More Collateral Railroading Activities

The 2012 Port of New York Railroad Mug

In honor of the 1000th page read here at the PoNYRR blog (yea! and thanks for the interest!), I have created a 2012 Port of New York Railroad mug in my Zazzle store. Featuring logos from the railroads I intend to model in some form or fashion on the layout as well as one of the photos from my collection of Erie no.26 44-tonner. I've got a couple of mugs on the way, and I will let you know how they turn out.

On related news, it is summer and there may actually be some modeling that happens over the course of the next few months. I am finishing up a scale test car and locomotive decal projects, as well as some experiments with the Stanton Drive. Please give a shout out if you are working with a Stanton already - there isn't much written on it, yet. I will either re-power a 44-tonner or a Roundhouse boxcab. I might even scratch build a boxcab from the 3D model I have been working on.

My hope is that the Stantons draw less than .5 amp so that I can use my Micro Tsunami and mini LokSound decoders, which so far haven't worked in anything I've installed them in. The irony could be that with the Stanton motors under the chassis, I could use regular size decoders and wouldn't need the micros in those units. Oh, well.

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Erie Brochure Railroading in NY Harbor

The brochure shown below is a very good read and summarizes Erie's navy and associated operations in and around NY Harbor. It was produced some time after World War II according to the references in the text. There is a nice overview of the operations of the Erie around the harbor, and the last half is a description of a tug boat trip up to the East River and back to Erie's bustling terminal at Jersey City.

The tone of the piece is right in line with other written items of the time. There is a bit of boasting, a bit of American can-do attitude and a smattering of flowery speech. It sums up to evoke a nostalgic feeling of a lost greatness, honest industriousness, and conquering heroism that characterized the naive American approach to the world in the 50s. Compare this narrative to the plight of the individuals who were the muscle (in a couple of different ways) behind the brochure's narrative from On the Waterfront about union violence, corruption and general unpleasantness.

It was not easy work keeping NY Harbor moving, and many people suffered personally so that others could live comfortably, find opportunity and profit handsomely on their backs. So much has changed in the world since this brochure was produced, but equally as many things haven't.

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Model Railroading Scales What Do the Letters Mean

     Model railroading is fascinating and has been dubbed by many as the “World’s Greatest Hobby”.   It is very versatile and incorporates many learning opportunities and is so much fun for all ages. It includes creativity with sculpturing, painting, airbrushing, decorating and landscaping, and encourages scientific exploration of electronics, physics, mechanics, engineering and architecture, all combined with humour, friendship, family activities, social interaction, and the great sense of accomplishment.

Many people who visit us ask if there is significance to the letter referral to different size trains; N, HO, O, G, etc.  The answer is YES!!  We've compiled a list of all the scales and why they were named with that letter designation.

Please leave a comment after you've read this post and let us know what your thoughts on gauge and scale are and if this was helpful to you or not.

T - Ø 1:450 (referred to as 'Tiny' or 'Tokyo' as it was introduced at the Tokyo Toy Show in 2006)

ZZ - Ø 1:300 (Until the 2006 announcement of T scale, ZZ scale was the smallest commercially available scale for model railroads)

Z - Ø  1:220 (with all the letters identifying gauges Z became the smallest so they used the last letter in the alphabet)

N - Ø 1:160 (track gauge is 9mm, the N stands for Nine mm)

2mm - Ø 1:152 (similar in size to the slightly larger British N scale at 1:148 and the slightly smaller European/American N scale at 1:160; it predates both versions of N scale)

TT - Ø 1:120 (referred to as Table Top as it fit so easily on coffee tables)

3mm - Ø 1:101 (also known as 3 mm finescale, is a model railway scale of 3 mm: 1ft used for British prototypes. Introduced as British TT gauge)

OO- Ø 1:76 (Runs on HO track and is the British counterpart)

HOn3 - Ø 1:87 (The "n" in HOn3 stands for 'narrow gauge', HOn3 is still HO scale)

HO - Ø 1:87 (Half O or ‘aitch oh’)

S - Ø 1:64 (First named Standard Gauge then to represent that Scale that was half of 1 gauge which was built to 1:32 scale)

On3 - Ø 1:48 (is narrow gauge O scale)

O - Ø 1:48 (was referred as zero (or 0h) gauge)

G - Ø  1:22.5 ( G stands for Garden)

Live Steam - Ø  1:2, 1:4 or 1:3 scale  (Ridable, large-scale, powered by steam)

Gauge refers to the width of the track, measured between the railheads.  Different from scale, which is proportion to life-size.

