!OST #14_rev - O scale trains

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Last issue I suggested some guidelinesabout how this particular column couldbe conducted. This time I’d like to offer arationale for including a column such asthis in OST (other than the publisher andeditor thought it would be a good idea, ofcourse). It may have crossed the minds ofthose readers who prefer to model whatthey see around them in contemporaryrailroading that a column about older OScale is—dare I say it—irrelevant. Not allwho model twenty-first century prototypeare necessarily young, nor are all whomodel earlier periods always fossils whocan’t let go of their youth, but, generally,most of us tend to favor the kind of railroadingwe knew from when we first reallygot interested in the steel rail. Yet, howcan we explain the phenomenon of RevolutionaryWar and Civil War re-enactors,who are, effectively, recreating 1:1 scalemodels of an earlier period. Clearly, noneof them were around when the “prototype”existed.One of my mentors in a graduate program—anexcellent historian—onceanswered the question, “Why study history?”He observed that many claim thatone ought to study history because thepast teaches us things we need to know(ever hear that at school?). He allowed ashow that might be a reason, but not themost compelling one, which is that whatwent on before we were around is INTER-ESTING. That is my justification for offeringthis corner of OST. As we find outmore about O Scale modeling when itwas young, perhaps before we were born,interesting tidbits appear. Some may evenbe useful for one’s own modeling, whateverthe period or emphasis, but that issecondary and coincidental. Not everyonemay want to learn about matters thathave no immediate application to his orher modeling. That is perfectly all right,and I hope we can stay on friendly termswhen we are grabbing for the same itemat an O Scale show. I believe Joe G.intends OST to offer a variety of goodiesfor all individual tastes, so that any OScale modeler can find enough to keepher or him coming back, and there areplenty of good, practical, hands-on projectsin each issue.For others, of course, knowing moreabout the ways O Scale modelers foundto represent the real thing in the past is aconnection to something outside oneself,30 • O Scale Trains - May/June ’04the here-and-now, and gives a sense ofcontinuity with the past that goes on intothe future. For those of us of a certain age,the great names of that past are largelygone, with more departing all the time.Perhaps only a handful of O Scalers stillliving can actually tell us what it was likein the 1920’s. The hobby began to developfrom mass-market toy trains, the occasionalrich man’s custom-built adult toys,and the rare example of a skilled workman’sleisure production when leisure formany workers was rare. There was modelrailroading as a hobby before Al Kalmbachpublished the first issue of ModelRailroader in 1934. Back then modelerslargely relied on British imports, booksand periodicals (Henry Greenly was thegiant among them). What canny Al, himselfan O Scaler, hoped was that all themodelers working in solitude wouldbecome aware there were other fellowsjust like themselves, and that what theyenjoyed was not odd or bizarre.In the middle of the Great Depression,Al Kalmbach was taking a considerablerisk, but he was a printer, and the printingbusiness was slow. We know now, afterthe fact, that his gamble paid off, but hedidn’t know it then. Once model railroadersfound a forum, things started to pick uprapidly. One of the great milestones wasthe organization of the NMRA. Whateverfolks say about the merits of the currentNMRA, looking at it from a historical perspective,model railroading would notexist as we now know it without the pioneeringwork of establishing commonstandards for commercial products, as wellas bringing those early hobbyists togetherfor conventions. Concurrently, the greatclubs in the large cities (mostly in the Eastand Midwest) were organizing in the1930’s (and they were almost all O scaleuntil after WWII). Individual modelerscould show their work, receive encouragementand (generally) tactful criticism toimprove their efforts. Information as toprototype and modeling techniques couldbe shared. Those who lacked space tobuild their own miniature empire couldjoin with others to afford operation fortheir prized locomotives and cars.When one reads older magazines andstudies the ads, it is easy to forget theresults of inflation. One sees locomotivesselling for $100 and thinks, “not bad!”forgetting that few workingmen earnedmuch more than $25 a week—if they hada job at all—and that many had to supporta family on that. It is not coincidental thatthe older magazine articles mention modelerswho were physicians, attorneys, corporateexecutives, bankers, and