A special offer to those that have contacted us from other O gauge forums!

  Like the guys before me said.

It's the very best period!!!!

No question this is the most comprehensive place to discuss our hobby!

Thanks OGR!

And again,

good deal, take advantage of it !

Excellent.  Not to mention generous and offering a open hand rather than reacting to antagonism in kind.  Well done.

Ditto . Can’t beat that.

I learned as a young man to never burn your bridges, so have remained a member of the 3 main forums over the years. But this one is where I participate the most and find it fair, upbeat, and dynamic.

Alan,

I just want to publicly express my sincerest support for this forum to be open to anyone who is willing to abide by its terms of service.  The hobby is only enriched by the diversity of opinions we often share.  As a community of similarly minded model train enthusiasts we don't have to agree.  It is honestly in the disagreement where we learn the most and I whole heartedly support OGR in promoting those values. 

What I enjoy about this forum is that legitimate criticism of models is always open for discussion, however criticism of other people is not.  We could use more of that kind of discourse in general.

I am stating this as someone who has crossed the line a little more than once and had my post edited or deleted.  I am okay with that!

This is by FAR the best O gauge forum.  Period.

Outstanding!  Welcome everybody!  

Outstanding!

Peter

A wonderful, encompassing gesture, Alan. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Sounds right to me, asking members if they agree speaks loudly also.  Class act Alan!

Well said and well done! been coming here daily since 2007. Keeps me interested/involved even without a layout... (coming soon again)

  Well Done... and, BRAVO!!!!

A gracious gesture, Alan. When I was starting to build my first layout (at the ripe old age of 60!!!), it seemed that any internet search I did seeking info returned multiple hits to this Forum. While I’ve looked at others since, this remains the best place for info and ideas. The grass may look greener elsewhere…

Welcome back all.

Welcome new members!  If you're looking for information on designing a layout, building scenery and buildings, and repairing O gauge trains and running them, you've come to the right place.  I come here to escape all the other stuff!

John

Thank you Alan for you gracious welcome to those on alternative Internet forums.  The sniping expressed by some posters on those forums brought back memories of Compuserve forums where warring camps of advocates of one manufacturer vs. another (think Ford vs. Chevy) degraded the conversations to the point where the forum content became worthless.   The OGR Forum is a repository of an immense amount of technical knowledge about our shared hobby and keeping conversations civil, non-political, and free of vitriol is key to the long term viability of the forum.   Keep up the good work, we a need the OGR Forum as a resource.

Quite a magnanimous offer in perfect keeping with the times.

Welcome to the OGR Forum!

Jerry

I have read many topics on other O gauge forums even though my only membership is here at OGR and I have to say for people that truly need help from the experienced hobbyist for your model railroading needs this is the place to be.

I have received so much help from individuals here you simply cannot get anywhere else. If it were not for this forum and specifically certain members here I would not have progressed into this hobby as deep as I have (which doesn't compare to others here).

Someday I hope I have the model railroading knowledge to pay it forward.

Thank you to all here and future members.

Brad

Well said!

Very nice Alan, I hate to see the bitter divide the differnt forums and a few individuals have caused. Your lack of prejudice and generosity speeks to your character. Hopefully your invitation will change some minds and mend some fences. After all, we all love model railroading.

Since the day I joined I felt that you and your team have done a great job running the forum. People have always been treated with respect and decency even when (in my opinion) they did not deserve it. Keep up the good work!!

Always OGR is the place to pick up the latest news that this great hobby has to offer.  The OGR Vendors are here also to give us a show of special runs that they can coordinate between the hobbiest and manufacturers to enhance our enjoyment in this great hobby.  And what better place to come to and learn how to fix and work on these sometime finicky electronic works of art.  GREAT PLACE INDEED OGR!  THANK YOU!!!👍👍

No better place to be then the OGR Forum. 👍

Awesome !
This forum is number one in my book.

Alex

I don't know squat about any other forums, but what I do know is the community here is outstanding. On any of the subjects you post questions about whatever your particular issue(or inquiry), you usually get responses relatively quickly depending on exactly how much information you have provided. If not enough is provided, members request a bit more so that they can assist in fixing the issue.

Other things that are posted sometimes are on potential problems, fixes to problems, or general information to help anyone who may be interested in doing what the topic is about later on when they can. I can't tell you how many times there have been posts on something that would have been a big problem for me later if I wasn't following some people I do.

The other thing is to see the progress of members working on their layouts, designs, or just builds in general which may turn out to be inspiration for you later on. Seeing some of the projects really does inspire me to work at things to make changes to what I had thought I wanted to do as well as focus on what I can do.

One of the best things though in my opinion is the connection to people who have helped with advice on anything. I've said before, if it wasn't for the encouragement to get my butt to York, I would never have ever gone until maybe much later in life. This also combined with help on upgrades has made me smile more like Cheshire Cat. I have had a few engines fixed/upgraded and have plans for several others.

Another thing, if you want information on how engines work, if a certain railroad ever ran a certain type of engine or route or what have you, those railroaders will help answer that(or historians). Sometimes the answers seem like the responders are shouting at you, but that is not it at all. They're just telling you the truth of what is and or was. I always enjoy seeing the responses on those.

Last thing, if you're concerned about a particular product from whomever made it, members will give you the in's and out's of what makes it or breaks it for you. I've made a few purchases based on what people have told me, which have helped build my roster.

I can remember thinking that posting here on the forum was a little like having parents looking over our shoulder. But, it’s worked well. This forum is probably responsible for preserving a good deal of the o gauge interest.

