BUILDING INTEREST IN TROLLEY MODELING: TELLING THE WORLD

TRACTION MODELS --- GROWING THE HOBBY
Based on a Rant in the East Penn Traction Club Forum of Spring 2009.
with significant additions and emendations by the author


When it was suggested to a group of traction hobbyist that they run a program in Florida similar to those outstanding exhibitions held in the Philadelphia area by the East Penn Traction Club (EPTC), we were told :
1. that the hobby was dying,
2. that no new people were coming into the hobby because "All kids were interested in was computer gaming", and that
3. the very small magnitude annual event held in Florida by the Electric Railroaders of Florida was all we could expect.
We don't agree with any of those premises, and decided to explore where this hobby-wide low self-esteem come from.
We were told that we should run these exhibitions ourselves. Many hobbyists came down here, retiring to Florida because adequate facilities did not exist elsewhere to accommodate newly acquired or discovered physical limitations. Florida has many residences and business facilities that cater to people who don’t get around as easily as they used to. Houses are designed with no stairs; there are few hills; it is not necessary to doff and don heavy winter clothes; and long stretches of perfect weather allow the long walks that we’re told we must take often and regularly to maintain our health. As many of you know and appreciate, it takes a great deal of work by many people to put one of these programs together successfully. Finding active, motivated traction hobbyists who are willing and able to pitch in and devote their time to programs like this is not an easy task.
We’ve heard it said by the occasional non-resident --- who comes to Florida for a brief visit spent primarily on the magnificent beaches or at the many theme parks --- that Florida is very hot. Well, it is, in the summer. Only deluded or misinformed northerners would attempt to run a program here during the summer. That's why smart visitors plan their trips here during the magnificent Winter season that runs from Thanksgiving through Easter. During that delightful period, daytime temperatures run up to a high in the mid-seventies; the thermometer drops to about 55-60⁰ F. at night; and we of sub-tropical Florida call this time "the Dry Season" because there are no tropical storms and essentially no rain (three days of rain all this past winter, here on the Gulf Coast). The natural desire among most northerners to get away from the snow, ice, and bitter cold weather in January or February provides natural leverage (stimulus?) to millions of people who might not otherwise be motivated to come down. No traction group is taking advantage of that meteorological fact; is a puzzlement, as the King of Siam commented.
Although the members of EPTC can be rightly proud of their events, and although we’re sure that people come to them from all over the United States, it's entirely too easy to fall into the "Everybody Fallacy". I've heard, at various times in my life, the following examples of the Everybody Fallacy :
a. "Everybody plays golf !"
b. "Everybody listens to Howard Stern" !
c. "Everybody knows that alien lizard-like life forms are the secret rulers of Planet Earth !"
d. "Everybody likes chocolate mint ! … or hot spicy Thai food ! "
e. And finally, most pertinent, "Everybody who's interested in trolleys already goes to EPTC events." Well, frankly, they don’t.
The fact is that trolley fans are an infinitesimal fraction of the Earth's population. Like any organization or special interest, we need to build a broader base of interest and membership; otherwise complacency and the effects of continuous demographic decreases over time will ensure that our organizations will continue to shrink in size if it does not make an effort to grow larger. We'll try to restate our points briefly and clearly:

