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Re: Early RPM Efforts
Schleigh Mike
A note to Al--Shared with the Group---- Your early and continuing work, really, contributions, in the hobby have been huge. Even those early kits, fragile as they might be, were wonderful and brought advances in modeling that showed us the way to do great modeling and to expect better in ourselves and those that supply our purchases. Tom Madden gave us a very nice run-down of where much of this had come from but your efforts brought something of a quantum leap that showed everyone that much more could be done to bring better realism to our railroad cars. Future advances will come but what you and Patricia did for the hobby will stand as a large milestone in the modeling quality we can expect in our hobby. Thank you, Al, for all you gave us and the hobby! Enjoy your time in Arizona. Enjoy the hobby. And please stay in touch offering comments as you see opportunity. Good wishes from Grove City in western Penna. Mike Schleigh
On Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 11:13:02 AM EDT, al_westerfield <westerfieldalfred@...> wrote:
Mark – For about 15 years we willing replaced those castings for urethane at no charge for anyone who requested it. To get the old kits off hobby shop shelves, we notified every shop on out lists that we would replace entire kits if they returned the originals. Surprisingly, few did.
But I received my greatest compliment over that kit. One modeler complained to another that my ad should have showed the model, not the prototype. It was the model.
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Rossiter, Mark W
Dan and friends, yes the NEB&W was a fictitious railroad, but in addition to the modeled prototype scenes you mentioned, the motive power and rolling stock was based on Rutland and D&H prototypes. It was largely the John Nehrich, Jeff English, Todd Sullivan and Andy Claremont articles in MR and RMC in the early 1980’s on how to turn the available kits of the day into more correct models of actual prototypes that opened my eyes to a whole new world of modeling. Once the Storzek Rutland and NYC box car kits hit the market, followed by the NEB&W ‘green dot’ kits, I was hooked on resin kits. The first Westerfield kit I bought was a NYC hopper made of the dark gray casting material. Assembling that kit was like trying to glue potato chips together. Every time I touched it something else broke. It is still partially finished in a box somewhere in my basement. It was my first experience with scale thickness walls on a freight car kit.
Mark Rossiter
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Re: In defense of the blue box
Paul R Greenwald
Al - Well said Paul Greenwald
-- Paul R Greenwald PRRT&HS #1802 NMRA #129229
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CGW Chicagoland RPM Mini-Kit Clinic Link by George Toman
gtws00
I gave a presentation at the Chicagoland RPM on my building of the 2017 CGW Minit-Kit. This was a plastic kit plus resin parts that was a gift for attendees. Here is a link to the presentation, Please use for personal use only
https://www.dropbox.com/s/twdrkhdiqu4pwww/CGW%202017%20Chicagoland%20RPM%20Final%20Sept%202018.pdf?dl=0 George Toman
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Re: Early RPM Efforts
Rossiter, Mark W <Mark.Rossiter@...>
Al, I meant no disrespect in my comments on your NYC hopper kit. I purchased and successfully assembled many of your boxcar kits made of the same material. It was the scale thickness of the carbody walls on the hopper car that caused me the most angst. Visually, they looked awesome. They just didn’t hold up to repeat handling. I also struggled with how to add the proper weight to the car. Having said that, the instructions and prototype background information provided was light years ahead of any other kits on the market at the time.
I don’t recall which local hobby shop I purchased the kit from (they are all long gone now), but whichever one it was made no mention of your replacement policy nor did they remove any of the original kits from their shelves. I suspect they felt it wasn’t worth the effort, especially if purchasers such as I didn’t complain about them. I remember thinking at the time that my modeling skills were just not up to the task yet. That didn’t stop me from buying lots of other Westerfield kits, just not hoppers.
Mark Rossiter
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Re: In defense of the blue box
Today I would be unable to assemble a Westerfield kit. I have pretty severe hand tremors and poor close-up eye sight. That hasn’t stopped me from building an operations layout here in Tucson. I’m using all blue box type cars, which I can still assemble. I bought a bunch of late stem era freight cars at swap meets and brought them up to NMRA standards, even if only one side is decent. It was fun working with the same kind of cars I assembled when I was 12 – all metal Roundhouse and stamped metal Athearn. Instead of heavy steam I once ran, everything is DCC early diesel that I don’t have to fine tune. Everything is a compromise but I’m adapting. I call it geezer modeling. – Al Westerfield
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Doc Bond
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 6:39 PM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] In defense of the blue box
Hi Tim,
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Re: In defense of the blue box
Hi Tim,
Interesting article. I would change "mediocrity" to "good enough". We all have our levels of good enough... just have to accept what we are comfortable with... it does change with time. I have a more acceptance of good enough as I get older. Life is finite after all. Gordon spalty
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Re: Prototype drawings/photos help needed
Eric Hansmann
Sorry for a late thought on this but the RPM got in the way.
