# (03/10/16) O Gauge Release from Menards!



## Menards (Oct 8, 2015)

Good Morning Everyone!

For those who are not familiar with our O gauge releases, we like to have a little fun with them. On occasion, we will post a "teaser" of an upcoming release. We enjoy hearing your guesses! 

Is anyone curious about our O gauge release on Thursday? These raccoons seem to be! 

*Stay tuned for updates!
*
Thank you,
Mark the Menards Train Guy

Visit www.menards.com and search “Train Stuff” to see all of our O Gauge Train products!


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Trash truck?


----------



## Bill Webb (Sep 14, 2015)

Country store in Wisconsin. Picture taken in the rear where the trash cans are often overflowing at the end of the day.


----------



## Fabforrest (Aug 31, 2015)

good! Mark, glad you are here. now others and i don't have to post the new offerings...every week. 

boy, could i have used this stuff in 2001 when i was building my layout. i have retrofitted a few things, but have probably reached my limit.


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Racoons. I used to fight with raccoons. They would sneak in at night and steal the applies from my fathers big tree in the back yard. Sneaky devils they were.

I guess you could sic Jack on them.


----------



## seayakbill (Jan 16, 2016)

Racoons love garbage cans. I am guessing flatcar with new garbage truck load.

Bill


----------



## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

Mark; your killing me with all of these new products.


----------



## Guest (Mar 4, 2016)

A pet supply store?


----------



## Marklx200 (Jun 14, 2015)

What ever it is, I'm not cleaning up the mess. I can tell there's going to be one.


----------



## PacerX (Jan 24, 2016)

Doing good things with Menard's O scale stuff! I am very pleased with my purchases, but every product has room for improvement, and since I am a former engineer here are three suggestions:

1) Your couplers don't work all that well, particularly with electrical uncoupling track (Fastrack in my case). Please consider switching to a standard thumbtack coupler with a side tab for manual release.

2) The buildings are fantastic. Would be really nice if they could run off a standard transformer instead of a wall wart. Ideally they could run off both! Is there an alternative wiring scheme you could provide that shows how to wire them off a train transformer?

3) Sometimes the quality suffers. On my engine house, the glued section holding the female electrical receptacle broke off... so I epoxied it. It's pretty securely stuck now! A minor change in the design could prevent that.

Keep up the good work!


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'd so what I do with the Lemax buildings. I have a fairly significant 5V power supply, and I insert a silicon diode in series to get the 4.5 volts for the buildings. Then I just make myself an octopus with the proper jacks to power all the buildings from one supply.


----------



## PacerX (Jan 24, 2016)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I'd so what I do with the Lemax buildings. I have a fairly significant 5V power supply, and I insert a silicon diode in series to get the 4.5 volts for the buildings. Then I just make myself an octopus with the proper jacks to power all the buildings from one supply.


I could do that, and engineer myself a system to do it. I would just like to see Menard's maybe design in a provision for it.

Many DC devices (like the LED automotive switches I use on my control panel to turn blocks on and off) can run off AC with no problems at all. With some minor changes I think Menard's could make them pretty easily ready to run off an AC transformer AND/OR a DC wall wart - and the user can pick which one they want!


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, I don't see that happening to be truthful. I suspect there's a fairly thin margin on a lot of their stuff, that's obvious from the pricing. Adding costs will just raise the prices. A lot of other companies go the same route, think Miller Engineering signs, for instance.

*Nothing is so easy as the job you imagine someone else doing!*


----------



## PacerX (Jan 24, 2016)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Well, I don't see that happening to be truthful. I suspect there's a fairly thin margin on a lot of their stuff, that's obvious from the pricing. Adding costs will just raise the prices. A lot of other companies go the same route, think Miller Engineering signs, for instance.
> 
> *Nothing is so easy as the job you imagine someone else doing!*


There's certainly no harm in asking... and given my background, I'm pretty sure it's not all that expensive either.


----------



## pstackow (Feb 24, 2016)

Could it possibly be a fine dining restaurant. After all raccoons know good food when they smell it................Paul


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Maybe its a country-western themed place called The Davy Crockett Grill, and those raccoons are just a few minutes away from being '**** skin hats! I remember min3 from when I was five years old. It was quite important to me at the time.


----------



## franktrain (Nov 12, 2015)

Hopefully a Wisconsin Northwoods supper club or a cheese producer. Everyone likes cheese curds!

franktrain


----------



## Menards (Oct 8, 2015)

Lee said it - someone better wake up Jack!










*Stay tuned for updates!*

Thank you,
Mark the Menards Train Guy

Visit www.menards.com and search “Train Stuff” to see all of our O Gauge Train products!


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

No Raccoons here.


