Why manufacturer's are missing the boat with the Golden Age.

[chutton01]

QUOTE: Originally posted by slotracer
[The time period frm even teh thirties till today reflect a style of life not as different as what teh late 1800's are vs today. From the thirties onward one can relate to developed cities, modern roads, automobiles rural areas that were more developed, industry etc. Before 1900 you are talking horse and buggy, primitive rural towns, ancient city design...an entirely different world.

Well, there was heavy industry and large cities in the 1890s US. In the east and midwest you had huge industrial complexes with many buildings (yes, mostly brick with large windows for light and ventilation) in addition to the many varied smaller mills and business which were also rail served. It was an industrial age, and there was large scale industrial activity, dense cities with large buildings closed packed together (perhaps not so much in the American southwest, but they were there).
That said, I do agree that sometime post WWI there seemed to be changes in outlooks, probably a culmation of the various outside events and progressions (one quote in relationship to the auto said the average driver in 1920 would ill-at-ease in 1960s traffic, while the driver of 1930 would be familiar with traffic jams, congested roads, high speed driving, etc.).
Eh, perhaps Gilded Age/Victorian railroad modeling will become popular (again?), just because it is a fun and cool era (trains were finally reliable and formed the backbone of freight and passenger handling in the US, while still somewhat small and human sized compared to their descendants 2 or 3 decades hence)

[travon]

If no Interest, Why is Nevada going to all that trouble rebuilding the Virginia & Truckee RR from Carson City to Virginia City?

[BRJN]

I saw (and can't re-locate) the thread about a remotored 4-4-0 using N scale equipment. I like the idea. There have been consistent sales of the General (Civil War) and Jupiter (Transcontinental Golden Spike) locomotives since I saw my first MR about 30 years ago. Ergo there IS interest out there. Good equipment will draw sales that are invisible now.

Selling a "tourist special" train set for modern-era and any anniversary tie-in would draw attention (and I hope sales).

Another way to promote this would be to observe that not everybody HAS a 72" wide space to turn a big locomotive around but can fit a 36" space on a small table - say, a 4x8?

A rather clever bunk bed set (top bunk perpindicular to lower bunk) could be easily converted to hold up a layout about 6x6 on the upper deck; this is plenty of room for HO scale old-timers (and it's the flexible kids who sleep underneath it, not the stiff adults).

And, yes, I do model 1900 (more or less) on a 2x6 plank.

[PASMITH]

Love those early 1900's .SP and steam logging in the Pacific NW. Who cares who makes what as long as there are reasonably inexpesive mechanisms that run well to kit bash. ( Like Bachmann.) I modify MDC cars. The old ones and the ready to run new ones . If they disappear I will just have to scatch. You do what you like and just have fun.

Peter Smith, Memphis