my introduction to nscale was in the 70-80's. At that time Concor was the only dealer. Seems to me we have forgotten our roots. Know everyone is a rivet counter, on demand consumer. I do not like like the way the hobby is going, soo much arguing about every detail. As my wife says, are going to "play with your trains today" My answer is always YESS!
I wouldn't quite say that everyone is a Rivet Counter or demanding consumer but I get your point. I'm from the same era N Scale wise as you and I too remember when N Scale detail was only a dream; which now has become a standard rivaling HO. Ahh as for me I see the Threads/Post but choose to ignore them and realize it's the world now a days. Part of a soft society that I helped build while wear that Military uniform for over twenty years and that is their right to do so, and mine to ignore that Fly on the wall. So Let's ignore it and go play with our Trains
Although I have pretty modern locos and newer rolling stock, I still run my ones from the '60s-'70s too. Doug
Hello Dampfloco, I am an N scaler from the early 1980's. At that time there were few options... and many were bad ones in N scale. I had been introduced to model railroading through HO scale when I was about 8 years old. I never thought about the 'super detailing' of HO when I was a child... but... I'm sure there were HO modelers which insisted on better model fidelity and detail 50 years go. N scale is now where HO was in the 1980's. We want more than just plain minimal detail and fantasy paint schemes on these models. The prices have gone higher regardless of the level of detail... therefore we might as well get improved products for the money. Certainly running the trains is the first priority... and those locomotive have to have state-of-the-art mechanisms which can be upgraded to DCC and sound. If we as a group of N scalers didn't complain about the lack of quality for the mechanisms and better fidelity to the prototypes... the manufacturers would have been happy to continue to make 1970-1980's re-runs without ever improving the product. Complaints can be both constructive and destructive. Complaining about poor running models and lack of details are taken into consideration if there is enough of it to warrant a look by the manufacturer. None of them want their products to be sitting on hobby store shelves due to their neglect to address quality control and out-dated tooling. If we say nothing then... nothing will change. I'm sure you would agree that the quality of the current models has exceeded even the best models from the 1970s-1980's... and it didn't just happen in a vacuum. People complained that they wanted to have models worthy of publishing in magazines without having to be exceptional 'modelers'. Those who have the skills can continue to take bare undecorated models and turn them into masterpieces... but... most just want good running and respectable models to 'Play with'.
I read regularly that what we currently call n-scale has it roots in Europe with European manufacturers being among the early ones in the US market. I have Atlas from 1970s which was made in Europe. I read about n-scale from the 1960s, but do not own any of the early items.
Hi Dampfloko, This was my first N scale train set, given to me as a Christmas present in 1971 or 1972, I can't remember for sure? Yes we have come a long way in "N" scale. I don't think everyone is a rivet counter, I'm not but I do like models to be close. Who wants a 40' boxcar that is actually 45' long. The one thing I really enjoy is all of the advancements, like slow speed motors, Plug-N-Play DCC and Micro-Trains couplers. Sure I had a lot of fun with the above train set, but it no longer runs the engine died years ago. I keep it as a reminder of that Christmas morning long ago, when I received a train set, that did not have to be put away when Christmas was over.
I entered N in 1968 with an Arnold Rapido set. I'm still an analog guy and run mostly equipment bought in the 80's and 90's and enjoy the hobby as much as ever. My current pike was built in '86. I plan to build another in retirement and will look into DCC then. I love my existing motive power, so I'd want to find some way to run it on a DCC pike. I need to learn a lot more about DCC.
I bought a few pieces of N in 1968 or so... a boxcar, an Atlas Pullman sleeper. In 1969, scratchbuilt a house I saw being torn down for a slum clearance project, as a feasibility study to see if building in N was possible. (Built while in hospital bed, using Xacto glue, balsa wood, model airplane glue and a grade-school ruler for measurements. Painted it when I got home from hospital and later put it on a diorama. Took trip through Colorado in 1969 and crossed the great divide by 14 difference routes to see how railroads handle grades. Built a 2x4 layout for a friend's kid, with an Arnold Rapido trainset. New York Central FA didn't exactly seem at home in Colorado, but golly that thing could run slow and pull. Lots of fun with Arnold Rapido, even though I rarely could find exactly what I wanted to fit favorite prototypes. Still doing N and still running a 40-something year old Arnold Rapido GP-7. Kind of noisy but still runs. (Did a little modification...)
There in only one "event" in N Scale, the introduction of the Kato diesel truck electrical contact system. Everything revolves around this event.
