Coming Soon!

Look closely, and you’ll see where the Old Line Corridor has been for the past year or so...

 

In Other News: Celebrity Model Kit Maker Closes Doors

Interrupting our usual coverage of big ol’ electric railroads and their models: interesting story about the recent demise of Wingnut Wings, beloved maker of 1/32 WWI airplane kits founded by Sir Peter Jackson of epic movie fame. The hobby business is tough and certainly not immune to the laws of business or the tragedy of human folly.

Also, any actual reporting on how the hobby business actually works is catnip to me.

DCC, Complaining About

Bernie Kempinski admitted in a recent post on his USMRR Aquia Line blog that he loves to complain about DCC, and this wasn't his first run at this most evergreen source of model railroading disappointment. He unleashed a torrent of bile on DCC quirks and incompatibility back in 2017 or so, which I somehow missed.

Regular readers here know that I certainly have my own DCC grievances, but I usually frame my DCC dyspepsia by expressing envy for the European approach to DCC. (Like, why don't we North American model railroaders have graphic interfaces on our controllers, seamless compatibility with our consumer gadgets like smart phones and tablets, and for the love of all that is good, standard decoder plugs?)

Bernie lamented in 2017 that the rat's nest of incompatible programming specs and protocols that cause various combinations of models, decoders, programmers, and controllers to not work well with each other. He also noted that a number of DCC products intended to work with computers are actually only narrowly compatible with a few types of computers and operating systems.

I've certainly experienced those very problems in my own adventures with DCC, which I finally resolved by acquiring a dedicated Windows 10 computer and then my ESU ECoS controller, which has sufficent amperage and support for multiple DCC and proprietary control protocols.

In other words, I solved my DCC problems by acquiring some major DCC artillery worth around a cool grand, although I got lucky acquiring the ECoS and the Windows 10 computer second-hand for half that.

Solving ordinary DCC challenges shouldn't bust the hobby budget.

* * *

Another DCC observation: I've noticed that decoders are often defective right out of the package. Interestingly, the first DCC control system I ever bought, a Digitrax Zephyr, was also defective right out of the box. Are there perhaps low expectations for manufacturing quality in this space?

Fortunately, all of the DCC manufacturers I've dealt with have robust warranty policies. I haven't kept detailed track of my experiences with defective decoders, and I will freely accept that my own mishandling or misinstallation might have played a role, but I think around 10% of my 40 or so decoders--across several DCC brands--have had some kind of failure at or very shortly after installation. This failure rate did pick up with launch into N scale--maybe tiny decoders are more fragile and/or defect prone?

But I've had enough installation jobs stalled by the 2-4 week warranty return process to have noticed and make this complaint.

 * * *

Bernie's recent post reiterated his 2017 complaint that diesel sound, which he dismisses as "industrial noise," is the culprit behind possibly needless DCC complexity.

I agree with Bernie about industrial noise. Modern diesels and electrics do have a kind of sonic sameness, with some differences here and there. That sameness is exacerbated by the small speakers common to small HO and nearly all N scale locomotive models.

So that's where I will pile on to Bernie's specific complaint about sound--that (modern) locomotive sound is indeed so much noise, to which I will add that sound might just be a bridge too far for many smaller models. As a result, nearly all N scale and many HO models end up being expensive, unreliable little industrial noise makers.

One additional data point for this assessment is an experience I had at the 2018 O Scale convention here in Rockville, MD, last year. I was chatting with Tony Koester, and a sound-equipped O scale SW1500 that was running on a nearby modular layout was loud and high quality enough to interrupt our conversation! At this point, I realized that speaker size and installation make a critical difference to the model railroad sound experience.

I'm certainly not opposed to model railroad sound--I just think that tiny locomotive-based speakers might not be the optimal approach. On small layouts, stationary speakers--even cheap ones, like, say, computer speakers--would undoubtedly render sound more dynamically and faithfully than sugar-cube sized speakers encased in moving locomotive shells. They would also allow for other environmental sounds to be mixed in, such as right-of-way sounds (singing wire, something I've touched on previously), nature sounds (cicadas, for example, would be appropriate for the Old Line Corridor's wooded mid-Atlantic locale), and of course, Bernie's dreaded industrial noises.

The moral of the sound part of this story: maybe model rail manufacturers are expecting DCC to do too much, and maybe there are better ways to add the sonic dimension to our model railroads.

Model Railroader Magazine Project Layouts Can Be Bought, Apparently

A Kalmbach Publishing acquaintance mentioned to me a few months ago that Model Railroader project layouts were taking up valuable space around the Kalmbach offices, and as a result, MR editor Hal Miller was keen to sell them off. The Virginian, Salt Lake, and Red Oak layouts, among others, could be had for bargain prices. Transportation would, of course, be the buyer's responsibility.

I wasn't sure if I was having my leg pulled, or if this was some Model Railroad Industrial Complex gossip that would not be appropriate to share, so I more or less forgot about the conversation. Then I heard this interview with MR Video editor David Popp, and heard it from him:

 

Other fun facts: David Popp is a war gamer (did you know this, Trevor Marshall?) and slot car racing fan. Who knew?