----------



## njrailer93 (Nov 28, 2011)

Would be nice to see a new water tower I feel like we've had the same around for years


----------



## Menards (Oct 8, 2015)

I hope this video teaser "swings" your guesses in the right direction! Check back tomorrow for this week's O gauge release!






Thank you,
Mark the Menards Train Guy

Visit www.menards.com and search “Train Stuff” to see all of our O Gauge Train products!


----------



## josef (Jun 20, 2015)

A residential house with garbage cans in back, with raccoons waiting for their meals to be served????


----------



## Guest (Mar 9, 2016)

A restaurant, lots of "good" trash for animals.


----------



## Menards (Oct 8, 2015)

Introducing our newest prebuilt and prelit O gauge offering, Grandpa’s House!

When he was young, Grandpa built this home with the loving help of his new bride. This dwelling brings back such happy memories, like when Cindy rode her first bicycle or when Jake learned to throw a baseball. Life seemed so much simpler then.

Now that the children have grown up and moved away, the house yearns for yesteryear. Grandpa has been lonely since Grandma passed on, but now, it’s summer vacation and Grandpa is happy to watch his grandkids during the day while Cindy is at work. Whether it’s sharing stories on the front porch swing or working with them on the model railroad in the basement, Grandpa and the grandkids always enjoy spending time together. And look! Grandpa’s sister, Auntie Agatha, is paying a visit with her prize-winning apple pie in hand. 

While these charming moments are fleeting, you’ll always have a good time at Grandpa’s house. SKU# 279-3390

*Click here to learn more*


This week’s email will be deploying shortly. In case you miss it, I've attached it below. If you want to get these emails in your inbox, *click here to sign up! *

Thank you,
Mark the Menards Train Guy

Visit www.menards.com and search “Train Stuff” to see all of our O Gauge Train products!


----------



## josef (Jun 20, 2015)

I got it right. Do I get a prize?


----------



## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

Mark; your killing me.  
Another great product. :sold:


----------



## Menards (Oct 8, 2015)

josef said:


> I got it right. Do I get a prize?


Kudos to you, josef!

Our free Santa Fe Truck promotion is still going on. If you purchase this building, you can have a free truck! That's kind of like a prize!

-Mark the Menards Train Guy


----------



## Fabforrest (Aug 31, 2015)

is the swing animated?


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Sure Forrest, and they even come with a fully furnished kitchen!


----------



## Menards (Oct 8, 2015)

Fabforrest said:


> is the swing animated?


The swing doesn't move on its own but it has incredible detail. However, with a little creativity, I'm sure it can be rigged to move. I'm curious to see if anyone attempts this!

-Mark the Menards Train Guy


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

It would actually be very easy to swing it, it appears to be free hanging. A timer that energizes a magnet periodically would pull it toward the house, and then let it swing back when de-energized. There are some eBay relay modules that would probably make this close to turn-key.


----------



## Fabforrest (Aug 31, 2015)

Well, your video "teaser" showed the swing moving. Just sayin'.


----------



## seayakbill (Jan 16, 2016)

It is a pretty nice building at a very tempting price. Looks like Menards has kept some O gauge building manufactures pretty busy the past year. 

Bill


----------



## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

Menards said:


> The swing doesn't move on its own but it has incredible detail. However, with a little creativity, I'm sure it can be rigged to move. I'm curious to see if anyone attempts this!
> 
> -Mark the Menards Train Guy


If anyone can do it it will be Lee.


----------



## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

I'm going to buy one of those.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

1) It is a good building, another one from Menards. Wow.

2) And it has Jack. That makes it cool right there. 

3) I have absolutely no place for another building. In fact I have that monster power plant sitting a foot away from my right elbow now, and I have no idea where I can put it. I have to stop buying these cool buildings just because they are irressitable!

4) As to making the porch swing move, gunrunnerjohn has the right idea, I think. Among other things this challenge shows the different ways he and I approach a problem. He'd use a small circuit, maybe PLC-driven, to energize a magnet periodically. Definitely a cool and professional way to do it - a modern product-quality way to do it. I'd use a "1950's approach" - offset a magnet on the shaft a small low-RPM motor under the porch - as it turned, the rotating offset magnet would move the swing. Both devices could be "programmed" to get the right speed of swing - the PLC by changing its program, the motor by varying its voltage, until you found the right speed. 

5) But again, I won't be buying this . . . I must resist.


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Mark - is is made of plastic or wood?


----------



## Fabforrest (Aug 31, 2015)

Lee Willis said:


> Mark - is is made of plastic or wood?


Wavering, are you?


----------



## Menards (Oct 8, 2015)

Lee Willis said:


> Mark - is is made of plastic or wood?


