Category Archives: Observations

Wheel and Track Standards As you can read in this issue, a new O Scale wheel standard has been proposed by Gary Schrader. In actuality, what is new is the proposal to codify the wheel parameters, not the wheel design … Continue reading →

Another Take on Standards I posted the beginnings of these thoughts online and several people thought it deserved a wider exposure so I’m developing them further here.

So, it’s Doom and Gloom everywhere you look. We’re inundated with bad news on television, the radio, newspapers, and the Internet. But I was witness to the most amazing sight in January of this year and this is the first … Continue reading →

Welcome to the seventh anniversary edition of O Scale Trains Magazine! It doesn’t seem like it was all that long ago that I decided to publish an all O Scale magazine. I guess the aphorism is true: Time flies when … Continue reading →

Has it been a year already? Hard to believe it has. Although Brian did the heavy lifting on issue #36 that was the issue we announced the staff changes and my mug appeared on the masthead for the first time. … Continue reading →

Okay, so it took a while but I think I get it now. I’ve been puzzled in the past by the people who say they model in 3-Rail O Scale. I see their layouts and fantastic modeling work that rival … Continue reading →

Standards? Standards!? “We don’t need no stinkin’ standards!” In the last six months I have examined four locomotives that did not meet certain NMRA standards. Three did not meet S-4.2 Wheels, Standard Scales. Two did not meet the S-9 Electrical … Continue reading →

You Have Spoken As soon as issue #36 reached our First Class subscribers, we started to get feedback about the changes we announced in this space. Of greatest concern to readers was my decision to run Roger C. Parker’s ”Traction … Continue reading →

You Have Spoken As soon as issue #36 reached our First Class subscribers, we started to get feedback about the changes we announced in this space. Of greatest concern to readers was my decision to run Roger C. Parker’s ”Traction … Continue reading →

A Changing of the Guard Welcome to 2008, our seventh year of publishing OST. Those of you who scrutinize each issue from cover to cover may have noticed a change in the masthead. That ain’t Scace’s mug in the Editor’s … Continue reading →