The idea of this book club is to act like we are getting a new copy of Model Railroader each Monday, read it through, and then talk about it as we would talk about a book in a book club. With the All Access Pass/Digital Archive, exploring older issues of the magazine has never been easier although those with the DVD or with the issue in hard copy are certainly welcome to join in and talk about it. Indeed anyone is welcome to add to the discussion.
1961 was a pivotal year for MR. Paul Larson was editor for the January issue but Linn Westcott took over in February and Paul was then called Technical Editor. By the May issue Paul was off the masthead. Eventually he wrote some articles for RMC.
There are some articles of continued interest and use in the issue. David Fyffe writes about how to build code 70 turnouts using nickle silver rail, and there is a two page article with a track arrangement and captions that illustrates how train orders (form 19 orders) would be used in a given scenario. Some might find this visual presentation easier to follow than a full text explanation, although the real operations experts will see that much is missing.
A handy chart of drill/wire sizes and scale equivalents is on very thick cardstock intended to be removed from the issue and used at the workbench. In the hard copy issue removing the chart makes the nice drawing of a "modern" 4-4-0 a centerfold and easy to use and read. The scanned version on the Digital Archive is chopped up by the drill chart, which of course would have to be printed on thicker stock to be as useful as the original (I am working off the hard copy as you can tell).
Although it may seem like a voice from a different era, the article by John Wesner on working with common plastics is still educational and useful particularly if you stray from the common styrene and ABS and try using (as I have done) some of the common household plastics found in your recycling bin.
The brass New York Central T1 electric reviewed in Trade Topics illiustrates the reminder that some of the older brass models could be a bit heavy and crude looking in their detail. But then look at the fine fishplates and tieplates offered by Grandt in the next page.
Note also some letters to the editor. Rembert Patrick Jr makes a plea for fine scale wheels and track. Karl Kozuk submits a photo of an early open triple deck autorack. And some refinements to the famous Paul Larson/Gordon Odegard interlocking articles are contained in an editor's response to the first letter. There is also an article by Larson and Odegard on the overall interlocking theme dealing with semaphore signal castings.
The entire 1961 volume is interesting but I look forward to seeing your thoughts and reactions to the April issue - including those aspects which I elected not to mention or talk about here.
Dave Nelson
It was a well-earned title. If Linn Westcott was a developer and popularizer of techniques for everyone, Paul Larson was the other extreme - a craftsman's craftsman. Even in that age (a more mechanical one than ours), building a working interlocking with brass dogs and tappets was a feat. I was delighted when MR republished these old issues to discover that he had written a brief article explaining how he had built a cute little 4-4-0. It's maybe a page and a half long, with a half-page picture: plainly a man writing for an audience that knew how to cast, turn, and solder!
i first discovered his work in the 1980s when MR published a retrospective on his MP&N. Not, perhaps, a typical layout of its day, but lots of beautifully built turn of the century equipment; it's a shame he never finished it.
http://mprailway.blogspot.com
"The first transition era - wood to steel!"
Haven't finished yet, but some notes
Letter that caught my eye was the one about not standardizing on Kadee couplers - argument was, what if something better comes along? 54 years later - EVERYTHING comes with Kadee or compatible coupler.
Those turnouts - notice they are completely DCC friendly in design, with that soldered brass plate to join the stock rail to the closure rail and point rail, so each point rail is the same polarity as the adjoining stock rail. Also note he made aluminum jigs to lay out the frog - hmm, sound familiar?
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Sign of the times - note the wording in the review of that brass NYC T-1 electric: "The NYC USES an underruning third rail show..". Not "used" - in 1961, the NYC was still a going concern, not a fallen flag, not quite yet ("I'm not dead yet!" "You soon will be").
Fleischmann still heavily advertising, inside back cover like usual. Seems like around that time they were heavily investing in the US market, and then they all but disappeared. Given that very little they were selling actually looked like the North American prototype they claimed it was supposed to be - I mean, look at what they are calling a Baldwin switcher. No wonder they didn't go very far in the US market - outside of those modeling Eurpoean prototypes.
