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.
Showing posts with label model trolleys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label model trolleys. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
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
Saturday, September 18, 2010
How to Destroy your Model Trolley Manufacturing Business
1. Criticize and find fault with every model offered by other manufacturers
2. When displaying your wares at a model exhibition, frown at visitors to your booth; glare at everyone who stops by
3. Make sure your website is full of broken links --- if you don't understand that term, maybe that's part of the problem
4. Proudly count your rivets. We'll bet that at least 3 out of every 100 customers care
5. At a model exhibition, leave your display frequently for a cup of coffee, to chat with a friend, or just to look around the Exhibition Hall; after all, your display is practically self-explanatory
TO BE CONTINUED
2. When displaying your wares at a model exhibition, frown at visitors to your booth; glare at everyone who stops by
3. Make sure your website is full of broken links --- if you don't understand that term, maybe that's part of the problem
4. Proudly count your rivets. We'll bet that at least 3 out of every 100 customers care
5. At a model exhibition, leave your display frequently for a cup of coffee, to chat with a friend, or just to look around the Exhibition Hall; after all, your display is practically self-explanatory
TO BE CONTINUED
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