when a new company (like ScaleTrains hot selling tunnel motor) enters with the same engine with better detailing at a competitve price. Hit the market to late, and the people who wanted to model Rio Grande may have moved onto another railroad due to product availability. Without getting political, just expect the recent US-China tarrifs to mess up that manufacturing/release game even more.So if you don't want to wait and see when the next Rio Grande wave hits, might as well start browsing train shows, swap meets, and eBay listings to see if any of the products from a few years back begin to start entering the market.
rrinker Good, then you can do the stack of undec RS-3s I have
If you are in no hurry, send them my way.
I will be airbrushing in mass again in 3-4 months when the humidity drops. Just diassemble them first. I am not going to break someone else's locmotives. I break enough of my own.
Good, then you can do the stack of undec RS-3s I have
Actually, they are going to be super easy. Frame black, shell Pullman Green. No lines, stripes, etc. No paint masking. Another reason I like first generation Reading power, simple paint scheme.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Motley I will attempt a repaint on annother road. I just found some Athearn Genesis SD45-2 Santa Fe. I am going to buy that and repaint and decal with D&RGW. And even if its bad job I will weather it anyways.
Great plan. I love painting and decalling my own equipment. I hope you open up a new side of the hobby you enjoy.
Motleysince I can't seem to find any D&RGW locos,
What loco are you looking for?
There are couple on ebay.
Toy Train Heaven has a couple.
Hobbylinc has a couple.
Well damn, since I can't seem to find any D&RGW locos, I will attempt a repaint on annother road. I just found some Athearn Genesis SD45-2 Santa Fe. I am going to buy that and repaint and decal with D&RGW. And even if its bad job I will weather it anyways.
https://www.trainworld.com/manufacturers/athearn/genesis-ho-scale/athearn-athearn-athearn-diesel-engines-1/sd45-2/athearn-g86184-ho-sd45-2-w-dcc-sound-sf-5687/
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Hello All,
I too was saddened by the loss of, dare I say, an iconic hobby store....Fair well to a new friend; Caboose Hobbies in Denver, Colorado.
Whenever possible I try to support brick and mortar stores over internet sales.
I have tried to support the new Caboose store, but like many other comments on this thread, when I go there it can be disappointing. Both in the lack of stock on hand and pricing.
Yes, I understand the costs of operating a small retail business. I am a bike mechanic in the summer and work for a small family owned business.
When we are in Denver, and I need something for my pike, I always try to get it at Caboose. Unfortunately sometimes I am not successful and have to turn to the internet.
The bike shop I work for has moved away from retail and has refocused on service.
Yes, you can get that bike or part online cheaper but who will assemble, install or maintain that item you got cheaper than we could provide?
I wish there was a simple answer.
Until then, when in Denver, I will stop in- -see if they have the item(s) I need and if not then turn to the internet.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
I was not trying to insinuate that things have to be exact, and the other more complicated part of the equation (for me) is I am trying to make a soon to be 13-year-old happy as well. I can appreciate your approach...
The 13-year-old likes modern stuff including Atlas NS Topgons (1990's rebuilt hoppers in a neat grey scheme), 1970's stuff, and also PRR Keystone stuff. He wants more Arrowhead PRR H-39's...and more Tangent PRR G43's...my friends who have passed on would have loved his tastes!
His motive power includes UP C44-9W's, E-L SDP45's incl. the bicentennial one, and the FEC blue/yellow SD70M-2.
I have big Alco's: C636's and M636's, and I want the PC/Conrail H39's which I am told should be out "sometime in 2020".
For me it would be too implausible to attempt to integrate all that stuff into one fictional railroad, especially given my Canadian and Mexican tastes.
Sheldon is going for believable realism, and I think my roster would just stretch that...a bit too far. edit: Early Conrail did lease 26 CN M-636's and freely mixed them with any builder's six-axle units available incl. EL and RDG but that still won't include modern UP stuff, lol.
John
John, just because I know something, does not mean I have to have everything perfect.
That's why I do both, prototype modeling with my interchange roads, B&O, C&O, WM, and protolance with the ATLANTIC CENTRAL.
Believable fantasy (protolancing) is much more fun than the exact truth.
While there is a lot I don't know, and a lot I simply don't care to know, there is also a lot I know. Some of it I follow very closely, some not.
