MRH Jan/Feb 2010 - Issue 5 by Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine

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Jan/Feb 2010

SP 4449 Excursion on the Siskiyou Line!

Dick Grinyer’s On30 Stony Creek

Bullet-proof operating turntable, part 2 Detailing a modern diesel And much more ... inside! Page 1 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Front cover

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Front Cover: The famed SP GS-4 Daylight steamer pulls an excursion train across the North Umpqua River bridge on MRH Publisher Joe Fugate’s HO Siskiyou Line. Joe models the 1980s Southern Pacific in southwestern Oregon, and this scene represents an event on his layout taking place in the fall of 1989.

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ISSN Pending Editorial Staff Joe D. Fugate, Publisher Charlie Comstock, Layouts and media editor Columnists Ryan Andersen, New media Richard Bale, News and events John Drye, N scale Lew Matt, Narrow gauge and shortlines Marty McGuirk, Prototype modeling Tim Warris, Trackwork Special Correspondents Jim Duncan, Layouts and operations Byron Henderson, Layouts and track planning Production Patty Fugate, pasteup and layout Joe Brugger, copy editing Mike Dodd, copy editing Technical Assistant Jeff Shultz Advertising Account Manager Les Halmos

Page 2 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Staff • Sponsors

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Sponsoring Advertisers - Visit them and say: “Thanks for bringing me MRH completely free.”

Your logo could be on this page, putting your web site just one click away from tens of thousands* of readers! Our click tracking indicates sponsoring advertisers get up to double the clicks ...

Click here to learn how to become a sponsoring advertiser. * Our oldest issue, released in January 2009, has now had nearly 45,000 downloads – and continues to get hundreds of new downloads per month even now. Sponsoring advertisers who’ve been with us since issue 1 are still getting clicks from all our back issues, from their logo on our web site, as well from as our current issue. A sponsoring ad with MRH is truly an investment in growing your business.

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Page 3 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • BLMA Ad

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Page 4 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Fast Tracks Ad

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Page 5 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Model Trains Video ad

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Page 6 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • CMT ad

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Table of contents

Main Features Black Diamonds and Beer

A Modern-era Track plan N

by Byron Henderson

Quick Interiors

Scenery Scene: one evening project

All scales

by Charlie Comstock

SP 4449 Excursion

On Joe Fugate’s HO Siskiyou Line HO

by Brandon Thompson, Keith Ansell

The Stoney Creek RR

Ausie bedroom-sized On30 layout O

Turntable & Roundhouse, pt 2

Building a bullet-proof installation HO

114 HO

119 HO

131

by Dick Grinyer

Columns 21 January Model Railroading News

MRH News and Events

by Les Halmos

by Richard Bale

Operating Switch Stands Making them really move! by Wolfgang Dudler

Up the Creek

Painting a Modern Diesel

Learn a new decal-masking technique by Ken Larsen

134 Night time layout and structure lighting by Charlie Comstock

143 Scratchbuilding brick structures Getting Real

by Marty McGuirk

Product FIRST LOOK SmartSwitch Servo by Jeff Shultz

149 Kit-bashing, kitstretching, and kitmingling Comme-N-tary

Other Features 11 Turn a small project into a large project Publisher’s Editorial by Joe Fugate

by John Drye

154 Graying of the hobby has always been normal Reverse Running

30 Craftsmans Structure Show 09 MRH Visual Report by Joe Fugate and Charlie Comstock

by Joe Fugate

45 MRH Q - A - T

Questions, Answsers and Tips

Page 7 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Table of contents

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Page 8 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Advertisement

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Page 9 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Digitrax Ad

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Page 10 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • BPL Ad

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PUBLISHER’S EDITORIAL: Turn a small project into a large project Musings from the MRH founder

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After 40-some years in the hobby you would think I’d know better. Sometimes nothing seems to go right …

Joe Fugate is the featured expert in many Model-TrainsVideo.com videos, and he’s also the founder and publisher of Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine. To learn more about Joe, click here.

atch where most derail-

ments happen on your layout and you’ll soon see 99% of them happen at turnouts. This means working to get better performing turnouts will be time well-spent. I’ve decided using one of the new jigbuilt turnout methods is the best way to go. The jig-built products on the market today give you a turnout that follows NMRA trackwork spec recommendations to the letter. Commercial turnouts all have manufacturing tolerances that allow some variance from the NMRA specs, so they’re more of a compromise. Using a jig gives you consistently get spot-on repeatable results with a little practice. Fast Tracks jigs make highly reliable jig-built turnouts, especially outside of HO scale. However, a Fast Tracks jig-

Page 11 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Publisher’s Editorial, page 1

Fortunately, I almost never have serious derailments on my HO Siskiyou Line. However, a recent serious derailment actually broke a wheelset, resulting in a metal wheel wedged between a turnout’s closure rails in staging. The “mystery short” this errant wheel caused made quite a story ... produced turnout in HO lacks the spike head and tie plate detail I like on my HO trackwork. I realize I’m being a nit-picker here. Nicely ballasted and weathered Fast Tracks turnouts look fabulous at normal layout viewing distances, and they operate every bit as well as they look.

plate detail of this track, not to mention the realistic random variation in tie spacing and tie positioning. So what to do?

