Train Lovers Pack Them In At Pontiac

Make tracks to Pontiac Saturday to see model trains.

Thomas Hess explained his fascination for model trains, te reporter Stan Donaldson of the Detroit Free Press, as similar to the way auto lovers pack Woodward Avenue every year to watch classic cars pass along in the Dream Cruise.

"I used to own a train set when I was a little boy, and I would watch this train that went past my house in Dearborn," said Hess, 62, who lives in Northville. "I think that is how it kind of started."

That's why this week, he and hundreds of other model train enthusiasts will choo-choo their way to Pontiac to trade, buy and show off more than $1 million worth of trainsets at the 2006 National Association of S Gaugers Convention.

Hess,a cochairman for the National S Gaugers Convention and member of the Southeastern Michigan S Gaugers, which is hosting this year'sconvention, said though the baby boomer-era hobby isn't as popular as it was in the 1950's, it has picked up a bit in recent years because of animated movies and cartoons about trains.

S Gaugers are model trains that move on two rails. American Flyer was the most popularbrand of S-gauge trains in the '50s and '60s, but now experts say hundreds of small companies now exist to preserve the style.

For years the Lionel Co., with headquarters in Chesterfield Township, competed with American Flyer with its three-rail, O-gauge trains, until it purchased the company in 1967, said Chuck Horan, an engineer who works at the Lionel visiting center.

"The best thing about model trains is that there is no end to how big they can be," Horan said.

Hess said the hobby died down in the late 1960s and was concurrent with a decline in passenger railroading in the United States because of the emergence of commercial airports.

The conference started on Wednesday and will run through Sunday. The Michigan S Gaugers chapter, which has 50 members, will host activities, such as tours to actual train stations in metro Detroit, along with a tour of model train layouts at some of the members' homes.

Many of the 350 visitors attending this year's convention, some traveling by train, said collecting models is an extension of their childhood.

"I started collecting when I was younger, but it's good to see that my kids are interested too because it helps to keep me in it," said Donald Goeke Jr., of Manitowoc, Wis.

Goeke brought his son David Goeke, 16, and his daughter Malynnda Goeke, 14, to the show on Thursday becausethey wanted to get a few items for a train layout the family is building inside a trailer.

Goeke said over the years, he has collected between $40,000 to $50,000 worth of model trains and owns some models that date back to the 1920s.

And he wasn't the only one.

Bob Pardington, a member of the Michigan group, said the hobby is so addictive that after a while, it's easy to lose track of how much money you invest.

The 65-year-old was at the convention Thursday showing his $3,000 model train display.

"There is an art to this, and the best part is when kids put their hands on the Plexiglas and ooh and ahh about what you put together," Pardington said.

Serving Hobbyists For Sixty Years

Doing the same job for six decades might seem like a nightmare, but Lorn Strickler doesn't mind one bit, reports The Evening Sun from Hanover and Gettysburg.

At 71, the lifelong Hanover resident has been working at Strickler's Hobby House since 1946, when he was 11 years old. That year, his father Lawrence converted the small summer house on his family's Broadway property into a hobby shop.Lawrence spent $800 to open the shop. "Nowadays, a good paint rack costs more than that," Strickler said. Surprisingly, Strickler has been the primary shopkeeper since the very beginning.

Strickler says part of his success can be credited to his location.

Over the years, Strickler has seen changes in the modeling industry. Where model train cars used to come in wood and cardboard kits, now they come pre-assembled and made from plastic and metal. And unlike in years past, most models are now made in factories overseas.

Sales of model trains went down for Strickler in the 1960s and early 70s, as slot cars took over the imaginations of his younger customers. Strickler wasn't complaining, though, since he sold slot cars throughout.
"The way they took over never made sense to me," said Strickler.

"Pennsylvania's a pretty big railroad state," he said. While business remains strong, Strickler's clientele isn't as young as it used to be, and technology seems to be the culprit. Most of Strickler's customers are adults who have been hobbyists for quite some time.

"The kids aren't getting into it. Seems like they'd rather play video games. I'd probably go crazy if I played them," Strickler said.

When he's not spending time at the Hobby House, Strickler runs annual train meets in Porters, where he and 300 to 400 others buy and sell model trains. "It's like a flea market with trains," he said. Though most people at Strickler's age have long since retired, he doesn't feel like moving on, because "I enjoy it. Working here is my hobby."

technorati tags:model, trains, hobby, store

Model Trains Used In Superman Returns

The latest Superman movie, Superman Returns, uses intricate layouts of model trains. The crew created some of the sets used in the movie at Fox Studios in Sydney. Production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas recreated these sets and including the model train set.

The plaza set that Dyas needed to create outside the building was so large that none of the Fox stages could accommodate it. So, in an unconventional move, the filmmakers decided to build the set outdoors, using the road between two existing soundstages. "The weather was fantastic and we were able to fill the nearby roads with yellow cabs, buses and other street traffic. We also transformed an adjacent area into a mini Central Park and added a subway station. It was definitely one of our most challenging sets to build, but it turned out beautifully," says Dyas.

In addition to the yacht, Dyas created two other sets that were completely unique for Superman Returns -- an intricate model train set built in the basement of the Vanderworth mansion, along with an enormous island set that was simply referred to as New Krypton.

