The Fall 2018 OGR Forum Grandstand Meeting was held on a gorgeous day this past Friday starting at 2:00pm. Probably the prettiest day we have ever had for a Fall York. So, we had the meeting indoors in the Gold Hall just north of the grandstands.
This was probably the largest crowd that I have ever seen for one of these meetings. They were either a) the general public that have come for a Taste of York to find out it has nothing to do with good food; b) confused this as an early voting polling place for absentee voters; or c) had heard that MTH finally figured out how to run DCS on a flip phone and were here for the demonstration. I heard one guy say, “Well, if it was good enough for Captain Kirk, it’s good enough for me!”
Ed and Allan were in attendance, and after welcoming everyone to York, we got the meeting kicked off.
ETS Electric Train Systems – Zuzana Tomcova
This was a first-time presentation at our meeting by ETS. They are a manufacturer of European trains headquartered in Prague. They also do a lot of custom product development. They had a booth in the Orange Hall demonstrating their products. I stopped by their booth and looked at the products on display. Very nice stuff – check them out at www.ets-trains.com
Atlas Model Railroad Company – Bill Serratelli
Bill shared with the group that the new turntable was in production with a new drive system, and that they would be offering the Pratt Truss Bridges again – in production later this year.
In December we should finally see the F units scheduled earlier, and they were able to get 80% of the planned freight car production out of the existing factory before it closes – including the TM 50’6” Boxcar; the C&O Cabooses; the Pulp cars and the PS1 Boxcars.
They will have their recently upgraded signaling system out in 2Q or 3Q of 2019.
I also heard, separately, that we would see the GP-9’s in 2019.
OGR Publications - Allan Miller
Allan talked with the group about contributing content to the magazine. They need mid-sized and small-sized layout magazine articles all of the time and illustrated “How-to” articles. Send an email to Allan for more information, and there’s even compensation. “How-to” articles are paid $200; and layout articles earn $400.
Brennan’s Model Railroading – Dennis Brennan
Dennis was there with the prototype of his second kit, The Hap Hazard Packing Company. This bass wood kit includes interior details, and in my opinion would look terrific with some reefers loading up against its docks. It was noted that the interior wall framing was done as a single piece. The kit will be out in January and is priced at $149.95. Get a hold of him to reserve one.
He also has the first kit, Ob Long Box Company, still available, and I have one of those – very nice. It retails for $129.95. His website is brennansmodelrr.com and he has a picture of the Hap Hazard Packing Co on the front page. Well, that was what it looked like before Ed helped him show it to the group.
Mianne/Foley—Tim Foley
Tim shared with the group that it’s time for you collectors to get a layout going – and they are here to help you without your having to become a carpenter or spending hours going to the lumber yard.
Miller Engineering - Chris Miller
Chris asked for a show of hands as to who in the group had one of his signs on their layout and most of the group raised their hands. He shared with the group that he is working on railroad signs for all the major roads – most recently Great Northern and Illinois Central.
The KOA roadside billboard is available and they are working on York Peppermint Patty and Sunbeam Bread with the moving bread slices falling off the loaf. He’s always interested in new sign ideas from the past – no WalMart.
3rd Rail/Sunset Models – Scott Mann
Scott talked about their taking over ERR production from Lionel and that they were about ready to go. He thanked Lionel for their help in moving this to his firm.
He showed the Virginian EL2 prototype and production will be limited to 50 pairs in 3-rail. The 2-Rail versions were already sold out.
He reported that GGD was making aluminum passenger cars with a new process using CTC technology to cut out the windows. This allows him to make short runs of cars and get the details right.
Railroading in America – Max Harris & Evan Cihlar
Two of the four guys behind the new Railroading in America magazine were there and addressed the group. They thanked OGR for their mentorship. These young men are all under 21 and promote the hobby to the next generation. If you’d like to subscribe, they would appreciate it. Learn more at their website at railroadinginamerica.com
Ross Custom Switches—Steve Brenneisen
Steve was next and reported that they had Dave Hikel in their booth showing the new line of bridge supports – just stunning. He also shared with the group that he has a dealer network and that these dealers are a great place to go to see his products.
The tinplate switches that replace the old Lionel style switches have been very popular and you should try them when one of you switches fails. The fit in the same geometry.
TWTrainworx – Mike Reagan
Mike reported that he was the only one here this York as the company is very busy completing custom layouts for customers that would like them installed before the holiday. He showed a sample of his New Haven signal tower – it’s a kit – very nice. He also said they were working on a big 3 stall engine shed and a new yard office. www.twtrainworx.com for more information and pictures.
The LCCA - Al Kolis, Past President
Al reported that on the last page of the Lionel catalog is a Polar Express car offering that includes an LCCA membership.
Al also introduced Kevin. Kevin is the promoter of the LCCA’s Fastrack module program and helps groups get organized and promote model railroading through displaying their modular layouts to the public. They were recently recognized by the NMRA as the first standard for modular railroads.
MTH—Andy Edleman
Andy was next up and started out by asking the group how many had a flip phone, and then showed one he had. When asked where he got it he replied “In the trash”
Andy recognized the folks from Railroading in America as a runner up Blue Comet award winner, and recognized representatives of the Pittsburgh Independent High Railers as this year’s Blue Comet Award winners. For more details, see the front of the 2019V1 Catalog.
Also, in the catalog were the initial winners of the design a car contest and that it’s possible additional cars will get run from the designs submitted. They had over 100 entries.
He said you’d notice Mike’s latest contribution to the catalog – the gold finish Chessie engine and the silver-plated Amtrak. There are over 700 new items in this catalog and he hopes you will look. He particularly noted the plated R40 Subways.
Lionel LLC—Ryan Kunkel
Ryan reported that Lionel had the strongest year in over a decade and talked about their new retail store in Concord.
Production in North Carolina is expanding, and they added a second line and will shortly add a second shift.
All steam locomotives are on schedule and will arrive yet this year.
The prototype of the camera caboose is at the booth.
He also shows the brass prototype for the K2 to the group, and the sample HO track system they are bringing out – no rail joiners – it goes together with magnets.
Their HO scale Polar Express runs under Bluetooth control or DCC.
As the meeting was adjourned, representatives from the New Jersey Highrailers announced that this year’s Trainstock would be Saturday, January 18th.
Any errors in reporting here are mine, with my apologies in advance. Please add anything I missed to this thread. Thank you, OGR for putting this together, and our thanks to Steve and Al for the pallet. Did you guys take it back to the MTH booth?
