Not Sure If 12K Awesome, But Awesome Nonetheless!

[ScaleCraft]

I remember those days. Parts falling off, "prototype" piping shorting everywhere. Brake shoes...wonder why Burner doesn't use them?
Sell the aura of brass to the clueless. Brass colored paint. Seriously.
In 1975 or 76, I was tasked with repairing a GEM 0-4-0 with slopeback tender by a local hobby shop. New. But apparently there was no "warranty". Valve gear had fallen off one side. Okay, I can do this.
Took the boiler off and was flabbergasted. Open frame motor had Scotch Tape over the brushed to "insulate" from the shell. The majority of the boiler was held together with green industrial epoxy, not solder....and most of it was sheet metal, not brass....and painted with this neat brass colored paint. Seriously.
Got it fixed, decided to run it in. Now, we used to flip the engines over, wedge them lightly in a "V" support, apply power, run one direction for 30 minutes or so, 15 in the other. Except it wouldn't.
The wheels stopped moving but the motor kept running. And a light grinding noise.
Okay....why...the gear mesh depended upon the weight of the entire loco on the drivers...the axle slot had nothing on the bottom plate to hold the axle gear meshed to the worm.

All of that relates an engine that had probably been dropped and then patchwork reassembled by some total git. That's not the way those were assembled and imported at all.

Really.

Okay, so no provision for holding axle gears in mesh....somebody dropped it.
Okay, so no evidence of solder in boiler, rather green epoxy....and sheet metal versus brass....and no dents or ripples visible....and neat-o brass paint....and somebody dropped it.
Scotch tape insulation...and somebody dropped it.
Not the way those were assembled and imported at all....right.
You like your Kool-Aid pre-mixed or powdered?

[Jay Criswell]

Where's my popcorn?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

None of the 8 Gem engines I have came with any of the problems you describe nor were assembled as yours was. All run fine w/o any problems.

I do have one engine that presented some of what you described - the seller admitted to it having been dropped and hastily repaired by "someone".

Where's my popcorn?

Popcorn is so last decade: pancakes and burritos now

[Jay Criswell]

Where's the damned "Like" button?

[ScaleCraft]

Where's my popcorn?

I am not sure. I know I've passed out barrels of the stuff over the decades when this comes up.

A little whine with the cheese, too.

It all seemed to focus back to the Pavlovian mindset created by things like Model Railroader Magazine...that tended to subliminally communicate you could not be considered a "serious" model railroader unless you had expensive brass equipment and"prototypical" KaDee couplers.

Of course, those who swallowed that un-regurgitated kool-aid from MR and the likes will to this day deny such a conspiracy existed and support the reliable, high-quality, excellent running brass from all eras.

Maybe we can get Amazon Prime to deliver popcorn to everyone?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

It all seemed to focus back to the Pavlovian mindset created by things like Model Railroader Magazine...

Do people still read that rubbish?

[ScaleCraft]

It all seemed to focus back to the Pavlovian mindset created by things like Model Railroader Magazine...

Do people still read that rubbish?

That was then. Probably ending with the Westcott Era..or Page era.
My last purchase was winter of 75/76. I will read it for laughs if someone drops a copy off (maybe one a year), but according to readership numbers out of Clambake, the numbers are dropping like a Chevrolet.

[ScaleCraft]

Obviously the big picture is constrained by narrow field glasses. So, let's try this:

Have to buy the absolute latest in highly detailed brass imports to show off.
Kewl.
Great.
Looks good...really.

Have to take photos for the magazine...but first, let's install the nmra-approved KaDee couplers and ruin the realistic appearance.

Never happens, right?
Who cares if the air tank draincock handle it an exact smaller-scale replica of the original (at least on 22MAY1956 at 1546 hours local) when the side-spring, fixed-"air hose" KaDee is front and center in the photo?

But....but....but....we have been convinced and programmed to accept certain things and not even see them.....and all this time, folks spin in the wind over 0 gauge and Proto48.......and it's all JUST TOYS.

(and, hiding this down here, just to see....nobody seemed to grasp there was no mention of SCALE on that GEM 0-4-0)

[2railjon]

My humble Bachman runs nicely. The kids enjoy it, and if it takes a dive to the garage floor I’m not out 12K. I’m currently building a loop for it in my garage. I’ll have a burrito and pass on the popcorn.



PS All my O Scale brass has KaDee couplers. That’s because I’m not a neurotic and I build and run what makes me happy.

[ScaleCraft]

Botchman.....the fly in that ointment is Kader (PRC).

Yours is an Anniversary, at least Version 5 chassis. There is a Version 6, not sure yet how it holds up.
I have a box of spare motors/gearboxes for Version 5 just to keep the Christmas Display stuff functioning.
Version 4 and earlier, Barry's Big Trains chassis.
ALL of my Botchman 4-6-0's have BBT chassis. Some have 2-8-0 chassis under the boiler.
Not bad when you get up in versions or BBT. The all-metal rods and valve gear is nice. One of mine is so equipped, the rest have the plastic valve gear at least. "Steel" Pactra paint helps for those.

I have a big box of Version 1....Battery Big Haulers....with circuit boards and receivers. Some day they will go into the trash.

TOC

[Rufus T. Firefly]

It all seemed to focus back to the Pavlovian mindset created by things like Model Railroader Magazine...

Do people still read that rubbish?

That was then. Probably ending with the Westcott Era..or Page era.
My last purchase was winter of 75/76.

Round about the same for me unless I count those few times I trapped in an airport desperate for anything to read.

I've stopped all but 1 subscription since I realized a few years ago that I was not actually reading the magazine and just leafing through it looking at the pictures.

let's install the nmra-approved KaDee couplers and ruin the realistic appearance.

True scale O scale couplers - who makes ones that are comparable in price, reliability, and won't evaporate as a source 6 months from now? A certain amount of functional compromise on top of all the other compromises that are made does not bother me in the least.

[ScaleCraft]

and I pitched all my old copies of everything except the late 40's/early 50's as those do hold my interest. Funny how much shelf space I have now.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

and I pitched all my old copies of everything except the late 40's/early 50's as those do hold my interest. Funny how much shelf space I have now.

I wish I had the early 50's of RMC.