Let me take you into the (not so) glory 1960's here in Germany with particular importance to model trains, or better said toy trains.
At first you have to be a father of your son to get the social allowance even buying model railroad stuff. There was a time frame of about max. 10 years you were able to do that, a span reaching when your son was 3 years old and able to play with trains to about an age of app. 13 when he lost interest on trains.
Then the yearly time frame when you was allowed to build up and run your train set, reaching from Christmas Eve to exact the date when the christmas tree was removed out of your living room. Even the 4 x 8 panel with fixed tracks, corner tunnel and houses have to be stored away. No chance to run your trains in the attic or the besement. You were declared mental ill by your neighbors if you did that.
Back to purchasing a train set for the first time, for your son of course. There were 3 makers of H0 trains and train sets in Germany then:
Märklin
TRIX EXPRESS
Fleischmann
All declared the make their trains in "H0" and to run on tracks with a gauge of 16,5mm. And at just this point every communatlity ends. All 3 train makers were instead united in incompatibiltiy to each other.
For this you have to make an personal decision in the toy shop which will be determinative for the rest of your life and the life of your son. This decision has a lot of confessional similarity: You have to choose one of the 3 brands! And stay with it for the rest of your life.
Back at home with the train set smuggled into the house like contraband, your 3 years old should not knowing about it. When he is finally in bed and sleeping, you are allowed to unwrap the train set and start building it up.
You were astonished the loco has only 3 speed levels: Fast, faster and even faster. The German ones had a fourth speed level: Still faster.
The days between Christmas and New Year were the preciousest of all, you are in holliday, the train set is built up and you can run trains. Every year the model railroad grews, more rails, turnouts, more cars, a second loco and sometimes all the stuff was fixed onto a 4x8 board. One day your 13 years old tells you, he is far more interested to buy LPs from his favorite rock band as in toy trains.
End of a dream of you have to go illegal. Meaning to become a ousider in your neighborhood; you are the grown up wacky man playing with trains.
That were the good (or not so good) old times of 1960's here. Back to 1965? Never!
![[Image: dsc026217akai.jpg]](https://abload.de/img/dsc026217akai.jpg)
Running toy trains like this? No, i won't!
![[Image: dsc02626ofki6.jpg]](https://abload.de/img/dsc02626ofki6.jpg)
Running with this traditional electrical replacement for a clockwork? Fast, faster, even faster, still faster, ridiculous faster, out of curve flying...(Have a look onto the deeeep flanges which should prevent this). The last speed level is often necessary for seeing the lights of a loco model.
Simply no!
To make the step from toy trains to model trains it takes a lot of one's own initiative. Getting your locos running in DC like the prototype, you have to deal with a lot of mechanical treatments for your stuff. Terms and definitions like: gear ratio reducing, new motors with more civilzed running qualities, reliable current pick up, equalized running gear and some more should not be foreign words to you.
I deal with this stuff. Before i going to convert any loco to DCC oder DCC/Sound, this loco has to run flawless in DC mode. And only then DCC is able topping the performance still more.
Lutz
At first you have to be a father of your son to get the social allowance even buying model railroad stuff. There was a time frame of about max. 10 years you were able to do that, a span reaching when your son was 3 years old and able to play with trains to about an age of app. 13 when he lost interest on trains.
Then the yearly time frame when you was allowed to build up and run your train set, reaching from Christmas Eve to exact the date when the christmas tree was removed out of your living room. Even the 4 x 8 panel with fixed tracks, corner tunnel and houses have to be stored away. No chance to run your trains in the attic or the besement. You were declared mental ill by your neighbors if you did that.
Back to purchasing a train set for the first time, for your son of course. There were 3 makers of H0 trains and train sets in Germany then:
Märklin
TRIX EXPRESS
Fleischmann
All declared the make their trains in "H0" and to run on tracks with a gauge of 16,5mm. And at just this point every communatlity ends. All 3 train makers were instead united in incompatibiltiy to each other.
For this you have to make an personal decision in the toy shop which will be determinative for the rest of your life and the life of your son. This decision has a lot of confessional similarity: You have to choose one of the 3 brands! And stay with it for the rest of your life.
Back at home with the train set smuggled into the house like contraband, your 3 years old should not knowing about it. When he is finally in bed and sleeping, you are allowed to unwrap the train set and start building it up.
You were astonished the loco has only 3 speed levels: Fast, faster and even faster. The German ones had a fourth speed level: Still faster.
The days between Christmas and New Year were the preciousest of all, you are in holliday, the train set is built up and you can run trains. Every year the model railroad grews, more rails, turnouts, more cars, a second loco and sometimes all the stuff was fixed onto a 4x8 board. One day your 13 years old tells you, he is far more interested to buy LPs from his favorite rock band as in toy trains.
End of a dream of you have to go illegal. Meaning to become a ousider in your neighborhood; you are the grown up wacky man playing with trains.
That were the good (or not so good) old times of 1960's here. Back to 1965? Never!
![[Image: dsc026217akai.jpg]](https://abload.de/image.php?img=dsc026217akai.jpg)
Running toy trains like this? No, i won't!
![[Image: dsc02626ofki6.jpg]](https://abload.de/image.php?img=dsc02626ofki6.jpg)
Running with this traditional electrical replacement for a clockwork? Fast, faster, even faster, still faster, ridiculous faster, out of curve flying...(Have a look onto the deeeep flanges which should prevent this). The last speed level is often necessary for seeing the lights of a loco model.
Simply no!
To make the step from toy trains to model trains it takes a lot of one's own initiative. Getting your locos running in DC like the prototype, you have to deal with a lot of mechanical treatments for your stuff. Terms and definitions like: gear ratio reducing, new motors with more civilzed running qualities, reliable current pick up, equalized running gear and some more should not be foreign words to you.
I deal with this stuff. Before i going to convert any loco to DCC oder DCC/Sound, this loco has to run flawless in DC mode. And only then DCC is able topping the performance still more.
Lutz