For many people, the trade-off of fantastic reliability with a slight compromise in superdetail is well worth it.

Central Valley to the rescue! Central Valley makes some great plastic turnout tie kits in HO. The ties have correctly gauged slots for the rails, which makes it possible to use the plastic ties as a “poor man’s” Fast Tracks jig of sorts.

However, I’m a hard-core user of MicroEngineering (ME) flex track because I like the awesome spikehead and tie

I strategically replace a few of the plastic CV ties with printed circuit board ties. I prefer soldering down the

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t urnout rails to using the barge cement method advocated by Central Valley. The CV ties go for about $6 per turnout, and with some care I can solder down the rails to the PC ties and not even soften the nearby plastic ties. While I don’t use the Fast Tracks soldering jigs, I do use the Fast Tracks filing jigs to make quick work of all the rail filing needed when building turnouts. For more on using the CV turnout ties to build some dandy turnouts that perform as reliably as they look, see my Siskiyou Line web site. I recently embarked on a project to replace the Eugene staging yard ladder commercial turnouts with Central Valley “jig-built” versions. Things were going great on this project, but I got negligent. After 40-some years in the hobby I should know better, but I neglected to test the final turnouts for electrical issues before I installed them onto the layout. Oops. I also neglected to turn on the power and check the electrical status of the staging track area before I started hacking up and relaying track. Double oops! As a result, I worked for several hours on a Saturday replacing the staging yard ladder turnouts, only to find out when I turned on the power at the end that I had a mystery short in the track!

“While I don’t use

the Fast Tracks soldering jigs, I do use the Fast Tracks filing jigs to make quick work of all the rail filing needed when building turnouts.” Great. Trying to sort out electrical issues in an entire yard ladder of turnouts is difficult at best, and if I need to cut any additional gaps, doing this delicate task effectively at extreme arm’s length is next to impossible. So I grimaced and ripped all the turnouts up with a putty knife (I used caulk to put them down). I figured the turnouts were a total loss so I wasn’t especially delicate when I pulled them up. Actually: ripped them up is more like it. As if that wasn’t enough, once I had removed all the turnouts, the mystery short remained! Just great. Time to step away from the layout for a few days and get a fresh outlook.

Page 12 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Publisher’s Editorial, page 2

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I finally came back to resolve the staging yard mystery short. I removed all trains from staging by hand, then powered up the yard and my 1156 bulb1 came on bright – still shorted. My feeders all go through screw-terminal strips to make debugging easy. Each section of track has its own feeders to each rail, so all I had to do is remove all the feeders from one side of the track for all of staging, which I did. I reconnected the feeders one track at a time and watched for a short. For each staging track reconnected, I ran a loco on the track to make sure it was fully operational again. Reconnected track 1 - no problem. track 2 - no problem. Reconnected track 3 - no problem. Reconnected track 4 - short! Reconnected I found a broken metal wheel wedged between the track 4 turnout closure rails on the Medford end of staging (the west end on my layout). The metal wheel bridged the two closure rails together, causing a short. That’s the errant wheel in the photo on page 11. I recall a car recently having an axle break during a serious derailment (very rare) and I thought I had removed all the broken parts. But I obviously missed one wheel, since it was wedged down between the two closure rails near the frog of west staging turnout 4! 1 For more on short management using 1156 auto tail light bulbs, see

Page 13 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Publisher’s Editorial, page 3

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this video clip.

My staging area is about 80” off the floor and you access it using a raised floor. Even when on the raised floor, your eye is just a few inches above the track height, and staging is dimly lit, so it’s difficult to see little parts down in between the rails. I use a hand mirror to help me “get up and over” the staging tracks to see things. With the mirror in hand – sure enough, there was a metal wheel wedged in between the closure rails! Mystery short solved – and am I glad I use screw terminals to connect my bus wires to the feeders. All I needed to debug the short was a screw driver. The 1156 bulbs in the track bus feed light up brightly whenever there’s a short, so with the power turned on, the screw driver is all I need. If something gets connected up wrong, the light bulb tells me right away! I still have to deal with the Eugene end of staging not having any turnouts in the ladder. What seemed like a quick little project turned into a major undertaking, thanks to my “rush” to get it done and missing a couple vital steps in the process. In the next issue, I’ll tell how I was able to do a “save” and get those turnouts replaced more easily than expected. The saga of how to turn a small project into a large project continues … 

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Notes from the MRH Staff MRH Year 1 CD This issue’s early download goodies, the MRH CD, George Sellios CD and more Reader Feedback (click here)

Now that we’ve completed our first year of magazines, we’re offering the entire collection on a CD for $1 (plus shipping and handling). That’s over 500 pages of model railroading howto content for $1.

n case you missed it, as of issue 3 we’re offering bonus extras for those who download the latest issue within the first 30 days of release.

As bonus, you also get a coupon code good for $10 off on Model Trains Video DVDs – so if you don’t yet have all our DVDs, you’re money ahead to get the MRH year 1 CD.

Since we’re advertiser-funded, having strong numbers in the first few weeks of an issue release helps us when courting new advertisers.

True, you can download all this content for free over the internet. But if you’re on a slow dialup line, the CDs are a painless way to get your hands on MRH.