Random Developments and Thoughts

First, that moment when 200 or so seemingly random and abstract parts transmogrify into something recognizable as a model. In this instance, the transformation was particularly rewarding because of the medium of this N Scale Architect kit--the parts are all cardstock strips and rectangles that were difficult to envision as a factory.

Second, it's time for another pontification about how the Europeans do DCC. I've done a couple of DCC installs on European prototype N scale models in the past couple of months, which used the Next18, AKA NEM 662, decoder socket. The decoder socket and plug --see above, 'Buchsenleiste' is one the locomotive, 'Stiftleiste' is on the decoder--is only a quarter of an inch or so across, making for a tiny little decoder. Which leads me to wonder why Atlas, Walthers, and Kato DCC installs still involve special replacement printed circuit boards instead of Next18 or another standard socket, like the NEM 651. Intermountain, for its part, does use an NEM 651 socket in its ES44 models. Seems like an opportunity for efficiency and reduced production costs that would benefit modelers and the model railroad marketplace.

Varieties of Model Railroad-ious Experience

Karl Gebele's Kompakt-Anlagen ('Compact Layouts')

book. Cynical North American modelers probably
notice the unweathered rolling stock and roller coaster
curves and grades first, but miss Karl's genius: pure
wonder and romance, expressed in virtuoso scenery
as well as artfully rendered slices of German life. Like
it or not, Karl's work is more achievable, connects
with the public better and will inspire more partici-
pation in the hobby than basements filled with fleets
of era-specific rolling stock and stylized operations.

My venture into overseas model railroading is yielding new insights into not only new models and modeling techniques, but also into alternative approaches to and philosophies of model railroading.

Or put another way, I'm learning that the ideal of model railroading as put forth in the major US model rail magazines ain't the only way to do model railroading.

Tom Barbalet of the Model Rail Radio podcast and others have pointed out the elements of the 'orthodoxy' of the US model railroad industrial complex: fixation on a few major US prototype railroads; idealization of recent past railroad eras; large lifetime layouts with expansive fleets of locos and rolling stock; virtuoso prototype- and period- specific rolling stock modeling; idealization of advanced over simpler functional techniques (i.e. disdain for sectional track in favor of difficult handlaid or flex track); DCC, sound, and state-of-the-art electronics, including signaling and detection; and finally its apotheosis in complex, formal operations sessions. A look through the big magazines and the offerings of the major US model rail manufacturers strongly support Tom's 'orthodoxy' thesis.

Tom and others have also pointed out that there are alternatives to the large lifetime layout, such as modules and smaller layouts. A look through European model railroading magazines, books, and videos (check out Pilentum TV on YouTube) further reveals that superdetailed, era-specific prototype modeling is not the only satisfying end-goal of model railroading. Indeed, there's a strong case to be made that an alternative end-goal for the hobby is communicating with the public and capturing the imaginations of non-model railroaders.

Karl Gebele is a fixture of the German model railroading press, and his new book, Kompakt-Anlagen: Viel Modellbahn auf wenig Raum ("Compact Layouts: Much Model Railroading in Little Space"; available in North America from Amazon Germany) showcases such an accessible and imaginative approach to model railroading. A quick Google search will turn up numerous photos and videos of Karl's work, which demonstrates that excellent model railroading can--and does--routinely take place on tiny layouts with sharp-curved sectional track with ready-to-run rolling stock equipped with pizza cutter flanges and oversized couplers.

The genius of Karl's work is that he visualizes and models contemporary German life and culture, leaning heavily into excellent scenery, painting, and finishing techniques. For non-model railroading Germans, and for anyone who is familiar with Germany from travel or military service, Karl's vignettes and visual idioms are instantly recognizable. For example, the opening photograph of the book depicts--unmistakably--Germany's wine country.

What North American modelers could take away from Karl's work--and what the North American Model Railroad Industrial Complex should be championing--is how to work with the limitations of space and resources to do inspiring modeling that tells stories and engages non-model railroaders. In particular, Karl shows how to work with small radius curves, steep grades, and sectional track--without ending up looking cartoonish or whimsical. The major magazines occasionally showcase excellent small layouts that forthrightly incorporate sharp curves and grades while evoking a place and time, but such coverage is rare enough to be remarkable. Rick Van Laar's CSX layout, featured in the February 2011 Model Railroader (also available here in a compilation of 4x8 layout stories) is one of those layouts, and so is Steve Campbell's HiTop layout, which was also featured in MR in March 2016.

