Running Bear's May 2025 Coffee Shop
- Thread starter Bill Tidler Jr.
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I take all the slick gloom and doom videos as a reaction to a forced change in their business model, and the prospect of shrinking profit margins.
I'm just not buying any more. In fact,I may just become a seller.
I understand they share a factory with others in China. They obviously are not very high or important on the production schedule. The best at scheduling and arriving nearly on-time is Scaletrains. I wonder if they have some ownership of the factory? I prefer the Tangent way. They announce the model when it’s available to ship.
For me its almost everything I have to sign in every time. Even this site if I close out and come back later.
I also have the stay signed in checked for all these sites.
I was going to ask here last week if someone knew how to get around it, but never got around to it.
I hope the big stick approach works as it definitely will help in the future but the getting there will be interesting.
The only structure kits that I’ve bought lately (about 5-6 years ago was some Walthers kits that I wanted to try their town buildings (don’t remember what their called) See picture.
Other than that I’ I’ve had structures from my past railroads that I would reuse. I usually model steam early diesel era so false front building I like best.
Anyway just some thoughts to fund your hobby build a kit and then sell it. Don’t forget to add some for your labor.
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CambriaArea51
Well-Known Member
Good morning...Coffee Flo, please. Rain and in the damp 40's today.
I'm not buying into the whining from the manufactures. Atlas for example was supposed to deliver the Tropicana refers in July of 2024, pushed back a couple of time to the 4th quarter (December). The it was in February they were supposed to arrive. There are others to list that folks have been waiting for pre orders for a year or more. Just don't understand what takes so long when others deliver in the time frame they say.
I'm not buying into the whining from the manufactures. Atlas for example was supposed to deliver the Tropicana refers in July of 2024, pushed back a couple of time to the 4th quarter (December). The it was in February they were supposed to arrive. There are others to list that folks have been waiting for pre orders for a year or more. Just don't understand what takes so long when others deliver in the time frame they say.
migalyto
Well-Known Member
Good morning all!
Coffee shop is off to a slow start, everyone sleeping in?
Its a cool dreary morning. Only 46F and may not even break 60F. Looks like the rain that came through early
this morning has just about exited the area. Might get a peek of the sun later, but not looking good.
Not sure what today will bring, the dog and I are the only ones up so far.
Have a safe day everyone!
Coffee shop is off to a slow start, everyone sleeping in?
Its a cool dreary morning. Only 46F and may not even break 60F. Looks like the rain that came through early
this morning has just about exited the area. Might get a peek of the sun later, but not looking good.
Not sure what today will bring, the dog and I are the only ones up so far.
Have a safe day everyone!
troyphoto
Snarky Old Fart (in training)
Well howdy there internet non-politicians and those who prefer the jurassic age... 
It's troy again...
speaking of the jurassic age, look what showed up...
Yep.... all of those sprues to put together something resembling a dinosaur. If I could do a G-scale layout, it would be a grand sight on the railroad.
Finally got all but one audiobook pried loose from the audible place. They're still on that platform, but no longer exclusive. And I'm working through the AI voices on making a new audiobook of my Canadian series. Found a great platform that is easy to use, and the voice sounds very good. A bit less inflection than what I'd like, but it's good enough to listen to. Unfortunately, only a few platforms take AI audio right now. So I mostly sell these on my own webstore.
I'll be starting up my own YouTube channel, and loading all the ebooks there as well. Youtube doesn't care about AI or not. But it takes 4,000 hours of listening before I can start to earn $$$ from advertising. That probably should have been ¢¢¢. They don't pay a lot unless you get a ton of subscribers.
OK, back to the salt mines of AI audio. It's easy, but not that easy. And I need some income to pay for these trains, and all the tariffs now that the de minimis exemption has ended. I wonder how much more I'm going to have to pay for the next dinosaur I get from Greece?
It's troy again...
speaking of the jurassic age, look what showed up...
Yep.... all of those sprues to put together something resembling a dinosaur. If I could do a G-scale layout, it would be a grand sight on the railroad.