1. We recommend that a major trolley, traction, transit, and tram (T, pronounced “T to the Fourth Power”) exhibit be held as a winter event in a beautiful, pleasantly mild, venue in Florida, specifically designed so that entire families from all over the country --- if not the world --- can enjoy the facilities and learn about trolleys, trams, and public transit, both model and full size.
2. A national Exhibition in Florida --- or even an international event --- would be in addition to any other regular exhibit and meeting that model traction groups might run at any other time or place. A strong, effective special interest organization should stake out a leadership position nationally by planning an event of national interest, instead of a regionally-oriented event.
3. The key to a well-attended world-class event is outstanding (not just good) professional-quality publicity carefully placed well in advance of an event in a wide variety of media:
A. national media like the New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, Travel, Reminisce; AARP;
B. magazines that cater to technically-oriented readers , such as Popular Mechanics; Discover; Smithsonian; Popular Science; Trains; Model Railroader;
C. all the trolley museum, preservation, and traction hobby periodicals, of course --- but not just the obvious American ones: there's a whole world of them out there, plus all the professional light rail magazines in the U.S. and Europe;
D. on-line notices to all the web-sites and URL’s that deal with prototype trolley and traction issues E. press releases to the dozens of transit advocacy groups; F. carefully placed video clips on national TV (which loves the unusual story) or on-line, including YouTube; G. cultivate some celebrities or talk-show hosts for some “face-time” on national TV
H. get together with some of the other top, active transit and traction membership groups, including CERA and the New York City transit mob, and make them part of the process I. Announce a Man-of-the-Year award to a well-deserving --- but previously unheralded --- advocate of light rail or trolley, full-size or model is an attention-grabbing device that really works. (Think Academy Awards). and on and on, limited only by imagination and time J. Utilize the public relations staff and capabilities of, e.g., SEPTA and the City of Philadelphia; civic leaders --- mayors and governors; regional publications (Philadelphia Magazine, New Yorker, etc.); the trolley museums --- especially Electric City Traction Club and other groups doing trolley restoration; the two or three commercial trolley manufacturers (GOMACO, etc.); the dozen or so light rail vehicle manufacturers (including Kinki-Sharyo, headquartered in --- ta-da --- Florida); British and Continental tram magazines.
K. Make up --- and offer for sale --- special souvenir T-shirts of the event; … and special souvenir trolley models in the two most popular scales, 0 and H0. I could go on and on, but you probably get the picture and can add many examples of your own.

Our modest group --- Electric Railways Network --- has compiled an address list of well over 800 contacts, which does NOT include media and is still growing daily.
Query: When EPTC held its most recent exhibition which thousands attended, did they collect name-and-address information on every person who attended, and then post it to a computer file for publicity and information use ? It's interesting to note that during this economic crisis, some disintegrating small companies are finding that their customer list has become their largest and most valuable asset. Do trolley groups compile current “customer lists” of the huge multitudes of people who attend their events ? Do groups understand how to make effective use of this priceless compilation ?

4. It's not as onerous a task as you might assume to hold a major exhibition in a distant location, if you take advantage of assistance from destination venues and event specialists that can provide assistance. I mention the Coronado Springs Resort & Conference Center at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, specifically, not because it's the only place to hold a world-class exhibition (much of tourist Florida can provide that), but because it’s a facility that was specifically designed for just this sort of program, they’re one of the best, and they're situated within the gigantic Orlando entertainment complex. Families from all over the country plan and save for years to take a vacation at one of these family-oriented theme parks. This major and continuous flow of airline traffic has turned Orlando International Airport into one of the busiest passenger terminals in the country. It's one of the few American destinations that many Canadians and Europeans feel comfortable about trusting for a family vacation. 5. Unspoken is the understanding that all this requires planning a couple of years ahead.

We have not been brief but we realized --- as we wrote this essay --- that we needed to be comprehensive if we had any chance of convincing the diverse and understandably skeptical membership of large groups like East Penn, or CERA, or Southern California that they should explore these opportunities. We hope that we have made our point : let’s get thousands of new people to see for themselves what a fascinating hobby we’re involved in.

TRAINS, NOT PLANES

This is a quote from a story in the Washington Post on December 4, 2007:

Fort Worth, Texas --- The day started poorly for Allison Quate,
Her flight from Oklahoma to Dallas-fort Worth International Airport was severely delayed. She missed her connecting flight to Washington and spent six hours marching between terminals and gates, trying to get on another plane. They were all full.
By 5 p.m., (she) found herself standing anxiously at her fifth gate, competing with 22 other standby passengers fr a seat on the American Airlines jet bound for Washington.
"This is very disappointing" she said, just before the gate agent closed the door, forcing (her) to head to another plane. She eventually landed in Washington at 1:30 a.m., 11 hours behind schedule.
... jammed flights have changed the experience of flying. Passengers complain of less personal space as they get poked by others' elbows. Overhead bins fill up. Even bathroom lines stretch further down the aisles, frustrating those with aisle seats. And ... packed planes have upset travel plans, making it difficult for airlines to recover after disruptions."

