I'm starting on laying my yard and was wondering if it is the best for the space I have assigned to it.

A friend of mine has an exit to staging on his layout. We have been thinking of ways to block the line of sight.

The problem is that the way the track has to exit the layout, the light from the staging area, shines through onto the layout and distracts from the illusion he wants.

We have come up with an idea. We want to put a solid "gate" across the track on the staging side of the layout.

Hi everyone,

I am considering shipping a large structure model by mail, (12'' x 12'' x 18'' grain elevator complex). The primary structure is fairly durable but it has a dozen details attached that could break off. This would then be returned by the person I ship it to after display. This would be from Colorado to Minnesota by the way.

Have any of you done this and was it successful or a failure? How did you pack it and what shipper did you use? 

Thanks ahead of time!

I have a Rivarossi 2-8-8-2 that threw a crankpin a few days ago. My old eyes can't find it so I'm trying to locate a new one. It is on the left rear drive set and is the one on the geared wheelset. I believe the part number is either R04467 or P-122-017. It measures m1.4 x 3.2mm with a 3.0mm hex head. I've checked ebay and others without success. Any help would be appreciated.