Scale Model Railroad Trains

News - January, 2009 - LGB Issues New Items Brochure for Scale Model Railroad Trains

January, 2009 LGB has issued an expanded (48 page) new items brochure listing new scale model railroad trains for release in 2009 following American prototypes. The catalog in German AND English is available for FREE download at http://medienpdb.maerklin.de/pdf/lgb_neuheitenkat.pdf
Maerklin has taken over LGB and is still in transition. Walthers is their North American distributor. The full catalog of LGB products is scheduled for release in fall of 2009.

Maerklin/LGB says:

We apologize that there are no new molds for American models this year. We still have preparatory work to do but we will be able to produce your requests for LGB models in the future. Nevertheless, this year’s new items do reflect a clear policy. All the new LGB products in the North American range this year are variations that have not been produced before in that way or they are reissues with new car numbers.  These were both requests made to us by many LGB fans. … We regularly postfurther information on our web site at www.lgb-bahn.de.

Have fun!

Trainguy

Art of Model Railroads - “Kinetic Sculpture” or “Folk Art”?

Model Railroads are an art form. They can be called “kinetic sculpture”.

About.com Model Railroading 101 says:

Model railroading is as much an art as an engineering discipline. I’ve seen one fellow posting on model railroad forums refer to his layout as a “kinetic sculpture”, and this is a completely accurate description of what we do. A model railroad layout is a sculpture in motion. This is what distinguishes it from most other art forms.

Kinetic Sculpture is defined as:

A kinetic sculpture is a sculpture which is designed to move. The movement can be driven by interaction with the viewer, or automatically using motors or even air currents in the case of a mobile.

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and

Kinetic art is art that contains moving parts or depends on motion for its effect.

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Model Railroads can also be broadly classified as folk art.

Alankritha Art Gallery defines folk art as:

Art made by people who have had little or no formal schooling in art. Folk artists usually make works of art with traditional techniques and content, in styles handed down through many generations, and often of a particular region.

Wikipedia defines “folk art” as:

Folk art describes a wide range of objects that reflect the craft traditions and traditional social values of various social groups. Folk art is generally produced by people who have little or no academic artistic training, nor a desire to emulate “fine art”, and use established techniques and styles of a particular region or culture. Along with painting, sculpture, and other decorative art forms, some also consider utilitarian objects such as tools and costume as folk art.

If you still doubt that scale model railroading can be considered art take a look at University of British Columbia, Art History Professor, Robert Belton’s response to the age old question - “What is art?”:

What is Art?

Any brief definition of art would oversimplify the matter, but we can say that all the definitions offered over the centuries include some notion of human agency, whether through manual skills (as in the art of sailing or painting or photography), intellectual manipulation (as in the art of politics), or public or personal expression (as in the art of conversation). Recall that the word is etymologically related to artificial — i.e., produced by human beings. Since this embraces many types of production that are not conventionally deemed to be art, perhaps a better term for them would be visual culture. This would explain why certain preindustrial cultures produce objects which Eurocentric interests characterize as art, even though the producing culture has no linguistic term to differentiate these objects from utilitarian artifacts. Having said that, we are still left with a class of objects, ideas and activities that are held to be separate or special in some way. Even those things which become art even though they are not altered in any material way — e.g., readymades — are accorded some special status in a describable way. Because of this complexity, writers have developed a variety of ways to characterize the art impulse. Ellen Dissanayake’s What is Art For? lists these as follows (in no particular order):

* the product of conscious intention,
* a self rewarding activity,
* a tendency to unite dissimilar things,
* a concern with change and variety,
* the aesthetic exploitation of familiarity vs. surprise,
* the aesthetic exploitation of tension vs. release,
* the imposition of order on disorder,
* the creation of illusions,
* an indulgence in sensuousness,
* the exhibition of skill,
* a desire to convey meanings,
* an indulgence in fantasy,
* the aggrandizement of self or others,
* illustration,
* the heightening of existence,
* revelation,
* personal adornment or embellishment,
* therapy,
* the giving of meaning to life,
* the generation of unselfconscious experience,
* the provision of paradigms of order and/or disorder,
* training in the perception of reality,
* and so on.

