Why no FreeLance N scale models?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I've adopted at DIY approach when it comes to the V&O.





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[Philip H]

Which you can do when quality decals are available.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Which you can do when quality decals are available.

Or the ones I used on the hoppers. Lol 

[draskouasshat]

Another that was at least published was the Grand Road layout that was in the June 1995 issue of Model Railroader. I thought it was a pretty neat layout.

Drasko

[Tad_T]

I’m a fan of the Mud Bay & Southern.

Two of the hard copy magazines that I still have got saved because that layout was featured.

[Olivani]

Phil Brooks Clinch River Railroad.

[reinhardtjh]

Look at most of the n scale set ups and train shows and a lot of them are running big modern era trains.   Look at a lot of HomeShops HO offerings.  What are they ?  Big, modern era equipment.  I'd say a very poor business decision to run 40' boxcars as their first N scale offering.  It's like Rapido saying n scale doesnt sell when they get poor numbers from barrel ore cars, Canadian passenger sets and 17 versions of Santa fe reefers.

And I, as a transition era modeller, bought 8 ( 2 VO, 2 MVR, 2 OS and 2 STLC) of the cars precisely because they were not big and modern.  They just had a sale offering buy for get 1 so I got 6 more ( 4 VM and 2 DL ).  But I get that I'm not like most. 

[nkalanaga]

Those Home Shops cars are nearing the end of their revenue service in 1974, but they still found a home on my BN.  A little weathering and they fit right in.  I doubt that most non-railfans younger than 50 would have any idea that their not real railroads.

I got my Canandaigua Southern covered hopper used from somebody, and didn't pay much more than a new MT car would have cost.

[up1950s]

Evanston Northern will be next in NN3

[Rasputen]

A Gorre & Dephetid box car waits to be picked up in Columbus, MT on my friend's layout during last night's ops session.

[delamaize]

A Gorre & Dephetid box car waits to be picked up in Columbus, MT on my friend's layout during last night's ops session.

Hey! I got one of those!
I'll post again tomorrow, and get some shots of other FreeLance rolling stock I have from other people's railroads.

[DirtyD79]

How many of us have railroads with their own identity?  The Super Famous model railroads seem to date back to when magazines effectively promoted them.  And N scale didn't have the same respect.  One of the first to get it was the Reid Brothers' Cumberland Valley.   While their identify was of the real railroads in the area, Fox Valley did do a car at one point lettered for the "Cumberland Valley System". 

That reminds me, I haven't really followed Model Railroader magazine much in years but it doesn't seem like they have a current "anointed one" these days. Seriously though, it seems like the magazines are no longer really the kingmakers and trendsetters they used to be in the hobby, and the real waves are being made on either podcasts or videos on social media. I think that's where the next superstar model railroader is gonna come from and it ain't gonna be somebody who fits Model Railroader's mold. 

[delamaize]

Okay as I promised yesterday here are some shots of the stuff I have that is custom painted for various freelance railroads

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First picture, we have my bacon rail boxcar I did a few years ago. If I remember correctly Peteski did up these decals for form members, I also know that DKS had a big hand in the whole thing. After that I have a box car for Oregon short line, I'm pretty sure this is somebody's freelance railroad, but I have no recollection of where I picked the Box Car up or whose railroad it is. After that I have the Gorre & Daphetid boxcar that was mentioned earlier, then finally the pair of Pacific Northern box cars from the late Winton Hazleton, a founding member of the club I am in.

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In this shot I have a Tenino Western box car, from Tyler's Tenino western. I picked this up from, last year, when he was selling off some of his Surplus equipment. I actually have another Tenino Western boxcar, but it only has reporting marks and no logo. After that is a Mud Bay in southern 40 foot box car, I picked up from Jim Yonkin's himself in trade, he needed some Hooker tank cars for one of his new Industries on the Mud Bay and Southern, and I had a few that I could part with, So we work the trade. Finally in this picture we have three box cars for the club I am currently in, and that club's predecessor, Mount Rainier N scalers. We are a N-trak / oNe trak Club located in the Puget Sound area. We do several shows a year and have traveled before. A few years ago we went to Calgary for Supertrain. The Mount Rainier N scale 40 foot box car is one that I did for myself using some decals that were left over from a different Club project I was working on. The next two box cars were special runs commissioned by the club as a fundraiser.

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The last of my Freight is the puddington valley gondolas done for a fundraiser by Rapido for a college trust for Mike McGrattan's son when he passed

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This is the passenger Rolling Stock I have for freelance railroads. The locomotive is one I painted up for our clubs Passenger Terminal we are working on. The next car is a  commemorative car we had done for the club, these are for sale by the way. I'm not sure how many we have left, it's a Lowell Smith car. Next is the Tenino Western full Dome I bought from Tyler a few years ago. Again he was thinning out his collection. And then finally the Skookumchuck Belt Line observation car.

[LesBaer45]

Try finding an undecorated Locomotive or even rail cars as a starting point these days.

"Custom" decals are easier than ever to get made, undecorated models are rare especially with limited pre-orders and so forth.

Stripping pre-painted is a pain, even with the best of guides to follow it's always a bit of a toss up as to how well it goes. And with the super detailed and expensive models these days, I'm too much of a chicken to go at it on a $200+ loco.

[Kentuckian]

That reminds me, I haven't really followed Model Railroader magazine much in years but it doesn't seem like they have a current "anointed one" these days. Seriously though, it seems like the magazines are no longer really the kingmakers and trendsetters they used to be in the hobby, and the real waves are being made on either podcasts or videos on social media. I think that's where the next superstar model railroader is gonna come from and it ain't gonna be somebody who fits Model Railroader's mold.

Speaking of MR: