OK, you’ve been warned. Don’t read this unless you’ve already had the chance to peruse the April 2012 issue yourself, if it’s going to spoil your enjoyment fo finding it yourself…
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[:D]
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[}:)]
OK, the premise of this year’s April Fool’s article is that people need some way to occupy extra operators. So you build a a “fireman’s work station.” There your extra guests can break a sweat, trying to keep shoveling a constantly replenished supply of coal into a faked-up plywood firebox. Somehow this communicates with your DCC command station. Maybe a loco will quit running if the “fireman” doesn’t shovel hard enough?
I guess I don’t see this as very plausible. In 1:1, who wants to shovel coal on a layout visit?
Better yet, what would be a real trick would be to do this in 1:87. Now that would be cool.
But wait! Someone already HAS done this in 1:87. Australia’s own Laurie McLean has little animated firemen shoveling away in various locos. Makes sense to me. If I was to go all the way to Australia to visit him, I’d much rather see his little animated fireman, than have to shovel coal myself.
Laurie will be attending the 2012 National Narrow Gauge Convention in Seattle and presenting clinics on this and some of his other animations, in case you’d like to talk with him in person.
Before I read the words I looked at the picture - and thought that it was a takeoff on an automated fireman that appeared in Tetsudo Mokei Shumi half a century ago.
After I read the article, I had a little list of obvious flaws:
Hand-firing a locomotive isn’t just a matter of shoveling coal through a hole. That coal has to be distributed evenly across the grates. A single scale doesn’t hack it. There should be at least five, plus a computer to integrate their readings and adjust power output accordingly.
Most modern steam was stoker fired, at least in the United States. How do you take that into account?
The fireman operates the boiler - including the water side. Where are the injector and feed pump controls?
Using real coal would generate a lot of coal dust, which is nasty stuff. Maybe black foam lumps with weights in the middle…
Just a few thoughts off the top of my head - and, yes, I know I’m a month early…
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with coalburners, without 1:1 scale firemen)
I have been getting Model Railroader via subscription continuously since 1973, and I must say I have no idea what day of the month it arrives on. In fact, by my recolection, it virtually never comes on the same day of the month - but admittedly I have much more imprtant things to keep track of. Some how it seems unlikely that the printing, or the post office could even begin to be that consistant.
And if I recall, it seems sometimes it is more than two months early, while other times only 4-6 weeks early of the “cover” month? So how could it come on the same day every month?
As for the April fools joke, I have yet to be amussed in 39 years, this one appears to be no different.
Fascinating ref to an earlier animated fireman. Some ideas aren’t totally new, but the means to do them often are. That’s one reason I like Laurie’s work. He combines old fashioned scratchbuilding with the most modern of digital devices based on what most of the rest of the world considers to be RTR. To Laurie, a shiny new Blackstone is just raw material for way more fun than some people are comfortable with.
Randy,
Now I finally know why the kids are all going soft. When they go to the museum, they’re shoveling coal made of foam!
Sheldon,
I’m guessing you weren’t one of those saddened when the slogan “Model Railroading Is Fun” was dropped from the front cover?[:o)]
Re mail delivery, unless you get a first class mail subscription, once the issue is turned over to the PO, there’s not much MR can do about delivery. Its distribution from there depends on PO workload and other local conditions. Distance from the printer also has some effect, but less so than the lower priority that magazines have in the system. I’m fortunate here, as it seems like it arrives a few days early some months, but rather consistently on the first Saturday of the month prior to issue cover date. The local postmaster seems to bat cleanup at the end of every week on periodicals. YMMV.
In any case, if the PO delivery is frustrating, remember that MR is now available in an e-edition.
Everybodies idea of fun is not the same, I have lots of fun with my trains, for some 40 plus years now and I don’t obsess over what day of the month Model Railroader comes in the mail. Nor would I ever have any such unrealistic expectation that it should or would come on the same day evey month.
I am amazed and amused by the number of people on here who seem to keep track of such things.
As for the April fools thing, it is a tradition in our culture I could do without, another would be Halloween.
Since Sheldon is a fellow user of the MZL system I would tend to value his opinion - even though I don’t agree with it. OTOH, there’s an old saying that goes, “If you don’t have a positive contribution, don’t contribute.”
Come 1 April 2012 one train will come out of Down staging behind a GG1, and change it for a NYC S1a at Tomikawa. Pretty good trick, since all the trackwork is supposedly 1067mm gauge (3’ 6" for the metrically challenged.) That’s why it only happens once a year…
I am surprised that brother Sheldon even bothers to waste time looking at it. Anyway, to each his own. Have been in the hobby since 1957 or 1958, have been through several layouts, have always worked to improve my skills, but I still enjoy a little humor. The one this issue is a little subtle for many, but I thought it was funny. Anway, I use the rule of thumb that says "if it doesn’t look interesting, then skip it and move on. That applies to the April fool thing also.
Now let’s all grab our tools and get to laying track, after all, this is a serious hobby.
I really ought to do that, now that I’ve finished my novel.
First, though, I think I’ll dig out that old Tetsudo Mokei Shumi article and figure out how to rig my C56 class 2-6-0 with a fireman. The tender has six wheels in a rigid frame, so gearing him to the front axle…
Chuck (Having fun while modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Let us know when you find your reference to the fireman article. I’m certain that it will be of interest, since the history of animated firemen has yet to be written! [<:o)] I’m certain that Laurie would be interested and want to pass the info along to him.
I have to admit that I read the article without giving any thought to it being in the April issue. After I read it, I said to myself, who could be bothered with such a mechanism to make thier trains run. Why would someone want to shovel coal to run thier layout? Then when I saw the subject line for this thread, it dawned on me that the article was tounge in cheek and not meant to be taken seriously.
I need to spend more time with my trains. I obviously have too much other stuff on my mind [:P]
Once again the lamestream model railroad press shows its bias towards the effete Eastern coal burning roads. Apparently, there is absolutely no awareness in the myopic offices of MR, RMC, etc. that there were wide swaths of the country where oil was used as a locomotive fuel and that some of the most famous and highly regarded railroads in the country (e.g. Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, Great Northern, Union Pacific, etc) used oil extensively. It is long past time when those of living in oil burning country should raise our voices in loud protest at the appalling ignorance and cavalier attitude of the current crop of model railroad publications who seem to think that railroads stopped east of the Rockies (incidentally, the FEC used oil as a locomotive fuel).
Addendum:
What makes this gaffe even more more of a head-scratching exercise is that modern coal burning steamers were stoker equipped. In fact, after April 15, 1939, all coal fired locomotives weighing above a certain weight on drivers (160,000 lbs passenger, 175,000 freight) built prior to April 15, 1939 and hand-fired were required to be retro-fitted with stokers by 04/15/1944. All locomotives of the same weight criteria built on or after 04/15/1939 were required to be factory-equipped with stokers.
C’mon, people, if you’re going to do an April Fool’s joke, at least make it plausible. Moon railroad - plausible. Pressurized basement - plausible. Hand fired coal burner (unless on a short line, lightly used branch line or a model of a class 1 railroad prior to 1939 or so) - not plausible.
The Western Maryland fueled most of its passenger power with oil as well, Baltimore had smoke restrictions in the “up town” areas the WM passed through. The PRR and the B&O used electrics and diesels early on to solve that problem.
Here on the ATLANTIC CENTRAL all or our steam passenger power is oil fired as well.
I don’t model the west, but I sure do admire those clean, well proportioned SP oil burners of all sizes.