Alan . Thank you for posting this. I must have missed it on previous posting. Can members make requests on topics on how to ? I would be interested in seeing how our members in the world of battery power install there units. In the meantime I will be watching for new videos on YouTube.
I also want to take a moment to thank you, Alan. I subscribed a few minutes ago and watched the video on switching leads, which was very well done in my opinion. I learned some new railroad terms related to that subject. Arnold
@Arnold D. Cribari posted:I also want to take a moment to thank you, Alan. I subscribed a few minutes ago and watched the video on switching leads, which was very well done in my opinion. I learned some new railroad terms related to that subject. Arnold
Arnold,
I, too, had the same response to the switching video. And even though I have a collection of the OGR layout DVDs, the clips, the Backshops with Jim, and the variety of other stuff makes this channel yet another way to experience and learn about our hobby and trains. Fantastic!
Mike
@Bill Grafmiller posted:Alan . Thank you for posting this. I must have missed it on previous posting. Can members make requests on topics on how to ? I would be interested in seeing how our members in the world of battery power install there units. In the meantime I will be watching for new videos on YouTube.
Thanks Bill...it would be difficult for us to take requests because of a variety of reasons not the least of which would involve rounding up the material and people.
@Bill Grafmiller posted:Alan . Thank you for posting this. I must have missed it on previous posting. Can members make requests on topics on how to ? I would be interested in seeing how our members in the world of battery power install there units. In the meantime I will be watching for new videos on YouTube.
Stay tuned. . . at least to the magazine. . . because I am working to hopefully include a "dead rail" column as a continuing feature in the magazine starting early in 2024. I think it's reasonable to assume that, in light of significant and rather rapid technological advances, the future of powering our O gauge/O scale trains is via battery power.
This post was forked into a new topic here: Battery Power Remote Control
Having installed a fairly large number of battery powered engines, I would certainly be involved in a specific forum topic on this method. I did maintain my track powered layout arrangement and use it as well. I have had published a number of articles on this subject and am working with Allan Miller on another at this time.
Alan, I just subscribed and can’t wait to explore. What a great additional resource.
Andy
@Allan Miller posted:Stay tuned. . . at least to the magazine. . . because I am working to hopefully include a "dead rail" column as a continuing feature in the magazine starting early in 2024. I think it's reasonable to assume that, in light of significant and rather rapid technological advances, the future of powering our O gauge/O scale trains is via battery power.
As long as the battery powered trains run on 2 rail track I'm interested. I've been saying it for decades now - Someone needs to develop an attractive, detailed 2R Hirail track system (Looking at you Lionel). I simply don't understand why so many people are willing to accept the existing 3R track systems which just look horrible in my opinion. We could have the same trains in the same space on more realistic looking 2R Hi-rail track if people would demand it. If you are going to go through the hassles of upgrading to battery-power you might as well run on 2R because what's the purpose otherwise?
Wouldn't it be great if Lionel could offer a Dead Rail upgrade kit so we could take any 3R engine and convert it to battery power with Bluetooth control?
I subscribe to a couple YouTube channels for sports updates. They sometimes do “Lives” where they discuss a certain topic. Then subscribers can ask questions in the comments section.
I would be interested in seeing forum sponsors demo their products so we can see them in action. In particular I would like to see products from smaller businesses where I may not be as familiar with their offerings.
Thanks Alan. I subscribed to your You Tube channel. I enjoy your Videos!
Fantastic, guys! I like seeing other O-Gauge layout videos just to get ideas and tips for building my own layout (which I recently started working on). Looking forward to more videos on the channel soon.
Alan sorry if I hijacked the topic of YOUTUBE CHANNEL with my comment on battery power. I have looked at the OGR youtube channel and was very impressed. Also thank you for your response to my questions in your posting.
Just subscribed and viewed, impressive! Thank you! Tommy
Just a reminder folks....PLEASE consider visiting our YT channel. I can't tell you how much it means for you to subscribe to the channel (its FREE!) , click on the like when viewing a video, and clicking on the bell notification button so that you know when new content is posted. Thanks for your support!
Alan,
I find it interesting that OGR has 1700 subscribers when you have the largest online message board to draw from. Then I see other train YouTubers out there with many multiples of that . I really have to wonder where the heck those subscribers come from.
Most of these sites lack the quality of the videos that OGR posts. Mostly they are hey look at me sites without any info that will have any value a year from now.
