I think anyone who knows anything about his contribution will have no doubt that he was thoroughly dedicated to getting people into Sn3, even if he didn't benefit from it. One might even call it a missionary commitment. My recollection is that he arranged the import of the #278's alone (both Sn3 and gaged for HO) and as a new product they sold slowly; for a very long time he was the only source for Sn3, offering a pretty complete line of essential castings for both scratchbuilding locomotives (or perhaps converting HO drives with his details) and for rolling stock; his kits are still being offered by successors, and they are still a challenge but can result in beautiful models. I have several in both Sn3 and On3, as well as a D&RGW #50 I assembled from what he told me was his last complete set of parts, less motor and gearbox. It may not be QUITE so exquisite as the PBL import, but I think it more than adequate. When he collaborated on the #223 I'm sure he understood it would not have been considered a pure business decision for him; PFM had their full dealer network to dispose of their stock, and when they remaindered theirs (they disappeared overnight--I tried to get one through my regular PFM dealer, but I suspect some larger dealers grabbed quantities of them, expecting to sit on them a while and then sell them at or close to the former price), Swede was left holding his, which he could never sell at that kind of price.
Jace Kahn General Manager Ceres & Canisteo RR Co./Champlain County Traction Co. > I recall what he told me in the many phone calls over the years, the two > several day visits he and his wife had with us, and during the long period I > was doing work for him. I was his first customer in Ohio. > > Swedes profit on the locos they gave to him were minimal. They made sure they > sold most of their share before he got any. Swede wanted Sn3 to succeed no > matter what. I do not care as to who has done what since Swedes efforts > (but I do appreciate them) but we would have had little for a long time. > > Swede was too honest for his own good at times, but fortunately creative > people are often that way. > > John Armstrong > I may be wrong, but I think you are remembering the second run of C-16's, > the #223 prototype, rather than the #278 first run. In > the former case he offered the use of his patterns in a joint arrangement > with PFM to use their production deals with the Japanese, > with the production run being divided between them. > And that was also my understanding, that the ones gaged for HO track moved > much more slowly than the proper Sn3 ones. > > Jace Kahn > > General Manager > Ceres & Canisteo RR Co./Champlain County Traction Co. > > > The HO gauged C-16s were slow sellers. Swede had some for a long time. > > In order to get that first run made Swede allowed free use of his > patterns to the importer. he did it again later on. John Armstrong > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > Although I speak as an interested spectator rather than an active > participant at the time, that is not quite how I remember it. True, SOME > modelers were using HO track and mechanisms with S scale superstructures. > Swede Norlin intended his castings and kits to be used for real Sn3 > (wheelsets were true Sn3, although one could use HO wheelsets with just his > truck sideframes if one wanted), and he imported the first run of C-16's in > BOTH Sn3 and Sn3 1/2. I've seen the figures but cannot recall them now, > although my vague recollection was that about two-thirds were Sn3 and the > other third for those who might not want to have to lay their own track and > would want the convenience of all the commercially-available HO components. > > > > Jace Kahn > > > > General Manager > > Ceres & Canisteo RR Co./Champlain County Traction Co. > > > > > It's fun to remember that Sn3 actually began as S narrow gauge running > on HO track. The New Mexico NG Club had an extensive layout running this > gauge in the 1970's with lots of nice scratch-built rolling stock, including > a work train and San Juan train set. The earliest Tomalco 2-8-0's were all > gauged to HO track. The "Cascade" car kit line was designed to be used for HO > trucks before Bill Peter bought it. We made do with cardboard & wood based > structure kits from Mini-Structures. There were lots of articles in the S > Gaugian on how to convert HO cars to S ng. Don even wrote a soft cover book > on it. > > > > > > Then we rivet counters took over and look where Sn3 (and more recently > scale S) is. Some things do improve with age. > > > > > > As already mentioned, the folks down under in New Zealand run their S > scale models of the NZR on HO track to approximate their 42" Cape Gauge > prototypes. South African modelers of the SAR started out the same way but > have now pretty much universally migrated to HO scale models running on HOn3 > trackage. Too bad, as I wanted one of the GMA/M Garrets they were going to > offer in S. I did get a 19D in S, at least. > > > > > > Bob Hogan > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature database 5636 (20101121) __________ > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature database 5636 (20101121) __________ > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > Yahoo! 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