What is wrong with the common sense of the American traveling public? Indeed, what is wrong with the common sense and leadership of our planners, politicians, and governments, that we ever allowed this situation to develop.
Certainly, I can't be the only person who remembers the comforts, speed***, and pleasures of train travel.

*** by "speed" I mean the metric for the door-to-door traveling time, taking into account aircraft runway waiting time; travel time to the nearest airport; connecting flights that don't connect; laughable security checks that ask 80-year-old church ladies to remove their shoes so that the dread phrase "profiling" is not invoked; cancellations; weather delays; overbooking; and all the other vast array of interferences with smooth, safe, enjoyable travel.

Instead, we have allowed train tracks to be ripped up for the benefit of recreation in the Rails-to-Trails travesty; freight trains to monopolize the railroad network that remains; roads jammed with automobile and truck traffic to grow beyond belief to the detriment of everything human; and the Fool's Mantra of the day to be "Walk and bicycle to work". Surely they jest!!

HAVE DECISION MAKERS CONSIDERED MONORAIL ?

Transportation planners need to understand that monorail, with its small footprint, is ideally suited for conditions in Florida, and would resolve at one stroke such issues as interference with rail freight traffic, lack of available right-of-way, and construction in environmentally sensitive flood zones and wetlands, by elevating vulnerable transportation infrastructure well above ground level.

Monorail can be designed, built, and supported with minimal regard for the operation of freight railroads, road construction, or traffic underneath its superstructure. Infrastructure can be kept well out of the way of traffic on divided highways, essentially all major Florida roads, by placing monorail’s support pylons in the median between the lanes. This eliminates congestion, safety hazards, and interference with automobile and truck traffic. Construction has minimal impact on road traffic --- unlike lane widening --- and zero impact on rail freight operations. A monorail system can even be constructed above so-called Rails-to-Trails linear parks, as the two uses do not interfere with each other, and might even serve as mutual synergies. Indeed, that might be wind up being the highest and best use of the Trail.

To compare monorail’s costs fairly with other means of transportation, its many benefits should be monetized and factored into the equation. If analysts are going to perform a Cost-Benefit Analysis, they shoould take into account

1. tourist dollars that a visitor attraction like monorail brings to the economy;

2. the value of human lives save through the reduction in traffic accidents, including the reduction in insurance premiums due to favorable experience when calculating those premiums and the resulting saving of human lives;

3. the real costs of congestion in our cities, including the reduced air pollution

4. reduction in gasoline usage, fuel costs; dependence on foreign oil ;

5. more livable cities;

6. reduced travel time;

These are just some of the benefits which need to be evaluated in dollars and factored into those analyses.

Monorail is not just for theme parks and, indeed, never has been. The original monorail, in the Wuppertal Valley in Germany, has been successfully and continually operating for over 100 years. The only accident in its entire history was due to a careless workman, not to its monorail design. This is in stark contrast to the safety record of automobiles, which are accident-prone as well as dependent on foreign oil.

Planners unwilling to try what may seem like an untested or unfamiliar modality need to familiarize themselves with the burgeoning construction of monorails worldwide, especially in the Pacific Rim, where authorities are not hidebound by precedent or constrained by lack of imagination. Countries like Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia have begun to design and build monorail systems to alleviate many of the same problems that the Tampa Bay Region is experiencing. Ironically, some of those countries are funding this construction by using capital they’ve earned by selling us oil.

We don’t need to make decisions obscured by a fog of misinformation or a lack of data. The Monorail Society, a national membership, organization, provides technical support for these decision processes by making available an extraordinary collection of technical material, video tapes and CD's, news stories, manufacturers' specifications, and history to those who want to know the facts. They are not an advocacy organization, but a large membership group with expertise in advanced transportation technologies. We highly recommend them as reference and background for any serious discussion of monorail as a transportation medium. Valuable material can be found online at www.monorails.org and utilizing the excellent index to this website.

