Tropicana train pics

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Are Bowser and Mantua axle shafts for steam locomotives the same diameter? I know Bowser axle shafts are 1/8th" but I am not sure about the Mantua shafts. The NWSL question pertains to the Mantua shafts. What NWSL gearboxes have you used on your Mantua Pacifics & Mikados?


Mark

This is for the Nascar fans and everyone else that likes a good joke.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://biggeekdad.com/2014/02/taxi-cab-test-drive/#.UxChbDoKQbU.gmail">http://biggeekdad.com/2014/02/taxi-cab- ... KQbU.gmail</a><!-- m -->
If you didn't see last years performance there is a link to it there too...
Great laughs.
Charlie

I just picked up these two products from Scenic Express because I wanted to add a little color to the scrub brush/grass sections of my layout:






The backing is a very thin membrane so the clumps are very easy to separate. Glued down with some tacky glue, they give a nice punch of color and variation to my mostly green or bare areas:






Pretty good stuff  

With a late start to the WPF thread, it looks like a slow day everywhere. There weren't even any trains in sight when Barney Secord accidentally snapped this shot while putting an empty back into the case:




Wayne

Hi,

I noticed that Model Power produces assembled / built up kits. I'm somewhat interested in them, but I don't want the base included. Will it be easy to pry off the base? Or would it be best for me to just get a Model Power kit and assemble it myself without the base?

Malabar is a small yard on the BNSF Harbor Sub in the Los Angeles area. It's pretty convenient to where I live, and I visit there frequently. There's also a lot of info available on it in forums and books like Charles Freericks's Southern California Local Freight Trains. On the other hand, I see a lot of discussion on industrial switching layouts, or ISLs, and from what I see in the Los Angeles area (a very, very large metropolitan area), I'm inclined to say that when I look at model ISLs, even those by well-known professional modelers who shall remain unnamed, I keep thinking of my favorite commercial http://www.marketmenot.com/esurance-beat...ommercial/ and want to say, "That's not how it works. That's not how any of this works."

I sometimes think about putting together an article for MR, RMC, or MRH with this material, but frankly, I've dealt with all of them, and it's a pain that's not worth the few hundred bucks I'd get (if I got it from RMC at all, which is a no-pay or slow-pay). So I'm posting it here.

Here is a diagram of Malabar that I found on the web. I think it's about 20 years old, and some of the trackage shown has been removed. Almost all the industrial spurs shown have not been served in many years -- it may be that BNSF keeps the names on the books in light of the possibility that one might come back to use, but I don't think that's going to happen.


  Malabar diagram.jpg (Size: 209.01 KB / Downloads: 2139)

However, it's worth pointing out several things. One is that every track has a number, and often a name as well. This is related to the fact that every track has a clear purpose. Railroad tracks cost money. They don't get built because someone thinks a crossing would look good here. They are straight unless there's a good reason to curve them. A lot of shelf layout builders don't seem to understand this.

More in the next post.

After my last layout and module before that had to be dismantled (both due to moving) in their very early stages, I decided to start planning my options for a new HO layout that will be able to move with me. I've always had an interest in New York harbor railroads but needed one that was pretty compact without the complex track work and I thought B&O's 26th st terminal is just what i'm looking for. It serves itself with one Alco S1 and a float bridge all in 1 city block. I found an article specifically on this terminal in HO scale <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://trainlife.com/magazines/pages/284/21128/september-1999-page-14">http://trainlife.com/magazines/pages/28 ... 99-page-14</a><!-- m -->. The track plan on page 14 is supposedly 5x8 which I thought would be plenty of space. The era of the layout will be the late 60's and this is how the terminal was arranged at that time.
My idea is to have the yard and 12th avenue in the 5x8 foot print with a lift out carfloat and bridge. I downloaded a free track plan cad but the plan I came up with doesn't seem like it fits at all, yet the plan in the TrainLife article seems to fit pretty well. This is my extremely rough plan with my little experience using these programs.
I reduced the 5 tracks in the lower right hand corner of the yard to 4 and the length of the track in the top right corner quite a bit and still doesn't seem to fit in a 5x8 space which I thought wasn't going to be a problem. The 2 tracks in the top left corner would be the lead to the float bridge but there needs to be a double crossover (I couldn't find one in the track library) as well as a run around or else this yard is unoperational, the engine would be trapped in sidings. I put some painters tape on the floor in 5x8 formation and mocked up some track and switches and it seems like there should be plenty of room for this terminal. I'm thinking about bringing the actual map to Kinkos or something like that and have them print it out on a 5x8 sheet of paper including everything to the right of the seawall, not sure what it would cost but it might be a better option for me then the track programs. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Bought this as a buy it now.



This is what was in the box when I opened it



The problem was a new helper on the seller's end.Told her I would not leave bad feedback (and I didn't)but hoped she would do better packing from now on.Her responce was a full imediate refund and telling meb I could keep the loco if I wished.I did wish it took about 20 minutes to repair the loco to very smooth operation.I suppose I should mention it is a Mantua with a can motor all wheel drive.

Take a good look at that shell .It was tooled in 1961 and the only change from the origonal unit is it has nicely rendered plastic handrails.

Actually the whole reason for posting this is to show you that there are some very good dealers on Ebay. :mrgreen:

Is anyone going to the East Coast Large Scale Train Show in York Pa??
Next weekend March 21 & 22.

It's exclusively large scale - all the G scales.....

I know there are a few here that go to the TCC show in April too..