No respect for Thomas modeller

[Pathfinder]

Good on you Trevor for sticking with it.  My kids love the Thomas and Potter stuff I run and I do not care if it looks strange next to a CP SD40-2, nor do they.

Too bad about the hobby shop but I have run into that issue at more than one in SW BC.  Now my list of "good" hobby shops is short, about 3. 

[SteamFreak]

Trevor,

  If it was between the manager and another employee, it might have been an "I told you this stuff would sell" look.  A little payback to a doubting Thomas (sorry about that). 

Tilden

No respect for puns that bad.... 

[jeffshultz]

This has me wondering if I want to go out and buy some Thomas stuff... for the future. (no, nothing on the way or anything, but never too soon to start you know!)

[Anonymous]

This has me wondering if I want to go out and buy some Thomas stuff... for the future. (no, nothing on the way or anything, but never too soon to start you know!)

Buy! Buy! and Buy some more! That way they'll make even more stuff to buy! Maybe even something I want!

[scole100]

This summer I was on vacation in London and we stopped at a hobby shop there.  It was full of great train equipment both European and American.  They also had a ton of Thomas stuff as well.  It was all very prominently displayed.  I did not buy any, and I still kick myself.  How cool would it have been to Have a Thomas or Trevor straight from the England?  I did not do it because I was afraid that some one would giggle at me.  I applaud you for doing what you think would be interesting and fun.  Don't mind the people that may not understand.  You will find people who do not understand model railroading, no matter what road you model.

[Gunns]

Actually you can't really win the snickering thing... I am a member of a club restoring a 2900 series locomotive, and get the snickers about the 1 to 1 scale stuff when I buy N scale stuff for the model I am making of our work site. In the museum restoration community "Thomas" is big Ju Ju. Often a visit by Thomas is the only thing that keeps the place in the black.

Model what you want, vote with your feet if you have to.

Kevin

[Tilden]

Hey Jeff, Good Idea.  After all, if an Athearn BB SD45 is worth $1200 to $1500 then I figure in 20 years the"rare"  Thomas stuff ought to be worth at least 5 grand!!!

Tilden

[pcarrell]

How's this for some Thomas respect?

http://www.railserve.com/jump/jump.cgi?ID=11529

Thomas GIF's!

[Anonymous]

...In the museum restoration community "Thomas" is big Ju Ju. Often a visit by Thomas is the only thing that keeps the place in the black...

Yep, Thomas is definitely the rock star of the train world, the one who draws a crowd, the Cheetah Girls or [insert other latest teeny-bopper craze here]...

And you know what? Good! We've been a little too "Muzak" in this hobby for a little too long.

Rock on, little blue loco.

 

[jwmurrayjr]

The "Avitar" speaks for itself.

Thomas is very popular with the grandkids (Girls, yet.)

Of course I don't care anything about the little DCC guy.

 

[Anonymous]

Brian,

   If it's the Bachmann loco there are no DCC plugs, you have to hardwire the decoder.  The motor is isolated from the frame though so that's a help.  Also, you don't need the circuit board that's in there, remove it.  I think you'll find the color of the motor wires are the exact opposite of NMRA standard for DCC plugs.  In an overly energetic moment I replaced them, for looks.  Also, if you convert Henry, you might want to drill a hole through the metal frame to allow direct routing of the motor wires into the cab area.  This will avoid the wires being pinched when you slide the body back on.

  Don't know the layout of the Hornby loco's.

Tilden

I don't know who Brian is, and I went back through the thread...  At any rate, I have converted Henry to DCC.  I had to do exactly as you noted here.  I used my Dremmel to carve out a small hollow for the motor and pickup wires to feed through.  I had to add extensions to the motor wires and made the connection to the decoder which sits inside the cab.  Henry works great, is a good fast puller, and very useful engine.

Trevor

[Tilden]

Trevor,

  The two problems I've had with the Bachmann series locos are: 1) keeping the wiper pick-ups clean and adjusted, make sure the pick-ups make contact with the wheel at all times especially at the extremes of the side to side wheel play and alcohol wipes for dirt and lint.  2) Slowing Gordon and Henry down (limit the Top Voltage CV) so the little ones don't "fly" them off the layout.