Two other thoughts:

1. Model monorails:
     We are really surprised that more modellers have not climbed aboard the     bandwagon and built a modern model railway layout featuring a monorail running through it. Gee whiz ! We've seen some pretty specialized layouts, including mining roads, military feldbahns, Brooklyn street scenes with elevated transit lines, and many more. We would think that some people with imagination would have risen to the challenge and ventured a model monorail system.

2. Advantages in flooding areas
     Regarding the many advantages of prototype monorails in those areas which are prone to flooding: We have seen many video clips on TV news programs of areas that are low-lying or have naturally poor drainage, particularly after the spate of tropical storms during the past few years. Monorails that rise entirely above the flood plain are immune from high water; one would think that local officials would see and understand the great advantage this bestows on a monorail transit system.
Indeed, with the current concern over climate change and the possibility of rising sea levels, a few programs have featured scare stories showing completely flooded subway tunnels and the way that this can bring major cities like New York City to a complete halt. Think monorail !

FORCED PERSPECTIVE IN TROLLEY DIORAMAS

From TRAINS.COM, as originally derived from MODEL RAILROADER Magazine

Forced perspective for model railroads
How to make your model cityscape look big
by John Pryke

(Originally published on August 31, 2002)

Looking at scenery from any height, the closest viewscape contains lower buildings. Beyond that in a city might be taller apartment houses, which looked small. Beyond that, maybe a large church, with a tiny steeple. At that distance, vehicles on the streets are only colored dots. From where the viewer might stand, any city looks like (and probably is) a very big city!

If we were to duplicate that city scene exactly in HO, it would take over 30 feet; yet most layouts have only 6" to 18" in depth.. Trying to do that in Mega-Scale
would be even more difficult. There is, however, a method to trick the viewers’ eye into thinking that buildings only a few feet away are far off in the distance, a technique called “forced perspective”.

This is the use of representing objects in the distance to be reduced in size to create the illusion of great distance in a very small space. A simple example is to model the scenery and buildings behind a trolley or railroad car in a smaller scale than the train itself. When the viewer looks over the train at the buildings, they appear to be far away because of their smaller size, even though only a few feet may separate the two. Your eye perceives these decreases in size as increased distance.

How to create forced perspective
When using this technique, it's helpful to create a visual barrier between the railroad and the city. The most common way to do this is to place the distant townscape two or more feet higher than tracks in the foreground. A retaining wall between the two levels works well and follows the prototypical practice of many railroads. Visually, you'll group the tracks in the foreground as one set of objects, all of the same general size, with their depth defined by the physical distance to the retaining wall. Then you'll look up and see the vertically separated cityscape as a second set of objects getting smaller and smaller. The smaller size enhances the illusion of distance through forced perspective.

Within a viewscape, the best way to achieve a sense of distance is to position the different elements of the town (houses, stores, partial buildings, flats, and the backdrop), and then to reduce the physical size of each element the farther it is from the viewer. Using EGRM as an example, the trolley in the foreground (the closest objects to the viewer) are one-and-one-half inch to the foot, or 1/8 actual size. In the townscape, houses just beyond the tracks are also scaled 1½ “ to the foot.. Ideally, partial buildings, if they are immediately behind the complete buildings, would be perhaps one-inch-to-the-foot to make them appear farther away. The next layer back consists of flats, several feet behind the front line of buildings. I find that making flats that are available in O scale makes them look much farther away. Finally, forming a backdrop even further back that reduces the size of the structures even more makes them appear even farther away than the flats. Why? Because to the eye, small size equals distance; the smaller the building the farther away it seems.

Fortunately, the manufacturers of flats and backdrops make their products with forced perspective in mind. Walthers Instant Buildings flats, for example, average 20 to 25 percent smaller than full-size HO. Similarly, the closest buildings in the city backdrops of Walthers, Detail Associates, and other manufacturers are about half HO scale (about 45 percent smaller, on the average), while those in the distance are even smaller.

