Athearn December announcements

[Mark5]

Buck up guys, and just switch to present day railroading...

 ;D

Booooring. 

[lock4244]

Buck up guys, and just switch to present day railroading...

 ;D

Booooring. 

Agreed. Too few roads operating. Way too much graffiti on the rails these days, too. Even looking at shots I took in the 1997-99 era, there was virtually no graffiti on freightcars... nowadays it's a cancer.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Its weird, in the last 4-5 years I have really had to check dates and paint schemes for "modern" cars. Many,many new releases are too new for my 1999 era.

Boy 10 years ago my stuff felt cutting edge. Now? No Gevos, no ACEs, few ethanol tanks, TBOX and FBOX cars etc.

[TiVoPrince]

Perhaps
Athearn has discovered a method of determining future sales by releasing a less popular scheme first?  Appears that I will be buying on both sides of the conspicuity fence...

Hoping for a future with a Nscale reflective decal/sticker as these stripes become more common in the runup to requirement.  Going to be interesting to see how grafitti artists deal with them...

[ljudice]

Eras...

It's funny, every year around Christmas I see the Jean Shepard movie "A Christmas Story" about 20 times and start thinking that it would be  cool to do something based in industrial northern Indiana or Ohio in the 1950's. The movie of course is actually set in the immediate pre-war era, although for some reason it strikes me as being later.

Of course it then hits - the issues with steam, the question of which road to model (I kind of think either B&O or NYC since PRR is so popular and so iconic).

Another movie that makes me think about steam era on the NYC is "A Wonderful Life" even though I don't believe there is even a train in it.

Ever get tugged into this kind of thought process by a movie or TV show?

[ljudice]

re: Grafitti - I think they usually spray right over the sticker, but the shop forces give it right back by plastering those stripes right back on top of grafitti.

[Walkercolt]

Yep! DOT says "Stripes" so stripes shall it be. Until some "genius" at DOT figures that railcars could be out-fitted with LED lights powered by a wheel-driven generator....Don't think it "can't" happen...those Scotch-Lite(TM) reflective stripes are exspensive enough. The "kit" to out-line the back of your semi-trailer costs about $250 (mandatory in a few more days), and the truckers find the LED side-markers all-down the side of the trailer as cheap as the Scotch-Lite(TM) and keeping it clean.  :

[DKS]

Eras...

It's funny, every year around Christmas I see the Jean Shepard movie "A Christmas Story" about 20 times and start thinking that it would be  cool to do something based in industrial northern Indiana or Ohio in the 1950's. The movie of course is actually set in the immediate pre-war era, although for some reason it strikes me as being later.

Of course it then hits - the issues with steam, the question of which road to model (I kind of think either B&O or NYC since PRR is so popular and so iconic).

Another movie that makes me think about steam era on the NYC is "A Wonderful Life" even though I don't believe there is even a train in it.

Ever get tugged into this kind of thought process by a movie or TV show?

I have zero interest in European railroads, and even less in things to do with the military. Except when I watch The Train with Burt Lancaster. It's a powerful (even if slightly dated, acting-wise) film that never fails to get me pondering the notion of dabbling in a little European WWII-era model railroading, especially since Z-Panzer started producing some stunning 1:220 military stuff... http://www.z-panzer.com/

[Bob Bufkin]

It's not Christmas until I watch A Christmas Story.  I also think it's postway lat 40's and not before.  The steam whistles you here in the background always got my interest.  Always wondered what locomotives they were.  Although I'm a SPF I always think they are NYC for some reason.

[ljudice]

Bob - I agree with you on the era in "Christmas Story".  In the Wiki article on the movie they insist it's pre-war for a variety of reasons that I don't buy!

David - totally agree with you on "The Train". In fact, Fleischmann has a couple of generic  looking "European Steam Locomotives" - slightly altered DR locos including 4-6-0's that fit the bill for those SNCF steamers. Of course they are probably not actually available anywhere.  Freight cars would be no problem. Yes I gave that one some thought as well.

[ljudice]

Walkercolt - I can't wait for the LED flashing lights - people around here already call the police to report UFO's landing on the tracks when the rail grinder comes through.

Some MOW person told me once that it's amazing how people call the police to report "suspicious activity" or "possible terrorists" when ever they show up with tampers, ballast regulators, etc.

[Chris333]

The steam whistles in A Christmas Story.

I wondered if they were from the large steel mill right behind the house.
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qxb9fk85sfxz&scene=6745106&lvl=2&sty=b

[asarge]

North by Nortwest is an excellent train movie. Actually filmed aboard the 20 Century Limited. Some scenic locations on the NTC appear in that movie and the arrival in Chicago is awesome.

I have come to the conclusion that just one era won;t cut it for me. Grain Hoppers, Bluford's 86'er's and FVM Boxcars have pulled me into more than one era and it can get quite expensive that way.

[DKS]

I have come to the conclusion that just one era won;t cut it for me.

I realized that a long time ago. My first full-sized basement layout was designed to present multiple eras (from the 80s back to the turn of the century) and all four seasons. I sometimes wonder, had my personal history gone differently, if I could have really pulled this off.

[lock4244]

The choice of era for me was based on nostalgic reminiscence of the mid-to-late eighties when I was getting acquainted with real railroading. Dad would take me to the CP yards often and we'd watch what he called a little MLA (mainline action)... MLW's lifting tonnage out of the yard, SOO Railrunners, Van's; all things I miss and want to re-create in N.

I feel a strong draw towards the 1970's as well, and the 1960's, and the 1990's... but one era is fine for me, for now. Yeah, it's tough to stay focused, isn't it?