Modeling topic
Comment on new layout design
As the topic says, I am looking for comments or advise on my layout design.
Here is a little background. I decided to start in the hobby a couple of months ago, during which time I have been lurking here, reading books and magazines, and gathering knowledge. I have negotiated a space in the garage which is 21'x5' and after a couple of iterations have settled on a possible layout.
Does anybody know? If so, you could make a fortune!
Does anybody know the answer to this question?:
After a train with the same cars has gone through the same area on the same track over 150 times, why on trip 151 does one of the cars derail (in a straight section of track)? An inspection of track, cars.....everything reveals no problems. Oh, and of course if I run the same train over the same track again it doesn't derail - but perhaps on trip 177 a different car derails in a different area!
Alcove Expansion - Fiber Optic Lights for the Mural
The artist that painted my mural in the alcove area included some street and building lights at my request as I hoped to be able to illuminate them in the future. It just so happens that I had gotten some free samples of fiber optic "cable" from a vendor that posts to the MRH site. When I received the samples I was intrigued and purchased some more cable in different sizes along with an illuminator. Today I thought that I'd try things out.
More on prototypical operation
Here's another idea for the super-foamers out there. You know who you are...
Along with working air brakes, having a locomotive that is able to roll freely is an important part of being able to realistically model the way a real train is run. The difference between that and a worm-driven model is fundamental, and affects a good deal of how we control and operate our layouts.
Battery power
On the subject of battery power - Yes it is possible. The defunct British company Tri--ang, (now Hornby) made an O guage battery set some years ago called the 'Big Big Train'. O.K., it was a 'toy' and O guage but the basic accuracy of its mouldings was as good as any, and on repaint looked pretty real.. Running on Peco Streamline track it ran several years in my garden very reliably using rechargeable standard U2 and U11 cells. Being battery-powered made track laying easier because there was no need to solder. T
Tales from the Basin 3: Back in the Cab
The Sudbury Division has been fired up for another season of operations, and I decided to try documenting the first session with my camcorder. This is what I came up with:
Friends of BNSF
Very cool new site setup by BNSF called "Friends of BNSF". All kinds of goodies here. Great resource for railfans and modelers of BNSF and it's predecessors. Downloads, history, videos, photos.....check it out!
Introducing the NCIOG
I'd like to introduce the NCIOG - North County Interchange Operating Group. The North County Interchange Operating Group is a model train club focused on the construction and operation of our own personal home layouts. One of the things I really like about the group is it's "loose" rules - here's a sampling:
Questions on how to get a Powerhouse 2-4-4-2 to run smoothly
In 1988 I purchased an Oriental Powerhouse 2-4-4-2 (Little River/Skookum type).
This is a die cast body on a Samhongsa chassis. Since I am starting to build the
part of the logging section of the railroad in which rod locomotives will take
the logs to the sawmill, I thought I would try to get this locomotive in
operational form. It has a can motor and with some tuning and lubricating, the
loco chassis should be fine. I will be putting a Tsunami light steam decoder
22 Stories up - The pain of apartment living is eased with a Portable Spray Booth!
There are some advantages of living in an apartment, but at least in mine, the ease of painting models isn't one of them. Our windows open only slightly due to the height of the building and the design, and we have no outside space to relocate to when it comes to this kind of task.
As a result, I had assembled a Tichy flat car, and there it sat for months, wanting paint. And naturally I sat by, also wanting to paint it.
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