Europeans do have it easier, in one particular way, with their small layouts: most of their model rolling stick, regardless of scale, is engineered to run on much tighter curves than North American equipment. This is partly a function of smaller prototype equipment--the largest European electric or diesel is roughly the size of an Amtrak ACS-64 or AEM-7, there are virtually no large articulated steam locos, and few freight cars are longer than 40'. But it's also a function of market expectations. European manufacturers want to make their wares usable by as many model railroaders as possible. This approach is democratizing, in its way, because anyone can run virtually any car or locomotive, regardless of layout size. One of the qualities I have always admired about my MTH HO South Shore Little Joe is its 18" minimum radius--would that I could have had this locomotive on my first HO layout, built of course with sectional track back in the 70s. Instead, the brass models of that period were not only expensive, they ran poorly and required impossibly broad curves.

My own takeaway from Karl's book and from the European approach to model railroading is a validation of how I plan to move ahead with my own hobby. A basement empire is not in my future, but modules and small layouts are. And I particularly enjoy modeling that results in a 'wow' not from other model railroaders, but from lay non model railroaders. When my sister, who thinks model railroading is silly, immediately recognized Dune Acres (AKA Mineral Springs Road) on my Dunes Junction layout, I knew I had been successful. Same when my wife noticed that the different parts of the Old Line Corridor actually correspond to various sections of the actual Northeast Corridor. "That looks like Jersey, but this other part looks like Maryland between BWI and Union Station." She also thinks my tiny trains are ridiculous, but I managed to connect them to her world.

And connections--like the ones that Karl Gebele makes--are what I want from my model railroading.

Stuff I’ve Been Reading: Foreign Model Rail Mags

I’ve made a point of late of being a more social model railroader, which has led—weirdly—to a dramatic increase in my consumption of foreign model railroad magazines.
I resumed reading a German-language model railroad magazine, MIBA (MIniatur BAhnen, or Miniature Railroads), as a direct result of all the model railroaders I have met in the past few months who ask me why there isn’t wire between the fancy Pennsy poles on my N scale Old Line Corridor layout.
“Aren’t you going to put up catenary wire? Europeans do it all the time in N scale.”
I have tried—in vain—to explain that the Old Line Corridor is a kind of extended experiment, and that I had already doubled down on impressionistic modeling of the tower and right-of-way elements of Pennsy/NEC catenary, but would not be modeling the wire.“You ought to think about wire. You’ve done it in HO, so you should be able to do it in N.”
Those suggestions, and the allusions to European modelers who are undaunted by N or even Z scale catenary, led me to revisit my Sommerfeldt and Viessman catalogs and guidebooks--which do make N scale catenary seem attainable.
I needed to read more on this topic, which is when I discovered a special edition of MIBA titled "Fahrleitungen im Modell" ("Modeling Overhead"). It helps here that my German is serviceable--I did live there for a time in the 80s as a soldier and even took a minor in German for my bachelors degree back in the day.
I downloaded the MIBA special edition and then went back for more--VGB, MIBA's publisher, helpfully offers its many railroad books and magazines in digital editions, via secure online transaction.
MIBA was already familiar to me--I bought a copy a day or two after arriving in Germany with the U.S. Army in 1986. MIBA opened a door into German culture for me. When the teacher of my Army-mandated German culture orientation class saw me reading MIBA during a class break, he revealed himself to be a model railroader! This experience repeated itself numerous times during my time in Germany, where model railroading is much more popular and much more mainstream than here in North America. For crying out loud, the Germany section of Disney's EPCOT Center, sponsored by the German government's cultural outreach arm, prominently features an outdoor model railroad. Germany even has a national model railroad day (December 2, FYI).

The magazine was available on practically every newsstand in Germany, and not only did I learn more German language from it, it provided me an entree into German life.
After buying a half-dozen or so of MIBA and other VGB digital editions, I took the plunge and became a MIBA subscriber. A print subscription here in the US probably would have cost somewhere north of $100 annually, but the digital subscription was very reasonably priced, no more than my digital subscriptions to Model Railroader or Railroad Model Craftsman. The how-to articles and layout stories are well done, the reviews thorough, and all are supported by excellent photography. Cutting and pasting text into Google translate provides an expeditious way to digest MIBA for readers who don't read German.
For its part, the "Fahrleitungen im Modell" edition is both a comparative product review of European model railroading's catenary products and a how-to on model catenary. The production quality is equal to or better than Kalmbach or White River's offerings. It will guide me through my upcoming experiment in actual N scale catenary construction on a European-prototype T-Trak module (watch this space).

*  *  *

With all this thinkin' about European trains, a stack of Continental Modeller magazines caught my eye a month or so ago at Rockville Model Railroad Club's table at the Train Show in Timonium. A cover story on an Austrian prototype HOn30 'heavy' electric layout particularly intrigued, but there were other interesting stories scattered throughout the magazines. Glen from the Rockville Club wanted $2 each, and it was late in the show, so he offered me the whole stack of a dozen magazines for $5. I took them all.
Continental Modeller is a British model railroad magazine focused on non-British modeling subjects--mostly 'continental' European subjects, with occasional forays into North America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and even South America. CM leans heavily into layout stories, and has a smattering of how-to, technique, and product review content.
Like MIBA, CM is available digitally. Unlike MIBA, CM has its own app that also affords access to CM back issues.