Finally got all but one audiobook pried loose from the audible place. They're still on that platform, but no longer exclusive. And I'm working through the AI voices on making a new audiobook of my Canadian series. Found a great platform that is easy to use, and the voice sounds very good. A bit less inflection than what I'd like, but it's good enough to listen to. Unfortunately, only a few platforms take AI audio right now. So I mostly sell these on my own webstore.
I'll be starting up my own YouTube channel, and loading all the ebooks there as well. Youtube doesn't care about AI or not. But it takes 4,000 hours of listening before I can start to earn $$$ from advertising. That probably should have been ¢¢¢. They don't pay a lot unless you get a ton of subscribers.
OK, back to the salt mines of AI audio. It's easy, but not that easy. And I need some income to pay for these trains, and all the tariffs now that the de minimis exemption has ended. I wonder how much more I'm going to have to pay for the next dinosaur I get from Greece?
Boris
Beach Bum
Painless event...especially if they don't find a blockage. Be thinking of you. Take care.
santafewillie
Same Ol' Buzzard
Good Morning All. Clear and 53°. Yes, clear and the sun is shining for the first time in about a week. Mid-70's for a few days and thunderstorms again on Tuesday. Yesterday's light drizzle/moderate rain turned into a 4 hour light thunderstorm that dropped another 0.75" in the rain gauge. Changed all outdoor plans, maybe get to some today. That's 4.5" in a day and a half.
No mowing today but I can hear the grass growing. Ground is just too waterlogged and soft. I'll head for the garden though, and pick the veggies that I intended to pick yesterday. Laundry is on today's to do list for this morning.
Yesterday evening the wind died down enough that I got to fly the drone for a few minutes before sunset, to take a look at the Corps of Engineers flood control lake across the road. This first shot is what the view towards the dam looks like right now.
Compare that to a similar shot taken 2 weeks ago.
Also from 2 weeks ago, a close-up of the dam and the visible rip-rap at the normal waterline. Note also the "drain", that white thing just to the right of the angle.
From yesterday, it is now covered, my guess is that the lake rose 3.5'. The drain is now visible as a hole in the water surface
It didn't get high enough to flow over the spillway though.
I had only seen the spillway from ground level before I got this drone.
Next picture is from the drone as it approaches home. It shows the new drainage channels Mother Nature is using to overcome the deficiencies in the county ditches along the side of the road.
My pond is now full; it's the one in the center right of this shot. The upper one is on a neighbor's property. That's the train shed to the immediate left of the pond. Visible in the extreme upper right are the neighbor's rooster houses that I posted a few weeks ago.
That's it for the neighborhood tour for now.
While I did spend some time out in the train shed yesterday, I only ran trains since it has been a few days. Contemplating the next project. Will it be another small one from the list or will I attack another blank plywood area that is still left on the layout? The only freight car kits that I have left to do, all require re-numbering which I don't feel like doing right now.
Karl - Seems like a bit of good news from the Neurosurgeon. Hope that the next few doctors can be just as optimistic.
Tom (Cambria) - I have always avoided pre-orders based on the horror stories that I read over the years. Plus I have a very good hobby shop that I can deal with. But I finally ventured out of my comfort zone with Scaletrains several years ago. I have had five pre-orders with them and all but one were delivered when they were due. The only late one, by 2 1/2 months was actually the result of Mayor Pete's West Coast shipping port boondoggle. I have another one out right now that's due in October, but I will wait and see what transpires with that. If the price goes up due to tariffs, I will probably just grumble and pay, just to help a small business survive.
Today is Kentucky Derby day. I wonder what Swal will be doing? It is also World Naked Gardening Day. Fruits, vegetables or flowers, it doesn't matter; just commune with Mother Nature.
Everyone have a great Saturday.
No mowing today but I can hear the grass growing. Ground is just too waterlogged and soft. I'll head for the garden though, and pick the veggies that I intended to pick yesterday. Laundry is on today's to do list for this morning.
