Eric J. Olson

I am going to try and put some perspective on this for you, but understand, this is an explanation and certainly not meant to be an excuse. The manufacturing process we began with in April of 2011, was not up to the standard that we wanted it to be. With that said, we began searching for an alternate manufacturer that could provide the consistent quality that we demanded. After consultation with an experienced micro-engineer, we finally located a firm that we believe will be able to deliver a product that meets the standards that you expect from us and we demand of ourselves. This manufacturer also has many other projects that they work on including ours. We have learned through this process that it's not as simple as just taking a piece of metal, rounding it off, and drilling a few holes. It has now taken us almost a year to find a process that will meet or exceed our tolerances on a consistent basis. As I said, I'm not offering any excuses here, but just trying to give you a perspective of where we have been and where we are now. As I said previously, we will give you an update that I think will put any concerns to rest. I was hoping that this would have been done last week as I said, however, to make sure we are giving you the most accurate information, it was necessary to wait until our manufacturer had something 100% concrete that we would be proud to share. To those who feel that we have somehow misrepresented anything, we apologize and this certainly was not our intent. If our timeline had been what we envisioned (and were led to believe by our first manufacturer), we would have our store shelves full of track for everyone in all four straight lengths as well as all 3 additional radii and we would be onto the next phase of the complete system. Please understand countless man-hours and capital have been invested in this project to keep electric trains alive for the community. Like yourselves, we are hobbyists but, we are also shouldering the risk involved with this venture for the benefit of all. Rest assured, we HAVE NOT given up and WILL NOT give up until we have delivered the complete rail system with a quality that you expect at a price that will be affordable to everyone. P.S. You want plastic as well? We can look at it, and it's a lot easier than metal.

We should be able to provide a better picture before the end of the week. I will put any information I can on the site.

ME has not given up on completing a full rail system. There will be plenty to go around. Stay tuned.

Hi all- You may or may not be aware, but ME Models has been undertaking the project of keeping the rail system alive. So far, we have released straight track in standard, half, and double lengths with plans to expand to a quad length straight rail as well as multiple curved radii. For those that have been following us, you probably have heard us saying, "Be patient." We certainly understand where you are coming from and we are just as anxious to get this out to you as you are to have it. At present, we have made a substantial capital investment which should have curved product in production within the next couple of months. Additionally, we have moved our straight manufacturing operations to an automated process which we have been guaranteed a consistent and reliable product each and every time regardless of what platform you are using for power. Unfortunately, this means that we are currently out of 9V product until they have all of the tooling in place. The main reason that things have taken so long is basically due to our commitment to delivering a product that you can count on at a reasonable cost and ensuring that we found a manufacturer that shared our vision and mission keeping in mind that our products are supplemented using official LEGO brand plates. We have done this to minimize outside product influence while keeping in mind that you, the hobbyist, want as much control as possible over your layout while keeping the "purist mentality." Like all of you, we are hobbyists and adult fans and want to ensure the longevity of the L-Gauge train system. Please keep your comments and suggestions coming and know, we are listening. Sincerely, Eric + Mike ME Models

We plan to release a rail with "notches" for power pickup from the 9V speed controller...just haven't gotten that far yet... As for the R56, engineering is done, and it's off to the mold maker.

We will be there for the duration of the event, so even if we're not doing a full presentation, feel free to stop by our booth at any time during the event (preferably, non-public hours) and we'll be happy to sit down, let you play with the stuff, and Q&A. :)

If we were invited to do so, we would...that's how we ended up at BrickWorld in Chicago. :)

By the way, thanks to all that have taken our survey...we are listening. :) http://www.me-models.com/store/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=23

As we stated in both train forums at BrickMagic and BrickWorld, our eventual goal is to bring a complete L-Gauge system. As you can see with aluminum rails, our starting point, the electrified hobby train is our intended route. As a result, one can expect speed controllers, switches, motors, etc, to follow this path. We are still in preliminary alpha when it comes to motors, but our current thoughts are to provide a system capable of working with existing layouts as well as a new system that will bring the trains up to a level in which most train hobbyists expect.

Thanks for your honest assessment of our project that's been over 9 months in the making. We really do appreciate the feedback and intend to make it better and better as we go along. Our long-term goal is to bring the hobbyist a complete L-Gauge system.

I certainly would not expect to see any oxidation surfacing within a week or two...more like YEARS after the fact if at all and obviously, that will vary with the environment (i.e. if you live in Miami (high humitidy and costal air) it will probably happen faster than if you lived in Phoenix (low humidity, non-costal air). Also, aluminum has natural corriosion resistance property higher than most metals. According to someone in the train forum at BrickWorld last week, natural aluminum oxidation is also conductive...I don't know the validity of it, but he threw it out there. Our rails are also not "pure" aluminum as 100% aluminum is rarely used or worked with...almost everything out there is an alloy with silicon and iron added in small (less than 1% amounts) for strength. Also, I had read a couple of metal forums that have given a few cleaning suggestions. I have read the following work well: 1. Oven cleaner (use sand as an abrasive with a cloth to wipe clean). 2. Naval jelly (never heard of it). 3. A scotch brite pad.