At present, Chinook & Hobby West carries three Scales of Model Trains for Sale:  O scale, HO Scale, and N scale.  This article was researched through Atlas, Kato, NMRA and Bachmann.

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What is model railroading

I joke that I have been a practicing modeler since I was two.

One day, just before Christmas I decided that the operations on the christmas layout (not to be confused with the serious model railroad living in the basement) were not prototypical enough, and that it needed something. While my mother cooked dinner, and my father was at work, I took out my fisher price tools (the safe screwdriver was key here) and set to work. Somehow I pried up some spikes and removed some rail joiners and re-laid some track. Where these came from, and the other mechanics of how I did this are all lost to the intervening 23 years of time, but model I did, I assure you. My parents discovered my handiwork, and being suitably impressed (my father was a modeler himself, hence the layout in the basement) asked me what I had done. I informed them, very matter of factly that I had installed a passing siding.

Now, while you may say that what I did was playing, I posit that this was my first true modeling experience. I performed three individual behaviors that I find myself repeating to this day.

I observed reality. As a child (and even one of a scant two years old) my parents would make the pilgrimage to Strasburg PA's bastion of steam, Strasburg Railroad, what seemed like monthly during the summer. Arguably, this was my first real immersion in the world of prototype railroading, and I credit it for many of my later tastes. At Strasburg, I observed that real trains used passing sidings in their business of being railroads. I also observed that steam locomotives are loud, and that the headlight on their 2-10-0 #90 came from the pyle manufacturing company, and that it had a Sinclair style radio antenna on the cab. I also observed the color of the ballast, the color of the trees and the automobiles in the parking lot.

I filtered the reality that I observed and identified traits which seemed important to me as elements representing the reality that I observed. This process began with my observations of reality. At that point I made conscious and unconscious decisions about what parts of the experience I wanted to remember and committed to memory. When I was two, I imagine the aspects of reality which I committed to memory were much more unconscious than conscious, but I believe that the majority of what we modelers absorb is done this way. I know that lately I've been consciously looking at and attempting to digest the patterns of vegetation near various rights of way (railroad, highway, etc) so that I can better understand them and then reproduce them, but most of my modeling is based on experiences and observations that I did not intentionally commit to memory, but I know are there whenever I see something that "looks right". This process of interpretation is not restricted to long term memory. It also comes into play when observing photographs (since there is always a selective impression, call it memory of what we see in a photograph, even if we almost immediately perform an action based on a photo). When I look at a photograph of a locomotive in a scene, I may see take away "they used that locomotive in that service at that time", while another modeler might notice the weathering pattern on the trucks, while yet another may note that the three radiator fan styles do not match and a final may observe "wow, that locomotive looks particularly handsome in that paint scheme". I believe that how we process our observations through the process of selective recall largely dictates our modeling tastes and pursuits, even if we don't consciously acknowledge it. When I was two and performing my first track-work, I couldn't tell you the manufacturer of the headlight adorning 90's smoke-box, but I could tell you it needed a passing siding to run around its train at each end of its run.



I attempted to recreate the filtered reality in miniature. My reproduction of my observed reality was what lies, I believe, at the crux of what we all do in our modeling. We create our own interpreted versions of reality in miniature. Modelers do this in a vast array of ways. From very abstract versions of reality represented in many tinplate style layouts (that I have observed are not always O gauge, and since we do not seem to have agreed apon genre terminologies in model railroading, I use the term despite it's reference to a specific scale, guage and even manufacturer) to highly researched and intricately detailed layouts that are aim to represent a very specific prototype on a specific date. Our ability to recreate our filtered reliability rest in our skill levels in the various aspects of modeling, and the value we place on these aspects. For example, modelers who are primarily focused on solving the often complex engineering problems posed by model railroading may not care that their ability to recreate a winter forest scene is lacking, but they may be very interested in advancing their skills with a soldering iron, and what advancing that skill means for how rewarding they find the hobby. Conversely, my lack of soldering ability does not hold me back from enjoying the hobby because I don't tackle complex soldering projects, instead I focus on an aspect I do find rewarding, such as scene building. Some other modelers do not seem intent on replicating the details of reality, instead relying on more symbolic representations of reality to replicate their interpreted version of reality. It may not matter to model railroaders of this persuasion that they are creating more a caricature of reality than a reproduction, they still derive their enjoyment from their attempts.