Continental Modeller's layout stories seem more 'human' than the typical MR or RMC fare, spinning yarns of layouts acquired second-hand, or renovated after years of dormancy. There are also a wider variety of approaches to model railroading in evidence--very small layouts, for example, and layouts built specifically for display at exhibitions, not just the operations-oriented basement empires or 'lifetime layouts' that are the staple of North American model railroad magazines.
Speaking of model railroading cliches, Continental Modeller does seem to rely on a few. Just as Model Railroader falls back on Appalachian coal haulers and Colorado narrow gauge, Continental Modeller has what seems to be an endless parade of Alpine narrow gauge layouts, and lots of German engine terminals.
But I'll keep readin' 'em all anyways--cliches or no, I thoroughly enjoy seeing model railroading from all over the world, done as many different ways as possible.

Signs of Life in North American DCC Development?

When last we visited the topic of DCC, I lamented that North American DCC manufacturers have been slow to update their control systems to the state of the art of general consumer electronic devices (think iPhones, iPads, Android, Nests, etc.) or even to late-generation European DCC control systems (look at these Piko, ESU, and Z21 offerings). But there are some hopeful signs of life in the North American DCC control market.

Since that post, Digitrax has offered its LNWI module that can serve as a gateway for wifi-enabled throttles and smart phone apps, but there have been few other new DCC control products introduced into the North American model railroad marketplace. The LNWI module can even facilitate use of an ESU Mobile Control II with an existing Digitrax system, so modelers who are interested in dipping their toes into late-generation DCC control can do so without completely recapitalizing their existing Digitrax system.

Meanwhile, there are rumors in the hobby shops and train shows that one of the big US DCC manufacturers will soon introduce a new LCD-faced control device similar to the smartphone-like Piko, ESU, and Z21 controllers, but alas, our hobby is a festering hive of rumored new products, and ever shall it be. But maybe there's something to such rumors?

A recent announcement from Train Control Systems (TCS) indicates that TCS--primarily a decoder manufacturer--is joining the late-generation DCC control revolution. TCS is looking for user experience (UX) and digital design experts to join their development team. The  announcement leans heavily into a vision for a graphic user interface approach to decoder programming. In other words--more buttons, sliders, and intuitive approaches to representing decoder programming on a computer screen. JMRI accomplishes some of this now, but the concept could use some modernization and UX improvement.

I'll be excited to see where TCS takes this concept, and to see where the other North American DCC makers take their controllers next.

Calumet Region N Scale Models: The Long View

On the bench: Island Model Works/Shapeways South Shore/NICTD Nippon Sharyo body shell (buy it here). A quick test shows it will fit on the Kato RDC drive with a bit of of judicious filing and fiddling. Will need some Faively-style pantographs and some decal-bashing in addition to silver paint and window glazing.

N scale models of prototypes from my home area--the Calumet Region of Northwest Indiana--keep turning up, and I keep adding them to my rolling stock roster.

Walthers updated and re-ran its N SW1200 earlier this year, and offered it in two different Calumet Region paint schemes: Indiana Harbor Belt and Elgin Joliet and Erie. I picked up the IHB version, and would pick up another road number and even the EJ&E version if one presented itself. The SW is a fine loco, but its DCC decoder installation is quite fussy owing to very tricky disassembly that can result in mangling vital pickup wipers. The IHB SW is an excellent complement to Bluford's IHB transfer caboose, two of which I also acquired.


Another N surprise turned up on the Island Model Works store on Shapeways, which is a South Shore/NICTD Nippon Sharyo coach shell. The actual Shapeways item is inexplicably called 'Nss Single 12-2016' but it is unmistakably a South Shore stainless steel coach. It appears to be scaled down from IMW's HO resin offering of this same car, construction of which has been covered here previously on Up Dunes Junction. A test fitting suggests the shell will fit with some fiddling and grinding over the Kato RDC drive. In particular, the interior features posts that extend from the roof down to a few millimeters or so shy of the of side bottom, suggesting it would fit on to a conventional floor as on the IMW HO version of this car. To fit on the thick Kato RDC drive, these interior posts will need to be shortened by another few millimeters.

Bluford IHB transfer caboose and Walthers IHB SW1200. The decoder install in the SW is a tight, difficult fit, but it is a good runner, no small feat in such a small, light locomotive.

An unexpected treat showed up during a visit to the monstrous Caboose Hobbies during a business trip to Denver, the Grasselli Interlocking Tower produced by Region Specific Models. Grasselli was a typical Northern Indiana interlocking tower in East Chicago. It has since been relocated to the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, Indiana, where it will be restored. This kit is made from laser-cut craft board, and will actually be pretty tiny when completed--but iconic for its typical Calumet region look.

The RSM Grasselli kit, based on an iconic Indiana prototype.