See the green Premium Extras box on the right to for the link to the goodies we’re offering this time.

We wish we could make it completely free, but producing and shipping a physical CD costs a lot more than the internet-downloadable version of MRH.

We’ve been asked by new readers if we’re ever going to make any of our previous offerings available through our web site. Yes, eventually we will be doing that, so you won’t miss out forever if you’re a new reader. But we’re also not in a hurry to get these expired bonus goodies up on the web site because that defeats the value of offering them as early download incentives. If you want any of these bonus extras, best get with it and download the issue in a timely fashion. Otherwise you will be looking at a very long wait for us to get them onto our web site.

We’re trying to make it as affordable as possible and plan to release each year of MRH in physical media form like this for those with slower internet connections.

Issue 5 Premium Extras! Free for the first 30 days after issue release

(After Feburary 4, 2010, these extras will no longer be available)

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versions of this issue’s videos

money-saving advertiser coupon codes Click here to access

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George Sellios Photo CD George Sellios, of Fine Scale Miniatures fame, has kindly allowed us to offer his Volume 1 photo CD for immediate download through Model Trains Video. The CD has 55 high-quality photos of Filmore Yard on his amazingly detailed Franklin & South Manchester layout, and we’re selling it for $20.

Page 14 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • MRH Staff Notes, page 1 • Central Valley ad

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Filmore yard is a new area on George’s F&SM, so these photos have never before appeared anywhere. George is donating a portion of the proceeds to Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine, since he thinks the free eZine is a great idea and wants to do what he can to help us succeed. Thanks George, for your generousity! Click here to get download your photo CD today – and remember you’re also helping out MRH in the process.

Reflecting on our first year Now that we’ve completed our magazine’s first year, let’s reflect a little on it.

As to content, the magazine’s page count has far exceeded my expectations. I was aiming for around 100 pages per issue and we’ve instead migrated to about 150 pages per issue now, give or take.

then we’re good – our income is keeping pace with our costs. However, we’ve grown our content pages faster than we’ve grown our ad pages, so we’ll be watching this more carefully in year 2.

In one sense that’s great – as an electronic publication size is much less of a constraint for us than it is for a paper magazine. However, we also can’t get too crazy because each page we add of content is not free.

Expect the issues in year 2 to have a few more ads per pages of content to keep costs and revenue in better alignment. We need to remember the economics of our ad-supported business model if we expect MRH to have a solid future.

Since we basically pay by the page for articles, the more pages per issue the more it costs us to produce. As long as the ad page count goes up accordingly

Page 15 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • MRH Staff Notes, page 2 • Pulsar ad

Speaking of ads, how are we doing? We have almost 30 advertisers now – but as we enter year 2 we’ve lost a

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few sponsors and we’ve gained a few. Overall, our sponsor growth has been flat for issue 4 and 5, mostly due to the lack-luster economy. We’re expecting 2010 will have renewed sponsor growth for us and that the economy will show signs a measurable recovery is beginning.

Ad performance observations Looking at how well ads have performed for our advertisers, we see both better-than-we-ever-dreamed-possible and some disappointing failures. continued on Page 17 ...

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Page 16 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010

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... continued from Page 15 First, let’s review the failures. We track clicks as a key metric to tell us how well an advertiser’s ad performs. Some ads, much to our surprise, failed to get many clicks – especially in issue 1. We quickly realized that for an ad to get clicks, it needs to be obvious we want you to click on the ad. That’s one of those “duh” moments. As of issue 2 we put our “click here bulls-eye” logo on all ads to remind our readers to click on ads. Overnight, the ad clicks doubled. We’re learning this new digital magazine medium and which ads do the best in this format. With each issue the overall level of ad clicks has gone up, which shows we’re starting to master advertising in a digital ‘zine. We’ve also seen some amazing click ratios on certain ads – enough that we’re getting a good idea how to build a successful ad that will get lots of clicks. We’re offering to create ads for our advertisers and we’re seeing some great clicks rates with the ads we build for an advertiser. The better ads get as much as 4 times the industry standard for web-related ad clicks!

First year readership MRH quickly jumped to over 30,000 downloads with issue 1, then dropped Page 17 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • MRH Staff Notes, page 3

down to under 20,000 downloads with issue 2. After issue 2, downloads been increasing again every issue. We have yet to top the 30,000 downloads of issue 1 in the first two months of release, however. This issue may put us over 30,000 again. We’re expecting our every-othermonth magazine schedule in 2010 will spur new growth as content arrives just that much faster. We’re also seeing a brisk business in back issue downloads. Issue 1, for example, has reached about 45,000 downloads as of this writing – and the downloads of issue 1 continue as new readers discover us. We must confess that the issue download growth hasn’t taken off as fast as we had hoped. On the other hand, our web site is approaching half the unique monthly visits of the Model Railroader web site. But our web site is not our magazine. It helps to remember everything’s relative. If we look at the circulation of the now-defunct Mainline Modeler magazine, Railmodel Journal magazine, and Model Railroading magazine, they were all circa 10,000 readership at their peak, and that didn’t happen overnight. Scale Rails and Model Railroad News each have a circulation around 15,000. In this light, our 20,000 – 30,000 circulation range for a brand new quarterly

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publication in its first year looks rather impressive by comparison.

