Label: The disruptive economy

This is the era of disruptive technology. Old line firms have gone. Others are either going away or attempting to transform themselves. All of this has had profound effects on the public in general. The Omega Scale Railway is poised to join the ranks of those enterprises that have changed the landscape of what has traditionally been. The OSR is unique in its characteristics because the technology is relatively simple. First is the substructure or base. The base does not need to be made of wood, though it can. This can potentially save hundreds to thousands of dollars in plywood. Say good-bye Georgia Pacific. Next is the right-of-way or roadbed. Again, no wood, foam or similar material. The rail ties are not plastic as is often found at present. Say good-bye Dow Chemical. The rails themselves are not nickle-silver. Say good-bye Atlas Tool Company, Hillside, New Jersey (nothing against New Jersey, the Garden State. People in that area need good vegetables!). Say good-bye Peco. Say good-bye Homestead Mining. And what about crossing rivers and other obstacles? Say good-bye Central Valley, Plastruct. What is on top of the rails? Wheels, of course. Say good-bye Atlas, Northwest Shortline. And the wheels are in trucks (rail-car trucks). Say good-bye Kadee. What about the rolling stock? Say good-bye Athern, Atlas, Bachmann, IHC,Life-like, Roundhouse-Model Die Casting, Model Power Rivarossi and more. What powers the locomotives? Say good-bye MRC. What no power pack? Say good-bye local power company. Scenery? Say good-bye Woodland Scenics (maybe?). Where are we now? Wow! As you can see. The potential for disruption is vast. Well, maybe not. I have many items from many of the above mentioned makers. I have no plans to get rid of them. Still, the OSR is a game changer. Change is inevitable. Who knows what transformations will take place in year 2018 (the year of the Dog for those of you who need to know ;) <= emoticon with wink.)? As you can see, The Omega Scale Railway is very different. It utilizes different resources. But also returns model railroaders to an earlier time when most things were completely scratch built. Challenging, I know. But that is where the fun is (insert another emoticon with a wink). So, perhaps this year we will see who will step up to the plate at the OSR. Maybe I should watch out. Maybe someone else will take the lead in The Omega Scale. Maybe? We will see. I am hoping that all have a great and prosperous year ahead. The optimistic omscaler

Label: A Christmas tradition

With apologies to the estate of Clement Clark Moore.

T'was the night before Christmas when all through the freight yard,

Not a switcher was stirring, not even a car.

The knapsacks were hung by the coal stove with care,

In hopes that Saint Nicholas would fill them there.

The track-gang was slouched in their bunk-beds while visions of rail tools danced in their heads.

And I in my red/green striped P.J. overalls and cap had just settled my brains for a long winter's nap.

When down on the mainline there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my crew-bunk to see what the matter.

Over to the window I flew in a flash, ripped off the shade and kicked out the sash.

The moon reflected off the dusting of snow and gave the quiet rail yard a nocturnal glow.

When what to my groggy eyes should now display,

But eight tiny boxcars and a miniature locomotive, type Shay.

The little old engineer, lively and quick, gave me pause;

his antics reminded me of Santa Claus.

Faster than a speeding passenger train they came,

The driver blew the whistle, rang the bell and called each car by name.

Now Northwestern! Now New York Central! Now Milwaukee and Penn!

On Baltimore! On Frisco! On Chessie! On L&N!

To the top of the shed! To the top of the wall! Roll away, roll away all!

As cinders blow upward when the fast express rolls by, the train in passing sends them toward the sky.

So on to the crew cars they flew, with cars full of goodies and the Claus-engineer too.

And then in a moment I heard on the roof above, a jolt and bang as each car stopped with a shove.

As a pulled my head back through the wrecked window and was turning around,

down the stove pipe and out the fire door came the little engineer with a bound.

He was dressed in white denim with green and red stripes from his head to his foot,

And his overalls were all tarnished with cinders and soot.

A bundle of goods he had flung on his back,

and he looked like a paymaster happily opening his sack.

His eyes glowed like stars! His dimples were merry!

His cheeks were like ash-dusted roses, his nose like a dusty cherry!

