Locos and rolling stock
Rail trains?
Just thinking out loud tonight, as I sit in the hotel waiting for my train back home. I haven't seen many models of rail trains, and I'm curious why. There are two distinct types which we handle on NS with some regularity.
Maine Narrow Gauge Steam Video
This weekend the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad in Portland is running their Steam Locomotive. Today I went to see it and shot this video. This is a 2 foot Narrow Gauge Railroad. It only runs on a couple of miles of track but it is pretty interesting. They also have a nice museum as well as several pieces of equipment outside which include Freight Cars and passenger cars. Here's a link to My You Tube video..
Concor containers opinion needed
I am looking for opinions on the older containers marketed by ConCor. These might actually be made by Herpa or Promotex, but I am not sure.
Anyway, I ordered a bunch of them on closeout with the purpose in mind of making them background models or lower containers for well cars.
To begin with, the pins are backwards from every other manufacturer, so one has to scrape off and drill holes in the tops of the containers and then add small brass wire to the bottoms to act as pins. That is easy enough to do.
Looking for help--need fireman's view of tender
I am working on an HOn30 2-6-2 for my Maine narrow gauge line, the North Central Railroad. Due to the nature of the model, the front of the tender is somewhat noticeable, so I need to know what the front of a small, hand-shovelled tender looks like, preferable with the coal load half down or so. Does anyone know where there's some photos?
Thanks!
There's a pic of the partially built little darling here: http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/8969
What exactly was a "switch engine" in the steam era?
The Steam Locomotive Cyclopedia states that switch engines were required to have footboards rather than pilots, and goes on to describe the required dimensions for them. I'm thinking about my Porter 2-6-0 project, and I can't help thinking that I would really like to have a nice road pilot on there. However, since it's intended to be an engine owned and operated by an industry (or maybe a consortium of local industries, I haven't decided yet), I suspect that it would be required to have footboards.
Remote Uncoupling
Having been one of the advocates against remote uncoupling because of the electrical parts used that was posted by the original poster, I'm wondering if it would be right to approach this subject again.
I started thinking about the whole subject and wondered if it could be miniaturized to fit in the center beam of a flat car or tank car. The way I see it two components need to be miniaturized for it to fit into the center beam of a car, the electronics and the motor or similar device to pull on the coupler.
F&C--my first craftsman kit, and locomotive
I have completed my first craftsman kit, with respectable results, I like to think. It's F&C's Sandy River and Rangely Lakes HOn30 boxcar (representing a 2' gauge, but allowing the use of N-scale hardware. Overall, it went together quite nicely, though, of course, taking a fair amount of work compared to a shake the box kit. I did learn something important, though: Next time, when building the sides of a similar kit--and the second boxcar to come in the pack--I'll build it around the floor rather than the roof. I had to file the floo
Tapered brass tube?
I need some advice from the modeling gurus here. I want to make an HO scale stack like the one in this photo:
Has anyone used Northwest short lines powered trucks?
Has anyone used Northwest Short Lines motors? I like the idea of a power truck that doesn't protrude above the deck. Before starting a scratch-build steam loco, I'll be scratchbuilding Atlantic Shore Lines steeplecab #100. That loco has nothing but a flatcar deck over the power trucks, so I NEED power that fits in the truck--or I abandon my plans for that locomotive.
If anyone has used them, will I need two power trucks, or will one suffice? She'll be moving relatively short consists--no more than 4-5 cars.
Moldable weight?
I'm looking for ideas on how to pack weight into this little locomotive. The boiler is pretty open at the moment, so casting lead is an option. I would prefer something that does not involve a lot of molten metal and broken solder joints, however. I know there is a low-temp weight metal, but where do I get it, how much is it, and will it melt a solder joint on the boiler? Lead shot is an option, but I would like a little better density. Because the model is so small, I really need to get every gr
>> Posts index
Navigation
Journals/Blogs
Recent Blog posts: