Michael Eldridge of San Jose made a very important point about "transition era" versus contemporary modeling and how to attract converts to S scale. At 63, I still like "big steam" but how many people actually have seen in operation the SP 4-8-4 or comparable prototype locomotives of UP or Reading other than on fan trips or railroad employee/shipper publicity trips? "Keep your crown sheet covered!" Real steam -- despite its romantic nostalgia allure to the general public -- was dirty and dangerous. Boiler explosions were not uncommon, sending scalding hot water and steam over the wreck scene. Being a locomotive engineer in steam days was not unlike being cop today: you never knew if you were coming home. Recollections of a steam locomotive engineer in an article published by the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society (of which I'm a member) made that point. The diesel-electric locomotive, essentially a trolley car with a prime mover onboard, was a major advance forward in safety, movement of freight tonnage and cost savings for railroads. How does this relate to what Mr. Eldridge said? Because A.F. in the glory days of A.C. Gilbert manufactured models of then-contemporary motive power. Call it what one hobby shop owner in a model magazine years ago described as the "Roman Chariot effect." There's little demand for models of such antique vehicles because no one is familiar with them. By contrast, high horsepower diesels, intermodel equipment and end of train devices are signature elements of today's railroading that young people are likely to see. And, in future years, these will be the things that model railroaders will be wanting. One of the things that will be needed for S scale to recreate the contemporary era in miniature is structure kits or built-ups reflecting modern architecture. Almost nothing currently is available. Suppose, for example, that you want a trackside office building or apartment complex. Perhaps some enterprising person, using today's computer technology and laser cutting, could engineer a line of kits from cardboard similar to what Ideal and Skyline Manufacturing produced in the 1940s for HO and O scales. They used windows of printed celluloid, which crinkled with age. But with acetate and today's printing methods, that could be overcome. Edward B. Havens Tucson, Ariz.
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