Have fun!

Trainguy

Not Enough Money, Time, Space? Modular Model Railroading Is the Answer

You love trains and model railroads but there’s never enough money, time, or space. Until you win the lottery, quit your job and family responsibilities, and buy a place with no limits, consider modular model railroading.

What’s Modular Model Railroading?

Model railroads were traditionally either a small hobby that took up a table top, a place around the holiday tree, or an “empire” that soon grew to fill an entire room or many rooms. Excluding the track around the holiday tree, all of these railroads were built in place using materials and methods that made them impractical to move. When houses were sold they often included the railroad.

Sectional Railroads. Then people came up with the idea that the railroad could be built in sections. Sections that were specific to a single railroad. Like an addition on a particular house. The wiring, studs, and plumbing all lined up with existing wiring studs, and plumbing in that one house.

In the last 30 years a new concept in model railroads was developed as a response to the limits that the “empire” and the “sectional” railroad imposed.

Modules. A model railroad is built in small sections in a way that is specifically designed to be joined together with other modules. If there was an agreed standard it was possible to join up with modules you had never even seen before. The small size and standard connections made it possible to move the railroad from place to place for displays, meetings, conventions, and fun running trains. It was possible to take the module to other railroader’s houses, join them together and run trains. It was possible to build your own railroad incrementally and adjust track designs and goals over time.

The leader in the field of modular railroads is NTRAK in N Scale. The NTRAK standard has inspired thousands of model railroad modules to be built. NTRAK modules have been the basis of world’s records in the largest model railroads and longest model railroad trains. There are numerous clubs and organizations that have sprung up around the NTRAK standard. After decades of refinement and practice, the NTRAK standard has set the pattern for modular railroads in many different scales. The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) Module Standards has adopted standards that reflect the proven experience developed in N scale and has expanded that to numerous scales including HO. There are also widely adopted, but informal, standards for Modules running Large Scale Trains in G, S Scale, and O scale.

Module standards provide a lot of details on materials, dimensions. You add your creativity to one small area and still get the advantage of running trains on a large railroad. Modules add the social dimension to trains. Almost requiring you to go out and join up with others. Share experiences and expertise. You are no longer trapped in the basement or garage alone.  Variety is possible because modules can be joined in a variety of ways. You save money because the underlying structure is shared. You retain your own control over your module or modules and your trains.

Have fun!

Trainguy

FREE - Catalog Download - Model Railroad Tracks, Trains, Accessories

Atlas Model Railroad Company is offering a FREE download of its January, 2009 All Scales Tracks and Accessories Catalog.

The new Atlas All Scales Track Catalog is now available for download. This new publication includes all of our track pieces, accessories, structures and layouts that are available in N, HO & O scales.

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This catalog goes beyond the usual product catalog.

The introduction starts at the very beginning and discusses which scale is right for you. (Of course the discussion is limited to the scales that Atlas sells products for.) The information is worthwhile for any beginner to consider. These concepts may be applied to other scales such as Z Scale, G Scale, F Scale, S Scale, and so on. These concepts may be applied to products from other manufacturers too.

Atlas then presents basic boxed train sets, wheels, starter electronics, speed controllers (throttles), and various accessories. A beginner is often given a boxed train set to start. This is a good way to begin the catalog. Atlas has many engines and railroad cars, in numerous highly detailed paint schemes, for separate purchase by more advanced modelers. They are listed in other Atlas publications.

The next 3 sections of the catalog provide numerous sample track plans and products. If you are new to model railroading or an experienced modeler looking for some inspiration the sample plans are well worth a look. The sample track plans range from a simple loop with a passing siding to a complex of twists, switches, and more labeled the “Monopoly and Octopus”. It includes many plans and ideas in between with dimensions for the overall plan. This is handy for getting an idea of the overall size that a plan of this type and interest takes up.

