Here is an update from the new owners of NWSL forwarded from another list...
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Hello everyone,
I'm Dave Rygmyr and my wife Lynda and I are the new owners of NorthWest
Short Line. For those that don't know us, NWSL started in 1959 and founder
Fred "Raoul" Martin was the guy that pioneered the importing of brass
locomotives, first from Japan and then Korea, where the majority of what's
left of the brass imports are still made. As others moved in to that
business, NWSL moved out and started manufacturing parts; their first
product was an improved coupling system for connecting steam lokies to their
tenders.
Over the years NWSL evolved into the leading supplier of gears, wheels,
axles, gearboxes, motors, and other things. Most everything is made in
house, originally in Seattle and now in Hamilton, Montana (about an hour
south of Missoula and about 12 miles south of Precision Scale Company.) We
also make a line of tools. We do import a few things, but the vast majority
of what we do is in-house. We have gear hobbers, collet lathes, turret
lathes, three injection molding machines, and a bunch of other stuff. We
employ 3 full time people in the machine shop alone.
We've owned NWSL for about 90 days now, and those of you familiar with NWSL
and its product line can probably relate when I tell you that picking up
NWSL and getting everything up and going is not unlike having a grand piano
dropped on you from 3 stories up. Some of you might know us from our
Evergreen Hill Design kits or as Oso Publishing, but believe me NWSL has
completely overshadowed most of that. (Yes, we are still working on the Shay
book. No, I do not have a date or any other details.)
By and large, most things are back on line. A problem area for the moment is
motors; for a very long time NWSL used Sagami motors from Japan and for good
reason. However, Mr. Sagami retired, his successors dropped the ball, and to
make a long story short we don't buy Sagami motors anymore. Instead, we're
working with other manufacturers; all NWSL motors are made to our specs for
optimal performance in model railroads. We're getting close, and the last
batch of samples I saw are better than any Sagami I have on the shelf now.
All are most definitely DCC compatible; in fact we're keeping a close eye on
amp draw at both no-load and stall to keep those expensive decoders from
turning into puffs of smoke.
The other thing we're trying to work on, and you've already seen some blips
on this list about it, is keeping up with the latest locomotives and
providing solutions where needed to make up for any weak spots or problem
areas. Manufacturers do not send us samples, although ironically they'll
gladly give out our phone number to those seeking spare parts because their
manufacturing runs do not always include spare parts.
To give you a current example, a customer sent in a Bachmann HO Shay. Nice
little engine, and kudos to Bachmann for making it operate like the
prototype, but the entire geartrain along the drive side of the locomotive
uses plastic gears. They work, but they're somewhat frail and it's probably
just a question of time before they break. So, we're looking into making
metal replacements. I can't say yet whether or not we'll actually produce
them; yes we can make them but if the resulting retail price seems too high
then we run the risk of pitchforks and torches coming up our driveway.
Another thing we're doing is converting all of our wheelsets to nickel
silver. Some of you are probably painfully aware that if the nickel plating
starts wearing or flaking off brass wheels, the decoder in that model has
hell to pay. We're out of raw material for the moment (we have to get it
outside the US; the last batch came from Germany) but give us a month or two
and we'll have a good selection ready to go.
Sorry for the long-winded email but I wanted to say all this in one shot.
NWSL is on the list and is listening and we'll do what we can. If there are
problems with newer locomotives we don't hear about it until our customers
tell us, so we welcome any heads-up issues that arise. We're still backed up
with Seattle's back orders, but we're making headway. Meanwhile, we look
forward to working with you. Oh, and yes we're brutally aware that both the
website and catalog need a lot of work, but that's going to have to wait a
while as well.
Dave Rygmyr
NorthWest Short Line (
www.nwsl.com)
Oso Publishing & Evergreen Hill Designs (
www.osorail. com)
