The fine gentlemen who worked at Madison Hardware and Model RR Equipment Co in New Yawk City pronounced the name of the company that produced the (original) Rapido trains as Aw-nold.
I have been going through the issues of MR starting with the first one. I had to back up a bit (don't ask) and I'm now moving forward again, currently starting on the January 1966 issue. Coverage is starting to pick up, but there had only been a few mentions up to that point. MR was, to its credit, the venue for the Clinchfield project railroad by the late Gordon Odegard. I think it convinced many model railroaders that N Scale could be more than a set of cute toys.
Yes, the big ads from Atlas, Aurora, Bachmann, etc. hit you in the face but you had/have to look at each page carefully to keep from missing the less obvious ones, particularly the ones in the back pages or strictly in B&W like the Con-Cor ad you posted. Doug
The big full page ads hadn't started appearing yet at least up to April 1966. I've made it up to June '66 and so far they are still the "blink and you miss it" variety. I'm enjoying the perusal of articles as well, which does slow me down...
I do he same thing whenever I am looking for anything specific in the old issues. I get bogged down getting interested in other things and sometimes even forget what it was I was originally looking for. Doug
I don't think this exactly fits the category, since this is an N Scale-oriented topic, but it is an old ad and it does have model trains... Specifically, AHM's "Minitrains"-- a brand name which was used for both their imported HOn2 1/2 narrow gauge, that is, HO models on N Scale track, and their later line of N Scale equipment, also imported from Lima and others. This is an interesting ad, not only for the "layout in a desk drawer"-- which I think is actually HOn2 1/2 because in June 1966 they were not yet selling N Scale, but for the prize selection... namely, how are you going to have a layout in a desk drawer and run an HO Scale Cab Forward on it?!? And sorry, the contest ended on October 31... 1966. A little too late to send in your ideas.
I did a bit of cleaning in the garage this afternoon and came across my 500N, worn from much use, but still in working order. When I saw the Pulse Power switch, I smiled when I recalled your memory of us folk from that era being able to deftly work the switch and throttle without any perceptible change in train speed. True, that!
Still beautiful! A few weeks ago, I got mine back out and am using it on my Treble-O-Lectric trains. It may be my imagination but I think they run better with the 500N than with my much newer (Tech II, Tech III, Tech IV. Tech 7) packs. I also have a Controlmaster 20 and controlmaster 10. I can't believe how many packs I have bought over the years but certain ones are irresistible. And yes, I have been practicing the pulse-full/full-pulse move. Doug
Hit The Pike With Shreddi-Mix! December 1966. I wonder if anyone has any of this laying around in a dark corner of their basement...
Made with every model railroader in mind and perfect for any collection! You will be amazed at its complete versatility! Doug
Here's an early full-page advertisement for the sale of exclusively N Scale products, which took all of Page 17 of the January 1967 issue of Model Railroader. It's from Con-Cor, which names Sekisui (later Kato), Peco, Lima, Rapido, and Minitrix, plus the MRC #501 Powerpack (not the #501N?) and adds "Over 250 items not listed here." This may have been posted here before but I'm far too lazy to check... The third of the three column ad lists 53 (!) N Scale Dealers around the country... which I suppose could kick off a thread "Train Shops of The Past" since most are no longer in business (one exception, shown in its original location in Baltimore, is affectionately referred to on this board as "Woo woo woo"). I know this image isn't quite readable, a limitation of the MR DVD and my technological "expertise." I don't have the hard copy of this issue which would make for a much cleaner scan.
Occupying a fraction of the space! February 1967. I had the Depressed Center Flat car in the second row, lost it somewhere in my travels and recently picked up a fresh copy.
I really like that Rapido ad. My friend across the street in Chicago had that depressed center flatcar and the steeplecab locomotive too. Of the European prototypes, I had the auto rack filled with VWs, as bought by my parents on a trip to visit family in Europe. I still have it and most of the autos too.
March 1967: The venerable Madison Hardware Company, New York, New York, dips into the N Gauge waters, see lower right hand corner of the ad... and the upper left corner also.
Looking back, I missed SO much as a kid not having Model Railroader in hand. They sold it at the drug store newsstand, but at 50 Cents a copy, I didn't buy it. Case in point is that from its earliest days, Rapido offered an EJ&E boxcar that I never knew about and I could easily see the EJ&E mainline from my bedroom window. Such an obscure prototype and a model that I'd have put atop my Christmas list if I'd have known.
We're up to September 1967 and look what you can use for your N Scale pike! Just $19.95, but mind the fine print... without glass top...
One day in 1968 or 1969 my Dad brought home that Rapido EJ&E yellow box car as a suggestion to start working in N scale. We had an HO layout on a 4x8 board, but that EJ&E box car was the first piece of N scale rolling stock in our house. I still have it!
Totally UNFAIR! When MOM picked us all up & moved to Florida in the early 70s she musta TOSSED ALL my neat toys OUT 'cause I DO NOT remember selling 'em on "ebay"! Had MANY erector sets as well . . Besides HO (& 'N') was/is anyone else here into Aurora "Model Motoring"? There's one vendor selling TJets for $45+ (free ship) but they don't mention if running, or not. Absolute CRIMINAL every car is totally RUSTED (see bottom pics) even the "rare", expensive ones as if in a flood for years! (ps: A "Aurora Model Motoring HO Thunderjet T-jet 90° Railroad Crossing" just auctioned for $53 and that's cheap, given the other ads I've seen) Spoiler: Click to see
