This is a heartfelt plea to all the Electrically Powered Fixed Guideway interests --- trolley modelers and clubs; trolley museums; geographically-focused clubs like CERA; British trams; European transit groups; Light Rail associations etc. --- to set aside personal and local concerns, issues, and past differences . Understand that the hobby as a group can act together --- in unison --- and achieve their goals on many levels by cooperating in the formation of a national --- or even international --- group of enthusiasts (I love the British term as it addresses the necessary levels of focused emotion) .
If we could get the leadership of the various groups, special interests, clubs, and museums to truly lead :
a. Decide on a set of Missions and Goals that rise above track standards and a focus on local geography; b. Become a trend-setter instead of a collector of historical materials;
c. Lead their group to be more than an organizer of a once-a-year display;
d. Recognize that our public is beginning to consist of a smaller and smaller audience;
e. Put aside past grievances, imaginary or real;
f. Analyze the possibilities of this Special Interest of ours;
This can all be accomplished in the following straightforward way :
1. Organize nationally. This is now truly within reach through the use of the Internet, the Social Media, Remote Meeting methods, and other electronic means.
2. Inform the public through the Mainstream Media;
3. Utilize the powerful impact of viewing T-to-the-Fourth Power equipment in action
4. Through a carefully planned series of events that demonstrates What we Do and What we Love
5. Don't dwell on past differences ;
6. Don't keep doing the same thing over and over again, and expect different results --- Albert Einstein's definition of insanity;
7. Look back over previous Electric Railways Network Blogs;
8. Don't get bogged down by trivial past or imagined slights; and especially
9. Search beneath the (admittedly very modest) humor posted here, Get Together and Get the Word Out to throughout North and South America and the World by planning and running one or more major Conferences and Exhibitions in reasonable venues :
A. NOT a college gym adjacent to a Bikers' Bar in an obscure town
B. ... at times of comfortable environmental conditions and pleasant weather
C. NOT Frostbite Falls, Minnesota OR Nunavut inside the Arctic Circle;
D. NOT Florida during Hurricane Season, as one national model railroad show did
E. NOT in distant, physically unreachable places --- Kuala Lumpur (no kidding, it was once
suggested and even planned) OR the Amazon Rain Forest OR Siberia
F. ... accompanied by an instructive, attractive broad-based exhibition, even encouraging commercial
interests to participate
G. ... with broad instructive talks, NOT with minutiae or trivial details
H. ... as part of a major, well-planned campaign to demonstrate, teach, and sell the many fascinating
aspects of our hobby.
10. Keep in mind that teaching T-to-the-Fourth-Power history is fascinating but NOT the Goal.
11. Remember that even in All-In-Combat, the antagonists shake hands before they "Come out fighting!" ... keep all your disagreements in a civil context, and confined to policy issues, not perceived personal ones
12. Recruit NOT just the trolley and transit magazines, but the national and international general- interest media The New York Times and its brethren; New Yorker magazine; TV channels --- History and family-oriented TV; Readers Digest; Reminisce Magazine; TIME magazine; children's media --- TV, Scouting magazines like Boys' Life; the model railroad magazines; EVEN transit advocacy groups and Transportation Planning organizations on the Local, County, State, and Federal levels (yup, you heard me correctly).
13. Hold it in a place where people will go with delight (e.g., Disney World, Orlando); places that are easy to get to, where people will want to bring their family, even --- NO, especially --- the ones not interested in T-to-the-Fourth-Power; provide a Guest Program for them, which automatically means a place with many family-oriented diversions (like Disney World, Orlando).
Use the power of technology to schedule Pre-Event planning meetings using remote video conferencing communication.
Save the Naysayers and Sour-Faces for your local meetings (How has that been working out for you?).
Make it easy for non-US groups to participate --- it may be painful for some to admit, but neither financial nor transportation issues necessarily revolve around the USA these days --- that means easy Bureau de Change currency exchange --- try that in your local college gym -- plan for multi-lingual translation (including Russia, China, the Near- and Middle-East)
See if --- as a Group, a nascent Organization --- you can persuade major interests in Transit to foot the bill for some of the expenses of the planning period.
We were appalled when, in planning for a respectable Conference, we tried to contact major transit equipment manufacturers. Most of them didn't even respond to our (literate) letters or our eMails, providing us with an example of How to Influence People in the worst possible way ! It only takes five minutes to decline an invitation politely by eMail these electronic days.
All in all, we've given you a large amount to chew on. If you're happy, please let us know. If it's Quixotic, we guess we agree with you, but that shouldn't stop anyone. If you're angry beyond reply or polite discourse, we're so sorry --- as one of our faculty colleagues used to say --- So sad, Too bad.
Just consider the consequences of doing nothing (AGAIN : How has that been working out for you?).
HNILS@MSN.COM HYBRIDPELTA@HOTMAIL.COM
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
A New Concept in T-to-the-Fourth-Power Museums
First, probably most of you are wondering what "T-to-the-Fourth-Power" means.
The several hundred good people who have been reading this Blog may already know :
It's an abbreviation for the four "T"s" :
Trolleys
Trams (essentially, European, Australian, and Asian trolleys, streetcars, and light rail)
Traction (the old name for rail lines run by electricity), and
Transit (the New York subways, the Chicago El, the London Tube, the Paris Metro, interurban electric railways, etc.)
Second, why a museum of this stuff? We already have trolley museums; the famous Tich tram museum in the U.K. (England) ; the many local trolley museums in the United States, and quite a few others. Do we really need more ?
... and why now ?
Questions with easy answers, once you think it through in a broad Time and Space perspective.
1. Our North American trolley museums are delightful , nostalgic collections of antique and vintage traction equipment. BUT, they need very large budgets which will undoubtedly increase with time and inflation, and large amounts of ever decreasingly-available space.
2. Equipment maintenance is a difficult labor-intensive task , requiring large expenditures these days
3. The ride provided to visitors is overshadowed --- in most visitors' minds --- by the kinds of "rides" available in theme parks and amusement parks
4. Volunteers --- for any optional activity --- are becoming less and less available because of economic times, an older labor force that needs to spend its time in more financially rewarding ways, the increasing dearth of knowledge about "streetcars", how they work, and the mission, ethic, and function of museums, [we know; we've been there].
5. Grant money, local government appropriations, and private donations are becoming rare.
6. Much information regarding traction, and appreciation for its role, is fading from the public consciousness.
What is the answer ? ... or rather, what is one solution?
Follow the course set by maritime museums, which have become satisfied with --- and flourish with --- model ships.
Arguably the largest percentage of trolley museums provide a passenger ride for a few miles on hard-to-maintain track laid on hard-to-come-by land. It occurred to some of us that with many of the huge "Big-Box" stores, very large restaurants, and Supermarkets going belly-up in this economy, leaving enormous empty spaces that, in our own experience lie vacant for --- in many cases --- years, could be turned to good and interesting use.
Dictum one : Don't Ride 'em, watch 'em
If we take into consideration the tremendous impact size has, and can convert our model thinking into mega-model size --- anywhere from "Live Steam" scale (one-eighth size) up through GH size for the late Gordon Hatch of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (one-fourth size) models --- that can run indoors because they are safely powered by electricity, like any model transit equipment --- you realize that, with one stroke, costs of acquisition, construction, and maintenance have been reduced to manageable proportions.
Dictum Two : Size Matters
Suddenly, these museums become readily manageable, on every count.
1. Youngsters, eager for new experiences and without the funds or physical strength of adults, can become candidates for both membership and internship as working members;
2. retired adults: an enormous untapped resource. One retirement community --- not a nursing home, not a managed care facility --- alone can have over 2,000 residents who can participate or commit to volunteer; an operating budget no longer matches that of the Pentagon ; retired workers often carry with them into retirement the very skills and work ethic required;
3. the scope of both display and operation is within everyone's capability.
4. Location of, and access to, many of these vacant properties : much more convenient, translating into many more visitors and easier access by volunteers and staff.
5. Cost of exhibits drops dramatically.
6. Non-availability of replacement parts is much less of an issue.
7. A modest machine shop can serve dual purposes : it can be used to site-manufacture metal and wood parts for use in the museum OR offered for sale to new hobbyists, and it can be used as a basis for training youngsters in the use of serious machine tools under adult supervision.
8. Some of these museums might become adjunct facilities of school systems that are strapped for money and that (coincidentally) are not building a knowledgeable labor base for the future of manufacturing in America (North and South). Working with the Society for Industrial Archaeology or other such major non-profits as engineering schools could also be considered.
