I don't blog, tweet or Facebook..

I heard it said before..I don't blog, I don't tweet, I don't Facebook, etc...

I would love to say good for you, especially if you are a master carpenter or some type of zen personality inventor that contributes a craft that only few can attain through elite skills. So good for you ! Rather great for you actually!

If you don't then, well, how boring can and must you be? That inability to participate in a cultural format that is now normal is like saying I don't phone, I hate those talky things..communication is here to stay and it is not changing and if you want to stay unaware of how society is changing in it then it is hard to feel sorry for you when you lament the social woes that befall you. I know of lost relationships because of a past generation refusing to accept and communicate the way the next generation needs to be heard. How tragic is that? And yes,I blame the older mature stubborn generation and not the new "gens" as they should be the parents of society. If the younger gen reaches out and the stubborn refuse, then their conviction is more important than the relationship in my point 

of view. 

Hidden for Years...

This is something I didn't know about, it was a well kept secret apparently. Amazing collection! Wonder what has happened to it now?

Posted by Aurora Trains on Sunday, June 28, 2015

Roundy rounds...?

The first time I have heard the phrase Roundy rounds was January of this year. I chalked it off as some weird Australian lingo from down under, since the bloke who shared it was indeed ausie at the core. 

The term basically describes a boring circle of track within the model railroading community. Whatever you want to label it, the fact is, a train chasing its tail in a circle is just that-boring and unrealistic.

Many quit the hobby early if that is all they can muster together. And it seems for many, a bigger circle just delays the boring a bit longer.  Thank god for the brilliant guy who designed the twisted doggone and reverse loops. Those two features will give the illusion and operation that extra kick needed that keeps the viewer entertained..

And it is true- many personalities can be happy with point to point operational duties on a switching yard.

For me though, I will stick with my elaborate Roundy round layout. Why? Sometimes I like to just turn them on and just watch the trouble free meandering through the fantasy world I make up in my head...so what they say is true, the book is better than the movie, and the mind can't posdibly be contained in a book. 

PDR 

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