I suspect the B&O ventilated M-14 car could be built by modifying the M-13 kit with vents and scratchbuilt ventilated doors.
There were 483 M-14 and M-14a cars listed in the October 1926 ORER.
Eric Hansmann Murfreesboro. TN
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of rwitt_2000 via Groups.Io
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2018 7:27 PM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] Prototype drawings/photos help needed
These were built by the Ralston Steel Car Company and no drawings were
preserved. There is a builders photo on the Columbus Railroad web site.
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Re: In defense of the blue box
Dave Owens
I've been working on a couple of freight cars -- steam era, mind you
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
-- a building and some vehicles. And I have reached the conclusion that I am truly mediocre. But I'm still having fun. I do aspire to do models like Bill Welch, Brian Banna, Mal Houck, Neil Schofield and so many others, but I'm a long way off. Dave Owens Muddling along in West Hartford, Connecticut
On Wed, Oct 24, 2018 at 4:42 PM naptownprr <jhunter@iupui.edu> wrote:
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Re: In defense of the blue box
naptownprr
Tim,
Bravo! I have always assumed that we do model trains for fun! And I agree that not every model has to be a museum piece. If I approached it that way, I'd never get around to building my layout. Jim Hunter ________________________________________ From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> on behalf of Tim O'Connor <timboconnor@comcast.net> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 3:24 PM To: stmfc; bbfcl@groups.io Subject: [RealSTMFC] In defense of the blue box Some light reading... and yet I hope it strikes a good chord. I still assemble blue box kits and I get a kick out of it. :-) Not every model needs to be a museum piece. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/opinion/sunday/in-praise-of-mediocrity.html Tim O'Connor -- *Tim O'Connor* *Sterling, Massachusetts*
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In defense of the blue box
Some light reading... and yet I hope it strikes a good chord. I still assemble
blue box kits and I get a kick out of it. :-) Not every model needs to be a museum piece. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/opinion/sunday/in-praise-of-mediocrity.html Tim O'Connor -- *Tim O'Connor* *Sterling, Massachusetts*
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Re: Early RPM Efforts
I operate on the RPI layout twice a year, and almost every scene on the layout is taken from the prototype, thanks largely to John Nehrich's outstanding reproductions of prototypical buildings and industries. It just gets better and better. And the school even gave us our own private entrance a couple of years ago (a dorm security measure). The op sessions always include a number of students too, so hopefully the layout will continue for a long time to come. I've built those early Westerfield kits. I had a side break like glass - but the fracture was so clean that I glued it back together, and it was invisible. Tim O'Connor
Dan and friends, yes the NEB&W was a fictitious railroad, but in addition to the modeled prototype scenes you mentioned, the motive power and rolling stock was based on Rutland and D&H prototypes. It was largely the John Nehrich, Jeff English, Todd Sullivan and Andy Claremont articles in MR and RMC in the early 1980’s on how to turn the available kits of the day into more correct models of actual prototypes that opened my eyes to a whole new world of modeling. Once the Storzek Rutland and NYC box car kits hit the market, followed by the NEB&W ‘green dot’ kits, I was hooked on resin kits. The first Westerfield kit I bought was a NYC hopper made of the dark gray casting material. Assembling that kit was like trying to glue potato chips together. Every time I touched it something else broke. It is still partially finished in a box somewhere in my basement. It was my first experience with scale thickness walls on a freight car kit. --
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts
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Re: RPM Chicagoland Photos
John Hagen <sprinthag@...>
Dennis. That is quite likely. As I said “I could very well be wrong.” And I meant that as I often am, especially since joying the “Geezer agers” (Golden Agers? Still waiting for that). The layout I visited was in a second story of a somewhat ramshackle appearing building in downtown Batavia. Not being of svelte proportions in those days (nor now for that matter) I suspiciously eyed the outdoor stairs and balcony we used to enter the 2nd floor. But once inside he scene was, for me at least, amazing. While the main line cabs were on the same level as we were, the layout was one floor down. The layout made extensive use of scenic dividers so anyone on the operating floor could only view their immediate area. All the local and/or switching run were on that using walk around controls. I recall that the club was about the most popular destination used for the annual bus trip. Any earlier layout I was before my time with the WISE Division. John Hagen
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of Dennis Storzek
On Tue, Oct 23, 2018 at 10:01 PM, John Hagen wrote:
John,
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Re: Early RPM Efforts
Claus Schlund \(HGM\)
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
Hi Al and List Members,
Al wrote: "One modeler complained to another that
my ad should have showed the model, not the prototype. It was the
model"
Indeed, the highest of compliments!
