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Shooting rock salt? It worked. They stopped. This will be very hard for many people to believe. But back in the 1940s to around 1970s the autorack cars were not fully enclosed. They were open, just like semi transporters still are today. And like these modern German autoracks still are...

When I was little (1960s) our house in Fort Wayne had a New York Central (later Penn Central, still later Conrail) branch line running right behind it. Long freights came through several times a day headed to/from Michigan. We "played on the tracks" constantly. I remember when I was 5-6...

It's not so much an "age" limit as a disposable cash limit. Middle school through mid-30s are typically cash limited due to numerous competing demands. School, pay back student loans, wives, house mortgages, kids.. These are big ticket items. The financial speculators that came to dominate...

That's one reason. Another reason is the cost of plastic die injection tooling has fallen by about 90% in the last decade. Not too long ago these dies were made by life-trained tool & die makers Those old boys sat at pantographs and very slowly played etch-a-sketch with tiny carbide bits in...

Big D, That's not that different than when I was your age in the very late 1960s and early 1970s. What I suggest you do is go to the Google Books web page. Then start surfing all the Popular Science and Popular Mechanics back issues from about 1900 forward to the mid-1950s. Both those...

I agree with you. I don't see the hobby ending either. I think the situation is exactly the opposite. Certain commercial and media interests became accustomed to taking super-sized profits from this hobby. These profits led to super-sized egos which caused them to confuse their...

I read the article. I had paper routes in the 1960s and early 1970s. I spent my money the same way. Kids don't have paper routes any more. Or caddy jobs. Or... It's too dangerous with all the degenerates running loose. Plus all the tort lawyers looking to sue anyone with insurance...

Or c) Make your own aluminum plate jigs with your own CNC equipment. The beauty with this approach is there's virtually no limit to the kinds of jigs and dies you can make for yourself.

Looks super to me. What's a "new guy" though? Are you a "new guy" if you prefer these "new methods" over the late 20th Century consumerist vision? I got started in this hobby in 1961 when I was five. And I thank God I've lived long enough to see these great days dawning! And am still young...

p.s. This one is a classic: Popular Mechanics - Nov 1939. Tinplate Track Made in This "Rolling Mill". I initially wanted to look up any available plans for building a small "rolling mill" of the Jeweler type. The thought is - literally - rolling my own scale track from brass round...

Chris, That's some sweet rendering work with Rhino. Very nice. I'm just an AutoCAD putzer myself. Which is the worst program in the world to do rendering work with, as everyone knows. Blender 3D however is on my list. (For general information, fairly comparable programs to Rhino3D are...

Personally I'm not at all worried about the "hobby". I think it will not only survive but get more interesting. And I really believe the greatest achievements in modeling are still ahead. I got started as a 5 y/o with the traditional Lionel set around the Christmas tree on Christmas...