9. We just read a survey which indicated that a large majority of our youth don't even know which way to (ready for this one?) turn a screwdriver ! There's a selling point for a private education initiative !
10. Our education systems (full disclosure : of which we ourselves have been members for many years) often appear to lag many years behind our country's needs, and generally provide inadequate career guidance to both students and workers alike.
It doesn't take much to start a traction museum, one that would match the best of the maritime museums, other than the good sense and the will.
If the project seems beyond the means of a group, just compare it to running a conference or exhibition each year, with attendant set-up, breakdown, advertising, and persuading members to pitch in. Here, once set up, the basics remain. Comparing it to an operating trolley museum leaves the operating approach far behind in many ways.
More requirements and ideas will follow !
The several hundred good people who have been reading this Blog may already know :
It's an abbreviation for the four "T"s" :
Trolleys
Trams (essentially, European, Australian, and Asian trolleys, streetcars, and light rail)
Traction (the old name for rail lines run by electricity), and
Transit (the New York subways, the Chicago El, the London Tube, the Paris Metro, interurban electric railways, etc.)
Second, why a museum of this stuff? We already have trolley museums; the famous Tich tram museum in the U.K. (England) ; the many local trolley museums in the United States, and quite a few others. Do we really need more ?
... and why now ?
Questions with easy answers, once you think it through in a broad Time and Space perspective.
1. Our North American trolley museums are delightful , nostalgic collections of antique and vintage traction equipment. BUT, they need very large budgets which will undoubtedly increase with time and inflation, and large amounts of ever decreasingly-available space.
2. Equipment maintenance is a difficult labor-intensive task , requiring large expenditures these days
3. The ride provided to visitors is overshadowed --- in most visitors' minds --- by the kinds of "rides" available in theme parks and amusement parks
4. Volunteers --- for any optional activity --- are becoming less and less available because of economic times, an older labor force that needs to spend its time in more financially rewarding ways, the increasing dearth of knowledge about "streetcars", how they work, and the mission, ethic, and function of museums, [we know; we've been there].
5. Grant money, local government appropriations, and private donations are becoming rare.
6. Much information regarding traction, and appreciation for its role, is fading from the public consciousness.
What is the answer ? ... or rather, what is one solution?
Follow the course set by maritime museums, which have become satisfied with --- and flourish with --- model ships.
Arguably the largest percentage of trolley museums provide a passenger ride for a few miles on hard-to-maintain track laid on hard-to-come-by land. It occurred to some of us that with many of the huge "Big-Box" stores, very large restaurants, and Supermarkets going belly-up in this economy, leaving enormous empty spaces that, in our own experience lie vacant for --- in many cases --- years, could be turned to good and interesting use.
Dictum one : Don't Ride 'em, watch 'em
If we take into consideration the tremendous impact size has, and can convert our model thinking into mega-model size --- anywhere from "Live Steam" scale (one-eighth size) up through GH size for the late Gordon Hatch of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (one-fourth size) models --- that can run indoors because they are safely powered by electricity, like any model transit equipment --- you realize that, with one stroke, costs of acquisition, construction, and maintenance have been reduced to manageable proportions.
Dictum Two : Size Matters
Suddenly, these museums become readily manageable, on every count.
1. Youngsters, eager for new experiences and without the funds or physical strength of adults, can become candidates for both membership and internship as working members;
2. retired adults: an enormous untapped resource. One retirement community --- not a nursing home, not a managed care facility --- alone can have over 2,000 residents who can participate or commit to volunteer; an operating budget no longer matches that of the Pentagon ; retired workers often carry with them into retirement the very skills and work ethic required;
3. the scope of both display and operation is within everyone's capability.
4. Location of, and access to, many of these vacant properties : much more convenient, translating into many more visitors and easier access by volunteers and staff.
5. Cost of exhibits drops dramatically.
6. Non-availability of replacement parts is much less of an issue.
7. A modest machine shop can serve dual purposes : it can be used to site-manufacture metal and wood parts for use in the museum OR offered for sale to new hobbyists, and it can be used as a basis for training youngsters in the use of serious machine tools under adult supervision.
8. Some of these museums might become adjunct facilities of school systems that are strapped for money and that (coincidentally) are not building a knowledgeable labor base for the future of manufacturing in America (North and South). Working with the Society for Industrial Archaeology or other such major non-profits as engineering schools could also be considered.
9. We just read a survey which indicated that a large majority of our youth don't even know which way to (ready for this one?) turn a screwdriver ! There's a selling point for a private education initiative !
10. Our education systems (full disclosure : of which we ourselves have been members for many years) often appear to lag many years behind our country's needs, and generally provide inadequate career guidance to both students and workers alike.
It doesn't take much to start a traction museum, one that would match the best of the maritime museums, other than the good sense and the will.
If the project seems beyond the means of a group, just compare it to running a conference or exhibition each year, with attendant set-up, breakdown, advertising, and persuading members to pitch in. Here, once set up, the basics remain. Comparing it to an operating trolley museum leaves the operating approach far behind in many ways.
More requirements and ideas will follow !
Sunday, October 9, 2011
A Plug (the Old Word for "Endorsement") for Quarter Scale T⁴ Models
This is what I'm calling GH SCALE in honor of Gordon Hatch of British Columbia, Canada, who ventured into this rarest of rare scales, in which 3 inches = 1 foot, that is, one-quarter full size.
He chose to run these hand-built trolley models on 15 inch gauge track, which the quickest calculation will show is not exactly to scale, the prototype standard track gauge of 56.5 inches divided by 4 actually working out to 14.125 inch gauge (exact) Fine Scale OR 14 inch Coarse Scale (OR 15 inch Gordon Hatch's personal convention).
Here are 14 reasons to venture into GH Scale : Trolleys / Trams in one-fourth full size.
1. It's large enough so that older modelers, with classic over-40 presbyopia (in which, when in one of nature's many ruthless jokes, you suddenly find that you can't see all the fine detail you had planned to put into that H0 gauge --- or worse, N gauge--- scale model) can now indulge themselves .
2. By putting the layout, if we dare call it that, if we're only going to portray one city street a few blocks long, up at a height of (say) 3½ feet above the ground, we obtain a true perspective of what the street might have looked like in 1925.
3. It's still possible to cut ¾" plywood for the sides into pieces light enough to carry.
4. We can put seamstresses to work sewing new clothing --- I hesitate to call them costumes for those 18 inch male figures and 14-16 inch female dolls --- that accurately resembles the normal street clothing of the historical past, instead of the fancy-dress-ball gowns of the usual doll.
5. An entire new cottage industry is now possible for small custom metal-work shops to create all the many accessories, roof-top details, trolley poles, trackside and roadway signals, etc. to be sold to one-fourth scale participants. We needn't wait for ideas to be purloined by workshops in other countries, as our local businesses can run these detasils up for us quickly and easily... unless they sit on their hands and wait for instructions from heaven, or mess up the marketing by waiting for the annual Trolley Show to display them.
6. We can assure you that there will be a WOW Factor, courtesy of the basis of the giant size alone.
7. As neither adults nor children will be able to ride on the roof of the model, you can really go to town detailing the roof. Visitors will be able to see and appreciate the fine rooftop detail that seemed so irrelevant in H0 or 0 Scale.
8. With realistic passengers (see (4.) above), you have created a scene that makes sense.
9. The use of Forced Perspective allows you to model backdrops for scenery that looks realistically far away. You might be amazed at the way that scenery designers for movie sets have used that trick from the beginning of theater (unless you think that they really burned Rome to the ground in Ben Hur).
10. Large, but lightweight, models don't require enormous amounts of power to propel them because there's no longer that 200-pound owner perched on top. Small powerful electric motors powered by batteries ensure that power is readily available, and does not depend on the vagaries of drawing it from the live overhead.
11. You will probably be a pioneer (The First One on your Block) to venture into this scale --- an exciting prospect.
12. If you are persuasive, and if you have access to people in retirement communities, you've got --- simultaneously --- a ready-made audience and a group of craftsmen and women looking for projects of just about that size. Look for the woodworking shop and the Craft Group.
13. Easy to stow in the trunk, back seat, or hatchback of your car. Readily breaks down into body, trucks, and interior details .
