About Us:
A Little Bit of History
In 1999 New England Custom Rail was started because one of
the principals was unable to find quality custom HO scale models that accurately
represented some of the engines that worked the rails here in New England.
This included some of the present day museum pieces at the tourist
railroads. An example of this would be one of the engines on the Conway Scenic Railroad roster. For years he had been collecting
custom engines one at a time as he was able to find them. But after awhile there was
the prospect that particular engines were not coming to market due to the
high cost of custom decals and low volume demand. Having discussed the issue
with one of the local hobby storeowners and one of the custom painters and
decal
supplier that the hobby shop used, he was told that the special graphics
were not worth the effort. At this point the model rail enthusiast tried
to cobble together a model using a quality engine and parts from a couple
of decal sets combined with dry transfer letters and detail parts. The result was
OK, but there was still one decal missing - the silhouette of the North
Conway station. Hand painting just was not going to yield the desired
result. Frustration!!!
Model railroading was just a hobby so now what?
In this case the hobbyist was by profession a computer consultant, with a
background in systems integration and some photographic and graphic arts
capabilities. What needed to get done was to generate the special multi
layered artwork and then print the graphics. This was first tried with an
inkjet printer with poor results, which just doubled the FRUSTRATION!!!!
After doing some research on the web a solution was found. There was
(at the time) a
printer that used a different technology to generate its output. This then
became the only reasonable possibility. It was the only way to do something like this
without having several hundred sheets of decals printed.
So in August of 1999 a special printer was purchased and the first decals were printed here at what has now
become New England Custom Rail.
The result of all of the frustration was the creation of New England Custom Rail.
Our Goal
We look to provide quality model railroad solutions. As a matter of fact we have delivered hundreds of custom model railroad pieces since we started New England Custom Rail back in 1999. We have custom painted, decaled and detailed engines and cars and have even done entire custom train sets, boxed with transformer and track.
We also offer a kind of systems integration approach to the model railroad hobbyist. With our "Project Pack" the hobbyist gets our custom quality decals, a researched list of recommended parts, and a series of instructions or steps to be completed to build a museum quality model of a documented prototype. This approach is designed to save the model railroad enthusiast the time it takes to research the part numbers for the right horn sets or bell, etc. along with where these parts should be mounted. We use the same procedures here at New England Custom Rail when we build custom pieces for our customers. So we know that the process works.
Many of our customers asked for a way to display the custom models
we built for them. We found a US furniture manufacturer that offered solid wood
display cases with
an acrylic cover that we felt would be the perfect showcase. As
a result, we have added the Clearcase product line of Display Cases.
Since these display cases are a fine piece of hand finished furniture, they can be used
in any decor to display your prized models.
Since we started doing Digital Command Control (DCC) installations in 2002, we have become an authorized Lenz dealer and installer. This allows us to offer our customers what we believe to be the finest line of DCC equipment offered world wide. This also allows us to install decoders with the best warrantee in the industry. We believe that adding DCC is the finishing touch to a quality custom model!
As part of our goal to provide quality railroad modeling solutions, in 2003 we have added a another product line. This one from Bradgon Enterprises. When we started building modules to run with the Hub Division Modules Group (of the NER - NMRA), we wanted to have the material we used to be durable and light weight. It would have to stand up to the abuses of being lugged around to different train shows and not require constant maintenance. The Geodesic Foam Scenery™ products offered by Bragdon Enterprises were the perfect solution. These products allowed us to avoid the weight, mess and maintenance that goes with plaster based modeling. Our experiences were so good with these products that we now offer their various Cutting Edge Scenery Technology products.
We believe our customers are interested in QUALITY craftsmanship. When contacted we listen to the customers wishes and then we prepare the appropriate documentation for the customers approval. Once project details are agreed to we then scheduled the project and work towards its completion.
We hope you spend some time looking over our web site and find our Products and Services of interest. Any comments or suggestion can be sent to requests@newenglandcustomrail.com . Your feedback is welcome. If you don’t see what you want, then send us a request, you never know it may already be in process.
Sincerely
The Staff of New England Custom Rail
Geodesic Foam Scenery is a trademark of Bragdon Enterprises.