His mouth was turned up in smile, and his snow-white beard looked a little shorter than a mile.

The smoke-stack looking pipe he held in his teeth, the billowing smoke circled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a boiler shaped belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowl of jelly.

He spoke not a word but filled the hanging knapsacks with new tools then turned with a crack and next went up the stove pipe on his way back.

He sprang to his engine and pulled on the whistle and away the little freight rolled like a wind driven thistle.

But I heard him exclaim as they rolled out of sight

“Merry Christmas to all and To all good night!”

I couldn't have said it better myself. omscaler

Label: What is needed?

As mentioned previously, the OSR is gearing up for more equipment. The big question is, what is most needed right now? Well, (to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas) one yard shifter, two Moguls, three red cabooses (caboosi?), four flat cars, five gondolas, six tank cars, seven, coal hoppers, eight covered hoppers,  nine out side braced wood boxcars, ten refrigerator cars, eleven wood sheathed boxcars, twelve sheet steel boxcars. But seriously, what does a small railroad really need? Let's look at what businesses need rail service and also what geography is the railroad located in. Potential answers: large factories – boxcars, gondolas, coal hoppers, flat cars. Food processing – refrigerators, boxcars, coal hoppers. Note: if this railroad is placed back in the day, lots of plants had their own steam generation capability, hence coal deliveries. Chemical plants – tank cars. Plus smaller distributors need all of the above in smaller amounts. And where to put the main rail yard? And does the railway cross rivers, lakes, ridges and mountains? We need bridges and extra locomotives. So, start small and work your way up. The sky is the limit. omscaler

Label: Holiday Season

The Holiday season is now in full swing. It is a great time of year. This is the time when many people put train at the foot of their Christmas tree. Fun, fun, fun. Is that what it is all about. Yes and no. what is wrong with good clean fun. Special programs and activities abound. Also, many groups and individuals give to those who need help. Also, fun? A philosopher once said there is no truly unselfish act. This is great. That means a gift is always a win-win. Here at The Omega Scale railway, plans are afoot for upgrades and improvements. A fitting past-time for years end. And, where I am at, the weather is significantly colder. Good to have indoor activities. Your omscaler is busily biting off more than he can chew. Whatever. We will chew harder and faster. Again, fun, fun. That's we are all about here at OSR, fun. Have fun readers and be safe as you crank up for Christmas and New Year's. omscaler

Label: Heading toward year's end

Wow! We are already at November's last week. Thanksgiving time is here. It seems like the year has blown by. Traditionally, many people would have a model train running under the old Christmas tree. I like this time of year. However, many people do not have happy memories at this time. Sometimes, family problems are inadvertently highlighted. Often by strife, want or family problems in general. We here at The Omega Scale Railway are mindful of this. Hopefully, you faithful reader, will think about this as well. Even if you are one who is not so happy at the holiday season. We all can feel better by being generous or a help to those who may be in need. Your friend year round, omscaler

Label: Freight house going up

     A new freight house is being constructed for The Omega Scale Railway. This effort is our very first structure for the OSR and we are excited to relate this to our reading public. As a matter of note, the small town train station was a major hub of activity in a bygone era. The romantic allure and atmosphere of this public place is not now understood or appreciated. However, movies from that time period often include this place as an exciting starting place for the stories they portrayed. And in real life, the excitement was palpable. The passenger's comings and goings were the stuff of real life drama. Especially for small town America. As an adjunct to the station's passengers, freight and parcels were coming and going as well. Sometimes the freight activities were right in the next room. Often they were in their own special building. Hence, our construction efforts. And, for very small towns, passengers left from the freight house. The freight agent being the ticket agent as well. ALL ABOAARD!, omscaler

Label: This is exciting!

Yes! We now have a clear path forward. We have always had a plan, but this is different. I can feel the electricity in the atmosphere. It is all coming together. I feel buoyant. The turnout issue is a non issue. The solution has already presented itself. There is something about seeing a vision materializing that just rev's me up. In my mind's eye I can see an extensive 1/384 layout that includes water features, bridges and foliage. As Teddy Roosevelt would say, “Charge!”. Yours from a low orbit, omscaler

Label: OMG again again!