In rebuilding my family's Christmas layout, I performed all three of these key modeling functions, and I whole heartedly believe that that was my first true model railroading experience.

I also believe that the spectrum of modelers that exist fans out not from different realities which they observe, but the different ways in which they interpret them, and the different ways they attempt to create the versions of reality that they have constructed in miniature form.

I also believe that much of the conflict that often arises on model railroad fora stems from the fact that we, as a community of hobbyists, have never really discussed and acknowledged these differences. Recognizing the differences in individuals modeling efforts as differences of approach as opposed to differences in value would be an step toward calming some of the animosity that often seems to manifest itself between "Tin platers" and "Deputized rivet counting members of the proto police".

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Model Railroading Fun for Little and Big Kids!

One of my first memories was watching my dad unpack a new train set he just bought. He set it all out on a shelf and warned us not to touch it as it wasn't a toy. Then he brought in a large piece of plywood and we all got to help plan out track and scenery and it became a great family project!

We never did get to run that train although I remember the joy on my dad's face as he ran it. Now its my turn. I have a 9 year old boy and my husband, son, daughter and myself added on to the set that Santa brought. Every time I go into the playroom my son has a whole story line going on. He'll watch a documentary in the background and act it out on his layout. Using the same or similar locomotives and cars and rearranging the buildings and creating mountains with crumpled paper, or a farm with his sisters animals. Its amazing to watch. My favourite is when my husband brings in one of the trains that his father used to run and the two of them are lost in that world of imagination and creativity.

This is one of the sets my son bought with Christmas and birthday money. (I did chip in a bit)

Over the last five years many of the old model railroaders have passed on or just cannot carry on the hobby and the hobby industry started panicking about how there will be no one to sell model railroading too. I have to say, that's not what I am seeing at our Chinook & Hobby West stores (address' at the bottom of this blog).

I get to see adults and kids everyday and the wonder in their eyes as they see the big G scale run around our stores. The beginner sets we have in HO and N are great to start into as you can set them up on the kitchen table to start with. There are Model Railroading shows throughout the world on a regular basis.  Supertrain 2012 is this April 21 & 22 (http://www.supertrain.ca) and is Canada's largest train show with layouts, classes, clinics and vendors to help you find and satisfy your train bug.

Lately with shows like The Big Bang Theory, we see young adults getting into the excitement of the model railroading hobby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCNrs23r4DA here is the clip to enjoy!

So, come on down and see us here at Chinook & Hobby West and let us help YOU find the fun!

South Store:
5011 MacLeod Tr. SW
Calgary, AB   T2G 0A9
ph- 1-877-525-5785
hobbywest@shaw.ca


North Store:
2604- 4th St. NW
Calgary, AB   T2G 0A9
ph - 403-984-3438
hobbywest@gmail.com

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Why Model Railroading

As with any hobby, the obvious answer is because it's fun!

If you've made it this far, you're probably already interested in building a model railroad for some reason. But maybe you're still on the fence. After all, a model railroad requires an investment in time, money, and energy.
Family Oriented

We are constantly looking for things to do together, "as a family".

Building a model railroad is a great family-oriented hobby. Everyone can get involved and everyone can participate "together".

Every member of the family can be working on some part of things. Mom can be building this part, dad working on that, while the kids are working on something else.

It is also a hobby that can last a life-time. Many people in the hobby started when they were kids and it stayed with them.

Many people worry a lot about the influences our children are exposed to on television, music, and video games. We don't want to get into a debate on whether these are problems or not, but, regardless of your side on the debate, Model Railroading is a great hobby.

You build the model railroad that you want. You are not "forced" to have something that you deem improper or unhealthy on your layout. Actually, given the small sizes of things on a layout, even if you wanted to, it would be pretty hard.
Model Railroading is Educational

You probably don't want to tell your kids, but Model Railroading can be very educational. You can learn a whole range of things:

History

– Railroads reflect the times they operated in, and vice versa.

– Building a model railroad leads to learning about the real things.

– Railroads embraced the full range of history. In Canada and the United States, railroads were major factors in, and were greatly affected by, the labor movement, race relations, the rise and fall of the Guilded Age and its robber barons, and so on.

– Railroads were, and are, equally important in the histories of other countries.

