Thoughts about why so many forum categories

I'm confused.

Is the problem the number of sub forums or that folks aren't posing in the 3-rail scale forum?

I think the "3 rail scale thread" pertains more to things like scale couplers and realistc weathering etc, than "scale" locomotives etc.

Its more about what you do to a product once its out of the box to make it more like the prototpye.

Legacy VL and MTH premier products are all "scale"  3 rail items, but in their "mass produced state" don't fit the bill on the 3 rail scale forum.

The highrail etc etc forum is more or less the "anything goes" forum. That way the 3 rail scale folks can focus on topics unique to "3 rail scale" modelling.

There is room for all of us here, just a matter of respecting each others preferences/ tastes. The end goal is the same.

No Marty. Every so often you see requests for more or new forum sub-categories, and I sometimes wonder why. The clear vast majority of new threads get posted in the High Rail, 027, Traditional 0 forum, even if the actual postings have nothing to do with that particular sub-category.

Like when I see a thread about passenger cars on the High Rail, 027, Traditional 0 forum, I immediate assume (hope) that it will be about the tradtional 027 Lionel passenger cars, or the Williams counterparts, or the K-Line/RMT semi-scale 13 inch versions. BUT usually it is not. So then I think, well if this is really about SCALE passenger cars, why isn't this in the 3-rail scale forum???

When I see a thread about wishing for a new locomotive to be made, yeah, there are some I'd love to see made. I'd love to see a modern Dash type locomotive made by Lionel with a 13-14 inch lenght that does not tower in height above 027 cars... kind of a modern equal to the postwar 027 Alco FA. If I were to say that on any of those threads, the reponse would be "we're talking about scale proportioned prouducts." Okay, no problem with that. But why isn't it in the 3-rail scale forum then?

Again, unless you read the term High Rail as being all-inclusive. Historically the term high rail came about a long time before there were ever scale products being offered as they are today - when the product selection was either traditional 0 or 027.

Again, just thinking out loud. Nothing against the scale makret. I'd just think if I were a scale 3-rail modelers, I'd want to support that forum devoted to that part of the hobby. Which might even help send a partial signal to the train companies.

When you see a thread that is not posted in the right forum, let us know about it!

I see less than 1% of what is posted on this forum, and most of that is either here on in the Real Trains forum. Use the Alert Icon ( ) at the bottom right of every post to automatically send us a message about any thread you think is in the wrong forum.

If you read the posts in the 3rs forum, you willl see the topics are about making things more prototypical.  Fixing pilots, installing MU hoses, putting kadees, weathering, lowering, relocating horns.  The discussions are not about whether stuff is 1:48 of not.  Its implied that you wouldn't want to do all those modifications on something that wasn't scale in the first place.  (What would be the point?)

I have a couple of OGR Forum members who keep a close eye on things like this. So I catch some of them, thanks to those members who send me alerts.

Nothing personal...

My opinion: 

The "3-Rail Scale" (3RS) thing has little meaning to the majority of 3-rail hobbyists, and hasn't even been defined simply and clearly by those who initiated the term.  It is, after all, a term that was "invented" by participants on this forum and which really has no relevance outside this relatively small community.  It is, in effect, a teeny niche within a tiny niche within a small niche, etc.

The hobby pretty understands 3-rail, 2-Rail, and Hi-Rail, and the vast majority of O gauge/scale enthusiasts fit rather easily into one of those primary categories.  Attempts to create something new, no matter how well intended, were not likely to develop a large following.  If any sub-area deserves a separate sub-forum of its own, that likely would be Hi-Rail since that area of modeling extends well beyond the trains themselves.

There is room for all of us here, just a matter of respecting each others preferences/ tastes. The end goal is the same.

Rick, your last sentence is the truth and I have long felt that way. The 3-rail hobby is a diverse fragmented market that CANNOT survive without all of us.

But the product runs are still small for all scale products. When Lionel finished the K-Line Dash-type locomotive that K-Line had offered for the KCC, Lionel said the total run was around 3,000 pieces - an exceptionally large production run for a scale product.

The other comment that goes against your last sentence (which also comes up a lot) is how all lower end starter products are junk. I'm sorry, but given all the complaints I have read about high end scale products not working, I have NEVER ONCE had to return no one single starter set or lower end locomotive for anything. Even made overseas. It's not junk. It does what it is suppose to do and works as advertised... that's not junk.

But I understand what you are saying. I can understand why scale modelers would want to use Kadee couplers. But I have read comments wishing that knuckle couplers would be completely dropped on the 027, Tradional Forum. I'm sorry, but NEVER. If Lionel were to do that, it'd be a sure fire forumla to immedately go out of business. Now, on the scale products alone, that might be another story.

Brian,

I think you're making a lot to do about nothing. 

You mentioned when you see passenger cars on the Hi Rail forum you assume they will be traditional 027 passenger cars, like Lionel postwar 2400 series of cars, If that is true, then where do Lionel O gauge aluminum passenger cars from the late 50's and 60's go? On the scale forum even thought they are not Scale?, yet they are not traditional 027.

The list of questionable items could go on for pages and pages.

I think the the moderators and ourselves do a pretty good job of placing in the right forum, if someone is off a bit, someone usually will suggest another forum better suited for their post. Is there some overlap, sure there is, is there anything wrong with that, not at all. 

As mentioned previously, 3R scale refers to more than just size. I think the Rich Melvins description What is 3-Rail Scale? sums it up quite well. As are all the topic headers.

What's traditional to you in 027 may not be traditional to others.

How about discussing a traditional Lionel 6024 Nabisco Box car, heck that box car is so small it should be on the "S" scale forum(I was trying to be sarcastic/humorous).

Hey, have fun, enjoy this great hobby!

For the same reason there are so many folders in a file cabinet drawer. It makes it much faster to find information that is relevant to your interest.

The one fact that you have overlooked here is Page Views. Unlike other forums this one does not show statistics for page views. The only indication you have here is if someone responds to a topic posted. This does not mean people are not reading it, or are not interested in it, just that they don’t respond to it.

The first few times I started posting here the response was limited. This caused the thought of well if no one is reading it why even bother to write it up. That’s when I noticed the view stats are not listed. It also made me wonder how many others may have had the same thought and just moved on, or do not post. That’s when it occurred to me the importance here to respond to the ones that are informative and useful to me. But that still leaves many that I will read that don’t get a response.

Including these statistics would be an opportunity for an improvement to this forum.  

If that is truly the case, then why has MTH been offering the appropriate shims for mounting O Scale size Kadee couplers on their freight cars, plus offering many of their "retooled", or new,  diesel models with fixed pilots & full length hand rails and appropriate Kadee coupler mounting pads? If there wasn't a large enough market for us 3-Rail SCALE modelers, then MTH would NOT be offering these enhancements.

Just because YOU do not agree with the "3-Rail SCALE concept", does NOT mean it doesn't exist! 

quote:

For the same reason there are so many folders in a file cabinet drawer. It makes it much faster to find information that is relevant to your interest.

Only if the information is filed correctly.

When information is over compartmentalized, or compartmentalized in a way that is not easy to follow, then the information becomes very difficult to find.

I think the OGR folks are pretty good at hitting the right balance.

Before this topic goes WAY of course from what the OP intended, I'm going to close this thread.

We think we have a good mix of Forums and Sub-Forums here. Given the traffic levels here (6.5 to 7 MILLION pages per month now) and our member participation rate, I think most members think we've got it right. While we are always open to suggestions about new forums, I don't think a protracted discussion of the merits of each and every individual forum is warranted.