NMRA National Convention (Milwaukee, WI) – July 11-18, 2010

Promoting MRH in 2010

National Narrow Gauge Convention (St. Loius, MO) – September 1-4, 2010

We totally depend on word-ofmouth for our growth, so it’s worthwhile to talk a bit about our promotion plans for year this year and how you can help. First, you can print out some flyers and take them to your local hobby shop. Also encourage your local hobby shop to get their free listing with us!

Craftsman Structure Show (Mansfield, MA) – November 10-13, 2010 We’d like a table at the following Railroad Prototype Modelers meets: Prototype Rails (Cocoa Beach, FL) – January 7-10, 2010

MRH plans more presence at model railroading shows in 2010. We will be attending:

RPM San Bernardino (San Bernardino, CA) – March 6, 2010

Amherst Show (Springfield, MA) – January 30-31, 2010

RPM Naperville (Naperville, IL) – October 21-24, 2010

Page 18 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • CF Shops ad • MRH Staff Notes, page 4

So what can you do to help? First, we’re looking for volunteers to help us at any of the above shows (first come, first serve). If you’re willing to help us staff our table/booth, we’ll train you and give you an official MRH shirt to wear (yours to keep). We’ll also work with you to help cover registration fees. For some of the smaller events, we may not be able to have our staff attend, so we’re also looking for responsible, trustworthy individuals willing to staff a table at the event. We’ll pay for the table, pay for your registration fee, plus give you an official MRH shirt, promotional materials, and guidelines on how to promote us.

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Or if you plan to attend any local events and would be willing to put our flyers and free CDs on a flyer table, please contact us. That’s a very effective way for you to help us get the word out and takes very little effort on your part. Just click here if you’re interested in helping out at a show!

MRH — The future What’s in store for our future? One of the things we’re working on is something we’re calling the MRH Assistant. When you subscribe, you can download this program to your computer.

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The MRH Assistant will include various modeling assist programs like a scale converter and a fast clock. We’re still discussing what all the tookit may include, so don’t hold us to the precise list right now. The MRH assistant will also automatically download the next issue of MRH for you while your machine is idle and then automatically inform you that a new issue’s available. You don’t have to do a thing – the next issue just shows up! How convenient is that? If you’re on a slow connection, you’ll have the option for the assistant to simply inform you the next issue is available and not download it.

Also, if you download the issue but haven’t yet opened it up for reading, the assistant can remind you the issue is available for reading. You will be able to set the “nag level” to whatever you like in the assistant. In other words, it’s completely configurable to the settings you want. We’re also thinking the assistant could include a search feature – you type in the topic, part of the article title, or author name and we’ll give you a list of articles that match your search. One click on a search result and we’ll put you into the article just like that!

experience by giving you an assistant to run on your local computer. The online edition of the New York Times is doing something similar. If it’s good enough for the Times, it’s good enough for us. This is just the tip of the iceberg of things we’ve got planned for MRH. One promise we can make: you can expect us to continue working to help you leverage the 21st century Internet to your best advantage as you pursue our favorite hobby! 

If you are looking for a great way to display your N, HO and O trains, try grooved ShelfTrax. Attaches to the wall without brackets. Learn more at www.shelftrax.com Advertisement

The point is, we can do a lot to enhance your MRH reading

Page 19 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Model Trains Weathered ad • MRH Staff Notes, page 5

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Page 20 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • TrainTek ad

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different road numbers will be available for cars with slogans for the Chief, Super Chief, Grand Canyon and Santa Fe All The Way. Tooling is underway for an HO scale Checker Model A8 Taxi to be released in April. Initial schemes will include Checker Taxi in orange, a yellow Checker Taxi with white doors, Beverly Hills Cab Company in white over blue, and Independent Cab Company decorated in red, white and blue. The fully assembled cabs feature rubber tires and clear window glazing.

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he crew at Blackstone Models (www.blackstonemodels.com) is staying busy this winter as they put the final touches on three significant HOn3 projects. The company is soliciting dealer reservation through the end of January for a special production run of its class K-27 locomotive that was last produced some 3 years ago. Road numbers 453, 463 and 464 will be repeated along with three new numbers: 452 (outside cylinder, Flying Grande herald), 458 (inside cylinder, Moffat Tunnel herald) and

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ew HO scale releases from Accurail (www.accurail.com) this month include a newly tooled offset-side twin-hopper car decorated for Chesapeake & Ohio and Baltimore & Ohio; PRR 89-foot partially enclosed bi-level auto racks in mineral-red with silver panels and black, white and red placard; a 41-foot Monon Road steel gondola in oxide red with white graphics in single and threepacks; a Northern Pacific 40-foot single-sheathed wood 6-panel boxcar and a single-door steel NP boxcar both decorated in mineralred with white, black & red monad graphics; and an Illinois Central 50foot double plug-door steel boxcar

painted orange with white and black graphics.

thearn’s N scale team will have four new F45/FP45 diesels ready for delivery in May. The F45s include Wisconsin Central, Utah Railway in green and black and Utah Railway in red and gray. The FP45 is a Santa Fe Super Fleet painted in the traditional war bonnet scheme. Each of the locos will be available as a DC without sound, DCC-ready with no sound and DCC equipped with Tsunami Sound by SoundTraxx. Athearn plans to ship four versions of HO scale SFRD 50-foot steel reefers to dealers in April. Three