Basic Carpentry and Electrical Skills

– If you've never sawed wood or stripped some wire, You Will!

– Building a model railroad requires these skills.

– You might think that they are "hard" -- they aren't, you just need to start down the path.

– You'll be surprised how easy it is to pick them up!

Economics

– Railroads are economic entities.

– They move raw materials and manufactured goods from place to place.

– The patterns of these movements are all driven by economics.

Modelbuilding

– This is pretty straight forward! After all, we are building a Model Railroad.

– There are a whole range of skills that you'll develop over time.

Artistic Techniques

– Building scenery and weathering cars, among others, all require a bit of an artistic touch. We can learn that "less is more" (for instance, sometimes just a bit of weathering on a car is all that's really needed).

– We can learn that we don't always need a perfect rendition of something, sometimes all we really need is to give the impression.

How To Research

– As you get more interested in model railroading, you might decide to build more accurate models.

– To do this you will need to research "the real things".

– You'll want to know exactly how something was built or used.

– To do that you'd need to locate documents or pictures.

– All of this takes research.

Logical Thought and Planning

– From novice model railroader to Master Model Railroader (MMR), logical thought and planning are important.

– Everything from figuring out the right steps for building a kit to designing a layout to developing an operating plan for your railroad all require logical thought and planning.

3D and Spatial Visualization

– When you decide to take on scratch-building and kit-bashing, you'll quickly learn some of these skills. We often have to visualize how things will finally look, or how they will go together, long before they are done.

Develops Manual Skills

– This is pretty self-evident.

– To build a model railroad requires some manual dexterity and skills.

– You can't be "all thumbs" to build one.

– And if you think you are all-thumbs, you'll quickly discover that you are not all thumbs.

Basic Engineering

– Model Railroads themselves require a bit of engineering to construct.

– We don't want the benchwork to collapse or the electrical wiring to burst into flames! This is self-evident.

– But we can also learn a bit of engineering by studying the prototypes for the models we are building;

– Why are bridges build this way and not that?

– Why did the railroad go this way instead of that way?

– How does an engine work?

Geography

– Railroads don't exist in a vacuum.

– They go through the landscape.

– There are mountains and plains, forests and rivers, towns and cities.

– Model railroading can develop basic understandings of all of these geographic features.

– Furthermore, if you decided to research and model a specific real railroad you can learn a lot about the specific geographic regions where that railroad operated.

The Internet and The Web

– You can even learn a lot about The Internet and how to make and run web sites. After all, we put together this web site!

But the best part of it all is that you are not forced to learn much. You can derive as much, or as little, education from the hobby as you want. After all, sometimes we just want to have fun!
Social Aspects

Model Railroading can be a very social hobby.

It's a great way to meet new people.

There are clubs and associations (such as the NMRA) that you can join. These clubs run the whole range, from swapping stories to teaching skills to each other, to actually building and running a permanent model railroad.

There are model building contests.

It's also a great excuse to travel! You can go on rail-fanning trips, go to conventions and shows, or to visit people you've met.

Model railroading appeals to people in all walks of life. If you find a group of model railroaders, you'll find doctors and lawyers, engineers, shop keepers, business people, military folks, mechanics, carpenters, artists, athletes, and politicians. Young and old, rich and poor. And it is fun.
It Takes Time

One of the big concerns today is that we're a culture of "instant gratification". Model Railroading is anything but instant gratification. You can get things up and running quickly, as we hope to show you in these pages.

But you can also then go back and work on things some more, spend more time. You can perfect your skills over the course of years. And as you perfect your skills, you go back and look at the things you did in the past and say "it was good then, but I know I can do better now"; what was great two years ago is barely acceptable last year, and this year it's sub-standard.

Model railroading is an activity of constant improvement and learning. From that, we often learn that the true gratification is not in attaining the goal, but the journey we take to get there.
Model Railroading Is Not Just For Men!

Some folks think that model-railroading is a "guy thing". Perhaps a long time ago it was. But this is the twenty-first century and those stereotypes are pretty much gone. Or at least they should be!

One NMRA division holds a "build a kit" clinic at its yearly show. This clinic is aimed at young children and their parents. The idea is to show them that "it's not hard". Someplace between 1/3 and ½ of the attendees are girls, mothers, or grandmothers. So it's obvious that you don't have to be male to be interested in model railroading!

