"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
peahrensMy question...there is a Shay at the upper level, how could one (in real life) get up there, did it have enough traction to get there, or did they winch it up there, disassemble and re-assemble, etc? (If explained in the article, I missed that).
Paul,
Pretty much as you've imagine it. If it was light enough, they could winch the whole thing up. If not, then smaller pieces, but from what I remmeber, mostly whole. Loggers have some BIG winches.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Congrat's Steve, you can now be an AARP member!
I especially enjoyed the article on long wheelbase locos and broad model RR curves that included the Sierra Pass layout design. Now if I can just get a 14' x 17' room allocated!!
I found the logging incline article interesting. The model includes a 46% incline but it is mentioned that up to 70% inclines existed. My question...there is a Shay at the upper level, how could one (in real life) get up there, did it have enough traction to get there, or did they winch it up there, disassemble and re-assemble, etc? (If explained in the article, I missed that).
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
Happy Birthday, Steve!
The Big 5-0. Gee, I remember that....urrr, maybe not.
Anyway, we'll also have a month of discussion of past April Fool's hijinks as the icing on this cake. I won't be able to crack mine open to read until later, but I'm already looking forward to it.
It is still March as I write this, but we've already had four March issue book clubs, so let's push forward into April. Another thread on these Forums asked about oldest issue of MR you own or first purchased, and MR's Steve Otte chimed in that he bought the April 1965 issue used, because that is the month and year he was born, and it is his oldest issue. I made note of that. So in his honor let's make this the Happy Birthday Steve edition of the Book Club and choose that issue, even though we have already looked at the January 1965 issue. As always the idea behind the Book Club is to encourage exploring the entire back stock of MR that is in the All Access Pass digital archive, but all are welcome to comment and take part. Think of it as getting four extra copies of MR per month.
The cover photo features editor Linn Westcott's own layout, the Sunset Ry (Linn lived on Sunset Drive in Elm Grove WI). For whatever reason Westcott tended not to feature his own layout often in MR. Maybe he was reacting to the negative reactions of a few readers who did not care for how often the prior editor, Paul Larson, featured his beautiful Mineral Point & Northern layout in MR, including on covers. Now many of us wish there were more photos available of both excellent layouts.
The main article introduces one of Westcott's many innovations to the hobby: Zip Texturing of scenery. Linn had observed that by simply sifting or throwing a mix of dry colored pigments and plaster on wetted plaster surfaces, one could closely replicate exactly how soil and vegetation tend to gather on rocky surfaces. And the mix of plaster and pigment was finely grained and subtle, very different from the dyed sawdust on wet green paint method that was common at the time. Ground foam and static grass was a long way into the future, but even today those who model rocky terrain use Zip Texturing or something very much like it. Other Westcott articles/editorial in the issue focus on color, on pigments, and on plasters, so it is a very thorough look at the topic. That was typical of his somewhat obsessive approach. He once wrote how difficult it was for him to handle the mix of topics in school, where he preferred a total focus on one topic. Not ADD but the opposite: almost Attention Surplus Disorder! But in his own way he was a brilliant man.
There are also scale drawings of rolling stock and structures, a John Armstrong trackplan for O scale 4-12-2s, some electronics articles, a nice logging feature, and something that MR used to do a lot of: a neat little half page article with a Phillip R Hastings photo of Western Maryland shops, filled with railroad atmosphere and ideas. Sometimes one well chosen photo and caption can convey a great deal.
The product reviews feature three brass steam engines in HO. I was also entertained by one of the "Kinks" about using the plastic corrugated cigarette packs from Paxton cigarettes for roofing and siding. My mom briefly smoked that brand and I recall saving the packs for just that use (no Evergreen or Plastruct corrugated siding back then). My mom then switched to a cigarette brand that featured tiny bits of charcoal in the filter and I saved those too. Then she quit. And a full twenty years later had both emphesyma and heart disease. I am glad model trains are perhaps my worst habit (hey, I said perhaps).
Those of an historical bent might be interested in the roundup of all couplers then available in the market. I myself was surprised to see that Mantua was still selling its old hook and loop coupler in 1965 - by that time their trains came with horn hooks.
It's a small thing but on page 5 there is mention of Don Heimburger's "S Gaugian" publication. Don Heimburger is still out there promoting S scale!
Enjoy the "Happy Birthday, Steve Otte" edition of the book club. Sorry no cake or ice cream, but on the bright side, no goofy party games either. Please take a look at the April '65 issue and share your comments and thoughts.
Dave Nelson