Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2012 20:54:44 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: Absolutely no vanagon content - Lionel trains
In-Reply-To: <BLU0-SMTP344EE49B3ABC09783178E2BB8990@phx.gbl>
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At 07:41 PM 9/21/2012, Jeff Palmer wrote:
>Hi everyone - received one of those groupon-type ads for a Canadian
>Pacific Railway Lionel train set. Always thought about getting into
>trains (used to have a couple as a kid) but haven't had time to
>research what type. And now I have 12 hours to take advantage of a
>50% off sale!!! Act now!!!
>
>Anybody care to throw in their two cents about trains? Thanks as always!
Hmmm....HO gauge would be too small to carry "Matchbox" Vanagons on
the flat cars - I *think.* O gauge is the one with cars about a foot
long by maybe three+ inches square. N gauge are sometimes called
"electric cockroaches." You can have a fair-sized layout under a
glass-topped coffee table.
Lots of electronics now for acceleration and braking control, sounds
and so forth. Vast amounts of trackside stuff available at least in
HO and N scales, particularly HO I imagine. HO you could have a
fair-size layout on a ping pong table. Modern finishing
materials/techniques will let you have amazingly lifelike layouts if
you want to put in the work and money. Look at
http://www.micromark.com/scenery.html and
http://www.micromark.com/painting-decaling-weathering.html .
You could spend infinite time and money on this...you might even
forget you have a Vanagon. Or you might discover that you want to
build them yourself, big enough to ride behind, and become a model
engineer. Trains like that go from something like 2 1/2" gauge up to
7" or larger. The bigger ones you'll need a special trailer and
hoist to deal with conveniently. More infinite time and money plus
getting your hands dirty with machine tools (and coal, if you want
to), plus a second career in using your machine tools to make tools
so you can make tools so you can make tools so you can build
trains. And a Vanagon would work very nicely for the smaller gauges.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwyk8kMbneQ&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWgUbSkmGJA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgA2lrGG_v4&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyRWcDVl7QU
ad infinitum.
That about two cents worth?
Yours,
David