The NMRA has a Master Model Railroader (MMR) program. It takes dedication and a lot of hard work to become an MMR. To become an MMR requires demonstrating skills across the entire spectrum of the hobby. There are 4 women MMRs.
Model Railroading is not just for Geeks

Finally, some people may be a bit uncomfortable about "adults playing with toy trains" or may be worried about what their friends and relatives might say. Who cares what they think? But just to set your mind at ease, there are many celebrities who are (or were) also model railrailroaders, such as:

§                            Winston Churchill

§                            Tom Brokaw

§                            Phil Collins

§                            Joe DiMaggio

§                            Walt Disney

§                            Michael Gross, the actor

§                            Ed Dougherty, the professional golfer

§                            Merle Haggard

§                            Tom Hanks

§                            Elton John

§                            Michael Jordan

§                            Ricardo Patrese, the Formula-1 race car driver

§                            Frank Sinatra

§                            Joe Regalbutto, the actor

§                            Bruce Springsteen

§                            Rod Stewart

§                            Donald Sutherland

§                            Mel Torme

§                            Neil Young, the rock star. He's also a part-owner of Lionel...
It's Fun!

In case you missed it, it's fun!
(a condensed version of this article was featured in our July 2013 Ezine -The Chinook Breeze -  http://eepurl.com/zHzT9

This article is from the NMRA. These are the opinions of the NMRA and don't necessarily reflects the opinions of Chinook & Hobby West.

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Are Kids Getting More Into Model Railroading

I have to say, from personal experience, yes! My own son has started a Model Railroad awareness in his classroom this year. He has had many friends check out his layouts at home (one room has HO, one room has O and the living/dining room occasionally transforms into G scale).  These kids thought that a Model Railroad only consisted of a basic circle or oval and that was it. Robby has shown them that you can add scenery, buildings and change the track and train easily - and keep within a budget!

Robby has also taken up drawing steam trains and going on Railfan trips with his dad. To date Robby (10 years old) has rode in the cab of the Empress #2816 (we have an earlier blog on this), he has been on a tour through the sheds in the Ogden/Alyth yards here in Calgary and he chased an excursion train from Calgary to Banff to Canmore, Alberta. When the train was switching in the Banff siding, he was able to ride in the F units' Cab! He has shared these from our YouTube Channel in his Classroom!**

Inside the Empress

A look in the the sheds

Sitting at Banff Station

Inside the F Unit

There are many great model railroading activities for children. Model railroading can be a great teaching tool for carpentry, electricity, art, history, geometry and more. Most importantly, this learning can come from enjoyable quality time together with family and friends. Here are some easy and fun ways to get your whole family involved.

Play Together

No matter how old your child is, whether it’s an electric train or a wooden pull-toy, there is no better way to get started in any hobby than by spending quality time with parents. There are lots of options available. Years from now, even when that favorite childhood toy is lovingly handed down to the next generation, it won’t be the train itself that is most fondly remembered.

Build a Kit

Most model train kits are recommended by manufacturers for ages 8 and up. With parental assistance, your child may be ready at an earlier age. Many kits require little more than a screwdriver and a pair of sprue cutters to remove parts from sprues. After a few minutes of quality time together, you’ll have a finished project that you can both be proud of and use.

Simple and inexpensive plastic train kits are getting harder and harder to come by as manufacturers turn to ready-to-run models. Accurail and Bowser still make kits in HO scale for around $10-15. Assembling one of these kits is well within a beginners reach. Plastic structure kits are available in almost any price range in most scales. Don’t be scared away by seemingly complicated laser-cut wood kits either. Many can be built with almost no tools or painting required.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. If you can’t find a kit that fits your skill level and the railroad you’re building, consider making one just for the fun of it. And while its great to teach children how to build something from a plan, you can also encourage creativity by “kitbashing” or modifying the original design.

Start simple and gradually increase the skill level. You can also always go back and make older projects better with paint and details. Don’t set your expectations too high at first. The important thing is to let the child have fun and begin to learn the necessary skills and safety practices that will stick around for a lifetime.

Build a Diorama

Setting a beginner at any age loose on your permanent layout can be a bit scary. A small diorama or display board is an excellent way to practice skills without leaving a permanent mark. You can build the project at a table or workbench much more ergonomically suitable than what most train tables provide. The smaller project size also works well with a child’s attention span.

