SteamPower4ever

There ya go, sir. That's why I ordered an F7 ABBA consist from Ray and will probably pass on the Nohab On the other hand, although the Nohabs are found in Germany these days, the Danish gauge 1 market is very small, so the series must be fairly small. Considering they are making new tools for it, we are actually quite surprised that they could keep the target price as low as that. Heljan has announced 8 paint schemes of which 2 are German, ie. 6 Danish schemes. I believe I know (of) most of the Danish 1:32 modellers, and I can't really figure out how many Heljan are planning to sell. You also have to consider that the only real alternative is Proform, and their Nohab is approx. 4300 Euro / 5400 USD ... Jens

... and of course a couple of live steamers are natural room heaters - built right into the hobby

Thanks, Chuck, but I wasn't actually looking for the Skytop Lounge drawings. I'm thinking of getting drawings of the Santa Fe hi-levels for El Capitan just wrap my mind around how such coaches could be constructed at a reasonable cost. I've written the Santa Fe Historical Society (Temple Collection) about it, but no reply so far. I was hoping you had the drawings from some "universal" source. I'm considering writing to Amtrak and Bombardier (I think that's where any remains of the Budd company may have ended up. Maybe they still have the archives.) Jens

A bit cold maybe, but it's there, which is more than my club can say. Our layout is in storage between shows, which is why expansion and detailing progress is kinda slow ... Anyway, the live steam guys have a summer hangout, but according to the "live steam team" web site, the club was formed to fund the modular layout for winter sessions and for exhibitions. Until now, live steam at shows has been limited to one-hour runs at other layouts, where normal operation has been halted, partly because the live steamers short the tracks, partly because they're messy. The new live steam layout is built with loose track in grooves in order to clean it between sessions. Very nice feature. Looking forward to seeing the layout in operation

The live steam guys from Spor1LiveSteamTeam.dk now have their brand new modular layout ready for the gauge one fair next weekend. Here's a video of the inaugural run with an Accucraft BR45. Jens Flickr: http://www.flickr.co...steampower4ever YouTube: http://www.youtube.c...SteamPower4ever

Cool project Where do you get the drawings? Jens

Moved this post. Admin may delete the remains.

Heljan is aiming for 12,000 DKK, so before taxes, shipping and whatnot it will set you back approx. 2,000 USD at today's rate. Tommy from Heljan promised there'll be more bells and whistles to the prototype at the gauge one fair. Looking forward to that Jens

Warming up to the Gauge One event in less than two weeks, my club attended the Hobby show last weekend together with the Model Tractor Club. The connection track to the loading facility was undergoing repairs, so interaction was a bit limited. Hence no rubber-foot vehicles in this video. All through the weekend we had our share of technical issues. Dual electrical faults can be a nightmare to track down, and with R/C cars filling the floor and quadcopters and drones filling the air, competition for the 2.4GHz band is heating up, it seems. In the end we managed to have plenty of running time, but some of us also spent considerable time under the modules, staring at the wiring ... Much fun was had by all, though, and a surprising number of new items were being broken in. Enjoy. We did. Jens

... and the Märklin Z scale E units announced for 2014 will be OEM'd by AZL according to a post on the AZL forum. Looks like the poster speaks for AZL. Which tells us that Märklin is not afraid to cooperate with US companies. Also, MTH has already licensed the Leipzig station from Märklin, so yeah - who knows? Jens

No doubt MTH and Märklin are aware of each other. You know - a cooperation between the two is actually not that far fetched. Seen from a distance, it doesn't even sound stupid, but of course I don't know their business strategies. If one is allowed to dream, and just in case anyone from MTH or Märklin is reading this: 1:32 ATSF El Capitan hi-level and matching coaches to scale, please. Sets will do nicely, such as: Set 1: RPO, baggage and dorm Set 2: Diner, lounge and step-down coach #1 Set 3: Step-down coach #2 and 2 x normal coach Set 4: 3 x normal coach Oh-kay ... back to reality. Jens

Incidently, the 0 gauge BR44 that Mike presents at 4.40 in this video is absolutely gorgeous. I notice Mike's talking about the close coupling between the loco and tender and that MTH is picking up on that from the European brands. If that level of detail and the close couplings spill into future one gauge steamers - and if Joe is right - I would find it hard not to pounce. Looking forward to the announcement from MTH Jens

Joe, last I heard you were getting yelled at because of some diesels. I'll give you odds 40 to 14 your trouble is not going to get any worse ...