Sounds like shenanigans to me.
Chris, the OGR YouTube channel was dormant until about two weeks ago. I started the channel several years ago but did nothing with it.
Two weeks ago we had only 452 subscribers, and they had not seen a new video for several years. In just two weeks that number has grown to over 1,700, so the channel is growing rapidly, now that we are using it again.
We’ll be releasing two new videos every week now, one on Friday nights at 8pm, and another on Saturday nights at 8 pm.
No shenanigans… 
@Rich Melvin posted:Chris, the OGR YouTube channel was dormant until about two weeks ago. I started the channel several years ago but did nothing with it.
Two weeks ago we had only 452 subscribers, and they had not seen a new video for several years. In just two weeks that number has grown to over 1,700, so the channel is growing rapidly, now that we are using it again.
We’ll be releasing two new videos every week now, one on Friday nights at 8pm, and another on Saturday nights at 8 pm.
No shenanigans…
Rich, I wasn't implying OGR was the one behind the shenanigans . You guys are building the channel the right way, quality products and valuable information
To me it seems shenanigans are elsewhere
@cbojanower posted:Rich, I wasn't implying OGR was the one behind the shenanigans . You guys are building the channel the right way, quality products and valuable information
To me it seems shenanigans are elsewhere
I understand that you thought there were YouTube shenanigans going on, but I don't think so.
The channel is growing nicely now, after more than five years of nothing there but a handful of old videos.
@cbojanower posted:Alan,
I find it interesting that OGR has 1700 subscribers when you have the largest online message board to draw from. Then I see other train YouTubers out there with many multiples of that . I really have to wonder where the heck those subscribers come from.
Most of these sites lack the quality of the videos that OGR posts. Mostly they are hey look at me sites without any info that will have any value a year from now.
Sounds like shenanigans to me.
Many of those folks post here and use our forum to build their YT channels. I decided to begin pushing the YT channel and got Rich on board which was a great decision because frankly videos are his forte'. As I have said previously, I contacted a few of the YouTubers that are here on the forum to see if we could enter into some kind of partnership where we do cross promoting but I didn't receive any followup so right now we are doing our own thing. We will be addressing soon our current policy about how folks can and can not promote their YT channels here. Heck, we already have addressed this in our TOS: " You agree to abide by our Posting Guidelines as delineated below. You also agree that you will not use this forum to promote other forums or websites including but not limited to ebay, YouTube, Twitter and other social media sites as well as similar websites via the posting of their web address, whether via a hyperlink or via text. "
We have been "forgiving" as far as the YT links and promoting up to this time. I think to be fair, cross promoting is the best way to go.
How do I go about promoting OGR on my youtube channel?
I also believe cross promoting is the way to go.
It certainly would be nice especially when folks are shilling for others on OGR that they throw OGR a bone... maybe even, leave a little meat on it!
Hey, YouTube Channels supported by advertising are a business. Influencers are well aware of this. I think anyone that has a YouTube Channel should consider cross promotion of the OGR Forum, creating a larger business network.
Otherwise, those simply using the forum to promote their own YouTube Channels as a cost-free form of advertising may find that won’t continue unabated.
I think over time, YouTube Channels tied to our hobby will get better and better. A network would help everyone find them more readily.
My list of subscriptions is getting quite lengthy, so even reviewing my subscriptions once a week is taking up time. (I can tell you the latest rumors on the casting of the next Fantastic Four movie in 2025, enjoy Julian Lennon’s newest music videos, keep up on Star Wars news and reminisce about companies that have gone by the wayside, all thanks to YouTube Channels I subscribe to.) I look forward to an influencer who will do as good a job with our O gauge hobby.
@Darrell posted:How do I go about promoting OGR on my youtube channel?
I also believe cross promoting is the way to go.
Thanks so much!! Contact me via adman@ogaugerr.com
@Jim R. posted:Hey, YouTube Channels supported by advertising are a business. Influencers are well aware of this. I think anyone that has a YouTube Channel should consider cross promotion of the OGR Forum, creating a larger business network.
Otherwise, those simply using the forum to promote their own YouTube Channels as a cost-free form of advertising may find that won’t continue unabated.
I think over time, YouTube Channels tied to our hobby will get better and better. A network would help everyone find them more readily.
