If You Have Something Nice To Say, Say It Here

I certainly agree with your comments about Scott Mann.  I live about 20 miles from his "World Headquarters" and get to drop in a couple of times per year.  I always enjoy my interactions with him and his staff.  

I also appreciate the wonderful crew at OGR for hosting this forum.  They are a super group who make the O gauge hobby much more interactive and enjoyable.  NH Joe

 I would thank MTH for the many engines I have got that run well and are built well and the DCS system that I use.

I would thank Atlas for many great 2 rail O scale products I have.

I thank Lionel for many great products, as well as USA trains, 3rd Rail,  and the former Aristocraft.

I thank Bridgewerks for the great power. OGR for the great mag and forum right here!

Split Jaw, Precision scale (new owners), etc.

The problem here is those that I forget to thank! Many suppliers and dealers.

I would thank you Tom for the great posts you have made, along with a great number of others providing info on this forum.

Well, I think your nice Tom for bringing this thread up. Don

I would mention Allan Miller, Editor-in-Chief and Alan Arnold, CEO and publisher of O Gauge Railroading magazine. I have worked with Allan on articles in OGR and Alan to resolve subscription questions. Both these gentleman deserve great credit for their service to the hobby, OGR magazine and the OGR Forum.

MELGAR

The staff of OGR going back to Myron and Fred to the great gang we have now: Alan, Allan, Rich, Ed and Jim......that you for administering this online home for the last 20 years!

Peter

I’m regularly blown away by the outstanding modeling skills of so many of the forum members. What an inspiration to see so many museum  quality  layouts and projects.  Thanks for sharing and thanks to OGR for creating this space for us to come together and share.  It’s the reason why it’s he only train magazine hat I subscribe to. 

Tom, Great idea!

I too want to thank Alan, Allan, and everyone who has been involved now and in the past for providing this great magazine and forum!

Also, I want to thank all the wonderful people who post questions, comments, and photographs, who answer questions, give opinions, and most of all encouragement; that is the Forum members!  So many of you have helped and encouraged me as I moved from over 40 years of scale modeling to 3-rail O gauge 8 years ago.  Also everyone of you I have met at meets and shows, and have invited me to see their layouts!

What Melgar, Peter and Mark said +1!

Curt

I would like to thank Mike Wolf for letting me be one of his dealers. I would also like to thank Rich Foster for working with me, and being there when ever I had a question or a problem. Selling MTH trains was really a fun time. I would also like to thank Joe Hayter and everyone that worked for the Weaver Train Co. Joe Hayter and his crew would bend over backwards to help me. I  really loved selling their freight cars.   

I would like to give a BIG THANKS to John Shetler for helping me get started with Lionel O Gauge tinplate. Met him at a local train show. Bought a few things there. Sent some emails back and forth and purchased my first prewar engines. 253 and a 259e. He definitely got me hooked.  

Well while we're all Kumbyaing I would like to thank Dave Olson @Dave Olson, Dean Brasseur @Lionel Dean, Jon Zahornacky @SantaFeFan, Rudy Trubitt @Railsounds, and Mike Reagan @Mikado.  All of these gentlemen endured either early Friday mornings at York after a long Thursday, the same questions for close to 10 years, and me bugging them for information or help planning the Legacy meetings.  I consider them all friends.  They are always willing to answer questions, help out, and even inject some humor.  Thanks gents for your help in the past and future!

I would like to thank Number 90, Hotwater, Rich, and the many other railroaders here for there knowledge and stories of what things are like and how they work.  

Ditto to all the great folks mentioned above........I would also like to add to the list Derek Thomas and Eric Siegel. Young guys in the hobby that I have enjoyed listening to the last few years.

A special thanks to the extremely knowledgeable contributors on all of the OGR forums for providing extensive, accurate information about the various aspects of the railroad hobby.

I would like to say thank you to all of the organizations working to preserve steam railroading for future generations. 

The 611 team in Roanoke

Rich and the 765 crew

Tennessee Valley Railroad

Spencer Shops

Strasburg and all the other tourist lines

Union Pacific

There are more I can't recall right now or may not have heard of yet. An especially big thank you to all the individuals behind the scenes who volunteer their time, labor and expertise to keep these machines running, expecting nothing in return. Your hard work is much more appreciated than you may ever know. 

