November 2008.

April 2009 will see the start of luxurious passenger rail vacation journeys on scenic routes throughout the United States. The American Traveler train will be joined by the American Explorer which will be followed by the American Adventurer.

Passengers will be able to purchase a week on a private car or just reserve a single room on a vintage rail car on either a one-time basis or a time-share basis for the years of traveling ahead.

The new rail vacation journeys will include frequent layovers at metropolitan and isolated destinations allowing passengers to sleep and dine on board while enjoying a wide variety of attractions ranging from the museums of Washington DC to the Grand Canyon.

The American Traveler and other train cars feature elegant lounges, fine dining and spacious sleeping accommodations with full bathrooms having showers. By day, bedrooms provide a relaxing personal sitting area. Passengers on private cars travel in exclusive vintage luxury once enjoyed by a privileged few, with private dining, lounges and personal crew.

In years past, passenger trains were the primary method of nationwide travel. Many rich and famous business moguls and celebrities had their own private cars. As modern automobile transportation and airline service became available, the reduced need for rail transportation caused many beautiful classic rail cars to be taken out of service. The best of these cars will be used after refurbishment reclaims their original splendor and they are rebuilt to comply with Amtrak mechanical requirements.

As an example; a passenger could reserve the entire Abraham Lincoln car for a completely private experience with friends or family. The Abraham Lincoln was originally constructed in 1910 by the Pullman Co. The red gum wood interior has been meticulously restored.

Rail vacations are for 8 days and 7 nights. Some return to the place of departure and others are one way. Train bedrooms sleep up to 4 and private cars accommodate up to 7 passengers.

Train’Share cars travel as part of Amtrak and regional railroad trains. They “switch” between railroads as required to visit and park on rail track “sidings” at different destinations. Private Train’Share locomotives, starting with the engine named Choo-Choo, will pull future trains.

James has sent in this photo and information on his 00 / 4mm Great Scimitar Railway for publication:

Photo shows 4468 mallard crossing Abergynolwyn suspension bridge.

The Great Scimitar Railway is a garden railway that runs around the perimeter of my garden. It runs for just under one scale mile.

The line starts off level and slowly gets steeper as you go along the main straight, it then curves right to enter a passing loop and climb the steep gradient. The line then curves left to go over the viaduct above a waterfall and then goes through a tunnel where it turns back to single track. The line then sweeps left, right and then right again to follow the fence line up to the top station, to the carriage sheds and turntable.

Stan has a question for readers about live steam locos for his model RR layout:

“I have been searching the internet looking for a ‘live’ steam locomotive in a scale that is H.O. 027 etc. – something I can set up inside. All I’ve been able to find are outdoor models most of which are large enough to ride. Does anyone know if such models even exist and can someone recommend a manufacturer(s)?”

To comment on Stan’s posting click on the green comments link below.

Daniel President of the Central AR Model RR Club has sent in this photo and story for publication.

Photo shows Father and Son enjoying the Central AR Model RR Club (CAMRC) layout at
Festival of Lights, 2007

Central AR Model RR Club (CAMRC) members are train hobbyists dedicated to the advancement of the world’s greatest hobby of model railroading through designing, constructing, and demonstrating train layouts at public sites and events, building local community awareness of the railroad history of this area, and sponsoring educational activities about railroading. Members enjoy traveling by train as rail fans, learning about railroads in this region, and sharing the fascinating history of railroads.

Club members are engaged with many railroads and are involved in several different scales of model railroading – including HO, O, N, and G. The Central AR Model RR Club welcomes new members, and “newbies” (newcomers to the hobby) are welcome at monthly CAMRC club meetings and club-sponsored activities.

Meeting time at the CAMRC is invested in sharing club news, planning future events, orienting newbies to the hobby, and arranging train layout learning/working sessions on selected nights and weekends. There is always plenty to do and learn in the world’s greatest hobby, so join the fun!

Families are welcome participants, and parents are expected to accompany their children to activities, become “coaches” to them, and learn about the hobby together. CAMRC is a club of active “doers” – not passive watchers – and there is hands-on work to do for adults and kids. Actually, we believe the work is “play.”

The Central AR Model RR Club is located in Conway, AR.

If you would like to tell others about your model railroad club go to http://www.model-railroad-resources.com/train-club.html

Stephen sent in this information about how members of the Galveston Railroad Museum are coping with the disaster that destroyed almost everything.

Rex (pictured here with his grandson) is from Nowra in New South Wales, Australia and has kindly sent in this photo for publication along with some information about his Garden Railway.