14. At this stage in the development of this scale, you will be able to engage in a new Battle of the Gauges (14¼ inches vs. 14 inches vs. 15 inches), or contribute your "Handy-Dandy Hints to the Helpless" columns to hobby magazines.
*** for Gordon Hatch, of British Columbia in Canada, a pioneer in the field
He chose to run these hand-built trolley models on 15 inch gauge track, which the quickest calculation will show is not exactly to scale, the prototype standard track gauge of 56.5 inches divided by 4 actually working out to 14.125 inch gauge (exact) Fine Scale OR 14 inch Coarse Scale (OR 15 inch Gordon Hatch's personal convention).
Here are 14 reasons to venture into GH Scale : Trolleys / Trams in one-fourth full size.
1. It's large enough so that older modelers, with classic over-40 presbyopia (in which, when in one of nature's many ruthless jokes, you suddenly find that you can't see all the fine detail you had planned to put into that H0 gauge --- or worse, N gauge--- scale model) can now indulge themselves .
2. By putting the layout, if we dare call it that, if we're only going to portray one city street a few blocks long, up at a height of (say) 3½ feet above the ground, we obtain a true perspective of what the street might have looked like in 1925.
3. It's still possible to cut ¾" plywood for the sides into pieces light enough to carry.
4. We can put seamstresses to work sewing new clothing --- I hesitate to call them costumes for those 18 inch male figures and 14-16 inch female dolls --- that accurately resembles the normal street clothing of the historical past, instead of the fancy-dress-ball gowns of the usual doll.
5. An entire new cottage industry is now possible for small custom metal-work shops to create all the many accessories, roof-top details, trolley poles, trackside and roadway signals, etc. to be sold to one-fourth scale participants. We needn't wait for ideas to be purloined by workshops in other countries, as our local businesses can run these detasils up for us quickly and easily... unless they sit on their hands and wait for instructions from heaven, or mess up the marketing by waiting for the annual Trolley Show to display them.
6. We can assure you that there will be a WOW Factor, courtesy of the basis of the giant size alone.
7. As neither adults nor children will be able to ride on the roof of the model, you can really go to town detailing the roof. Visitors will be able to see and appreciate the fine rooftop detail that seemed so irrelevant in H0 or 0 Scale.
8. With realistic passengers (see (4.) above), you have created a scene that makes sense.
9. The use of Forced Perspective allows you to model backdrops for scenery that looks realistically far away. You might be amazed at the way that scenery designers for movie sets have used that trick from the beginning of theater (unless you think that they really burned Rome to the ground in Ben Hur).
10. Large, but lightweight, models don't require enormous amounts of power to propel them because there's no longer that 200-pound owner perched on top. Small powerful electric motors powered by batteries ensure that power is readily available, and does not depend on the vagaries of drawing it from the live overhead.
11. You will probably be a pioneer (The First One on your Block) to venture into this scale --- an exciting prospect.
12. If you are persuasive, and if you have access to people in retirement communities, you've got --- simultaneously --- a ready-made audience and a group of craftsmen and women looking for projects of just about that size. Look for the woodworking shop and the Craft Group.
13. Easy to stow in the trunk, back seat, or hatchback of your car. Readily breaks down into body, trucks, and interior details .
14. At this stage in the development of this scale, you will be able to engage in a new Battle of the Gauges (14¼ inches vs. 14 inches vs. 15 inches), or contribute your "Handy-Dandy Hints to the Helpless" columns to hobby magazines.
*** for Gordon Hatch, of British Columbia in Canada, a pioneer in the field
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
AN ENDORSEMENT FOR QUARTER SCALE TROLLEY MODELS
I'm calling it GH SCALE***
Here are 14 reasons to venture into GH Scale : Trolleys / Trams in one-fourth full size. That scales out to 3 inches to the foot, with the prototype standard track gauge of 56.5 inches divided by 4 = 14.125 inch gauge Fine Scale OR 14 inch Coarse Scale (OR 15 inch conventional scale).
1. It's large enough so that older modelers can now indulge themselves, even though they may have classic over-40 presbyopia --- in which, in one of nature's many ruthless jokes, you suddenly find that you can't see all the fine detail you had planned to put into that H0 gauge --- or worse, N gauge--- scale model .
2. By putting the layout (dare we call it that if we're only going to portray one city street three blocks long ? ) up at a height of (say) 3½ feet above the ground, we obtain a true perspective of what the street might have looked like in 1925.
3. It's possible to cut ¾" plywood for the sides of a Birney into pieces light enough to carry.
4. We can put seamstresses to work sewing new clothing --- I hesitate to call them costumes --- for those 18 inch male figures and 14-16 inch female dolls that accurately resembles the normal street clothing of the historical past, instead of the fancy dress ball gowns of the usual doll.
5. An entire new cottage industry is now possible for metal-working buddies to create all the many accessories, roof-top details, trolley poles, trackside and roadway signals, etc. in a small business, to be sold to one-fourth scale participants.
6. We can assure you that there will be a WOW Factor, available by size alone.
7. As neither adults nor children will be able to ride on the roof of the model, you can really go to town with detailing the roof. Visitors will be able to see up close the fine rooftop detail that seemed so irrelevant in H0 or 0 Scale.
8. With realistic passengers (see (4.) above), you have created a scene that makes sense.
9. The use of Forced Perspective allows you to model backdrops for scenery that looks realistically far away. You might be amazed at the way that scenery designers for movie sets have used that trick from the beginning of theater (unless you think that they really burned Rome to the ground in Ben Hur).
10. Large lightweight, models don't require enormous amounts of power to propel them because there's no longer that 200-pound owner perched on top. Small powerful electric motors powered by batteries ensure that power is readily available, and does not depend on the vagaries of drawing it from the live overhead.
11. You will probably be a pioneer (The First One on your Block) to venture into this scale --- an exciting prospect.
12. If you are persuasive, and if you have access to people in retirement communities, you've got --- simultaneously --- a ready-made audience and a group of craftsmen and women looking for projects of just about that size. Look for the woodworking shop and the Craft Group.
13. Easy to stow in the trunk, back seat, or hatchback of your car. Readily breaks down into body, trucks, and interior details .
14. At this stage in the development of this scale, you will be able to engage in a new Battle of the Gauges (14¼ inches vs. 14 inches vs. 15 inches), or contribute your "Handy-Dandy Hints to the Helpless" columns to hobby magazines.
*** named for Gordon Hatch, of British Columbia in Canada, a pioneer in the field
P.S. It's ineresting to note that "Quarter-scale --- 3 inches to the foot) is a surprisingly active and popuar scale among model automobile hobbyists ..
Here are 14 reasons to venture into GH Scale : Trolleys / Trams in one-fourth full size. That scales out to 3 inches to the foot, with the prototype standard track gauge of 56.5 inches divided by 4 = 14.125 inch gauge Fine Scale OR 14 inch Coarse Scale (OR 15 inch conventional scale).
1. It's large enough so that older modelers can now indulge themselves, even though they may have classic over-40 presbyopia --- in which, in one of nature's many ruthless jokes, you suddenly find that you can't see all the fine detail you had planned to put into that H0 gauge --- or worse, N gauge--- scale model .
2. By putting the layout (dare we call it that if we're only going to portray one city street three blocks long ? ) up at a height of (say) 3½ feet above the ground, we obtain a true perspective of what the street might have looked like in 1925.
3. It's possible to cut ¾" plywood for the sides of a Birney into pieces light enough to carry.
4. We can put seamstresses to work sewing new clothing --- I hesitate to call them costumes --- for those 18 inch male figures and 14-16 inch female dolls that accurately resembles the normal street clothing of the historical past, instead of the fancy dress ball gowns of the usual doll.
5. An entire new cottage industry is now possible for metal-working buddies to create all the many accessories, roof-top details, trolley poles, trackside and roadway signals, etc. in a small business, to be sold to one-fourth scale participants.
6. We can assure you that there will be a WOW Factor, available by size alone.
7. As neither adults nor children will be able to ride on the roof of the model, you can really go to town with detailing the roof. Visitors will be able to see up close the fine rooftop detail that seemed so irrelevant in H0 or 0 Scale.
8. With realistic passengers (see (4.) above), you have created a scene that makes sense.
9. The use of Forced Perspective allows you to model backdrops for scenery that looks realistically far away. You might be amazed at the way that scenery designers for movie sets have used that trick from the beginning of theater (unless you think that they really burned Rome to the ground in Ben Hur).
