[dwb]

>Is there a European equivalent of Smokey Joe?
From some of the prices I saw while surfing tonight - ~3000 Euro for a German Brass O Gauge pacific, I doubt it. The detail in the photos looked gorgeous but if that's not enough how about 5000 for a Gauge 1 electric???

David

 

[dwb]

>it is simply the betamax of railway modelling
No, no, no, no, noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't accept that! Betamax was superior in quality to VHS but lost out in the format wars (which are being repeated in Blu-Ray vs HDD 30 years later). It is an illustration that having the best mousetrap does not automatically lead to commercial success. To equate 3-rail with Betamax is to imply that 3-rail is a beaten superior format, which it isn't; it's just a beaten format. The fact that Marklin cling on to 3-rail is not unlike Porsche continuing to produce rear engined 911s. Hanging an engine that far outside the line of rear axle is just plain nuts from an engineering point of view, but those crazy germans have stuck at it and used some ingenious technology to overcome the inherent flaws in the original layout.

David

 

[dwb]

>i dont think the porsche comparison is correct though
I was thinking of the clinging onto so something in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence...

David

 

[dwb]

>It is bordering on facism to insist that everyone models the same thing which from the views of two individuals seems to be Hornby OO. There is a big wide world out there. Check it out some time

My view is that 3-rail is a beaten format. I am not saying you shouldn't model it but I am saying if you expect the rest of the modelling world to start producing stuff for it, you'll be having tea with Godot before that happens. Bringing accusations of facism into the argument is usually a sign of desperation.

David