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Model Trains & 78 Record Players

torvald

By torvald
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torvald

torvald

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looking for a nice record player (for 78s) can hook up to another unit or a case model with speakers (but not a kiddie one please). i'll pay for it and have looked on ebay but would rather pay more for the record player than shipping...

also is there a really great model train shop here in houston (or the surrounding area) i am more interested in purchasing the scenery (little trees and houses) than the trains... thanks!

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Jeebus

Jeebus

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Concerning Model Trains, there are only 2 well stocked shops in the center of the city that I go to: Papa Ben's and G & G's

I find that G & G's is better priced, but less selection in certain scales, themes, & eras. Papa Ben's has a huge selection in all scales, but is a little more "pricey".

What's nice about G & G's are the sales and that they also stock all the materials used to construct buildings from scratch. I think this is where the college students go to get the materials for their architecture classes.

However.. If you absolutely need something, Papa Ben's is the place to go to order something rare. They have at least 50 different catalogs to sift through.

Either way, good luck! Oh, what scale are you? I'm HO & N. My father is HO & O.

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Heights2Bastrop

Heights2Bastrop

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How about Bellaire Roundhouse? Is it still in business?

There is/was a train shop on the South Loop at South Main.

There's Larry's on 1960 off I-45.

How about Trains and Planes on Westheimer and Gessner?

I found others listed, but the above are the ones I am familiar with.

Who runs G&G now? I assume it is one of the Freitags. Gil has a marvelous layout. I haven't seen his brothers'. Gus is either his brother or father, not sure which.

Do y'all ever go out on the November layout tour?

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Jeebus

Jeebus

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How about Bellaire Roundhouse? Is it still in business?

I've heard good things, but have never went. Papa Bens & G&G's always have what I want. I need to go check it out. Is it a little yellow building on the right hand side of a street running north from Bellaire blvd in Bellaire City?

How about Trains and Planes on Westheimer and Gessner?
That place feels more like a "toy/hobby shop" versus a model railroading shop. They have all sorts of great toys, but I can never find anything I need. They are a great resource for beginners & novice railroaders, along with children who love Thomas the Tank Engine.

Speaking of Thomas the Tank Engine, there is a little shop in Kemah that has a good supply of Thomas the Tank Engine supplies.

Who runs G&G now? I assume it is one of the Freitags. Gil has a marvelous layout. I haven't seen his brothers'. Gus is either his brother or father, not sure which.

Do y'all ever go out on the November layout tour?

Sadly, all I know is that there's an older gentleman in there when we (my father and I) go. We've never really spoken with him much. Also, tell me more about the November layout tour. Do you know of any other local shows put on by model railroader clubs or groups?

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dbigtex56

dbigtex56

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looking for a nice record player (for 78s) can hook up to another unit or a case model with speakers (but not a kiddie one please). i'll pay for it and have looked on ebay but would rather pay more for the record player than shipping...

A couple of ideas; try estates sales, yard sales, or resale shops (such as BlueBird Circle on W. Alabama).

Also, Craigslist might be helpful.

I have several 78's, including an early Dinah Washington, and Doris Day singing "Sentimental Journey" with Les Brown's band. Unfortunately, my player's a wind-up (non-electronic) model.

PS: Did you know you can make a really unusual black 'paint' with your unsalvageable 78s? Break 'em up and soak them in very strong denatured alcohol; they're made of shellac!

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Heights2Bastrop

Heights2Bastrop

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Bellaire Roundhouse has the best train selection I have seen in Houston. They have HO ans N brass steamers that go for well over $1,000. It has been quite a few years since I was last there, so I couldn't say where they are now.

Around mid October, go into any good train shop and get a copy of the "layout tour". They try to group them by area on various weekends. Gil Freitag's is usually on Thanksgiving weekend. His is a "must see". There is another in Pearland or Deer Park that has the most wonderful bridges, all scratch built, and all a part of a large, complex helix. I'll try to remember his name.

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TJones

TJones

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BTW, I want to say that I saw Conn's appliance selling Retro looking record players, that can actually hook up to your home theater system or your Kenwood rack system, what have you, and guess what ? Did you guess ? I recall seeing a 78 speed on there. Don't quote me, but I am pretty sure. NO cranking involved.

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pineda

pineda

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Crosley record player also plays CD's and tapes

You can usually find these in stores before Christmas. Places like Foley's and Dillard's carry them, at a better price than is listed here in this catalog. I received one as a Christmas present a couple of years ago, and we love it. It's always a conversation starter at parties too, everybody wants to go through the old phonograph collection to pick out some golden oldies to play. Enjoy!

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editor

editor

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Crosley record player also plays CD's and tapes

You can usually find these in stores before Christmas. Places like Foley's and Dillard's carry them, at a better price than is listed here in this catalog. I received one as a Christmas present a couple of years ago, and we love it. It's always a conversation starter at parties too, everybody wants to go through the old phonograph collection to pick out some golden oldies to play. Enjoy!