That is the "artistic" part of the hobby in my mind.
It's like full length passenger cars, I have a few, but most of my passenger cars are Athearn and ConCor 72' kit bash/detail jobs. Why? Because they look really graceful and cool like the real thing close coupled with working diaphragms on my 38" radius curves.
Hardly anybody really knows if EVERY passenger car on your layout is correct, and given the one off nature of many prototype passenger cars, nobody has every car correct.......at least not many people......
So why stress it, have fun.
I have a "what if" C&O George Washington of ConCor 72' cars, they look great. Who really cares if every window is in exactly the right place? I don't, even though I know they are wrong.
My trains, and my next layout will be "believable", not "totally accurate". Because we don't have all the info anyway, close enough is good enough.
I'm in this to build interesting models and have fun running trains.
1000 freight cars, about 24 staged freight trains x about 35 cars each = 840 cars.
A 20' long, 8 track freight yard with a 320 car capacity about 35% full = 112 cars.
And some more sitting in some industries, the piggyback yard, etc.
But this is an accurate enough representation of a 1950's Piggyback for me:
But if you look close, this is not just a stock Athearn piggyback flat.
The vans now have the correct single axles and correct landing gear location, there is a "jack" holding up the fifth wheel, there is no more incorrect "stuff" on the flat car deck holding the van in place, it has bridge plates and the stakes that would hold the bridge plate chains. Yes some details are left to the imagination, and some dimensions are wrong, but the effect is very good. I have nearly 100 of these in various roadnames.
Because I can.........
Sheldon
Sheldon--
Fair enough. I can't fathom needing 1000 freight cars...my problem is where to put all the ones I have, and those 50 car trains my son wants can become unwieldy at times to deal with...
I was merely pointing out, for the benefit of those modeling the 1950's, that the Arrowhead Models cars are just a bit too new.
Because I don't need 1000 cars, I am able to have mostly high end cars (I have a few Trainman level cars too, for the rear of trains for my cat who likes to bat the last car or two off the track sometimes).
I do agree with this thread that finding "good" Rio Grande standard gauge equipment can be a challenge. That IS the reason why, as much as I can appreciate the railroad, I simply gave up trying to model it at least twice. If one can get and/or even afford some of the steam power...well, there are still no Pressed Steel Car Company Grande Gold over Silver 40' boxcars...which to me personally would be the "Holy Grail" of late '50's western road boxcars. Also, I can't accept a foobie for such an obviously different "signature" boxcar specifically because the straight lower side sill gives it away even at "layout viewing distances"...so that means all the foobies that don't have straight sills stick out like a sore thumb to me.
This is how I got to the point of just buying and running what I like...I couldn't stick to a road or era. The more I learned about the prototype roads, the harder it became to focus on one.
It's easier to like this or that model that is actually available that is outstanding, and to try to assemble a "representative" fleet of 1970's era freight cars. I loved the steam power, but I also loved the bright freight car paint schemes of the later eras. There was no way for me to reconcile the two. Steam era reefers, while colorful, didn't stay clean at all.
Motley You guys are all spot on about the new Caboose. Whoever the owner is, he's doing a bad job and disservice to Colorado modelers, which there are a lot. At the old store I used to like just browsing the isles, they had so much stuff it was crazy. And every single time I was there, be it a weekend or weeday any time, it was packed with people. They even had two registers. Back then in 2010 I was a newbie and I got a lot of help from the empoyees there. Now I pretty much know what I want. The new Caboose? I was the only customer in there! LOL It just sucks that I will miss that experience because I have shop online now.
You guys are all spot on about the new Caboose. Whoever the owner is, he's doing a bad job and disservice to Colorado modelers, which there are a lot.
At the old store I used to like just browsing the isles, they had so much stuff it was crazy. And every single time I was there, be it a weekend or weeday any time, it was packed with people. They even had two registers.
Back then in 2010 I was a newbie and I got a lot of help from the empoyees there. Now I pretty much know what I want.
The new Caboose? I was the only customer in there! LOL
It just sucks that I will miss that experience because I have shop online now.
I've aways been way too far away to visit Caboose Hobbies in person, but was have done business with them for a long time, consigning brass and other items, and buying brass and rolling stock. Caboose Hobbies had decent discount pricing on new items and always had a nice inventory of brass to peruse.