THANK YOU!

My sincere thanks to Alan Arnold, the leadership of OGR Magazine and this Forum, and all who contribute to the Forum, which has enriched my life. Arnold

My thanks to all the people on this forum who have sought to advance the hobby by POSITIVE input....I have learned many things,and have contributed some of my knowledge...let's keep it up......joe krasko  

I am thankful for this Forum and its many knowledgeable and thoughtful contributors.  Even more than the O Gauge Railroading (OGR) magazine, itself, the Forum is a daily resource for news, views and informative technical contributions.  Before thanking our more recent and equally deserving editors, I'd like to express thanks for the late Vane Jones whose magazine, "Traction and Models", fascinated a young railfan and laid the foundation for all that has followed.  Now, 50 years later, we have Rich, Alan, the OGR staff, and OGR subscribers to thank for ensuring its continued existence.  The continuing growth of Forum membership is testimony to its value!

I'm grateful for the company of other model railroading railroaders, a fellowship within a fellowship, who help keep the flanges within the gauge.  I'm also grateful for those masters of realism who inspire us to better modeling by their artistry.  Last, I am especially grateful for those bright stars, such as the late Marty Fitzhenry and the ever-patient GunRunnerJohn, who have helped me navigate the uncharted and unknowable waters of model railroad electronics.  Thank you, one and all.

I’d like to thank the OGR staff, and the forum sponsors. I’d also like to thank the all the fellas on The Who’s who list ...Norton (Pete), GRJ, and of course our good buddy Marty!.......I’d also like to thank Alan Arnold for offering me Parole from forum jail......I thought I was gonna have to take it to the gate!..☺️..............so thanks Alan!........Pat

Thank you to A.C. Gilbert for American Flyer trains that got me started  in the hobby sixty six years ago.

My hats off to Lionel, I picked up a railsounds Western Pacific boxcar today and I can’t believe how much it adds to the enjoyment of operating my layout. Squeaks, groans etc. sounds fantastic, priced right for what you get. I am just really pleased and could not be happier with that purchase. Thanks for a top notch product Lionel!

Everyone is great here !    

Lots of great layouts to get ideas from .  Lots of great info is shared here .  

I want to thank all of these guys for some great memories.  They all had a positive impact on this hobby and everyone they came in contact with

Without a doubt, all mentioned above can never be disputed, or questioned.  So many contribute to  our hobby every day, just we all, in our own way, share and assist one another.  One common factor shared by so many on the Forum are those in our individual lives.  Wives, significant others, who contribute and tolerate, as well as those who encourage our hobby and efforts.  Also for many, as with myself, our fathers and mothers, other relatives who started our love of trains and shared that love as we grew.  Many friends found, though perhaps never encountered face-to-face, with our common fondness and endeavors.  Tom, thanks for such a rewarding post.

Jesse  TCA 

So many positives to say it's hard to know where to start.  I'll join the chorus of positive shout outs to the OGR staff.  The magazine played a big part in my decision to switch from HO and this forum is great.  As for manufacturers, I'll add a shout out to MTH for their RK Imp steamers.  Good looking, quality power for those of us on a budget or without the space for 1:48 proportioned.  I'll add a shout out to Precision Scale.  Great source of readily available detail parts. 

You know, sometimes it takes a bit for some of us to get started talking on here. You know what, that was me to a T a few years back. Popping on here before joining just daydreaming to some of the layout progress posts by members and seeing what wonders they came up with. That is how things usually start, you see something you haven't seen before and it gets a ball rolling. Next thing you know, you pop your hands to the keyboard and you participate with something small and you really don't think that what you have to say means much to some of the other folks on here. Well, that is where you are wrong. Some many great things have come from something so small as asking a simple question. Next thing you know you are following topics to see what comes next, and even engaging in some back and forth between a few people.