Too bad it's not really Crosley. Crosley Radio Company was based in Cincinnati, and the Reds baseball park was Crosley field for decades. This is just a revival of an old brand name by a new company like they've done with Gold Bond and Ovaltine.

Crosley figured out that it would help them to sell more radios if there were more radio stations, so they built a 500,000 watt station (now capped at 50,000 watts like all the other stations) that saturated the Midwest and the east coast.

I used to work for the company that Crosley eventually became. After a few more mergers and name changes, it's now part of Clear Channel.

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dbigtex56

dbigtex56

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Too bad it's not really Crosley. Crosley Radio Company was based in Cincinnati, and the Reds baseball park was Crosley field for decades. This is just a revival of an old brand name by a new company like they've done with Gold Bond and Ovaltine.

Crosley figured out that it would help them to sell more radios if there were more radio stations, so they built a 500,000 watt station (now capped at 50,000 watts like all the other stations) that saturated the Midwest and the east coast.

I used to work for the company that Crosley eventually became. After a few more mergers and name changes, it's now part of Clear Channel.

Crosley also produced automobiles, one of which was owned by Frank Lloyd Wright!

Frank Lloyd Wright's 1952 Crosley Super Sport

(notice how I'm always trying to drag architecture into discussions?) :D

"The Crosley Car Company was started by Powell Crosley Jr., who became a multi-millionaire making Crosley radios and Crosley refrigerators starting in the 1920's. Advertised as "America's Most Needed Car" when it sold for $1029 back when it was new, the Crosley averaged close to 50 miles per gallon."

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Jeebus

Jeebus

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Crosley figured out that it would help them to sell more radios if there were more radio stations, so they built a 500,000 watt station (now capped at 50,000 watts like all the other stations) that saturated the Midwest and the east coast.

Has it changed? I thought it was 100,000 watts. :huh:

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editor

editor

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Has it changed? I thought it was 100,000 watts. :huh:

AM stations are capped at 50,000 watts. FM stations may broadcast up to 100,000 watts ERP (Effective Radiated Power). ERP is where it gets sticky. A station's transmitter may only put out 3,000 watts or so but if it's high enough it can mathematically equal 100,000 watts. There's a whole field of engineering built around this kind of mathematics because there are so many complicating factors (terrain, geology, etc...).

A kind of local example is KUT/Austin (formerly KUT-FM/Austin). It's licensed for 100,000 watts ERP. Since their transmitting antenna is 679 feet HAAT (Height Above Average Terrain) it can probably get away with only putting using 20,000 watts of power to create that 100,000 watt signal. If they ever actually put out 100,000 watts from their antenna we'd probably be able to hear them easily in Houston.

Another example: When all of the big 50,000 watt stations in New York were on the World Trade Center or the Empire State Building they only actually put out about 3,200 watts of energy.

Either way, 50,000 AM watts goes a lot farther than 100,000 FM watts.

TV stations are capped at 1,000,000 watts for VHF and 5,000,000 watts for UHF, though with the transition to digital TV I think there are allowances made so that the digital signal will cover the same footprint as the analog signal.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Don Julio

Don Julio

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www.78rpm.com

Nauck's Vintage Records in Spring is the world's largest dealer in everything 78 rpm -- records, turntables, gear, you name it. You can get a high quality 3 speed turntable for $300. DON'T buy a "retro" turntable at some consumer electronics place like Conn's if you plan on actually hearing the music off of a 78 rpm record. They are outfitted with cheap needles for modern vinyl microgroove records -- 78s sound like garbage on these, because 78s were cut with standard groove width (3 mil) and require a 3 mil needle to be properly heard.

Good turntables like the kind Nauck sells have interchangable cartridges to you can play any kind of record from 1901 forward.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Ashikaga

Ashikaga

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looking for a nice record player (for 78s) can hook up to another unit or a case model with speakers (but not a kiddie one please). i'll pay for it and have looked on ebay but would rather pay more for the record player than shipping...

also is there a really great model train shop here in houston (or the surrounding area) i am more interested in purchasing the scenery (little trees and houses) than the trains... thanks!

Try logging on to: "homeaudiosuperstore.com/crosley-nostalgic-turntables".

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Ashikaga

Ashikaga

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For that matter, don't buy one of those "retro" turntables if you're serious--really serious--about listening to the music on vinyl LP's or 45s. They use ceramic cartridges that require relatively heavy tracking forces, which means that wear will be noticeable if you play a record more than a few times. To say nothing of sound quality...

I bought my Crosley turntable back in 2000 and it's been good. I have between 300 and 400 45 rpm records. Log on to "ampie.com" to see if they have what you're interested in.

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