Clinton Ross

Those are very nice and demonstrate a perfect example of the benefits for collecting DB Epoch IV and the benefits of collecting DR Epoch III, to wit: (1) after spending €800± the DB collector has five of the finest freight cars made. (2) since the manufacturer did not make those cars in DR Epoch III the DR collector still has €800± in the bank. P.S. If memory serves (it often does not) the maker of those cars released two complimentary sets with different car numbers which permits the lucky-duck collector/operator another excuse for repeating Step (1) above.

A fellow who manufactures very nice 0-scale turnouts stated in no uncertain terms that a #6 frog in HO code 100 was the same exact frog in 1:45 code 100; conversely, a #8 double-slip HO frog could be used in any scale so long as the track height remained the same. Taking his lecture to heart a few (semi-decent) code 100 #5 turnouts have been made using HO code 100 #5 frogs. (Despite having a nifty re$i$tance-$oldering kit it remains unused as it scares the willies out of me; hence, a smallish budget soldering iron was used on the fledgling turnouts... which becomes my added excuse for the amateur appearance and the need for slow running.) With Lenz/Peco double-slip turnouts fetching anywhere up to $300 on eBay... it may be of some value to you to consider reducing your code 148 stuff, in places, to code 100 rail. All the Lenz, Schnellenkamp (and ETS tinplate!) locomotives and rolling- stock run on code100 very well. HO double-slip turnouts are cheap, especially in the once-default code 100. With the ready-made frog ripped up and spiked down it is (almost) child’s play to fabricate the rest of the turnout. Save money! Improve scale appearance! Shower once a week! Clinton (refrains from all of it)

Hallo! eBay always has S-scale DR Epoch III boxcars (Gedeckter) but always with the curved rooves. Despite looking for over a year a DR G-type boxcar with a flat roof has not been found. One is needed. Did anyone EVER make a two-axle DR Epoch III flat-roof boxcar. Thanks and good luck persevering with an outrageous scale! Clinton

Alas, it still will not fit. That wee hand-powered turntable is for very small tank locos and wagons needing repair that can be pushed into the shed. Lenz admitted that their turntable is for the railroader that sets the trains temporarily on the floor when time and space permit without the complication of digging a pit. A.N.F.S.C.D. Modeling 0 1:45 with code100 rail is fraught with fraud: in this case vendors masquerading their 138, 148 and 157+ codes as 100, said the fool trying to save funds.

Have a care! The next steps from a fictional museum include: Theme Park scenery including large animated figurines of Disney and Mattel characters. Mixing multiple scale railroad and other transportation modes, especially Hornby coal wagons. Placement of pre-built structures having nothing to do with anything. Additionally, placement of nude figures in inappropriate positions. Creating implausible narratives for The Grand Canyon, Eifel Tower and Berlin Wall using the same siding. Naturally, the more creative museum railway directors provide evermore fanciful depictions.

Although official photos may have had all-one-type trains... mixed rakes were the norm for DR Epoch IV; thus, your very fine photos look authentic! P.S. If that leading axle's flange depth irritates you (as it always did, me), Weinert makes a reasonably-priced RP25 pop-in replacement; its two defects, shiny rail contour and center hubs, can easily be remedied with Blackn-It and some RAL red.

Notwithstanding that they may alleviate bending, kneeling and consequential painful and/or difficult physical contortions... non-mechanical points/switches/turnouts/damned-things are the bane of outdoor model railroads, especially at ground-level. They jam, they short-out, they smoke, they set fire to cats and in the end always get discarded to allow manual-throws instead. (As switch reliability is dependent on smooth and reliable physical contact of the rails, changing to manual throws will not reduce the maintenance required as all sorts of stuff manages to squeeze into the smallest space to prevent safe passage.) Is it any wonder that the elderly tend to raise their roadbed to more accessible and less gritty levels?

https://www.real-modell.de/basis-bausatz-lokschuppen-schoeneweide.html

WHEN THE WIFE'S AWAY.... This was penned twenty-or-so years ago during a harried growth spurt involving two-rail European HO model trains with membership in two European Train Enthusiasts (ETE) stateside chapters which were 88±% three-rail Märklin HO, 10±% LGB and a smattering of everything else. Members shared their enthusiasm for creatively sneaking purchases into the layout rooms, steamer trunks and other hiding places. A fellow-enthusiast wrote to the ETE website with heartfelt anxiety, “What do I say to my wife when she asks, ‘Don’t you have enough trains?’” To this day he annually e-mails his thanks for the reply, “No, I do not! As you know I am attracted to all things beautiful, graceful and lovely. C’mere, you!” Clinton

For every rule of thumb someone somewhere has photo-proof of an exception. There are, however, a few generalizations for German Epoch III standard-gauge two-axle ballast cars : 1. They weigh less than tank cars. 2. They almost never get included in fast freights. 3. They do not travel very far as ballast is readily available. 4. They look cool. 5. Model manufacturers make certain that their DR Epoch III version is the very last to be made.

No idea how the YouTube address switched to the search above. The video of the smoking-in-other-places BR 75 is :

https://www.google.com/search?q=spur+1+br+75&rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS938US938&oq=spur+1+br+75&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30i625j0i390l2.9177j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:505f1de8,vid:9cpRLEtcx68

Since the last 100 years of modeling steam engines have been accompanied with whoosh-whoosh sounds from puckered cheeks and chemist pellets containing "smoke" we have tended to treat the most recent advancements in sound and smoke technology as if they were wondrous; alas, they still provide only approximations. Admittedly some Gauge I (and upwards) loks have some nifty devices where the "steam" also comes out of places other than the smokestack, but hardy in prototypical fashion. Smaller scales continue on providing realism with more wink-wink-nudge-nudge activity. The idea of potentially sacrificing your otherwise nifty Lenz BR 64 under the guise of "improvements", can disrupt your entire life, prevent bodily functions from working properly, including restorative sleep, and alienate you from your otherwise supporting hobbyists. Advice? Sure, why not? 1. If Lenz's idea of "smoke" is important to you, sell your model to someone who still makes chuff-chuff and whoo-whoo noises and buy one with factory-installed equipment. 2. If you can afford subbing-out to do the retro work, do so. 3. If you can afford to pay yourself for the experience without regret, pick up a Dremel tool and have at it. Old Seuthe units work okay but lack the pulsing chuff mechanism. Please take plenty of close-up pictures so the rest of us can say: A. That's interesting. B. I would not have done that in a thousand years. C. Oh, well, he was probably well-off enough to not be bothered by the wreckage. Remember, without bold, courageous, daring and/or desperate pioneers, where would we be now? Clinton P.S. On order, forever, are KM1 BR 91 and MBW BR 86, both with factory sound and smoke; but, they're not here!

What a wonderful find on the last day of 2022! 2 years ago the HO DR Epoch III collection was sold ("thrown out" on eBay) consisting of 160+steam locos, 900+ freight cars and 300+ passenger cars in order to convert the small basement room to O (or 0) scale 1:45. DR was initially picked to prevent the collector-itis bug from taking effect where, were it DB, would have necessitated 10 times the numbers. The same DR Epoch III rationale is maintained for the O-scale equipment where it numbers 2 steam locos and 30+ pieces of rolling stock.... almost all Lenz. The transformation is amazing and the once-unfathomable decision is never regretted.