Myself and the other half were having a discussion regarding pollution and we were discussing various items we use on a daily basis which included my trains and she asked me about their material makeup being that most are made in China anymore. My wife is very into natural products she buys whether it be organic foods to recycled material usage in new products, medicines, etc. At the time of this discussion I just happen to have my gevo hybrid and ethanol tank cars on the tracks so this got me wondering as well. I looked online at the various manufacturers websites and couldn't find any info. So I bring this question to the experts here on the OGR forum.
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Hey, if she really wants natural, there's always BRIO.
Any plastics used on models need oil and all the associated refining. Paints require chemicals and metals are going to need whatever industrial process needed to make the particular metal or alloy.
Rusty
There is no such thing as an "organic" train.
Might be able to grow a chia Pet and trim it up that looks like a train engine
Don't drink too much of the koolaid
While I claim no expertise, you could tell your wife the "smoke" produced on your layout pales in comparison to the contributions of the die casting and injection molding processes to China's daunting environmental issues, much less the oil drilling and metal mining to obtain the raw materials. But I wouldn't do that. I would just turn off the "smoke" and tell her she's the best thing that ever happened to you if she again brings up the subject of the material components of your trains.