In addition to the pictured Calumet Region models, kits, and parts, I have been patiently awaiting the arrival of several Intermountain EJ&E SD38s. These non-turbocharged road switchers were a constant presence in my childhood hometown of Dyer, Indiana, where the EJ&E (now CN) crossed the old Monon (later L&N, Family Lines, and currently CSX), and the throaty drum roll of these normally-aspirated EMDs became the first locomotives I could recognize by their sound. Apparently, Intermountain's run of SD38s has been stalled in the latest episode of Model Railroad Industrial Complex drama, the abrupt closing of the Affa model train factory in China. Apparently the patriarch of the Affa company up and retired, leading to the closure of the factory, although rumors and speculation about trade wars, tariff hikes, and the like have been running rampant in internet-based forums. Nonetheless, Model Railroad Industrial Complex insiders at Con-Cor and Rapido have provided separate but consistent accounts of how the Affa closure came to pass, and have assured that the ecosystem of Chinese model railroad manufacturers will pick up the slack over the next year. In the meantime, I will patiently await my order of SD38s.

Readers may be wondering: don't I already have an HO South Shore layout?  The whole point of my N scale sojourn and Old Line Corridor has been modeling Northeast Corridor prototypes that have been impractical to cover in HO, so why all the fuss over N scale models of Calumet Region prototypes?

For the moment, my focus will remain on NEC prototypes in N and Calumet Region, including the South Shore--in HO. But I'm thinking ahead to my future model railroading, where I anticipate time and resources for model railroading but maybe somewhat less space or more transitory space. My spouse and I are eyeballing our possible (retired) future without a large house--or even living between multiple smaller houses.

In other words, a portable, space-conscious approach to model railroading is likely to be in my future, perhaps even modular model railroading using the T-Trak, N-Trak, or Free-Mo standard. The modular approach would give me an opportunity to build some Calumet Region layout design elements, and provide an appropriate venue for running Calumet Region equipment.

Fortunately, I live in prime N scale module territory: our excellent local Northern Virginia NTrak (NVNTrak) club has both NTrak and T-Trak divisions. I'm looking forward to getting to know the  NVNTrak gang in the future, and modeling my favorite Calumet Region railroads.

A Childhood Friend Comes To My Neighborhood: The 2018 O Scale Convention

Welcome to the O Scale Convention! This intricately scenicked On30 logging camp module greeted registrants. While  oft-discussed On30 was present at the O Scale Convention, it was not as dominant as I expected.

On a recent busy weekend, I was able to squeeze in a brief visit to the 2018 O Scale Convention, which took place at the Hilton Rockville—close enough to my home that I didn’t even need to get in the car to get there.
I visited the convention mid-morning on a Saturday, and the crowd was just picking up. There was an extensive schedule of clinics, layout visits, and other rail-related tours, as well as a model contest. A good sized vendor floor offered a large selection of O scale and general model railroading wares. Most of the rolling stock for sale was mainline, standard gauge fare, which surprised me a bit—I was expecting more On30, pre-WWII, and even traction gear.
O scalers are, for some reason, more prone to model heavy electric, and I was pleased to see a significant contingent of big electrics on the vendor tables as well in the in contest room. Even modern electric equipment gets its due, and I saw several chunky AEM-7 and Siemens motors on display. An O scale AEM-7, ironically, is about the size of a small toaster!
The event afforded me the opportunity to meet some manufacturers and model railroaders of note. Dave Herman of ESU was showing off high-amperage decoders (particularly relevant to older O scale equipment that can draw well over 2 or 3 amps!) and the new CabControl product. We discussed the ECoS controller and Mobile Control II, which I have been using on the Old Line Corridor after having reading about it on Trevor Marshall’s Port Rowan blog.
Tony Koester, that genial statesman of model railroading, was also on hand with his modular ‘Wingate’ O scale modular layout that will be featured in upcoming issues of Model Railroader magazine. Tony and I swapped stories about our alma mater, Purdue, Northwest Indiana, and railfanning the South Shore. I learned that Tony was involved in campus radio at Purdue, but I should have figured that he had some broadcast or performing arts in his background--he has 'the voice' and the knack for a great, immediate story.

Model Railroader columnist, author, and raconteur Tony
Koester telling rail tales while displaying his Wingate, IN
O scale modules.

In a particular way, visiting the O scale show was a return to my earliest, most formative model railroading experiences. The first actual model railroader I ever knew was Dr. Alan K. Roebuck, and I helped him build benchwork, track, and catenary for his O scale Indiana Northern layout. In my teens, I cut grass and did handyman work for Dr. Roebuck, who not only paid me money but also let me have the run of his extensive railroad and modeling library. He passed on to me his abiding interest in heavy electrics--I 'borrowed' his copy of Middleton's When the Steam Railroads Electrified for several years. We were both inspired by the work of Bob Hegge, who had been publishing articles featuring traction and electric models in the major model railroad magazines of the time (the late 70s and early 80s).