What started out as what you thought was a dumb question triggered a chain reaction to other things, other things that others who were once in your shoes dared to do. You find yourself going out of the simple confines of the keyboard to pursue other such things, offering your own advice and being touched by someone who you can relate to. You get mystified by someone who is very much your junior(and then some in some occasions) who put things into perspectives you either wouldn't have thought about(or possible) or even the old hat(meaning senior). You then make good friends with some of the people you interact with and have a blast doing so.

Me I enjoy everything that this forum offers, even if it is a post from several years ago that has been commented on the last time years ago but someone decided to comment on it pushing it your way. There is so much to say from what my eyes scan on a daily basis that about 70-80% I get interested in(that is not to say anything about the 30-20% I'm not interested in, it just has no bearing for me at the moment).

Think of it though. You see people who you should consider peers(we're all railroaders, some with much more experience and knowledge than others) and you are fascinated with what they have to say. I remember messaging Rich Melvin about a few broken pages on one of the posts I was following that had sort of fallen off. I really didn't know what to say to Rich other than two of the 15 or 16 pages got hijacked and those were two of the pages that I really liked looking on(was a layout and I was getting inspired). Rich got back to me relatively quickly and the pages were fixed some time later.

Peter(Putnam Division) gave me the best advice about making foam roadbed look like real ballasted roadbed(for starters). Go to any store that has textured foam friendly paint and spray it on(look for the gravel type color). It was some time after that that I got to attend York(October 2017) and meet some extraordinary people. Getting to meet Peter, Rich, Alan, Allan, Jim, & Ed(of OGR), Dennis Brennan, Dorcie and Roger Farkash(I missed Mike Regan by mere seconds) from TW TrainWorx, Dave Olson, Ryan Kunkle, Jeb from J.T.'s Mega Steam the list goes on and on.

By far Peter's breakfast at Round the Clock really helped out quite a bit and has become something regular in my life as I get to see those who I follow with great interest as well as see others who I should be following but haven't yet(Melgar is one).

Needless to say if I keep typing away everyone is going to get bored with me and we can't have that. In short, thank you fellow railroaders in doing everything that you do, even if it is correcting me on valve gears and other stuff that I haven't a clue exactly where it is supposed to connect to or go.

Number 90, Tom, you have started a great thread that should have been initiated a long time ago. When I began reading all of the really heartfelt positive comments of folks making a positive impact on our great hobby, all of the above are so well deserving, it also brings to mind, Mr. Richard Kuhn, who took the time to bring life back into Lionel, a sleeping Giant, with new changes that make operating our trains so much more fun. His generosity, his being a lover of Lionel trains, made a huge impact on the hobby. Also, Mike Wolf, took on the task of bringing Scale looking trains into our three rail hobby, and the Race was on. It’s the Best of the Best, and now is the Best of times for our enjoyment of model railroading. Tom, Thank You for being positive, it’s really good. Happy Railroading.

Leapin Larry, Your Tennessee Connection.

Great topic, maybe something we should do annually in November.

I'd like to thank all those who've helped with the "how to" advice and answering my "what am I doing wrong" questions. I marvel every week at the broad and deep knowledge of carpentry, electrical, electronics, and artistic skills among the members here. So many have helped me I can't name them all but it's appreciated most sincerely!

Also, thanks to those of you who take the time to take and post photos of your great and even not-so-great layouts and collections. A picture is worth a thousand words, and the photos provide inspiration for current and future hobbyists!

I can't say enough good things about Jeff Kane, "The Train Tender", who in my humble opinion is the best and most helpful model train parts dealer I have ever come across.  Tremendous inventory, always helpful and unbelievably patient.  He has walked me through more than one Lionel repair.  He makes looking for train parts an enjoyable experience.

I am grateful to my late father and mother, who spent over a week's salary to give me a Lionel train with a Santa Fe diesel, and a ZW transformer to operate it, for Christmas in 1953.  Passing that train to my youngest son after he had children of his own, made me realize how much I missed it and led to my first modern 3-rail train, an MTH A-B-A E8 and 9 passenger cars.  From there, it grew and has been very enjoyable.

Thanks, Mom and Dad.  You started it.

Number 90 you are so correct.  I blame, er I mean credit, my father for my addiction.  LOL!  

