A link for those who want

A link for those who want it
http://traffic.libsyn.com/modelerslife/Episode_65__Joe_Fugate.mp3?dest-id=212884

I just listened to my first...

This was an entertaining podcast.  I have to go back and listen to all the previous episodes now!

Thank-you Lionel for dispelling the nonsense of tearing down the Siskiyou Line.  Joe surely knows better now!

It's obvious not everybody is going to get you Lionel but you crack me up all the same...poor Joe doing his best not to say anything politically incorrect about N-scale, too funny!

I can't agree more about the state of the hobby, it's growing.  It's a makers dream hobby, IMO.

S scale is very nice and for me, HO is the smallest scale I can deal with.  Reverse running got a low rating this month.  Just saying.

Going to tune into an older podcast in the car now.

Best regards,

HO modelers need to read what N scalers are doing

Who said you should bash anything?

Certainly not me, Joe...  To clarify, I felt sorry for you ("poor Joe") having to endure Lionel's tom foolery while remaining professional, but on the other hand, I do find Lionel and his crew inanely entertaining.

I don't buy magazines.  I get all of my hobby information from the internet.  There are no free N scale e magazines that I know of.  Besides, I have enough distractions from actually doing modeling already, reading any more will just compound that problem.

I rely on MRH and other online resources to bring me innovative ideas from other scales.

It's not that I have no respect for N scale or those who model in scales smaller than HO, the smaller scales are just not for me.  My eyesight and hands limit my ability in HO already.  I can't imagine modeling in a smaller scale, even if I could afford to change at this stage, it would cease to be fun before long.

I have always perceived N scale to be much too small.  I can't imagine myself ever having the perception that HO is hugely oversized.  I doubt spending a single day with an N scale layout would effect my perception that much.

I spent about three hours in the car today but I had a good time listening to the old podcasts so it didn't seem that long to me.

Regards,

I tend to agree with ou Kevin..

..that N Scale for me is too small, EXCEPT for the fact, that scale would allow me to model prototypical numbers when it comes to modern unit trains, such as container well cars and autoracks.  That is something I always wanted to do, and i'm keeping that in the back of my mind as I expand my inventory for my store.  At some point in the future I might do a TOMA project RR that focuses on the late 1990s CR/NS main in Western NY and PA along Lake Erie from Buffalo to Ashtabula.  I want to focus on mainline ttrains and not so much switching of cars. So far it's just an idea in my head.  I still am going forward with first the Interim P&A and in 15 months the Ultimate P&A.  But having a prototypical N Scale TOMA layout is just on the outskirts of the radar screen.

Ken L.

I second what Kevin & Ken L. have said ?

My eyes are recovering from operation looking forward to the second one (????) But it is my big clumsy fingers can't do what I ask in HO scale ,so it would impossible for me to work in N scale.

Smokey Dawson    Australia

@ N Scale

I don't think Joe meant that you (Kevin) were bashing N scale.

N scale is a regular target on the AML podcast. Any longtime listener knows, "N Scale is Dead." 

It's a long running in joke on the podcast, but you also have to know that one of the co-hosts, Jim Rindt, is an avid N-scaler and the ribbing N Scale gets is really aimed at Jim.

Listen long enough and you'll also hear Lionel admit that N Scale is actually quite amazing.

N Scale is not what it was in 1980.

@ Bashing @ N scale + Hi Bill :o)

I never thought he was saying 'I' was.  I just wanted to be sure everyone understood I was not suggesting he should bash N scale.

In spite of not being a longtime listener up to now, I have heard this refrain from Lionel in the past and I realize that much of what Lionel says should be taken lightly, as it is intended...I am sure.

From my visually impaired perspective it has gotten smaller... ie; harder to see since 1980. [wink]

Yes, I have heard him say as much already.

For myself, I am not out to bash any scale.  Why would anyone care what I thought about their chosen scale anyway?  I don't care what others think about HO...

Regards,

@ Smokey

Yes, big fingers here too, along with the effects of carpal tunnel and tendonitis. 

Regards,

lol...

Indeed!   me too.

