Forum Roundup #3
Another installment of my periodic roundup of forum posts from around the web that I found interesting and helpful.
Ready to Roll, Great Dealer Service by rahway valley on CTT forum. Another story of a hobby shop giving good customer service.
Some Good Reputable Online Train Ordering Sites by TheTrainMaster on CTT forum. CTT forum members comment on what they think are the best O Gauge hobby dealers online.
O27 Switch Track Options by pgtr on CTT forum. Anyone interested (like me) in using O27 track because it is inexpensive and/or is better for small layouts will want to check out this thread on O27 switches.
Shelves for Trains Display by Norm on OGR forum. Some good advice about shelves to display your trains.
What is the best glue for foam board? by 3rdrail4me on OGR forum. If you are thinking about using foam board for the first time, check out this thread.
Inside Fastrack Switch…. by BradK on OGR forum. Every wonder what the inside of a Lionel Fastrack switched looked like? BradK posted a picture of it in this thread.
Sunday Photo Fun 1-29-06 by scott.smith on OGR forum. Great photos in this thread, especially CSX Fan’s photos of the catenary lines he just installed on his layout (about halfway down on second page).
Cutting Atlas O Track by amalie on the Atlas forum. Some advice on what tools to use to cut Atlas O or any other track.
Acela Pics
One picture of the new Acela posted by Prewardude on the Classic Toy Trains forum.
Railroad Radio Transmissions on the Net
Passenger train or freight train radio chatter included as part of Lionel’s Railsounds and MTH’s Protosounds adds a lot to the modern day O Gauge experience. Found a link to a web site on the OGR "Real Trains" forum that enables you to listen to real railroad radio transmissions. I’ve listened to the NS (Norfolk Southern) Harrisburg Line, Harrisburg, PA link and it has a lot of chatter plus transmissions from automated "defect detectors".
Lionel’s Acela Set Showing Up in Hobby Shops
The buzz around the O Gauge forums indicates that some hobby shops have taken delivery of Lionel’s new Acela sets. No pictures or videos posted on the web yet but stayed tuned.
Criticism of UP Lawsuit Against MTH
A reader of the Coshocton Tribune, a small town paper in Ohio, had some poignant criticism of Union Pacific’s lawsuit against MTH Electric trains. UP is suing MTH for unauthorized use of it’s company logo. The reader writes:
As I have been a railroad fan for many years, this action by Monstro
(the UP whale) to gobble the few minnows of profit earned by small
model makers sickens me to the point of nausea. The modest profits of
companies like Lionel, MTH and others probably total a miniscule
percent of UP’s income. And yet, UP can’t muster an atom of goodwill
toward an industry which has kept UP’s name and logo in the forefront
for decades (not to mention all the free advertising).
Read the entire article at the Conshocton Tribune
Train Talk Radio
Believe it or not there is an Internet talk radio show dedicated to the world of trains. The show, Let’s Talk Trains, concentrates on the 1:1 scale and seems to be well produced. I haven’t listened to an entire broadcast yet, but if your into the 1:1 scale it’s probably worth a listen. The show airs live at 10 am Pacific time on Saturdays, but all shows are recorded and available 24/7 on the Let’s Talk Trains web site.
Visit the Let’s Talk Trains site.