Questioning the quality of today’s models

This is not an apology.

Recently there has been a trend of commentary criticizing the nastier members of our hobby. You know the type: they are grumpy, they are never happy with your scratch-built model, your rivets are off, your colours are incorrect, your models are 1 scale inch too big.

While not representative of the majority, they are a loud turn-off for newcomers to the hobby.

With the impending layout tour of the Hudson Bay Railway in May as part of the Railway Modellers Meet of BC I have realized I really should get back to working on the layout so visitors will have more than bare plywood and track to look at.  I decided I needed to mock up a concentrate unloading/thaw shed.

So,

I got my first little bit of spline roadbed put together. This is the double track mainline between the helix and a return loop that is approx. 40 feet long. At the return loop, one line will continue along another wall while the second main will loop back over itself and intermingle with the double track. Various view blocks and scenery tricks will keep the scenes separate. The single track spline is not in place yet but will end up in a similar position as the piece of flextrack in the bottom of the photo.

A Blog on my modeling of the DRGW's Santa Fe Branch: The "Chili Line".

The Chili Line crossing of the Rio Grande River at Otowi, NM.          

So, in this discussion forum thread, I posed a question about transformer safety. What we determined was that these neat looking power supplies are meant to be in a transformer cabinet and not exposed to small hands or even slightly larger ones that could accidentally come into contact with 120V power.

I have been working on a Google Tour builder project for the upcoming 4014 tour. Trying to add a custom icon on the map. Anyone have an idea how to do that? When I paste my url of where the file is located I get nothing?

After attending the Amhearst Hobby Show and finding a few good deals (this is one of them) on sound decoders, I will install one in a Bachmann GP30 that was originally DCC only.  This is a straightforward install and although it is somewhat step by step, I see it as an overview on how I do it.  This enging was one of those purchases I made when I was just getting into DCC.  The engine always runs very well but I knew that a quality decoder would make a difference.   Just getting around to it now and I hope to show how I do it!

Hard to believe, but I have never painted or ballasted track. So yesterday I decided to give it a try. Jumped right in and didn't bother to check out "how to" threads here or elsewhere, knowing I knew everything I needed to know. WRONG! I used my test track that I use to program my decoders or to test running of engines with my Raspberry Pi 3 and JMRI. First big mistake was I didn't wet the ballast properly with the right solution and then didn't bother to scrap, research, and do it right. It turned "eh" but was happy with the painting.

There has been a lot of arguing discussion lately about the merits of two attitudes, which at the extremes can be summarized as "It must be beautiful even if it has nowhere to go" vs. "I don't care what it looks like as long as the trains are on time". Everyone seems to have staked out a spot along that line, and many are vociferous in the defense of their position. Personally, I am probably closer to the art end, but I feel all approaches are valid and potentially fun. I also have no illusions that either approach is particularly "real".

Take a ride on wild side'

https://youtu.be/n-IRcJcHszY

https://youtu.be/Wf91JnJ8RKE

Night Moves

https://youtu.be/p-ooR67-KR0

​https://youtu.be/e4qhuW0MgzI