10. Large lightweight, models don't require enormous amounts of power to propel them because there's no longer that 200-pound owner perched on top. Small powerful electric motors powered by batteries ensure that power is readily available, and does not depend on the vagaries of drawing it from the live overhead.
11. You will probably be a pioneer (The First One on your Block) to venture into this scale --- an exciting prospect.
12. If you are persuasive, and if you have access to people in retirement communities, you've got --- simultaneously --- a ready-made audience and a group of craftsmen and women looking for projects of just about that size. Look for the woodworking shop and the Craft Group.
13. Easy to stow in the trunk, back seat, or hatchback of your car. Readily breaks down into body, trucks, and interior details .
14. At this stage in the development of this scale, you will be able to engage in a new Battle of the Gauges (14¼ inches vs. 14 inches vs. 15 inches), or contribute your "Handy-Dandy Hints to the Helpless" columns to hobby magazines.
*** named for Gordon Hatch, of British Columbia in Canada, a pioneer in the field
P.S. It's ineresting to note that "Quarter-scale --- 3 inches to the foot) is a surprisingly active and popuar scale among model automobile hobbyists ..
Thursday, September 22, 2011
When are all the separate. disparate branches of the traction - trolley - tram -- transit [ what I like to call the T-to-the-Fourth-Power] groups going to realize how much more could be accomplished if they all presented a united face to the hobby public, in one location at one major exhibition in a venue that's
1. pleasant --- nice surroundings, decent accommodations, no Beverly Hills prices
2. attractive (an entirely different matter) Some of us attended a recent miniatures program --- not too far afield from rail models and held at what we felt was normally a nice family place --- that featured an outlaw motorcycle group get-together that went on in the hallways and courtyards until well after 2:00 a.m. There really do exist many travel destinations that specifically market to and monitor for family groups.
3. easy to get to, unlike the often obscure locations chosen because they're cheap or free or, as in the following case, exotic. We were once invited to attend a major international event in Kuala Lumpur (!!), after being advised that our suggestion of Orlando, Florida was an inconvenient destination. P.S. They had to cancel the program, presumably because of lack of attendance .
4. that provides other visitor attractions for the rest of the family while participants and enthusiasts are attending the show
5. in a climate that does not require heroic efforts to prove how manly we are to fight our way through meteorological obstacles. Why is it, when model exhibitions are held, the organizers seem to choose precisely the season that predictably or statistically is most likely to feature tropical storms, OR blizzards, OR ice, OR impossible passenger transportation schedules and seasons like those annual predictable peak flight times around major family holidays ?
6. that doesn't require hand drawn campus maps OR, as I was once asked in all seriousness, "What's the latitude and longitude of this place?" --- and this was well before GPS technology.
7. or finally, and last only because it continues to cause major restrictions on attendance and the growth of less popular aspects of the model hobby, in places that are NOT private, unmarked, not advertised, and require finding and driving over often unpaved private roads . I've been told that attendance is restricted because of insurance restrictions , which reminds us of the faux restrictions that auto dealerships impose to keep us away from seeing what horrors they are doing to the family car.
This is not to criticize any of the separate groups --- East Penn Traction, CERA, the Los Angeles group, the European tram enthusiasts, and on and on, each of which is made up of many first-rate modelers and organizers, --- but the resultant "Balkanization" has held our very special model interest back from its rightful place in the hobby spectrum. Our local radio control model airplane group has opted for a very large public park, with County approval, on an active county road, accompanied by much advance newspaper publicity, and photo and press coverage . When we arrived, without an appointment, there were volunteer members, who took turns to show us to free parking; other volunteers ascertained that we were unfamiliar with the hobby and self-appointed themselves to show us around, unlocked the building that housed their displays, and set up the computers containing video simulators; Other volunteers staffed a large outdoor booth serving inexpensive hamburgers made to order, with all the fixin's, as they say in the South, and a reasonable choice of beverages. A safety area, not subject to crashes of errant model airplanes, and provided with comfortable seating under covered shelters in a sort of pavilion, made for a very pleasant day for a total of $2.00 parking fee as a (very modest) fundraiser. Now, compare that to the last Trolley - tram - Traction - transit show you attended, and ask yourself which hobby presented itself better to the public .
Picture a national T4 program on that order presented by an amalgamation of regional groups acting as a unified body, as a public introduction to the hobby ! Wouldn't that arouse more interest, recruit new members, and create more great memories for families ?
This ultra-regionalism has splintered us and divided our efforts in so many ways, into so many directions, that it almost seems as though we're trying to keep people away... and that has generally kept our branch of the model railroading hobby small, insular, and divided. When it was suggested that we could all meet in one grand venue and present a united face to the public, we encounter a host of objections (it's too hot, it's too cold, it's too far, etc.), and the result is a face that we present to the public that's as exclusive, in the original sense of the word --- tending to exclude people --- as some vast esoteric international political conspiracy.
1. pleasant --- nice surroundings, decent accommodations, no Beverly Hills prices
2. attractive (an entirely different matter) Some of us attended a recent miniatures program --- not too far afield from rail models and held at what we felt was normally a nice family place --- that featured an outlaw motorcycle group get-together that went on in the hallways and courtyards until well after 2:00 a.m. There really do exist many travel destinations that specifically market to and monitor for family groups.
3. easy to get to, unlike the often obscure locations chosen because they're cheap or free or, as in the following case, exotic. We were once invited to attend a major international event in Kuala Lumpur (!!), after being advised that our suggestion of Orlando, Florida was an inconvenient destination. P.S. They had to cancel the program, presumably because of lack of attendance .
4. that provides other visitor attractions for the rest of the family while participants and enthusiasts are attending the show
5. in a climate that does not require heroic efforts to prove how manly we are to fight our way through meteorological obstacles. Why is it, when model exhibitions are held, the organizers seem to choose precisely the season that predictably or statistically is most likely to feature tropical storms, OR blizzards, OR ice, OR impossible passenger transportation schedules and seasons like those annual predictable peak flight times around major family holidays ?
6. that doesn't require hand drawn campus maps OR, as I was once asked in all seriousness, "What's the latitude and longitude of this place?" --- and this was well before GPS technology.
7. or finally, and last only because it continues to cause major restrictions on attendance and the growth of less popular aspects of the model hobby, in places that are NOT private, unmarked, not advertised, and require finding and driving over often unpaved private roads . I've been told that attendance is restricted because of insurance restrictions , which reminds us of the faux restrictions that auto dealerships impose to keep us away from seeing what horrors they are doing to the family car.
This is not to criticize any of the separate groups --- East Penn Traction, CERA, the Los Angeles group, the European tram enthusiasts, and on and on, each of which is made up of many first-rate modelers and organizers, --- but the resultant "Balkanization" has held our very special model interest back from its rightful place in the hobby spectrum. Our local radio control model airplane group has opted for a very large public park, with County approval, on an active county road, accompanied by much advance newspaper publicity, and photo and press coverage . When we arrived, without an appointment, there were volunteer members, who took turns to show us to free parking; other volunteers ascertained that we were unfamiliar with the hobby and self-appointed themselves to show us around, unlocked the building that housed their displays, and set up the computers containing video simulators; Other volunteers staffed a large outdoor booth serving inexpensive hamburgers made to order, with all the fixin's, as they say in the South, and a reasonable choice of beverages. A safety area, not subject to crashes of errant model airplanes, and provided with comfortable seating under covered shelters in a sort of pavilion, made for a very pleasant day for a total of $2.00 parking fee as a (very modest) fundraiser. Now, compare that to the last Trolley - tram - Traction - transit show you attended, and ask yourself which hobby presented itself better to the public .
Picture a national T4 program on that order presented by an amalgamation of regional groups acting as a unified body, as a public introduction to the hobby ! Wouldn't that arouse more interest, recruit new members, and create more great memories for families ?
This ultra-regionalism has splintered us and divided our efforts in so many ways, into so many directions, that it almost seems as though we're trying to keep people away... and that has generally kept our branch of the model railroading hobby small, insular, and divided. When it was suggested that we could all meet in one grand venue and present a united face to the public, we encounter a host of objections (it's too hot, it's too cold, it's too far, etc.), and the result is a face that we present to the public that's as exclusive, in the original sense of the word --- tending to exclude people --- as some vast esoteric international political conspiracy.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
READY - TO - RUN MODELS
WANT TO SELL MODEL TROLLEYS TO A LARGE MARKET ?
DON'T EXPECT CUSTOMERS TO BUILD THEM !