The early N scale stuff WAS mostly from Europe - Atlas - Rivarossi from Italy, Mehanotehnika from Yugoslavia, and RoCo from Austria; Minitrix/Aurora - Austria, Germany; Rapido/Revell - Germany; AHM - Lima from Italy; etc. The other two, Con-Cor and Bachmann got their stuff from Asia. Con-Cor from Japan and Bachmann from China and Hong Kong. A little later was when American companies started making structures and ancillary equipment. And, actually, most of the equipment has always been and still is imported from those same countries. China, mostly, these days. About the only two that tried making locos in the States was Rocky Mountain with their 4-6-0 (based on a Fleischmann chassis) and Jamco with the Pacific and aborted Hiawatha 4-6-4 based on the Con-Cor Hudson. Neither company made it. Doug
When I got out of the service in 1970, I was in train withdrawal, but stuck living in an apartment so a small N scale layout was about all I could do. I moved home to Montana in 1977 I had plenty of room in out basement to expand and incorporate my small layout from Florida into it. It grew and grew until I had over 11 scale miles of main line track. The only problem I was was the quality of the locomotives. Locomotives of that era were rather crude and for the most part didn't run very well. I did have a couple of Trix locomotives that ran decently but I was for the most part very frustrated with the running quality of the locomotives, plus the lack of different road names. It was nothing like it is today. I had to bail out of N scale and moved on to HO scale. I was interested in detailing and custom painting. Many more detail parts are available in HO scale plus structure kits, which also meant more kitbashing possibilities. I do miss the long mainline runs I had, but now that I'm getting a bit older and my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be, I am happy that I did move to HO scale.
I got hooked on N scale back in the 60s. (gad I'm getting old!!!) This set was the first in my collection. First N Scale Train Set by Arctic Train posted Jan 29, 2016 at 11:36 AM The little donkey switcher engine still runs better than any modern day Bachmann loco I've ever owned. Brian
Well, I didn't start until 2005, but my love of trains started with my first HO set back in 1981. I have purchased several older Atlas Rivarossi to cut my teeth on and for the most part, they all still run. I did finally discover DCC a couple years ago and my train geekiness went full fledged crazy. So my n-scale history is minimal, but I do pay attention to the stories. And those I appreciate..
Wow.. Let me see. A couple mikes, two 0-8-0's (one in pieces) , a 4-4-2 project I have stopped working on.( was a 4-6-2) A chippewa pacific. And many parts. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
My first was a 2-8-2 from a set; then I got two 4-6-2s and two 0-4-0 with sloped tender. I still have all of them. I was reminded recently, I purchased the 0-8-0 but it did not run, so I am guessing the dealer took it back as a trade and that is how I came to own one of the others.
I can see it from both angles. Rivet counters are likely the reason we have so many different locomotive and rolling stock choices these days and they're probably the reason mechanisms have improved to the point that they have. I also believe, to varying degrees, that rivet counters are the reason N scale has become so expensive, hobby shops carry less in-stock inventory, and production runs are often so small that you can't get many items unless you pre-order them a year or two ahead of time. It's an ever evolving market and the manufacturers are following the money, I see areas where they are driving their own customers away by catering only to detail driven consumers, but it's clear that most of the money is currently being spent by people who want fewer higher quality products. That could be one of those "self fulfilling prophecies" I keep hearing about, where only what a certain client wants is made so only that certain client buys your product, but I haven't done anything more than surface research into the issue. I miss the days of plastic frame Life Like locomotives and freight cars which could be had for less than $5 at retail, the hobby needs entry level products to get and keep new people interested. People already deep in the N scale hobby might not like the low end offerings but products in that price range are still selling pretty well in HO scale and no one bats an eye. Bachmann has done an okay job releasing no-frills locomotives with dual mode DCC to the market, and people complain about the lack of details Bachmann never claimed were there. I wouldn't hesitate to get a youngster started with some of Bachmann's locomotives, but they aren't inexpensive by any stretch, they are only a bargain by our modern standards. For get about freight cars, I haven't seen anything less than $10 for a long time and, quite frankly, a lot of that price is actually eaten up by LHS owners looking to squeeze extra money out of the buyer (although they would argue that they have their overhead to satisfy), I worked in that industry for years and am pretty familiar with the margins. At any rate, I would love to see one or two very basic locomotives which could sell in the $45+/-$10 range, and some very basic freight cars like a Minitrix-esque 40ft boxcar or the Industrial Rail offerings from the early 2000s. I'm not likely to get that in today's climate, so I find myself pre-ordering B&M gondolas which I might have just found sitting on a retailers shelf 10 years ago. So Dampfloko, I wish you all the best, enjoy the hobby at whatever level you choose and form your own opinions of your equipment based on how well it suits your needs. Afterall, when I get a chance to operate, I run Bachmann next to Kato, Atlas, and some Life Like plastic frame locomotives as well. I even have some old Minitrix locomotives I run from time to time. No judgement about rivets from me.