Here is what Rex has to say:

Just 2 hrs drive south of Sydney Australia is the town of Nowra were some Large scale “G scale” train enthusiasts get together to let of some steam. I have a small back yard but that doesn’t stop the trainers from down under. After 12 months fixing, changing and rearranging I don’t think I’ll ever finish this layout. But that’s just half the fun of having the back yard light up at night with half the kids in the street showing up with excitement written all over their faces.

What I’ve found is the parents are just as excited about the trains as their children. I have fun repairing, painting and rebuilding the buildings a couple of times.

There is always someone who has a bigger and better track and there are plenty of those here in Ozie land compared to mine but the camaraderie between all us trainees and the information that is shared around creates a great support team.

Getting parts is sometime a challenge but with the internet parts are only a finger tip away.

This is a photo supplied by club member Mike of the Ashmore turntable with Reading N1 at Anthracite Model Train Society in Hazleton Pa. USA.

Club member Phil submits this posting about the Ann Arbor Model Rail Road Club

“I am working with the president of our Ann Arbor Model Rail Road Club in NTRAK modules in his basement. We feel that this is a very good way to promote the hobby of model railroading. We have five other members involved in this project along with us. Our main club is HO scale so the use of N scale is more to our liking since it is easily portable and we can get more trackage and scenery in smaller spaces.”

The Ann Arbor Model Rail Road Club is located in the former Michigan Central depot in the Village of Dexter, Michigan at 3487 Broad Street, Dexter, MI, USA.

David is looking for a replacement locomotive and wants to hear from you:

“I am seeking to replace a Pennsylvania GG-1 RTR maroon locomotive that was destroyed by flooding damage and have been unable to locate any to date. I have seen several ads for the green version for about $50 or $60 but none for the maroon version. Does anyone know of any for sale?”

I had an interesting email from a reader who wanted to remain anonymous (I’ll call him Jim). He said he was a beginner to model railroading and found a lot of the terms and words used in the hobby were unnecessarily complicated. He wondered if veterans in the hobby liked to keep it that way to stop too many newbies coming into the hobby. Jim admitted to me he was only speculating on this, but he found many simple things were explained in highly technical ways using long-winded explanations.

Jim also mentioned he had joined a local model RR club. Jim found 3 members were really helpful and two were really secretive and didn’t want to share many ideas.

I suggested to Jim that most people I had met in model RR clubs were more than helpful and that maybe some of it comes down to individual personalities. What do you think?

Without mentioning names or clubs, do you think model RR club members are generally helpful to each other… particularly to newbies?

Do you think some model railroading terms are unnecessarily complicated? Can you give readers some examples?

This blog is for you. Have your say and comment using the green comments link below.

Palmer has a question about railroad color schemes.

“I would like to know what the color scheme used by the U.S. Military Railroad during the Civil War siege of Petersburg?”

Ed has an o gauge layout and asks this question about the future of O gauge, technology and model railroading in general:

“I have been into o gauge trains for over 60 years. Having said that if you buy trains today, which I have many, the value seems to drop faster and repairs are very hard to do unless you replace the expensve componants.

With the old trains you can fix this, or get a few new brushes, and you were back in good shape.
What do your readers see as the future of trains? How can more young people be attracted to the hobby?

And, making parts available, that can be replaced easily by the owner?

Hope you understand what I am trying to say. Train prices are very high and the money is getting tight. Now, what will be the future of o gauge trains?”

Thanks Ed, I sure there will be someone who would like to share an opinion.

Thanks to George who has very kindly sent this testimonial. Your encouragement is much appreciated.

“I have downloaded ‘Model Train Help’ and am amazed at the numerous items that you cover and at a level that all can relate to and understand. I am a 65 year old university professor and recently picked model railroading as a hobby I can take into my retirement years. I wish I had started years ago. In just a short period of time this has become a hobby that both my wife and myself have come to cherish. Your e-book is an outstanding contribution to the world of model railroading and is worth much more than what you presently charge. Especially for a beginner, it is priceless. “

In time for the 2008 Olympics, China gets its first high speed bullet train service. The new bullet train runs from Beijing to the Olympic co-host city of Tianjin. The trip will reduce journey times by almost one hour taking only 30 minutes to travel the 68 mile route.

The chinese built trains costing 20 billion yuan (approx USD$2.9 billion) will travel at 217mph compared to the Japanese bullet trains 186mph and the French trains at 198mph.

There will be 47 daily bullet train services.