Relative motion
As viewers look across a set of trains they encounter a visual barrier (the retaining wall) that separates a set of objects of one size (the trains) from a set of decreasing size (buildings, flats, and backdrop). The table at the bottom of the drawing shows the relationship between these objects in terms of percentage of full size, relative detail, and perceived distance.
A second and more subtle way to apply forced perspective is through the relative motion of near and distant structures. If you travel through a city by rail or road, look out the window and take a minute to notice how the buildings appear to move past you. Those closest go by at the speed you are moving. Structures two to three blocks away seem to move much more slowly, while buildings many blocks (or miles) in the distance appear to stand still.

Properly placed, buildings, flats, and a backdrop on you cityscape can achieve the same effect. While the difference in speed is much smaller than in the prototype, it is noticeable, and helps contribute to the sense of distance in the setting.

FORCED PERSPECTIVE IN TROLLEY DIORAMAS

Even in this unenlightened age, many model traction fans --- when they become bored with running their trolleys in a circle around a perpetual, virtual Christmas tree --- use backdrops from Walthers and Backdrop Warehouse as wall coverings in back of the layout. They are printed in a scale much smaller than the trolleys running in the foreground --- often very detailed, very nicely printed or photographed city backgrounds by commercial firms like Walthers and Backdrop Warehouse.

This key concept of using different scales for different sections of a diorama, where the scales differ and descend in size from front to back, is called 'forced perspective.

I would like to quote from a “thread” --- a list of comments in chronological, conversational order from an Internet forum on model airplanes. Because so many model airplane hobbyists, like model railroaders and live steamers, are interested primarily in operating their models, we found it surprising that any of them would be interested in building dioramas, usually a rather static display. It also was interesting that many people in that hobby --- and we're confident that holds true for model traction and transit as well --- had never heard of forced perspective, and had never realized that picturing a moment frozen in time of their otherwise very active, moving hobby was a valid, fascinating option for extending the time factor in order to appreciate the original historical scene or activity. You just wouldn’t think that there were valid static aspects of a hobby based on movement, like ours. What some British model railroaders, the fiddle yard modelers working in a very restricted area --- and French and German modelers who have built Feldbahns and industrial layouts, have demonstrated, is the satisfaction that can be derived through portraying the railroad experience in a very small area over some brief period of time. NO ! Ya doesn’t hafta just run ‘em around and around !!

The other advantage is that one can focus the audience’s attention on some small, evocative aspect of what electric traction railroading really felt like, looked like, and even sounded like, that extends far beyond running a trolley at speed and sounding the horn.

It also opens a major avenue for modeling in the really large scales --- Jimmy Sparkman’s and British trams ¾ inch to the foot, live steam's one inch and 1½ inch scale, and even in the size we're currently beating a drum for --- 2 inches to the foot, the scale utilized by action figures and Barbie dolls.

And lest you turn up your nose at the latter (Mattel calls it Playscale; our call is that it should be dubbed DisPlayscale), consider the possibility for realistic displays if you bring forced perspective into play :
DisPlayscale in the foreground --- it could be just a static moment captured for the viewer, with realistic figures engaged in typical railroad activity; immediately behind it at a small distance, a 1.5-inch-to-the-foot live steam locomotive or string of railcars; right behind that, at the appropriate distance, one-inch scale; next, some F Scale (1:20.3) or G scale (1:22.5 to 1:32), with their detail and outstanding visuals; and, finally, background flats in 0 scale (1:48), displaying a rich industrial or metropolitan background. We think it would take spectators’ breath away. If people asked what the diorama’s scale was, you could ingenuously say “All of them”.

Following is a set of relevant quotes from a model airplane forum:

“One further note, You might want to have several possibilities where your piece will or can be displayed other than a contest.

Museums.
Hobby Shops,
Libraries,
Private or permanent hangars where real aircraft are housed and repaired,
Tech schools,
Corporate headquarters Like trolley and model rail publishing co.,
Large malls
Government buildings, etc.
N.B. This list emended to reflect traction vice aviation interests

Finding a permanent home is not difficult if it’s well done. The first place my Staaken Diorama went on display was the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. It has been on temporary loan to the Wings Over the Rockies Aviation Museum for 4 years. If you do a club-sponsored contest entry, the post-contest and ultimate location should be established first and one person should be in charge of its disposition. This person would then answer to the club.