The FREE downloadable catalog is divided into sections for N Scale, HO Scale, and O scale. Each section explains Atlas’ approach to their track products. Sometimes they are trying to be more accurate to the prototype, and sometimes they are trying to be compatible with legacy and related products. Make sure to look at all the sections. Some of the sections (such as N Scale track and accessories) contains some useful information relevant to other scales.

The last section of the catalog features signals and electronics for model railroads in O Scale, N Scale, and HO Scale. As a bonus, tips and methods from Atlas’ experienced staff for modeling in all scales are presented in the final section of the catalog.

Have fun!
Trainguy

What is F Scale?

In scale model railroading, Scale is the ratio of full-sized items, such as trains, track, and buildings, compared to the model size. F scale is a fixed 1 to 20.32 ratio (commonly written as “1:20.32″). This means that 1 foot of F scale model equals 20.32 feet in full size. Therefore if you were modeling a box car that was 40 feet long in reality, the F scale model would be approximately 2 feet (2 times 20.32 = 40.64 feet or approximately 40 feet 7.68 inches). This same ratio or scale applies to buildings, track, scenery, people, everything. You can be extremely accurate in using F scale. It is possible to take the exact measurements of an item in the full-sized world and convert it exactly to the appropriate F scale model size. Standard gauge track rails are set 4 feet 8-1/2 inches apart (gauge). Standard gauge track rails can be modeled in F scale using this calculation: 4 feet 8-1/2 inches = 56.5 inches; 56.5 divided by 20.32 = 2.78051181 inches. Therefore, standard gauge track rails should be set 2.78051181 inches apart on your F Scale model railroad.

3 foot narrow gauge track rails are 36 inches apart, in F scale model track the rails should be set 1.77165354 inches apart. You should note that 45 mm, Gauge 1, LGB compatible track rails are set 1.77165354 inches apart.

Yes, that is why F scale exists!!!! The primary purpose of F scale and the choice of the 20.32 scale ratio is to allow scale model railroaders to continue to use 45 mm gauge track for 3 foot narrow gauge and have an exactly compatible standard gauge track to relate to. Modelers seeking exact prototype fidelity will have to take into account the size of rail and relative size of trains, people, buildings, tracks, etc. However it will be possible (and even encouraged) to have off-the shelf guest 3 foot narrow gauge equipment (LGB and its cousins) run in the same scenes and dual gauge track work as F scale standard gauge trains, and track.

F scale standard gauge trains will appear larger than LGB and similar 3 foot narrow gauge trains. They ARE larger. That is because standards gauge trains are generally larger than the 3 foot narrow gauge trains. However, they could be in the same scale (setting aside various manufacturers differences). This means that a model person could go from the engine of a standard gauge engine to the cab of a narrow gauge engine and be the correct, accurate size for both. This applies to buildings and scenery as well. Where a large scale railroad models both 3 foot narrow gauge and standard gauge operations F scale is one of the best ways to go. Since some people in scale railroad models live by the motto that “bigger is better”, they may also get into F scale just because it is bigger. If you especially enjoy detail, super accuracy, and want to run trains outdoors, F scale may be a fun option.

Have fun!

Trainguy

Scale Model Railroad Realism vs Space

I recently heard some modelers debating whether realism has to be lost or traded off against available space for scale model railroads.

I’m solidly on the side that it is NOT necessary to have a large space to attain realism in your scale model railroad.

Once you have identified an era (time frame), geographic location, and at least one purpose for your scale model railroad you’re well on your way to making a realistic (that is) believable model railroad.

Space is certainly handy if you want to model some specific scene or aspect of an industry or railroad operation. It may not be easy or immediately apparent how to model a giant mining pit, huge forest and lumber operation, steel mill, switching yard, etc. without a significant amount of space or serious compromises. Solving these challenges is part of the artistry of model railroading.

Think about it for a moment. When Julie Andrews was singing on a mountain top in the Sound of Music. It was great to see the real mountains in the movies. But, it wasn’t necessary for the show when it was in a Broadway theater. The same is true with scale model railroads. Create a believable backdrop, establish the scene, focus the viewer’s attention through the correct angles, and present what is important to convey realism.

