I remember thinking when I finally had space to build a layout, I would use Tru-Track with the milled ties on wood roadbead. When I finally did start building, this type of track was all but gone from the scene. I liked the 1 inch scale live steam set-up by Lee Myers. The live steam side of model railroading has always been a builder's endeavor. I can relate better to this issue than the 1936 issue. This was what was going on in Model Railroading when I was an 8 year old kid!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
I liked the Atlas advertisment - 'Every NOL* and RTR* Railroader Should have this book...'. RTR is pretty well know, but NOL(No Operating Layout) is a term I have not heard! Back in the late 60's when I built my 1st HO layout(as a teenager), it was expected that one have a layout or belong to a club that had a large layout. It seems that 'Armchair' modelers have grown through the years. I have armchair'ed though the years(took 3 years after building a new house to start on a layout).
The coal distributor construction article is I miss in the current issues. With all of the pre-scribed styrene siding material, and Grandt/Tichy windows that are available; building a structure just is not a problem. Back in the 60's the choice of windows was sort of slim, and and the available wood siding material was not as good as the current styrene.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Page 2 ad for Mantua car kits. Interesting that they now come with "NMRA" couplers, that is hornhooks, but can be exchanged for Mantua automatics, whatever those were.
More traction stuff, review, article, ads than we find today.
I enjoyed the editorial refuting craftsman kit building disappearing. Other than locomotive kits being almost gone today, it could be the editorial next month.
At 80 pages, it is 20 pages shorter than February 2015.
Enjoy
Paul
This is a great issue to discuss. The first letter in Railway Postoffice doesn't so much complain about a lack of LHS, which he's used to, but to encourage those contacting advertisers to mention their ad was seen in MR. Still a good practice.
The next letter is, well, it is what it is in discussing junior and other new members in clubs, a subject of interest to me. Caution is in order, because of "the difficulty in weeding out -- the serious minded from the brats, the responsible from the irresponsible. It is next to impossible to get rid of a member, junior or senior,once he is accepted, and the hobby has its pests, its lunatic fringe and its assorted charecters -- adult and juvenile. Some of them are frankly tinplaters and don't know it..."
Some things never change... This was apparently prompted by a Dec. MR editorial encouraging clubs to offer junior memberships.
The new category of Recoomended Practice (RP) was announced by the NMRA.
The Al Kamm Jr. RI caboose build is interesting with its open air "dome car like" seating. One of our division members was a good friend of Mr. Kamm's, who was apparenly an EMD employee IIRC. He was also a pioneer narrowgauger.
Sound was around in 1958. All you needed was a turntable...that you put that old schjool tech known as a record on. (pg 66-67)
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Interesting that the very first Letter to the Editor is about..."I have no LHS near me"...a common complaint on this forum.
I miss Suydam and PFM.
Interesting the thematic idea of the ads on page 23 and 24. You don't see that today.
Each Monday I start a new "book club" discussion by focusing on an issue from the past, available to those of us with the new All Access Pass / Digital Archives, or from the MR DVD of a few years ago, and of course anyone with the hard copy of the issue is also welcome to join in. The idea is to provide a bit of a push to really explore an issue from a while ago as if we had just received it at home, and comment on anything that strikes us.
The February 1958 issue was when Paul Larson was editor, and Don Reschenberg, Gordon Odegaard, and Linn Westcott were on the staff. Without meaning to criticize or belittle any current or former staff members of MR I think a good case could be made that that might have been the highpoint in terms of sheer modeling talent on the staff.
Compared to issues from the 1930s and 40s, the modeling, photography, and even some of the advertisements in 1958 have much more in common with what we expect to see today. More of the products in the Trade Topics product reviews would be more likely to find purchasers today for example -- and not just based on the prices either.
The cover photo and a major article in the issue focus on the incredible modeling of Leo Myers who worked in a "live steam" scale of 1" = 1'. It has been a long while since MR featured any live steam size modeling; at one time it would make regular appearances. For its time the photography of the model is also remarkable; we take such things for granted now.
Those with a taste for building things will like this issue: there are articles on how to built a small coal supply company, a neat transfer caboose by Al Kamm Jr. (who at one time was a regular contributor of such articles to MR), and an interesting how-to for a skewed deck truss bridge by Paul Mallery, whose book on bridges and testles from about that same era remains in print and remains good useful information for model bridge builders. Mallery also supplies a useful article on meters.
A regular feature in MR during that time period was the color charts, and this months chart is for a Wabash GP-7 and a Northern Pacific GP-9. You are on your own however trying to mix accurate paints using today's paints and the formulas in the charts which are for Floquil, High Ball, Roundhouse and Stewart-Lundahl paints.
There are some interesting letters to the editor as well. What is above are just a few of the things that struck me about the issue.
Take a look, fellows, and then have at it with your thoughts, reactions, and comments.
Dave Nelson