O GaugeWatch.com

I am suprised by your recomendation of this program. Several other places I visit are quite nasty about their contempt of this program.

Thanks for posting a comment. I not aware of the other comments. For anyone with an interest in trains, a weekly 60 minute show about trains that is well produced is worth watching. Those used to watching home movie quality VCR tapes with trains just rolling past a camera on a tri-pod may find this show too overwhelming. I own several such tapes and there is no comparison when it comes to production value. The best part is that Extreme Trains can hold the attention of someone that may not be a rail fan and may even spark such folks to become more interested in real trains and model trains. It’s a shame Lionel and/or MTH’s marketing deparment didn’t recognize the show as an excellent marketing opportunity.

While I agree that the cinematography of this program is in fact very good. The overall production value for some railfans is actually quite poor. The camera spends almost as much time showing the host gawking as it does anything else. Much of the information is at best misleading and at worst just plain wrong. The host doesn’t seem have the knowledge that one would expect from a train conductor. Plus some if not most people find his rabid enthusiasm distracting if not even disturbing. admittingly these things concern railfans more than model train people like those this site is geared toward. So I agree that a show like this would be a great marketing opportunity for a model/toy train manufacturer. This particular show may not be a good idea due to the fact that many model train enthusiasts are also knowledgeable enough railfans to be put off by the negitive aspects of this show.

I find it interesting that the rail fans are complaining about the host’s enthusiasm because being somewhat of a rail fan myself (far from expert) and a model railroader I would probably have the same enthusiasm if not more if I had the chance to do what he is doing. The last episode about UP #844 must have really struck a nerve because the host actually takes a few friendly digs at rail fans….he say something like “They wear old baseball hats with some type of railroad logo on it and always wear dirty old sneakers.” Let the stuffy old rail fans complain, my 5 year old son and I really enjoy the show and I hope it runs for another season.

Obviously this is a situation where we must agree to disagree. One last point before I let the matter rest. All of the comments I am referring to were about the first 2 episodes. So the comments the host made during the latest episode were not a factor in the general attitude about the show.

Thanks for the discussion.