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Great model railroad ideas and products

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  • Member since
    March 2002
  • From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point)
  • 11,439 posts
Posted by dknelson on Thursday, December 10, 2015 11:23 AM

Howard Zane

Everything I have ever built be it structure or piece of rolling stock was built with Goo. It can be thinnned if neccessary and applied with a tooth pick of from the tube with practice.

HZ

What do you use to thin Goo with, Howard?

Dave Nelson

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • 599 posts
Posted by Milepost 266.2 on Thursday, December 10, 2015 8:40 AM

Something that took manufacturers a long time to figure out.

 

Multiple road numbers.

 

Seriously, for decades Athearn blue-box cars and almost everything else was produced with the same number.  Every once in a while something would slip through, as Athearn did sell a small number of Chessie SD40-2s numbered 7612 instead of 7614, but for a long time it was one and done.  

Now, three numbers per loco run are common, and it's quite easy to get 12-15 different numbers of lots of rolling stock.  

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Thursday, December 10, 2015 7:00 AM

Dave, yes its back up.  Darn, another Canadian company.  Shipping from the great white north can be uneconomical but I'll check them out.

Howard Zane

Then my personal favorite.....Goo! Everything I have ever built be it structure or piece of rolling stock was built with Goo. It can be thinnned if neccessary and applied with a tooth pick of from the tube with practice. When dry, it is a solid bond, but there is a long period of time to make adjustments or realign if needed. Then even afterwords if needed, model can be disassembled with thinner appplied to joints. Walthers took it over from Hobsco decades back, and did not cheapen or ruin the product. It still seems the same as when I first used it in 1962.  HZ

Goo yes.  Thanks for reminding me.  I've had some projects that are on hold because I need it.  I've also used Zap A Gap Goo in place of Walthers Goo and liked it too but it's hard to find lately.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by rrebell on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 10:57 PM

Mt. Albert are the nicest people. I still remember many years ago when I was planning to manufacture cars, how they sent me free samples. Someone beat me to the punch with an almost identical offering so the project was abandoned but I still remember the generiosity of the people there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted by Howard Zane on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 10:41 PM

Some more items I should have mentioned as being way excellent...........

.Ballast in O scale or gauge would be Brennan's Ballast, and for smaller scales would be Arizona Rock and Mineral.

Then my personal favorite.....Goo! Everything I have ever built be it structure or piece of rolling stock was built with Goo. It can be thinnned if neccessary and applied with a tooth pick of from the tube with practice. When dry, it is a solid bond, but there is a long period of time to make adjustments or realign if needed. Then even afterwords if needed, model can be disassembled with thinner appplied to joints. Walthers took it over from Hobsco decades back, and did not cheapen or ruin the product. It still seems the same as when I first used it in 1962.

HZ

Howard Zane
  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 8:08 PM

I was able to get onto the Mount Albert Scale Lumber website:

http://www.mtalbert.com/

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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    November 2014
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Posted by The Ferro Kid on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 7:23 PM

Laser printing, or whatever the process is currently called, for manufacturer lettering of engines and rolling stock.

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Posted by ACY Tom on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 6:19 PM

Great ideas that are not products:

*  The NMRA

*  Railroad Historical Societies

Tom

 

  • Member since
    March 2002
  • From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point)
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Posted by dknelson on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 5:18 PM

I thought the Walthers "Modulars" structure packages were a great idea.  The marketplace evidently thought otherwise.  At one time Model Die Casting had a similar but less ambitious idea and it too died on the vine.  I think the Design Preservation Models modular system might still be around.  There was still a fourth outfit that started up a modular structure system maybe 15 or 20 years ago but they did not last long.

I would say the entire introduction of styrene into the hobby - and I am old enough to recall when there were those who rejected every aspect of plastic in model railroading -- was one of the great ideas.  That and nickle silver for rail instead of brass, which I think the British had way before we did, are now so common.  But they weren't always there.

Dave Nelson 

  • Member since
    July 2006
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Posted by Howard Zane on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 5:08 PM

I thnk their site is down. Contact is Gerry Cornwell...number is 905 473 3161. They are located in Ontario, Canada. Their wood in my opinion is by far the best I have ever modeled with.

Their dealer base in rather light in the US, but hopefully this will change. One dealer I know is located in NJ and attends the Timonium MD shows....Harbor Belt Lines. I buy direct as I use their products professionally (www.zanestructures.com).

HZ

HZ 

Howard Zane
  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: Southeast Texas
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Posted by mobilman44 on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 5:07 PM

Going back to my beginning in HO, my list of MFG heroes are:

Athearn - cars and locos 

MRC - powerpacks

Atlas - track and controls

Kalmbach - Monthly mags and "how to" books

Revell - RR theme structure kits

KD - couplers

Of course there are a lot more, but IMO these were the ones that made a huge difference and opened the hobby to many.

ENJOY  !

 

Mobilman44

 

Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central 

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 4:59 PM

Howard,

I've never heard of Mt. Albert Scale Lumber and being interested in making decent open lumber loads for flat cars, I googled them.  I get nothing but errors no matter which link when trying to go there: "Database connection error (2): Could not connect to MySQL."  Shame.

I'll add on in that I think the following have been awesome rolling stock products which are nice and fit my needs as a western 70's and 80's guy:

- ExactRail

- Tangent

- Athearn Genesis

- Intermountain

 

 

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 685 posts
Great model railroad ideas and products
Posted by Howard Zane on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 4:52 PM

There is an interesting thread on terrible model railroad ideas....since I have always gone with the glass half full bit....here are ten of my favorites.

1. All products offered by Scenic Express and Woodland Scenics.

2. Mt. Albert Scale Lumber

3. Evergreen products , Tichy, and Grandt Line (styrene products)

4. Kadee couplers

5. NCE control systems

6. Imported brass locomotives (even the very early ones)

7. Basswood rolling stock kits (almost entirely have disappeared)

8. Scale model (only) model train shows

9. Floquil paints (stupidly removed from the market)

10. Allen Keller Videos (Allen now retrired)

My two bucks worth......others???

HZ

Howard Zane

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