I check on the MTH Facebook link frequently to spot any signs of one gauge news. I've never done Twitter much, but out of curiosity I followed the link from the MTH site, and I noticed this tweet that seems to have flown in under the radar. Locomotives? As in: more than one? Jens PS: Is it possible to embed tweets here?

Since it has been already considered and decided against, just leave it as it is. No need to look into it again. I understand the argument perfectly. Thanks Jens

Does this forum software allow 'thanks' buttons to posts? Many times I read something great, but I don't have a reply, and often it looks silly that everyone adds a long string of various 1-2 word thank you posts. It would be nice to be able to acknowledge a post that I like with just one click. Jens

Just added a link to the German press release in the post above. I forgot to mention that with the new production facility all scales (Z, H0 and 1) will now be manufactured in Europe (okay - "withdraw from China" may have told that story already ) Jens

Märklin has issued a press release that they are opening a brand new production facility in Hungary. Effective immediately they expect 50 new jobs in the production. The facility incorporates spray molding, surface treatment and paint as well as assembly. Metal work stays in Germany. With this facility Märklin is able to withdraw from China completely, although it is speculated that pending production runs there may be allowed to finish. The new facility represents a 9.4 million Euro investment and should ensure more timely deliveries and better security regarding designs and trade secrets. Jens

There are pictures og production samples of the one gauge unibody tankers and dash-8s on the MTH Facebook page. F7 release date slipping to January '15. Euro/USD exchange rate going nuts. Aaargh! Jens

Hi Robert. I can highly recommend the ESU Loksound XL decoders for large scale. Of course, being a European brand, US sounds may be scarce, but some are available. I understand the US support for ESU is not great, but the product sure is and the ESU user forum is very helpful. You can do a lot of great stuff with these decoders, especially if you get the dedicated LokProgrammer. I have an MTH F7 ABBA consist on order, and I plan to motorize the dummy B units and fit LokSound XL decoders to all 4 units. Jens

1:32 buildings can be hard to find. Off the top of my head I can name Lokführer Lukas and Lokschmiede Neuhof. There's also Epokemodeller here from Denmark. Look at page 5 (and 4) in the PDF. Anything marked "Sp 1" is scale 1:32. Of course, they're all European, and the shipping cost to the US may kill any interest ... Jens

Thanks for the kind words. It's code 200 or 205 everywhere. Yep - you bet I'll be going to the show. My step-daughter even lives a short drive from the venue, so I don't have to pay for a hotel room for the weekend. I'll do my best to shoot some video from the show Jens

If you're in Denmark in the middle of november, you may consider attending the 2nd Danish gauge 1 fair. The fair takes place in the small town of Ferritslev on the island of Fyn (Funen), and it's arranged by a friend of mine, Stefan Hupfeldt. On display will be the following modular layouts or showcases: Spor1Fyn - Stefan's own layout. German diesel and electrical motive power Togklubben 1:32 with Modeltraktorklubben - my club. Trains, trucks and tractors Spor1trekanten - from out west in the country Nystrup Gravel - narrow gauge gravel operation Styrkar Braathen - a fabulous layout from Norway Langelandsbanen - featuring models from the abandoned short line on the island of Langeland Spor 1 Live Steam Team DK - newly formed live steam club with a brand new modular layout for live steamers only. Rumours have it we'll see a Big Boy. Spor 1 Wehrmacht - modeling German WW2 military transports Dealers and exhibitors attending: Heljan (DK) - of course showcasing the Nohab/MY diesel prototype The Danish Railway Club (DK) Hoffmanns Modellbau (DE) Schürrer (DE) Agder Model Teknikk (NO) MBW (DE) MM Modeller (DK) - Custom models and parts Felderbanen (DK) - Local shop Gatra (DE) - Gorgeous 1:32 trees Odense Hobby and MR Center (DK) - Local shop Epokemodeller (DK) - Manufacturer of all the small parts that make up "the final touch" Model builders of Nyborg (DK) - Local club Asmark Models (DK) - Professional weathering Tikøb Hobby (DK) - Danish rolling stock Proinor (NO) - Laser cut rolling stock kits Beto Hobby (DK) - Local shop Danish Loksounds (DK) - ESU decoders and Danish engine sounds Registration for exhibitors is closed. The place is booked solid. Two years ago the first fair was a success. This one looks to be a blast. Jens Video from 2012:

Gents: I noticed on the MTH website that the PS3 VO1000s are cancelled. All versions. What's up, do you think? Too few orders? Jens

I think it looks great. Well done.