Yesterday evening the wind died down enough that I got to fly the drone for a few minutes before sunset, to take a look at the Corps of Engineers flood control lake across the road. This first shot is what the view towards the dam looks like right now.
Compare that to a similar shot taken 2 weeks ago.
Also from 2 weeks ago, a close-up of the dam and the visible rip-rap at the normal waterline. Note also the "drain", that white thing just to the right of the angle.
From yesterday, it is now covered, my guess is that the lake rose 3.5'. The drain is now visible as a hole in the water surface
It didn't get high enough to flow over the spillway though.
I had only seen the spillway from ground level before I got this drone.
Next picture is from the drone as it approaches home. It shows the new drainage channels Mother Nature is using to overcome the deficiencies in the county ditches along the side of the road.
My pond is now full; it's the one in the center right of this shot. The upper one is on a neighbor's property. That's the train shed to the immediate left of the pond. Visible in the extreme upper right are the neighbor's rooster houses that I posted a few weeks ago.
That's it for the neighborhood tour for now.
While I did spend some time out in the train shed yesterday, I only ran trains since it has been a few days. Contemplating the next project. Will it be another small one from the list or will I attack another blank plywood area that is still left on the layout? The only freight car kits that I have left to do, all require re-numbering which I don't feel like doing right now.
Karl - Seems like a bit of good news from the Neurosurgeon. Hope that the next few doctors can be just as optimistic.
Tom (Cambria) - I have always avoided pre-orders based on the horror stories that I read over the years. Plus I have a very good hobby shop that I can deal with. But I finally ventured out of my comfort zone with Scaletrains several years ago. I have had five pre-orders with them and all but one were delivered when they were due. The only late one, by 2 1/2 months was actually the result of Mayor Pete's West Coast shipping port boondoggle. I have another one out right now that's due in October, but I will wait and see what transpires with that. If the price goes up due to tariffs, I will probably just grumble and pay, just to help a small business survive.
Today is Kentucky Derby day. I wonder what Swal will be doing? It is also World Naked Gardening Day. Fruits, vegetables or flowers, it doesn't matter; just commune with Mother Nature.
Everyone have a great Saturday.
Has anyone else started having issues with the auction site? I’m using Safari on IOS devices, and they keep making me sign on every time I visit, even though I have “stay signed in” checked. When I log in, I get a full-page pop-up trying to get me to use passkeys using Google. Umm, I already have enough Google trackers, so no thanks.
TLOC
Well-Known Member
Good morning. Food and gas prices were the subject of the walk this morning. Seems a few went to fill up and then grocery shopping yesterday. Seems people don’t understand that if something comes from outside the US borders there are now tariffs on it. One of the women said but if we are exporting oil why are we importing oil and paying tariffs. The 3 who purchased gas at $3.19 per gallon were the most upset! The walk was brisk this morning.
I did read 2 refineries in Indiana are majority owned by Canadian interests and primarily use Canadian oil. Since Canadian oil is now tariffed they will be shutting down for maintenance! That’s a good ploy! Honestly though, I’m not sure if anything I read anymore is true.
It’s 44f degrees this morning in So. Central Wisconsin. I was asked yesterday if I wanted to go to the grandson’s soccer tournament in the north suburbs of Milwaukee. With Terry in Omaha I said sure. Well this morning here I sit at home. The SIL’s brother invited them and me to overnight there and I don’t want to and I have an operating session tomorrow. Today, I’m not sure what I will do. Terry should be home around 8 and I will pick her, the daughter, the son and his g/f at the airport. But meanwhile I am free
Dinner last night was good. Overrated $$$ restaurant in my book but the place was interesting. I had 2 things I normally do not do. I had a glass of wine and I had dessert. Dessert was a Cashew Baklava and it was unreal good. The service also was exceptional
Against my better judgment after watching the Scaletrains new product announcement and explanation on tariffs I pre-ordered some cars. The first run of finger rack flat cars sold out quickly and have been almost impossible to buy since. I had 2 and after seeing what they were selling for on Facebook and EBay I sold them. I regretted because I found out I could not replace them at a reasonable cost. Oh well. live and learn. I ordered 10 and let my list of clients who model modern know. I have orders to weather for 3 with conditional pricing. Scaletrains does not require a down payment and you can back out when they arrive. I see the free shipping on direct purchases at SXT has moved from $99.99 to $399.99. I don’t blame them but it was a nice perk. They also announced that they were cutting the dealer discounts with the understanding they might lose some dealers. I wonder how Lombard Hobby and Hiawatha Hobbies will handle their huge current inventory. I know I’d have a big sale to dump the products. Maybe a trip to HH and talk to Glenn the owner for a deal on locomotives!!!
