Bored with steam

Fri Feb 22 14:42:07 EST 2019

I agree with Stephen’s analogy of the N&W f/b site as I’ve experienced it so far.  I have not seen flaming finger-pointing of any kind and, generally, responses have been helpful.  There are always the “me, too” worthless comments but they are few, fortunately.  It’s also non-scale-specific so reading posts from N scalers up to 3-rail O is common adds a unique perspective (for me).

I left S scale in early 2017 because it’s impossible to model N&W steam in that scale except for an Overland A and Lionel Y-3.  No other engines, no hoppers, no cabooses, only GP-9/18, no structures.  Nothing.  Even if I had the required layout space, it would take 10 lifetimes to build basic stuff.  Moving back to HO was an easy decision once I saw how many great products have popped up since I left HO around 2010 and sold almost everything.  I have collected all the engines I’ll need and, while I respect Stephen’s sentiment toward being bored with steam, I’m not in that camp.  I became 100% bored with modeling Southern, probably because that’s about all I’ve been associated with since college days.  Broadway’s offerings convinced me that I should try HO again and could realistically model some coal ops circa 1957-60.  I do have 7 diesels but prefer steam because of sound and “monkey motion”.

I, too, had (5) Spring Mill cabooses on reserve (prepaid to get their 10% offer back in September 2017).  I got tired of waiting so requested a full refund last month.  Despite SMD having a new Chinese supplier, there is no guarantee they will produce a good product and, for sure, the N&W cabs will not be next out.  The DODX flat is next because it’s the easiest of the 4 to-do items on their web site.  The 2 B&O cabs are the oldest, then the DODX flat, then N&W cabs.  I suspect that, if the DODX flat turns out OK, they’ll turn attention to the B&O cabs because they’ve been on the list longest.  If that happens, the N&W cabs could be late 2020 or into 2021 before they arrive.  I’m not willing to wait that long so used the refund to purchase a couple Division Point riveted models and will be content building AMB wood kits.

I see the same trend re: modeling eras.  The most popular era still is the 1950s but a close second (and growing due to “aging out”) is 1970-80 and you can see that reflected in recent HO car offerings.  Despite so many naysayers claiming that “modeling is dying”, I still see LOTS of new diesels coming out … at VERY healthy retail prices!  Model Railroader’s page count continues to shrink (last issue had just 74 pages) but the hobby seems to be “strong” (a relative term to be sure).

Jim King

 <http://www.smokymountainmodelworks.com/> www.smokymountainmodelworks.com

From: NW Modeling List <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org> 
Sent: Friday, February 22, 2019 9:09 AM
To: 'NW Modeling List' <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>
Subject: RE: Bored with steam

Roger: Actually there isn’t any rubbish at all on the N&W site.  There are modelers from all eras – steam and diesels – posting. 

It is a great bunch of guys who “plays well with others”!  It’s nice that you have brass models to fill the void as I had the same and some rarer

pieces like the N&W pile driver and the VGN flat car dolly crane.  But brass does not fill the void for the majority of modelers. 

Most are not as blessed as you and I.  The average modeler does not have $2500 for a brass steam locomotive.  I have $2500 tied up waiting for the Spring Mills cabooses 

to arrive with no firm time frame of arrival which I am not real happy with.  We need to face the fact that times are changing and the diesel market is growing yearly 

unlike the steam market because of the available models.  Maybe I should have said that I am bored with the lack of N&W steam models (and Hoppers) with very little progress in the all the years of modeling.

Therefore the 70’s and 80”s is filling that void. I don’t get bored seeing the same 4 or 5 models go round and round or back and forth. 

Stephen Rineair

From: NW-Modeling-List <nw-modeling-list-bounces at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-modeling-list-bounces at nwhs.org> > On Behalf Of NW Modeling List via NW-Modeling-List
Sent: Friday, February 22, 2019 2:44 AM
To: NW Modeling List <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org> >
Cc: NW Modeling List <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org> >
Subject: Re: Bored with steam

Stephen.................SACRILEGE!  Actually I agree about the poor selection of N&W non-brass steam in HO. N&W isn't exactly some little known and popular railroad so why no S-1a, M, M-2, K-1, Z-1 or E-2?

 What we do have is very nice but to really DO the N&W those others are needed.

Personally, I prefer brass so I'm all set with the power I need.

Glad I'm not on facebook if that's the kind of rubbish they spout off! LOL

Roger Huber

Deer Creek Locomotive Works

On Friday, February 22, 2019, 1:31:36 AM CST, NW Modeling List <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org> > wrote: 

There is a face book page for N&W modelers with some excellent photos and models posted to the site. Someone on the site posted a survey of era or eras that members are modeling with the 70s-80s era being most actively modeled. The survey got me to think about the era that I model. Having modeled the steam era so many years, I thought how far the variety of models have advanced. To say the least VERY LITTLE N&W steam models have become available to fill the void of needed models (except for brass) of 0-8-0’s, K’s, Z’s,Y3a’s, Y4’s, Y5’s, Y6’s, Y6a’s,M’s, E’s, and so on! After 35+ years and very little RTR models available, I have abandoned steam and also moved to the 70’s-80’s era. So much is available that I can model with so much more locomotive power ( I get tired of just seeing and running a J, Y6b, A, and a Y3 over and over). Yes I know that there are early diesels, but I need more than a small handful of steam. Besides, what about all the things that can be done with diesels, that could be done with steam – Lighted marker lights front and rear, lighted cab lights, stoker lights, ashpan lights, etc. I know some scales even have steam coming out of the whistle when blown. When will we see new steam models or are there enough to support steam anymore? Just some thoughts -just bored with steam.

Stephen Rineair

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