Page 21 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Old Yardmaster - Industry scuttlebutt, page 1

FIGURE 1: Atlas (www.atlasrr.com) is quoting a June delivery date for the sixth run of it’s popular HO scale Trainman series GP38-2 diesels. Paint schemes will include Belt Railway of Chicago (gray/black/yellow), Canadian Pacific Railway (red/white “Beaver”), Florida East Coast (blue/white), Illinois Terminal (green/yellow), Long Island Railroad (blue/yellow), and Rock Island (blue/ white “Rock”). The locomotives come with an NMRA 8-pin plug to simplify installation of DCC and the body shells will have locating dimples for installing individual grab irons. Locomotives in Atlas’ economy Trainman line utilize the same drive train as their upscale Master series. The Union Pacific GP38-2 shown above is from an earlier production run.

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462 (outside cylinder, Royal Gorge Route herald, green boiler and aluminum bronze lettering). All units in this limited run will be equipped with sound. Delivery is anticipated sometime this summer. Also newly announced by Blackstone is a project to produce HOn3 scale versions of D&RGW 3000 series boxcars as they appeared after the 1920s rebuild with economy door hardware. The ready-to-run models will be offered in three schemes (Flying Grande, Moffat Tunnel and Royal Gorge) in three different stages of

aging (freshly shopped, weathered, and sun faded). Delivery is planned for the first quarter of this year. Completing the trio of new products with be a run of D&RGW double-deck sheep cars with delivery expected in late fall.

alifornia Roadbed Company is offering a sample kit of its popular precut Homosote® roadbed. To obtain a sample call 530-347-9783. Please call during west coast business hours and thanks for mentioning that you heard about this offer from the Old Yardmaster.

For details on the types of roadbed available visit the company web site at www.calroadbed.com.

arstens Publications has introduced a new book titled “HOn3 Annual 2009 – A How-To Guide for HO Narrow Gauge Railroading”. Priced at $14.95, the 8.5 x 11-inch perfect-bound, 100 page book is targeted at both newcomers to HO scale narrow gauge as well as veteran modelers with a wealth of prototype and modeling information including detailed photos and inspiring layouts. This is the inaugural issue of what Carstens says will be an annual publication similar to its popular On30 Annual. The new Hon3Annual 2009 is available from hobby dealers or direct from the publisher at www. hon3annual.com.

ave Frary says the book he and Bob Hayden wrote in the 1990s, “303 Tips For Building Structures & Scenery,” is now available in PDF

Scale Color Key: FIGURE 2: Here is an early look at an undecorated engineering sample of Bluford Shops (www.bluford-shops.com) forthcoming 70-ton 3-bay hopper. The design of the N scale model features a central die-cast assembly that incorporates the slope sheet, hopper-bay and sill assembly. The sides, ends, hopper doors, brake tank, valve and air lines and slope sheet braces are injection molded plastic. A separately molded vertical brake-rod and lever assembly are said to be a first on any N scale open hopper. Other features on this well-engineered model include body mounted brake hose detail, a coal load, body-mounted magnetically operating couplers, and either friction bearing or roller bearing trucks as appropriate for specific road names. Scheduled for availability this spring the cars are tentatively priced at about $18 each. Page 22 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Old Yardmaster - Industry scuttlebutt, page 2

Z scale news N scale news HO scale news S scale news

form. It is posted and ready for downloading on Dave’s web site – www.mrscenery.com. Be advised that this is a large file (107 MB) with over 96 pages and 190 color and black & white photos. If you have a slow internet connection you may prefer purchasing the book on CD. Visit Dave’s web site.

nterMountain Railway (www. imrcmodels.com) is preparing six new paint schemes for its HO and N scale FT series of EMD diesel locomotives. Road names will include ATSF (blue and yellow cat whisker), Great Northern (Empire Builder), New York Central (lightning stripes), Northern Pacific (green with yelloworange stripes), Milwaukee Road (orange and maroon) and Reading. Delivery is expected in July or August. Also coming from IMRC in late summer is a series of HO scale class R-40-1 Pacific Fruit Express steel reefers with three different paint schemes including Union Pacific Overland herald in color, SP-UP double herald in color, and SP-UP double herald in black and white. Each scheme will be available in

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six road numbers for a total of 18 different PFE reefers.

odel-Trains-Video (www. model-trains-video.com) has a collection of never-before-published digital photos of Fillmore Yard, the newest area of George Sellios’ famous Franklin & South Manchester

layout. Priced at $20, the collection consists of 55 high-resolution (1800 x 1200 pixels each) downloadable digital images.

ollowing months of research and design engineering NorthWest Short Line (www.nwsl.com) has announced two new 12 volt DC

FIGURE 3: Builders-In-Scale (www.builders-in-scale.com) has introduced this good looking one-stall wood engine house suitable for any small standard or narrow gauge locomotive – steam or diesel. The approximately 6 x 9-inch foot print includes the main structure with workshop and a shed with laser-cut wood flooring. Construction features the company’s new LaserWood planking with nailhead detailing. Construction of the interior framing is over full-sized templates using laser-cut walls and roof. Strips of self-adhesive laser-cut shakes shingles are provided for the roof. White metal detail castings are included along with working hinges for the engine doors. Builders-In-Scale also offers similar structures with two and three engine stalls. Page 23 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Old Yardmaster - Industry scuttlebutt, page 3

motors to replace the specialized Sagami motors that went out of production two years ago. Model 1630D-9 is a 12,500 rpm motor that measures 1.106-inch long by .476-inch on the flat side by .610-inch on the round side. It has a 1.5mm stainless steel shaft.