While there is more on the topic, it can all be gleaned from Shep Paynes great work. “How to build Dioramas”. Verlinden has great scenes and ideas. Don't discard any possibilities.”

Tool guys advise : Lefty Loosy, Righty Tighty
Diorama builders might say : Closey Largey, Farthey Smalley

MARKETING THOUGHTS FOR SMALL MANUFACTURERS OF TRACTION MODELS

These comments are addressed to the many small manufacturers of trams, trolleys, transit, and traction who bemoan the fact that trolley modelers are getting older and there are no young people replacing them in the hobby: “How many kids these days have ever even seen a trolley?” My reply: How many kids have never seen a space ship, or a Spiderman, or a fashion model? That hasn’t stopped hundreds of thousands of youngsters from becoming fascinated by those subjects.
To quote a fellow who has proven himself to be a first-rate small manufacturer of high quality model rail equipment, “… [might] start selling things again if the market improves, but really as the older guys die off and the younger people are more into video games and other hobbies, the market for trains generally is shrinking, so I have no illusions about it.” When even the top dogs become discouraged, is it any wonder that our hobby is in a decline?
When the suggestion was made in an online forum that it might be a good idea to run a major national T (T = Traction, trolleys, trams, and transit) exhibition in Orlando, Florida, with all its visitor attractions, during winter season, the nicest time of year in Florida, because it could be made part of a true family vacation --- the kids could do theme park activities, the spouse could attend spouse programs, and the hobbyist could participate in a few days of intense national marketing and tractioneering --- it was brushed off by many of the people who responded:
Florida was too hot [the suggested date was in the middle of winter, when the days are in the high 70’s and nights plunge down into the 60’s !];
They weren’t interested in trucking their traction module down to Florida [that was never suggested];
Florida was too far [The Monorail Society is holding its Monorail Exposition in Dubai --- when Orlando was suggested to them because it was easy to get to from any airport in North America, they remonstrated that it was too far and too inconvenient. Now Dubai --- that’s far !];
and on and on… all in all, a notable lack of enthusiasm.
When the Mattel Corporation, which has some of the smartest marketing people in the world, determined that, when their sales were declining as the demographics (statistical and descriptive measures of the kind of people who normally bought Barbie dolls and accessories) were beginning to change from their optimum, they didn’t throw up their hands and mutter, “Kids aren’t interested in dolls anymore; we’re doomed!” They recognized the enormous untapped market in China and have begun to target Chinese adult women, apparently with notable success. Now that’s clever marketing!
One series of paperback books uses the keywords “Guerrilla Marketing” as their continuing tagline, and tries to energize those unenlightened people who say “Marketing? You mean advertise more? I tried that and it didn’t work”. These books suggest hundreds of strategies beyond advertising to broaden a market and then reach it in innovative ways. Try them, if you want to sell to a whole new demographic of customers. Let people know that you exist --- and not just trolley hobbyists. For example, one small businessman who sells specialty insurance had his “business story” printed on one of those “magnetic” signs (they actually stick on with static electricity) that have sprung up everywhere, and placed them non-destructively on his personal automobile. We’ve personally seen him approached in the parking lot of our local post office with business inquiries from curious postal patrons.
When was the last time you sent your local newspaper a professional-looking Press Release on, for example, the start of your fifth year in business? … on the addition of a new product to your line? … on your exhibiting your products at a hobby exposition? … on the new investment casting machine you purchased?
Have you given a talk recently to one of the local civic organizations that are desperate for programs for their membership? You would probably be hailed as a hero for rescuing the Program Chairman. At least let him know that you’re available to fill in if the scheduled speaker doesn’t show up. He will never forget you, and you’ll tell your story --- and if you’re smart, exhibit some of your product line. Local business men are notoriously good at networking. Better yet, have a small display module on which you can run your traction equipment. Nothing gets attention like an exhibit that moves.
Mundane? Trite? Maybe, but it gets you noticed by people who’ve never heard of you. Do you go places (shopping? when you travel? out with the family? your kid’s school programs? a Chamber of Commerce casual social event?) wearing an attractive professional-looking ash-gray polo shirt with your logo and a tag line tastefully silk-screened in black on the breast pocket? No logo? That says something right there about your marketing technique. You don’t belong to your local Chamber? That continues the saga in the same vein. Do you sponsor a school team? Inexpensive and reaches exactly the market you want. Have you taken your (personal) banker to lunch recently? … ever? They appreciate it, they remember you favorably, they might mention you to their many business contacts, and you can never tell where that might take you…. or do you wait until you need to finance a business opportunity and walk into your bank as a total stranger?
Did you know that over 60 North American cities are planning, designing, or building light rail lines right now? Right there are hundreds of golden opportunities for little business --- one of whose advantages, we are told, is that they can move and change gears rapidly --- to get models of Light Rail Vehicles (LRV’s) into production on a small scale. You don’t need a production run of 10,000 models to jump into the fray; you can be competitive --- with Made in America products --- on a vastly smaller scale. Interestingly, when we mentioned this possibility to one small businessman, he protested, “But suppose I make a small run and sell out?” Yes … and the down side is …?
Marketing? We’ll bet that most small manufacturers advertise primarily or exclusively in Model Railroading (a fine Kalmbach publication), or Railroad Model Craftsman, or one of the excellent and fascinating trolley specialty magazines. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you’re preaching to the already converted. In addition to that, you need to inform a NEW audience about what you’re making.
Have you ever heard of a small magazine called “Reminisce”? Admittedly, very small circulation compared to, say, Newsweek! But every single reader has subscribed because he or she is harking nostalgically back to the Nineteen Thirties, Forties, and Fifties. We don’t recall having EVER seen a single photo or article about trolleys --- a natural link, or referencing them in any way. Where are you guys? We don’t have the circulation figures in front of us, but those tens of thousands (we imagine) of readers are potential buyers.
Almost every metropolitan region has a business newspaper; in the Tampa Bay area, it’s the Tampa Business Journal. They are always interested in hearing about interesting and unheralded business ventures, even part–time ones. Find out who handles transportation news on the staff of your metropolitan daily. Cultivate him or her before you need publicity --- everyone eats lunch ! Have that staff person aware of your company and briefed before you would like a feature story.
Light rail? Has anyone done the homework of compiling a mailing list targeting the hundreds of Metropolitan Planning Commissions (MPC’s); OR Transportation Planning Agencies (TPA’s) OR the state and county commissioners who authorize millions of dollars to fund the construction of these new LRV lines OR the management at the companies that make the prototype LRV’s? Our organization --- Electric Railways Network --- is starting in a small way to begin compiling that information. Has anyone worked with the media --- aside from some of the excellent work on YouTube, an online video medium --- to get stories on traction, vintage trolleys, and LRV’s out to the public through the regular cable channels that typically produce and show material like that, like History, Discovery, and soon?
Imagine the impact of running one of your light rail models at a meeting of one of those organizations of decision-makers? We could go on and on, but we think that we’ve made our point: many markets, many new and different conduits to reach them. In Einstein’s famous words, don’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. The famous physicist called that “insanity”.

