Model Railroading > Models made in China.

Well they have exquisite detail. No doubt about it. I guess they run OK but often you must tinker.
Their freight cars/passenger cars are outstanding. But the Loco drives and electronics aren't that hot.
Again you must tinker!
So I was riding on  a train from Zurich to Vienna a few years ago. There was a guy in my compartment that was an Austrian working for
an Austrian Company but had some of their production done in China. He was involved in Quality control for his company.
He told me that the minute he turned his back or left the factory that was producing items for his company, the chinese would start taking shortcut
to cheapen production. I believe every word out of his mouth!
But if you want resonable model trains where else can you go other than very expensive euro stuff.
Good luck!


4460

Decades ago , WMATA learned that they had to have their own QC staff at an assembly plant in up country MD, and you could always google the stories about Chevy Vegas being assembled at Lordstown.   If the culture is broken the results will be crap no matter the ethnicity of the workers. 

Was it really necessary to start a new thread just 3 up from your previous one to continue discussing essentially the same subject?  There have been plenty of replies there and the discussion was still very much active.

A new thread pushes another one off to Page 2, in this case Victor's interesting and informative thread about templates for bridge supports.

> it. I guess they run OK but often you must
> tinker.
> Their freight cars/passenger cars are outstanding.
> But the Loco drives and electronics aren't that
> hot.
> Again you must tinker!

That's simply not true. Don't cast the issues of a couple of manufacturers onto the rest.

 

BrynMawr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Decades ago , WMATA learned that they had to have
> their own QC staff at an assembly plant in up
> country MD, and you could always google the
> stories about Chevy Vegas being assembled at
> Lordstown.   If the culture is broken the
> results will be crap no matter the ethnicity of
> the workers. 
Please descibe what you consider to be "upcountry MD" which I assume is your abbreviation for Maryland. I'm looking out my window here in "upcountry Maryland" and I sure don't see any WMATA assembly plant...

I feel like ApproachCircuit comments on these forums just to "hear himself talk" and doesn't actually care about people's feedback.  On multiple boards, he posts (sometimes multiple) these same ramblings/questions, and we never hear anything further, even when people take the time to give well written, logical answers and explanations.  

Yes, lots of models are made in China.  Overall, I would say the drivetrain and electronics are pretty robust (not quite Kato Japan, but very good) in today's model trains and the detail is excellent.  I rarely have to tinker with anything except brass or older imports. Assembly/QC can be hit or miss, but the $$ margins in a niche hobby like ours leave little wiggle room for error.  What models do you have, Approach, that you would question the build quality of??

-Sean

PasadenaSub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Was it really necessary to start a new thread just
> 3 up from your previous one to continue discussing
> essentially the same subject?  There have been
> plenty of replies there and the discussion was
> still very much active.
>
> A new thread pushes another one off to Page 2, in
> this case Victor's interesting and informative
> thread about templates for bridge supports.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/23 07:33 by bigmc83.

BrynMawr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> and you could always google the
> stories about Chevy Vegas being assembled at
> Lordstown.

That wasn't workers, it was management (and the workers went on strike over it). Management tried to force increased productivity by speeding the assembly line, forcing employees to work faster. It was running so fast that folks couldn't keep up and cars blew by a station without that guy's part. The line kept running and the cars kept cranking out.

TAW

TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BrynMawr Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > and you could always google the
> > stories about Chevy Vegas being assembled at
> > Lordstown.
>
> That wasn't workers, it was management (and the
> workers went on strike over it). Management tried
> to force increased productivity by speeding the
> assembly line, forcing employees to work faster.
> It was running so fast that folks couldn't keep up
> and cars blew by a station without that guy's
> part. The line kept running and the cars kept
> cranking out.
>
> TAW

this was in the 70's when GM Lordstown was also making F bodies (Firebirds and Camaros) and even tho the cars looked good, the build quality didn't measure up