Tilden

[Anonymous]

I had one wiper pickup out of place on Thomas after I had installed his decoder.  I think it might have been my doing.  Neither Percy nor Henry had an pickup issues thus far.

Thanks for the tips.  My son is a speed demon, so I'm sure I'm going to have to watch his throttle speed...or else that look of surprise on Annie's face might actually be there for a reason!(that's an inside Thomas joke, as one of Thomas' coaches, named Annie, has an expression of surprise on her face)

Trevor

[Anonymous]

Most train shop owners drive people out of the hobby with behavior like this

The good news is most are going out of business.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Some LHS owners can be real a**holes, and that's the truth of it. I've run across a few in my time.

[lvanhen]

CurtMc wrote the following post at 10-19-2006 7:25 PM:

Most train shop owners drive people out of the hobby with behavior like this

The good news is most are going out of business.

THIS IS ONE OF THE DUMBEST POSTS I HAVE SEEN IN THIS FORUM!!!    DO WE NEED PEOPLE LIKE CURTMC POSTING?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

You know how it is, opinions are like noses. Everybody has one. Not all are positive. If they were, what a boring world this would be.

[gear-jammer]

We have Thomas, Percy and James under the tree at Christmas.  We are just big kids.

Sue

[tomikawaTT]

I have converted Henry to DCC.  I had to do exactly as you noted here.  I used my Dremmel to carve out a small hollow for the motor and pickup wires to feed through.  I had to add extensions to the motor wires and made the connection to the decoder which sits inside the cab.  Henry works great, is a good fast puller, and very useful engine.

Trevor

"A very useful engine," eh?  Isn't that the Fat Director's line?  (Or Sir Topham Hatt's, if you are a tubeophile.)

How to tell that you're fully "Sodorized;" you change into a cutaway and top hat to operate your layout.

My take - Go for it!!!

Chuck

[Anonymous]

Maybe one day down the line, many many moons from now, I'll put on the top and tails and have an official Golden Spike, grand opening of the line.  I think my son would get a kick out of that.

Trevor

[Tilden]

Chuck,

  You must remember that "Once there was a train that was afraid of a few drops of rain..."  So Henry has to work hard to be a useful engine.

  Actually the last time we ran Henry he was pulling seven cars and a brake van up the grades and all with no problems.  Now that's useful.

  The really important thing is, it's fun for the kids and hopefully an interest that will grow and they will enjoy the rest of their lives.

Tilden

[cruikshank]

I'm glad I came upon this thread.  I was pondering building some small layouts based on Thomas, to try and sell for the holidays.  My Wife and I owned a portrait studio for 15 years and specialized in kids.  All of the little ones were crazy for Thomas.  I had to retire due to 4 back surgeries, so I'm in need of a project and income.  Her concern was that the little kids need the wooden Thomas because they would break the HO one.  What has been your experience on this ?  At what age can a kid play with an electrical train ?  Besides 45 which is my age. :)   Are the Bachmann's pretty reliable.  I'm an "N" scaler so I would love to build it in "N", but the Tomix "N" Thomas are about double a Bachmann in cost.  also I guess the little "N" would be hard for the tikes to play with.  I read on line that the center piece of the Island of Sodor is the Turntable and Roundhouse.  Do you all have those on your layouts.  I know the Atlas one is easy enough to use, but easy enough for a 5 year old ?  At what age does Thomas become Uncool to a kid ?  I know alot of questions, but this seems to be the place for answers.  Thanks alot in Advance.   Dave in Reading,  PA

[fwright]

I'm glad I came upon this thread.  I was pondering building some small layouts based on Thomas, to try and sell for the holidays.  My Wife and I owned a portrait studio for 15 years and specialized in kids.  All of the little ones were crazy for Thomas.  I had to retire due to 4 back surgeries, so I'm in need of a project and income.  Her concern was that the little kids need the wooden Thomas because they would break the HO one.  What has been your experience on this ?  At what age can a kid play with an electrical train ?  Besides 45 which is my age. :)   Are the Bachmann's pretty reliable.  I'm an "N" scaler so I would love to build it in "N", but the Tomix "N" Thomas are about double a Bachmann in cost.  also I guess the little "N" would be hard for the tikes to play with.  I read on line that the center piece of the Island of Sodor is the Turntable and Roundhouse.  Do you all have those on your layouts.  I know the Atlas one is easy enough to use, but easy enough for a 5 year old ?  At what age does Thomas become Uncool to a kid ?  I know alot of questions, but this seems to be the place for answers.  Thanks alot in Advance.   Dave in Reading,  PA