such.Some of that was doubtless to suggest therespectability of the hobby, but it reallywas a rich man’s hobby. The only alternativefor those of modest means was toconvert toy trains—a recurring theme formost of model railroad history. Theywould gradually develop their skills to thepoint where they could match the custom-builderswho provided the wealthierwith their equipment. Until after WWII, itwas common for manufacturers to offertheir locomotives three ways: built-up byin-house craftsmen; a semi-kit with mostof the parts machined to some degree;and as a set of unmachined castingswhich required not only some effort onthe part of the builder, but also considerableskill in using machine tools. The onething most people had in abundance duringthe Depression was time. Curiously,that cut both ways: the model railroaderhad to spend more time making things hecould not afford to buy, but the effortspent in creating them also served as apastime to help him forget that he wasunder- or unemployed.With a few exceptions, most of theequipment from this period is now of onlyantiquarian interest. When it shows up atmeets, flea markets, eBay or at estate auctions,it usually seems crude. It either cannotbe brought up to our current expectedstandard of fidelity or would take so muchlabor and cost as to hardly justify theeffort. But for at least some, it is a connectionwith the pioneers, just as visiting alocal history museum gives some sense ofwhat one’s locale once was. There is evena modest collector interest in many of thepieces, preferably in a pristine, unbuiltstate in the original box with originalinstructions (and early “kits” did notalways include “instructions,” assuming afair amount of expertise on the part of thebuilder). There is something fascinating, Ithink, to be able to put a well-built car orlocomotive (structures developed moreslowly in the hobby) from the 1930’s nextto a more recent counterpart and recognizethat all the changes have come aboutin a single human being’s lifetime.I had hoped to actually talk specifics(perhaps about Hawk Models) this time out,but I’ve used up all my space. Next time, I’dlike to open a discussion of the variousmodel railroad periodicals over the yearsand invite your input, as there is still quite abit I don’t know about the subject. ◆
Reader FeedbackRigid Trucks A Problem?I really enjoy your magazine. Mycomment/question is regarding the trucksthat are appearing on the new Atlas cars.They are totally rigid. As I understand it,the conventional wisdom is that thetrucks should be fairly flexible to negotiatelow spots on the track. With thesetrucks, if the rear wheel elevates so doesthe leading wheel.I don’t have a layout yet, just a testtrack with a #6 crossover. Not muchtrouble there, but I would enjoy hearingfrom some of your readers who are operatingthese cars. Let’s see if they areexperiencing any difficulties with therigidity of these trucks.Thanks, George RitterLas Vegas, NVOkay readers, let’s hear your commentson flexible/non-flexible trucks.Colored LensesRe: Issue #12 article on workingcaboose lights by Marty Iftody. I enjoyedthis article because it helps bring a littlemore realism to the trains. One thing thatI would like to interject would be aboutcoloring “lenses” in marker lamps.This is an old trick I learned from BillClouser many years ago. Bill kept a set ofordinary food coloring gels on his workbench just for the purpose of makingopaque lenses for all kinds of lights and,one time, making stained glass windowsin a model of a church he built for one ofhis customers. It works. I’ve had a set ofmarkers on a tender of an engine foralmost forty years that still look great.Bob O’Neill (via email)Fair Trade LawsRe: the last installment of John Smith’sseries on the problems of importingmodels from the Orient. One point mightneed clarification. In connection withthe “Fair Trade” laws, I think John wasintending to refer to their demise. UnderFair Trade laws in place for manydecades, at least from the 1930s, manufacturershad the right to set retail sellingprices, and could cut-off dealers whodiscounted. While this “leveled the playingfield” between small mom-and-popstores and the large-volume buyers as faras selling prices went, it was ultimatelyunfair to the large-volume buyers and tothe consumers.With the growth of discount chainstores and shopping malls, added toincreased consumer activism, those lawswere repealed during the 1960’s or 70’s.Thus, today’s manufacturers and/orimporters can list a “manufacturer’s suggestedretail price” (MSRP) but cannotenforce it.In the past, domestic O scale productsand early brass imports (Max Gray andUS Hobbies) sold at a one-third discountto dealers. (The importers probably paidthe overseas builders about 50-60 percentof the dealer price, to cover theiroverhead and profit.) The dealer