That last part is the key. Present what is important to convey realism.

Do your historic and geographic research. Gather newspaper clippings, photos, and railroad company details from near the same time and place. Then be very selective about what to put in the scene and what you should leave out. Ask yourself what will give the strongest impression of accuracy and realism. If your engine has 17 rivets on the side versus 16 will it destroy the scene? Putting an Apple Computer poster in the window of your 1800’s mining town general store sure could!! (But, if you are modeling 1970’s Amtrak an Apple Computer poster might really add something to the scene.)

Focus the viewer’s attention and then do a fabulous job in keeping that part of the railroad as accurate, to scale, and realistic as you can possibly muster. Purposely place iconic signs, pieces of equipment, and the like in that area of focus. Draw attention with better than average lighting. Put the scene in a place the viewer is likely to see it and take a moment to really look at it.

Establish realism by making the scene plausible. If you are doing a logging camp. Indicate a road or path in and out of the logging camp. A few inches can be sufficient for visually explaining how did these guys and their equipment and logs get in and out of the forest and back to the railroad.

You can make a very realistic scene INSIDE your rolling stock too. You don’t need a huge amount of space to do it. Are you modeling Railway Post Office cars? Then model a clerk sorting mail. Light the interior of the car to draw attention. Have RPO bags nearby. Have a bag hanging from a hook on a nearby station platform. Have a single person taking a letter to the station to be mailed. Many newspapers of the day would have articles listing mail to be picked up. Have a readable copy of one near your layout to put visitors in the mood, and to explain how it worked way back when.Then post a scale version of the newspaper notices on a board at the station/post office. In a fragment of space you have implied an entire line of business for the railroad that was vital to the region it served.

If you are modeling an industry, make sure to have a few special cars loaded with the proper load. Have them lettered for the industry or service that industry requires. Set out one or two specialty cars that are obviously associated with the industry. If you have a foundry consider a car that carries hot loads from one part of the foundry to another. If you are modeling a lumber mill, consider setting out a specialty log car or some disconnects with huge logs still on board. If you are modeling an industry that uses coal, consider having a rotary coal dumping station. The car is tipped and the coal falls out. This captures interest and takes up no more space than one or two cars sitting on a track outside a factory.

These same techniques apply to everything from playing checkers on the train platform where crew (personnel) changes to whole steel mills.

Most very large things are repetitive or have a single quintessential aspect. Model the key features with super detail and realism and imply the rest.

Have fun!

Trainguy

February, 2009 - Model Railroad Train Shows, Conventions, and Events Calendar

Winter months are one of the best times of the year for model railroad trains shows, conventions, meets, and events. Make sure to check local clubs, hobby shops, and traditional venues for events that are in your local area. If you are looking for something special such as a particular gauge or scale, check with clubs, forums, magazines and e-mail lists. Support your local railroad museums and historic societies. Visit exhibits and events locally - especially in these winter months when revenues from summer tourists may be low. Call ahead for winter hours and events.

Make a calendar of shows, meets, sales, and events. Build up your budget for travel, admission fees, and of course, model railroad trains and supplies to build your own model railroad. These events are often more fun if you travel with fellow model railroaders. Make plans and go as a small group. Let them know what you are looking for. More eyes helping you looking for products and bargains can make the trip a success.

Here is a calendar of model railroad train shows, meets, conventions, and events for the first half of February, 2009:

Parma High School Train Show
Parma, Ohio (February 1 )

Southern Division TCA Meet & Train Show
St. Petersburg, Florida (February 7 )

Florida Citrus Model Train Society Toy Train Show
Pembroke Pines, Florida  (February 7 )

Lake Wales Model Railroad Club Train Show & Swap Meet
Lake Wales, Florida (February 7 )

Greenberg’s Train & Toy Show
Greensburg, Pennsylvania (February 7-8 )

The Great Train Expo
Saint Charles, Missouri (February 7- 8 )

Buffalo Snowball Train Show
Depew, New York (February 8 )