Dr. Roebuck and I even went to an 80s iteration of this O scale convention, and there were both similarities and important differences in the 35 or so years since. The models were just as big and substantial as I remember--and electric prototypes were in evidence as well. But today the models are better--the hobby's greater overall fidelity to detail was certainly apparent in both the contest room and the sales tables, and more likely to be made of plastic. As late as the 80s, disdain for plastic as a modeling material was still in vogue among O scalers. But in the years since, the high quality model manufacturing methods that have been refined in HO and N have been employed to great effect in O scale. Track is another area of substantial improvement over the decades--more scale sized rail and detailed flex track and turnout products.

Despite my nostalgic affection for O scale, and what seemed like acres of available models of interesting subjects, I didn't walk out with any O scale models or even inspiration to launch an O scale project. It is difficult to imagine arranging my real estate in such a way as to accommodate these monstrouns models, even though they are impressive and satisfyingly substantial (There was an O scale AEM-7--that toaster-sized 'Toaster' mentioned above--at a low, low price that was indeed very tempting. And sound takes on a whole new meaning in those seemingly cavernous O scale boilers and locomotive bodies!) But I did enjoy catching up with O scale in person, and meeting and talking to other model railroaders, including latter day O scalers. 

Hey Big Model Railroad Media: Where's the Audio Content?

The revolution in big model railroad media is being televised, or at least video-streamed on the internet. But why hasn't the big model railroad media revolution also included podcasts and audio content?

Big Model Railroad Media is Fighting the Video Insurgency...

Big Model Railroad Media such as Kalmbach, Model Railroad Hobbyist, and former Kalmbach video guy Allen Keller all have rolled out paywalled video services. They are all professionally produced and edited, and bring to life much of the art and craft of model railroading.
Watching tree making and airbrush techniques, for example, on Trainmasters.tv, boosted my confidence and took the mystery out of methods I should have learned decades ago.
Video tours of layouts also are both impressive and humanizing in a way that staged and static magazine photos often are not. I've particularly enjoyed seeing Bob Hayden and Dave Frary's Carrabasset and Dead River and Tom Piccirillo's Somerset County Traction system layouts--among many others--on video.
Big professional model railroad video is in large part big model railroad media's survival response to shrinking circulation of paper publications. Remember when the local drug and grocery store had most of an aisle of magazines, including Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman? Now it's 6 or 8 feet of magazines, and not a hobby magazine in sight. Model railroad video content, paid up front instead of print media paid by ads, is the idea here. Kalmbach and MRH in particular have positioned their video as complements or adjuncts to their magazine offerings.
Big professional model railroad video is also a response to insurgent small amateur model railroad video, which has sprung up like weeds on YouTube. Big model railroad media has noticed that some of these small do-it-yourself video makers actually are competing with the old magazine-centric model of big model railroad media. For starters, YouTube channels command significant audience numbers--James Wright's thorough and informative model railroad video product review channel has over 28,000 subscribers, Kathy Millatt's charming and edifying how-to channel has over 4,500 subscribers. There are lots of other individual model railroaders posting to YouTube as well, and there's even a group called YouTube Modelers that--in a twist--even publishes its own online magazine.
There is a more ominous competitive threat to Big Model Railroad Media than insurgent collectives of video- and magazine producing model railroaders, and that is how YouTube is changing model railroad commerce. Model railroad manufacturers have already taken notice of the power of online video to connect with customers. Hobby manufacturers and retailers who formerly connected with consumers almost exclusively via ads bought from Big Model Railroad Media now have their own YouTube channels. Woodland Scenics and MB Klein are two excellent examples.
And remember James Wright with his 28,000 subscribers? His YouTube reviews are now a sought-after venue for showcasing new model railroad products and events. In short, YouTube and online video are an alternative to ads in Big Model Railroad Media--why would manufacturers pay money to put ads in big model railroad magazines if a popular YouTube reviewer or your own marketing and video people can show sights, sounds, and motions to a world of Internet users?
I'm currently signed up to all of Big Model Railroad Media's paywalled sites, and I put a fair bit of mileage on several of the YouTube channels. Not sure if I will keep the subscriptions over the long haul, but I would gladly gift them to a newby in lieu of a how-to book or old model railroad magazines, much same way I was helped at the beginning of my model railroad interest. I'll admit that I don't consume video content like "normal" people do: my TV consumption has always been minimal, thanks to a childhood more or less without TV.