discountin “mass-market” HO and N scaleitems (as well as many other consumerproducts) is 40 percent. Many hobbyshops would not stock O Scale becausethey needed the additional percentage tomeet their overhead.While the 3-rail importers and a few2-rail firms do list MSRPs, their dealerdiscounts can vary from a small courtesydiscount to higher numbers which allowdealers to stock a quantity and variety ofproduct and offer some discounts. Somefirms provide only net prices to theirdealers, with the ultimate retail price amatter of negotiation between the dealersand their retail customers.Woody Mathews (via email)Spiral EasementsYour magazine just keeps on gettingbetter and better! Those center spreadN&W photos don’t hurt either as I grewup about 300 feet from the N&W bridgeover the East Branch of the ElizabethRiver and heard ’em all and woke upand saw most of the mainline actiongoing up to Lamberts Point and theUnion passenger depot from 1940-45.I need help. I thought you might bethe best one to direct this request to theproper person. I need information onhow to make spiral easement curves in 0scale. I saw an article perhaps 30 yearsago on how to calculate them and drawthem on a plastic template which couldlater be transferred to the track base but,of course, I can no longer find it. Perhapsyou know of better ways to achieve thesame results.I don’t plan on going overboard but afew of these critters in the foreground doreally dress up a layout when your eyecannot tell where straight track ends andthe curve begins. Thanks for any helpyou or your staff can give. Sincerely,Robert C. McKnight, Mo.Joe G. replies: Thanks for your letter.When we published George Muller’strack laying article in OST#12, we leftout a graph on calculating easements.The graph is from an NMRA Data Sheetand we received permission to reprintthat Data Sheet in it’s entirety. See it onpages 48-49 in this issue.The Internet can really be useful ifyou know where to look. I went to theModel Railroader Magazine Index tolook up the article you mentioned andsurprisingly found a program that willprint out easements from your computer.Meanwhile the MR Index listed 31 articleson easements between 1957 and2001. Here’s the URL for the MR Index[http://index.mrmag.com/]Needs A Cleaning SolutionI have started collecting O Scaletrains. I was wondering if you can tell mewhat I should use to clean my trains. Ihave been using Pledge with a toothbrush.I have been told that is not goodand I should just use water. That doesnot look all that good. What do collectorsuse? I have some neat cars that I useinstead of just keeping them wrappedup, but when they get dirty, how do Iclean them and not lose any of theirvalue?Bob Csehak (via email)Joe G. replies: That’s a good question.Mostly you use mild soap and water anda very soft cloth. Sometimes you maywant to add “409” or a similar cleanerbut you have to be careful not to rub offpaint and/or decals. Once clean, keepthem clean by dusting regularly (I likethe new Swiffer dusters) and don’t handlethem with bare hands. That’s wheremost of the oils and gunk come from.Use cotton or latex gloves. Any otherreaders have suggestions for Bob? Send’em in.◆May/June ’04 - O Scale Trains • 31
Page 1 and 2: O TrainsScaleModelingTrainsfor theO
Page 3 and 4: Modelingfor theO ScaleCraftsmanIssu
Page 5 and 6: Figure 1 is a drawing of the Buckey
Page 7 and 8: Photo 4 is a view of the passenger
Page 9 and 10: RDC-1 DIESEL CARSDivision Point O S
Page 11 and 12: ing, too. I wanted to replace the o
Page 13 and 14: A New Drive By Accurate O ScaleMAX-
Page 15 and 16: Photos by Ed Rappe, Layout drawing
Page 17 and 18: olling stock is finished before ear
Page 19 and 20: 2004‘0 ’ Scale NationalConventi
Page 21 and 22: A Handy HO part for O-Scalersby Ron
Page 23 and 24: type. The room available is nominal
Page 25 and 26: Once all the logs were finished in
Page 27 and 28: Fig. 15pieces until I have complete
Page 29: Prototype photo by Overland Models
Page 35 and 36: fig. 6Form the wings of the guard r
Page 37 and 38: CABIN CREEKCOAL COMPANYLimited Edit
Page 39 and 40: The Meet: A photo from Carey Hinch
Page 41 and 42: Above: This N&W steam-era caboose w
Page 43 and 44: Product News & ReviewsNEWS: Model T
Page 45 and 46: Product News & Reviewsbottom gondol
Page 47 and 48: CHICAGOLAND S O GAUGE SPECIPCCGREEN
Page 49 and 50: Permission touse by theNMRANMRA Dat
Page 51 and 52: two large air pressure tanks, a cou
Page 53 and 54: sion that entails adding a block of
Page 55 and 56: May/June ’04 - O Scale Trains •
Page 57 and 58: Car & Locomotive Shop - SP 5000 4-1
Page 59 and 60: Advertisers IndexAccurate O Scale 1
Page 61 and 62: OST Dealer ListArkansasHobby Shack1
Page 63 and 64: Atlas O's 21st Century Signal Syste

!OST #14_rev - O scale trains

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