Requiem: Hobbytown of Boston

[The Plains Talker]

Quality rises to the top and I'm sure a new firm will pick up the ball.  In the meantime, Howard Mosely, one of the nicest, most knowlegible guys in the business side of our hobby will now have time to enjoy it once more in his well earned retirement.  Howard revived hobbytown of Boston from an uncertain future and returned it to its solid foundation for future modelers to enjoy.

Point well taken on the durability of today's crop of beautiful imported motive power; it will be hard to find many that will function for 20 years, let alone 50, so the simple, but rugged h of B chassis may have a future in keeping the current crop alive.  (I'm thinking now of my "hopping" Proto 2K GP-18s...!)  Hobbytown assembly (READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST!) is simpler than taking apart a modern loco to install DCC, sound and ditch lights! And yes, I have uh, many, many new ones too, being an active Erie/DL&W/EL & NYS&W modeler!  But the hobbytowns form the backbone of the "Heavy Metal Fleet" and are an operating collection unto themselves.

A properly assembled hobbytown (rember no capital "h") with the proper Custom Finishes, Cal Scale, Precision, Carey, DA, DW, etc. parts and properly painted will make every bit of a realistic locomotive as will one by Atlas, Athearn, Stewart or Proto.  Power chassis by hobbytown have also come to the rescue of other vintage diecast locomotoves such as the John English Alco FA-1 and FB-1 as well as the metal Mantua Sharks.

John Chapper (founder of hobbytown in the late 1940s, was the first to popularize mounting the motors in the chassis, away from the trucks to enable powering a variety of models.  He aslo popularized flywheels and had one of the few successful clutch drives as well.  And he never left well enough alone, there were always upgrades of material or components when warranted.

Some of the vintage models of the past, like Strombeck or Bathgate are consigned to the history of the hobby.  But others, like Hobbytown and Red Ball have earned their place.  Much of the Red Ball die engraving was done by none other than John Anderson, later of Kemtron and founder of CalScale. Did you see the Red ball based PRR semi-well flat car model that John Tiechmoller did that was featured in the on-line Keystone Modeler about 18 months ago. Could not tell it from modern resin or brass!  

Red Ball still in business and John Green of Bethlehem has revived the former Red Ball line of trucks that were marketed in the interim Cape Line for a few decades and includes many still unavailable anywhere else.  We still use CalScale parts and many of those original pattens were made 50 years ago by masters in diework like Anderson are made by Bowser. Some of Bob Lindsay's patterns went to Kemtron, now Precision, while his Alco FA-2 and FB-2 ended up with hobbytown.

So yes, hobbytown of Boston deserves another chapter in HO, and hopefully soon.

And in the meantime, thank you Howard! 

Jay

[nyc4me]

I've seen several comments about noise. The best remedy I've found is to use a real good flexible rubber coupling and drill rod or such between the motor and the flywheel. I think it was about a year and half ago I mentioned my noise problem to someone at Bear Loco and was offered that bit of advice. Got some of their tubing and took out the universals that I had in there and what a diff it made. Indeed much quieter.  That's with the original pittman motor, too. The other gearing still can be heard but, not enough that I think it's a distraction!  You bet, enjoy them engines!  Fine runners. Besides that I was getting ready to buy some replacement parts to do some upgrades (i.e. replace parts I years ago ground or filed too much or etc)...will have to wait and see what happens now!

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

My complements to Jay on the RS3.  Impressive.  Really impressive.

I agree with others regarding power of Hobbytowns.  I have 90 watt DC power supply and can haul anything with the Hobbytowns.  They don't sneak up on you though.  You definately can hear them.

I did however get an exceptionally smoothe runner  - my Katy PA1.  I have a "Pike-sized" Texas Special that I enjoy hauling with that engine.

Happy Model Railroading, everybody.

[modelmaker51]

Tom, thanks for the compliment and good luck on your project!

 

Though great for their time i'm afraid that time has past and these are going the way of strombecker kits ect. 

I'll take a Hobbytown RS3 and out pull any locomotive made today..Those are still the best shells made.

Also I have my Dad's Hobbytowns that is 45-50 years old and they still run.

Agreed, Larry. If you're looking for serious pulling power, the Hobbytowns are "old tech" but I have yet to see any "new tech" that's better.

I put two Hobbytown drives under Mantua die cast shark bodies (about a pound just for the body). This pair will stringline a train before you'll stall them.