Hi Lee,

This building is made almost exclusively of laser-etched and laser-cut wood.

Thanks for asking!
-Mark the Menards Train Guy


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Fabforrest said:


> Wavering, are you?


Yes. I need a new "old abandoned wooden train station" for a place on the layout and was going to make it of foamboard and printed paper just because it would be fun, but this house is just about the size and shape and it has a porch like I want and its wood. It's easy to work with wood and I was pictured a single story but then it occurred to me two stories might work, too . . . oh heck, why not?

If nothing else I get another Jack, and those raccoons! . . . . . 

Wow! It took all of 97 seconds. Its on its way. It will work out well.

Still haven't figured out where to put the power plant, though . . . will have some comments to post soon.


----------



## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

Lee, I knew you would break down and buy one. ;-) yes, it lends itself well to alteration! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it. Yes, Jack is very cool! I like him at the door of my hobby shop! I will say they have a Shepard breeder in town.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I like Jack. I think I have five on the layout now. I expected more comments about him after the article in the Union Monitor last week when he rescued the mayor and my abuse of him ("I'd never seen a purple police dog before.") I have a lot of fun with Jack.


----------



## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

Well I just ordered one of the farmhouses; complete with Jack and the critters. The last times our garbage can was raided, it was by a black bear! He just likes to roam the countryside.  While I was at it, I ordered my first 9-pack of trees to see how I like them.


----------



## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

I just ordered it at about 12:30, and I already got an email that it has been shipped to my home! 3 hours turnaround time! That's service!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Menards (Oct 8, 2015)

My apologies to everyone, I forgot to post lasts week's email.

You'll have to bare with me, I'm still learning the ins and outs of this forum. 



Thank you,
Mark the Menards Train Guy


----------



## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

That's okay, I figured it out and ordered one!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## seayakbill (Jan 16, 2016)

I have a real one, known around the layout as Tulsa.

Bill


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

seayakbill said:


> I have a real one, known around the layout as Tulsa.
> 
> Bill
> 
> View attachment 157482


Tulsa looks cool. Nice name, too.

Jack is a real dog by the way - Mr. Menard's pet, who I've been told has the run of Menard's headquarters, and might actually run things for all I know.


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

*It arrived!*

Fast service, as usual. 

It was well packed. 








Nice building with lots to look at, front . . . 








And back. 








The porsche swing comes nicely tied up for shipping








And it's easy to cut it loose.








And of course, there is Jack. I think the lady is bringing him a pepperoni pizza.


----------



## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

Thank you for the first look, Lee! Mine is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Mark Boyce said:


> Thank you for the first look, Lee! Mine is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.


Please - Check and tell me if you think that is a pepperoni pizza. My wife says it is a cake.


----------



## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

From the picture, it sure looks like a pizza to me.  Nice looking house. The chain on that swing looks strong enough to tow a bulldozer. :laugh:


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

If it's a pizza, they don't know about keeping them hot!  It's also a very small pizza.


----------



## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

Lee Willis said:


> Please - Check and tell me if you think that is a pepperoni pizza. My wife says it is a cake.


Lee,
While my wife said you would think a lady bringing food to a farmhouse would be bringing a cake not a pizza; she pointed out that it is a cherry pie with a lattice upper crust. I have to agree, and it makes sense bringing a pie and not a pizza not in a box. If it was a cake, it had certainly fallen badly.  So, two votes here for cherry pie. 

Reporting to all on my farmhouse; I like the way they securely packaged it, and it is in such a sturdy box. Also, I liked the way the swing was tied up with two bows. Easy to undo. The only flaw I saw was that the top came unglued from the chimney, but was right in the plastic packaging, so it will be easy to glue back on. There isn't much surface for glue, as the chimney is just a heavy cardstock; but I like cardstock buildings so I'm not complaining. I also like the little story that is on the label on one side of the plastic packaging. The kind of story we modelers like to make up about our models and layouts.

Mine is Number 400 of the 600 made on this limited edition, so if someone is thinking of getting one, I would not wait around to place an order. Evidently there are only 600. :sold:


----------



## seayakbill (Jan 16, 2016)

Yep, a cherry pie at a country farm house is truely Americana USA.

Bill


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Ah, geez. I'd prefer the pizza, but cherry pie is pretty good, I must admit, and far, far more nastalgic for Grandpa's house, I must admit.


----------



## Menards (Oct 8, 2015)

I'm having fun reading the comments about what Auntie Agatha has in her hands! I like that it is open to interpretation.

-Mark the Menards Train Guy


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I can smell it Mark, it is a cherry pie.


----------



## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

I'll tell my wife some other folks agree with her assessment. 

Thanks Mark the Menards Train Guy for your comment.


----------

