Horn hook couplers!!!
Cheap shot and really now, out of bounds for this topic. Shens!
I too have wondered about the Rolling Thunder. The name alone makes me chuckle and sure, it builds on the popular sound craze, but I'm not sure if thats something that has staying power either.
I have to add, some of the names of products these days are a bit commical, including the afformentioned Rolling Thunder, and I'll add TCS Wow Sound too. I mean, how do you top "Wow!", someone else will have to name their new sound product OMG! anything more superlative and it may be sensored! :D
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
For "just plain bad" I nominate: Horn-hook (X2F) couplers!
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
Well, there sure have been some real doozies from the past out there...
But——
I'm going to add a contemporary product to the list, with the caveat that "time will tell" but this is my early impression, anyway.
Rolling Thunder!
http://www.broadway-limited.com/rollingthunder.aspx
I just set up the system last night and gave it a cursory tryout. Somehow, I was expecting more!
Now, I only have the one Paragon3 locomotive to base this on, the Pennsy L1s, which— by itself has IMHO, awful sound reproduction. You would think things would improve as companies got more experience... but NOT this!
So, I have an engine with awful sound, and an amplified subwoofer to make that sound even worse. I'm sorry I didn't wait for reviews before I jumped in.
Maybe, after some tweaking, I'll be able to get something of use out of this but for now... no way!
My L1 has other problems as well but that's for another thread!
Happy Railroadin' Ed
wjstix A bad idea from the very early days was giving your railroad a silly name. Thankfully that died out in the '40's - maybe the last well known 'silly' model railroad name was John Allen's "gory and defeated" G&D Line.
A bad idea from the very early days was giving your railroad a silly name. Thankfully that died out in the '40's - maybe the last well known 'silly' model railroad name was John Allen's "gory and defeated" G&D Line.
Now now, You're treading holy MR ground there with John Allen. He is worshipped, er, well respected by many. He did seem to be quite artistic from everything I've seen but to me it was in a Disney Land sort of way. Now there have been some realistic artists since then such as Mike Danneman etc. well I'm biased. He did a wonderful rendering of the D&RGW and scenery. I have to add that Rob Spangler has done some wonderful photo-realistic backdrops and scenery too in this day and age.
Using joke names for cities or industries...often with a pun or two... lasted a bit longer. 50-60 years ago I suspect 100's of model railroads had a "George's Gorge", playing on the name of then-well known TV wrestler Gorgeous George.
JOHN BRUCE IIITo be a little more serious, what about the hyperdetailed urethane kits from Sunshine Models, Railyard Models, Speedwitch Media, etc? Some are still available, but little is said about them...
The "average modeler" isn't the market for these, since most hobbyists have never attempted a resin car kit and never will. For those who are the target consumers for such models, they're a fine idea, as they allow for representations of prototypes that aren't available from higher volume manufacturers. You probably see a lot more of these in the pages of MR and elsewhere than you realize, as they fit in with more typical plastic cars once complete.
Instead of categorizing these cars with the "terrible fads/ideas/products that died off," I'd consider them successful products that cater to a limited market.
Rob Spangler
JOHN BRUCE III To be a little more serious, what about the hyperdetailed urethane kits from Sunshine Models, Railyard Models, Speedwitch Media, etc? Some are still available, but little is said about them, and I suspect they are a niche not too much larger than American TT or American OO.
To be a little more serious, what about the hyperdetailed urethane kits from Sunshine Models, Railyard Models, Speedwitch Media, etc? Some are still available, but little is said about them, and I suspect they are a niche not too much larger than American TT or American OO.
I wouldn't include Railyard Models in the "terrible/hilarious/just plain bad ideas" category which this topic was intended to encompass. They may have been semi-niche because many don't have the time or skills to build them, but they did give people an opportunity to build models of unavailable prototypes. IIRC, they offered a oft photographed D&RGW combo door box car that has never been availabe in plastic, for example.
Pan cake motors and Tyco trains in general
Jim
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 guess it was the peak of the Scratch & Sniff era after all... I liked Olifactory Airs. It added another dimension to the hobby which is now limited to 5..........relief (which is 3 dimensions), sound, and movement. Only when I suggested to Micros to do an outhouse smell, they thought I was nuts. HZ
Would the "Olfactory Airs" layout scents from Mikros around the mid/late '80s be in the running for either silliest and/or lamest?I guess it was the peak of the Scratch & Sniff era after all...
Tyco's Chattanooga Choo-Choo with the tender drive and the front of the engine just going along for the ride. One of the magazines gave it a sterling revue!!!
Rick J
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Railphotog Who can forget Lionels train sets marketed for girls, with pink steam engines and such!
Who can forget Lionels train sets marketed for girls, with pink steam engines and such!
They didn't learn:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/39603781?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227028866761&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=48328967672&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=97577312192&veh=sem
What's great about this one is the cars it comes with. I like how it references animals, but there are no stock cars. I guess the gondola is for the horse manure?
Julian
Modeling Pre-WP merger UP (1974-81)
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
The "train set" military cars that shot missles, until consumer produce safety comcerns realized that kids could be injured by fast flying objects
(Olfactory Airs was my first choice, but chutton01 beat me too it; some environmental health concers there as well)
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I still have some.of those. I figire at some time in the future it will probably be back. It looks like a loco, sounds like it, now it smells like it too
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
The use of aspestos plaster for fire saftey. I have a couple scenery books fro the period of tbe 60s to 80s. That have that in it. The fibers were also suposed to keep it from cracking. And hold shape better. This one hits all three in the title
So I'm interested in hearing about some of the terrible/hilarious/just plain bad ideas and products that went on in the model railroading community. There have to be some good stories about this stuff.
Anyone that's been in it a long time care to chime in?
I've tried to stay away from ranking things to do with technological limits or things that were just industry stabilization (like X2F), and focus on things that were terrible even in their time. Here's my top 10 so far:
10. Foam lump tunnels (me)
9. The "I Hate Brass Track" bandwagon in the 80s, even though nickel silver had been around since the '60s. (eaglescout)
8. Instant roadbed (BMMECNYC)
7. Cold Steam (tomikawaTT)
6. Pink Trains (Railphotog)
5. Flex track held together with staples(eaglescout)
4. Mixing slot cars with rail (nycmodel)
3. Cleaning track with Steel Wool (Darth Santa Fe)
2. Making lead figures out of recovered lead + molds. (BRAKIE)
1. Asbestos Plaster Mountains (NVSRR)
0. Steven Otte wins the thread with that awful, awful mixture of hazards.