Microtrains-kato Turn derailments

salamander34 Feb 11, 2020

  1. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

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    Along these lines, I have seen attendees "thumb their nose" at the increasingly popular Lego railroad displays at train shows. Can't we all see how the excitement these layouts foster, evident in the eyes of young and old, nourishes the seeds that will grow into enthusiastic practitioners, providing the future life-blood of our hobby?

    I agree with the idea of interesting young people in the hobby. What bothers me is when I see a middle aged man that is acting like a 4 year old. And what bothers me even more is the lack of interest in working with one's hands to make something nice. Snapping pieces of plastic track together is just the lazy man's way out.

    Who are any of us to dismiss these means as mere toys that have no place in our esteemed hobby?!Easy. Those of us who watched those young people put the trains in the attic and succumb to the siren song of the video game. For those of you who think interesting young people in trains will give them a lifetime hobby, You need to read up on sisyphus. Remember, the very definition of futility is doing thee same thing over and over expecting a different result.

    We have been trying to interest the young in a hobby that they will carry through their life has been tried for many years to little result.
     
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  2. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    Can he get a Harrumph? Absolutely. The Norseman gives a HARRUMPH!!!! Very well stated. I’m running Japan style these days. No room for a “real” layout, but huge dining table for Unitrack.
     
  3. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I earned lazy. So what? (y) Of course I’m well past “middle aged”.
     
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  4. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Glad I am not a "middle aged man that is acting like a 4 year old." I am a 71 year old man who can't wait to get out to my trains everyday and begin another day of "acting like a 4 year old" when i run my trains. I really like my layout. The only one i have to please is myself !! :p:p

    Damn....I am a 'lazy man"....I have snapped hundreds of pieces of plastic track (Unitrack) together to make my layout....now I have to tear apart 8.5 years of hard work and the good Lord only knows how much $$$$ on THERR RV and grow up and spend 10 times the $$$$ on flex track and cork trackbed just to be a "real modeler" I guess...:(:(
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
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  5. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    Sorry Bill, your post is quite elitist and disillusioned. Do you wind your own motors for your locomotives? What about building your own power pack or DCC command station? How about building your own decoder? Do you paint and decal all your locos or rolling stock? Grind your own ballast? No??? Then you must not like working with your hands and acting like a 4 year old! Get the point? :confused:

    BTW, some people have tremors with their hands and some, like disabled veterans, may have a handicap and being able to put some snap track together allows them to be in this hobby.

    As for trying to get the younger folks to carry on in this hobby, maybe it's because of people with attitude like yours that scares them away. "Hey kid, surely you can't be serious! Using plastic snap tracks are not welcomed here. Scram kid, you don't belong in this hobby!"
     
  6. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    Post withdrawn
     
  7. brokemoto

    brokemoto TrainBoard Member

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    Perhaps, but, what does happen is that as they get older, they will take out the trains once more. This happened in my case. In high school, I became more interested in booze, broads and dope than trains. Several years later, Jerry died and I had to get a job. Since the old lifestyle was O-W-T, I decided at least to try what had given me some pleasure previously. It has worked out well for me.
     
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  8. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well maybe I am an anachronism but I still relish building things from structures to vehicles, ships, aircraft and even locomotives. However time age and eyesight, not to mention manual dexterity have caused me to change course some. One area I have changed is the use of Kato unitrack on about 99.9% of the layout. Minimal issues now with ballast and almost zero issues with electrical. I think that the unitrack is the best of the bunch when it comes to combining roadbed and track and the turnouts are near flawless in operation. Kato's electrical system is a blessing in not having to get under the layout at my age and disabilities.
     
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  9. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

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    "As for trying to get the younger folks to carry on in this hobby, maybe it's because of people with attitude like yours that scares them away. "Hey kid, surely you can't be serious! Using plastic snap tracks are not welcomed here. Scram kid, you don't belong in this hobby!"

    I've spent quite a bit of time with dedicated prototype modelers and I have never seen a one of them look down on a neophyte in any way. This is a false image promoted by insecure freelances. I think the display layouts with the fake tornado or godzilla scare as many off as anything else.

    The fact is we have been unable to interest very many new modelers into the hobby. Trying to dumb things down has been tried and isn't working. I suggest you get together and face this dark future for our hobby. What we need are some more anachronisms like John Moore.
     
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  10. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Bill...you keep contradicting yourself.

    You state...

    Yet if that newbie uses Unitrack you are saying...

    Then you go on to state...

    Why do people have to get in 'digs' in at anyone who doesnt do things their way ?? Constructive suggestions are welcome by 99.99% of modelers. BS tends to get someone like the first...the middle finger !!! JMO

    I'll just leave this discussion as is. Have a good day...(y):whistle:

    .
     