Indeed

And the main reason for my move to HO a few years ago, however, I still do miss what you can fit in a given space in N scale and still have thoughts about going back to it.

It's a shame...

...that Joe kept it professional, while the others took what could have been considered a very well done production turned almost into a joke of a broadcast.  :-\

Why should anyone's modeling scale matter?!

Ken L.

@Dave, Ken

This is what has kept me quietly envious of N scale, but I know my limitations. I'm making do with HO in my small space.  There's nothing to envy about my modeling reality.

It doesn't!

Ken, honestly I thought it was a fantastic show about the state of the Hobby.  I listened to every word Joe said, and appreciated his straight answers and professional manner as he answered tough questions and discussed controversial hobby issues.

The other guys, lightened the mood and made the show more enjoyable for me and more tolerable for my spouse.  She laughed out loud at several of the more silly moments.  Like me, she enjoys Lionel's sense of humor.

I found no shame in any of it.

Best regards,

Very interesting and informative!

I normally would not sit so long to listen to a podcast ... but this one was well worth my time!  It was informative as well as entertaining.  Thanks for sharing.  

TOMA

Excellent podcast as usual.

I had one note to Joe on embarking on the TOMA approach. I would consider two aspects that are not talked about enough on MRH in regards to TOMA. First of all, is ergonomics and lifting modules. I am a big guy at 6'4" and 240 lbs. and I have a hard time carrying any modules larger than 2x4 by myself. I have a 2x3 that lifts very easily even though it is built like a battleship. I also have a 2x7 that breaks in half at 3 1/2 feet. Anything over 4' would probably need a helper and becomes cumbersome in its own right no matter how light it actually is. Consider your personal arm wingspan and what is comfortable to carry not only in depth but width. Second of all, the utilization of free-mo principles is very beneficial if you want to move modules around a layout with ease. You can run with your own dimensions but the principles of centering track on a module allowing 180 degree rotation is revolutionary in my opinion. One scene can be rotated in less than 5 minutes and give a whole new look to a location! Plus wiring issues can be broken down much easier, even though it requires front end work. 

I look forward to watching your progress on Siskiyou 2.0 and I will continue to be a fan and student of your 1.0 work. Thanks again for your excellent work in service to the hobby...

Model Railroading is Fun.

I just like talking to people and discovered years ago a lot of model railroaders are fascinating folks so I decided to talk with them. I don't take the hobby to seriously because... Well just because.

All comments good or bad are welcome.

Thanks guys. 

Fun with Lionel...

Keep on talking Lionel and we'll keep listening!

I listened to the Luke Towan interview yesterday, and had a blast then tuned into the first of the Miles Hale interviews for more great discussion.

The show is a lot of fun.  Keeps me chuckling along while I build poor mans turnouts.

Regards,

Good Natured ribbing

Just like Lionel's "N scale is dead" we have a good nature ribbing between our HO and O scale modelers, as one refers to the O-scale trains as the real trains. He is always welcoming visitors to the O-scale side of our layouts with that catch phrase "Welcome to the side with the real trains."

Recently with the addition of Shane Mason, another N-scaler to the crew at AML, Lionel has another N-scale phrase, which I think Shane actually started. "N-scale is lost in the hobby," you can read anything you want into that, but it is still just a poke of fun. Thing is it probably fits any scale besides HO, but N-scale being smaller has the double entendre meaning. Both Lionel and Jim are amazed that N-scale survived the 70's with the backwards running warp speed Bachmann F7's because that was the only way to get it to run.

You'll also discover that Lionel believes and as he has mentioned we are supposed to have fun and if we take things too seriously we loose the fun in the hobby.

I enjoy his podcasts because he is not serious, but also you learn about the person behind the names in the hobby, not just things about the hobby.

TOMA

I really enjoyed this podcast and, as a Director of the NMRA, Joe's views mirror mine. 

I live the concept of TOMA and really wish I had done my layout that way. To me, it is the way into the hobby for newcomers; small bite-size pieces of model railroading. What's not to love!  I'm looking forward to the MRH articles on it. 

Kathy