 

I don't disagree, I also have two HobbyTown PAs with original drives and two tiger Valley ALCo C-628s, (same style drive), that'll pull the backdrop off the walls!

[TomDiehl]

Though great for their time i'm afraid that time has past and these are going the way of strombecker kits ect. 

I'll take a Hobbytown RS3 and out pull any locomotive made today..Those are still the best shells made.

Also I have my Dad's Hobbytowns that is 45-50 years old and they still run.

Agreed, Larry. If you're looking for serious pulling power, the Hobbytowns are "old tech" but I have yet to see any "new tech" that's better.

I put two Hobbytown drives under Mantua die cast shark bodies (about a pound just for the body). This pair will stringline a train before you'll stall them.

[dieselsmoke]

Thanks Jay for the info. Nice work! My reason for converting is the same as yours plus all wheel pickup. I have Kato motors and Atlas trucks so it should run smoother and be just about as powerful as it was originally. Thanks again.

Jim 

[BRAKIE]

Though great for their time i'm afraid that time has past and these are going the way of strombecker kits ect. 

I'll take a Hobbytown RS3 and out pull any locomotive made today..Those are still the best shells made.

Also I have my Dad's Hobbytowns that is 45-50 years old and they still run.

[modelmaker51]

Jay

Would you mind telling me briefly what you did to modify an Atlas drive? Did you lengthen an Atlas frame or use Atlas parts on a Hobbytown frame? I shortened a plastic Hobbytown and mounted it on an Atlas chassis. I have 3 zamac RS3's ready to repower but I don't want to cut those.

Thanks Jim

On checking my photos, I realized that I misspoke, I modified the HobbyTown RS-3 to accommodate a the MDC/Proto RS-3 drive. I used the Atlas drive on my TigerValley RS-36, however they were both done similarilly. My reason for modifying the drives was to have multi-unit capability with my other Atlas, Proto and remotored Athearns in my DC days.

Anyway here's a quick how to: After cutting holes in the frames to fit the trucks, (used a lot of cut-off discs!), I used a Micromark mini drill press with the x-y table to mill out notches for the bolsters which I cut out of the Atlas & Proto frames. These were JB Qwik'd in place. I also drilled a 3/32 hole thru each bolster edge and the frame and drove steel pins into with a hammer for permanence. The only difference between the two is that I used the motor mount section as well in the HobbyTown/Proto conversion and with the RS-36 I carved (ground) a cradle for the motor and mounted it with 3M double sided tape.

Here's the Hobbytown/Proto version:

Here's the TigerValley/Atlas version:

[Midnight Railroader]

Though great for their time i'm afraid that time has past and these are going the way of strombecker kits ect. 

I hope not. Quality should always have a place in this hobby.

[dieselsmoke]

Jay

Would you mind telling me briefly what you did to modify an Atlas drive? Did you lengthen an Atlas frame or use Atlas parts on a Hobbytown frame? I shortened a plastic Hobbytown and mounted it on an Atlas chassis. I have 3 zamac RS3's ready to repower but I don't want to cut those.

Thanks  Jim 

[modelmaker51]

I, too will be sad to see HobbyTown go. As to accuracy, the RS-3 is still one of the most accurate shells around and they are a kit basher's delight:

I did modify an Atlas drive to fit and with weight of the shell, it pulls better than any stock Atlas.

[dknelson]

Though great for their time i'm afraid that time has past and these are going the way of strombecker kits ect. 

For those too young to get the reference, Strombecker was a line of cardboard and paper and wood trains intended as display models or to be pulled on the floor with string.  I think this is a BIT of an exaggeration to compare Hobbytown of Boston drive trains to push/pull toys .... but makes of trains do die.  

Frankly based on how many people posting on these forums seem to lament the short life span of their new generation P2K, Bachmann, Athearn, Broadway Limited etc trains it seems to me that in short order there is going to be a place for a line of aftermarket drive trains and chassis , since the very nice plastic and metal shells will likely live on long after the factory original drive trains will give out on these Chinese- made models.  That's just my opinion. 

I already know guys who buy 2 P2K engines at a time -- the road name they want and then the the cheapest version of the same engine for parts spares.

Dave Nelson

[SSW9389]

A little while ago I purchased a used Hobbytown RS-3 from the LHS. After installing Kadee couplers I put the thing on the layout and was soon towing 38 cars around curves and up our 2% grades at no more than a third throttle. My only complaint, aside from looks, is that the thing sounds like a John Deere tractor out in the field. It sure can pull freight though!