Scenery projects appeal to both a child’s creative side and complete willingness to get messy. From spreading ground cover to making trees, many scenic projects are easy enough for a preschooler to handle. Woodland Scenics offers prepackaged diorama and practice kits perfect for model railroading or school projects.

When finished, the diorama can be used to display one of the kits you’ve built or it could even be incorporated into the permanent layout.

Operating Trains

Eventually watching a train run around the same loop of track gets old. Adding switches (turnouts) to change the route can increase the excitement, but making the trains actually do some work can be entertaining for hours.
Check out this Video Clip!

Real trains exist to serve a purpose; move people or goods from Point A to Point B. Often, this means picking up or setting off cars along the way. Advanced operators have all sorts of methods for duplicating prototypical operations, but for those getting started, just figuring out how to add a car to the consist without picking it up in our hands can be a challenge enough.

“Let’s pick up the refrigerator car at the farm and deliver it to the creamery.” Coupling and uncoupling cars, switching tracks, starting and stopping the train all require active thinking and hand-eye coordination. Not only are you increasing the child’s understanding of real trains, you’re building universal skills as well.

Even with simple operations like this, the railroad is always changing and always new. With multiple sidings and cars, the combinations are almost endless.

Watching Trains

Watching trains together can be a great way to share the hobby with children. It does present some challenges however.

Unless you know when the trains are coming, even a busy railroad can offer some lengthy waits between trains. For children, even a short wait can feel like an eternity. Make sure you bring along books, coloring supplies, toys or games to help pass the time together in between trains. By ensuring you spend quality time together all day, trains become just one part of a positive experience.

Safety First! Children are used to trains as small toys, not a noisy machine as big as a house. It is not at all uncommon for children to be afraid of trains. Use this time together to reassure kids, but also to teach valuable lessons about railroads and being safe around them.

Teach your children to stay a safe distance from the tracks at all times and to be aware of their surroundings. Real trains can be fun, but they are not toys and need to be respected.Operation Lifesaver is a leader in promoting rail safety and has great activities for children available online.

partial source - http://modeltrains.about.com/od/toytrainsforchildren/a/childrensactivities.htm

**The experiences of Robby and his Dad, Rob, are due to special permission. This is NOT TYPICAL and very rare. Both Rob and Robby adhered to proper safety protocols making certain to wear the required safety gear at all times and obeyed all safety guidelines in all situations.

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Model Railroading Scope Or Im ok youre ok

In the professional services business in which I work, we have a term called "scope". It basically is used to refer to what work falls under a contract, and what doesn't, or what we're doing on a project, and what we're NOT doing on a project.

A recent thread on TheRailwire got me thinking about how different many modelers are. The old notion of "we each enjoy our trains differently, and that's ok" is often brought out whenever there's an ideological disagreement on various forums to extinguish flame wars.

http://therailwire.net/smf/index.php?topic=13656.0

This notion is an important one in the hobby, allowing "daisy pickers" to coexist along side "rivet counters" without igniting feuds. However, I've realized that there's something else at work here. Aside from how seriously modelers take all this stuff, there is also a spectrum of what type of "serious" modeler people are.


(Photo changed, Sorry Jerry!)

It's very possible to be serious about building a model of "a railroad". For years, Tony Koester championed this from the pages of RMC and Model Railroader. His Allegheny Midland was a wonderful model of a railroad (even though it was freelanced). He modeled the way a railroad works, but the rolling stock and structures were important in as much as they supported the model of the railroad itself. Structures should all be roughly uniform, as that's how a real railroad does things. Locomotives and rolling stock should all be accurate in as much as they represent an accurate "fleet". While Tony had many outstanding individual models, I believe that they still existed mostly to support "the railroad". In this mindset, the individual "work" is the layout itself and the railroad system that it represents.



On the other hand, it's very possible for a modeler to be very serious about building individual models. NMRA contest rooms are full of these models, and while some may exist in the context of a larger modeling endeavor, many were built to stand on their own as outstanding individual works. They may end up being part of a layout, but in this case, the layout serves as a place for these individual models. Howard Zane's outstanding layout, I believe, falls into this category. Howard has a basement (plus) of very well done models, of both rolling stock and structures, however, Howard's layout "functions" to serve as a display place for these models. In this view, the "work" is the individual models, and the supporting items (like track, for example) are not the focus of the modeling.