Classic Shows Model Railroad Show
Wallingford, Connecticut (February 8 )

Great Midwest Train Show
Wheaton, Illinois (February 8 )

The California Express Railroadiana & Transportation Show
Buena Park, California (February 8 )

Model Railroad Club of Toronto Model Railroad Show
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (February 8 )

WB&A Chapter TCA Toy Train Show & Sale
Annapolis, Maryland (February 14 )

Conrail Historical Society Winter Model Train & Railroadiana Show
Marysville, Pennsylvania (February 14 )

Maurer Toy Train Auction: Modern Era Trains & Railroad Books
Spring City, Pennsylvania (February 14 )

METCA Train Show & Sale
Howard Beach, New York (February 14 )

Greenberg’s Train & Toy Show
Middletown, New York (February 14-15 )

World’s Greatest Hobby on Tour
Nashville, Tennessee (February 14-15 )

The Great Train Expo
Columbus, Ohio (February 14-15 )

The Great Train Expo
Portland, Oregon (February 14-15 )

Rails in the Rockies XII
Estes Park, Colorado (February 14-15 )

Ann Arbor Model Railroad Club 39th Annual Train Show & Sale
Saline, Michigan (February 15 )

Model Railroad Club of Toronto Model Railroad Show
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (February 15 )

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Have fun!Trainguy

FREE - Railroad Train Screensavers to Download

Trains are fascinating to watch. These FREE train screensavers are easy to download on to your computer. You can watch trains even when you are away from your model railroad.

WARNING: Free Screensavers are very often used as bait for the unwary. The screen saver is indeed free but in some cases you must answer detailed personal questions, pass through numerous confusing options that may involve signing up for streams of spam and worse. If you get into such a situation I recommend closing the window completely. Then run a full system anti-virus scan BEFORE doing anything else. Do NOT sign up for screen savers from such sources. Although they may be some of the most beautiful screen savers the price is way too high.

Here’s some railroad train screensavers that do NOT involve overly aggressive marketing, spyware, or phishing for personal identity information:

The Editors of C-NET give Winter Train 3D Screensaver 4 out of five stars in this review:

Steam meets snow in an atmospheric screensaver especially appealing to lovers of trains and clocks. Watch from multiple angles as a throwback steam train chugs by pines on a snow-blanketed mountain pass. The vista overlooking a desolate valley is a treat, though there only appears to be one. A few more miles of varied scenery would improve the screensaver’s visual interest. The locomotive is accompanied by either an analog or digital clock that you choose in the screensaver settings menu.

Download Winter Train 3D Screensaver here

Porter Locomotives Screensaver.

Porter locomotives are the iconic steam engines of America’s expansion west across the North American continent. Images from H.K. Porter & Company’s 1892 catalog of engines are the basis for this screen saver. It’s free to start but you need to purchase a registration code for $10 after seven days to keep on using it.

Download Porter Engine Screensaver here.

Create Your Own Screensaver

You can use photos, videos, and sound clips of your railroad trains and model railroad to make your own screensaver. Put your favorite scenes from your model railroad on your desktop computer. Here’s how.

Have fun!

Trainguy

FREE - Download Train Sims Software and Games

Nearly every aspect of railroads have been built into a computer software simulations (Sims) or games. Many of them are available as FREE games and FREE software downloads. Here’s a list of train sims that you can download for free (most of these are old [2006 vintage] or special projects):

Some of these FREE train simulation software programs and games can provide some inspiration and a quick way to try some ideas you can use on your model railroad. Some of these can be so much fun they will swallow up lots of your time. Remember to keep it all in balance, keep on building, running, and sharing your model railroad with others.

Yours hours of modeling and running your model railroad can be much more rewarding than getting totally lost in computer simulations.

Free Game: “Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon”
Description: Back in 1990 Sid Meier and MicroProse released Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon. With the release of Sid Meier’s newer “Railroads” program, “Railroad Tycoon” was released for free.