...But Big Model Railroad Media is Sitting Out the Audio Insurgency

But I did hear a lot of radio as a child and young adult, so there's another internet-based form of broadcast-like communication that has more appeal to me than video, and that's podcasts. Podcasts are free and easily accessible via smart phone or computer. Why hasn't Big Model Railroad media launched into podcasting to showcase their strengths--access to the industry and prominent model railroaders, tightly edited expert content--and cross sell their money making magazine and video offerings?
There are a number of model railroad podcasts currently available on iTunes or other sources, most of which enjoy significant listener bases. Some are updated regularly; others are out of production with archived back episodes available. I've mentioned my favorite, Trevor Marshall and Jim Martin's  The Model Railway Show, several times here before, and though out of production, its archive is thankfully still available. I also listen occasionally to Lionel Strang's A Modeler's Life, Tom Barbalet's Model Rail Radio, and Mike and Scotty Live. There are others as well.
So far, model railroad podcasts have been grassroots undertakings, typically produced by one or a few folks on a part time basis, with bare bones production. The result is that most model railroad podcasts--like most podcasts generally--tend to be a few people talking in an unedited, meandering conversation for long period of time. For model railroad podcasts, the long conversation format works fairly well, with each of the above podcasts reaching thousands of loyal listeners.
But there's also room, maybe even a need, for another approach to model railroad podcasts besides a couple of dudes cracking in-jokes and talking about trains for an hour or two . For example, how about a radio show-like podcast with a host or hosts that is edited and switches between interviews, stories, and industry news?
Big model railroad media or maybe even a large organization such as the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) are in the best position to launch such a podcast--it's not that great a leap from the editorial and production capabilities required to produce a magazine or video to produce a radio show-format podcast.
The best example of the potential for high-production value, radio show-like model railroad podcasts was the The Model Railway Show mentioned above. It was scripted and featured news, stories, and interviews. To be fair, the show's hosts, Trevor Marshall and Jim Martin, are veteran radio journalists, and their skill and experience was evident throughout each tightly crafted episode. However, TMRS demanded significant time and attention to create, and ultimately Trevor and Jim stopped producing the show so they could focus on their own model railroad pursuits.
Indeed, there are other tantalizing precursors or elements of professionally-produced, Big Model Railroad Media radio show-style podcasts already out there. Model Railroad Hobbyist already has a traditional, monthly (or so)  'couple of dudes talking for an hour or two' podcast. Model Railroader editors have monthly (or so) videos like 'Inside Cody's Office', highlighting new products and industry, as well as separate video previews of the upcoming magazine issues. Could MR not re-fashion these kinds of periodic video offerings into an engaging podcast? Perhaps White River Productions (publisher of Railroad Model Craftsman, Model Railroad News, and other train-focused magazines) could venture into this space with a monthly or weekly radio show-style podcast.
As Trevor and Jim's experience shows, serious podcast production requires serious production wherewithal--it's really more than a hobbyist with a day job can be expected to do. Which is why Big Model Railroad Media players ought to offer podcasts as a digital adjunct to their print and video products.

That Didn't Take Long: Populist Politics and Model Trains

In the latest Rapido trains newsletter, Jason Shron coolly and factually explains how Brexit has already negatively impacted Rapido, and what negative impacts prospective changes in US trade and China policy--such as increased trade tariffs--are likely to have on Rapido and across the model railroad industry. 
Jason is the energetic boss of Rapido Trains Inc. and the Rapido News is a must-read email whenever it comes, always informative and entertaining. He is a tireless explainer of how the model railroad industry works and he is transparent about Rapido's project status and delivery schedule--including bad news about delays, setbacks, and disappointing sales.
"We're proud of the open relationship we have with our customers," writes Jason in his latest  email newsletter. 
Read Jason's thoughts on the topic here:
Rapido News Vol. 86 - Big order deadline and new videos

Next Generation DCC: When Does It Come to North America?

Since I started this blog and throughout the construction of my current Dunes Junction and Old Line Corridor layout projects, DCC has been a series of surprises and delights: it continues to add unexpected joy and focus to the operation of my trains, and has occasioned a significant bit of fun learning. Nonetheless, every step in my DCC evolution seems to point the way to more and better ways of doing DCC.

I'm not the only model railroader who has noticed that DCC adds to train operation. Tom Barbalet of the Model Rail Radio podcast said it best when he described (more or less, and I'm paraphrasing) analog DC control as operating a circuit, but DCC as control of a model train. To elaborate on Tom's observation, DCC adds additional dimensions of realism such as sound, lighting, and other features, and also other less obvious realism opportunities such as consisting (MUing), speed limits and tables, and various compensations for poor or erratic operating characteristics.

Fun learning first focused on wiring and track for DCC but quickly progressed to decoder installs and programming. More advanced programming and the appeal of wireless walkaround control using smartphones led to use of the Java Model Railroad interface (JMRI). The more DCC tinkering I've done, the more DCC gear I've accumulated. My first DCC system was a Digitrax DCS51 Zephyr, and to facilitate its use with JMRI and WiThrottle, the Zephyr was joined by a Digitrax PS3 module. The Digitrax Zephyr is an ideal starter system, particularly for a small layout such as Dunes Junction or Old Line Corridor.

However, the Zephyr, PS3, and a laptop with JMRI installed--along with all of the 'wall warts' and power cords--was a space-hogging eyesore, particularly for a compact layout like the Old Line Corridor. To streamline my JMRI and control rig, I acquired a SPROG3, which is essentially a small USB box (less than half the size of that Digitrax PS3 module) that turns a JMRI-equipped PC or Mac into a mini command station. It's a fairly elegant solution but requires a little fussing and DIY spirit to get working correctly, and it does require use of WiThrottle for multiple train operation. In other words, the JMRI-SPROG3-WiThrottle combination rarely turned right on and worked without a reboot of host computer, iPhones, or other tinkering with JMRI settings.