You may disagree, but it's a Fact of Life !
This next advantage might not take hold quickly, but it's something to consider, so hold your fire until you see the general reaction to this proposal and think it through . If we built automobiles like we build live steam locomotives, we'd probably still all be driving teams of horses !
Picture this Alternate History : The instruction book --- all 650 pages --- would begin : "First order the castings for the frame" . The instructions would continue "Lay out the main frame according to Construction Drawing # 2063 " ; "Weld Part 104 to Part 675" ; and so on, until you had your brand-new (?) automobile in front of you a few years later, one of --- maybe --- six in your entire home town . It certainly would save on road construction and maintenance .
Our proposal suggests building and selling ready-made, assembly-line-built, buy-it-and-run-it the same incredibly exciting day (can you picture Christmas Day 2016, finding a two-inch scale New York Central Hudson or Peter Witt trolley under the tree?). I suppose it would mean adding a (not to scale) lifting crane to your workshop to move the heavy gift up to the benchwork and on to the rails.
As we shrink our space requirements to conform to the new scale , many times the number of hobbyists could participate in the MEGA - SCALES by building their layout in space much smaller than Central Park (exaggeration for effect !) . The hobby could shift its Center of Gravity from giant cooperative (or, as we have personally witnessed, not-so-cooperative) club ventures to a backyard, or even indoors, pursuit .
Another probable advantage is that the price of a Gross Scale engine would drop precipitously when small manufacturers find that they can produce multiple models at assembly line costs, making it much more affordable by the average household, and spurring more people into the hobby . We just might give Chinese manufacturers a run for the money !
We just heard a savvy East Indian businessman say (about Japanese manufacturers, but equally valid here ) , "If the [Japanese] want to sell to the Indian market, they must first understand the Indian market : buyers wants and needs" , The same holds true for potential modern U.S. trolley buyers and enthusiasts.
We really might have to create a designation for this new aspect of our special interest, something like "Model Engineering" instead of "Live Steam" (No offense intended, Traverse City) . By necessity, it takes into account having bridges and viaducts in place for the layout ... OR it might bring into existence an entirely new branch of the hobby . Traction modellers would truly come into their own, with their arcane, but complex and fascinating, overhead wire , purchased ready-to-erect or craftsman-hand-built, to add still another challenge to this great aspect of the hobby .
Enthusiasts may find that it's at least as fulfilling a hobby if we concentrate on building one small area --- a diorama --- and do it well. The Europeans have got it down to a science... so have some noted Brooklyn subway modellers !
DON'T EXPECT CUSTOMERS TO BUILD THEM !
You may disagree, but it's a Fact of Life !
This next advantage might not take hold quickly, but it's something to consider, so hold your fire until you see the general reaction to this proposal and think it through . If we built automobiles like we build live steam locomotives, we'd probably still all be driving teams of horses !
Picture this Alternate History : The instruction book --- all 650 pages --- would begin : "First order the castings for the frame" . The instructions would continue "Lay out the main frame according to Construction Drawing # 2063 " ; "Weld Part 104 to Part 675" ; and so on, until you had your brand-new (?) automobile in front of you a few years later, one of --- maybe --- six in your entire home town . It certainly would save on road construction and maintenance .
Our proposal suggests building and selling ready-made, assembly-line-built, buy-it-and-run-it the same incredibly exciting day (can you picture Christmas Day 2016, finding a two-inch scale New York Central Hudson or Peter Witt trolley under the tree?). I suppose it would mean adding a (not to scale) lifting crane to your workshop to move the heavy gift up to the benchwork and on to the rails.
As we shrink our space requirements to conform to the new scale , many times the number of hobbyists could participate in the MEGA - SCALES by building their layout in space much smaller than Central Park (exaggeration for effect !) . The hobby could shift its Center of Gravity from giant cooperative (or, as we have personally witnessed, not-so-cooperative) club ventures to a backyard, or even indoors, pursuit .
Another probable advantage is that the price of a Gross Scale engine would drop precipitously when small manufacturers find that they can produce multiple models at assembly line costs, making it much more affordable by the average household, and spurring more people into the hobby . We just might give Chinese manufacturers a run for the money !
We just heard a savvy East Indian businessman say (about Japanese manufacturers, but equally valid here ) , "If the [Japanese] want to sell to the Indian market, they must first understand the Indian market : buyers wants and needs" , The same holds true for potential modern U.S. trolley buyers and enthusiasts.
We really might have to create a designation for this new aspect of our special interest, something like "Model Engineering" instead of "Live Steam" (No offense intended, Traverse City) . By necessity, it takes into account having bridges and viaducts in place for the layout ... OR it might bring into existence an entirely new branch of the hobby . Traction modellers would truly come into their own, with their arcane, but complex and fascinating, overhead wire , purchased ready-to-erect or craftsman-hand-built, to add still another challenge to this great aspect of the hobby .
Enthusiasts may find that it's at least as fulfilling a hobby if we concentrate on building one small area --- a diorama --- and do it well. The Europeans have got it down to a science... so have some noted Brooklyn subway modellers !
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
NEW DIRECTIONS IN MODEL RAILROADING & MODEL TRACTION
A NEW PARADIGM FOR AN OLD HOBBY TAG-LINE : Where is it Written in the Sacred Books of the Ancients that the only acceptable model railroad scales are N, H0, S, 0, G, and Inch-and-a-Half ???
WARNING: This article contains material that may be considered controversial, and may upset or anger some readers, while others may find it offensive. Reader discretion is advised. An open mind is always welcome .
WATCH 'EM, DON'T RIDE 'EM
At one time, the operator of a live steam locomotive had to ride aboard, generally for some of the same reasons as engineers of full-size locomotives:
1. It was necessary to keep an eye on the water gage, to make sure that adequate feed water was being supplied to the boiler. It’s notoriously dangerous to allow boiler water levels to drop so low that the crown sheets are uncovered, as that can lead to a disastrous explosion. This water level can change in a short time, requiring constant vigilance by the locomotive crew. Monitoring the steam pressure gauge located in the cab was equally important, despite the proven reliability of safety valves.
2. In running live steam locomotives, the conventional approach has been to run the engine around and around some continuous circuit, presumably replicating the classic early toy trains circling the Christmas tree. A realistic exception like Quentin Breen’s Train Mountain --- a truly point-to-point live steam line --- is so unusual that it attracts live steamers from all over the world to their public runs.
3. Continuous circuits mean keeping an eye out for objects and people on the tracks, much as in real life, and requires a very large area on which to build the trackage.
4. As the hobby evolved, a large part of the activity consisted of giving rides to visitors --- adults and children --- on rail cars specifically designed to accommodate riders. These riding cars detract from the realism of the train, so that keeping to scale was not considered of critical importance, as the illusion was already destroyed by the scene of a giant perched on the tender (or thereabouts).
5. In earlier times, the electronic technology required for the mechanisms that control speed, direction, engine sounds, bell and whistle blasts, and so on had not yet reached the degree of sophistication that it has today. Therefore, hands-on control by an onboard engineer was necessary.
6. Building and running trolley, traction, tram, and streetcar models would mean straddling the roof and destroying the trolley poles or pantographs, or riding behind the motive power on an unprototypical trailing seat car. This effectively discouraged pursuing this fascinating aspect of the hobby. You’ll notice we did not say "prevented" ; there are some spectacular models of trolleys in 1½ inch scale and even three-inch-to-the-foot scale, but they are very few in number. At the end of this article, we have placed photographs of the latter -- one-fourth scale --- that we understand are now located in a small museum in British Columbia, Canada, and have also heard of a model of that size built for the Florida Power & Light Company in Tampa.
WARNING: This article contains material that may be considered controversial, and may upset or anger some readers, while others may find it offensive. Reader discretion is advised. An open mind is always welcome .
WATCH 'EM, DON'T RIDE 'EM
At one time, the operator of a live steam locomotive had to ride aboard, generally for some of the same reasons as engineers of full-size locomotives:
1. It was necessary to keep an eye on the water gage, to make sure that adequate feed water was being supplied to the boiler. It’s notoriously dangerous to allow boiler water levels to drop so low that the crown sheets are uncovered, as that can lead to a disastrous explosion. This water level can change in a short time, requiring constant vigilance by the locomotive crew. Monitoring the steam pressure gauge located in the cab was equally important, despite the proven reliability of safety valves.