I would also like to thank the folks here at OGR and the sponsors that keep this forum available to us.  It must be an incredible amount of work to keep it going both technically and financially as well as put up with us as a group.

If I were to add anything to what I said yesterday, it would be to those who have the technical skills of ripping apart the engines and showing us what's wrong, how to fix it, and also to those who tell us about what we're doing wrong with the controls and all the lovely electrical stuff. I may not comment on some of those posts, but I do pay attention and heed what is said so I don't blow up my engines and need to spend them in for repairs.

I would like to thank Joshua Lionel Cowen (utilizing the ideas of his European and American  hobby predecessors) for taking a store display idea and turning it into a well-loved pasttime that continues on into its second century. I would like to thank my parents (RIP) for gifting me my first Lionel set in 1955, and for not making it "disappear" while I was away at school. Finally, I would like to thank my wife for being supportive over the last 32 years.

Tom, it so good see positive posts and comments, thank you for starting this.  You have made my day!  Tom is also the most interesting and fun person to spend a day with watching real trains. 

The biggest problem with thanking people is that you invariably leave people out.  In no particular order here are a few of mine.

My son Jim who has shared my love of trains all his life.  He was instrumental in helping me build my benchwork, has helped lay track, done all the electronics, and we had so much fun in the process.  I couldn't and wouldn't have wanted to do it without him.

The OGR forum has had a big positive impact on my enjoyment of the hobby.  It has been the link that has connected me to so many of my train friends.  It has also helped solve many problems, has inspired me in many ways, and given me a way to share my layout with the world.  Thanks to Allen, Arnold, and the gang for putting up with me over the years.

Ted and Don for showing how much fun having real operating sessions are.  Easily the most fun I have ever had in this hobby of model railroading. 

Tom, thanks again for starting this thread.  The attitude that it creates reminds me of why I love the forum and the members so much.

Art

Sometimes I'm amazed that there are so many outstanding, upstanding, interesting and otherwise quality people, who do something as crazy as we all do (LOL): model railroading! LOL! 

This is meant as a joke to entertain us all, but the grain of truth is that there are many who truly think we model railroaders are, indeed, crazy.

Hence, the lyric from my song/video, Who Am I (Rollin' By), which you can access on YouTube by clicking on it when inserting my name in the YouTube searchbox:

"I'm a master model railroader and songwriter to boot,

Some people think I'm crazy, but I don't give a hoot."

Arnold D. Cribari

And, some of the smartest, nicest and most interesting people I have ever met are members of this Forum. Arnold

jay jay posted:

I would like to thank Joshua Lionel Cowen (utilizing the ideas of his European and American  hobby predecessors) for taking a store display idea and turning it into a well-loved pasttime that continues on into its second century. I would like to thank my parents (RIP) for gifting me my first Lionel set in 1955, and for not making it "disappear" while I was away at school. Finally, I would like to thank my wife for being supportive over the last 32 years.

Wonderful contribution, John.

I sometimes wonder if (hoping it is true), that Joshua Lionel Cowen is conscious of how this hobby has flourished for so long, and even conscious of OGR and this Forum. If so, he must be very happy. 

From all I have read about him, he was a genuinely good man in every way. Arnold

It is a very hard thing to thank those that have helped you. If you really think about it, it would be impossible to name everyone. If I were to try it, I would have to go through every notification I've ever gotten and take a look as I'm sure a good portion of them have inspired me and got wheels rolling. It may be little things sometimes, but other times there's a flood.

I am happy to endorse everything said by the OP about Scott Mann and I am glad Scott got first mention as he richly deserves it.

In a very positive vein, I am also grateful to those truly expert forum contributors who over what is now several years have contributed so much to understanding technical aspects of the hobby and helped many people including me to resolve issues. It’s invidious to single out anyone in particular but I must take my hat off to @gunrunnerjohn and @Alex M as well as the representatives of Lionel and MTH who have posted here (and fortunately for us continue to do so).

Lastly and despite other issues, I have always regarded Lionel’s innovative approach as one of the most positive things about the hobby, which if I look back on what I have in the way of favorite models has contributed most of my enjoyment of O gauge.