" Nscale Supper Club"

[Packers#1]

Hey, how's it going folks. I'm the guy who started "The "N" Crowd, Part II". I'm pretty sure it was Dave Vollmer who started the original one.

Really, Atlas has all the locos I need (but for an NW2, which is Kato). And being a freelancer, you don't need specific paint schemes (but you paint your own equipment). bTW, for those who want to see my train watching and modeling efforts, check out www.packers1.tk It's my photobucket albulm.

[fluff]

n scale is here to stay. yeah yeah im 47 with the eyesight deal. an $8.00 pair of wallymart reading glasses lets me do a coupler change or something of that nature when necessary. i dont want to start the ho vrs. n scale thing here, but i have attempted to change to ho a couple of times. i just like the size of n, my personal preference. long trains and big curves are an added bonus on my 12x12 around the walls plan. 50 cars are the norm, i did 71 cars once. availability is still a challenge and may always be. i have a texas and pacific caboose and have never seen a t & p engine! i cant believe how the locos and everything else have improved since the postage stamp trains era. atlas, like others have said, is making some nice track and great engines now along with their cars.  rock on n scale!!!!

[stevechurch2222]

I look at some of the rolling stock and motive power that have been kitbashed in N Scale and am truely amazed at how great a job the N Scale modelers do at bashing something that isn'y available.They make the item look like the real thing,this is one thing that N Scale has going for it.I look forwward to the day I can kitbash my MP15AC's out of the Atlas MP15DC and hopecan find enough early version SD40-2's ro so in Milwaukee Road,and get the fuel tanks shortened even if I have to have someone else do it do to my lack of mechanical skills.I'm hoping there will be a conversion kit offered for the MP15AC that will fit the Atlas MP15DC power chassis and an SD40-2 early version shell with the optional dnymic and non dynamic brakes to fit on the Kato mod production SD40-2 power chassis.All that would have to be done then, would be to shorten the fuel tank and remove the ditch lights.If I do have to kitbash the MP15AC and look around for the early version SD40-2 I will because they are still out there,just may take awhile to find them,I am only needing 4 SD40-2 early version units and 3 or 4 MP15AC's.I still think N Scale will have great products coming out in the future abd the N Scale future is bright.

[R. T. POTEET]

Steve Church Milwaukee Road Iowa Division;

Yesterday I resurrected "The "N" Crowd Part II" and vented my spleen over the spartan N-Scale offerings coming out of the National Train Show in Anaheim; after looking closer, however, I discovered that the whole hobby appears to be just a little laid back at this particular moment and HO-Scale looks to be just a little short in the coming year also.

Your post does strike an elbow, however; it is indeed hard living inside the body of a minority scale. I too get frustrated at the lack of models I would most assuredly like to see; a C&O Allegheny sits right at the top of my list and it has been there for ten years now. It is closely followed by B&O's EM-1 and/or Iron Range's M3/M4; Big Emma; a Chessie's T-1 - or almost anybody's Texas for that matter; an "Alligator"; an FA/FB2; I could carry this on ad infinitum ad nauseum . . . . . . . . . . alas, that "Transition-era" is lost in a vapor cloud somewhere. And where oh where is that SW1000/SW1500?

As a freelancer - my Seaboard and Western Virginia Railway is a Class 1 streak-of-rust linking coastal Virginia with the midwest - I don't really have to worry about whether a particular diesel has the proper type of grillwork or if its headlights are in the proper location; I can rationalize an offered model into my motive power fleet and I am prepared to do some bashing to give a uniform appearance to my fleet. There may not be as many detail parts available as I would like but I can get by with what is being offered. You want offerings pre-painted in Milwaukee Road livery; I want offerings not painted in Milwaukee Road livery . . . . . . . . . . nor Union Pacific livery . . . . . . . . . . nor BNSF livery . . . . . . . . . . etc. etc. etc; I wish the only livery offered by the manufacturers was for the Undec and Western RR! For me to get my fleet into the appropriate Seaboard and Western Virginia livery I must first paint all my units into the livery of the Undec and Western! NOTE: some people call that stripping!

I think you will understand that with 70% of the active modelers HO-Scale is likely to attract 70% of the manufacturers and those who offer in multiple scales are likely to allocate 70% of their resources to HO-Scale. We N-Scalers have, in some ways, been ahead of the game. HO-Scalers drooled over Atlas' FM Trainmaster when all that was being offered was that absurdly wider-than-scale hooded beast from Uncle Irv. Face it! If you are going to be a minority scale modeler you are going to have to learn to live with being low-man-on-the-totempole as far as manufacturers go. 

[stevechurch2222]

Glad to see this post running,I have modeled in N Scale in the past,in the late 1980's before there was Code 55 track from Atlas and Peco,and better running rolling stock and engines.I have modeled in HO Scale since then,and I am looking at getting back into N Scale for the amount of space one has,that they can have a nice layout and long trains in N Scale with less space.I model the Milwaukee Road from Ottumwa,Iowa to Savanna,Illinois from 1981-1985.I love the SD40-2's and MP15AC's that the Milwaukee Road ran,but unfortunately tney are not made in N Scale,so I have to use the Atlas MP15DC and bash the shell into an MP15AC,and there are not many early version SD40-2's available out there and the only SD40-2 being produced at this time is the Kato mid production model with ditch lights and the 88" nose and corrugated grills.I am trying to get that changed,and there is interest in seeing an early version SD40-2 shell to fit on the mid production power chassis,but you have to get rid of the ditch lightd and the fuel tank has to be shortened like it does on the early version SD40-2,It seems as though non of the manufacturers are interested in making the early version SD40-2 or the MP15AC  in N Scale,the interest is in the SD70 Ace's and other modern power,N Scale has come a long way the past few years and more and more products are beingg introduced all the timw,but N Scale still gets slided when it comes to HO Scale,and probably always will.my layout would be 12'x12' u shaped with 21.25" radius on the mainline with a 5 track double ended yard and another 6-8 track double ended yard with 4 spurs for switching and maybe more.Model in HO Scale that are available include SD40-2 in all versions and snoots,SD40T-2 all versions,MP15DC,MP15AC,F units,GP 7,GP9,GP20,GP30,GP35,GP38,GP40,GP38-2.GP40-2,SD45T-2,some of these are available in N Scale like the SD40T-2,all the GP's SD40,SD50,SD60,SD7,SD9,most of the F units,FT's,BL2,the only SD40-2 available like I mentioned before,is the mid production version,no early version SD40-2.or MP15AC but an MP15DC,I don't know how every one else feels,but how many of you N Scalers would purchase the MP15AC and SD40-2 early version in N Scale if offered in all the variations and dynamic and non dynamic brake amd fuel tank options of the SD40-2 and the different air filter box options of the MP15AC?I for one think they would sell well in N Scale.Well that's all I have to say for now,and I hope there are a lot of responses to this thread,I think it wi;; be fun the hear from all you N Scalers,and I like the name of this thread.AS long as we are all having fun running our layout that's what is important.Great thread Trains R Me.

[TrainsRMe1]

 Okay Nscalers,

    I hope this goes well, This is the first post of the Nscale supper club,  feel free to come in and look around, meet new friends and see some old one's too! We're open 24/7 Ask questions about Nscale Modelrailroading, also post some pic's of your layouts.  So let's get this goin'