2. In running live steam locomotives, the conventional approach has been to run the engine around and around some continuous circuit, presumably replicating the classic early toy trains circling the Christmas tree. A realistic exception like Quentin Breen’s Train Mountain --- a truly point-to-point live steam line --- is so unusual that it attracts live steamers from all over the world to their public runs.
3. Continuous circuits mean keeping an eye out for objects and people on the tracks, much as in real life, and requires a very large area on which to build the trackage.
4. As the hobby evolved, a large part of the activity consisted of giving rides to visitors --- adults and children --- on rail cars specifically designed to accommodate riders. These riding cars detract from the realism of the train, so that keeping to scale was not considered of critical importance, as the illusion was already destroyed by the scene of a giant perched on the tender (or thereabouts).
5. In earlier times, the electronic technology required for the mechanisms that control speed, direction, engine sounds, bell and whistle blasts, and so on had not yet reached the degree of sophistication that it has today. Therefore, hands-on control by an onboard engineer was necessary.
6. Building and running trolley, traction, tram, and streetcar models would mean straddling the roof and destroying the trolley poles or pantographs, or riding behind the motive power on an unprototypical trailing seat car. This effectively discouraged pursuing this fascinating aspect of the hobby. You’ll notice we did not say "prevented" ; there are some spectacular models of trolleys in 1½ inch scale and even three-inch-to-the-foot scale, but they are very few in number. At the end of this article, we have placed photographs of the latter -- one-fourth scale --- that we understand are now located in a small museum in British Columbia, Canada, and have also heard of a model of that size built for the Florida Power & Light Company in Tampa.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Expansion of Emphasis, Modification of Title : Electric Railways, Large and Small
ELECTRIC RAILWAYS LARGE AND SMALL
A WebBlog of the Electric Railways Network
Until now, we have emphasized model and mini electric railways. As we have been members of a few regional model trolley organizations, we have tended to write about ways to improve the national structure, marketing, and perceptions of model trolley and traction groups. It's pretty clear, however, that the hopes and influence of the model groups are often intermingled with those of national electric transit advocacy groups, there being a strong overlap of interests and membership between the both groups.
SIDEBAR : We're changing the Subtitle of this BLOG to Electric Railways Large and Small to reflect those mutual interests. We'd like to thank our loyal readers for their interest, and hope that we can continue to serve both masters. We'll try to label the primary focus of each day's blog so that our readers in Berzerkistan won't feel that they're wasting their time reading about tiny little models in Philadelphia OR about the battle for decent transit in ... well, just about anywhere. The title of today's Post is "Stop Fighting Each Other ; Fight the Real Enemies"
It is truly unfortunate that advocates of Light Rail Transit, Monorail, and Heritage (Vintage) streetcar systems expend so much time and energy battling each other by reciting the advantages of their system and the disadvantages of the others. Why don't we try to cooperate to eliminate the evils resulting from our dependence on Oil, Asphalt, and the Internal Combustion Engine ? It's as though the United States and Great Britain had wasted their efforts and limited resources battling each other during World War II instead of fighting to defeat the Axis Powers.
Why, if that had happened, we'd be driving BMWs and Toyotas instead of DeSotos and Studebakers ... What's that ? Oh, SORRY ! Ignore that metaphor !
STAY TUNED ! We're encouraged by the Traffic Statistics of our readers, who appear to blanket the globe. We'll try to keep it relevant and --- occasionally --- even mildly amusing.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
How about a National Get-Together in Florida in the Winter of 2012?
We've all heard the phrase : "In Unity There is Strength"
We can all agree that the Miniature / model electric railway hobby is aging .
Do others agree that a well-advertised properly-run national program, set in an attractive, family-friendly setting, can benefit everybody in the hobby, amateurs, modelers, builders, small manufacturers ?
If we all (or as many as possible) got together in one great event, in a comfortable setting, in perfect weather, in which the entire family could participate, that would attract national --- maybe even international --- attention, don't you agree that our special interest, often overlooked in standard model railroad programs, could attract a great deal of favorable attention ?
No, we don't expect you to try to bring your trolley module aboard as carry-on baggage in the overhead compartment ! With proper arrangements made ahead of time, you could slip a streetcar or an interurban in one of the standard scales and gauges aboard, and utilize a friendly track already set up at the Exhibition site.
If we make a wise choice as to location, you could simultaneously :
1. Make your spouse, partner, and kids happy by choosing a family-friendly, family-attractive site --- think non-stop traction activities while the family goes to, say, Disney World
2. Attract significant regional, even national attention
3. Use the power of the new social media in spreading the word
4. Avoid the winter blues, frost bite, and Seasonal Affective Disorder (Cabin Fever); get outdoors; and see some new electric railway stuff instead of the same-old, same-old stuff
5. See if we can lure some international visitors from tram-friendly places like the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic over; Florida's Gulf Coast has proven strong attractant power.
6. Get into wonderful late-night debates about the future of the hobby, or about the possibility of a truly national organization (we locals can try to facilitate real forums, and real Town Meetings)
7. Attract a large number of locals, including mature participants with memories of the real thing, to peek in on our doings, and contribute their views, stories, and efforts
8. Attempt to synchronize our miniature efforts with regional trolley museums, and see if we can synergize what all of us are doing, the common interests that we all share,
9. Think and talk about the significant impact of light rail on what we are doing, and where we are headed.
10. and finally, provide professionals in the trade --- publishing, model-making, accessory-producing, video --- the opportunity to get their material in front of the hobby and in front of the mainstream media.
I'm suggesting :
A five-day Trolley, Traction, Tram, Transit Think-Tank, Mostly Models Mash-up [T6M3] ,
at a beautiful spot on Florida's Gulf Coast;
at a time of perfect and predictable weather, such as December, (... happens only in Florida)
celebrating the fact that the world did NOT end on December 12, 2012 ;
maybe coordinating with a family visit to Disney World, only an hour-and-a-half away from Greater Tampa Bay : Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and some of those powder white sand beaches voted among the most beautiful in the world, right on the Gulf of Mexico ;
and NO, we're nothing like Miami, NOR near Miami ; we're hundreds of miles and a different world away. ... although we, also, have palm trees and flowers.
Let's see ---- December 2012 : If the World does NOT End, what a celebration we could have ! If the World DOES end ? We'll never know, will we ? ... but our last hours will be Electric Railway Hours ... beats a root canal !
If enough interest is expressed to :
Hal Pelta
P O Box 208Ellenton, Florida 34222 U.S.A. HNILS@MSN.COM
we will try to Rally 'Round the Flag AND PUT TOGETHER A TRULY MEMORABLE EVENT THAT, one way or another, WE WILL NEVER FORGET.
PLEASE LET US KNOW .
Hal (with his charming wife, Helen, at his side) has had experience putting together memorable programs in other fields ... and we do mean "memorable", as they are still the subject of national reminiscing, decades later. We would plan to sound a call for assistance to the number of trolley fans who have moved to Florida, and see if we could put something like that together.
HAL
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thinking too Big OR Thinking too Small ?
Sometimes, when we issue our challenge to produce a Conference on electric railways, we are shot down with comments such as :
1. Too much work for one club
2. No one will come; it will lose money
3. Who would travel to Florida ? and
4. Electric railways are just a small part of model railroading
I'd like to respond to each of these objections, if I may .
1. Ya know, it could be too much work for one club. BUT on what stone monument is it engraved that only one club can work on a conference at the same time ? ... and where does it say that you can't (as they say in psychiatry) "Seek professional help" ?
