Label: Transportation for the masses  

Last week omscaler wrote about housing. Now common transportation is being examined. Obviously The Omega Scale Railway is transportation. But what about non railway means of transport? During the railway era, transport evolved from walking, riding on animals or riding in wagons and carts to well-designed automobiles. The Omega Scale Railway will feature at least some of these. Back in the day, ox drawn wagons worked in tandem with railroads. More to come. Omscaler

Label: Houses for the masses

Yep, it's time to think about the people. Those hardy souls who toil and sweat to make modern transportation available for the rest of the population. After a hard day of working on The Omega Scale Railway, men and women need a place of refuge and respite. So, now is the time to plan for residences for the residents. We obviously need more than a freight house. Even though this makes do as a temporary abode. And what else? Stores, businesses, factories. As you have probably guessed, the list is growing exponentially. Yours again, a determined omscaler

Label: More progress    

Just a little update. Work is naturally ongoing. Currently, larger batches of production have been arranged. The last work aid, a marking gauge has turned out well. The plan is to now produce in groups with an eye toward a more robust Omega Scale Railway. Diligence will pay off. BTW, I noticed on Facebook that someone has made some railway equipment in 1 to 500 scale. 3D printing was mentioned. The example I saw looked great. I am going to try to get more details. Right now, I do not know much about the examples I saw. Busy still, omscaler 

Label: The Modular Way

Modularity. What is it? To most, modular homes, modular programming, modular furniture. I associate these things with contemporary technology. I am sure there were historic modular ideas. I just don't know about them or forgot about them. What is current and has been for years in model railroading is modules. They are quite prolific. I have made larger scale modules myself. I have an N-scale module in procrastinated progress right now. (good 2018 goal, eh?) Therefore, The Omega Scale Railway will be introducing modular design in 2018. I can hear the applause and cheers now. “Why modules for this scale?”, you might be asking yourself. Good question! “It seems like everything is small enough now!”, you might exclaim. Good exclamation! The answer. An eight foot layout is hard to put in the front seat of your car. An eight foot layout is hard to put under a standard length bed. An eight foot module is hard to put on the table with your green eggs and ham. (if you have a shorter table and like green eggs and ham.)  (bloggers note: the previous is from a Dr. Suess book, Green Eggs and Ham, Sam I am.) By now many of you are probably wondering why I am disparaging a beloved children's book. I am not. I am just saying there are times when something smaller is needed to get something more. Hence, modules. Once again, your compartmentalizing omscaler

Label: Done and done!

As promised, the Union City Freight House is now complete. This structure in real life was located in Union City, Tennessee. This is west Tennessee, this part of the three states of Tennessee is the “plains” of eastern United States. This was once where the buffalo roamed. But back in the day, Union City was an active railroad location. The historic Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis crossed the historic Gulf Mobile and Ohio at Union City. The old union station for these railroads supposedly still exists. It may be a local business now. Anyway, with our freight house operational, we can now ship literally tons of less-than-carload boxcars from this location. The fun continues! omscaler

Label: It's a New Year!

Yep! Out with the old. In with the new. For many, the new year is a time for new beginnings. Here at The Omega Scale Railway it is time for renewed efforts, renewed commitment to development success.  Last year saw much progress. Every necessary component was successfully developed. The only possible exception was a motor system for locomotive operation. I say this because we did motivate the yard shifter successfully, though somewhat crudely. Crude because we had to get things done. We can now move forward confidently. We believe all unknowns have been reconciled. We will definitely implement an improved motor system. Also, we will meet the need for all types of rolling stock. At this point, the previously mentioned freight house should be completed. Omscaler does not believe in resolutions but rather sets goals. Statistically, this method shows a dynamically more success rate than resolution setting. Why? Who cares! Let’s do what works! The Omega Scale Railway has numerous goals for 2018. Let’s see how many happen. By the way, 2018 is the year of the Dog in Asian culture. Chinese New Year will follow on the heels of Jan. 1, in late January or early February. In Asia, the dog is very auspicious. If a “Dog” comes to your house, it is considered most favorable. I hope we all have a “Dog” year! Here at OSR we are definitely going to try. Again, an optimistic omscaler

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