Railscope and other novelties


RedRyder77

Member
I see this thing collecting dust in my local train shop and decided to see what was on ebay, found this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LIONEL-...046381?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item5affe1d32d

Yeah it may be a "novelty" but it's kind of cool in a "I never really need to own this" kinda of a way :p That being said, if it were cheap enough I wouldn't mind having one in my collection, just for the heck of it.

In it's own way I do think it's a cool idea, especially for kids growing up in the Nintendo era. I'm wondering if that's what Lionel's plan was? To appeal more to kids and the younger generation? Today with GoPro cameras, smart phones--it's old news but I still think it's kinda cool.

Safe to say this was a flop--off the top of your head, what else was released that has achieved novelty status?
 
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Lionel released Railscope in O and HO in 1988 or 1989. It only lasted a couple of years. It's an interesting idea that didn't catch on at the time.
 
It's one of those things that could be a collectible or not depending on how many are still kicking around. The fact it's still in it's original box helps. On the other hand you might not live long enough to see it achieve any collectible value, but you'll never be able to open the box and take it out. Then again, if it appeals, that might be it's best personal value.
 
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What do you think about something like Railscope making a comeback of sorts? With all the apps people have on smartphones and GoPro cameras etc--a small mounted camera on an engine with you being able to watch from your iphone might appeal to the younger crowd. Just a thought.

The GP-9 Railscope is something I wouldn't mind having as long as it was boxed and in good shape...and the price was right.
 
A few guys have done that on the Lionel Train fb page...yes it's easy but then there wouldn't be some cool new gimmick to buy :D
 
There are commercially available flat car kits that can hold iPhones and iPod Touches. They are held vertically, one kit has a mirror so the image looks like it was taken from the front of a loco.

I made my own flatcar to hold my iPod Touch. I made a few test videos on a friend's HO scale layout. I actually mounted the iPod Touch upside down for this test, as the lens would be closer to the track. The resulting video was turned upright with Windows Movie Maker. Here's the test video:

http://youtu.be/Cm8SfGmsUU4
 
small cameras and transmitters are getting very small these days. Keep it as a collectable and make your own from modern products.
 
There are commercially available flat car kits that can hold iPhones and iPod Touches. They are held vertically, one kit has a mirror so the image looks like it was taken from the front of a loco.

I made my own flatcar to hold my iPod Touch. I made a few test videos on a friend's HO scale layout. I actually mounted the iPod Touch upside down for this test, as the lens would be closer to the track. The resulting video was turned upright with Windows Movie Maker. Here's the test video:

http://youtu.be/Cm8SfGmsUU4

Hey Bob thanks for the information and link. Very cool video, that's pretty much what I'd like to do with my Christmas layouts, record the decorations and layout year through year.
 
small cameras and transmitters are getting very small these days. Keep it as a collectable and make your own from modern products.

That's what I'm going to do. I'd like to have one just to collect it but I'm going to get a flatcar for the iphone..or Samsung depending on what I do when my contract is up.
 



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