If you want to do a truly international conference and exhibition, you certainly should NOT restrict the planning or the staff to the same old half-dozen or so members who seem to be the
only ones who do any work ? It's the same in every club ; we all know who they are ... the same dependable Worker Bees in every club, no matter how large, how venerable its cachet or
existence, who do everything. Here's Trainman and his staff to offer some offsetting suggestions :
Ask HNILS@MSN.COM
a. work with another club in a different part of the country : East Penn, get together with CERA ; OR work with one of the many trolley museums . You should have information on these groups !
b. recruit assistance from some of the well-funded electric and light railway manufacturers that hope to sell equipment to U.S. jurisdictions. For example, Shinkiaryo's headquarters are located in a small community just north of Tampa/ Sgt. Petersburg. Get one of your more persuasive marketing members to explain that this could well be one of the best ways to get their story in front of the public. They can provide money, or maybe just backing with a guarantee, or put some underutilized staff members on the job. Explain the benefits to them, and don't take the first "No" as final. Escalate the request up the corporate ladder. They'll thank you for the PR coverage later, after the newspapers, the on-line journals, and the trade publications publish all those lovely photographs
c. Use imagination in marketing --- use the new Social Media; if you don't know what they are, find a yout' on their staff who does. Don't put a one-column notice in the Club newsletter and think that this is enough. Go to your local library and check out the Guerilla Marketing book series. Read it --- then Follow Instructions !
d. Obtain the absolutely first rate UK magazine called "Tramways & Urban Transit". Ask them to help with publicity; invite them to present a series of talks at the Conference. Leaf through the magazine and browse through their ads --- full page, full colour (nice touch, there!)
advertisements trying to sell stuff --- books, videos, classic films. Do you need their contact info ? Ask HNILS@MSN.COM
e. Recruit the trolley museums, NOT ONLY the American ones, but also the ones from other countries. Find out who and what Crich is doing right . Get out a railroad map of Europe, with city transit marked on it.
f. Light Rail engineering firms --- they're looking for exposure. Maybe this is their best opportunity.
g. Approach the firms that have participated in international conferences, such as the major World Congresses of the International Association of Public Transport or, rail consultants in various countries, or the programs run by the Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA). Approach
every company on that list, asking for help --- money, people, or conference savvy and advice . Add firms that act as suppliers and provide services to light rail prototypes.
h. Contact the large model railroad manufacturers (you certainly shouldn't need help with that one !) . Compliment makers like MTH, which launched a line of New York City Transit subway cars. That took courage and resources. Suggest that both you and they could benefit from more public exposure.
i. Run a series of the many videos, both current and historical, as recruiting tools in schools, on television, in essence, everywhere. History Channel might be willing to help here.
j. Lawyers that provide advice and legal counsel to Light Rail firms, to municipalities undergoing a LR installation. Suggest some Pro Bono work for the Conference (reviewing booking contracts, hotel room guarantees, forfeiture clauses, ask them for venue (exhibition hall) recommendations. Attorneys have many business contacts.
k. Get in touch with Citizens' Transit Advocacy Groups --- now, there's a bunch of active, hard-working people committed to trams, trolleys, and light rail.
l. Work with the Big Dogs --- Disney Conference Planning staff can be of enormous assistance --- remember, they're trying to sell ROOM-NIGHTS . They'll do everything they can to help, advise, promote, etc. your program. Think big ! ... but don't ignore the very-large-but-not-quite Disney-size Hotel Conference Centers. Write to HNILS@MSN.COM for some suggestions here. Beautifully situated, always looking for business, T-to-the-Fourth-Power is
fresh new blood for them.
m. The Electric Railway Clubs of Florida is a small group, but with historically heavy hitters, some retired or cut back on hours to enjoy life after a lifetime of hard traction-oriented work. Some famous names; some well-known historians and photographers. If you need their contact information , Ask Hal -- HNILS@MSN.COM.
n. Do not skip a single trolley museum in the country --- stress that this is one of their best
opportunities to reach their target markets.
o. Write Letters to the Editor of every major periodical, especially in Florida . Remember that --- assuming this Conference and Exhibition is held in Florida, these newspapers and, especially these upscale magazines are a primary untouched audience. Writing to , for example, the Sarasota Herald Tribune will get your information syndicated --- if it sounds interesting or exciting enough --- to the New York Times and major newspapers throughout Europe.
p. Work with bloggers who are writing on transit topics. Make sure they're on your side . Stay away from sophisticated transportation research centers with an undisclosed Pro-Bus agenda. Some of them receive millions of Federal dollars, publish complex statistical analyses on bus ridership patterns in Northern Kazakhstan, and are widely quoted by municipal officials as transit experts. As the Scots say, Gang Warily ! (Translator's note : Step carefully).
More info, suggestions, and connections tomorrow on "No one will come", "Losing money", and "Travel to Florida"
1. Too much work for one club
2. No one will come; it will lose money
3. Who would travel to Florida ? and
4. Electric railways are just a small part of model railroading
I'd like to respond to each of these objections, if I may .
1. Ya know, it could be too much work for one club. BUT on what stone monument is it engraved that only one club can work on a conference at the same time ? ... and where does it say that you can't (as they say in psychiatry) "Seek professional help" ?
If you want to do a truly international conference and exhibition, you certainly should NOT restrict the planning or the staff to the same old half-dozen or so members who seem to be the
only ones who do any work ? It's the same in every club ; we all know who they are ... the same dependable Worker Bees in every club, no matter how large, how venerable its cachet or
existence, who do everything. Here's Trainman and his staff to offer some offsetting suggestions :
Ask HNILS@MSN.COM
a. work with another club in a different part of the country : East Penn, get together with CERA ; OR work with one of the many trolley museums . You should have information on these groups !
b. recruit assistance from some of the well-funded electric and light railway manufacturers that hope to sell equipment to U.S. jurisdictions. For example, Shinkiaryo's headquarters are located in a small community just north of Tampa/ Sgt. Petersburg. Get one of your more persuasive marketing members to explain that this could well be one of the best ways to get their story in front of the public. They can provide money, or maybe just backing with a guarantee, or put some underutilized staff members on the job. Explain the benefits to them, and don't take the first "No" as final. Escalate the request up the corporate ladder. They'll thank you for the PR coverage later, after the newspapers, the on-line journals, and the trade publications publish all those lovely photographs
c. Use imagination in marketing --- use the new Social Media; if you don't know what they are, find a yout' on their staff who does. Don't put a one-column notice in the Club newsletter and think that this is enough. Go to your local library and check out the Guerilla Marketing book series. Read it --- then Follow Instructions !
d. Obtain the absolutely first rate UK magazine called "Tramways & Urban Transit". Ask them to help with publicity; invite them to present a series of talks at the Conference. Leaf through the magazine and browse through their ads --- full page, full colour (nice touch, there!)
advertisements trying to sell stuff --- books, videos, classic films. Do you need their contact info ? Ask HNILS@MSN.COM
e. Recruit the trolley museums, NOT ONLY the American ones, but also the ones from other countries. Find out who and what Crich is doing right . Get out a railroad map of Europe, with city transit marked on it.
f. Light Rail engineering firms --- they're looking for exposure. Maybe this is their best opportunity.
g. Approach the firms that have participated in international conferences, such as the major World Congresses of the International Association of Public Transport or, rail consultants in various countries, or the programs run by the Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA). Approach
every company on that list, asking for help --- money, people, or conference savvy and advice . Add firms that act as suppliers and provide services to light rail prototypes.
h. Contact the large model railroad manufacturers (you certainly shouldn't need help with that one !) . Compliment makers like MTH, which launched a line of New York City Transit subway cars. That took courage and resources. Suggest that both you and they could benefit from more public exposure.
i. Run a series of the many videos, both current and historical, as recruiting tools in schools, on television, in essence, everywhere. History Channel might be willing to help here.
j. Lawyers that provide advice and legal counsel to Light Rail firms, to municipalities undergoing a LR installation. Suggest some Pro Bono work for the Conference (reviewing booking contracts, hotel room guarantees, forfeiture clauses, ask them for venue (exhibition hall) recommendations. Attorneys have many business contacts.
k. Get in touch with Citizens' Transit Advocacy Groups --- now, there's a bunch of active, hard-working people committed to trams, trolleys, and light rail.
l. Work with the Big Dogs --- Disney Conference Planning staff can be of enormous assistance --- remember, they're trying to sell ROOM-NIGHTS . They'll do everything they can to help, advise, promote, etc. your program. Think big ! ... but don't ignore the very-large-but-not-quite Disney-size Hotel Conference Centers. Write to HNILS@MSN.COM for some suggestions here. Beautifully situated, always looking for business, T-to-the-Fourth-Power is
fresh new blood for them.
m. The Electric Railway Clubs of Florida is a small group, but with historically heavy hitters, some retired or cut back on hours to enjoy life after a lifetime of hard traction-oriented work. Some famous names; some well-known historians and photographers. If you need their contact information , Ask Hal -- HNILS@MSN.COM.
n. Do not skip a single trolley museum in the country --- stress that this is one of their best
opportunities to reach their target markets.
o. Write Letters to the Editor of every major periodical, especially in Florida . Remember that --- assuming this Conference and Exhibition is held in Florida, these newspapers and, especially these upscale magazines are a primary untouched audience. Writing to , for example, the Sarasota Herald Tribune will get your information syndicated --- if it sounds interesting or exciting enough --- to the New York Times and major newspapers throughout Europe.
p. Work with bloggers who are writing on transit topics. Make sure they're on your side . Stay away from sophisticated transportation research centers with an undisclosed Pro-Bus agenda. Some of them receive millions of Federal dollars, publish complex statistical analyses on bus ridership patterns in Northern Kazakhstan, and are widely quoted by municipal officials as transit experts. As the Scots say, Gang Warily ! (Translator's note : Step carefully).