"We were extremely meticulous when it came to details," says Dyas, "because, when Lex destroys the train set with his crystal experiment, it's a metaphor for the destruction he intends to achieve on a human scale. Our train set was already enormous by regular standards, but since it needed to look even bigger, we built a basement set around it using forced perspectives and other design tricks. We used three different scales of miniature trains, using the largest ones in the foreground near the camera and the smaller ones in the background."

Included in the many vignettes of the train set are environments as diverse as a cacti-filled Arizona desert, a gleaming skyline of Metropolis and the snow-peaked mountains of the Swiss Alps.

Read the full article here.

technorati tags:model, trains, movie, production, superman, returns

Video Of A Great N Scale Layout

I really love this layout by Paul from Australia (I believe). It's a N scale model railroad. It's a bit grainy but the scenery and city vs counrty contrasts are well done.

technorati tags:model, train, railroad, n, scale, video

The Can Motor

When the can motor came on the seen it changed everything for the hobbyist. This was especially true for the Brass Steam Locomotive enthusiasts. He or She now had a real work horse of a motor that could drive a locomotive with ease.

There are other aspects of the drive mechanism aboard the Brass Steam Locomotive that cause the user difficulty. However, in this case we are going to concentrate on the can motor and what it can do for you.

Can motors come in a variety of sizes and rpm (Revolutions Per Minute) ratings. Also, torque values plays an important part in the choosing of a can motor. Generally can motors range from about 5k Rpms to as high as 17k rpms. For example a very small motor that would fit in a HO 0-6-0 switch engine with a rating of 16k rpms would not have a very good torque value. An example is a coil wound motor becomes very powerful as you increase the coil wrap on the motor. Inversely, by removing coils from a motor will make the motor very fast but not ideal for pulling anything. Thus the very small can motor does not have the power of the larger can motors.

This can be compensated for because most can motors will fit in just about any HO steam engine. If the engine is small like a 0-6-0 switch engine you can find a motor that fits nicely in the range of 5k rpms to 12.5k rpms and use a high speed gear box at either 27:1 or 28:1 gear ratio. My wife and I usually stay away from the low geared gearboxes because they run way to slow for our liking. However, you may like that type of operation and would prefer the 36:1 to 37:1 gear ratio.

You are not looking for high speed with a locomotive but for speed and especially power to pull a large freight train or passenger train. This is also essential with the small switch engines ability to work a yard shuffling freight cars around. When I had slot cars I would unwind the coils on the motor. This made the slot car very fast. This is not what we are trying to do with a steam locomotive.

Depending on the size and type of steam locomotive will determine in most cases the size of can motor you are looking for. The beauty of a can motor is it will run at extremely low speeds yet will give you the power and speed to replicate a real steam locomotive based on scale.

If I were rebuilding a 4-8-4 Northern I would be looking for speed. They were high steppers and would cruise at over 100 mph. The ideal motor would be a 16k rmp motor with a 27:1 or 28:1 gearbox. This would be true for many engines including the large articulated locomotives. However, a Union Pacific Bull Moose 2-8-8-0 was a very slow and deliberate locomotive and had great pulling power at low speeds. This is known as tracktive effort. This locomotive would be best suited with a 12.5k rpm can motor and a 28:1 gearbox or 36:1 gearbox depending upon the likes of the hobbyist as far as speed is concerned.

The key to all of this is there are different can motors that will meet your needs and definitely improve your steam engines performance and please you as a hobbyist.

About the Author
Michael W.P. Ball,
poona27@comcast.net

Joy Ball has been involved in the restoration and maintenance of a variety of Brass Model Locomotives. Through her years of expertise, Mrs. Ball has perfected the art of train restoration often spending countless hours preserving vintage Brass Locomotives to running condition of even the newest Brass Model Replicas. It should be noted that the above article was written by Joy's husband Michael Ball. Receive her free newsletter at www.brasslocomotiveworks.com

technorati tags:model, trains, can, motor, steam

How A Kiwi Built His Own Model Garden Railroad

Tony from New Zealand got tired of having his N scale model railroad in his cluttered garage. An decided it was time to move out and expand. That's when he decided to build his own G scale Garden Railroad.

But the components for his garden railroad weren't bought from a store. He went out and actually built all of the tracks and rolling stock himself.

Yes, you heard it right!

He built his own tracks:

Built his own points (and he shows you how he automated them using an electric drill):

And then how he built the trains & buildings too:

Get all the details at his Noware G Scale Garden Railroad site

technorati tags:model, railroad, trains, g, scale, garden

27th National Lionel Operating Train Society Convention

This convention is being held at Saratoga Springs. One of the Society members still has his original model train when he received it back in 1946. So for some this is a life long hobby. As you probably know Lionel is a poplualr manufacturer of model trains and train sets.

The 27th national convention of the Lionel Operating Train Society will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Saratoga City Center in Saratoga Springs. (John D'Annibale / Times Union)

For more information read this article:

Train lovers bound for city Albany Times Union, NY - 13 hours ago On Saturday, about 250 members of the Lionel Operating Train Society will share their love for model trains with Capital Region residents at the Saratoga ...

technorati tags:model, trains, lionel, society, convention