Weekend Update 5/7/17

[milw12]

Nice scene Chuck. I like all the little details bringing it together. Plus a good prototype is icing on the cake   

[Blazeman]

That's awesome. It's some great railroading up there. I can only imagine what it was like with T1s, I10s and first gen diesels.

FT's, F-3's, Baldwins, some FA/B's, and T-1 pushers for getting up the grade to Locust Summit.

[OldEastRR]

My PRR POS21a, redone from the KATO boattail, ready for assignment on the General (still needs some glazing)
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This was in progress long before Bmann came out with the exact prototype. I prefer a KATO car frame and trucks, anyway.The lighting needs to be tweaked, I want to put an LED in the lounge section and keep the warm light from the bulb for the sleeping areas.
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Now only 5 or 6 specific cars to make for my various Pennsy name trains then I can sell the sets.

[OldEastRR]

It's problematic. The R&N is awesome. And if you had heard Ryan's stories about working there, well... it's BEGGING to be modeled. But I'd want it in O scale, with sound decoders with various clips of ridiculousness coming from the cabs.

...and the exodus out of N continues. Ah well, it's young man's gauge after all....no place for old men.

[johnb]

[Ed Kapuscinski]

...and the exodus out of N continues. Ah well, it's young man's gauge after all....no place for old men.

Lol, don't worry. Until I can find a sound decoder that curses, I'm safe.

[peteski]

Lol, don't worry. Until I can find a sound decoder that curses, I'm safe.

But . . . but . . . but . . . any sound decoder which allows you to crate and upload your sound projects can curse (if you include recorded curses in your sound project).

Just imagine a steam loco going down the track going "Shhhh!t, shh!t, sh!t, sh!t, sh!t, sh!t" instead of "chuff, chuff, chuff, chuff," and the whistle which would sound like a whistle sound you would make at a gorgeous woman passing by. 

The QSI sound decoders can also speak out loud the settings you are changing while programming on main.

[Cajonpassfan]

...and the exodus out of N continues. Ah well, it's young man's gauge after all....no place for old men.

What exodus? A young man's gauge, really? Look around...
Otto K.

[Albert in N]

  Some of us old guys already downsized and appreciate our small N scale layouts.  I don't want to go back to assembling 3-rail 027 or O track on the floor when the urge to run trains comes. Retirement incomes and old knees sometimes enter the picture; thus a smaller one-story house seems practical.  If I want sound, N scale is not as loud, but I can turn up my hearing aids. 

[thomasjmdavis]

What exodus? A young man's gauge, really? Look around...
Otto K.

Frankly, I look at it as we are all modelers.  The question of scale is some combination of WHAT we are modeling and how much space we have.  I have plenty of space, for anything one person could do (without hiring a layout construction firm).  I am modeling in N in order to get the perspective I want to have- realistic train lengths for a class 1 mainline, some urban buildings in actual scale (ie- no "selective compression")- what you see on a real railroad when you view it from 500' (approximately 1 meter in N scale).

But someday, I may try to build a highly detailed passenger car in O scale or larger as a display model- I could do it in N, but the details (things like silverware or china pattern) would be microscopic- an interesting challenge for the modeler, but not something that a casual observer would be able to see without a jewelers loupe.

That said, I actually think that the future of modeling favors N and Z scales over larger scales.  The future of small run manufacturing appears to be RP based- either Shapeways or quite possible affordable 3D desktop printers.  Most of the cost after the printer is purchased (whether by Shapeways or at home) is in the material and machine time.  And material is based on volume of the object and wall thickness- an HO model uses 5 to 9 times as much material, and takes much longer to print- resulting in a model that is much more expensive.  So we will move from our current circumstance, where an N scale model is roughly the same price, and occasionally MORE than an HO model because of lower volume and more intricate tooling, to one where N scale is much less expensive.  Even now, we are seeing some advantages pricewise due to lower shipping costs (you can fit a lot more N scale locomotives into one container, and even at the eBay level, you can fit 3 cars or locos into the small priority mail box, or ship a fair amount first class under the 12 oz limit). 

So. while in the long run, prices will no doubt rise, the cost differential per car or loco will be much more favorable for N vs HO in the future.  And my guess is that in 10 years, N scale will be the choice of most modelers on a budget.

[Missaberoad]

You can take my N scale from my cold dead hands! 

- Moses

[davefoxx]

You can take my N scale from my cold dead hands! 

- Moses

Too funny.  Meanwhile, the A&R will continue to exist in HO scale on the Seaboard Central 3.0!  I just received this gem last night.



DFF

[unittraincoal]

The BNSF 8532 was deliverer  with the FVM roof. It didn't last long that way though....

@jereising The numbers that FVM did have a couple different roofline treatments. 

Here's 8532
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4331194

8548
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4444705

and 8771

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3900222

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4564248

[basementcalling]

You can take my N scale from my cold dead hands! 

- Moses

I used to feel the same, but with each pair of progressive lenses than work slightly less well than the former, I am increasingly tempted to wonder more about what seeing all the details on my cars would be like. HO would allow that, but with so much stock I think I am likely to be buried with my N scale trains filling the grave and my ashes sprinkled in a jewel box sized casket.

[Philip H]

I used to feel the same, but with each pair of progressive lenses than work slightly less well than the former, I am increasingly tempted to wonder more about what seeing all the details on my cars would be like. HO would allow that, but with so much stock I think I am likely to be buried with my N scale trains filling the grave and my ashes sprinkled in a jewel box sized casket.

I guess that's one way to do it - though @davefoxx seems to be blowin them out successfully.