Flat Line

As might be evidenced by a lack of modeling posts, I've not been working in T these past several months. I've also noticed the same for a number of other once-enthusiastic T Gaugers, who have since allowed their blogs to die. Much as I hate to admit it, I think that I may have reached the end of my active T Gauge days as well.



It's sad, especially as it really lit my fire for a while; I think my high point was making the functional crossing flasher (above). But the long dry spell in new product releases and a desire to become more focused in my modeling have together pulled me away from continuing any serious work in T.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm never going to model in T again; it's impossible to predict that random whims and fancies won't bring me back somewhere down the road. Perhaps a combination of interesting new products and/or life circumstances might inspire me to dabble in 1:450 once more.

I will continue to maintain my website and the forum—I owe it to those modelers I've helped break into the scale with these resources. I may even continue to purchase new items so that I can continue building the technical reference that I've started. And I'm sure I'll be inspired to continue posting here once in a while, so don't expect this blog to dry up and blow away anytime soon!

Just Another Reorg

Where I work, we have a saying: The only thing that's constant is change. This tends to be a universal truism. Evidently, K.K. Eishindo is now licensing production of its T Gauge line to The Railway Shop, a business in Hong Kong, which will assume all responsibilities for overseeing the manufacture (still in China), shipment and servicing of merchandise, as well as all communication with distributors. Product design will, presumably, remain under the control of T's inventor, Mr. Hirotsugu Hirai.

This business shuffle has manifested itself to the outside world as a huge delay in both the shipment of goods and the release of new products. As a natural consequence, all of us "outsiders" have been left to speculate, and such speculation often veers off toward the cliffs of doom and gloom. This is quite understandable, although with better communication from the businesses involved, it could also have been avoided. For instance, the only hint from Eishindo that anything of this nature was going on was the announcement of an email address change some months ago, which appeared only on the Japanese half of their woefully-neglected website; all of our most reliable news has come from a few of the larger distributors.

Regardless of how the news has emerged, it is good news all the same. Indeed, it's a relief to know that, not only will the products be flowing again soon (which includes a rumored second-generation version of the 103 trainset), but some long-promised new additions are on their way. So, take a deep breath, dust off your T Gauge set, and rest assured that it hasn't become a collector's item yet.

Resting Easier

My perception of T Gauge, as expressed in my previous post, has been based on what I see—or don't see. When I don't see new products emerging, or updates to a neglected, stagnant company website, my imagination tends to make the worst of it. Couple this with uncertain economic times, not to mention a noticeable dip in forum participation, and things may look positively gloomy, to use an oxymoron.

Well, the time for dire speculation is ended, at least for the present. Darren Hodges, proprietor of Hobbies Plus in Stratford, Australia, was kind enough to forward to me a fresh-off-the-wire dealer pricelist, which should not only quell any concerns about the current state of T, but should also bring joy to those who have been patiently awaiting the arrival of new trainsets, track switches, and other long-promised goodies.



So, Doubting Thomases and Chicken Littles can rest easier for the time being, and can return to work on their T scale empires, confident that they should find new T scale toys under the Christmas Tree this year. My apologies for allowing my skepticism to get the better of me, and for the chills that may have been sent down any loyalists' spines by my blog.