MR cover that got me serious about N-scale

Dan Vincent

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Aug 14, 2003
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Although I actually started in N-scale with an Aurora Postage Scale set with a little 0-6-0 that was so light it could barely pull a few cars it was this Model Railroader cover that featured the then-new Atlas 4-6-2 Pacific that really made me want to build realistic layouts.
 

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Wow, did MR have more covers like this that made the trains actualy look LIKE model trains more often than they do now? also, is it just me or does that pacific have TWO headlights? Anyways, I'd like to read this one! What are the articles, if you can tell us?
 
Brings back a lot of good memories. IMHO MR was a better mag during the Linn Wescott era.
I still have my Atlas Pacific but it no longer runs. Five years later (1973) I bought a new house and switched to HO and didn't return to N until 1993.

George
 
I started model railroading with an old HO Globe (Athearn) F7A in Union Pacific. It was a dummy.

In 1955 there was a hardware store in town that sold model airplane engines and kits an their new salesman was into trains so he built a small HO layout for the front store window. It featured a Mantua 0-4-0 "Booster" and a Varney 0-4-0 "Little Joe" Switcher.

I was fascinated with the realism of the HO compared to the Lionel stuff my friends had.

Soon I began buying Athearn and Mantua HO car kits and started to line them up on some track placed on the mantel over the fireplace. I would push them back and forth, dreaming of the day I could afford a loco.

Lindsay came out with a 4-wheel power chassis for the Globe A unit and I was in business.

When N-scale came out I was just as enthused about this new scale as when I first got into HO.
 
I recall seeing that issue. I have a few issues featuring the Enfield and Ohio project railroad. When I was a kid, I was absolutely fascinated by the articles.

What got me into N scale three years ago was Intermountain tunnel motors.
 
Well, I have to admit, that's a little before my time (I was only two, but still had a railroad). My Dad bought some trains for me my first Christmas, and I still remember playing with them into my Teens. But, I still cut out pictures from the various magazines and pin them up on one wall of my layout room as inspiration. And, I frequently refer to them for ideas.