Ed, your reply is greatly appreciated. Both in tone and depth. Coming from you, I much respect what you have to say. I have read and appreciated all the comments here but one. Part of my issue is not my inability to "be smart" but the fact that my eyesight has deteriorated to the point that I can hardly see what I'm typing most days. So, a tiny spring does make a difference in my ability to put things together. That said, I do have a fondness for nice ready built structures, but I do some assembling, for instance, I make all my own bridges and bents and detail the trackwork to a great degree. But these days, it has been difficult to even go into the trainroom (mancave) and enjoy what I'm doing because of my vision. Hopefully come Friday next, the doc is going to have some solutions for me. Not looking for sympathy, there are many others far worse than me. That was part of the reason I went to 2 rail O scale several years ago from HO. Now...HO looks like N scale to me. thanks guys for all of your great suggestions! John A. Albee, Realtor [email protected]
Prudential Snyder Real Estate #1 Brickyard Drive Bloomington, IL 61701 Mobile 309-830-6097 Office 309-665-0787 www.johnalbee.com From: Ed <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, December 19, 2011 12:11 PM Subject: {S-Scale List} Re: Kadee 802/808's...outa here! > I'll use Kadee no 5 Quite a few S guys use the so-called HO Kadee coupler which is a bit oversized for HO. You are not alone. > ASSEMBLED (why can't KD do that?) couplers. Kadee does offer 'ASSEMBLED' No. 5 couplers. It is called the No. 3 coupler. RTR in every sense of the word. > Some things in S that frustrate me... You are not alone here either. Ever try to get indications of interest for a J-1 Hudson? Lemmee tell you that story sometime..... > coupler issue, No issue here. Many of us use the same couplers that the HO guys use. Others use the KD#802 or SHS equivalent couplers. They all work with each other just fine. No problems at all. Issue..?? What issue? Our coupler situation is the same as in other scales. > SHinohara switches, Well, there is TOMALCO TRACK and also FAST TRACKS fixtures. While Shinohara turnouts are not perfect, they can be made to work reasonably well with some effort. I understand there is a fellow now who offers RTR turnouts made from the FAST TRACKS fixtures. Those ought to be superb. TOMALCO TRACK makes turnouts darn near RTR with isolated frogs to simplify wiring. > now the 45 degree crossing I paid $50 for has to be cut apart in order to > operate correctly. Yes, gaps in track do need to be cut from time to time. Same thing is required for turnouts in some cases. And crossovers between mainlines. This is all part of modeling trackwork and building a layout. It is true that S does not have RTR trackwork like ATLAS in HO with plastic frogs and integral motorized turnouts. Cutting gaps is not hard once you have the correct tools for the job. I would be willing to bet that TOMALCO TRACKS (Larry Morton) will sell you a pre-gapped crossing upon request. He sells turnouts with pre-gapped isolated frogs and gapping the crossing is not that much more work. Why not ask him? > I'm really begining to wonder if I made a mistake switching scales? Not sure I understand the problem here. Kadee has RTR couplers and Larry Morton has RTR crossings. Am I missing something? > And, the lack of any kind of ready built building... Correct, S scale does not have RTR structures. But Plasticville can be detailed, painted, weathered and used. Not hard to do at all. Then there is the Heljan Brewery, Revell bakery, Walther's Cornerstone Series and other easy-to-assemble mass-produced large HO plastic kits that can get you to your goal with minimal effort. Serously, none of this is very hard. > Look at Woodland Scenics, Yes, I have. And I use a lot of their products on my layout. Even Chooch makes great HO retaining walls and bridge piers useful in S scale. > now doing finished stuff in O... There are probably five times as many O guys as S guys. Every one of them has a simplistic layout consisting of an oval of track that barely fits into a bedroom or 2-car garage with no large structures except simulated flats on the walls. An O scale passenger train with full length cars wraps around the entire room. (Slight exaggeration, but not much.) Is this a reasonable trade-off for the more complex and interesting track geometry possible in the same space with S scale? We each have to make a series of compromises along the way. That is what model railroad layout building is all about. > Thanks for letting me vent... Venting is part of being an S guy. You are not alone on the S planet. Every problem has a solution. Sorry to be appearing so unsympathetic, but the couplers and rail gaps are not major crisis issues. I have the sense that you really would prefer everything you buy to be ready-to-run. If that is truly the case, you might find S scale frustrating. Of course,learning new skills and asking lots of questions will help greatly to overcome the frustrations. Most all of us have done just that over the years. Keep chugging and you will like the end result very much. "S"incerely.....Ed L. [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/
