excitement on the faces of the kids as we handed them a new train set makes the effort of planning Trainfest all the more worthwhile.” Model railroad suppliers from across North America, including 14 historical societies, were among the exhibitors…
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Trainfest exhibitor Kurt Lange showed preliminary samples of a resin curved-side Speedrail body kit designed to fit the chassis of Bachmann’s HO scale Peter Witt street car. Lange also plans to introduce the high-tension structure that supported overhead wires above the rapid transit right-of-way. Readers can follow Lange’s progress at milwaukeespeedrail.com… Scott Perry, of the Utah Society of Railroad Modelers, is looking for individuals to help organize a future RPM meet in Salt Lake City. Anyone interested in helping can contact Scott at scottgperry@comcast.net... Work continues at Fox Valley Models on N scale GP60M and GP60B locomotives, with a late winter or early spring release date still a possibility… Are yellow decals becoming less vivid? Federal consumer protection regulations prohibit manufacturing ink in the U.S. that contains lead – a vital ingredient in creating certain colors, particularly yellow. Microscale, a leading manufacturer of commercial decals for a variety of industries, reports it is virtually impossible to produce bright, opaque yellow decals with lead-free ink. Microscale won’t use imported ink since their commercial customers require products that comply fully with Federal regulations…
Richard D. Koontz, founder of the well-known model railroad firm of Ye Olde Huff N’ Puff, died November 11, 2011 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. He was 80 years old. In addition to manufacturing and selling his own craftsman-style kits, Dick Koontz acquired several other manufacturers over the years, including Silver Streak Models, Main Line Models, Eshleman Links, LW Models, AC Models, and Sugar Pine Models. He was an active member of the N Track Model Railroad Club and the Nittany Valley Model Railroad Club. Dick Koontz was a student of the American Civil War and participated in reenactments as a member of Battery “B,” Third Pennsylvania Volunteers. Mr. Koontz retired in 2003 after selling his company to its current owner, Gene Metzgar… More than 23,500 people attended the 40th annual Trainfest, held last month near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. True to its mission of educating and promoting the hobby of model railroading to future generations by awarding train sets to young people, Trainfest executive director John Tews MMR, said, “Seeing the Page 100 • Issue 11-12• Dec 2011 Old Yardmaster - Industry scuttlebutt, page 1
Here’s an easy solution for owners of Kato’s E8, PA, or F series locomotive wishing their N scale models had room to accept Digitrax’ SDN144KOA DCC sound decoder and speaker assembly. Disassemble your model and send the bare frame to John Claudino at Aztec Manufacturing who will machine your Kato frame to accept the decoder. Aztec does not stock extra Kato frames, so the machining service is available on a frame-exchange basis only. The cost is $20.00 plus $7.00 for shipping. Visit aztectrains.com for full details or phone John at 775-883-3327… A spokesperson for Atlas says N scale hobbyists waiting for a Shay locomotive from the New Jersey-based company, will have to wait a bit longer. A change in a key supplier has postponed production until well into 2012… In response to numerous inquiries, Kadee has reaffirmed its decision not to make an offset series in its scale-head coupler line. The principal reason given is that the small size of the scale-head does not leave sufficient room to make a dimensional difference when the shank on the back of the head is raised or lowered (offset). Kadee also noted that the scale-head couplers were designed
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