Well done! 👍

    I was a lurker on "O Gauge Railroad Forum" and three other O gauge/scale discussion groups for many years one by one I faded away from the others and settled here simply because it's the best.          j

Good to hear.  OGR forever.

Great offer--nice going!!

The O Gauge Forum is the only O gauge group in which I participate.

1. We have many experienced 3-rail modelers, several of whom can rightly be called experts, who generously share their knowledge and expertise without talking down to those who need help.  A large number of us have learned a lot from our participation here.
2. We don't have self-proclaimed experts who want to chime in to show us how smart they are (or aren't!).
3. We have several sponsors "in the business," so to speak: hobby shops, manufacturers, layout builders, etc.
4. The moderators keep a lid on political postings, while allowing reasonable discussion of events that may affect our hobby as well as prototype railroads.
5. There are groups within our Forum, personally acquainted and congenial, who formed from Forumites who met due to postings on the Forum.  The York conventions have been instrumental in this.  I have made several friends through the Forum.

Personally, I don't check the Forum while I'm traveling, but, when home, I check every morning.  I enjoy the casual and non-threatening atmosphere.  We are mostly a bunch of "loopers" with either toy trains or hi-rail trains, although we do have a small number of O scale modelers who seem to be here for the same reasons as the rest of us, and we greatly admire their highly detailed trains and magnificent layout scenes.

The absence of "flaming" and of petty arguments over small details is refreshing and makes the O Gauge Forum a kind and friendly place to visit.

A very Classy Offer from a very Classy Forum! Well Done Alan

Well done Alan for offering up the generous offer to our newest forum members.   This the best site on the internet for anything model railroading or real train related due to the vast experience of the forums membership.

They wont be sorry..OGR Rocks

Excluding myself, it should be fair to mention there is a wealth of 1:1 gauge knowledge on the forum in addition to the O gauge expertise.

@Rob Leese posted:

Excluding myself, it should be fair to mention there is a wealth of 1:1 gauge knowledge on the forum in addition to the O gauge expertise.

Sorry, Rob, but we can't exclude you.  In spite of your admirable modesty, we enjoy your comments and stories, as well as your modeling of seldom-done cars and engines.

@Rob Leese posted:

Excluding myself, it should be fair to mention there is a wealth of 1:1 gauge knowledge on the forum in addition to the O gauge expertise.

@Number 90 posted:

Sorry, Rob, but we can't exclude you.  In spite of your admirable modesty, we enjoy your comments and stories, as well as your modeling of seldom-done cars and engines.

Without the 1:1 gauge folks, none of the things modeled would be correct(not that they are for the most part). To quote Baron Munchausen, "A bit here, a bit there." He of course was saying how some of the women resembled Catherine the Great. The manufacturer's only seem to go so far, and even then there may be a lot of short comings excluding the wrong color of things.

I'm always eager to learn more about the real workings of 1:1 gauge. I will sometimes message Rich Melvin a question on exactly how something works or what is this exactly. Rich will usually reply no less than a day to these inquires. I did make him laugh once because my sister's boyfriend was a little into his sauce and tried BS'ing me on a "railroad" term which of course, was indeed a load of bull. It made me laugh, that much is certain. The term in question was "dead steam", and is completely ridiculous. Given the state of my sister's boyfriend at the time, I knew he was out somewhere in the water, and no closer to the shores of a sober person. Only thing I gave him was an "oh yeah" as there was no point in trying to argue or state fact with him.

So, you all can have a great laugh telling other railroad buddies, "Can you believe a drinking fool was trying to convince another that dead steam is a thing, and supposedly is when all the steam is used up from it going through the engine?" I believe that was the context he was BS'ing me about. I guess he must have been convinced if there's "Live Steam", there's got to be "Dead steam".

Alan runs a tight ship'. That is the main reason this forum is respectable and provides a friendly atmosphere for the members'... I'm not familiar with these other mentioned forums, and not interested in them'.. I like and enjoy this one'... I appreciate Alan's dedication in operating it, and enjoy talking to and corresponding with him as well'..👍

You really can't beat what you get here with OGR and this forum, especially if you're a digital subscriber. I like the fact you can have access to the entire digital archives with your digital subscription, not just only whatever year you've purchased like with some other publications.  The depth of interaction here certainly exceeds other groups. Yes, I've seen some ignorant and somewhat condescending comments posted here in the past. However, Alan and the crew do a great job of weeding those folks out.  Definitely a great move to try and get some of the folks to join OGR. There are some good people in other forums that aren't here. It was actually a great deal with OGR a few years back that made me "jump ship"!

Rob

I can't imagine being a member of this forum without a Digital Subscription.  As Rob pointed out the back issues alone are more than worth the price.

This is the BEST place of all the forums I've been a member of, this one beats them all to heck.  Very well stated sir.  Every time I get on, I learn something new, the wealth of information is just staggering and the guys and gals on this forum are terrific and Management isn't all that bad either .  I recommend this place all the time, especially to my club members and others I meet.

I've enjoyed being on the forum and subscribing to the magazine hard copy and digital for several years.  The entire service, including the magazine and the O Gauge Forum that Alan and other members of the team provide to us, is a great value monetarily.  I can't count the number of times I've gotten answers to questions here, along with numerous ideas and suggestions for building my current layout. Thanks to all....

Other than occasionally visiting and posting on Facebook, OGR Forum is the only on-line forum of any kind that I've ever participated in.

Common interest in trains, sharing of knowledge and information, comraderie, and a place to be a little creative and share our passion for model railroading: IMO the OGR Forum is the best. Arnold

Thanks to everyone that responded to this thread.  We had a surprising number of folks contact me mostly from OGF.  This topic is now closed.