Not for me. My previous layout had over 50 turnouts in various configurations. Track cleaning took about 30 min with a track cleaning block. I did not use a cleaning car, because I did not feel the need to purchase one for my own use.
Amen brother.
I might be Lance’s worst nightmare. My future is actually reverting back to plain DC.
I run one HO brass steam engine at a time over a modest 1.3 scale mile single track mainline. There are 5 manual throw Peco turnouts on the whole layout, for 3 sidings.
Although I am able to operate DCC equipped engines using the MRC Sound Controller 2.0, none of my current brass models is equipped with DCC at all, and only two BLI brass hybrids are. (One is brand new in box, untested, and may yet be sold to upgrade to a “better” brass steamer).
Even many of the post-2010 production brass steam locomotive models only come equipped with plain DC and lights. Though the brass importers are now in the process of making the switch to DCC for the latest production models, most of the ones available in the current marketplace, brand new though perhaps 5 to 10 years old, are plain DC.
I’m not going to sell what I have and replace them with the latest technology when they perform wonderfully well in plain DC. I’m also not going to tear into and modify engines that cost me plenty.
John
And this is why I understand the OPs concern:
As a person who models only branch/short lines, ala Lance Mindheim, I find that many of the issues that are discussed about the hobby do not cater to my interests.
The hobby is dominated…at least from a discussion standpoint and seemingly a product development standpoint…by people who model a large railroad, with lots of locos, rolling stock, turnouts, track, wiring, power districts, etc. Guys like me don’t relate to the issues those guys have. I suppose the same frustration can be found in people who model lesser Class 1s, like a Frisco, then an NYC.
Understandably, those hobbyists need more stuff, and buy more stuff. So they tend to drive the product development.
Guys like me are left to buy what the other guys want produced. So if the big railroaders want battery, I will likely have to buy battery, (if I live long enough and want to buy new stuff)
Slightly different take on the same issue, and I’ve said this before: I’m looking for a company to produce a generic GP9, highly detailed, but with fore and aft operating ditchlights for modelers who model branch/shortlines post 1996. But data must be showing Athearn that there are more modelers wanting to model the PRR in the 10 years from 1954 to 1964 then there are people wanting to model any freelanced shortline in the 20 years from 1996 to 2016. I think otherwise, but what do I know, other than if I want to buy a new GP9 for a
I have a modest size layout. I have 50+ locomotives that are DCC. Maybe another 15 that will never be DCC. It took me 10-12 years to convert my locomotives to DCC. I run a few locomotives with RailPro.
I am retired, on a fixed income, and I will not be converting to any other control system, ever. Judging from the model railroaders I see at train shows, the majority of model railroaders are in the same position I am in.
Any control system start-up wll need to target younger model railroaders, but there is are very limited numbers of them, or so it seems.
Besides, with todays battery technology I don’t want my favorite locomotives bursting into flames. [:-^]
That’s it, I’m going to “No Rail”. Maybe join one of those modular clubs. [(-D]
Mike.
We had a April fools day module standard for railtrail modeling.
I am one of those (relatively) younger modelers. DCC is adequate for my needs. It costs between $20-40 to convert a DC locomotive to DCC.
Sheldon,
IMO, that thread about the last Mindheim article was off base in many ways. The article was mainly about how to build a scene, not really even about trains. He is known for his realistic representations of places that exist today, or in the near past. And many people want to learn more about how to achieve more realism in their scenes. I don’t think he was telling people who may not care about it that much, that they should care about it more.
I think his article about using lots of white/off white paint for structures, building the boring and not the eleborate, cropping a scene instead of compressing a scene, etc. all help to make the total layout LOOK more realisitic. I think that is a major goal for many in the hobby.
And as I said earlier, the photos of his layouts usually include a locomotive that is a nonDCC ready Proto 2000 CSX GP38-2 that Walthers stopped making 15 years ago, albeit updated for dcc ditchlights and possibly sound, which would be consistent with accurately representing a railroad scene. He doesn’t strike me as the type of modeler who is inherently concerned about manufacturers technological innovations in motivating a locomotive down the rails.
It seems more likely that most contributors to MR need to tend to bend towards new products and new product development to keep the ads flowing…which I understand and have no problem with…and it was simply Lance’s turn.
[quote user=“Doughless”]
ATLANTIC CENTRAL
Lance seems to be amoug a group that would like to think they can reshape the hobby in their own image, example, the thread about his last article and structure selections.
Sheldon
Sheldon,
IMO, that thread about the last Mindheim article was off base in many ways. The article was mainly about how to build a scene, not really even about trains. He is known for his realistic representations of places that exist today, or in the near past. And many people want to learn more about how to achieve more realism in their scenes. I don’t think he was telling people who may not care about it that much, that they should care about it more.
I think his article about using lots of white/off white paint for structures, building the boring and not the eleborate, cropping a scene instead of compressing a scene, etc. all help to make the total layout LOOK more realisitic. I think that is a major goal for many in the hobby.
