davekelly wrote:Just like every year I tried to identify the April Fool's Day stuff in the April issue as soon as I got it out of the mail yesterday. I blew by the real AFD piece and there, on page 50, the roadside pic in Pelle Soeborg's article, I thought I found it. "Gotcha - trying to pass off a real pic as a model!" I said almost outloud. After quite awhile I realized that Pelle's pic was of his layout. Wow. While some may disagree, Pelle is, in my opinion, one of the best modelers out there today. Although I don't model the same era, prototype or region of the country that he does, I have yet to read one of his articles where I didn't learn something new or get new ideas for my own modeling. Hopefully he'll continue to provide inspiration through even more articles and pictures.
on the part about Pelle's amazing work. It's really inspiring.
BTW I caught the AFD article pretty quickly. the Wii remote and the part about fighting off ninjas while soldering gave it away!
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot Visit my blog! http://becomingawarriorpoet.blogspot.com
Nah, I realize that all the pictures in his 'Detailing Layout' article were of his models, but the both pictures and models were very well done - EXCEPT, in the image of the Switcher about to hook up with the RI Covered hopper, that dang switchman figure (guy dressed in overalls, hat, leaning his elbow against the rail) ruined the 'reality' of the image - that figure was everywhere on every layout at one time, and should never be posed, by law, on any layout again.
The actual joke - virtual modeling via Wii - wasn't quite as good as their rail-trail one years ago (or their London Underground modeling, or insert your favorite one here...)
Apparently the guys at Railfan and Railroad have started doing that in their April issues...unless their really is such a thing as an "abandoned train elevator" as mentioned on page 51's pic captions??
Or maybe they just rely a little too much in 'spellchecker' and not enough on proofreading.
I haven't got the April issue yet but to me the REAL AFD joke is the inevitable batch of humorless/clueless responses either on the Forum or in letters to the editor. The classic example was the outrageous "pressurize your basement" (to remove the bothersome supporting posts) article in the early 1950s that had guys writing in to say it was highly impractical or way too expensive, who wants to run trains while wearing a deep sea diving suit, etc etc.
Dave Nelson
A friend of mine at work was looking through my April MR. He is what I would call a "casual" model railroader. Anyhow, I saw him looking right at the page, reading the article - and he didn't catch on!
I'm not gonna tell him if no one else will!
George
"And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers ride their father's magic carpet made of steel..."
wjstix wrote:Apparently the guys at Railfan and Railroad have started doing that in their April issues...unless their really is such a thing as an "abandoned train elevator" as mentioned on page 51's pic captions??
Well, Bishopsgate's goods depot in London had train elevators to take (individual freight wagons) from the upper to the lower levels (and vice-versa), and that wasn't the only station which did (indeed, there were several freight terminals & businesses in the US which also had freight car elevators).Of course, I'll bet you believe the caption should have said 'grain elevator', but one must be careful when questioning the accuracy of the mighty print media
I liked the old "5 DCC" one, where it included "optional sound effects, complete motor control, no wiring or dirty track, and all for about 200 bucks or something!"
Then in small type it reccomended removing gears for optimal performance, and I realized what was really going on with the photo of a loco with a giant hand holding it.
Then there was the one (1996/7?) about the GenErich couplers, that are compatible with kadees and are created by modifing horn-hooks!
TrainManTy wrote:Then there was the one (1996/7?) about the GenErich couplers, that are compatible with kadees and are created by modifing horn-hooks!
There was a similar one back in the 80's about a certain manufacturer of model train couplers experimenting with magnetically-uncoupled couplers for full-size railroads, and how the uncoupling magnets loaded onto a flatcar got stuck to the underside of a steel overpass as they passed under it.
Robert Beaty
The Laughing Hippie
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The CF-7...a waste of a perfectly good F-unit!
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the
end of your tunnel, Was just a freight train coming
your way. -Metallica, No Leaf Clover
What's a "Wii"?
Cheers
Roger T.
Home of the late Great Eastern Railway see: - http://www.greateasternrailway.com
For more photos of the late GER see: - http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l99/rogertra/Great_Eastern/
rogertra wrote: What's a "Wii"?
It's what you say on a fun ride.
Oh, ok, you want to be told the truth.
http://wii.com/
Andre
rogertra wrote:What's a "Wii"?
It's the latest version of the Atari 2600.
A true friend will not bail you out of jail...he will be sitting next to you saying "that was friggin awesome dude!" Tim...Modeling the NYC...is there any other?
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
TrainManTy wrote: I liked the old "5 DCC" one, where it included "optional sound effects, complete motor control, no wiring or dirty track, and all for about 200 bucks or something!"Then in small type it reccomended removing gears for optimal performance, and I realized what was really going on with the photo of a loco with a giant hand holding it. Then there was the one (1996/7?) about the GenErich couplers, that are compatible with kadees and are created by modifing horn-hooks!
That's no joke. Kadees and Horns are really compatible, and stronger than either coupled to it's mate
-Morgan
I felt this years AFJ was pretty weak, as was last years ( tattoo layouts ) I like the ones that are a little harder to spot, like the "5DCC" it had people on here actually looking for more information on this new breakthrough technology. Anyway the April issue is much welcomed here in the northeast a sure sign that spring is right around the bend.
Empire under construction !
The early bird catches the worm.
But, the second mouse gets the cheese!
A wii is a triangular switching arrangement, used to turn locomotives and/or cars around. Or a letter that comes right after X and before Z.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR