Not Just for Kids...

So the whole thing starts with Tyco, evolves from John Allen's gorre and Daphetid, then .... well who knows from now to future what. The whole idea that a model train can and will influence a lifestyle to the "n-th" degree is amazing to me. You are here so you know what I am talking about. Catch up on past posts if you don't... I can stare at this photo again and again and every time can be like the very first time. How do you explain it? What did he do? Did he make the soul exchanging deal with the devil? I have seen a lot of layouts over the years, but his layout, his alone does something that stirs, glues and pastes my eyeballs into the dark trance of imaginary land. Every single time! Lets explore that later shall we?... Anyways, the fanatic FB pages first header was this very JPG and it drew all the sheep in for the slaughter... So here we are.

N scale Shasta Line mills

In 1958-McCloud Lumber mill retrieves logs under contract with the Railway under the same name from the nearby reservoir. Housing continues to grow in Southern California cities and keeps the northern mills busy. Meanwhile, western pacific passenger service to Chicago is in full swing from the California Bay Area and the Great Northern continues to pursue Southern passage into Ca through the Western Pacific connection. The McCloud mill, familiar with pinching pennies, is pleased with their lease of a reliable Track Crain courtesy of the big eastern PRR railway.

You made it!

Well it is about time... 

Perhaps this is your first visit to the blog. 

No worry, there are a lot of passers by type people, and that's ok. With over 10,000 views and climbing, I am ok with that. You can have one distinct advantage over the casual viewer. How you say?... Just subscribe.  You see before I even had a subscription available for email or just to follow updates, I did not have that option, therefore high number of views with low subscriber rate.

But before you do that, check to see if it is even worth your time. Don't do it because I give away cool things indiscriminately and at random every month. (Yeah!) do it because this blog hits all the senses as to why not subscribe. I know not everyone can hang on every word, video or sound byte that comes out of my head. But, I do guarantee that you will either learn something, embrace another or just flat out get your dander up... ( I actually love people who respectively disagree) it makes my day!

So no matter why or how you do it, just Nike up and pull the trigger. Who knows, maybe you will be a winner of some cool train related product on my dime!

Tribute to those who inspired

John Allen(RIP) argumentatively the master Jedi of all train layouts, was my inspiration to become more ( much more)within the hobby.

He is most likely responsible for many of the innovations and progression within the hobby that we take for granted. He had long since passed before I even had my first train set, I remember gazing at that old 1981 model railroader that featured his layout on the cover. I still have that original December copy I purchased with money I made mowing lawns for $1.75

I still have that now clear tape bound battered magazine. It came exactly a year after my Silver Streak tyco set that was given to me the prior Christmas 1980.

Fortunately, I was able to purchase a pristine copy of that old magazine a year ago or so.

Now interestingly, I was 12 years old when I started playing with trains, but I had a fascination with my Grandfathers N scale layout he had set up in a room at his mobile trailer.

He passed away about 4 years ago and I received a box full of all that N scale from the 80's Atlas and a couple minitrix items.

Now outfitted with mtl couplers these inherited items pay tribute to him on the Shasta line.....

More nostalgia, thoughts and controversy will be forthcoming on the ModelTrainFanatics blog... 

But for now, and to those who don't know, here is the legendary John Allen.

http://www.doug56.net/GD/

Layout pains

I will admit that my layout is far from rivet counting prototypical In various ways. The main one ( that bothers me though) is the size constraints. All the other non prototypical things I can not only live with but embrace fully and enjoy. But this one gets to me. Why? Because my prized possession consist of 10 beautiful WP passenger cars hauled by the appropriate ABA F units...

My layout just does not give this beautiful set the breathing room for the proper meandering in a mountain range that it deserves... It will run on my 16' of main line track just fine operationally, but I have to give a big sigh as  the majestic turns my route into a mini me Australian Roundy round as they would say...

Please embrace my pain in solidarity, those of you who feel the same cruel injustice in this fantasy world...

Model train memories...

"Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it"...(so goes the saying)

I am not sure when or where, the first time I heard the phrase, but it had some impact in my thought process for certain.

Nostalgia- I have an obsession with it ,way more than I care to admit. Perhaps getting older does bring a yearning for the  "good ole days" or  better times..

Whatever it is,that draws me to historic photographs and such drives the way I model trains, as well as other things. But, this blog is about the trains, so we will stick with that for now.

So now we have the foundation for this rant about nostalgia and model railroading. Look,.. I do not know what got you into the hobby, and it does not matter. But for a large segment of model RR's it had something to do with getting their first train set as a kid. This is not new news by any means, but it is a large current that many have either kept plugged in or unplugged all together.( Even those in the hobby can be slightly unplugged)  What I mean by unplugged is that they have moved on from their humble beginnings. They model the "new" stuff or current railroads. Personally, I don't model anything after the that 70's... The reason being is that all the big boys bought and merged all the other railways and changed the face of railroads essentially forever.
I don't care if someone enjoys it or models it for their own, but I just don't care about it at all.  It isn't like they passed on the baton to a new generation or anything. It is that,the new stuff is just so....common, boring, and and and.... wake me up when the crossing signal finally lifts pass the 100 car inconvenience that makes me late for another appointment. I guess I tie the modern to all the other boos that modern has brought with it. Much like real life ...

 These boys grow up to be these boys... and it is a most wonderful thing... Bigger boys with more toys..

I have even found myself walking past the modern layouts at train shows more often. I love how they try to put a mile long train on a 3  mile scale track and label real to it..( another modern peace)..It is just not for me, thats all.
Give me the fallen flags of youth that made the railroad what it is today. The great names that actually designed and carved out the routes that these modern behemoths take for granted. That is the real deal my fanatical friends, that is the real deal.. That is what you will hear me beat the drum over and over about.

Now since nostalgia is about history it would be a tragedy to try and summarize the whole thing up in this one post... Now you don't expect a wrap at this point now do you? So stick around for nostalgia rant part 2... I am sure that there will be more accostment forth coming regarding the topic. If you have followed my "train" of thought here about people in the hobby vs. the life style, I believe you might stick around to hear more... Much more.

A good (model train ) Friday post ?

MTF-(ModelTrainFanatics )

Is more to me than posting a few pictures here and there with some anecdotes. Much more...In fact, underneath all the rhetorical hobbyists nomenclature that you can see and read on numerous sites with the tag words trains or scale in the title is this key word Fanatic. Now this title was picked within the winter set mind of a cold December day. Not that the time of year or even the season makes any difference, but there is one component of that timing that is significant. You see, my main profession is a unique one. I play in the WSOP and WPT circuit events. Those events typically have their schedules mapped out in December and a player has to, or at least should make their own schedules planned accordingly. 

So what does all this have to do with model trains you ask...?

It is the great stabilizer in the equation. I know it sounds weird, but it really is. This miniature world of model trains is where I have control and can change the world. I can right all the wrongs, stop wars, end hate, poverty, pain, and cure all diseases and afflictions. ( god complex?)

So yeah, fanatical is the appropriate title. You darn near have to be one to do what I do and make it in life... I also blog and melt it all into my own beautiful mess at ModelTrainFanaticsBlogspot well for those with curiosity, boredom or just cant believe such a person exists.,.,

So all that to say this- I managed to finally set the remaining buildings in the line up for the rest of my town of McCloud down one side of the street. I am still in flux if I want to keep my blue hotel building for now do that will be subject to change but for all intents and purposes this might be close to the last arrangement got a while. And being as such, lighting will be the next project on the list....

And have a great Friday !

Hit the off button already...

Unless you are an avid blogger with thousands of fans, you are basically throwing your fishing line over dead water. ( no fish in the puddle)

So why ramble on about musings that literally reach no one?  Well, let me tell you why. Blogging is a thought process. The thought process being used is very similar to the creative process being utilized for model railroading. As I write this, various ideas come to the surface that make up the Shasta Line layout. 

The humble beginning of this layout came out of years of pain and frustration in real life the prior 20 plus years.

In fact, looking at the time date stamp on this earlier picture tells me that at this particular time, I was under extreme duress with 4 very young kids, pressure from a performance based sales position, and my own mental breakage from way to much travel and juggling of hats and masks. It is out of this pain this creativity slowly surfaces if it survives... 

Now, I am not a writer and it is difficult for people to follow my thought process in normal conversation. My unfocused Un-eloquence is a tough pill for many to swallow. Either you love it or hate it as there seems to be no inbetween area. 

So if you happen to make it this far into the dribble of random selective words strung together to form this post... You are amazing! You could have watched a top ten you tube video, read the Anthony Bourdain blog, or ...? Add infinitum amounts of other to your "to do" list that has to be better than reading this blog post. But somehow in some way you didn't. Perhaps there is hope for me then? Could I possibly be more interesting than the 80 million views of Justin Beiber? Probably not, but I do believe it is just because I haven't fancied a better mouthpiece out there that has the gift of making things viral. It really is who you know and timing.

Perhaps one day someone finds this or it goes with me to the grave. Either way it still serves the creative thinking process that makes up the five active blogs that I write in. The two main ones and a third that is a business that pays the bills...

And as fast as the post begins, it now ends in now what next...? Stay tuned I guess, it will come.

N scale- Slower is Better

Slow Roasted coffee, low and slow cooking, and yes slow moving n scale trains...

But setting all kidding aside, slow moving trains are very realistic even though the testosterone filled mindset is to run them like slot cars or at least when no one is looking, tap the throttle a bit and " let's see what these babies can do" leaks out...

But that is not what we were after this round...today it is " all about that bass" bout that bass"... As the song goes.

In fact, this is the longest video I have made to date, so that is really saying something. Everyone knows that anything longer than two minutes is an eternity in you tube land and you are more likely to lose your viewer. But this video speaks volumes for the Atlas VO engine crawling a short section of Kato track at almost snails pace...and interestingly enough, even with my ADD syndrome it does not bore me like most do.

Now in case you haven't guessed, I am not one of those writers with all the grammatically correct .., whatever's.

Just enjoy the video, comment, subscribe and move on with life.

Atlas and Kato engines

In the world of N scale engines, atlas and kato ( pronounced k"ah" toe) have been somewhat synonomous. However, there came a time at some point, that atlas/ kato engines from Japan became Atlas/ China made engines...

Now, I have not actually  had bad experience with any atlas China made engines  just yet, but I believe that experience has more to do with my absence from the hobby for about ten straight years. With the current layout mothballed with moving boxes stacked all around it, I was unable to stay current in the operational/transition of the atlas China connection.

My background with imports from China and the high level of QC ( quality control ) that was needed to insure satisfaction levels , leads me to believe that some models have to be suspect at times within thus said transition. Of course, without direct experience it is based on assumption and speculation. I just cannot see the same Japanese precision going into the Chinese ones from a manufacturing standpoint.

I will say this, I own both and am currently starting to run all my shelf queens and work them into my layout fleet...

Here is a quick video on the newest ATLAS VO 1000 moving around... 

SLOW< SLOWER< SLOWEST... ATLAS VO MOVES THE ORE

Bachman trains- One man's garbage is another's treasure..?

I am compelled to write sometimes about certain experiences. This one has to do with a personal Bachman experience. Now, I have relationships with hundreds of manufactures from importing and and retail and direct sales over the last 30 years and seen just about everything.  Some are way better than others at handling consumer issues,supply chain problems or quality control. But all of them really want to make people happy at the end of the day, or at least it seems in my perfect world bubble I live in, in my head.
Now, with all that preface, I write about the other man's treasure from Bachman.
Before I buy any new engine or older one that I have no experience on, I look at the Spookshow website with all the ratings that have been done on them for a good base line with which I make my decision. Bachman released in 2014 a neat little NW2 Switcher sporting the GN fallen colors I love. I wanted it, however from my past unlucky experience with Bachman put the brakes on the purchase. I have had around 16-20 different engines in N scale that just ended up on the chopping block after just a little while of running or lack thereof. (disclosure: I own exactly two bach engines at the moment of this writing. one steam one NW2 now) Their main issue has been their electrical pick up tabs from the wheels- for some reason they just don't hold up, They either make spotty contact, corrode, bend out of shape or ...? who knows what, they just make the engines run erratic. And it is not a question of if but when it happens. Most serious modelers will micro engineer finely knit wire strands with pin point lazer soldering skills and .......NOT ME!   When I buy something I don't want to have to go that far to modify it to work at the prices they charge today.
So being the experienced skeptic that I am, I make a toll free phone call to the tech department at Bachman. I finally get through the gate keeper and talk to a tech who informs me to not run the DC/DCC lenz decoder models on basically what amounted to every DC power pack ever made.... NICE INFO! He informed me that old SINE or PULSE packs(older technology) will fry the circuit board.   Then he informs me that the Bachman DC packs will run it, just dont turn them up full throttle.....?  WTH?  REALLY?    I was thinking, wouldn't this be good to know before buying? And shouldn't you at least print that in the paperwork that comes with the loco?   The REP says that is a great idea, we get most of our returns and warranty work from people running these on DC....
YEAH DUH!   YOU THINK
Anyways, what a response to an easy fix.... He also mentioned that most people already know that if they are on the forums....? Now I am the idiot...?
Needless to say, I did not burn out my engines mother board, but it does sit in my display unit as a shelf queen for now. Until I totally transition the layout ow in progress...
Now there is a rant for the day.


NW2 Bachman DCC/DC N scale engine review

I will mention that, due to modelers like me, there is a great influx of good used Bachman engines on the second hand market. If this is what makes it affordable for some then I contributed to the hobby with best intent and practices.. The cost vs value isnt there for me overall, so I would sell the engines. It may be sub par for me but treasure for others...

Contacting Service

Before returning your product for repair, please fill in the repair request form: 
(Registering your product returns online ensures faster repair process and emailed notifications of the process)

Repair inquiries, or general inquiries may also be sent to:

Bachmann Customer Service

1400 East Erie Avenue

Philadelphia, PA 19124

Bachmann's Service Department is available Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm (All Times Eastern). Customer Service for all scales can be reached toll free by US and Canadian customers at 800-356-3910 or Fax at 215-554-6734. Customers from all other countries should call [Exit Code]-1-215-533-1600.Please be aware that due to the quantity of calls we receive each day, you may need to leave a message on our voice mail system. Your call will be returned as soon as a service technician is available. We thank you in advance for your patience.

• Parts: Ext. 328 or 329
• Technical Support HO, N, On30 Scales: Ext.336 or 337
• Technical Support Large Scale: Ext.334 or 335
• Technical Support Williams O Scale: Ext. 335
• Repair Status: Ext. 331
• Managers: Customer Service: Ext.304 - Parts: Ext. 330

Bachman spectrum Nscale vs. Kato SD-45

Bachman sd45 review

The link above...or below the video is a review of the Bachman SD45 loco first released in 2004.
Now, before I say to much, let me just say I agree with everything that was written about them, except for one thing, and that is the generous grade of B.  I am a C to C minus on just about every Bachman  N scale except their steam line. I simply don't understand it either. It just baffles me how they can make a great steam loco, which is harder by the way than a diesel?????  This mystery will never cease to amaze me. If my blog becomes so popular that it has any influence on Bachman, to which they would send me sample locos for tests of my own, I may change my mind. But be that as it may, and I have to purchase all my own samples, I stand by the mantra that I am not just an unlucky buyer and recipient of so many failures. I currently have one that is worth keeping out of over 20 purchases... Straight from the retail to my hands they magically become lemons.    In comparison with con cor, Kato, life like, walthers, arnold, or trix.... not a bad one in the group.

N scale the best choice?

There has been numerous debates about which scale is best. For me I love HO and N scale for the amount of detail and realism that I have not only seen but experienced for myself in the last 30 years.

Here is a short video that shows some of the detail in N scale. Enjoy....(N-Joy)....;)

Kato Track Review N scale

Not so much of a review but an observation. So now that you have gone this far indulge me a little bit. Many moons ago in college..1987 to be exact , I was taking art classes, with some loft notion or idea of becoming an undiscovered world famous artist, only to discover that the most famous ones usually died penniless or were poverty stricken their whole lives and became known after their deaths.. That disappointment obviously redirected my career a bunch and put the kibosh on my what was then two dimensional talents. All that to say this... If it wasn't for my discovery of Kato track around 1993 I would have never continued the N scale hobby in a layout form. N scale needs perfect track to run smooth. Now- before offending those modeling purists who "Atlasize" ,"Peco ize" or hand fab track on their own layouts... let me first say I admire and respect anyone who can make those brands run flawlessly. My hats off to you really- you are micro engineers of greatest caliber.
Just don't get bent out of shape about people who will die on the hill of Kato track. There is great reason to love it, almost Instant gratification being one of them. There is nothing worse than poor running trains. KATO saved the N scale marriage for me, and I am sure it has impacted others in their own way with similar results. The fact that many have experienced the same and coupled with my personal experience with other brands, (I believe) afford me at least a strong verified opinion and position towards KATO.
Now recently I have taken some flack about my "pontification" of KATO track. (look that up on google) I don't believe that what I am expressing is dogmatic in any way at all. It is just my personal experience with it. I could care less if you want to utilize other manufactures. Dogma requires that you think and be like me, and we don't need another me for sure. Besides it is one way not the only way and this isn't the church of KATO and the doctrine of such if any allows for all shapes, sizes and personalities no matter how slanted.
And a word to the purist,,,, The toy like opinions, the unrealistic this that and the other comments you really should tuck it away, because you really are not that smart. You chant and beat the drum of hand laid track or peco or atlas and yet you have the following, glaring, unrealistic things among your own. How about those throws that look so great? Yeah they look good, but the throw arms would be 10-12' tall to scale of a person who had to throw them for the switch?? But I digress, and as I said before, they are fine and kudos to you on your track choices, just dont diss my love for KATO...
Happy times... Now go impress me.

Small Layouts

Layouts-  as much as I like to watch those giant sprawling layouts like the giant public one in Germany that runs floor  to ceiling in multiple rooms with its operating airports and computerized mayhem running amuck amongst trains, I feel more attracted to the compact every day working mans layout. In fact I like to see the ingenuity packed into tight spaces. It is like rooting for the underdog in a lopsided game or something. I like compact neat and tidy layouts. I love seeing how people can do more with less, and in this case space restraints. I find myself drawn in to the challenges most people face with their limited spaces. I mean, yeah everyone wants more room right, but the reality is most of us won't get it.  I think the reality of this hit me when a neighbor of mine who had collected trains all his life with intent to build a grand layout passed away recently. He had accumulated a treasure trove of some of the neatest, coolest train items in HO and N I have ever seen. But at the end, most of it went from house to house in boxes over his life time with no fun time. Now, it just so happens that I ended up with a handful of his untouched n scale from years past. I run it! And run it like it is majoring up for lost time just because of this unfortunate guys loss. Point being, even a small layout might of brought this guy some model train closure. So my feels are for the " less is more" type of folks out there and the not quite what I want or hoped to have layouts. ( you know who you are) I am one of them. My L shaped 8'x30" x 8'x32" is the embodiment of getting everything to look bigger than it is type of layout. It is my third and final n scale layout. My first was a 2'x 4' over and under continuous loop.... I loved that layout! It was the underdog of amateur king!  But I was running trains! Many of you have these same layouts and don't really feel like they are worth showing, but I assure you they are, especially in this group. It is what I created it for. Yeah I know it says the best of the best etc... And a lot of over the top pictures get posted, but the group needed a catchy name and a reasonable bait to catch some fish.... And I think that it has done that in the first 60 days of inception. It needed a fan base and we have one now. It will continue to grow too. 

I want to encourage the blue collar small incomplete layout owners to share their stuff! It is you that make up the majority in this hobby..., if you have that massive layout that is Hollywood movie ready (we hate you) but please post anyways because we need something to aspire to and continue to drool over from time to time..,

Patrick

Granny's Homestead Corner 2.0

 

Decided to try and make a  paved crossing on the corner of the Shasta Line today. I remember now why I didn't like it the last time I did one. It is a definite weakness in my skill level. Perhaps it's the coloration and frosting cake look. I could probably build it up some more on the out side. I added granny's homestead to the entry of the town on the corner. It was plain otherwise. Should I get the rest of my roads paved or stick with gravel roads..? That is the question.

Well, that question was answered through the mulling and trolling over of various FB group inquiries about how my initial road turned out... Ask for feedback and the purists will certainly give it to you. I am one who is stuck in the middle, I love realism, but mixed with whimsical fantasy. I think the "it is my layout and I will do what I want"comes in to play when I don't like the answer given by fellow modelers. I think every modeler has that within their ego and narcissistic diatribe, so that is ok. Anyways, the last two photos show my day two update to du ones dissatisfaction.  It might even have an updated 3.0 version, who knows, but for now it is infinitely improved... At least to me and some of the purists who gave their ten cents worth of criticism.... Model on

Model train wheel set know how

If you like making everything realistic down to the rivet type of person...(I am not, well perhaps 50/50 kinda guy anyway) Here is a place to show you whats what in replacing trucks and wheelsets that will help....

http://www.starr-mrc.org/ProtoInfo/Trucks/KadeeTrucks.htm

Model Trains Forever especially N scale

I don't know exactly when or how it happened. Perhaps it was those early childhood years and that first tyco train set that grandpa gave me. Yeah I am pretty sure that was it... Anyhow, my big dream of being a niche importer has somewhat dissipated into my personal hobby of model railroading. So much so that I have been slowly selling off all those  other money makers that have served me well at times. It isn't that I don't enjoy other things... It is that I realized that there simply isn't enough time to enjoy them all the way they deserve( or the way I would like). This moment of simplification happened suddenly and surprisingly even to me. Not to discredit my years of contacts and extended relationships at all, just to take a narrow focus and concentrate on the one constant that has been with me the whole journey in life. The one thing that allows me to step outside of my reality even for but a moment and escape whatever ails me at the time. It is my drug of choice, my addiction, my life and one day my end at some point. But it is

my world that I can leave behind, that if the right person pays attention will find that piece or pieces of me built into this 

miniature world of model railroading...

The Shasta Line - Model Train Fanatics

Was able to find another before photo to make a comparison from 2003. I wish I would have taken more pictures back then...
Don't forget to Document your progress along the way..,, here are before and after..,