MODEL TRACTION in the MEGA-GAUGES

What are the Mega-Gauges, and why use the term at all?
Because the traditional gauges --- historically the earliest in time of the popular scales, Gauge 1, 0 scale, and H0 --- have become the usual fare of the model railroad hobby, it’s easy to think that they are the entire hobby.
Live steamers certainly can tell you differently; it’s interesting to note that the Mega-Gauges are considered the Live Steam gauges. I’m talking about --- from the smallest to the largest --- ¾th inch to the foot (1:16 scale), one inch to the foot (1:12 scale) and 1½ inch to the foot (1:8 scale).
To these, I would like to add 2 inches to the foot (1:6) for reasons that I will explain in a later post.
For historical reasons, 1:16 scale is the premier size for model trams (British for “trolley”) in Great Britain, so I find it necessary to establish its presence to those unfamiliar with the hobby overseas. It’s the scale in which Jimmy Sparkman’s extraordinary models of Philadelphia’s SEPTA transit system are built, but unfortunately, not much else.
I’m suggesting that a couple of those scales are ideal for development (in every sense of the word). I’m thinking, in particular, of one inch and two inch scales. In a later blog in this series, I will explain their role in railway modeling and, in particular, in transit modeling. I will state my case for their use in trolley models in tomorrow’s blog.
This is all leading to my view that we can’t sit still and hope people will become interested in model traction. We need to convince everyone in the hobby that we all need to get the word out. Can you imagine how few folks would be driving automobiles if Henry Ford was content to sit in a garage in Detroit waiting for customers to stumble over his Tin Lizzies? Just remember that Joshua Lionel Cowan publicized his model trains by setting up layouts around Christmas trees in the display windows of Main Street department stores across the country.
We need to do something similar --- and not just an occasional exhibition in, say, a university in suburban Philadelphia, where we preach to the already converted.