These schools of thought are not always conscious decisions, but often seem to stem from the smaller micro-decisions of what's "good enough" that take place in all model railroaders minds. For some "good enough" means that the mix of cars in a train are correct, even if they're riding on Kato's JDM spec Unitrack, while others won't care if the cars are of mixed eras, as long as they all have full brake rigging, while even others only care if they're all weathered, but look "wrong" unless they're all rolling along on hand laid code 25 rail with tie plates and joint bars.

Either of the mindsets can be representative of people who take their modeling seriously (like I do), and I believe there is a mutual respect between people in both camps, but I believe that the more people acknowledge the existence of these camps, and the many modelers who try and straddle them both, the better and happier we will all be (mostly because it will spell the end of the "you're not a real modeler if you don't..." threads on forums).

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Model Railroading Collectors Club Newsletter August 2012

Hello Collectors Club Member;

It’s been about a month since our last email and we wanted to share some

things with you.

What’s in this month’s email blast?

• Restock and NEW stock arrivals 
• What’s happening in and around Calgary?
• Tip of the Month
• Fun Video (World's Largest Model Railroad)
• News (includes Industry Update)

  

Restock Arrived:

-'HO' handmade, pre-built buildings and building kits by Campbell, Highway Miniatures,

Sylvan Scale Models, Timberline, Tichy and many more...

-Railway DVD's: Canadian Rails, Scarlet & Gray Memories, Great Shortlines West and

more titles available: Check out our Features of the week page for pictures.

-'O' scale only available at our North location

-Woodlands Scenics

-more items available at both stores in Calgary

NEW Arrived:

-KATO 'N' ES44AC, SD90/43MAC,  MIKADO

-'N' Proto 2000 USRA 2-8-8-2

-'N' Atlas, Micro-Trains, Lifelike and more...

-and a new scenery/diorama line DMS

-'HO' Rapido VIA FP9A locomotives

-'HO' Rapido passenger cars CP & CN

-'HO' Intermountain Sultran Cars

-Come check out Both stores for all the neat items arriving weekly!

What’s Happening?

We hear about clubs, events and other things that may interest you. As we can we post

them on the events page of our website.

-         Alberta FREE-MO 2012. Aug. 18 & Aug. 19 Big Valley Agriplex; Big Valley, AB. www.calgaryfreemo.ca for more info.

-    Great Edmonton Model Train Show. Sept. 15 & 16; Edmonton, AB. www.mmrf.ab.ca for more info.

-    have you checked out our redesigned website? www.chinookandhobbywest.com please let us know what you think.

Tip of the Month

• When weathering railcars and locos always go from the top to the bottom, so the streaks taper off.
• Seal your piece with matte finish so you can use chalks or acrylic and you can wipe off any 'mistakes' easily.
• Use a 300 grit or finer sandpaper with a light touch to 'wear away' decals, do this a little bit at a time as its easier to take off more than to figure out how to put it back.
• Make sure to seal your project once its done, with a matte finish so all your hard work doesn't get rubbed off.

Fun Video

James May has to be one of the most imaginative big kid I've seen in a while. As a model railroder he had to build the World's Largest HO train layout in the UK. Check out The Great Train Race today! We just love how all ages got involved with this project.

Check it out and share what you think! 

http://youtu.be/Zh5d8nx738E

 News

 Classes

Our next Airbrushing for Beginners class will be in October 2012. Please check out the

 events calendar on our website for more information. You can either email or call Valerie

to pre-book your space.

Help Wanted!

We are looking for a part time person knowledgeable in Model Railroading. Please go to

our website and check out our Job Opportunity page.

Do You Want To Share Your Knowledge With Others?

We are looking for people that would like to share their model railroading tips with others.

It can be in written form or a short video. You would get full credit and if your contribution

gets positive response and you become a repeat blogger for us we would like to share the reward.

Industry Update- So you don't get upset with your Hobby Store

The hobby is in a manufacturing turmoil, due to a lack of production capacity now.
There is no question; you have seen the delays from virtually all manufacturers. Pick any manufacturer’s

name and their products are delayed. Why you ask? There are several reasons.
The primary one is that the largest factory which produced models for a wide variety of manufacturers

 has shut its doors to those manufacturers. After it had been bought and sold several times, it was

bought out by the Bachmann group and now produces models solely for Bachmann.  This was a huge

 production facility, about 10 times the normal size of a typical Chinese factory.  Or think of it as 10

factories operating under one name.

