Right-Of-Way Industries Incorporated Production Release Questions

Is there anyone here who can identify which year the flyers described and pictured here came out?  I added the pics later, so I hope those who didn't see the pics when I first started this thread will take a second look.

Surely there is someone here who knows a little bit about the history of this company and when its products were released......Right?

phrankenstign posted:

Surely there is someone here who knows a little bit about the history of this company and when its products were released......Right?

Tony:

Yes, there is a Forum member who worked for them back in the day.  I don't remember what his Forum ID is, but I believe he signs his posts with "Lou N".  Do a search of the Forum archives for Right-of-Way Industries and one or more of his posts will likely show up.  He may be at or on his way to York right now. 

Bill

Here's the D&H PA they produced. An amazing model for it's time..

Had lights all over it - see the center of the windshield and the side boards as well as the nose boards were lighted.

Sam,

Among the many mistakes I've made in my life, not buying that set from you is one of them.

John in Lansing, ILL

You can find ads for some of these items in the OGR & CTT mags of about 1994 to maybe 97; or somewhere in that time frame.  Bill Benson was the founder & owner of the company and I know either OGR or CTT did an article about him, his company and his restoration projects.  I have heard rumors that he took order deposits for items never delivered:  don't know if it was a finacial or supplier issue, but it sank the company.  I have no idea what became of Mr Benson.  I bought a number of his turnouts that time & use have not been good to; no stringers on the bottom to keep the ties from shifting around and the points are bad about breaking loose from the throw bars.  He made a 400 watt transformer and I have seen them in a number of magazine layout articles so I'm guessing that they have held up well.  Sometimes their small lighted signaling devices show up on e-Bay.

tontee posted:

You can find ads for some of these items in the OGR & CTT mags of about 1994 to maybe 97; or somewhere in that time frame.  Bill Benson was the founder & owner of the company and I know either OGR or CTT did an article about him, his company and his restoration projects.  I have heard rumors that he took order deposits for items never delivered:  don't know if it was a finacial or supplier issue, but it sank the company.  I have no idea what became of Mr Benson.  I bought a number of his turnouts that time & use have not been good to; no stringers on the bottom to keep the ties from shifting around and the points are bad about breaking loose from the throw bars.  He made a 400 watt transformer and I have seen them in a number of magazine layout articles so I'm guessing that they have held up well.  Sometimes their small lighted signaling devices show up on e-Bay.

Bill also was the first with the Brass lighted switch lantern.

Here is the "Bullet proof" Transformer too!

I have other R-O-W I catalogs and flyers that do have the years of production listed.  They are from 1990-1993.

Does anyone know the years R-O-W I started and when they closed their doors for good?

Lou Niederlander worked for Right-of-Way Industries and often offers information of this nature on the OGR Forum and elsewhere.

Just do a search on this forum. The information is already here. You can also do a Google search for Right of Way Industries to find information from other sources. You just need to do a minimum of research.

Right of Way Industries first popped into the O gauge realm in 1986 with scale switches that were compatible with Gargraves. 

The last time I saw any products advertised from them was maybe late 1995/early 1996. Around the time MTH was blossoming.

google found this -- http://articles.chicagotribune...ocomotive-real-thing

I have one of their switches now.  It looks like a ross switch save for a tiny screw top side in the frog.

Jim R. posted:

Lou Niederlander worked for Right-of-Way Industries and often offers information of this nature on the OGR Forum and elsewhere.

Just do a search on this forum. The information is already here. You can also do a Google search for Right of Way Industries to find information from other sources. You just need to do a minimum of research.

Thanks Jim; I'm still here.  Had bronchitis and will finish up some dental surgery tomorrow.

I'll be looking for information for Tony, whom I have already contacted.

Lou N

c.sam posted:

Here's the D&H PA they produced. An amazing model for it's time..

Had lights all over it - see the center of the windshield and the side boards as well as the nose boards were lighted.

