I would love to see CTT, revisit some great TOY TRAIN layouts that were shown about 20 years ago in the magazine. ( The early 90’s had some of my most favorite layouts).
I would love to see Stan Roy’s layout, Phil Klopps, Michael Primack (which was in Model Railroader and TM Books and video) and Bob Boards All Aboard Flyer Railroad (http://bartspneumatics.com/AARR_home.htm) again, to see what new things they might have added.
Thats just a small list. There are others…and please take MORE Photos!
Think about it, I am getting tired of seeing scale stuff…
Mark
… and that is precisely why I have allowed my 15 yr subscription to expire. Far too many repeat articles (like Misty Mountain, Madison Hardware), and stale moldy story ideas (like Lionel in 1959 etc, etc). [:(!]
Seems as if that other mag keeps coming up with fresh authors & fresh ideas and all w/o big time corporate support!
I have to agree that I would not prefer to see the same layouts previously published, appear again. New photos or updates could be posted here. Let’s see some Marx ( of course) some standard gauge, some prewar Lionel or AF…Hi-rail is just ok with me but there’s so much variety that to take up space with this seems more than a bit premature.As an aside, I am burned out on mega-layouts ( my two cents) or professionally built ones…I prefer to see what folks can do creatively as a rule not exceptional examples which I have read about until they all look the same. One more thing…what is with these endless project layouts? Classic layouts of the future? Instead, how about the classics, the early layouts, the outside rail O gauge ones? Or omigod…Buddy L. This just seems to be a lazy approach as it stands and I do subscribe,contingent on what one year brings in the mailbox.
One more comment…I cannot figure out why CTT does not exploit it’s uniqueness rather than being a copy of the competition. With all of us aging boomers, I cannot imagine that a fresh editorial approach in terms of focusing on the advantage of being devoted to classics , would not succeed. If ebay prices are any indication, the costs and demand are swinging upward for this as we age. Look at all the reproductions by MTH and Lionel…Am I the only one who views all this in this manner?
I was astonished the Northwoods Flyer was rebuffed on submitting an article of prewar AF…If he isn’t an “expert” on that era, who is? I got into that era of collecting by reading his posts here. The Marx “brothers” add their bit here…come on Kalmbach…take advantage of your Classic moniker.
I want more photos of the layouts they visit!!!Not just 3 photos of a nice large layout and 20 photos of a 4x8 starter layout…
There are quite a few LIONEL and AF layouts they can visit still…Like this one, that is still using LIONEL SUPER O TRACK! http://www.phillipsburgks.us/community/huck_boyd/railroad.htm
Mark
The solution is not a new issue of CTT, it might be to have Kalmbach offer a NEW book of the most liked O Gauge and S Gauge layouts that is much more comprehensive than any article.
Andrew
“I want more photos of the layouts they visit!!!Not just 3 photos of a nice large layout and 20 photos of a 4x8 starter layout…”
When have you ever seen 3 photos of a large layout and 20 photos of a 4 x 8 layout? Please point out any layout feature articles that support your statement.
Dennis, check out the last several issues of CTT…
It would be interesting to see before & after photos of layouts from the early days of CTT. I would imagine that quite a few layouts from those early magazines are kaput.
“Dennis, check out the last several issues of CTT…”.
Lionelking,
Looking at the layout features in the March, May, and July issues, I find 6 or 7 photos for each one. So again, I respectfully ask when have you ever seen 3 photos of a large layout and 20 photos of a 4 x 8 starter layout?
Of course, the Reader’s Choice Project Railroad railroad is a how-to feature which, out of necessity, has many photos to explain the process. However, regular layout features often have between 6 and 10 photos.
How many did the Misty Mountain and the Attonas layout have? How many areas were not photographed? This isnt just recent. Its been going on for several years. The other magazine has MANY PHOTOS of all the layouts they visit…Get on the ball CTT.
Try the web? Lots of these layouts are there.
http://www.mistymountainmodelrailroad.com/
There’s a few I wouldn’t mind seeing again. Chuck Brasher’s and Stan Roy’s come to mind. Those are 2 of the best in their respective genres and I always love seeing what’s new as much as I like seeing “how it’s held up” since the last article. Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think we’ve seen Brasher’s layout since he got the Monorail. (Which of course, MTH peremptorially (sp?) measured and modeled.) And I know Phil Klopp is busy rebuilding his excellent pike into a whole new version.
But more than just revisiting old layouts, has the CTT staff ever considered visiting modelling related places like the Warther Carvings museum? The entire history of steam locomotive design is laid out there in wood, ivory and alabaster in the excellent exhibition halls. Granted they’re not mass produced toy trains, but they are amazing hand made “toys” in their own right. Just a thought. If it’s not exactly a CTT subject proper, has any other Kalmbach publication ever visited or considered visiting Warther’s? If they have I’d love to know how to get my hands on the article!
Becky
I had to check this out… wow
http://www.warthers.com/
As usual, the closest attractions are the ones we often don’t visit very often! [(-D] It’s only about an hour or so from my house, but until a couple of weeks ago I hadn’t been there since I was 3! [(-D] So I took about 300 photos in case I don’t get back sooner than 38 years! [(-D] Here’s the Hudson:
When you consider the amount of parts that had to be carved from hard substances like Ivory and the fact that there’s no glue involved and the average carving time was only 6 months per loco, you can see why I think they’re so amazing! Oh, and all the moving parts move!
Becky
just wanted to say welcome back penny haven’t seen any post from for a while until I think a couple of days ago I thought you went missing in action somewhere [:D] [#welcome]
[(-D] On the internet a week or two is an eternity! [(-D] No, I’m here I’ve just been crazy busy downloading a lot of stuff. And with dial-up [:S] you can’t do much else besides one thing at a time. [:'(] I’m always here though…booo ha ha ha ha [:-,]
Becky
Over my eight years of reading CTT, it has regularly featured photos of layouts from Canada, Germany, and even New Zealand, but no in-depth stories on these whatsover. Does the magazine have a policy of not going beyond America’s borders for layout articles? Surely, the day will come when CTT runs out of material from the “lower 48.” The hobby isn’t exclusively America-centric, after all. I’ve seen plenty of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the NYC, and the Union Pacific, but precious little of the CNR or the LNER.
We would welcome story submissions from our Canadian cousins, or anyone else for that matter. The photos, as always, will be the tie-breaker.
Hi Bob,
First let me say I love CTT. When it comes out I just can’t wait to sit down and read it, it’s my favorite.
But I gotta say, I’m really tired of seeing the large layouts that the average guy will never have. Seems like you either have a 4x8 layout or jump to a 20x24 layout. What about showing some 5x9 or 6x10 layouts that most guys have? It’s just too much of a “pipe dream” looking at those large expensive layouts it takes a wealthy person to acquire.
And as far as the “build this layout” goes, I would never spend that much time building a 4x8 layout to watch a train go around in a circle and get tired of it in 5 minutes. We need some layouts with a purpose to them!
Just my constructive criticism, what do some of you other guys think?
Regards,
Robert E.
Gee, when I was a lad, I was inspired by the Lionel showroom and Roadside America layouts even though my empire was confined to a green 4 x 8 sheet of plywood.