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  11. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

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    I've spent quite a bit of time with dedicated prototype modelers and I have never seen a one of them look down on a neophyte in any way..
    Yet if that newbie uses Unitrack you are saying...


    Excuse me, I am mistaken. I thought this was a place for experienced modelers. Are you not one? I spreak in a different voice to a beginning modeler than to one with years of experience.
     
  12. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I have grandkids now. If they want to join Grandpa in playing with trains, I'll welcome and encourage them. If they don't, that's fine too. Back in the day when many of us grew up, trains were arguably the "best" toys out there. You could learn basic electrical, carpentry, planning and, for those with better right brains than me, artistic scenery and scratch building. Other than erector sets, Legos and plastic model cars, there just wasn't much else out there so a lot of kids just naturally gravitated towards the Lionel trains. Fast forward many decades, and it's a different world. Probably better in some ways and worse in others. That said, while I would not discourage kids from getting involved in trains, I likely wouldn't encourage (push?) them either. Our society is becoming more mobile all the time, and days of living in a house for decades and building the empire in the basement may be dying. I've walked that path, as I shared earlier. I had built some fun modular shelf layouts in the past, all traditional (flex, code 55, scenery, DCC capable, etc.); but now I'm in an apartment and temporary Unitrack set ups are likely all I'll have in the future. That's okay. :) I still will always enjoy seeing what some of the rest of you are building.
     
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  13. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    Perhaps the attitude inherent in equating the use of Unitrack with "Trying to dumb things down," or declaring that a middle-aged man that enjoys Lego trains is "acting like a 4 year old" is part of the problem.

    Like it or not, Legos have two really good things going for them: Even young retirees can remember fondly building empires of one sort or another with Legos, and their bright colors and ease of assembly are a big hit with young children. Both of these advantages give those middle-aged parents simultaneous connections with their children and their own childhood. I'm not particularly interested in Lego trains, but I can see the excitement they bring to a show, and the crowds don't lie.

    And who knows, maybe while they're at the show, they'll see some of the cool stuff that can be done with scale model trains, and look for a little more out of their railroading...

    But not if we project an attitude that they're all a bunch of 4 year olds. And if you think they are, odds are you are projecting it too. Non-verbal communication is often the most powerful kind.

    The fact is there are more potential activities tugging at just about everyone's time and attention. We have to compete. If your team is getting clobbered at the line of scrimmage, maybe its time to mix some things up.
     
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  14. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Maybe I am mistaken. I always thought Trainboard was for 'modelers' of all ages and all skill levels. I never once thought it was strictly for hardcore modelers. I leave that to sites like TRW. I myself am experienced to the point I know how things work and which wire to cut...its always the RED one. ;). I build a lot of things myself. They may not look like professional cast or injection molded ones...but they are always fun to build...and it seems from reading replies on my build thread...others enjoy them as much as I do.

    Myself...I never talk 'down' to or 'dumb things down' to anyone regardless of age or experience. On the flip side...I never talk over someones head that they wouldnt understand what I am trying to explain. If they reply that they are still confused I am more then willing to take the time to explain it further...on the same level...and they usually get it. But thats just me.

    Thanks :whistle:

    .
     
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  15. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I agree to a point. That said, if Model Railroading is replaced by something else for the next generation, I only hope that it is something as good or better. I feel no need to "compete." If nobody wants my trains when I'm gone, just burn them with rest of my remains and scatter them to the wind....

    (signature material??? :) )
     
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  16. bigGG1fan

    bigGG1fan TrainBoard Member

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    Precisely why I was scared to join. Not one for being sneered at because I've been out of the hobby for years, and was never one for cork roadbed and hand-laid rail. I'm in awe of those that do, but I don't have the desire, time, patience, or the skill/manual dexterity to do that. At this point, building structures from kits is a challenge. I just like to watch the passenger trains of my youth run.

    I'm happy I joined; members have answered many questions, and have been nothing but encouraging, even if my ambition exceeds my skills and knowledge.



    Sent from my SM-T837A using Tapatalk
     
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  17. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    You are not alone. All kinds of modelers are welcome here. If we don't have all skill levels, we either don't have new modelers to learn, or don't have more experienced ones to teach.
     
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  18. EsK

    EsK TrainBoard Member

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    Could not agree with you more on this opinion. It's a hobby after all and it's to each one his own. We are lucky that there are so many ways to enjoy this. No one train of thought is the right one, everybody is right.

    Best,
    Krish
     
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  19. EsK

    EsK TrainBoard Member

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    Micro-Trains N 00302044 (1038) Barber Roller Bearing Trucks with Long Extension Couplers as suggested by BSNF Fan did the trick. A medium shank did not work, had to go in for the long shank.

    Thanks guys for all the help & knowledge, lesson learnt! Next time will be more careful with the curve radii.

    Best,
    Krish
     
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