More suitable for the younger kids would be the Lionel-size Thomas. And it would fit on the same size table as the HO.  But I don't know if it's still in production?  I know I bought mine (for the kids of course) about 5-6 years ago.

my thoughts, your choices

Fred W

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Nothing on walthers.com for O scale, but a bunch for HO scale.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?manu=&item=&split=30&category=&scale=&instock=Y&keywords=thomas&start=0

[lvanhen]

I got my grandson his first electric Thomas when he was about 5, a Hornby.  He has ADD and a few motorskill problems but LOVES trains.  He had no problems operating him (Thomas) and could put him on the tracks easier than my then 59 y/o hands could!  He's 10 now & I'm in the process of putting DCC chips in Thomas, James, & Percy - he loves the sound my other DCC units have.  You're right about the Atlas turntable, but the roundhouse is not a 1 hour assembly, and operational doors on it are problematic.  Bachmann makes Cranky and there are many other HO models that can be used with Thomas.  Toot Toot!!

[Oakhurst Railroad Engineer]

Trevor,

I seriously model logging in the 20's in the Sierras in my Oakhurst Railroad.  However, I hide my Thomas the Tank Engine and Annie Coach in the engine house.  Kids usually let out a "wow" when they enter the room, but they do it again and usually say "Thomas!" when I roll him out for a quick spin.

I thoroughly enjoy watching the PBS show.  It is on in my area at 7 AM and 8 AM on Saturday.  Only the College Gameday show will make me miss Thomas on Saturday morning!

Keep on modeling Thomas and Friends ...

Marty

[rghammill]

It's all about having fun. One of the most common 'loads' on my railroad is my daughter's Fisher Price Little People.

Randy

[twcenterprises]

It's all about having fun. One of the most common 'loads' on my railroad is my daughter's Fisher Price Little People. Randy

Some "loads" that may be seen on my layout may include (but not limited to):

Hoppers filled with "gold" loads (actually iron pyrite, or "fools gold")

Hoppers or gons filled with various crystals, such as quartz

Hoppers filled with various colors of tiny "jewels", such as may be found in costume jewelry

Gons filled with candy (especially around the holidays)

Gons or flatcars hauling tools or supplies around the layout

Flatcars hauling my son's Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars (and tractor trailers)

And, on the G scale side, my daughter's Barbie dolls have been seen sightseeing in gons.

Canned soft drinks have been part of the "revenue tonnage" as have the empty cans

 

My model mining company ships various precious stone and metals, and they also handle a fair amount of coal, copper, silver and gold ores, granite (both slabs and gravel), and marble (including marble dust, which is used, at least on my RR, in the manufacture of cultured marble goods.)  I do run live loads of real coal in my hoppers for operating sessions, as well as real marble dust (more like a sand).  Sure, it weighs down the hoppers, as it does in real life, and the marble is quite dense, so one must load the cars short to prevent overloading, and care must be taken handling the loaded hoppers to avoid spillage, just as in real life.  I'm looking for some sort of stones or something with a coppery and silvery sheen or coloration to them, so I can load them as "smelted and processed ores".  I've seen silvery/greyish looking rounded stones, but I'm thinking more of a gravelly or nugget type texture.  Having various types and colors of loads in the hoppers may not be realistic, but it sure brightens up the yard.

Brad

[John Busby]

Thomas is very serious stuff.

If you don't believe me take a Thomas layout to a MRR Expo if you get it wrong the Kids will soon let you know all about it you can hear the knives being sharpened believe me.

As an aside Hornby now do a very nice range of "PROPPER" Thomas buildings that would look good on any UK model railway never mind a Thomas layout.

We are talking the new ones not the previous definitely toy ones.

Have fun and remember the kids will let you have it if you get it wrong

regards John

[Oakhurst Railroad Engineer]

And don't forget the most popular "load" of all.  During the holiday season, I add an HO HO HO Santa Claus somewhere on the layout.  I move him around and the kids love to look for him ...

30 years from now the kids may not remember your perfect model of that 2-8-0 but they will remember Thomas and Santa ...