Model 2032D-9 is a high-torque motor rated at 9,500 rpm with a 2.0 mm shaft. The body measures 1.26inch long by .603-inch (flat) by .803inch (round). Other fascinating stuff at NWSL includes an assortment of amazingly flexible hook-up wire that goes a long

FIGURE 4: Fos Scale Limited (www.foslimited.com) has released this HO scale craftsman kit for a small yard office. Called Tower Two, the kit includes the Tichy water column and features laser-cut clapboard walls and roofing material. The finished model occupies a footprint of 2 x 8-inches.

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way toward easing the challenge of fine soldering in restricted space. Topping the list of flexible wire is 29 gauge wire made up of 51 strands of fine copper wire that is so flexible it can best be described as limp. Other offerings include 28 gauge 7 strand wire and a new 28 gauge 44 strand wire available in red, orange gray and black with more colors to be added.

he Pacific Narrow Gauge web site (www.pacificng.com) continues

to expand its reference library with all kinds of obscure data such as a reference for identifying locomotive builder sandbox and dome designs, an early report about the National Locomotive Works, engineering data for several early railroads including the Dayton Sheridan & Grand Ronde, the San Joaquin & Sierra Nevada, the Diamond & Caldor, Mich-Cal, El Dorado Lime & Mineral Company, the Monterey and Salinas Valley Railroad and a Google map of the State Belt Railroad of California.

FIGURE 5: New decals from Highball Graphics (www. highballgraphics. com) include N and HO scale sets for Central Vermont, Duluth Winnepeg & Pacific and Canadian National as repainted to Website Scheme Plate C 50-foot boxcars. Also new are sets for Rail America/ Central Railroad of Indiana GP50 locomotives and Minnesota Dakota & Western ALCo S-2 switchers – both in HO only. Coming soon is an HO scale decal set for “The East Wind” passenger cars. Visit the above web site for full details on Highball Graphics complete line of decals. Page 24 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Old Yardmaster - Industry scuttlebutt, page 4

FIGURE 6: Kadee Quality Products (www.kadee.com) has released this HO scale Maine Central PS-2 two-bay covered hopper painted as-built in 1957 with alkaliresisting light gray.

FIGURE 7: Lake Junction Models (www.lakejunctionmodels.com) will soon begin delivery on a series of HO scale wood-side passenger cars for several roads including Missouri Pacific, Nickel Plate and Norfolk & Western. First up will be this combine composed of a one-piece cast resin roof and laser-cut sides with windows that can be modeled either open or closed. In addition to operation on period layouts, the design flexibility of these cars should adapt well as MOW equipment.

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recision Scale (www. precisionscaleco.com) will import a limited run of Milwaukee Road class EP-3 heavy electric “Quill” locomotives. The HO scale project will cover the essential stages of the popular “Quills” including early versions painted black with white lettering, red roof and red Milwaukee herald; EP-3s as modified with Delta trailing truck, roof mounted headlight and front mounted bell for single-end

operation; the same modified version decorated in orange, maroon and black livery for operation with the Olympian and Columbian; and EP-14 as modified for single-end operations painted black with white striping, red roof, red Milwaukee Road herald and a special President Harding locomotive plaque. The ready-to-run brass models are being handcrafted in Korea by BooRim Precision for delivery in May.

FIGURE 8: LASERkit (www.laserkit.com) is now shipping Garner’s Market, an HO scale craftsman kit suitable for use on layouts representing a wide range of eras. The kit uses laser-cut components with tab & slot and peel & stick construction. Features include a detailed external stairway to the second floor, interior floors and wall partitions, laser-scribed sidewalk, numerous resin and white metal detail parts, printed window shades, laser-cut curtains and window awnings and a free-standing billboard that may be positioned on the roof as shown or next to the building. The assembled structure (without sidewalk) occupies 7.25 x 3.75 x 3.25-inches high. Page 25 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Old Yardmaster - Industry scuttlebutt, page 5

he HO scale Plymouth Barracuda muscle-cars we mentioned here last month are now in production, however, River Point Station reports that due to lack of response, plans to market selected Toyota vehicles (see MRH Newsletter, page 6, May 2009) have been cancelled. This is a reminder to readers that when you see an announcement for a future product that interests

you, don’t delay in placing a reservation. The model railroad market is relatively small and current economic conditions do not encourage manufacturers to speculate on new products without some assurance of success.

ook for Roundhouse to make another release of it’s 85-foot Pullman Palace cars early this summer in four decorating schemes.