Enjoy the day
I did read 2 refineries in Indiana are majority owned by Canadian interests and primarily use Canadian oil. Since Canadian oil is now tariffed they will be shutting down for maintenance! That’s a good ploy! Honestly though, I’m not sure if anything I read anymore is true.
It’s 44f degrees this morning in So. Central Wisconsin. I was asked yesterday if I wanted to go to the grandson’s soccer tournament in the north suburbs of Milwaukee. With Terry in Omaha I said sure. Well this morning here I sit at home. The SIL’s brother invited them and me to overnight there and I don’t want to and I have an operating session tomorrow. Today, I’m not sure what I will do. Terry should be home around 8 and I will pick her, the daughter, the son and his g/f at the airport. But meanwhile I am free
Dinner last night was good. Overrated $$$ restaurant in my book but the place was interesting. I had 2 things I normally do not do. I had a glass of wine and I had dessert. Dessert was a Cashew Baklava and it was unreal good. The service also was exceptional
Against my better judgment after watching the Scaletrains new product announcement and explanation on tariffs I pre-ordered some cars. The first run of finger rack flat cars sold out quickly and have been almost impossible to buy since. I had 2 and after seeing what they were selling for on Facebook and EBay I sold them. I regretted because I found out I could not replace them at a reasonable cost. Oh well. live and learn. I ordered 10 and let my list of clients who model modern know. I have orders to weather for 3 with conditional pricing. Scaletrains does not require a down payment and you can back out when they arrive. I see the free shipping on direct purchases at SXT has moved from $99.99 to $399.99. I don’t blame them but it was a nice perk. They also announced that they were cutting the dealer discounts with the understanding they might lose some dealers. I wonder how Lombard Hobby and Hiawatha Hobbies will handle their huge current inventory. I know I’d have a big sale to dump the products. Maybe a trip to HH and talk to Glenn the owner for a deal on locomotives!!!
Enjoy the day
Last edited:
Boris
Beach Bum
Tom: I ordered a Reading U-30-C from them that took in excess of three years pre order date to delivery. Around the same time, I ordered the Genesis Amtrak 50th Anniversary P-42, so that would date the order as around May 2001. By the time it showed, it was summer 2004. These were my last pre-orders. My thought is that the manufacturers don't care how long the project takes to deliver, the consumer is duty bound to buy it.
I take all the slick gloom and doom videos as a reaction to a forced change in their business model, and the prospect of shrinking profit margins.
I'm just not buying any more. In fact,I may just become a seller.
TLOC
Well-Known Member
I think the project managers at Atlas are just that inept!
I understand they share a factory with others in China. They obviously are not very high or important on the production schedule. The best at scheduling and arriving nearly on-time is Scaletrains. I wonder if they have some ownership of the factory? I prefer the Tangent way. They announce the model when it’s available to ship.
migalyto
Well-Known Member
Yes, i am having the same issue.
For me its almost everything I have to sign in every time. Even this site if I close out and come back later.
I also have the stay signed in checked for all these sites.
I was going to ask here last week if someone knew how to get around it, but never got around to it.
TLOC
Well-Known Member
Nobody can plan when the tariffs are constantly moving. 10% in January, 25% in March and now 145% in May with a possibility of reductions or pull backs! You cannot run a business with uncertainties like that.