More info, suggestions, and connections tomorrow on "No one will come", "Losing money", and "Travel to Florida"
Monday, June 20, 2011
Trolleys, Trams, Traction & Transit
We keep hearing about the Tea Party ; here's the ultimate relevant T party, where T stands for :
Trolleys, Trams, Traction & Transit --- The T-to-the-Fourth-Power Party
A Revolution in Trolley History, Rebirth, and Modeling
The Top Ten Reasons to be a Birther, and join us in our struggle for a Re-Birth of our hobby
1. Breathe new life into T4 modeling (The Four T's : Trolleys, Trams, Traction & Transit)
2. Blog rants suggest introducing new scales and gauges
3. Birth new models by encouraging manufacturers to venture into these new scales
4. Beloved traction journals and magazines have passed away . Replace them
5. Burgeoning light rail : springing up in Europe and in progressive American cities : Not your grandfather's streetcars
6. Build Beyond the rails --- with building fronts, figures, and trackside accessories
7. Beyond traditional publishers --- Beg Kalmbach and/or Carstens to venture into T4 with a new, fresh, American slant on traction & trams, large & small, from streetcars to light rail, from N scale to Mega-scale, from new perspectives to Forced Perspective
8. Bigger than merely reminiscences or historical nostalgia --- Look to the Future
9. Because so many good trolley people have moved to, or retired to, Florida, it's possible to bring an International Trolley Conference to Florida
10. Every modeler intdroduce one new person to the hobby each year, a New Birth of a New Trolley person .
.
NOTE : Creative Commons Attribution ---- Non-Commercial --- Share-Alike .
Feel free to use this, but --- please --- provide attribution to its creator :
Harold Nils "Hal" Pelta
P O Box 208
Ellenton, Florida 34222 U.S.A. HNILS@MSN.com
2
Trolleys, Trams, Traction & Transit --- The T-to-the-Fourth-Power Party
A Revolution in Trolley History, Rebirth, and Modeling
The Top Ten Reasons to be a Birther, and join us in our struggle for a Re-Birth of our hobby
1. Breathe new life into T4 modeling (The Four T's : Trolleys, Trams, Traction & Transit)
2. Blog rants suggest introducing new scales and gauges
3. Birth new models by encouraging manufacturers to venture into these new scales
4. Beloved traction journals and magazines have passed away . Replace them
5. Burgeoning light rail : springing up in Europe and in progressive American cities : Not your grandfather's streetcars
6. Build Beyond the rails --- with building fronts, figures, and trackside accessories
7. Beyond traditional publishers --- Beg Kalmbach and/or Carstens to venture into T4 with a new, fresh, American slant on traction & trams, large & small, from streetcars to light rail, from N scale to Mega-scale, from new perspectives to Forced Perspective
8. Bigger than merely reminiscences or historical nostalgia --- Look to the Future
9. Because so many good trolley people have moved to, or retired to, Florida, it's possible to bring an International Trolley Conference to Florida
10. Every modeler intdroduce one new person to the hobby each year, a New Birth of a New Trolley person .
.
NOTE : Creative Commons Attribution ---- Non-Commercial --- Share-Alike .
Feel free to use this, but --- please --- provide attribution to its creator :
Harold Nils "Hal" Pelta
P O Box 208
Ellenton, Florida 34222 U.S.A. HNILS@MSN.com
2
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
NO NEW SCALES --- In What Sacred Scripture is it Written?
We have been involved in model railroading at many levels, in many scales, and one of the features of the hobby that strikes us is how the entire interest is divided into several non-intersecting components which, if they are not hostile to each other, are generally non-communicating. What do we mean ?
First, there's standard run-of-the-hobby-shop model railroading, which in itself is divided into the standardized scales : HO ; O scale (three rail, two rail, trolley / traction [where darn few people seem to be working in Light Rail , rather than historical streetcar); S Scale; G Scale (even tho' we know there is no such thing, only a G Gauge, with a variety of scales in a California Cobb Salad melange); and so on, with all their variations;
second, there's Live Steam, which includes a surprising number of scales and side interests.
Some (like one-inch scale) have sadly slipped into comparative oblivion), and which increasingly covers electrically powered diesel outline in 1:8 ; and some rather large variations like 2.5 inch-to-the-foot and 3.75 inch-to-the-foot scale narrow gauge running on the 7+ scales (thanks to the Robinsons for providing that handy-dandy inclusive name for that group) ;
Third, we find Park trains (which includes giant amusement park ride-in cars) whose enthusiasts, I have found, sometimes don't even seem to know about the rest of us (one recent memorable comment by a retailer of Park trains : "Live Steam ... what's that ? ).
Finally (actually, I'm confident that you will be able to come up --- easily --- with other aspects that I've omitted), there are the railroad museum volunteer groups, who are trying to press the issue of railroad history. These range from trolley museums (generally doing a good job) to essentially short line tourist railways. I'll let you judge the effectiveness of those groups; and a large number (if not actually a plethora) of side interests ...
Few members of one group talk to members of other groups. Too bad, so sad !
Therefore, I want to applaud the efforts of several groups in the Greater Tampa Bay area, which have broken the ice (although there may still be some icebergs which are not showing the cold temperatures beneath the surface). They have begun to band together with a land-owning utility and a private citizen, and a Florida State railroad museum. They've met at least once on a special train ride on the old Seaboard RR in Western Florida for a nicely run and well-managed open discussion regarding everyone working together to build a major rail-oriented nexus in a small town called Parrish about halfway between Tampa and Sarasota. The effort is expected to include all of the segments of the interest, presumably and hopefully working together to produce the railroad eqivalent of Einstein's Grand Unified Theory. I hope they do well ; I'm waiting with bated breath to hear more.
Update : Lots of talk, no action !
Further update : They don't even seem to talk to one another any more !
First, there's standard run-of-the-hobby-shop model railroading, which in itself is divided into the standardized scales : HO ; O scale (three rail, two rail, trolley / traction [where darn few people seem to be working in Light Rail , rather than historical streetcar); S Scale; G Scale (even tho' we know there is no such thing, only a G Gauge, with a variety of scales in a California Cobb Salad melange); and so on, with all their variations;
second, there's Live Steam, which includes a surprising number of scales and side interests.
Some (like one-inch scale) have sadly slipped into comparative oblivion), and which increasingly covers electrically powered diesel outline in 1:8 ; and some rather large variations like 2.5 inch-to-the-foot and 3.75 inch-to-the-foot scale narrow gauge running on the 7+ scales (thanks to the Robinsons for providing that handy-dandy inclusive name for that group) ;
Third, we find Park trains (which includes giant amusement park ride-in cars) whose enthusiasts, I have found, sometimes don't even seem to know about the rest of us (one recent memorable comment by a retailer of Park trains : "Live Steam ... what's that ? ).
Finally (actually, I'm confident that you will be able to come up --- easily --- with other aspects that I've omitted), there are the railroad museum volunteer groups, who are trying to press the issue of railroad history. These range from trolley museums (generally doing a good job) to essentially short line tourist railways. I'll let you judge the effectiveness of those groups; and a large number (if not actually a plethora) of side interests ...
Few members of one group talk to members of other groups. Too bad, so sad !
Therefore, I want to applaud the efforts of several groups in the Greater Tampa Bay area, which have broken the ice (although there may still be some icebergs which are not showing the cold temperatures beneath the surface). They have begun to band together with a land-owning utility and a private citizen, and a Florida State railroad museum. They've met at least once on a special train ride on the old Seaboard RR in Western Florida for a nicely run and well-managed open discussion regarding everyone working together to build a major rail-oriented nexus in a small town called Parrish about halfway between Tampa and Sarasota. The effort is expected to include all of the segments of the interest, presumably and hopefully working together to produce the railroad eqivalent of Einstein's Grand Unified Theory. I hope they do well ; I'm waiting with bated breath to hear more.
Update : Lots of talk, no action !
Further update : They don't even seem to talk to one another any more !
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