I alluded to my next and latest bit of DCC gear in my locomotive mugshotting post: I recently acquired a second-hand ESU ECoS 50200 command station. Trevor Marshall's blog posts on his adoption of the ECoS system pointed me to this system, and subsequent research helped cement my decision to add the ECoS to my model railroading wishlist. The big color touchscreen was a draw, as well as simply executed but extensive controls, including color photo loco icons. However, an even more attractive feature was the ECoS' built in networking and connectivity features--this modern DCC command station would also tame the rat's nest of cables, adapters, and wall warts that accumulated when I connected my previous DCC systems to my network and computers, and hopefully simplify interfacing JMRI with my DCC.

As Trevor noted in his posts on the ECoS, its capabilities are overkill for most North American modelers. It supports graphic control of a whole layout--imagine a digital, on-screen display of an entire layout, not unlike an old-school analog control panel with switches and whatnot. It also supports a number of legacy European alternatives to our NMRA standard DCC--imagine a DCC command station that could also handle Hornby Zero One, PSI Dynatrol, and DIY CTC16, in addition to DCC. It will also handle Maerklin three rail trains and communicate via a few different proprietary European network standards. All of these features and capabilities give the ECoS its hefty street price--around $700 in the US--which made this a 'wishlist' rather than a 'buy it now' item. So when a used ECoS at a bargain price came calling, I answered.

So far, my ECoS is living up to its promise. Its home is a keyboard drawer under Ivy City yard on the Old Line Corridor, and it joins my home WiFi network via a single IoGear Ethernet-to-WiFi adapter--no more ungainly direct cable connection between my railroad and network. It joined immediately with JMRI, warts and all (more on that shortly). When I'm feeling frisky and want to do walkaround operations, I use the TouchCab iOS app on a pair of decommissioned early model iPhones. (The Android-powered ECoS Mobile Control II is still very much on my wishlist, needless to say). And I'm pleased as punch at those color loco icon mugshots!

What hasn't lived up to the promise is access to the ECoS via computer. ESU has made it easy to view and backup configuration settings via web interface, and the web interface is how color photo loco icons upload to the ECoS. But changing the ECoS' configuration via a connected computer is not straightforward--aside from uploading loco icons, there is little that can be changed or added to the ECoS via ESU's 'stock' web interface. JMRI, once properly configured, does access the ECoS over a local network and in its current build will allow what amounts to a one-time upload of the JMRI roster to the ECoS. However, the ECoS and JMRI do not truly synchronize after that initial upload. I am currently working with the JMRI user community to develop a repeatable, on demand capability to upload JMRI roster entries to the ECoS, which will be an important step toward achieving true synchronization between JMRI and the ECoS.

This standout piece of DCC kit and my troubles getting it to work comprehensively with JMRI point the way to the future of DCC.

First, the ECoS' look, feel, and user experience (UX, in industry parlance) are superior to practically everything currently on offer from US DCC manufacturers. The touch screen and graphic user interface should be more or less standard in the industry--Ring Engineering is the only North American train control product I know of with such an interface, but it is not DCC. While the ECoS is admittedly expensive in comparison to US starter DCC systems, I strongly suspect that its compatibility with multiple control and networking standards and dual controls are more expensive cost components than its main UX features, the color touch screen and menu-based user interface.

Second, networking and computer access for configuration and programming should not be an afterthought in DCC products. The ECoS' built-in Ethernet should also be a standard feature of DCC systems, and for that matter, WiFi would likely be easier, cheaper, and more user-friendly to incorporate. Networking and WiFi are currently built into a dizzying array of technology today--the 'internet of things' we've all been hearing about--and it should now be easy to cheaply incorporate wireless connectivity into new DCC products. 

An aside: I'm surprised that JMRI still hasn't been joined in the marketplace by either a standalone competitor, or by a manufacturer-specific alternative to or customized variant of JMRI. The web-based computer access to the ECoS offers a tantalizing glimpse of the possibilities here--I, for one, would pay money for a "it just works" PC/Mac software product with the functionality of JMRI and the simplicity of ESU's web interface.

I'm thinking of a Digitrax Zephyr- or NCE Touch Cab-like starter system with basic, small layout capabilities that dispenses with the keypad and LCD/LED alphanumeric display in favor of a touch screen and menu picks, and adds WiFi. An interface that works with common home computing devices (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) would allow access to advanced system settings and loco rosters/ If nothing else, such a system would appear more contemporary with other common non-model railroad devices and have greater appeal to beginners and younger model railroaders, in addition to be being more intuitive and fun to use than endless key presses and cryptic abbreviated messages on LCD or LED displays.

Already, European manufacturers other than ESU, such as Piko and Roco are introducing a new generation of basic yet graphic-intensive, network-enabled DCC system that take their design queues from the ECoS--when will American manufacturers like Digitrax, NCE, MRC, and CVP join the trend with next-generation DCC?