Last installment related the omscaler was laboring to get things in order (I skipped the obvious 'back on track' pun). We got that done. But now the actual retainer is giving us fits. We will prevail. This is critical. The entire project is at stake. As you previously read, there was a delay regarding the possibility of printing track components. Omscaler was busy during the delay gathering actual historic car reporting marks from websites thereby building a large database of this information. Now we do have track specifications and a working test track. (we still needs turnouts [switches]). Now, we would like to execute the plan. But, we gotta' get the retainer right. And we will. omscaler

Label: OMG! Here we go again!

Last installment, omscaler related the account of the “reworked” test track. Well, now it seems that the “improved” trackage looks better but, now tolerances are “improved” as well. What does this mean? Well, fellow travelers, it means the as usual erstwhile (and patient) omscaler must now “rework” so called equipment retainers. The old retainers are now too thick and prone to tear off. Not a good outcome for industrial equipment at all. Hopefully, by the time you, the reader see this, all will be well. Still persistent, omscaler

Label: More complicated

And now it gets more complicated. As I complete the “reworked” test track, I can see where there is the need for a turnout (also called switch). The reason being that when the main oval is complete, there is no way to put equipment into/ on the track. This is one aspect that readers may not yet comprehend. Specifically, The Omega Scale Railway is so small that it is powered by a sub-surface conveyor. The turnout then is necessary to put equipment onto an oval track. This is, a matter of fact, what happened before. Your omscaler got the cart out in front of the horse. I got the oval assembled without the drive cable. I did leave a panel on one side for the purpose of mounting the drive unit and placing cars with their subsurface retainers on the track. However, this was not what was needed. So, now we have our ducks in a row. And forward we go! (Hey look I'm a poet!) Omscaler

Label: “The Laws of A-Track-shun” [The Laws of Attraction?]

Well, as you readers know, last installment of The Omega Scale heralded the completion of the test track. And, to be honest, it worked nominally well. However, to be completely honest, the level of “reworking” was quite high. And that is the problem with being somewhat of a perfectionist. Perfectionists like me now see the idea of “if you're going to rework it, at least make it better.” so, that is what is now in progress. This will delay some other efforts but will make the perfectionist in me happy. BTW, I wonder why I can't be like this as far as my own housekeeping chores? Oh, well I guess I can't be perfectionist in everything. Pick your battles, eh? Anyway, along with reworking the test track, the 0-6-0 shifter now needs reworking. It got “damaged” during the initial break-in of the test track. No pun intended or enjoyed. The plus side of this is that the shifter needed details added anyway.  Also, a boxcar was “damaged” too, but has how been repaired. It looks like all this “damage” is giving new meaning to the term “test track”. Still persistent, omscaler

Label: It's time to say “Whew” again.

Yes, it's time to say “Whew” again. I just put together the critical test track. Where the “whew” comes in again is that the omscaler again has gotten too excited and pushed to hard and had to back up and redo. So much for “enthusiasm”. Yeah, enthusiasm, that sounds a lot more dignified. But, back to the matter. We have a test track. In other words, our omega scale equipment has at least a rudimentary “home”. Now maybe we can “successfully” fast track (pun intended) more equipment development. Still excited, omscaler

Label: Procrastination and the battle for craftsmanship

Well, dear readers, I sit here writing the next installment of The Omega Scale Railway blog. Yesterday, I was diligently working on the completion of a full fledged test track. I only have a short straight section at this point. Anyway, as I completed certain components, I saw that what had happened your erstwhile omscaler had once again gotten into a bit of a rush. Stuff wasn't going to work right. So, what to do? There was no other choice but to stop. Scrap the current materials and get back to basics. Coach Bear Bryant would relate. So, that is what I did. Your omscaler is happy to report that progress is once again on track. Specs are on spec and so on. Lesson relearned. Once again, an anticipatory(?) omscaler

Label: Slowly, but surely

Slowly and hopefully surely. This is how we are now progressing. Things are definitely looking up. Also, new methods for locomotive construction have been developed. This will produce better performance and better appearance it is believed. Again, car reporting marks have become “home grown” and look cool. Next post should have some definite results to report. omscaler

Label: Good news and bad news

First things first. We are still remembering and concerned about those whose lives have been impacted by devastating weather. Even though this blog is about having fun and building a hobby, no right minded person is indifferent to the plight of first Houston area people and now Florida people. After all, this blog is really about relating to people. We all know that the last storms did so much damage that it will literally be years rebuilding. Many lives will never return to the previous norm.