Had an A unit in luggage going thru customs in Seoul.  Once it was unwrapped the agents were all smiles.  There's a little boy in all of us.

Lou N

Lou is much to humble- he is the electronics guy behind the MONSTER ground-breaking 400 watt transformer!

Mike Pyrtko posted:

Lou is much to humble- he is the electronics guy behind the MONSTER ground-breaking 400 watt transformer!

Thanks Mike; always glad to help.  

Lou N

I have several flyers and price lists of ROW locos and rolling stock and own the ROW Shay, UP 2-8-8-0,

B&O 2-8-8-0, B&O 2-6-6-2, C&O 2-6-6-2, and the PRR T-1.  All were purchased after ROW prices plummeted

in the early 2000s.  Can't research the catalogs now (midnight!!), but will try to do so in the next day or two.

Lew Schneider

Severn posted:

google found this -- http://articles.chicagotribune...ocomotive-real-thing

I have one of their switches now.  It looks like a ross switch save for a tiny screw top side in the frog.

And the Stringers that Ross installs underneath so the Switch doesn't loose its guage!

And the Frog milled out of Aluminum so the ride is smooth rather than clankey and bumpy like the fragile ROWI switches.

"... that Ross ..." Oh dang, so I should have a negotiated a better price!    I have some ross now too, i'll have to look at them more closely in comparison.   the theory was the ROW were made by Ross at one time.  Bad theory apparently.

Severn posted:

"... that Ross ..." Oh dang, so I should have a negotiated a better price!    I have some ross now too, i'll have to look at them more closely in comparison.   the theory was the ROW were made by Ross at one time.  Bad theory apparently.

No comparison, Ross switches are well engineered, well built & sturdy.  They don't snag slide shoes and trains roll thru them smoothly. Ross has been around a long time and they stand behind their products and will do what they can to address any issues that may crop up.   Almost all of the old Gargraves and Right-of-Way turnouts on my layout have been replaced.  

I did take a look at these side by side last night.  They appear very similar in many ways.  Someone either copied the other, or perhaps sub-contracted out their work to them -- or so it appears to me at least.   So, I only have the one ROW switch -- the rest are Ross and a few atlas.  The Ross are a mix of 2 new ones I bought recently, and a bunch of used ones.  At least in comparison to the recent Ross, the wood ties look similar but feel differently.  The frog is plastic with the screw visible top side as someone said...  The rest appears superficially at least to be the same.  Ah someone mentioned something about "losing gauge" -- yes the end of the ROW on the straight part appears to be narrowly less than gauge due to time, warping or just the way it was built.  If I get a moment over the weekend I'll post a few pics.  The experts can tell them apart more readily no doubt.    Since I don't have them installed yet I can't say about the way the work.  I believe it will be fine for my limited needs but if not, I'll just put up on the shelf as a museum piece.

So..................

Has anyone been able to accurately and definitively date those flyers I've attached?  I'd like to add them to the Train Catalog & Flyer Gallery

Surely there must be someone here who can give me at least an educated guess about the year(s) these 4 flyers appeared.

Lou N,  Were you at R-O-W when the Cincinnati group brought their modular layout to the facility?  Legend has it that was to test the 400 Transformer and for their participation were given a transformer and a brick.  John in Lansing, ILL

Here is a Video of one of our Casey Jones Hi Railers’  Right Of Way UP 2 8 8 0. TMCC and Rail Soumds have been added.

Thanks,

Richard

rattler21 posted:

Lou N,  Were you at R-O-W when the Cincinnati group brought their modular layout to the facility?  Legend has it that was to test the 400 Transformer and for their participation were given a transformer and a brick.  John in Lansing, ILL

I do remember a few open houses. Have to dig out photos to jog my memory. 

Lou N

It's been nearly 3 months since I first started this thread.  Did I stump the experts?  Surely someone here must have some knowledge about when the products advertised on the four sheets came out, right?

phrankenstign posted:

It's been nearly 3 months since I first started this thread.  Did I stump the experts?  Surely someone here must have some knowledge about when the products advertised on the four sheets came out, right?