“Railroad Tycoon”
Description: “Railroad Tycoon” is a game of railroad systems and connecting to run as efficiently as possible while making your empire a ton of money. Many gamers feel that no one other railroad game has been able to capture the fun of “Railroad Tycoon.” Not even “Sid Meier’s Railroads.”
Download “Railroad Tycoon” for Free from:

* FileFront
* Official “Railroad Tycoon” Web site

“Simutrans”
Description: “Simutrans” is a transport and economic sim game. The graphics are not impressive, but very well done for a freeware game.
The goal of “Simutrans 128×128″ is to build a network of railroads and bus connections. Passengers will need to be transported from city to city, and will use the transportation that you have set up.
Game History: The game was started by one man in 1997 as a hobby. Today the game is now worked on by a large group of gamers who continue to make additions and updates. Download Simutrans 128 by 128 for free.
“D-Rose”
Description: “D-Rose is Dave’s Railroad Operations Simulation Environment. That means that this is a program to simulate running an entire railroad. You get to do any job on the railroad (like dispatcher, surveyor, president and engineer), or sit back and watch.” D-Rose Home and free download site.
“Miniature Train Simulator”
Description: Build a model train set in “Miniature Train Simulator.” The game comes with lots of tracks, trains, and decor to use in designing the tracks. Miniature Train Simulator Home Page and free download (en and fr).
“Train Dispatcher 2″
Description: This game is all about being a train dispatcher. The job is similar to an air traffic controller. Train Dispatcher 2 Home page.

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BVE
Description: WIRED has declared the 2007 BVE as “one of the BEST train sims programs”. It goes on to say:

BVE Trainsim totally beats Microsoft Train Simulator with its price, graphics, and realism. BVE Traimsim, formerly known as Boso View Express, is a free downloadable train simulator created by a Japanese graduate student (also known by the username mackoy). There are hundreds of downloadable routes (found at various websites) that have been created by various users throughout the world. You can drive the London Underground, the New York Subway, the MTR Hong Kong subway, or the Taipei MRT. BVE is not constrained to only subway routes. Various long distance trains can be driven. Creating new routes is somewhat difficult with the coding, so the graphics vary depending on the route. The London Underground routes are fine examples of the potential realism the BVE train simulator can achieve. Sound files are recordings of the actual trains, so the screeching of the tracks, the door close chimes, and the horns are all very similar to the sounds from the corresponding train route. One downside of the game is that other objects cannot move, so trains coming in the opposite direction are always still. But when you’re traveling at a high speed, it’s barely noticeable. BVE works with Windows 98, 2000, ME, and XP and requires DirectX.

Download BVE for free.
Source.
Have fun!

Trainguy

FREE - Model Railroad Magazine

January 2009 Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine was launched. It is available FREE online at http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/. The FREE magazine is a mix of high quality articles and interviews of model railroading’s most knowledgeable and recognizable people, great photos and videos, and solid products and advice for modelers in all scales.

The magazine is delivered using a mix of high tech online presentation and glossy magazine style. It is totally free to the readers, due to paid advertising sponsorship. If you run into technical problems check the FAQ sections for known issues and ways to resolve them.

The first issue weighs in at 78 megabytes. The download takes quite a while. It requires the latest and greatest Adobe reader 9 software and a capable computer to run them. Anticipating model railroaders who will be anxious for the download to complete, it is also available in a somewhat slimmed down version.

The FAQ promises that some editions could be as large as 100 megabytes. It was more than my usually zippy internet connection delivers in one chunk. I admit I’ve been spoiled by much smaller individual web pages. I even lose patience when video feeds lag. I went out of the room and got a soft drink for me as my computer gulped up all that the network could deliver.

Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine is worth the wait. Once it was downloaded and running it delivered some interesting articles and ads I’m going to follow up on. It’s worth getting your own copy and reading. Subscribe to the magazine so you get a two week jump on web delivery of the next issue.

The magazine fills the screen and drops many of the familiar navigational tools and tabs in favor of a simplified interface and dash board supplied by the Adobe Reader software. Some of the articles expand on the glossy print magazine approach and reveal additional related photos and video inserts.

Have fun!
Trainguy