Press Release

New Rail Models releases log scale platform - - - Lumber load also released

A log scale platform kit and 4-foot x 8-foot plywood sheets are two new scenery items that have been released by New Rail Models for N and HO scale layouts.

Log Scale Platform

The logging industry began to use trucks as well as trains to haul logs back in the 1920s, but trucks didn't become common until around 1950. Whenever a truck is involved in the hauling, whether to a lumber mill or a reload facility for loading onto rail cars, the value of the load has to be determined. Pulpwood is weighed on a scale. And confusingly, lumber destined to be cut into boards is also scaled, but the meaning is completely different. Logs that will be milled are valued not by their weight, but by the quality of the wood, and also an estimate of the board feet in a load of lumber. Estimating the board footage of a load is called "scaling." Grading and scaling a load of lumber requires climbing up onto the load. Hence the need for a log scale platform-to provide easy access to the lumber. These platforms vary, but they almost always have two counter-weighted ladders Scale size 4-foot x 8-foot plywood is available to ad detail to N and HO scale layouts.

that can be leaned onto the lumber load for easy access. Also found is a small office attached to these platforms in many cases. New Rail Models created a scale model of one of these platforms based on a platform still in use today at the Hull Oaks Lumber Co., which is the last steam-powered saw mill operating in the U.S. The kit includes laser-cut wood, laser-cut black paper for the tarpaper roof, and laser-cut window glass for the office windows. Reported building time is two evenings, and the kit includes detailed assembly instructions with step-by-step color photos. One interesting detail is the elimination of the need for trim on the corners of the office building in order to hide tabs and slots used in construction. This kit does include the requisite tabs and slots, but for the inner structural wall. The outside wall is a thin layer of peel-and-stick wood that is said to be easy to apply. Also, the roof includes scribed lines that help place the rolled-on roofing. The footprint for the finished model is 5 inches wide x 1 inch deep for the N scale model (NR 12010), which retails for $25.95, and 9 inches x 2 inches for the HO model (NR 13010), which retails for $42.95.

Plywood Sheets

There are many places where plywood sheets could find a home detailing a layout. Throw some in the back of a pickup truck on the way to a construction site, or already at a construction site. Place them, after some weathering, over construction holes. Stack some of them up at a construction site or have some people carrying them.

New Rail Models has announced that they have become the U.S. distributor for model automobiles made by Brekina, a German company with a reputation in Europe for its high quality, limited run models. The company has also announced the release of an N scale ready-to-run, early VW beetle with the rollback sunroof.

The history of the VW bug is long and has a number of variations, beginning in 1939 with the very first beetle design. The "pretzel" beetle, so named because the split rear window looks somewhat like a pretzel. The prototype for this particular model was built and exported to the U.S. from 1949 until 1953, when it was replaced with a new model that sported a single, oval window.

Each model is hand-made and painted entirely in Germany, using a tin alloy that is very strong, allowing thin walls and small details. Unlike other white metals, such as Pewter, the tin alloy they use does not bend with finger pressure.

The final price is not yet set, but New Rail Models said they expected the retail price to be about $20 per model, and will be available in two colors: off-white and probably a light gray as often delivered in the 1950s. New Rail Models will have only a limited number available, and they will only be sold through hobby shops.