# Next issue of the Aristo Insider is out....



## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

....and I'm not going to kick the hornets nest this time...










Keith


----------



## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Where is the link?


----------



## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Where is the link?

Sorry Knut...had to dig it out of the deleted items...










http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=eqcya...5oFT0RQooQOEwk6jCdPxgGjTFGn2M8xywFjHj2rryc0g=


----------



## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Is that what you think of it? 
Good for the trash......... 

Thanks for the link - some bed time reading.


----------



## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Is that what you think of it? 
Good for the trash......... 

Well as Francis Urquhart was so fond of saying, "You might very well think that; but I couldn't possibly comment."


----------



## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

I got a giggle from Lewis' pitch on the PCC car... 'other than one loud complaint, we recieved no others'.... 
I wonder who was that loud? hee hee I've got a hunch! 

Sir, care to take a step out of the shadows and take a bow? 

Thanks for the link. 

Just an old rable rouser! 

John


----------



## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By lownote on 01 Sep 2011 12:14 PM
Lewis might be right about batteries being easy for beginners (although it never appealed to me), but not if you have to buy the packs and configure the installation. A starter set that came with batteries, as, say, a cordless drill-driver does, would make his argument a little better. Plastic track though--if it actually works, it would sure be a cheaper alternative.

If they come out with cheap sound, and onboard rechargeable, batteries he might have a good argument.

The Sw-1 is a complete mystery to me--why make a model that's so close to what the competitor already makes?


----------



## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Batteries & RC control it's the coming thing don't ya know???? And plastic track too!! Still trying to figure out how to do curves in cedar wood though!! Hah LOL Regal


----------



## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Posted By lownote on 01 Sep 2011 12:14 PM 

The Sw-1 is a complete mystery to me--why make a model that's so close to what the competitor already makes? 

I assume you mean the NW-2 by USA Trains

http://www.gbdb.info/details.php?image_id=2357

Wouldn't be the first time that happened in Large Scale. But that market must obviously be so HUGE that this is not a problem.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Only one person? Hmm, I've modified the wheels on several PCC cars, the owners are much happier now. 

I sure hope they correct the gage and flange thickness before the SW-1 ... 

It's funny that a manufacturer has to stoop low enough to take a swipe at one person in an international newsletter... actually it's not funny, it's really sad. 

Other comments: 

Interesting to see advertising in the Insider... I'm on vacation, so I can't be sure, but isn't this the first time that there are advertisers? One is iffy: sort of a free add for beaconhilltrains... and the one for the company that makes reflective decal film.... (and I have no problems with the advertising, it's just interesting) 

Other things I can definitely do without: The usual over-explanation of the manufacturing details (like no one else has to go through mold checks, etc), and the economic explanations about doing business with china and how difficult it is to get parts. 

It's an age-old problem, Aristo parts availability, and printing a listing from the computer inventory really does not help the many people who have used the online system that says something is in stock, only when it is not. This has been mentioned by a number of people recently. 

It's Aristo's advertising letter, but singing the same old song about parts availability and how many steps it takes to manufacture is really kind of beating a dead horse. Make the parts availability as good as Bachmann or USAT, or be quiet, my opinion. 

On the positive side, well, I guess it's comforting to be told that this is an ideal hobby for retirement... 

also nice to see that they are finally going to make a PWC to linear adapter for the people who need pure DC for their electronics. 


I'm a little confused by the explanation, since it seems that there is a way to cut all power to the track by "depressing 00", when using a trackside... You could always command a trackside to zero speed, so not sure what is being said here, especially with the use of the word "retrograde", which means "moving backward"... 

Greg


----------



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg, 

> it's comforting to be told that this is an ideal hobby for retirement... 

Man, I knew I was doing something wrong. Stupid job. 

Best, 
TJ


----------



## benshell (Oct 1, 2008)

I don't like the emphasis on retirement, since I'm young and would like to see more young people involved. I enjoy hanging out with people older than myself--there's often a lot to learn from them--but I want to see younger people too, and that's less likely to happen as long as the hobby is seen as a retired person's hobby. 

I also don't like the emphasis on affordability. I wish the hobby was less expensive too, but not if it means running small locomotives on battery around tight radius curves on plastic track. That just doesn't interest me. There's nothing wrong with that--to each his own--it just doesn't interest me. I'd rather large scale manufacturers focus more on model railroaders, who demand a wide variety of prototypical models, a standardized control system such as DCC, and standardized couplers like Kadees. I wish Aristo-Craft wouldn't try to reinvent everything. I wonder what new locomotives we could have had if they hadn't built the Revo? I wonder how many people would have been drawn to the hobby because their favorite locomotive became available? 

But I will say one positive thing: I like that Aristo-Craft is very vocal about their opinions and their direction for the future. I wish I had some idea what other manufacturers are up to.


