Converting the Atlas HO ACF 3560 to Sergent couplers is pretty easy... http://www.sergentengineering.com/ Sent from my LM-X410(FG) using Tapatalk
Wrong link...d'oh! http://www.sergentengineering.com/Atlas_CHopper.htm Sent from my LM-X410(FG) using Tapatalk
Right scale for the context of "You can try HO scale and the problems it will present." Sent from my LM-X410(FG) using Tapatalk
Hey, I said that and if you are going to quote me then give me the credit. The point being no matter what scale you work in or model there are problems. I've built layouts for friends, family and clowns in all scales except Zscale. Each scale presents various problems that have to be overcome. I agree with Bremner, that it is the wrong scale for this discussion. Some N scale cars are easier to work with then others. Some are designed with the idea that owners will want to convert them over to body mounted while others are not. Some N scale train cars and motors deserve to find the bottom side of a trash can while others are a dream to work with. Vince P. is on a mission of self discovery and he will figure this out or throw it out the window, "The window the window the seventh story window, with a mighty heave and a mighty HO," He'll throw it out the window. And that's where some frustrating projects belong. This whole business of lowering train cars in N scale is a bit annoying when they could be left alone and enjoyed right out of the box. Sigh! It's a hobby and it's supposed to be about fun. When it turns into work it's time to find another hobby. Did I say that?
Yeah, but everyone draws the line between them in a different place. Is solving a crossword puzzle fun or work? How about paddling a canoe? The answer is yes and no, and if you don't believe me, ask several people. That is actually the nice thing about this hobby. There is so much variety that the correct balance is in there somewhere. When there's a problem, it's usually because someone thinks perfection is possible in an imperfect world.
Rick, I must take time to disagree strongly with you and probably irritate many here. The very idea that a hobby should be fun is noble but the idea that fun is just play is wrong. Just taking a car out of the box and running it in a circle was fun when I was 5 made perfect wense, but by the time I reached Jr. High it was just simply boring. Every other hobby I can think of, from golf to woodworking to classic cars to fly fishing to being a serial killer requires work and practice to be adept. Most of us have a wish to make things better, and lowering cars fo they more accurately resemble the prototype is one of those things, If not interested in accurate depictions of the prototype, then you should simply move to the wooden toy trains that are sold for 6 year olds. I know you are a skilled modeler, and I''m sure you didn't get that way by simply buying things, throwing them on a piece of track and running them in a circle.
Serial killer? Yes, it takes effort. Rick isn't saying don't put effort into it. He didn't credit the person who invented that cliché (whoever it was). I've been hearing it all my life. I never took it to mean, don't put effort into your pasttimes. What it always meant to me is, if you can't do it and relax, if it's always a source of stress to you, if you tackle it with dread, you really ought to consider finding a new hobby, because you aren't getting the health benefits hobbies are supposed to provide. If one is in that rut, and doesn't want a new hobby, and doesn't develop an adjusted attitude, and isn't getting paid for it, well, those people are why blood pressure medication is a lucrative business. I generally prefer trying a new attitude to trying a new hobby. And a different scale can do that. What makes me jolly is HO HO HO. Serial killer? Eek.
Bill Pearce and of course everyone tuned in here, This isn't personal and I have no intention of making it that way. This is what I like about the hobby. Diversity in thinking and diversity in approach. I like what I do. A lot. I don't like what others do or the lingo they use. BUT I wouldn't want to put any of the contributors to this hobby down. Ever!! It's what makes this hobby interesting. From the wooden toy trains I didn't get to play with to the wind up ones I did. From the first S Scale American Flyer, to the HO (frustrating layout) and now my N Scale layout. Experienced? Me? Skilled? Sort of! Perhaps to some extent but not like some of you. I envy the guys that have patience to rebuild a train car, whittle a round house out of wood, add details, count nuts and bolts. I watch these guys in pure (pullman green) envy. Still if a project becomes so frustrating it drives you or me away from the hobby, then it's time for it to find the bottom side of a trash can or set it aside and come back to it later. That's been my point all along. Giving up is not an option. Odd you'd hit on this point, Serial Killer? No I'm not a serial killer. Cereal killer, yes... and I need to grab a bowl for breakfast. But in my chosen profession, I assisted the Coroner and Homicide Investigators in tracking down a few of them. Strictly from a Forensic point of view. Now a retired Mortician. After all it's just a hobby, did I already use that? Just another well known cliche.
Your quote was in response to someone leaving N for HO on account of the difficulty of replacing couplers. Aside from space restrictions, I'm at a loss to think of any issues in trying to make a model more prototypical in HO that don't also exist in any other scale. Sent from my LM-X410(FG) using Tapatalk
Look over enough fences, and you will find a yard with greener grass. It's a fact of life. So, enjoy looking at it. Be envious of it. But don't play touch football on it. Don't even walk on it. The owner will shoot you.
Amen brother!! At risk of beating a dead horse, I'll suggest that in N scale most of these "problem" with respect to reliable operation are self-inflicted. A person can buy UniTrack, Kato locomotives and passenger sets, and Micro-Trains freight cars and have zero operation problems. Beyond that, it is certainly good advice (as offered by several in this thread) to keep the goal in mind; this being "enjoyment," however one defines it. Personally, I've dabbled in scenery and fine detailing and found neither to provide anything resembling enjoyment. My right brain just doesn't play that way. That said, I immensely enjoy the artwork of others both here on the forum and beyond. This appears to be the OP's first journey into N scale, so he likely just started in the wrong corner of our world. Oh well, like a small business, "fail fast, fail cheap."
Thread's done and my first venture into n scale was a yellow plastic case Aurora set in 1970 so please don't say I just got into the wrong scale. Because your making an assumption and we all know what happens when you. ASSUME.