The wheels Dale describes, in N-scale we called those wheels "pizza cutters". Also in N-scale some of the cars and engines (especially the cheaper ones) came with Rapido couplers (the big, bulky hooks, which were a leftover from the 70's). As I read about hi-rail vs. scale here, I see that it is no different from what we had in N-scale. I bought those cars just like I bought Kato and Micro-Trains cars (which had more normal flanged wheels and scale couplers). I then spent some time replacing the wheels and replacing the couplers. The big difference I see in S-scale is that, for example, SHS makes it very easy to get rid of the big claw and replace it with "real" couplers. Whereas in N-scale, the Rapido couplers were typically truck mounted and required quite a bit of work to convert them to properly fitting body-mounted couplers (this applied equally to cars and to engines).
My point in all of this is that things aren't so different in S. We had the same issues in N. There are N-scale people who use code 83 and code 100 rail, which is no different from those S people who use the larger rail sizes. In my almost-three-years-in-S viewpoint I only see two camps in the 1/64 modeling world, scale and American Flyer toy trains. The hi-railers are "scalers" that use the "pizza cutters", possibly the large claw couplers, and tall rail. SHS and others sell cars ready-to-run for the hi-railers and us "true scalers" have to put in a little bit of effort to convert the wheels and the couplers. All that John Degnan and Jim King are asking is that their car is going to be scale and now the hi-railers have to put in a bit of effort to convert it to their standards. I think that is very reasonable. The next time you are at a show, take a look at the N-TRAK modules; I'll bet you'll find some of the very long trains running with those ugly Rapido couplers. Although not prototypical, it would take an earthquake to break those loose, which is why some people in N-scale still use them. However, in N-scale there is no distinction between "scalers" and "hi-railers"; that seems to be just an S-scale idiosyncrasy. Just providing a different perspective, - Peter. On 04/13/2011 8:49 pm, [email protected] wrote: > having been in s since 1950, and the perspective therefore, and most > respecting brooks stover, dick carnes, frank titman and a few others, i think > our scale is in wonderful shape and the trend toward resin kits is a > positive. obviously, price is an issue as always. i model on am models code > 148, the smallest prefab track when i built my layout, and use 'hirail' > wheelsets because i like the mass, and scale couplers. jim king, an astute > person i have met several times, dubbed me a 'hi-scaler' a term i really like > to describe modelers like me. i hope the term catches on for this segment of > our scale. his southern gons, vent boxcars, and ge 70 tonners enhance the > layout. let's expend our energies on projects with a future..... dale reynolds -- Peter Vanvliet ([email protected], or [email protected]) Houston, Texas "It is easy to give up; anyone can do that..." http://pmrr.org/ (my model railroad - RSS feed <http://pmrr.org/rss.xml>) http://fourthray.com/ (my company) http://houstonsgaugers.org/ (model railroad club) -- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