My list of subscriptions is getting quite lengthy, so even reviewing my subscriptions once a week is taking up time. (I can tell you the latest rumors on the casting of the next Fantastic Four movie in 2025, enjoy Julian Lennon’s newest music videos, keep up on Star Wars news and reminisce about companies that have gone by the wayside, all thanks to YouTube Channels I subscribe to.) I look forward to an influencer who will do as good a job with our O gauge hobby.
Jim....your second paragraph is about to be addressed!! Thanks!
On my videos there have been times that I reference this forum and even have an OGR Billboard that is visible as I do my videos on the layout. A prime example of actively referencing the forum is the Live Legacy Users Group announcement in which I contacted Alan to make sure it was OK to do so. Cross promotion between channels is a good thing. It potentially grows subscribers for both channels and as someone said starts a network of similar channels. If Alan would like to contact me to do more I am open to it or I can remove my link. My link in my signature is primarily the only YouTube reference I have here unless one of my videos specifically is part of the subject matter of a thread.
I also find it odd that many of the "bigger" YouTube channels that are train related and I subscribe to don't return the favor at least publicly. When someone subscribes to my channel and they have content and it jives with mine I typically return the favor. Why not it's good for both parties. I'm not sure if the bigger channels don't want to spread the love or if they just have too many to do so.
It will be interesting to see what this means.
@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:Jim....you second paragraph is about to be addressed!! Thanks!
A lot smaller channels like my own currently may not benefit OGR but I assume Alan has a plan? I am nowhere near being big enough to be able to monetize my channel and don't have a shop as a sponsor so I'm not sure how valuable my cross promotion being smaller would be but I am willing to see what Alan would like. That being said I also want to stay independent and be able to cross promote others as well so there might be some potential conflicts.
The intent here is not to turn this into a discussion about who promotes who. I do think however, regardless of whether YouTubers here are big enough to monetize, promoting in any way their own channel is something that draws folks away from this forum. If folks will review our TOS, under the paragraph "use of this forum" we specifically address our policy about other websites like YouTube. OGR has allowed (against our TOS) to let folks put links to their YouTube videos, channels, etc. When I approached some of the YouTubers about simply doing some promoting of OGR on their channels, I never heard back. YouTube and other websites like it are consistently drawing subscribers away from OGR regardless of what some folks may think. Jim has it correct in his post above. With tens of thousands of members on the forum and millions of page views per month, other YouTubers and those that have links to their YouTube channels here on the forum need to consider cross promoting. If you are going to make a video that drives folks back to you channel or website, then that video needs to also encourage the viewer to visit (with a link) the OGR Forum. So ... with that, it should be clear where our current thinking is going. Soon I will be posting more details about where we are headed with this forum and our YouTube channel.
NOW...lets get back to comments about our channel in particular and leave the "discussion" about promoting to another upcoming thread. Thanks for your support and PLEASE subscribe both to the magazine and our YT channel.
@MartyE posted:On my videos there have been times that I reference this forum and even have an OGR Billboard that is visible as I do my videos on the layout. A prime example of actively referencing the forum is the Live Legacy Users Group announcement in which I contacted Alan to make sure it was OK to do so. Cross promotion between channels is a good thing. It potentially grows subscribers for both channels and as someone said starts a network of similar channels. If Alan would like to contact me to do more I am open to it or I can remove my link. My link in my signature is primarily the only YouTube reference I have here unless one of my videos specifically is part of the subject matter of a thread.
I also find it odd that many of the "bigger" YouTube channels that are train related and I subscribe to don't return the favor at least publicly. When someone subscribes to my channel and they have content and it jives with mine I typically return the favor. Why not it's good for both parties. I'm not sure if the bigger channels don't want to spread the love or if they just have too many to do so.
It will be interesting to see what this means.
A lot smaller channels like my own currently may not benefit OGR but I assume Alan has a plan? I am nowhere near being big enough to be able to monetize my channel and don't have a shop as a sponsor so I'm not sure how valuable my cross promotion being smaller would be but I am willing to see what Alan would like. That being said I also want to stay independent and be able to cross promote others as well so there might be some potential conflicts.
Marty....you have been a big supporter of OGR and me as well. I appreciate all the things you do when it comes to helping get the word out about OGR. You have been a mentor and friend!
Give me a call...
Marty (the Gem)... Spot On Post! You Get It... and, you get it Instinctively! It's sad that so many do not.
Great Idea, loved the first video