FIGURE 9: This impressive N scale structure is available now from Lunde Studios (www.lundestudios. com). Schwitters Department Store consists of stone color front, tan brick sides and back. The major components are resin castings from molds created by Bob Lunde (think Design Preservation Models and Magnuson Models). Most details, including windows, are cast in place. The finished structure is 4.75 x 4.8 x 8.4-inches high. Visit the above web site for pricing and ordering information.

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Two sleepers with different names/ numbers will be available plus a diner, combine and observation car for Chesapeake & Ohio (orange and maroon), Southern Pacific (Daylight scheme), CB&Q (red, white and green) and Pennsy (coach green). See your dealer for reservations.

he recently acquired product lines of Scale Structures LTD and Alloy Forms are once again available on a regular basis. Both lines were purchased last year by Kansas-based Ad Infinitum LLC, which will market

FIGURE 10: Microscale Decals (www. microscale.com) newly released Urban Graffiti Volume 2 is available now from hobby dealers in both HO and N scale sets.

the kits, vehicles and detail parts direct from its web site at www.scalestructures.com.

s Smoky Mountain Model Works (www. smokymountainmodelworks.com) puts the final touches on its new GE 44-ton switcher, work will begin toward an early 2010 delivery of B&O class I-5c and I-5d wood side cabooses. We’ll keep MRH readers advised of progress on the S scale cast resin project.

tevens Creek continues to expand it’s selection of correctly-sized laser-cut glazing for Grandt Line

FIGURE 11: Model Memories (www. modelmemories.com) has see-through etched-brass roofwalks (AKA running board) as replacements for out-ofscale molded plastic roofwalks. The HO scale roofwalks come in 2-packs and are available for 40-foot and 50foot cars. They may be purchased direct through the above web site.

Page 26 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Old Yardmaster - Industry scuttlebutt, page 6

and Tichy windows and doors. In addition to saving time, the precise glazing results in a greatly improved appearance to the finished model. The company’s web site (www.hon3.com) includes a list of available glazing plus helpful information regarding installation adhesives. rainworx (www.train-worx.com) will begin shipping its N scale fourbay hopper in February decorated for Burlington Northern, Missouri Pacific and Indianapolis Power and Light. The company is planning another run this spring of it’s popular N scale Rio Grande 46-foot general service gondola in 24 new road numbers. Look for a similar re-run of Southern Pacific GS gondolas in three new paint schemes to follow.

wners of vintage locomotives with broken or missing parts can find help from Yardbird Classic Trains (www.yardbirdtrains.com). The company specializes in repairs and restoration of original Mantua, Tyco, Bowser, Penn Line, Roundhouse and Varney models.  See remaining photo and Late Breaking news on next page...

Send us your product announcements! If you are a hobby manufacturer with a product you want to announce, just click here and submit your announcement to us!

FIGURE 12: Ragg’s…To Riches (www.raggstoriches. biz) has announced the availability of an O scale kit for a West Side Logging Company Bunk House. Construction of the lasercut kit features pre-cut, peel-and-stick vertical siding over a plywood core. Hold-down furring strips on the peel-and-stick tarpaper roof add a bit of funk to the overall look of the structure. The door and window arrangements of the prototype bunk houses differed slightly and the versatility of this kit allows builders to follow a similar random approach in completing their model. This easy-to-assemble kit is also available in HO and S scale.

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FIGURE 13: RY Models is currently taking reservations for O scale Mathieson class RC and LRC insulated refrigerator cars, more commonly called dry-ice cars. Illustrated above is the handcrafted brass pilot model of the class LRC car. Delivery is planned for the third quarter of this year. For additional information on both the model and the prototype visit www. richyodermodels.com.

About our news and events editor

Briefly noted at press time... . . . Martin Lofton, proprietor of Sunshine Models and founder of the Naperville RPM Meet, suffered a severe attack of poisoning while traveling in December. Tricia Lofton, his wife and business partner, said Martin spent several days under emergency care in late December and would undergo major surgery before the end of the month. She is optimistic about Martin’s recovery and has requested customers to be patient since an extended period of recuperation is expected. 

Richard Bale writes our news column under the byline of The Old Yardmaster. He has been writing about the model railroad trade for various hobby publications since the 1960s. He enjoys building models, particularly structures, some of which appeared in the June 2006 issue of Model Railroader magazine.

Page 27 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Old Yardmaster - Industry scuttlebutt, page 7

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Selected Events January 2010 CALIF., SANTA CLARA, January 30-31, Joint Annual Regional Meeting of Pacific Coast Region NMRA and Layout Design and Operations Special Interest Groups, South Bay Historical Railroad Society room, Caltrain Depot. Detail at www.pcrnmra.org/sigs. FLORIDA, COCOA BEACH, January 7-10, Prototype Rails, prototype modelers meet featuring who’s who in clinicians, Hilton Hotel, 1550 N. Atlantic Ave. Details from host Mike Brock at www.prototyperails.com. GEORGIA, ATLANTA, January 16, 38th Atlanta Model Train & Railroadiana Show, North Atlanta Trade Center. MASS., WEST SPRINGFIELD, January 30-31, Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show, Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds. Details at www.railroadhobbyshow.com. VIRGINIA, CHANTILLY, (Washington D.C.), January 23-24, World’s Greatest Hobby on Tour, Dulles Expo Center, Chantilly Shopping Center. Details at www.wghshow.com. CANADA, ONTARIO, PARIS, January 17, Paris Junction 2010 Model Train Show, Paris Fairgrounds. For details contact John Moseley at Moseley@simpatico.ca.