There is no other "big" factory, equivalent in size.  As a result, many manufacturers have been forced

to scramble and find another factory that can produce their models. However, there is no other "A"

size factory, the next size is "B" size, 1/10th of the "A" size. 
If you can imagine the size of China’s manufacturing sector, you might well say to yourself there should

be lots of factories. There is, they produce lots of electronics, such as games, toys, appliances,

telecommunications, etc. However, model trains are way down at the bottom of the list, as it is

such a small market.
Believe it or not, there are very few companies capable of model train production. There are about

three "B" size main factories and some smaller "C" size factories. 

Then you have the issue of complexity.  Our hobby products involve tool and die making,

electronics, motors, plastic extrusion, assembly, and painting. All of this has to be done with fine

tolerances. All of these areas require dedicated areas and skilled employees. Compare all of that

to an example, a “Barbie doll”, with much greater tolerance for error.

The result to you the modeler is that your promised future models have been delayed.
As dealers (your local hobby shop), we and all other dealers are the recipient of modelers’

frustrations, as we are their direct contact. I can certainly understand and empathize with

modelers’ frustrations. We have the same frustration, except it is multiplied a hundred times

or more. We, as dealers and distributors, plan on models delivered in future months for our

cash flow planning, staffing and other commitments. Every store, distributor and manufacturer

is experiencing the same problems. There is no immediate fix or date when “normalcy” will

return to the hobby.

Another issue affecting production is working capital, or more specifically, the lack of working capital,

both in North America and in Asia.  The financial crisis of 2008 has hammered businesses around the

globe. Working capital has dried up for many manufacturers. In foreign countries, a number of

manufacturers may be taking funds from one customer and applying them to another, they are “robbing

Peter to pay Paul” to stay in business.
I know of a number of our North American importers, with manufacturers overseas, who are in this

position of waiting, and waiting, and waiting. They have supplied funds to their overseas manufacturers

for research and development, tooling, raw materials and production costs, and are waiting on receiving

a pre-production sample. They may even have approved the sample and are waiting for production to

occur, but they are still waiting. It is out of their control.

Now is not the time to berate manufacturers for not delivering products to you. It is a global issue.
The only thing we can say to you is to be patient.  Take care.

From Tom Tomblin, President,Canadian Model Trains Inc.

Help Us Improve

We would love for you to share your comments and ideas (even the not so nice ones).

What do you want to see in upcoming emails and newsletters? What would you like to see

on our website, blog and/or our Facebook page? If we’ve done something you love let us

know so we can keep it up.

We want to become the Hobby Store that you want to visit so please share with us!

Please email this to a friend; they can join our Collectors Club too!

http://www.chinookandhobbywest.com/collectors-club.html

Thanks so much and we hope to see you really soon.

From Rob, Val and all the guys at Chinook & Hobby West

North Store: 2604 – 4^th St. NW    Ph# 403-984-3438

South Store: 5011 Macleod Tr. SW    Ph# 403-243-1997

 

 

Blog: http://chinookhobbytalk.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ChinookAndHobb

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/HobbyandToy

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/hobbymum

Tumblr: http://chinookhobby.tumblr.com

website: http://www.chinookandhobbywest.com

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Getting Started in Model Railroading

Model railroading is fascinating and has been dubbed by any as the "World's Greatest Hobby". It is very versatile and incorporates many learning opportunities and is so much fun for all ages. It includes creativity with sculpturing, painting, airbrushing , decorating and landscaping, and encourages scientific exploration of electronics, physics, mechanics, engineering and architecture, all combined with humor, friendship, family activities, social interaction, and the great sense of accomplishment.

Things to Consider Before Starting

• Space - plan out how big your layout can be, within the room you have available. Keep in mind that you need to get to all points that has track.  So you may want to consider a U shape or a hole in the middle that you can get to should you need to.
• Scale - this goes with the Space point.  If you have outdoor space, you may want to model in G, in a small to large room HO, or for a really small space N.
• Budget - plan to spend on the materials for the table, base, roadbed and track first.  Then some model train pieces, buildings and landscaping.  This will also prevent you from getting overwhelmed with too much to do.
• Tips - if you are interested in using long flat bed cars,passenger cars or other long cars you need to make allowance for large radius curves or they will derail.  Come and visit us for great beginner guidebooks and guidance in planning

Next week: the scales (gauges) of model railroading

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