[Baerchen]

I like Howard.  A good man.  I wish him well in retirement and trust that someone will step up and don the mantle of Hobbytown of Boston.  I guess I just have to wait until the replacement wheelsets are available again!!

[rrebell]

Though great for their time i'm afraid that time has past and these are going the way of strombecker kits ect. 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Here's my photo tribute to Hobbytown of Boston. These units have Hobbytown drives, and some have the Hobbytown die cast shells as well.

The brass shells on the GN F9's are Tenshodo.  Those units have all wheels powered with just two motors.  They have u-joints connecting A and B units.  Motors are in the B units.

A Santa Fe PA1 has a plastic shell that was imported by Con Cor long ago, but its B unit has Athearn shell.

Most recent is the Athearn U boat shell on the Hobbytown drive.  PRR units and the Katy PA1 have die cast shells.  GN E7 was modified Hobbytown shell with snow plow pilot and angle number boards.

Hobbytown was great for model railroaders who like to tinker with mechanisms.   I have several more in my box for locos to be rebuilt at a later date.

Thanks Hobbytown!  It's been fun!

[BRAKIE]

Don't play taps just yet. They have been sold several times in the past The main problem is people don't want these kinds of kits any more( far too much work to get a running chassis that is not better than the best current ones made).  Second, the tooling is very old and not worth very much. As far as somebody picking it up, it has to be someone doing diecast which limits it to Bowser.  NWSL has no use for the line. Not sure Bowser would have much use either as there is a very limited product line and sales have to be very small.

 

While I agree with you about the limited sells I know several modelers that prefers the Hobbytown RS3s over the Atlas RS3 and they have built several.

Sadly younger modelers will never enjoy the thrill of seeing a locomotive they built run for the first time.IMHO every modeler should experience that.

[jsoderq]

Don't play taps just yet. They have been sold several times in the past The main problem is people don't want these kinds of kits any more( far too much work to get a running chassis that is not better than the best current ones made).  Second, the tooling is very old and not worth very much. As far as somebody picking it up, it has to be someone doing diecast which limits it to Bowser.  NWSL has no use for the line. Not sure Bowser would have much use either as there is a very limited product line and sales have to be very small.

[Darth Santa Fe]

I hope someone buys Hobbytown and restarts production. I bought one of their RSD-5 kits last year, and even though it's not exactly quiet, it's an excellent engine.

I'd probably want Bowser to have the line more than anyone else, because they seem to do very well at keeping things in production, and with the Cary diesel shells, they could bring out nearly a dozen new Hobbytown kits!

[dknelson]

In some ways North West Shortline would seems like a logical candidate to acquire the old Hobbytown of Boston line, perhaps not the all metal shells but the chassis and drive trains.

Dave Nelson

[Soo Line fan]

This is sad news. Hopefully a company like Bowser or Yardbirds will pickup the molds and some of the stuff will still be available.

The driveshaft kits are a great design.

With the proliferation of today's models, I have to wonder how much of a market there is for some of the chassis kits? PPW / A-Line still sells a great chassis also.

Jim

[MisterBeasley]

Well, let's all wish Howard a great retirement!  I'm sure it's well deserved, and perhaps someone will pick up the line and carry on the good tradition.

[cjcrescent]

gmcrail;

That is bad news. Even thou I am primarily a steam modeler, I have owned 5 hobbytowns and still have three of these. These are the most rugged and dependable mechanism on the market, and I would really hate to see them go.The Hobbytown chassis was the best chassis ever made for a  diesel IMHO.

It is a sad day.

[gmcrail]

It is with a heavy heart that I report that an icon of model railroading is no more. I received the following letter (quoted verbatim) from Howard Mosely, owner of Bear Locomotive Co./Hobbytown of Boston:

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To Whom It May Concern:

The Hobbytown of Boston web site has been closed. We are currently conducting inventory in preparation for the sale of the business and personal retirement. Parts and kits are not available at this time. Machined drive train parts such as wheel sets, gears and geared shafts are out of stock and will not be available until production resumes under new ownership.

Our previous post office box has also been closed.

If, and when the company is sold, the new owner will announce when production and sales will resume.

Thank You for your past support

--------end quoted text-------------

We can only hope that a new owner for the business is found soon.