The new store has been trying hard to ride the coattails and describes itself as a continuation of Caboose Hobbies. It simply isn't as much as it wants to be.
What has always puzzled me is the name change.
Upon termination of the lease at that location in 2016, the assets of Caboose Hobbies were purchased by Kevin Ruble, the store was moved 7-1/2 miles west to Lakewood, Colorado and renamed Caboose (which is what almost everybody called it anyway).
Almost everyone called it Caboose? Not in my 25 or so years of memory have I heard that ever. There must be some legal reason the store name was not retained. Interestingly, if you search google for caboose hobbies, Caboose comes up. I guess you can lead a horse to water, but is it really water?
In my opinoin, Caboose is not Caboose Hobbies. It's a totally new and different shop and run by a different person with different ways of running the shop. Fine of course. But as Michael noticed, the inventory is not what customers used to see at Caboose Hobbies.
When the new shop Caboose opened, I perused the website for items I might have wanted to buy, but they didn't come up at Caboose Hobbies old discount prices, but rather at or near MRSP. Also, like Michael, most of the items I was looking for as a D&RGW were not available to buy. I might have found one item but at MSRP and shipping to my address, I chose to back out and not complete the purchase and to date, have not bought anything from Caboose.
By all practical real terms, this new shop is not the shop many fondly remember. The sad truth is Caboose Hobbies is gone, finito, history. Sure, it's good a new hobby shop has stepped in to fill the void but it really doesn't replace the store we used to know, not by a long shot. A hobby shop cannot survive on memories of a shop that has gone away, it has to earn it's own reputation. The old shoes are not easy to fill.
The good news is, with a little judicious shopping online, on eBay and at train shows and you can find what you need.
SeeYou190 York1 Spring Creek Model Trains is in Deshler, NE., a town of 700. It is over 100 miles to the nearest large (over 270,000) city. They are 10 miles off a major highway, and 50 miles from an Interstate. This hobby store specializes in HO and N almost exclusively. It is large -- they are in an old grocery store. They claim they have the largest HO and N scale inventory between Chicago and Denver. . If you are nearby... Spring Creek is an absolute must-visit location! . . -Kevin .
York1 Spring Creek Model Trains is in Deshler, NE., a town of 700. It is over 100 miles to the nearest large (over 270,000) city. They are 10 miles off a major highway, and 50 miles from an Interstate. This hobby store specializes in HO and N almost exclusively. It is large -- they are in an old grocery store. They claim they have the largest HO and N scale inventory between Chicago and Denver.
If you are nearby... Spring Creek is an absolute must-visit location!
I have not been to their store, but see them at various train shows.
They also have a website.
https://www.springcreekmodeltrains.com/
Jeff
York1Spring Creek Model Trains is in Deshler, NE., a town of 700. It is over 100 miles to the nearest large (over 270,000) city. They are 10 miles off a major highway, and 50 miles from an Interstate. This hobby store specializes in HO and N almost exclusively. It is large -- they are in an old grocery store. They claim they have the largest HO and N scale inventory between Chicago and Denver.
riogrande5761 SeeYou190 I am not talking about newly released limited run items. . These shops are low-empty on paint, tools, ground cover, ballast, brass stock, plastic strips, etc. etc. etc. You know... the stuff that makes a brick and mortar store better than buying online. -Kevin Maybe not, but the topic was started about trying to find D&RGW models, not raw materials, paint and the like. (steering back on-topic). IRONROOSTER Full price hobby shops only seem to survive if they are located in an affluent market where available today and service are worth more than discounts. Or they serve a wide number of hobbies where some (most) of them can be sold at msrp. I live in an area which by all appearances is affluant, but decent hobby shops are essentially non-existant. *shrugs* Personally, I do most of my buying online and at train shows. Paul Me too. And I don't have much trouble finding what I need, including D&RGW rolling stock.
SeeYou190 I am not talking about newly released limited run items. . These shops are low-empty on paint, tools, ground cover, ballast, brass stock, plastic strips, etc. etc. etc. You know... the stuff that makes a brick and mortar store better than buying online. -Kevin
You know... the stuff that makes a brick and mortar store better than buying online.
Maybe not, but the topic was started about trying to find D&RGW models, not raw materials, paint and the like. (steering back on-topic).
