Another Magazine Closes: Goodbye Model Railroad News

When he started Model Railroad News nearly 17 years ago, editor Michael Lindsay had a vision of creating a one-stop resource that would “provide quality news and content to help modelers of all scales and backgrounds make the most informed decisions they could prior to plopping their hard-earned hobby dollars on the hobby shelf.”

For many years, that vision was realized. Then this thing called the Internet took off, and publishing hasn’t been the same since.

This month, Model Railroad News ceased publication. In a note on the magazine’s website, Lindsay cited the various reasons for the closure: A down economy, declining circulation and rising costs.

As a reader on model railroad forum pointed out, it was pretty hard for a bi-monthly magazine to stay current with new releases—by the time Model Railroad News had published a review of a new item it had probably been dissected up and down and sideways on various Internet forums. (Maybe not always thoughtfully, but that’s beside the point.)

Plus, with more and more items being released in limited runs, what’s the point of a review? By the time the review was published, there was nothing left to buy, anyway.

These changing times of ours have brought many new and exciting opportunities, but also more than a few casualties. Model Railroad News was one of them.

So, goodbye Model Railroad News. And all the best to the few multi-scale, general purpose model railroad magazines left standing: Model Railroader, Railroad Model Craftsman (which just released its first digital issue) and Canadian Railway Modeller.

TomSka's YouTube Video, I Like Trains (or, how you, too, can enjoy minimalist non-sequitur comedy on YouTube)

Not only am I older, I am decidedly uncool. Which is why I hadn’t heard about Tom “Ska” Ridgewell, aka TomSka, before.

TomSka is a twenty-something YouTube filmmaker, best known for his asdf movies. (Pronounced “ass-duff.”) According to one writer, the movies consist of short scenes featuring various stick-figure characters with one-liners, mostly depicting random and absurd scenarios like throwing cheese at a flying saucer.

(In case you’re wondering who would ever watch something like that, to date TomSka’s videos have been viewed over 139 million times.)

One of the characters in TomSka’s short animated cartoons is a boy who is prone to exclaiming the catchphrase “I like trains,” whereupon he or another character is run over by one. The popularity of the I Like Trains character prompted TomSka to create a short movie featuring the boy. Appropriately, it’s titled: I Like Trains.

I Like Trains has already been viewed over 5.5 million times. (I’m guessing they aren’t all model railroaders.)

You may not like the I Like Trains movie, or the premise, but the song is catchy for those of us who, like the boy in the cartoon, like trains.

In case you’re wondering about the meaning behind TomSka’s videos, here’s what he said about them: “They are super minimalist non-sequitur comedy, jokes that don’t make any sense, in and out in about three seconds, tailored to appeal to that YouTube mentality.”

Now you know.

Click here to listen to the song.

3D Printing: The Future of Model Railroading?

This HO scale passenger car was printed in a 3D printer.

I have seen the future of model railroading, and it is 3D printing. Well, it’s one aspect of the hobby’s future, at least.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept—as I was until my new friend, Jeff, a 3D printing jewelry designer explained it to me—3D printing is a way to design objects on a computer, send the design to a company with a 3D printer, then have that company print the object and mail it to you.

Need a pilot for your steam locomotive? 3D print it!

Through 3D printing (also called rapid prototyping), modelers can make unique items that are unavailable as commercial products—a CN style wheel stop, a 1950s-style oil drum, or detail parts like horns, handrails, bells, domes, windows, etc.

Need a dumpster on your layout? Print it!

How does it work? It’s a mystery to me, but Jeff tells me that it’s an additive manufacturing technology where three dimensional objects are created by laying down successive layers of material. These materials can be plastic, ceramics, glass or stainless steel.

You can even make buildings, like this
Z scale engine house.

Items are available in a variety of scales, from T to HO. The larger an object is, the more expensive it is, since it requires more material and time to make it.

For the smaller scales, like T, Z and N, 3D printing can make complete models—rolling stock, locomotives and buildings. For larger scales, it seems best suited for detail parts like fire hydrants, garbage cans and the like.

Or maybe you need a shopping cart . . .

Of course, you need considerable computer design skills to make these items—or just need to be under the age of 30, since youth today seemingly can figure out almost any new technology (unlike old guys like me).

