| G-Gauge Gnus Editor: Ross Crain, Bx 29 Site 3 RR 2, Rocky Mountain House, AB, T0M 1T0 phone: 403-845-2527 email: ercrain@telusplanet.net Fall 1996 President's Corner HOWDY! - and welcome to the second edition of the G-Gauge Gnus, the official publication of the RMGRS. RMGRS had displays at Sunnyside Greenhouse (Dec 95), Super Train 96 at Memata Armoury (Feb 96), Red Deer (Apr 96), Irricana (Jun 96), and Bethany Care Center (Jul 96). Members were well represented at Golden Spike in Edmonton (May 96) and NMRA Portland (Jun 96). A few even made it to Long Beach! Thanks to all the members who volunteered their time and equipment for these events. The whole community is better off by your efforts. Successful open house events were held at Jalving's, Walter's, and Brown's. Hope to see you all at G Gauge Daze, the CMRS picnic, and other summer/fall events. Happy Railroading! Winners and Losers The winner of our April Photo Contest was Boris Yeltsin, who correctly identified Nikita and Yaroslav Herringskov (better know as the Russian Red Barons) playing with their very early Marklin MAXI, Rick Lee playing with an early Lionel set, and Ross Crain playing with a block of wood (his parents were very poor, so they encouraged him to use his imagination). The loser of the summer was someone who wrote in and complained about the President's purple prose on free ballast. They cited the dangers of broken glass and metal filings getting into motors. Holy sagebrush, Batman - I thought model railroading was supposed to be fun! Especially in an April newsletter. With this warning in mind, we recommend that you stay indoors for the balance of the year to avoid UV, sand, leaves, and potentially rabid squirrels. Product Review The LGB 20130 Chloe is cute as a newborn calf but it will not climb even the slightest grade without a lot more weight and will not pull a normal freight car even on level track with or without weight. There is no slot in the drivers for traction tires and no tire made by LGB to fit this size driver anyway. The loco is also shorter than the insulated frog on LGB turnouts, so you have to run pretty fast to get over them. I pull a shorty wine tanker and the Grizzly Flats observation car with a Jones lead figure on the engine's running board for weight. There is still a lot of wheel spin. Metal wheels are available for both cars but Chloe can't start the train, so stick to plastic wheels. RMGRS Coming Events If you would like to annouce an open house for RMGRS members, call the editor. There will be more newsletters (fall, winter, spring). Note: Openhouse and campout events are for RMGRS members, potential members and invited guests. RSVP to the host is appreciated before the event. Phone numbers and addresses of members are on the back of the last newsletter. Other events listed are open to the public and are presented here as a service to members and friends. RMGRS Memberships Open At the moment, there are no dues and few formal meetings. The only requirement for membership is an interest in Large Scale trains. Products of Interest Want to buy a CPR Budd Rail Diesel Car for fun or profit? See the attached brochure (only 2 pages of 8 reproduced here). How Big Is That Boxcar? #1 Gauge track (45 mm between the rails), commonly known as LGB or G Gauge track, is a bit too wide to represent 3 foot gauge in G and H Scales. It is used anyway because "close enough is good enough". The same track is 8% too narrow for standard gauge in A Scale. G Gauge track is just right for meter gauge G Scale European models or 3 foot gauge in F Scale (1:20.3). A typical LGB freight car is 15 inches (380 mm) long and represents a 28 foot car in G Scale and a 40 foot car in #1 Scale. The 18 inch long USA Trains cars represent a 33 foot car in G Scale and (nearly) a 50 foot car in #1 Scale. The same physical model is used for both scales - just the paint job and the rest of the scenery is different. Most "G Gauge" models are too small for M and D Scales. LGB claims to make only 1:22.6 G Scale models, but this is absurd, since they make cars and locomotives for NYC, AT&SF, and D&RGW standard gauge trains by painting the narrow gauge cars for these roads. Bachmann, MDC, and others do the same. When painted for standard gauge, the cars become roughly #1 Scale (1:32) instead of G Scale. Aristocraft is the only manufacturer to make 1:29 Scale, hence the name "A" Scale for this size. Most Aristo models are modern era 40 and 50 foot standard gauge equipment. Some are painted for narrow gauge roads. Aristo also manufactures the Delton line which is all narrow gauge G Scale. USA Trains paints the same cars for both standard and narrow gauge. Many of the cars offered never appeared on the roads they are lettered for, so if you crave realism you'll have to be choosy. This is true of most manufacturers except those making fine scale (read expensive) models. Some model railway cars never existed at all. For example, the USA Trains center beam flat car has the wrong bulkheads, an underframe that shouldn't be there, and is 30 feet too short. It looks great, but it's not real. Note: sometime after this was written, USA Trains becan marketing 1:29 scale locomotives and all their modern era freight and their old-time freight and passenger cars are suitable for either 1:29 or 1:32 scale. UNCLASSIFIED ADS For Sale: LGB 2065 Railbus pair, both powered, new, orig box $700, LGB 1015U insulated gap track sections, misc signals, buildings - Call Ross 403-845-2527 or see them at G Gauge Daze. Wanted: Articles, Photos, Adverts to fill this space. |
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