No, but we'll test it for ya!

Of course not...that was just a demo unit we had running at BrickMagic. Prior to launch, we had about 10 beta testers, all 9V "connoisseurs", that gave us the thumbs up to launch. You can always try putting rings on them as well or adding weights if it's a major issue...the rings shouldn't degrade performace because the flange should catch the current as well (2 points of contact). Contact me off-board...we'll talk -> eric@me-models.com.

The honest answer is, I don't have a timeframe. Our original manufacturing process wasn't producing results that we expected (or demanded) for the curved rails. As a result, we're going with a better manufacturing process that will bring tigher tollerances. As a result, the curves will be a two-step manufacturing process. Our main manufacturer has bids out for the secondary and as soon as we have something in the works, we will let everyone know. We're just as anxious as everyone else to get these out. :)

Our test was with the Maersk train with a 9V motor straight from the box. We didn't notice any issues, however, others have reported some, but I'm curious what conditions caused it (i.e. any grade, 10+ cars, etc).

ME Models would like your opinion about our new rail products. Whether you have bought or not, we want to hear from you! ME Models Survey

Please let me know what you find out...and any suggestions you might have for it. We had it running without issues using the new Maersk Train with a 9V attached. As I said, slight slippage from LEGO->ME as it was gaining speed.

Thanks for the feedback. Where exactly are they slipping? In general? Going from LEGO -> ME? Going from ME -> LEGO? Just trying to gauge what's going on... I will tell you to expect minimal slippage going from LEGO -> ME. We experienced a slight case of this at BrickMagic on our display. What we found was that the ME track was conducting the power BETTER than the LEGO track and as a result, the engine was running faster over the ME track as opposed to the LEGO track. It was an interesting phenomenon that someone pointed out for us. As a result, they would slip slightly going from the LEGO to ME as they picked up speed...

Hi guys, The adhesive stripes are included solely as a "fail safe." They are not required and so far, we have have had all BETA testers as well as customers who have posted elsewhere including blog reviews, etc, say that they have NOT included them and had no conductivity issues whatsoever. We decided that it was better to give customers the option to use them if they so chose (perhaps on carpet or unlevel terrain) as opposed to making users find this solution on their own. Keep in mind, our standard length rail system is a 7 piece unit versus the 1 piece LEGO section. Individuals who are no hobbyists or perhaps have less "LEGO knowledge" may find them more useful that the crew here. If you're not running power, just throw them out as they are useless to you...if you are running power and you have a totally static layout, then perhaps throwing them on isn't a bad idea. If you're constantly changing your layout or it is mobile, then this solution probably isn't necessary because every time you put it together, you're already ensuring a tight fit for the duration it will be running. Being LEGO 9V fans, we realize that even LEGO brand 9V track can short and have continutity problems as well. This was our fail-safe solution. In summary, it's not required (per the insert) but is available as an option.

Stay tuned...

Hi Woody, Drop me a line please -> eric@me-models.com

I would not suggest attempting to bend the rails without proper machinery...they are hard and in doing so, the holes would be oblong. We understand your concern regarding plastic vs metal. Whether it is LGB, Marklin, Lionel, Mike's Train House, etc, all model railway systems have metal track and plastic wheels on the cars. There will eventually be wear as this is unavoidable, however, in most cases, its not damaging and hardly visible. LEGO has metal on their 9V rails and as we all know, plastic wheels. What we can say is that the metal has been deburred using a process involving ceramic rock followed by a wash solution so that there are no sharp edges left on the finished product making them "kid friendly". Basically, we have eliminated as many "wear factors" as is physically possible. At this point, everything is still on the table, but as I have commented before, the only timeline I can give you at this point is R56 (curve).

Bandwidth was at a premium today. Correct. There will be three new radii, the first will be unveiled at BrickMagic in Raleigh, with the other two to follow, hopefully, before summer. As you can see, the next radius will be R56, or 56 stud radius on center using R40 as the current "standard". The next two will then be R72 and R88. As for the other layout elements, we said that this will be a long-term constantly-evolving product line, so yes, all of the above are viable options for the future. They are made from a strong aluminum alloy. I didn't throw any out into a snowbank and leave them, so I have no idea how they will perform outside as they have no coating on them (which would hinder conductivity).

This is already in the works...I don't have a time frame though as we're still working out details.

Theoretically, it should be. AFAIK, the "IJ" track has the same "half-slot" connectors that the plastic rails and 9V do, so as long as the slots are the same size, then yes, the straight rails will work with narrow-gauge as well since the rails aren't fixed to the plates. The only issue I can foresee would be connectors, but there should be easy solutions around that.