You have not stumped the experts.  All it takes is some time to finish current projects.

Lou N

I believe the catalog I have is dated 1991.  I bought their D&H PA set , wish I kept it, and a B&O Docksider which is also long gone.

Their B&O Dockside is one beautiful locomotive. I'm lucky to have picked one up not too long ago. It had very little wear and coincidently,  a manufacturer's number in the range of 96-99 (mine was 96), which is how the B&O numbered the (only) 4 that they received from Baldwin. 

Tom 

MNCW posted:

Their B&O Dockside is one beautiful locomotive. I'm lucky to have picked one up not too long ago. It had very little wear and coincidently,  a manufacturer's number in the range of 96-99 (mine was 96), which is how the B&O numbered the (only) 4 that they received from Baldwin. 

Tom 

That is a sweet little engine, enjoy !

It's been nearly 5 months since I first started this thread.  Did I stump the experts?  Surely someone here must have some knowledge about when the products advertised on the four sheets came out, right?

There was a time that Steve Brenneisen of Ross Custom Switches was lured to Akron, Ohio by Bill Benson to build switches and become part of the ROW enterprise. After learning the basics as to how the Ross switches were built Steve left ROW for unknown reasons. He returned to Napierville, IL where he went back to building switches in his apt. The switches built in Akron lacked the two wooden stringers seen on the back side of each switch. These were meant to keep the switches in gauge and to prevent warping. Also, Steve refined the points and eventually added the Delrin insert to keep rolling stock and engines from falling into the switch. He later joined Frank Curtis to form Ross-Curtis Switches and after a few years moved to his current factory which continues to this day. He builds the finest switches in the hobby and guarantees each one for life. While the DZ switch machines get the job done, the best combination links Steve's switches with the Tortoise under table mount switch machines.

Lou N posted:

phrankenstign posted:

It's been nearly 3 months since I first started this thread.  Did I stump the experts?  Surely someone here must have some knowledge about when the products advertised on the four sheets came out, right?

You have not stumped the experts.  All it takes is some time to finish current projects.

Lou N

It's been nearly 20 months since I started this thread.  Surely enough time has passed for most experts to finish current projects.  Is anyone able to date the four flyers pictured in the first post of this thread?

Right of Way BN hoppers

@phrankenstign posted:

It's been nearly 20 months since I started this thread.  Surely enough time has passed for most experts to finish current projects.  Is anyone able to date the four flyers pictured in the first post of this thread?

It's been over 2 1/2 years since I started this thread.  Surely enough time has passed for most experts to finish current projects.  Is anyone able to date the four flyers pictured in the first post of this thread?

(Is there anyone here who has some ROW I catalogs and/or flyers they'd like to get rid of?  Send me an e-mail.)

Dear phrankenstign,

ROW used to advertise in the some of the railroad magazines from time to time.  You may want to check out the older editions of Classic Toy Trains and O Gauge Railroading Magazine from the late 80's to mid 90's.   There may a few others, but I don't recall at this time.

I have all of the CTTs from that era, but I'm unfamiliar with O Gauge Magazine.  I do have some O Scale Railroading magazines from that era, but not many.  (I've always been much more interested in the fun of the toy aspect of trains.)  Do you know if R-O-W I advertised there?

@phrankenstign posted:

I have all of the CTTs from that era, but I'm unfamiliar with O Gauge Magazine.  I do have some O Scale Railroading magazines from that era, but not many.  (I've always been much more interested in the fun of the toy aspect of trains.)  Do you know if R-O-W I advertised there?

phrankenstign,

I updated my post with "Railroading"  :  O Gauge Railroading  Magazine

I honestly don't know if they advertised in publications dealing with 2 Rail as I wasn't well connected to that segment of the hobby at that time (via publications).   

They did advertise in both CTT and OGR starting sometime in the late 80's or early 90's.  I'll see if I can dig out some of my old mags and look for their ads.