February 2010 CALIF., LONG BEACH, February 15-16, World’s Greatest Hobby on Tour, Long Beach Convention Center. Details at www.wghshow.com. COLORADO, DENVER, February 20-21, World’s Greatest Hobby on Tour, National Western Complex. Details at www.wghshow.com. GEORGIA, PINE MOUNTAIN, February 6, Narrow Gauge Railroad Day, Mountain Creek Inn. Details at www.themontgomerys.info/NGRDHOME/ NGRDindex.html. TEXAS, HOUSTON, February, 24-27, Sn3 Symposium, Hobby Airport Marriott Hotel. Details at www.sn3-2010.com.

Future 2010 CALIF., STOCKTON, March 13, Winterrail 2010, Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 33 W. Alpine Ave.

CONN., COLLINSVILLE, June 4-5, New England Prototype Modelers Meet, Canton Community Center. Details at www.neprototypemeet.com. GEORGIA, PORT WENTWORTH, March 19-20, Savannah Prototype Modeler’s Meet, Port Wentworth Recreation Center. Details from Bob Harpe at RHarpe@comcast.net. ILLINOIS, NAPERVILLE, October 21-24, Naperville RPM Meet, Naperville Holiday Inn. INDIANA, EDINBURGH (Columbus), April 24, Hoosier On30 Meet, Jonson County Park. Details at www.trainweb.org. KANSAS, BENTON, November 6-7, Mid-Continent Prototype Modelers Meet, Benton Lions Community Center, 150 S. Main Street. Details at www.midcontinentprototypemodelers.org. MAINE, GRAY (Portland), March 20, 3rd Annual Maine All-Scale Narrow Gauge Show. MASS., MANSFIELD, Nov 10-14, Craftsman Structure Show, Mansfield Holiday Inn. Details at www.css2010.com. MISSOURI, ST LOUIS, September 1-4, 30th National Narrow Gauge Convention, St Charles Convention Center. Details at www.30ngconvention.org. OHIO, GREENFORD, March 26-29, All Scales Narrow Gauge Meet, Greenford Christian Church. Details at www.narrowtracks.com. OREGON, ELSIE, March 6, Pacific Model Loggers’ Congress, Camp 18 Restaurant (approx.18 miles east of Seaside). Details at www.pacificmodelloggerscongress.com. OREGON, MEDFORD, April 30-May 1, National Z-Scale Convention, Ramada Inn Convention Center. Details at www.micro-trains.com/NZC_2010.php. PENN., VALLEY FORGE, 26-28, Railroad Prototype Modelers Meet, Desmond Great Valley Hotel, Details at www.phillynmra.org/rpmmeet.html. WISCONSIN, MILWAUKEE, July 11-18, NMRA 75th Anniversary National Convention, details at www.nmra75.org. WISCONSIN, MILWAUKEE, November 13-14, Trainfest, Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park. Details at www.trainfest.com. NEW ZEALAND, CHRISTCHURCH, April 1-5, NZ Association of Model Railroad Clubs National Conventions, St. Andrews College, Merivale. Details at www. gcmrsleeper.org/nzamrc/index.html. 

COLORADO, LITTLETON, June 11-12, 4th Annual Rocky Mountain Prototype Modelers Meet, Littleton Baptist Church, 1400 W. Caley Avenue. Details at www.rockymountainprototypemodelers.org. Page 28 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Old Yardmaster - Industry scuttlebutt, Selected Events, page 8

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MRH Sponsor Spotlight: Railroad Kits Mar/Apr 2010 issue sneak peek ...

ailroad Kits, Model Railroad Hobbyist’s new sponsoring advertiser, specializes in affordable wood craftsman structure kits. Make a great kit. Make it affordable. That’s the slogan of Railroad Kits, and it’s a good one! In a market where good kits can go for hundreds of dollars, Railroad Kits owner Jimmy Deignan felt there was room for affordable, easy-to-build kits. The simpler, more affordable kits provide an excellent way for you to “get your feet

wet” with a craftsman wood kit but not feel pressured because the kit was so costly. We salute Jimmy for taking this approach to the craftsman structure kit and are proud to have him join the family of MRH sponsors!

Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine The planet’s most popular model railroading mediaZine!

Release date: March 1, 2010

Make sure to visit www.railroadkits.com!

Page 29 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • MRH Sponsor Spotlight • Issue 6 sneak peek

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Craftsman Structure Show 09 Visual Report

Reader Feedback (click here)

odel Railroad Hobbyist attended the 2009 Craftsman Structure Show in Mansfield, MA last N ovember. Here’s a visual report sampling of the many fine structure kits at the show using 3D click-n-spins. We hope you enjoy this exclusive MRH report from this show, featuring an astounding array of exquisite structure modeling. For more on the 2009 Craftsman Structure Show, see the exclusive MRH Theater video report on our web site. 

Figure 1. Railroad Kits: Reaghan Feed Mill (HO Scale). Visit the Railroad Kits web site for details.

Page 30 • Issue 5 • Jan/Feb 2010 • Craftsman Structure Show 2009 viisual report - page 1

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