Terrible Model Railroading fads/ideas/products that died off?

[rrinker]

 Any Stooges fan worth their salt will have the law offices of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe.

 Across town they have a competitor, with the first Howe's brother as a partner: Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe. As a Yes fan AND a Stooges fan I had to do it.

                --Randy

 

[rtstasiak]

I happen to like silly names, especially companies (Dewey Cheatem & Howe, Napolmolive Detergent, Kyle Basa Sausage) that ship on my railroad.  Otherwise, names are fairly prototypical.

[Antoine L.]

Tyco Turbo train?

Looking cool, but hard to make it work as advertised. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Kst-Ig4Zw

 

:)

 

Antoine

[rrinker]

slammin

We can't forget that the X2f coupler helped promote the success of HO scale. Prior to their adop[tion, many of the larger manufacturers had their own design. Roundhouse had a reasonable die cast operating knuckle coupler, many companies offered a die cast dummy knuckle coupler. Mantua offered a loop and hook coupler. A local hobby shop owner in my home town of Dayton, Ohio designed and manufactured the "Baker" coupler . Many modelers in the mid 50s used his coupler. I don't know if the ever became used nationwide, but I would bet that other areas had locally produced couplers.

 

 

 John Allen, way out on the West coast, was a big user of Baker couplers. For people doing prototypical operations back before Kadees, they seemed to be the go-to type.

            --Randy

[rrinker]

 No, I think he's referring to the Tyco "GG-1" which had the Alco 6 axle (missing the center wheel sets!) trucks under it. From that Consolidated Foods era when Tyco was producing throwaway toys, not products meant to be part of a lifelong hobby. Those dark days I say drove more away from this hobby than it ever possibly helped bring in. You got the train set for CHristmas, and if it EVER ran (MR did some train set reviews in the late 70's and early 80's around the holiday issues - many of them you couldn't even put the track together without a huge gap because the tolerances on the track were so sloppy), it was often dead by New Year, or else just so frustrating that it got tossed in the corner and never touched again. This is the kind of stuff that made Athearn BB locos seem like the finest custom built craftsman locos, and if only the people who bought those cheap train sets would have picked up one of those Athearn locos and a few cars, and some Atlas track, they would have had a 'set' that would have worked and lasted.

                    --Randy

[chutton01]

dinwitty

I think one of the durnedest was a 2 truck GG1. There WAS a smaller GG1 like prototype, but with 6 powered wheels, 2 pilot trucks.

A bit OT, but I believe you are referring to the PRR P5A locomotives, which were not prototypes but a series of 90+ production locomotives, of which the 28 later ones were of the familiar GG1 "steeplecab" style. There were also 2 similar-looking one-off prototypes, R1 and DD2 - however, the wiki entry has an interesting note that documents uncovered a few years back indicate that the GG1 style was developedfirst, and then the 'P5A modified' styling (as well as the others) followed suit.

[slammin]

We can't forget that the X2f coupler helped promote the success of HO scale. Prior to their adop[tion, many of the larger manufacturers had their own design. Roundhouse had a reasonable die cast operating knuckle coupler, many companies offered a die cast dummy knuckle coupler. Mantua offered a loop and hook coupler. A local hobby shop owner in my home town of Dayton, Ohio designed and manufactured the "Baker" coupler . Many modelers in the mid 50s used his coupler. I don't know if the ever became used nationwide, but I would bet that other areas had locally produced couplers.

 

[rrinker]

arbe1948

I don't believe anybody has mentiond ASTRAC, "A Giant Step Forward In Model Railroading"

 

 Why? It was neither a bad idea nor a bad product. Perhaps it was a bit ahead of its time, but the first of the other command control systems that came after it were built to be compatible.

 It was reading the two chapters devoted to it in "The Complete Book of Model Railroading" that sold me on the idea that I would never build a serious layout and be chained to block toggles. By the time I could afford such things, we had progressed to CTC-16e and Rail Command, and then DCC was right around the corner. Outside of a small switching layout I built (and was in the middle of aquiring parts to build a CTC-16e for), any layout I've built as an adult has been DCC.