IRONROOSTER Full price hobby shops only seem to survive if they are located in an affluent market where available today and service are worth more than discounts. Or they serve a wide number of hobbies where some (most) of them can be sold at msrp.
Full price hobby shops only seem to survive if they are located in an affluent market where available today and service are worth more than discounts. Or they serve a wide number of hobbies where some (most) of them can be sold at msrp.
I live in an area which by all appearances is affluant, but decent hobby shops are essentially non-existant. *shrugs*
Personally, I do most of my buying online and at train shows. Paul
Paul
Me too. And I don't have much trouble finding what I need, including D&RGW rolling stock.
Where you live, model train stores can't afford the rent.......
PRR8259 ATLANTIC CENTRAL ... I don't have any idea how complete that list is, but based on that you can't model the D&RGW accurately in the 1950's? Guess the "foobies" will have to do for some stuff on my layout........... Sheldon Sheldon-- The Arrowhead Models D&RGW Hopper car that is currently available represents the last Rio Grande order for 400 of those cars, which was built by Bethlehem Steel during June, 1966. So as such, it would indeed be "too new" for the 1950's. It's a beautiful car; I just got one along with some PRR H-39 cars and a Southern one. It's also readily available directly from Arrowhead, for less of a shipping charge than most retail dealers and Ebay sellers currently have for that particular model (if you spread it out over two or more cars). There are 23 road numbers currently available directly from Arrowhead for Rio Grande (48 for PRR H-39 class). Some Ebay and other sellers are also inflating the selling price ABOVE the $48.95 MSRP shown on Arrowhead's box. Ordinarily I have been very much "pro-dealer", but when some dealers start inflating MSRP and shipping costs, as some are now doing, at that point I am fine with going direct to importer to save money. John
ATLANTIC CENTRAL ... I don't have any idea how complete that list is, but based on that you can't model the D&RGW accurately in the 1950's? Guess the "foobies" will have to do for some stuff on my layout........... Sheldon
...
I don't have any idea how complete that list is, but based on that you can't model the D&RGW accurately in the 1950's?
Guess the "foobies" will have to do for some stuff on my layout...........
The Arrowhead Models D&RGW Hopper car that is currently available represents the last Rio Grande order for 400 of those cars, which was built by Bethlehem Steel during June, 1966. So as such, it would indeed be "too new" for the 1950's.
It's a beautiful car; I just got one along with some PRR H-39 cars and a Southern one. It's also readily available directly from Arrowhead, for less of a shipping charge than most retail dealers and Ebay sellers currently have for that particular model (if you spread it out over two or more cars). There are 23 road numbers currently available directly from Arrowhead for Rio Grande (48 for PRR H-39 class). Some Ebay and other sellers are also inflating the selling price ABOVE the $48.95 MSRP shown on Arrowhead's box.
Ordinarily I have been very much "pro-dealer", but when some dealers start inflating MSRP and shipping costs, as some are now doing, at that point I am fine with going direct to importer to save money.
John, I like accurate models if they are available and reasonably affordable. But I'm not replacing reasonably close stuff I already have, and I'm not leaving holes in my operational roster because no correct model exists.
I model the 50's, you see one 40' steel box car, you have seen 50% of them. The rest are obvious, B&O wagontops, x29's etc.
It takes 1000 freight cars to fill the operational needs of my new layout plan. Trust me, they will not all be uber accurate $50 models........but they will all have $10 worth of metal wheels, sprung trucks and Kadee couplers.
Darn, Deshler is just a little bit too far away for me to be able to hit them up while I am out that way.
Have you tried having a local shop order from Walthers or other big distributors for you? My old LHS did that for me all the time, giving me the flyer discount, too. He had a whole bookcase in the back that was always full of stuff specifically ordered for customers. Sales tax had to be paid, but there were no shipping charges, saving more money.