Claus Schlund
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Re: Early RPM Efforts
Mark – For about 15 years we willing replaced those castings for urethane at no charge for anyone who requested it. To get the old kits off hobby shop shelves, we notified every shop on out lists that we would replace entire kits if they returned the originals. Surprisingly, few did.
But I received my greatest compliment over that kit. One modeler complained to another that my ad should have showed the model, not the prototype. It was the model.
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Rossiter, Mark W
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 3:00 AM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: [RealSTMFC] Early RPM Efforts
Dan and friends, yes the NEB&W was a fictitious railroad, but in addition to the modeled prototype scenes you mentioned, the motive power and rolling stock was based on Rutland and D&H prototypes. It was largely the John Nehrich, Jeff English, Todd Sullivan and Andy Claremont articles in MR and RMC in the early 1980’s on how to turn the available kits of the day into more correct models of actual prototypes that opened my eyes to a whole new world of modeling. Once the Storzek Rutland and NYC box car kits hit the market, followed by the NEB&W ‘green dot’ kits, I was hooked on resin kits. The first Westerfield kit I bought was a NYC hopper made of the dark gray casting material. Assembling that kit was like trying to glue potato chips together. Every time I touched it something else broke. It is still partially finished in a box somewhere in my basement. It was my first experience with scale thickness walls on a freight car kit.
Mark Rossiter
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Re: RPM Chicagoland Photos
Dennis Storzek
On Tue, Oct 23, 2018 at 10:01 PM, John Hagen wrote:
I remember the Batavia walk around layout well. I can’t believe it was 1974 that it was torn down though.John, If you are addressing my post, I believe you misinterpreted what I said, which was the G-C club layout I was familiar with in high school was torn down in 1974. That date from their web site. I dropped my membership about 1970 when I had to go out and work for a living :-( The Batavia club was still going strong through the eighties, IIRC. Dennis (two n's) Storzek
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Re: Intermountain PFE Roof Color Variation Between Runs
Jerry Michels
Thanks Tony. Jerry
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RPM Chicagoland wrap-up
Eric Hansmann
I've posted a summary of the recent RPM Chicagoland event on the Resin Car Works blog. Links to galleries and other blog posts covering the event are included. http://blog.resincarworks.com/rpm-chicagoland-wrap-up/ Eric Hansmann
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Early RPM Efforts
Rossiter, Mark W <Mark.Rossiter@...>
Dan and friends, yes the NEB&W was a fictitious railroad, but in addition to the modeled prototype scenes you mentioned, the motive power and rolling stock was based on Rutland and D&H prototypes. It was largely the John Nehrich, Jeff English, Todd Sullivan and Andy Claremont articles in MR and RMC in the early 1980’s on how to turn the available kits of the day into more correct models of actual prototypes that opened my eyes to a whole new world of modeling. Once the Storzek Rutland and NYC box car kits hit the market, followed by the NEB&W ‘green dot’ kits, I was hooked on resin kits. The first Westerfield kit I bought was a NYC hopper made of the dark gray casting material. Assembling that kit was like trying to glue potato chips together. Every time I touched it something else broke. It is still partially finished in a box somewhere in my basement. It was my first experience with scale thickness walls on a freight car kit.
Mark Rossiter
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good film
I just watched an excellent railroad drama: By Whose Hand (1932), which takes place almost entirely on an SP train from LA to SF. It’s a passenger train, so please forgive me. But I’ve never seen a film that more accurately portrays the prototype, inside and out. You can watch and download it from YouTube. – Al Westerfield
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Re: RPM Chicagoland Photos
John Hagen <sprinthag@...>
Denis, I remember the Batavia walk around layout well. I can’t believe it was 1974 that it was torn down though. Of course, I have CRS so I can be very well be wrong but the two times I saw it were on WISE Div, bus tours, typically held in May, and I do not think I took any of them earlier than 1983. I wasn’t even aware they held their September – April or May meets until 1982. Anyway, it was what I considered to be a really neat set up. On one of the tours some of us got to operate a walk around train with a club member for a bit. I was saddened when the layout was demolished. John hagen
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