Great offer--nice going!!
The O Gauge Forum is the only O gauge group in which I participate.
- We have many experienced 3-rail modelers, several of whom can rightly be called experts, who generously share their knowledge and expertise without talking down to those who need help. A large number of us have learned a lot from our participation here.
- We don't have self-proclaimed experts who want to chime in to show us how smart they are (or aren't!).
- We have several sponsors "in the business," so to speak: hobby shops, manufacturers, layout builders, etc.
- The moderators keep a lid on political postings, while allowing reasonable discussion of events that may affect our hobby as well as prototype railroads.
- There are groups within our Forum, personally acquainted and congenial, who formed from Forumites who met due to postings on the Forum. The York conventions have been instrumental in this. I have made several friends through the Forum.
Personally, I don't check the Forum while I'm traveling, but, when home, I check every morning. I enjoy the casual and non-threatening atmosphere. We are mostly a bunch of "loopers" with either toy trains or hi-rail trains, although we do have a small number of O scale modelers who seem to be here for the same reasons as the rest of us, and we greatly admire their highly detailed trains and magnificent layout scenes.
The absence of "flaming" and of petty arguments over small details is refreshing and makes the O Gauge Forum a kind and friendly place to visit.
A very Classy Offer from a very Classy Forum! Well Done Alan
Well done Alan for offering up the generous offer to our newest forum members. This the best site on the internet for anything model railroading or real train related due to the vast experience of the forums membership.
They wont be sorry..OGR Rocks
@Rob Leese posted:Excluding myself, it should be fair to mention there is a wealth of 1:1 gauge knowledge on the forum in addition to the O gauge expertise.
Sorry, Rob, but we can't exclude you. In spite of your admirable modesty, we enjoy your comments and stories, as well as your modeling of seldom-done cars and engines.
@Rob Leese posted:Excluding myself, it should be fair to mention there is a wealth of 1:1 gauge knowledge on the forum in addition to the O gauge expertise.
@Number 90 posted:Sorry, Rob, but we can't exclude you. In spite of your admirable modesty, we enjoy your comments and stories, as well as your modeling of seldom-done cars and engines.
Without the 1:1 gauge folks, none of the things modeled would be correct(not that they are for the most part). To quote Baron Munchausen, "A bit here, a bit there." He of course was saying how some of the women resembled Catherine the Great. The manufacturer's only seem to go so far, and even then there may be a lot of short comings excluding the wrong color of things.
I'm always eager to learn more about the real workings of 1:1 gauge. I will sometimes message Rich Melvin a question on exactly how something works or what is this exactly. Rich will usually reply no less than a day to these inquires. I did make him laugh once because my sister's boyfriend was a little into his sauce and tried BS'ing me on a "railroad" term which of course, was indeed a load of bull. It made me laugh, that much is certain. The term in question was "dead steam", and is completely ridiculous. Given the state of my sister's boyfriend at the time, I knew he was out somewhere in the water, and no closer to the shores of a sober person. Only thing I gave him was an "oh yeah" as there was no point in trying to argue or state fact with him.
So, you all can have a great laugh telling other railroad buddies, "Can you believe a drinking fool was trying to convince another that dead steam is a thing, and supposedly is when all the steam is used up from it going through the engine?" I believe that was the context he was BS'ing me about. I guess he must have been convinced if there's "Live Steam", there's got to be "Dead steam".
Alan runs a tight ship'. That is the main reason this forum is respectable and provides a friendly atmosphere for the members'... I'm not familiar with these other mentioned forums, and not interested in them'.. I like and enjoy this one'... I appreciate Alan's dedication in operating it, and enjoy talking to and corresponding with him as well'..👍
You really can't beat what you get here with OGR and this forum, especially if you're a digital subscriber. I like the fact you can have access to the entire digital archives with your digital subscription, not just only whatever year you've purchased like with some other publications. The depth of interaction here certainly exceeds other groups. Yes, I've seen some ignorant and somewhat condescending comments posted here in the past. However, Alan and the crew do a great job of weeding those folks out. Definitely a great move to try and get some of the folks to join OGR. There are some good people in other forums that aren't here. It was actually a great deal with OGR a few years back that made me "jump ship"!
Rob
I can't imagine being a member of this forum without a Digital Subscription. As Rob pointed out the back issues alone are more than worth the price.
This is the BEST place of all the forums I've been a member of, this one beats them all to heck. Very well stated sir. Every time I get on, I learn something new, the wealth of information is just staggering and the guys and gals on this forum are terrific and Management isn't all that bad either 
. I recommend this place all the time, especially to my club members and others I meet.
I've enjoyed being on the forum and subscribing to the magazine hard copy and digital for several years. The entire service, including the magazine and the O Gauge Forum that Alan and other members of the team provide to us, is a great value monetarily. I can't count the number of times I've gotten answers to questions here, along with numerous ideas and suggestions for building my current layout. Thanks to all....
Other than occasionally visiting and posting on Facebook, OGR Forum is the only on-line forum of any kind that I've ever participated in.
Common interest in trains, sharing of knowledge and information, comraderie, and a place to be a little creative and share our passion for model railroading: IMO the OGR Forum is the best. Arnold
Thanks to everyone that responded to this thread. We had a surprising number of folks contact me mostly from OGF. This topic is now closed.