Randy, Where are they advertizing a "Baldwin Switcher"? It isn't in teh ad you referenece?
Just a query this time. Does anyone recollect was the Athearn Pacific a good kit and how did it run? Cheers, the Bear.
NP2626 Randy, Where are they advertizing a "Baldwin Switcher"? It isn't in teh ad you referenece?
Check Dec 59. They might have dropped it already by April 61. But that "El Capitan" set is supposed to be an Alco PA - looks a bit off. The Alco also appears in the Dec 59 ad, with the Baldwin. If you browse enough you'll see the ads that no way could they ever get away with today, one with Blaze Starr and the other with Carrie Abbott.
dknelsonIf you are deeply interested I could do a bit more legwork on this - what is above is purely from memory.
Re: The April 1961 Plastics article-
The many types of acetal/ engineering plastics that we encounter in consumer products these days, as protective coverings for liquid or creme products or as integral parts of other devices- the various gears found in many electronics, such as DVD players and inkjet printers- sometimes find use in our modeling efforts. The problem is that many of these modern materials are purposefully made so as to be resistant to most types of glues. I recall using a soldering iron to reseal (by melting pieces together) a cracked plastic transformer case which was accidentally dropped, as no expoxy or glue would work.
Perhaps it might be useful for MR to revisit the use of plastics in modeling, from the perspective of repurposed consumer materials and methods of working with them, rather than those which we purchase as hobby supplies from Evergreen or Plastruct and are familiar enough with to use with available cements and glues.
Just my 2 cents.
Cedarwoodron
dknelson If you are deeply interested I could do a bit more legwork on this - what is above is purely from memory. Thanks but no Dave, your memories are just fine.
dknelson
If you are deeply interested I could do a bit more legwork on this - what is above is purely from memory.
dknelsonWell I did the legwork anyway
I just didn't have time to relax and look at this last week and don't have a copy of this week's May '43 issue. Looiks like April '61 deserves a bit more comment anyway.
The spectacular cover pic is from another club, the Lockheed Club in Burbank, CA. Makes me wonder what became of it, as aerospace industry workers were fairly well paid. I wonder what the layout was like beyond this bridge?
Gotta love the ad for Ralph Dillon Studios (maker of painted minaiature firgures, etc) -- "Don't Deny Yourself Any Longer"!
Speaking of letters, the one asking for more HOn3 motive power, specifically some Mason Bogies, is a classic..." one must resort to scratchbuilding motive power. This, of course, is something not all of us can do."
The heck with Hi-F rubberbands. How about that Olympic Express GP9 ($22/unpainted or $24/painted) and F7 with dual gear drive, chassis for both available separately $10.95 as a kit, $12.95 RTR. Never heard of them, but looks like they had a leg up on Athearn at the time.
Walthers adervtised the demise of the "Pug" shorty passenger cars. All those folks with 15" curves will have to try something else.
For some reason, Binkley thought the HOn3 market needed a shorty passenger car? They already were short to begin with, but 34'??? LaBelle was making a limited run foray into HOn3. Must've worked out, as the now offer HOn3 all the time
The MEW operating mail crane and derail are actually pretty sharp looking. They also had some nice logging cars.
Wm Clouser's work building clerestory roof is simply amazing.
The Link-Belt lcomotive crane looks like an easy kitbash.
Those Varney ore jennies on the bnack page were pretty sharp mand priced right a $1.19/each.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Replies to older book club threads are perfectly OK as far as I am concerned. I notice for example that the "visit" counts continue to rise well after the particular week is over.
Dave,
I agree and not just for the gross page view count (although I think that's a good thing.) In the future when people browse an archived issue, it'll be worth checking to see if we've discussed it or not, as there can be some gems of insight in these comments (probably not mine, but I digress ). Likewise, we sometimes have unanswered questions that others may find the answer to in a subsequent issues or by other means. So additional commentary can be very helpful even after the week's regular discussion topic has moved on to something different.