I hope the big stick approach works as it definitely will help in the future but the getting there will be interesting.
TLOC
Well-Known Member
If you’re talking about eBay I bid Wednesday with no issues but I always log out. I also use Safari on IOS devices and just logged in to see if there was a difference after reading your question. Getting in was normal but I stayed logged in but closed out the website. Waited a few minutes and went back. I was still logged in.
Boris
Beach Bum
That's why your log in is suddenly so difficult...they are not very subtle.
Boris
Beach Bum
I doubt it. PDRC owns all the factories in China. They may pay a premium fee to get priority scheduling. Nothing about the Chi-Com relates to Americans, no matter how it's spun.
kgstakes
Well-Known Member
Maybe buying kits and getting a booth to sell completed structures might be a good way to fund your model railroading hobby.
The only structure kits that I’ve bought lately (about 5-6 years ago was some Walthers kits that I wanted to try their town buildings (don’t remember what their called) See picture.
Other than that I’ I’ve had structures from my past railroads that I would reuse. I usually model steam early diesel era so false front building I like best.
Anyway just some thoughts to fund your hobby build a kit and then sell it. Don’t forget to add some for your labor.
Attachments
westtexjohn
Well-Known Member
Boris said...(I imagine Ken Patterson is losing interest in producing a weekly blog cast, he's had numerous shows with little appeal, and numerous guest hosts of late...and since the election, U Tube has become a zoo of false and misleading and divisive "news " items.)
I quit watching anything Ken Patterson does/did almost two years ago. His "Whats Neat" show should be named " Aren't We Neat". I got real tired of watching someone trying to show me the "best" way to do something. That may be "his" way but something else may work as well or better than his way. One of the guys on the show did his first Drop-In decoder install on the show and Ken P. referred to him after that as a "decoder install expert"..........give me a break.
I receive the Model Railroad Hobbyist digital magazine along with the Running Extra that they offer and really enjoy the content. I quit RMC and MRM over 5 years ago. However if MRH dropped Ken Pattersons stuff, I would not miss it.
I saw a YouTube video on Micro Trains. The owner manufactures all their products in Oregon, NOT China. It is my understanding Micro Trains specializes in N scale. However, the owner mention an "in the works" collaborative with Accurail to start offering a more highly detailed HO scale piece of rolling stock with separate grab irons/ladders etc. That deal with Accurail sounds promising and I hope they end up with a nice offering.
I did hear one company spokesman who was talking about tariffs say that there was no place in the USA that could manufacture scale train items as there was no one in the USA with the talents to do so. What a crock of $hit.
Again, I'm taking the wait and see position on tariffs.
Have a great afternoon........John
I quit watching anything Ken Patterson does/did almost two years ago. His "Whats Neat" show should be named " Aren't We Neat". I got real tired of watching someone trying to show me the "best" way to do something. That may be "his" way but something else may work as well or better than his way. One of the guys on the show did his first Drop-In decoder install on the show and Ken P. referred to him after that as a "decoder install expert"..........give me a break.
I receive the Model Railroad Hobbyist digital magazine along with the Running Extra that they offer and really enjoy the content. I quit RMC and MRM over 5 years ago. However if MRH dropped Ken Pattersons stuff, I would not miss it.
I saw a YouTube video on Micro Trains. The owner manufactures all their products in Oregon, NOT China. It is my understanding Micro Trains specializes in N scale. However, the owner mention an "in the works" collaborative with Accurail to start offering a more highly detailed HO scale piece of rolling stock with separate grab irons/ladders etc. That deal with Accurail sounds promising and I hope they end up with a nice offering.
I did hear one company spokesman who was talking about tariffs say that there was no place in the USA that could manufacture scale train items as there was no one in the USA with the talents to do so. What a crock of $hit.
Again, I'm taking the wait and see position on tariffs.
Have a great afternoon........John
migalyto
Well-Known Member
They have already done several releases. Here are a few I have bought. They are the normal Accurail kit with Micro-trains doing factory weathering.
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