N-SCALE Railroading Nov. - Dec. 2011 issue ??

[Dave Schneider]

Here's a tip. I used my automotive hydraulic floor jack to lift sections of the layout so that we could pull out the wet carpet and then later to install vinyl planking.

Hmmm.....wonder if that would work with my house to replace the crawl space with a basement. Honey??? We're going to need a bigger jack!!

Best wishes, Dave

[sundowner]

Could be worse, could be an article on how to build a tree like NSM does ones in a while.

[mcjaco]

I just find it an odd 'filler" for a magazine that should attract a lot of more topical submissions.

And perhaps the problem.  Submissions. 


Don't we seem to go round and round every few months on the articles in these magazines?  Have something interesting to write about?  Send it in! 

[Puddington]

And perhaps the problem.  Submissions. 


Don't we seem to go round and round every few months on the articles in these magazines?  Have something interesting to write about?  Send it in!

I'm the wrong person to comment on that.... see my previous comments about the magazine in question and the way they treat submissions.... I have no sympathy for N Scale Magazine whatsoever.....

[MichaelWinicki]

Niche mags succeed by focusing on their niche.  Prepping a basement?  I think that crosses the line into "too general". 

[sirenwerks]

There might be a passenger train article you will enjoy in it 

Bill,

The Flambeau article was great! I'm going to be looking for Con Cor bilevels at the end of the month at Timonium because of you. Keep those articles coming.

[learmoia]

Comment Removed.

[AlkemScaleModels]

Hmmm.....wonder if that would work with my house to replace the crawl space with a basement. Honey??? We're going to need a bigger jack!!

Best wishes, Dave

I visited a layout in Minnesota that did that. They jacked up the house and dug a basement under it. I also recall another one in San Jose that did the same.

I colleague of mine dug his basement out by hand a bucketful at at time, but he wasn't a model railroader.

[Puddington]

I visited a layout in Minnesota that did that. They jacked up the house and dug a basement under it. I also recall another one in San Jose that did the same.

I colleague of mine dug his basement out by hand a bucketful at at time, but he wasn't a model railroader.

The guy next door at our cottage sold; the new people wanted a basement.... lakefront, built into a hill... they got told "don't so it"... they did it... lifted the cottage by jacks and beams... built a beautiful basement, or, as they called it a year later, the downstairs indoor swimming pool.... natural springs under cottage... they haven't built a sump pump yet that will keep up with what they had... two years later - tore down entire building, poured 4 feet of fill and built a new place, sans basement.....sigh.

[train1]

Basement ...smasement....did you see the teaser advert ( with close up photos  ) for the Exact rail Trinity Reefers !

[davidgray1974]

Guess I ought to be glad to have not been able to go by the Little Choo - Choo Shop in Salisbury, N.C., today... sure would have hated to have to walk away from any issue NSR but this one I probably would have (kind of hard to put a basement under a mobile home)... 

Love that place!!! Such a cool shop!!!

[sirenwerks]

And perhaps the problem.  Submissions. 

Don't we seem to go round and round every few months on the articles in these magazines?  Have something interesting to write about?  Send it in!

So there can be only one "problem" here? Qualitative and quantitative issues can easily be mutually exclusive as much as combined.

[Bsklarski]

In defense of the magazines, you can only run a story on how to install a decoder, or ballast track so many times. There are only a certain number of ways to do things.  I personally can think of many fresh things to right about. Operations and the such does not seem to be touched on much. As a "real railroader" I can write things about the real world and the model world and how they relate, how you can improve the model world by emulating things the real world does. Heck, I would even write a segment every  month or whatever. There is a lot out there to think about. Lots of non railroad things too that effect the railroad and how it runs and works that are not directly related. I see stuff that is new to me out there, and all that all the time and I say "hey this is neat and I can model it"

[nscalemike]

In defense of the magazines, you can only run a story on how to install a decoder, or ballast track so many times. There are only a certain number of ways to do things.  I personally can think of many fresh things to right about. Operations and the such does not seem to be touched on much. As a "real railroader" I can write things about the real world and the model world and how they relate, how you can improve the model world by emulating things the real world does. Heck, I would even write a segment every  month or whatever. There is a lot out there to think about. Lots of non railroad things too that effect the railroad and how it runs and works that are not directly related. I see stuff that is new to me out there, and all that all the time and I say "hey this is neat and I can model it"

I would agree with this, there's been many time tested and proven methods to do scenery, lay track, wire, etc.  There is new products and some clever new tips every once in a while, and I do enjoy seeing those as well.  But I would love to see any of the magazines start featuring more of the operation real life type of articles.  I would also like to see more indepth monthly articles on industries, the large complex industries that seems to me the growing trend.  Not 'we have X industry and here is the track plan' but rather, here are examples of X industry, a few track plan ideas, and this is how it is serviced, these cars carrying this product, etc.  I spoke with the conductor at our local Kraft plant a few months back and he spoke of these details, corn syrup in this car, veggie oil in this one, one goes there, the other goes here, etc. Before that, I looked at it as 'tank cars being dropped off at Kraft' and nothing more. 

Either which way, no matter what any of the magazines print or whether they have a open or subscription website, the # of pages they offer, or whatever else, there will always be people unhappy with the decisions that were made.  Thats the great thing about this hobby, we all model trains, but we all have different eras, prototypes, seasons, scales, etc and what interests one may not interest another.

That being said, Bsklarski, I'd love to hear some of your prototype topics and if the magazines aren't interested I'm sure we could find some space on RW for a monthly article, I know I'd read it!  (Not to put you on the spot or anything!)

Mike

[Bsklarski]

I am game.

We have a few jobs that can be a nightmare to switch. Im talking 12 hours + with a recrew to finish it. Like a newspaper place we have, they get news print, plywood, wood pellets, they ship out wood pulp, recycled cans. They even were going to bring in cars with Corona beer.

Now when you pull all the empties out of this industrial park, you have 3 customers in there. The cars are all scattered everywhere and get station marshalled so you can deliver the Conrails to CSX, and shove the rest off. (PAS, GMRC, WACR, CP, CN)

 Dont get me going on the feed mill we have as a customer.

Brian