Luckily, lots of these smarter and younger people will make 3D printable items for you—all you need to do is send them a photo of what you want, and they will design and print it. Once designed, it can then be sold to others who might also need that particular item, allowing you to pay off the cost of making it, and maybe even make a few bucks.

How about a garbage can?

Speaking of costs, 3D printing isn’t cheap. On the other hand, it is a lot less expensive than the traditional injection molded manufacturing process, which requires a considerable up-front investment of thousands of dollars, along with the need to make hundreds or thousands of parts to recoup your investment.

Jeff tells me that, just like with other technologies, the cost will go down. Who knows? Maybe one day there will be no more limited production runs, with the need to buy now or lose. If you want a GP9 that is accurate for your prototype, with all the louvres and doors and fuel tanks in the right place, you can just order one of them and have it delivered to your door.

This 3D printed cart is really cool.

One of the leaders in the world of 3D printing is Shapeways.  If you go to their website, and search for “model railroad,” you will find dozens of pages offering items (such as pictured in this post.)

With 3D printing you can turn this . . .

Into this.

My friend Jeff tells me that, one day, we all might have 3D printers in our homes—an outlandish thought, until you remember that it wasn’t so long ago that the idea of everyone having a personal computer was crazy, too.

A design for a Z scale car.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what The Economist magazine said in the Feb. 10, 2011 issue:

“Three-dimensional printing makes it as cheap to create single items as it is to produce thousands and thus undermines economies of scale. It may have as profound an impact on the world as the coming of the factory did . . . just as nobody could have predicted the impact of the steam engine in 1750—or the printing press in 1450, or the transistor in 1950—it is impossible to foresee the long-term impact of 3D printing. But the technology is coming, and it is likely to disrupt every field it touches.”

Including model railroading.


Appropriately, a 3D printed Nn3 caboose
brings this post to an end.



Hardest Kits to Put Together

InterMountain cylindrical hopper car kit: Hard
to put together (for me, at least).

There was a time, not so long ago, when model railroad rolling stock—and most locomotives—came as kits.

In most cases, there really wasn’t much to do; for cars, you just had to attach the floor and body, screw on the wheel sets, add the couplers and maybe the brake wheels. For some locomotives (e.g. Athearn Blue Box and Kato), you had to add the handrails and details.

And then there were the real kits, not just shake-the-box. These were kits where parts had to be cut from sprues, flash scraped off plastic, and things glued together.

Some kits were easy to put together; some drove you crazy.

There’s a discussion going on at the Atlas HO forum about the hardest kits to put together. A number are mentioned, but two keep popping up: Front Range/McKean center beam bulkhead flat cars and Intermountain cylindrical hoppers.

A McKean center beam car: Another
hard-to-put-together kit.

I have built both. Well, that’s not exactly true. I built a cylindrical hopper, then swore I’d never build another. I never finished the McKean center beam bulkhead flat.

The Intermountain car was just plain hard to make—lots of delicate, finicky parts. I don’t have big fingers, but I found it very hard to attach the pieces. After spending hours making the car, I calculated my time at an average hourly wage and concluded that, even at between $35 to $40 per car (Canadian), buying them all put together and ready-to-run was worth it.

(In fact, I almost never paid that much for the many cylindrical hoppers on the M & M Sub.; they could often be found on sale, or for much less used at train shows.)

As for the McKean car—well, that’s the only kit that has ever defeated me. I tried to put it together. Really, I did. But it resisted every effort. Parts were warped. Parts didn’t fit. Holes were too small, pegs were too big.

I repeatedly put it aside, thinking that one day I’d come back to it and finish it. It never happened. So, one notable day, I threw it in the garbage. I immediately felt better.

So: What’s the hardest kit you’ve ever put together? 

Digital Railroad Model Craftsman Available

Railroad Model Craftsman has gone digital. They are offering a free preview of the digital version of the December issue; click here to see it.

Personally, I prefer paper. Then again, I'm older; I remember a time before computers.

Plus, my paper copy never shuts down and needs to be recovered, as happened when I browsed the December issue online. (Or wait for a page to load, for that matter.)

I also don't think this is great for advertisers. It's way too easy to click past the ad pages. You can do that in paper, too, but you might linger a little longer on an image or text. This is like having TV remote in your hands--get me to the articles!

But it is the way of the future; one day kids will say: "Tell me again how they used to print things on dead trees."