----------



## Pterosaur (May 6, 2008)

Ben, I could not agree more with your last statement, I wish all manufacturers where as open and communicative as Aristo. 

One thing this hobby has no shortage of, and that is opinions. I do not need any of their locomotives at this point in time as I am moving away from 1:29 and into 1:20.3. Their Revo fit my current needs quite well. So by building the Revo they won a share of my hobby dollar while perhaps losing some of yours. 

Of course there are always exceptions even to my own rules...I had to have a consolidation to pull my ore cars. And now they plan on releasing the ore cars too. Seems they may win some more of my biz yet. 

Enjoy your aspect of the hobby...And tell your friends!


----------



## Therios (Sep 28, 2008)

Funny that it mentions the retirement thing. I am a long ways away from retirement but not by my choice, trust me there!!

While I was watching TV and reading the Insider, I happened to look up and see the scooter store commercial. And there we were in the background. Look on the table where the kid is pretending to use a screwdriver. Large scale engine. So not only retired, but perfect for those on a scooter!!

Click for full size


----------



## Pterosaur (May 6, 2008)

Oh My God...Now if that isn't an ad to drag the young'ns into large scale I don't know what is!


----------



## Allan W. Miller (Jan 2, 2008)

So, a manufacturer takes the time and effort to produce a newsletter for its customers and fans, and the usual suspects crawl out of their holes to bash it. No real surprise there, I suppose! 

And for what it's worth: This IS a great hobby for retirees. There's sure nothing wrong with promoting that simple fact. I imagine that a good number of the more sensible participants on this forum and the others are retirees, or close to it. Definitely a demographic worth catering to and encouraging because, by and large, those are the folks with the time, initiative, and discretionary income to pursue a hobby.


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm retired now, but when I got started in this hobby in 1980 I was 40 and working. At that time a majority of the members of the Denver Garden Railway Society were of my generation and were also working. 

Chuck


----------



## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Where's the criticism? I mean, really, the insider states an opinion, a strong opinion, and people react to it--exactly why is this bad? It's a discussion ste, after all.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

This is a public forum, not Aristo-controlled. There were no personal statements (against MLS forum rules) until Mr. Miller posted. 

There were positives and negatives expressed on the Insider... only on the Aristo forum are the positives allowed and negatives banned... I suggest people that want to live in that environment go there and bask in it. It's not reality. 

Greg


----------



## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

I really doubt that many people get into this hobby after they retire. 
Far too expensive. 

The only people I see getting into it that late in life are people who are model train fans already and can't or don't want to handle the smaller scales. 

But if I don't have any interest in model trains, I'm not suddenly going to decide on retirement - what a great hobby for me, I need to get into Garden Railroading.


----------



## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

Well, I just have to add that I did indeed get into this hobby well after my retirement started. I did have "O" gauge trains as I was growing up, and I did dabble in HO and N gauge trains during my working career, but nothing ever came of that. I finally got going with large scale trains about 8 or 9 years ago (roughly 8 years after I retired), and have never looked back!! Some SOME of us retirees enter the hobby after retirement!

Ed


----------



## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

I honestly got into this hobby FOR retirement. Back when I sold myself on Large scale trains I was working three jobs (2 of them hobby related) newly married, and had alost no time to even think about modelling but colelcting was well within the scope of my new hobby and within reach of my expenses at the time (layaway & my employee discount at the hobby shop I worked at were my friends). That was back in the early 90's when Charles Ro was switching from store brand to USAT. REA became Aristocraft. There were no less than two magazines dedicated to large scale trains in one form or another along with several others that touched on it on a regular basis. 1:20.3 was just emerging and Bachman had not really made anything but the 10 wheeler yet. Track was cheap so were the rolling stock pieces avaiable. LGB was coming out with more and more new stuff annaully and Bachman, Aristo, and USAT made promises mostly that they kept. Eventually. Then the bottom dropped out. New track prices have skyrocketed even though raw materials prices are back in line with where they were pre-price hike. Used track sells now on Ebay (which was not a factor for me back then) for what new track sold for in the 90's. Can't buy used rolling stock for what it cost new then either. Still I enjoy what I've got and am doing more so now that I can run trains when I want too! 

Chas


----------



## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

I was really commenting on today's situation. 
I'm sure there are probably still some who retired in the last six months or so and decided to go into model trains and specifically Large Scale as their hobby, but I don't think that will be a large percentage of the new retirees. 

In both Ed's and Chas' case it sounds as if they got into Large Scale years ago, during the "glory days" of the 90's when the hobby was much more affordable and there were a lot more manufacturers and hobby shops catering to G-scale. 

Knut


----------



## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

Understand, Knut. You are right about now not being a good time to get into ANYTHING! I think this is one reason why Aristo if focusing so hard on reducing costs of entry. It will be interesting to see how the plans pan out. If they succeed, we all benefit. If not, we're where we are now.

Ed


----------