Sadly, the landlord jacked up the rent, so my LHS owner closed the shop and retired, but I did this for years. I was at the point where my needs were very specific and typically not off-the-shelf anyway.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
York1 This comment is not aimed at any other comments, but I find this interesting. Spring Creek Model Trains is in Deshler, NE., a town of 700. It is over 100 miles to the nearest large (over 270,000) city. They are 10 miles off a major highway, and 50 miles from an Interstate. This hobby store specializes in HO and N almost exclusively. It is large -- they are in an old grocery store. They claim they have the largest HO and N scale inventory between Chicago and Denver. They just started online ordering, but it is very limited. I think what makes them successful is very hard work, great service, and personal attention to buyers. The owners travel each weekend to trainshows, loaded with merchandise. When you meet them at a train show, you find yourself wanting to drive hundreds of miles out of the way to see the store. When you go into the store, you are meeting with the owners who are genuine friends. It's interesting that in this day of failing shops, dropping inventory, etc., this store seems to thrive on an age-old idea: They know the products, they work very hard, and they know the customers.
This comment is not aimed at any other comments, but I find this interesting.
Spring Creek Model Trains is in Deshler, NE., a town of 700. It is over 100 miles to the nearest large (over 270,000) city. They are 10 miles off a major highway, and 50 miles from an Interstate.
This hobby store specializes in HO and N almost exclusively. It is large -- they are in an old grocery store. They claim they have the largest HO and N scale inventory between Chicago and Denver. They just started online ordering, but it is very limited.
I think what makes them successful is very hard work, great service, and personal attention to buyers. The owners travel each weekend to trainshows, loaded with merchandise. When you meet them at a train show, you find yourself wanting to drive hundreds of miles out of the way to see the store. When you go into the store, you are meeting with the owners who are genuine friends.
It's interesting that in this day of failing shops, dropping inventory, etc., this store seems to thrive on an age-old idea: They know the products, they work very hard, and they know the customers.
And because of their location, I would bet the cost of their building, to buy or rent, is 1/3 to 1/5 what a similar space would be someplace like here in the Mid Atlantic. That cost can make a big difference.
I would also suspect that good help costs less there too........,
York1 John
SeeYou190I am not talking about newly released limited run items. . These shops are low-empty on paint, tools, ground cover, ballast, brass stock, plastic strips, etc. etc. etc. You know... the stuff that makes a brick and mortar store better than buying online. -Kevin
Discount seems to be where retailing is these days. Full price hobby shops only seem to survive if they are located in an affluent market where available today and service are worth more than discounts. Or they serve a wide number of hobbies where some (most) of them can be sold at msrp.
There's a pretty good hobby shop near me for paint, stripwood, and other miscellaneous supplies (all at list). He started with a pretty good train section, but list price (in some cases above list). That has dwindle in favor of other hobbies where apparently he can sell for a higher margin.
In the past all the train stores I have seen with empty shelves went out of business within months.
Personally, I do most of my buying online and at train shows.
SeeYou190 riogrande5761 Many model train products have been made in limited runs for quite some time now so it's not that unusual for product to become hard to find, especially if you depend on brick and mortar shops. . I am not talking about newly released limited run items. . These shops are low-empty on paint, tools, ground cover, ballast, brass stock, plastic strips, etc. etc. etc. . You know... the stuff that makes a brick and mortar store better than buying online. . -Kevin .
riogrande5761 Many model train products have been made in limited runs for quite some time now so it's not that unusual for product to become hard to find, especially if you depend on brick and mortar shops.
I am not talking about newly released limited run items.
These shops are low-empty on paint, tools, ground cover, ballast, brass stock, plastic strips, etc. etc. etc.
Sounds like they are in trouble, it takes capital and realistic profit margins to keep shelves stocked.
I have seen more than one brick and mortar store fail because it thought it could live on 25% or 30% and do a lot of discounting even though they were not buying at the direct level.
One guy around here (this general region) always had an interesting but small selection of stuff in stock. He told me he had lots of regular customers who placed orders, and his prices were pretty good. A year after telling me how good he was doing, he closed up...........
Fact is, he may not have been loosing money, just not making enough to make it worthwhile.
riogrande5761Many model train products have been made in limited runs for quite some time now so it's not that unusual for product to become hard to find, especially if you depend on brick and mortar shops.
At least part of it could be that the Rio Grande items they get sell fast, since I would presume many local (Colorado) folks model D&RGW, while items for other roads sit on the shelves.
ATLANTIC CENTRALI don't have any idea how complete that list is, but based on that you can't model the D&RGW accurately in the 1950's? Guess the "foobies" will have to do for some stuff on my layout........... Sheldon
My reply was aimed at Motleys needs which IIRC, is on the modern side, so he should be fine with any of those I listed or whatever else if it suites him.