                    --Randy

 

[rrinker]

 The fiber tie track came long before the plastic stuff. It used to be all there was, other than hald laying everything. Which is another of my peeves - handlaid track with spikes only every 5 ties or so. Sure it's plenty to hold the track, and the rails are nice and flowing the way only hand laid track can be, but the missing spikes stick out like sore thumbs.

 As for X2f couplers - if you have the All Access Pass, or access to the old issues of MR, I suggest reading stuff from back when the design was developed and first offered. The junk on Life Like and Tyco train sets in the 70's are by no means what the X2f coupler was. The same thing has happened with knuckle couplers now that the Kadee patents have expired - look at all the knockoffs, some pretty poor quality ones. Calling them NMRA couplers is also not correct - the design was proposed to but never adopted by the NMRA. It briefly reignited the coupler wars, but it soon died down. Oh, and Kadee sold X2f couplers as well.

                ---Randy

 

[Milepost 266.2]

chutton01

Of course, in today's modeling marketplace, no serious manufacturer would ever consider producing freight cars in fantasy corporate liveries...

 

 

Those are very Lionel-ish, but hardly as bad as tootsie roll tank cars and Chef Boyardee four bay open hoppers.

 

[eaglescout]

Maybe I missed it but didn't see the fiber tie flex track held together with staples. Even as a teenager without much prototype sophistication at the time I thought it looked horrible next to the plastic track ties of the day.

[blownout cylinder]

One man's poison is another man's treasure...or some such.

Although the horn hooks came in handy at the start of my MRR hobby I do believe the things did not perform all that well.

[riogrande5761]

The X2F coupler applies to this topic description - it was another mainstream item for a long time, even if despised by many.  RIP the X2F coupler and glad it's mainly in the dust bin of history.

[quote]

Geared Steam

Off themed train sets, like NASCAR.........

Again, another non-qualifier for this topic.  Sure, serious model railroaders think those are silly toys but yet they continue to be produced over the years - there seems to be a significant market for that kind of stuff for sports or auto racing enthusiasts. 

[BRAKIE]

Bernd

The car with the propeller on end. MR had ads for it. Could it have been AHM?

Bernd

 

Atlas made that thing.

Another bad idea was Athearn's clip on plastic coupler box lids found on BB locomotives..

[Southgate]

Can I add a 1/1 example? Southern Pacific/ Santa Fe merger's blazing  "Kodachrome" paint scheme! Reason enough to be glad it didn't come to pass.

Back to models... Fuzzy-hairy junk sticking out of steam loco smoke stacks never looked good, only ruined the photos.

AHM Rivarossi steamers were always geared way too fast. Exception; the Heisler. It's the only Rivarossi loco I still have in original form.

[OT Dean]

I, too, decried the idea of giving a model railroad a cutesy-poo name. John Allen's "Gorre & Daphetidd (or however it was spelled; I don't feel like looking it up) was almost universally mispronounced, back in the day. Most of us had no idea it was a pun--and most of the modelers I knew, including myself and my brother, pronounced it: "Gore and Daff-a-tid," just the way it was spelled, and most of us thought it was just names for the villages or towns on his excellent layout. It's interesting to note that Allen mentioned several times that the cuteness wore off quite soon, but it had gone to far for him to change it.

There was an excellent model railroad in Toronto called the B&R RR, which turned out to be named for the father and young son when started. I suspect they, too, may have regretted this decision when the son became a grownup. It was a hard enough job for us to convince outsiders that this was serious hobby, just "grown men playing with trains," when people named their roads things like the Putt-Putt Central, and I find it sad to see modern modelers writing about "playing with trains" after we and our forebears spent 70 or 80 years trying to discourage it. However, to each his own; as long as you're enjoying yourselves. My own HO Colorado Western became somewhat well known in the pages of Railroad Model Craftsman, back in the '70s---even if I did steal the Colorado Midland's herald. I think it was Tony Koester who spread the use of the term "prototype freelancing" to describe the practice. Enjoy. Excelsior!