SIZE MATTERS : NOT YOUR FATHER’S ELECTRIC TRAINS

This is a site --- and a blog --- about Mega-Gauge railroad models, very large modeling in the size customarily called “live steam” or “miniature railways”. Our interest lies in those models that
1. are powered by electricity RATHER THAN by live steam and small gasoline engines AND
2. represent prototypes --- the original full-size rail transportation on which the models are based --- that were electrically powered:
a. trolleys, trams, and street cars
b. interurban trains
c. boxcab electric locomotives
d. urban subways and elevated rail
e. light rail and rapid transit AND
f. heavy traction (main line) electric locomotives
because we believe that electricity is by far the most sensible means of propulsion for many reasons, which we will outline in future blogs.

The subject of these Internet pages --- web logs --- generally run on rail with a gauge (distance between the rails) greater than 7 inches. This latter distance was not chosen arbitrarily.
7¼ inches and 7½ inches are the gauges of the two most popular “live steam” gauges in this country, the former being popular in the Northeastern U.S. and Britain, the latter being by far the more popular throughout the rest of the U.S.
BUT, given any degree of interest in gauges smaller than 7 inches, we will explain, discuss, and promote other scales, also. The two that stand out are 1” to the foot (dollhouse scale and also the subject of interest among some live steamers) and ¾” scale. The latter scale is carried forward principally by Jimmy Sparkman of the East Penn Traction Club, who builds beautiful ¾ inch models of elevated third rail trains (“els”) running on aluminum elevated trestles and exhibited at many of the special events that occur in the Philadelphia area.

We will discuss and advocate these giant electric trains, knowing very well the dual definition of the phrase in the vocabulary of both full size railroading and models. We will recommend that commercial manufacturers and amateur builders broaden the range of models in this size; suggest that a wide range of model buildings and accessories in that size would be welcome and marketable; advocate that the entire hobby become oriented toward true model railroading, as it is in the smaller gauges (H0, 0 gauge, and the misnamed G scale); and provide arguments (in the legal broad meaning, not the usual sense of “quarreling”) for the use of Forced Perspective as practiced in stagecraft.

Electric Railways Network

Now that the East Penn Traction Club Forum has been Terminated with Extreme Prejudice, we felt that the void should be filled with something relevant and meaningful --- hence, this blog, with some of the same subject matter:
Traction, Trolleys, Trams, and Transit --- [T to the Fourth Power]
but with much more emphasis on:
1. model traction
2. international electrically-powered transportation
3. urban transit
4. mega-scale traction and infrastructure modeling
and little or no content regarding
1. monorails (fixed guideway and worthy of note, but already covered nicely
2. Magnetic Levitation(MagLev) --- not a parlor trick, but they're not together yet
3. Internecine personality conflicts
4. Labor disputes
5. News of route changes or other local interest.

So, for better or for worse, here it is. It will be strictly controlled for content, spam, flaming, relevance, and (for want of a better word) decency.

We welcome contributions that are polite, relatively brief, contain images (if we learn how to utilize them nicely) and if
1. they have obtained copyright ownership from the owner or
2. are in the public domain or
3. are out of copyright under GNU,
as I don't want copyright enforcement officers leading me in handcuffs on a Perp Walk down the stairs of the Federal Building.

Hoping and planning to make this an integral part of your regular reading material.

Hal Pelta