What details do you want to see made avaliable?

[DanSmo]

I'm hoping to start a discussion, so let me put a question to the community...

What detail parts not currently offered by any suppliers in the live steam hobby would you like to see made avaliable and why?

It doesn't have to be specifically for your locomotive or project, perhaps something you've noticed missing or haven't seen before in miniature.

If there's enough interest in a particular part I might look into producing it

Dan.

[Atkinson_Railroad]

Peter F. Drucker pretty much established “the business” is… as seen through the eyes of the customer.

Great question! It will be intriguing to read what follows.

John

[Mark Landgraf]

Dan,

Some freight car details for 1.5 - 1.6 inch scale freight cars would be nice.

Apex open bar grate roof walk is number one. NONE of the scale car manufacturers have anything that is even close.

We definitely need the 1928 to 1992 version of the Ajax Brake wheel with the little extra internal protrusions. Precision Steel Car has a suitable Ajax gear box unit that can be used with it.

A correctly sized ABD brake valve. The one that is sold by PSC and Flashers R Us is closer to 1 inch scale than 1.5 scale. It is also lacking some of the portions of the valve. Someone I knew produced a few in plastic. There were 11 pieces to to be glued together.

An air brake reservoir made of metal rather than plastic. This item presents some casting challenges even when done in 2 pieces.

Some nice covered hopper roof hatches in both round and square, as well as discharge gates.

If you like any of these items, contact me off list for design assistance and manufacturer info.

Thanks

Mark_Landgraf at yahoo dot com
Albany NY

[Mike McCotter]

How about Westinghouse #6 and # 8 distributing valves. The #6 brake equipment was common on engines from early on up to sometime in the 30's. From then on, modern steam was equipped with #8 brake equipment. The distributing valves were a very prominent appliance located on the engineers side, usually under the cab or under the running board.

[johnpenn74]

Automatic air brakes - tripple valve, etc.. Lets get something that works that we can all use that doesn't break the bank.

[wa6mdi]

What about several types of headlights for diesel equipment?

[PRR5406]

Do all detail and service parts have to be so expensive? While plenty of machining and investment goes into the manufacture of parts, and it's understandable that this is an effort, perhaps making parts so they don't cost so much should be a focus?
Possible alternative materials might be considered?
Whenever I attend a public meet, visitors want to know how they can get into the hobby. Once they start asking about expense - boom! That's a salvo right through pursuing engagement. Perhaps, rather than more parts, less expensive parts might be the way to go?
Just a thought.

[Harold_V]

Heh! Less expensive parts? That's a tough call, especially when we have individuals with no skills or talent demanding $15.00/hr. (minimum wage) for menial task jobs. I expect that those with experience and equipment aren't likely to work for less, and who can blame them? (Note that I'm assuming that the articles in question are built to acceptable limits and are of good quality.)

I don't expect anyone providing bits for this hobby is getting rich. The market is simply too small to do so, as it limits how much a guy can tool up to cut costs.

H

[Brunswick Carshops]

Apex open bar grate roof walk is number one. NONE of the scale car manufacturers have anything that is even close.

Hey Mark-

I have the design nearly done for the tooling for the Apex Tri-Lock. I'm printing the molds at home and we will see how well they shoot.

Doing the molds seems to be easier to print (at least on my machine) than the test parts. Development got pushed aside to work on some other projects and outside things like running trains.


All-

The pricing situation is going to be what it is. Companies like Shapeways and VooDoo Mfg. have made it easy to get anything made right away, but you definitely pay for that convenience.

Talk to you soon.

[PRR5406]

Harold, you're right. I doubt anyone should attempt to make a living by producing live steam parts, particularly those that are functional. Plastic is inappropriate for many applications. I am thinking of "dress up" parts made in good appearance, to give the "average guy" (or novice) a chance to produce something faithfully eye-catching. I seriously doubt a producer can make back what his efforts are worth in terms of skill and hours invested. Really, it's about making a contribution to the hobby.

[cbrew]

Dan, it will go a long way to offer up raw castings like you did for your lubricator. many of use can machine a casting but branching out to learn all there is to know on producing a good castings is a different story.