Deano

[Trainman440]

Mheetu

IHC Vanderbilt Tender ..... think they over done it alittle

 

 

Mheetu, Just sayin, thats a Rivarossi B&O 2-10-2 tender. Although, IHC MIGHT of made some....

Anyways, not including what was already said, I think Rivarossi's engines and cars in general arn't the best. (Over sized flanges, molded on detail, bad motors, loud gears, and cheap construction(like how their cars have the truck mounted hornhook couplers and the trucks are mounted via plastic pins, etc...))

Just my opinion

Charles

 

[richhotrain]

The Bathtub Layout.  I nearly electrocuted myself.

Rich

[dinwitty]

There was a coupler that was just a big loop and a hook. Someone made a working knuckle coupler waaay back then, it seemed to never really caught on, I think its still available thru walthers or somebody. An article in one of the model mags had one layout with impressive working horn hook couplers. I remember the propeller car ads. Somebody is still making funny smells for steamers. I think one of the durnedest was a 2 truck GG1. There WAS a smaller GG1 like prototype, but with 6 powered wheels, 2 pilot trucks. Not the craziest but practical was a Lionel 4 wheel truck version of an E33, more than likely to get a similar engine running on 18 inch radius. I think the Walthers Piker one of the funnest silly cars out there. I have these tank car things decals for the road line.. "It Stinks and Howe Chemicals N Stuff", I found some at a train show, one of these days....The Athearn Hustler was nominated for the speediest model out there. Good thing Earnst made a regear kit for it.

[ctyclsscs]

Dave, you don't enjoy ramming your Athearn Genesis engines with slot cars?

Jim

[fleetsailor1981]

Lifoam was making ice chests before life-like was around. They started making train products to keep the factory working in the off season. 

[Ray Dunakin]

chutton01

Would the "Olfactory Airs" layout scents from Mikros around the mid/late '80s be in the running for either silliest and/or lamest?

 

I really wish those were still around! I would love to add the smell of creosote ties to my layout. To me, few things say "railroad" like the scent of creosote.

 

 

[Texas Zepher]

Jimmy_Braum

BLI's animated Water tower has to be a silly idea.

Why?  How many animated things that Lionel has produced through the years help attract young people into the hobby?

[Texas Zepher]

wjstix

A bad idea from the very early days was giving your railroad a silly name.

That might be a bad idea, but it certainly hasn't died off.   Seems we get a new batch of those and an associated thread concerning them each year right here on the forum.

[davidmurray]

Geared Steam

Atlas under track mounted switch machines, good luck with those!

You mean there is something wrong with them????

Dave

[Texas Zepher]

The Ferro Kid

Horn hook couplers!

I don't see how anyone can even think that.   Before the X2F every vendor had their own version of couplers many were "dummies" that had to be manually lifted up and put "over" the next.  I guess many here don't remember those days.

Had it not been for the X2F coupler the HO market would never have taken off like it did in the late 1950s and early 1960s   I would put the X2F in the running for a spot on the "7 wonders of the model railroading world".

[Texas Zepher]

chutton01

Would the "Olfactory Airs" layout scents from Mikros around the mid/late '80s be in the running for either silliest and/or lamest?

No, not even close as those are great.  I wish they still made them as I only have some of the set.  The only category they fall into is "no longer produced".

[arbe1948]

I don't believe anybody has mentiond ASTRAC, "A Giant Step Forward In Model Railroading"

[Mheetu]

IHC Vanderbilt Tender ..... think they over done it alittle

 

[Bayfield Transfer Railway]

"Switching puzzles" as a method of 'realisitc operation.'

 

Thank God they disappeared back in the 80s as professional railroaders became willing to admit they were modelers too.  I remember for a couple of years MR getting a fair number of letters saying "We'd never do that way, save brakemen's walking time, not moves!"  And one letter pointing out that by rearranging the track plan all the industries could be worked trailing point, and with two fewer turnouts to boot.