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 !