Personal journal (editorial or commentary)
Quebec & New England HO Layout
Hello
I have received numerous requests from my YouTube subscribers (QNERailroad) to post my layout's track plan, so I thought I'd give this forum a try. I don't know how well it will show up, but here goes. I added some colour to the visible level track plan to make it a little more readable. It's not perfect. It still needs scenery/ground cover and a hint of ballast, but that requires more time than I can spare at the moment. The hidden staging track plan includes the two helices. Enjoy.
Sheldon Frankel
How to Use U.S. Geological Survey to plan your model railroad.
I have been ask many times about how I use U.S. Geological Survey map. How to get the year you are looking for. So i did a video on how I do it Step by step.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83YSOAcAIDY
Hope this may be of help to someone
Mike Deverell
SMA12 - 17 Channel Configurable Multifunction $5 DCC Decoder For Servos
One of my earlier entries: SMA10 – Build a 17-Function DCC Decoder for about $5 ( http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/19070 ) generated a considerable amount of interest regarding the possible enhancement for controlling Servomotors (Servos). This is my next version of a 17 Channel Multifunction DCC Decoder based on a low cost $2.56 Arduino Pro Mini.
New Buildings and a bunch of poles
Between all the good weather there was bad weather. That meant putting a bunch of new buildings together and starting some more scenery.
Modifying a 12V LED strip to operate on 5V for use with Gold-caps (Super capacitors) for coach lighting
Back in June I wrote an article on Flicker free LED's for under $2 for coach lighting.
The drawback with operating on 12V is you cannot use the 5.5VDC rated Gold-caps (Super capacitors) but need to use larger electrolytics for flicker free operation. Also the commercially available LED tape needs a minimum of 7.8V to even light up the LED.
Well the price of 5M LED tape is still compellingly cheap on eBay, than buying 5V LED tape at some crazy price. A little modification and patience lends into a very useful idea, achievable in 15-20 min.
Denver Union Station and Rice yard
As work continues we had a work weekend last week. And turnout was not too good as some of the crew had personal and work obligations to meet. So Sean and I carried on as we finish the siding in Longmont and turn the corner to head into Denver.
N-scale Santa Fe Blue Goose Upgraded to DCC Sound
This short video shows my N-scale Con-Cor (~1986 vintage) Santa Fe Blue Goose (4-6-4) running with DCC sound during its final installation test before being shipped back to me. I had the same professional installer (reasonably priced) that had converted a Walther’s DL109 for me last year. This installation used a Digitrax SDN136PS which is also very reasonably priced. This is the same engine that can be seen in a couple of previous videos testing out my spline helix while running in DC prior to being converted to DCC.
SMA11 – Build a MicroScene and Extend Your Hobby to Others
I am often asked by family and friends, “What are you working on?” Explaining the joy and intricacies of model railroading and my personal interest in animation sometimes does not quite capture everything I would like to convey. But I happened to come upon a far more effective means of accomplishing this in short order, by building small “MicroScenes” which I use as gifts to introduce people to my work and the model railroading hobby. I cannot begin to tell you the impact this has had! It is simply overwhelming. Read on.
In Search of Cardstock
Cardstock is an essential material for frugal modeling. But, how to find it. It won't likely just appear. It takes some scrounging and thrifting, but the effort is worth it. Join me as I share some of my favorite sources for this versatile material, and some ideas for using it: http://joshuadewolfe.wordpress.com/2014/09/12/idea-2-in-search-of-cardstock-mrbg/
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