     Now at this point I do have some bad news. Not seriously bad like the aforementioned but relevant to this effort. The print shop I had do the run of boxcars lost a key person over the summer do to a move necessitated by a job change of the person's spouse. Understandable. As a result, the shop has been unable to continue producing key components for The Omega Scale Railway. Particularly, trackage. This of course is critical for a railroad. Disappointing, but sometimes things happen. Now, for some good news. When it became likely that no further components would be coming, the erstwhile omscaler got busy think about solutions. As it always happens, solutions were available. Relatively inexpensive solutions at that. Hooray! This is part of the mission of The Omega Scale Railway. The OSR or as sometime referred to, The very small railroad, has been developed with people on a budget in mind. The nuts and bolts can be produced for ten to twenty dollars in our estimates. With the aid of a home built beam compass, large radius curves can be developed. This had been the reason for pursuing results from the print shop. Also, it gets better, a certain type of tool was found at a craft store. This tool  had been observed in a demo online. The internet to the rescue again! And it gets even better, there is online “freeware” for railroad lettering. This will have to be done within certain legal limits but still for the home builder, these things are usually no charge as stated on the web site. So, lucky me. We can still move forward (hopefully) with no further delays. To recap, broad radius curves, new fabricating tools, graphics, wow! (Maybe the shop can now pursue business inline with its goals as well?) It's win, win for all! Until next time and wishing the best for those weather affected, omscaler

Label: Delays, persistence and the Mother of all storms

Hello everyone in blog world. Some of you may not be aware that this blog is posted on Tuesdays at six am Pacific time. However, this week the post will occur by 1 pm CDT. Frankly, your omscaler did not have one ready to post earlier. So, this week we are a little late. I actually was working at night this past weekend. I normally do this to make ends meet. At the workplace I have access to the internet. So, starting Friday evening, I began hurricane monitoring. I do not live in Florida, but some of my family has family in Fort Lauderdale. The the people in Florida are too elderly to travel. Hence the personal connection. Also, a lady at my workplace had a niece in Miami. This person did not leave in time to avoid road closures.  All things being equal, I did give a sigh of relief when the storm went more westerly. However, I feel that what saved some people was going to endanger others. This was a dangerous storm. All in all, I was somewhat distracted, worried and a little apprehensive. I should try not to worry. It does not help anything. Anyway, after a successful locomotive test, the pressing need became trackage. Yep, that's right. Nowhere to run. Plenty of places to hide but no where to run. How did this sorry state of affairs come to be. Well, my erstwhile supplier may have become less erstwhile. After an initial success with boxcar production, I was informed that track could be done as well. Such turned out not to be. Delay after delay. Furthermore I took a little time away from design and building to push the locomotive test forward. So there I was. Achieving some success and poised to move forward. Some weeks went by. The supplier had internet problems, design problems, miss-communication. Now I am in the process of designing a solution myself. One way or another, we will move forward. Other solutions have presented themselves as well. Or maybe the supplier will be able to meet the need. My hopes and my best to all affected by severe weather in Texas and Florida. Until next time, an optimistic omscaler

Label: The successful effort

We are announcing a success in the post rework test of the 0-6-0 Shifter locomotive. Initial trials were frustrating due to weak retainers. Wednesday, August 30^th, at 11:39 pm we attained success. To be precise, only the locomotive itself was fitted with the new equipment. The tender was not but will be shortly if not already done by release of this post. Track is still a work in progress. Hopefully, that will be operational soon as well. The Omega Scale Railway wishes to thank “Microlotive®” our in house development arm for their invaluable assistance in the completion of this refit and test. Til next time, an elated omscaler