And as I said earlier, the photos of his layouts usually include a locomotive that is a nonDCC ready Proto 2000 CSX GP38-2 that Walthers stopped making 15 years ago, albeit updated for dcc ditchlights and possibly sound, which would be consistent with accurately representing a railroad scene. He doesn’t strike me as the type of modeler who is inherently concerned about manufacturers technological innovations in motivating a locomotive down the rails.
It seems more likely that most contributors to MR need to tend to bend towards new products and new product development to keep the ads flowing…which I understand and have no problem with…and it was simply Lan
Sheldon,
Actually, for a guy that isn’t all that enamored of sound on the layout because of its inherent physical limiations, I would have thought you’d get this. [swg]
Sure, headphones aren’t as good as honking big speaker stacks and an amp bodacious enough you have no need to turn on the heat at home so long as you’re listening to the tunes. But they’re a much better user experience in terms of sound alone, especially the low end, than what people can manage to coax out of those tiny speakers and amps they squeeze into locos nowadays.
If nothing else, you’d not have to listen to anyone else’s annoying sound when operating around them, right?
Just trying to see the bright side here.[:D]
Ahh, a youngun[:)]
I suspect that stocks on ebay are still deep enough to supply your needs. Remember all those “little hobby shops” people have tucked away? Those widows know nowhere else to dispose of it. I’ve let my wife know the 'bay will be her friend after I’m gone. Maybe you’ve just not been stocking up like the rest of us, thus your concerns over this matter? You just gotta get out and buy more stuff you’ll have a use for…someday.[;)]
Just kidding here. I think it will be at least 46 years before you only get the “batteries only” no-choice in a product offering. If you get beyond worrying about what you can buy and think more along the lines of what you can build, you’ll be OK here…unless you’re in Z scale[(-D]
Wow, this really is a tempest in a pee pot.
Also, I don’t have the April issue yet, but if people are interpreting this article as badly as they interpreted Lance’s articles on scene composition, it should be interesting.
Also, some people need to get off the Net and stop reading conspiracy theory sites.
As far as “the future of the hobby,” there is an event coming up in the next 5 to 10 years that will have a tremendous impact, and nobody’s talking about it.
By that time, the last of the Baby Boomers will have retired.
The last 20 years of this hobby have paralled the Baby Boomers in the “Empty Nest” phase; the kids are all on their own, the mortgage is paid, the dog is dead, and the parents are at the peak of their career and earning power. That’s why we’ve seen the market go the way it has.
So, when the Baby Boomers, that large demographic – and monetary – lump, are all on a fixed income, I predict that the volume of dollars spent on this hobby is going to shrink drastically.
Expect a lot more kits to return. We may even possibly see the return of MR’s “Dollar Model.”
I agree completely.
I also can’t believe he’s blaming us for our complacency holding the hobby back from evolving into his vision for the future.
Working on it…
Im just jesting here to add a little levity to the thread…
I havent gotten this issue yet and thus havent read the article but was solar powered locos mentioned? [(-D]
Scale sized solar panels could only enhance the looks of a third+ generation diesel.
I cant ever imagine a time, past, present, or future where trains need to be battery operated unless one of the towns on your layout passed a smoke ordinance.
Concerning what the wife should do with your trains after your gone… and EBay isnt a bad idea. Has anyone ever considered donating them to your Historical Society? Or even a club type operation?
I was thinking if they blow the big horn on me before I get that pie in the sky retirement layout built, what I had still new in the box (prolly 80% of what I have now) I would donate to my HS.
Let them sell them and take the proceeds to benefit the society more. There are no PERE MARQUETTE clubs out there so thats kinda out. There are some of us that have quite a bit of stuff. Could make an EBay project turn into a nightmare.
Just a couple whimsicle ideas.
I always like that cartoon in MR about old Clem getting a hobby according to his wife. He models a abandon railroad.[:O]
Dead rail can be done but,I doubt if we ever see it replace DC or DCC.
A charging track would recharge the batteries as needed very similar to Play Station 3 battery charging system.You plug the charging cord into a port and the end goes into the PS-3 controller to charge the battery… In our case you plug the end into a charging track port and the other into a charging device.
Guys,
Please, please: there is no conspiracy at MR.
It seems more likely that most contributors to MR need to tend to bend towards new products and new product development to keep the ads flowing…which I understand and have no problem with…and it was simply Lance’s turn.
The major train manufacturers don’t sell HO battery trains and headsets. Lance did not write the story to sell more ads in the magazine. Of course most MR stories deal with new or newer products - why wouldn’t they?
Neil Besougloff, MR editor
Mike, not only do I get it, I have figured out how to do it in DC with my advanced cab control using Dallee sound boards - local speakers or wireless headphones. Figured that out 5-6 years ago…
But it is just not worth the trouble or money.
If I really wanted sound, and the rest of that “intimate” experiance of pretending to be the engineer, I would simply be in a larger scale, like G or at least 1/4" two rail.
I don’t walk around with ear buds and a phone full of music. I don’t listen to my 1700 vinyl records with headphones, it is just a non starter for me.
Sheldon