The first Kadee ad for N gauge couplers in the May, 1968 MR. Note no mention of "Micro Trains" but that name was used on even the earliest packages of the couplers which were in manila-colored paper envelopes. MT-5 "kits". No assembled couplers yet but MT-3s would soon be available.
Yes and I believe it may have been the same day, or very shortly thereafter, I saw this ad that I showed up at Nichol's hobby shop to see if he had any and sure enough, he did and I began converting that day. And, if this seems early, several years ago, I was reading Kadee history on their site and it indicated they started manufacturing the N scale couplers in the early sixties! I wrote and told them this was incorrect and even referenced the MR ad I posted but they insisted so I let it drop. To this day, the site still claims the early sixties as the beginning of N scale coupler manufacture. Not to take away from their wonderful history, otherwise. The introduction of the freight cars in 1972 was a revelation. Doug
But Rick, it was 1968, not early sixties. And, the first Kadee N scale cars, the boxcars, were introduced in 1972. Doug
We've all had those moments when we called someone on being wrong and got the same response. Is more research needed? What? Did I miss something? Humm! The flats pictured are Kadee N Scale. The exact date they were made is beyond me . However, they were purchased by a friend of mine for his N Scale layout in the 60's and that's the only reference I have. One of those is MT flat. Should be obvious. Some of the Wig Wags (magazines) in the 60's carried advertisements of early Kadee knuckle Couplers. I don't know when they first came out with N scale. I noticed them sometime in the late 70's. That was when I seriously considered changing over from HO to N Scale. Anything to get away from tight radius curves and those HO horn hook couplers. Then I bumped into Rapido couplers and had the same reaction. Yuck!! Kadee and later Micro-Trains came to the rescue.
I have the introduction of the 45000/045 body style, the fifty foot fishbelly side flat car, as being May 1975. So does the official MTL database worksheet: 045 00 000 45000 Dimensional data DATA n/a May-75 045 00 040 45040 New York Central (KD#45044) NYC 499804 May-75 045 00 050 45050 Union Pacific (KD#45082) UP 56932 May-75 046 00 000 46000 Dimensional data DATA n/a May-75 The straight side flat car (44000 / 044 series) was later, coming out in July 1977. Excel spreadsheet version of the MTL file, which is usually updated each month with the new releases-- although this does not usually including Weathered Releases and never includes Special Runs: https://micro-trains.com/publicfiles/databases/ndatabs.xls
Here is a larger version of the Arnold advertisement that was the back cover of the 1963 "Model Trains Yearbook" that was published in late 1962. If anyone would like the original size photo I took (5+Megabytes, too big to include here) let me know via message here and I'll e-mail it to you. (Thumbnail attached)
Model Trains was a neat publication by Kalmbach. I don't really know the history or whose idea it was but in the sole issue I have (March 1962), Gordon Odegard has several articles in it and the back issues went back to 1952. The front and back covers and pages 2, 3, 57, and 58 are missing so I assume any publication or personnel information was on them. EDIT: A little more research revealed that Model Trains was published before Kalmbach acquired it in 1954. I believe Willard Anderson published it before that and then, Linn Westcott was listed as the publisher afterward. It also has an announcement that the magazine was going to transition from a four-times-a-year publication to once-a-year and that its orientation was toward newcomers to the hobby. No mention of N scale in this issue unless it was on the missing pages. Doug
I'm probably all wet, but I think Model Trains was indeed a Kalmbach magazine created to invite newcomers and, with its start in 1952, was heavy on Lionel and American Flyer. 1952 saw Lionel's high water mark in sales and a rapid decline beyond. Following the trend, the magazine failed to hold its readership and closed out.
Yes, these were a disappointment for me too, back then. I bought the Santa Fe "Blue Bonnet" F9 and the Burlington GP30. They both ran fine, to begin with, but it wasn't too long before they would suddenly slow way down and draw a lot of current while pulling a manifest or whatever. Disassembling revealed that the commutator slots were clogged with brush debris and dirt. So, obviously, the brushes were too soft and wearing too much. I would clean out the slots and they would run fine again for a short period before the same thing happened again. I even considered making replacement brushes from some old brushes from an electric drill, which were harder, but I never did. So, they eventually were stored, unused for many years. A few years ago, I got them back out just to see if they still were prone to the same thing. I began running them and, lo and behold, they stayed running decently and still do. The only thing I can conclude is that the binder in the brushes must have evaporated enough to harden the brushes and they don't clog the slots anymore. Doug
These all from the March, 1968 MR. Arnold Rapido announcing their new switches which I thought were the originals but there was another version with an integral switch machine before this: ConCor ad announcing new and coming items, including the famous Hudson and the rerun of the PA-1. BTW, this is the same issue that gave a glowing review of the PA-1: Atlas claiming the largest selection of rolling stock. Whether it was true or not, I don't know, but could well have been: I was eventually to own them all and I believe George does too. Doug
Atlas, May, 1968, announcing the availability of the IHB 0-8-0 which was originally announced in 1967 but delayed due to design/tooling changes. The original price was to be $16.98 but, evidently, the expense of the design/tooling changes bumped it up to $19.98: Doug
1968 the year after I graduated from highschool. This is the age and era I look back at and cringe. At home an HO layout I wasn't happy with at all. For more reasons then I want to go into here. The transition to N scale started in 1969 The ConCor, PA-A unit we purchased a set of Santa Fe AA units, with some reservations. I still have them but when Kato came out with their PA's the ConCor PA's ended up as shelf queens. I ended up hating them because of they way they ran. Despite all the cleanings, lubing's, they still stuttered, hiccuped and burped as they ran down the track. Although not mentioned here so far, is Bachmann. The word got out quick that this was cheap toy stuff. Throw away toys. Atlas isn't one of my favorite hobby manufacturers. The freight cars weren't prototypically correct. I bought them to fill out the roster but ended up replacing the wheelsets with Micro-Trains. Replacing a lot of them with Micro-Trains freight cars. Much better. Making a big difference. Atlas and ConCor passenger cars were a welcome sight. Not the Rapido Couplers and you know how I solved that. Some operational problems with the lighted cars and I eventually removed the electrical contacts or wipes on the wheels. This action improved the prerformance and smoothness. We enjoyed them and had fun but it wasn't what we were looking for. Again, Kato and their passenger sets turned things around. By the way I still own most of the Atlas and ConCor passenger cars and they get run ... when the layout is up and operational. Not so much at the moment. Those Arnold switches actually look like the old Atlas switches. Same Solenoid. Just like the ones I recently removed from the Stub end yard. Arnold made a lot of things for both Atlas and Rivarossi. Passenger cars turned out okay. I didn't much care for Arnold's diesel motors or locomotives. They looked good but ran like ...well... yeah, it wasn't good. Doug, thanks for sharing these old ads. I remember them well. What an era that was.
Wow, all sorts of cool stuff in there. Con-Cor's ad announces a "GP-40 Road Switcher" from Sekisui, but that never arrived. Mehano made a GP-40 for Atlas and Model Power and Bachmann had that overscaled one. I also never knew that Arnold's switch machines were burn-out proof, but that explains how their low-tech lighted controllers could stay lit without the machine's coils being energized. As I think back, I never burned one out and now I know why.
Your experience with the Con-Cor Sekisui/Kato PA-1s in that era is different than mine. My Con-Cor/Sekisui PA-1s from the early 1970s are superb runners and were well known as the finest locomotives in N Scale for a long time. Even Spookshow reads that "They were the very first N scale locomotives produced by Kato for Con-Cor ... and were, without a doubt, the best N scale diesel locomotive models available for many years ..." I painted a pair in LV some 35 years ago and they still run phenomenally well. A bit noisy, but they haven't been lubricated in a very long time. Here's one on an office car special, the last train run on my layout before it was torn down.
Yes, on the Rapido switches the switching was all done within the switch, itself (how's that for the use of the word "switch", Rick?). And, I still don't understand, or have forgotten, the little slips of paper you could slide into them to change whatever. Was it to change them from power routing to non-power routing? I guess I'll have to read the track manual again. Doug
The Kato for ConCor, Atlas and Stewart were indeed the turning point for excellent running locomotives. The earlier ones the ones prior, not so much. My luck? Well, I think I ended up with a pair of the older ones. I don't know who made them for ConCor. Second thought and consideration. This may have been a run that was built after Kato pulled away from manufacturing locomotives and motors for other builders. I owned for a short period of time a ConCor/Kato cup geared PA unit. Since it didn't fit in with my newer Kato PA's, I sold it off. It was a nice runner and if I could of found a matching powered PA-B unit I would of hung onto it. Nice motor. Since I don't subscribe to Spookshow. For reasons I won't go into here. I'm dependent on my own experience. IMDFM, If Memory Doesn't Fail Me. I'm enjoying bouncing off my memories against all of you. You can learn something new every day.
There was a big improvement in Con-Cor PA-1 noise from first generation with the long motor, to the second generation with the shorter motor and slightly different construction. The first generation is too picky as to the meshing of the motor pinions and the cup gear and the top part of the chassis holding everything in just the right position. As far as intermittant pickup, when any of mine start doing that, I just apply a little LaBelle 107 into the wheel bearings and it clears it right up. Doug
