Subject:
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Re: 10170 TTX Intermodal Double-Stack Car Preview
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Tue, 3 May 2005 23:22:57 GMT
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Viewed:
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10016 times
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In lugnet.trains, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
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SNIP
How big are train shows elsewhere though? How big is the market elsewhere?
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Train shows in the UK are many and have up to 20,000 visitors. I’ve done a
17,500 2-day show at the NEC in Brimingham as well as several 2-3000 shows and a
few 500-1000 shows. I have a 14,000 show lined up for September.
There are a lot of railway enthusiasts and a lot of preserved railways for them
to get involved in, both full size and narrow gauge. That’s as well as the
model railway clubs that organise the train shows.
I think trains are part of British culture, with the invention of the train and
the years of steam, many examples still running in preservation. Diesel galas
are becoming more common, typically with 6-8 diesels rostered over a weekend.
With the advent of the EMD Class 66 there are few other types still in main line
service. The Class 47s are being phased out as their contracts finish. We’ve
loaned many Class 56s and 58s to other European countries.
It’s considered sad to be a train spotter, but a large section of the population
was around in the 60s when train spotting was cool and there were steam engines
to see.
We’re in a period of transition from this older section of the population to the
young families whose children are brought up on Thomas. Revd Wilbert Awdry
should be made a saint, just for keeping alive the British interest in trains!
I don’t honestly think the British market is big enough to ever get a decent
British prototype set out of TLC. :-(
Still, as Tim was saying, if they did one it would only push people to build
other things instead. I actually prefer that TLC don’t produce a British
prototype because:
1. It would never be big enough for me personally, since I build to 8mm scale.
If it were, the curves would still be too small.
2. The value for money from such a set wouldn’t be as good as I can get from
buying just the parts I need.
3. I quite enjoy being a pioneer in my scale. I find it also fits in well with
the model railway community in Britain.
4. TLC have never produced a proper working steam engine with moving rods. The
closest was the rods on a 12V train motor. It might be thought that it would be
quaint to have a set of a British steam engine, but I think that would be a
mistake. Steamers are a lot harder to make than diesels. TLC would need to buy
the rights to BBB wheels to make it work, or make the 40mm pulleys (like 24mm
pulleys with an extra ring of holes) that I’ve previously asked them for. That
route starts to get into a smaller minority market, which is a bad idea
economically.
5. It would make mo difference to what I build and I might not even buy it.
Larry Pieniazek wrote:
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SNIP
I find it amusing that there’s so much grousing now after we got a
whole 4 or 5 sets. (you can’t count the two new “mainstream” sets
or any of the accessories... they’re all european!)
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The closest to european that the wagons get is when I convert a tanker kit to
4-wheel operation with a 15-stud (15ft) steerable wheelbase. I’ve used the same
technique on brake vans and tube wagons.
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mbellis/Trains/Wagons/tube_wagons_underside_loft_feb05.jpg
As for accessories, they’re not British! A British workshop would more likely
have a pitched roof. A British level crossing is unlikely to have a steep
stepped bridge next to it, nor such a modern-looking signal box, as the ‘boxes
are either of an old design or are scrapped in favour of larger ones at central
locations. The only real use for a right angle crossing is for a model of
Newark crossing. Maybe the curves are British though, like the west-coast main
line with sharp curves so you need a tilting train in order to go fast!
I hope I can find a suitable British low-loader container wagon prototype
though, so that I can convert some of the new container wagons into one. I buy
sets for the parts, so as long as they’re useful parts I don’t mind what the
model is.
Mark
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Message has 1 Reply:
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: 10170 TTX Intermodal Double-Stack Car Preview
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| (...) Fair cop. How big are train shows elsewhere though? How big is the market elsewhere? In Singapore, no one I talked to (small sample) had even heard of a train show! I suggest that there IS a market here, one worth trying to serve. The US (...) (20 years ago, 3-May-05, to lugnet.trains)
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