Hi all,
Been a while since I was here lost all my links to a virus. But wanted to let you know I just added a free down loadable scale ruler to my home page. Right now it has HO,N ,Z, and T scales. just print out at 100% on card stock and you will be set to go.
We also released a new 2 stall concrete block engine house complete with service pits so check it out. A wood framed and sided version is on the way also.
thanks rich
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Hi Folks,

Sometime in the distant past I may have mentioned that I was removing part of a concrete block basement bearing wall in order to allow the future layout to turn back from one room into another. I've attached a link to a photo gallery below.

I cut the wall on one side with an SDS hammer (think power chisel or mini-jackhammer) on a Wednesday, a friend and I put the shoring up to support the joists that were sitting on the part of the wall that was being removed Thursday, my son spent Friday chiseling out the vertical mortar joints (and I cut the other side of the wall that evening. Saturday was the big day - the wall came down and steel went up with the help of my son, father, brother, uncle and a friend, with my wife supplying vittles. All total, about 12 hours work - 6 of that being wall removal and steel installation. I was astounded at how well it went - and so far, no cracks in the walls upstairs.

The exposed end of the concrete was just capped off this weekend. Minus paint, the task is complete!

Enjoy.

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Matt Goodman
Columbus, OH

I’ve recently wired two turnout motors to two of my turnouts on my small 5.5x3’ DC HO layout. These turnouts are located on the outer loop and take locos to and from the layout’s small fiddle yard. There’s an inner loop and outer loop.

FYI, I’m using Hornby point motors that fit and work well with the Hornby turnouts. The wires feed into Atlas switches / buttons for controlling the turnouts. I now have two problems.

1.) At first, these point motors worked very well but then I ran into a problem. The inner loop (which is powered by the transformer that also powers the two turnout motors) is now receiving electricity even when the transformer is in the controller is in the stopped position. In other words, the loco should be stopped but it still runs slowly around the track.

2.) And now one of the turnout motors only switches the siding in one direction — it won’t switch the turnout into the other direction. This problem only started last night.

I asked about problem 1 at the LHS where I bought the turnouts. The guy that I normally deal with said that I should try to ensure that none of the strands of wire are are touching other screws, etc. At first, this seemed to help but the problem kept recurring. I’ve checked this and, as far as I can tell, there are no loose strands of wire.

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to solve this as I’m getting very frustrated. I also realize that I’ve done a poor job of explaining this and, if I get a chance, I’ll try to post some pics in the next day or so.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Rob

has anyone here ever considered brass etching as a tool for model building? While searching for information on PCboard etching I ran across this:

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I have etched copper clad PC boards before with great success. But I have been considering ways in which the technique could be used in model railroading. This could be useful for making brass detail parts such as grilles or even scratchbuilding locomotives out of brass. I am wondering if this technique could also be used to make a stamp or a stencil for applying logos on decal paper, or even spraying logos directly on rolling stock.

Well the family wanted to head out to the cottage country this weekend so I happened to bring my camera along.


Herzog tie train takes the siding at Elma.
[albumimg]2399[/albumimg]

301 Heads through the cut at Indigo(took 9 years to catch a train here)
[albumimg]2400[/albumimg]

An unusual piece of equipment sits in Hadashville, In the GWWD yard.
[albumimg]2401[/albumimg]

On the return trip to home 8898 heads west towards Winnipeg.
[albumimg]2402[/albumimg]

And after some HASTY driving I managed to catch it one more time in Dugald
[albumimg]2403[/albumimg]

I spent a sunny Saturday around Deshler this weekend and this is what I caught:













More photos are available on flickr.

Heya guys,
I know this should probably go in the N scale section but I'm hoping I'll get more thoughts and comments here...
I've recently decided I'd like to model a small harbor scene near my refinery/fuel depot and downtown yard. I wasn't thinking anything large... 4"X12" or possibly as large as 6"X18" (in N scale, that would be 53'X160' or 80'X240'). I'm trying to stick to the transition era and I'll have a couple of tracks in near proximity to the waters edge.

Trouble is, I'm not finding much at all in the way of examples or pictures in the real world or the modeling world of what the shoreline would look like. I'm also finding just a scattering of mid sized vessels in the 1:160 range. I seem to remember that the Jerome and Southwestern had a small harbor scene but I can't find any references to it or pictures.

Ideally, I'd like to have a tug boat and maybe a small barge tied up at the waters edge with room for some future craft as I find them. My LHS said that Walthers had a company that offered some boats but I can't find them.

Any and all help, thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

I'll go take a picture of the area and post it in a little bit.

On Wednesday I lucked into chasing the eastbound Norfolk Southern local from Lima, Ohio back to Findlay. It was cloudy, and occasionally rainy, but in the end everything worked out.



















More photos are available on flickr.

found this photo of a early fith wheel camper. shure looks like it might be a old street car or a old wooden passenger car. whay do you think ?
jim

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pretty soso pics (my cellphone camera doesnt work so good up close)

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these are streelights I am currently making

the photo's are pretty lousy I know
but the keyboard is to give a scale

197 is an led I fitted to a copper tube (cut the copper tube so the led fitted, the tube will be the - and the + is soldered to the led and a very fine wire run down inside the tubing to be the + wire)

196 shows the overall size
(sorry about the blurryness- my cellphone camera just doesnt like working down this small...)

the streetlight `hood' is one size larger tube- with a fine ( <1mm) cut to fit the led inside
fitted to a smaller sized tube
after the bend (just slightly to the left of the righthand side of the f1 key (does that make any sense??))
to be as close to prototypical as possible you may see the step up in size

this is one of the leds I am using ( there are differnt colours and even different `hoods' that look very much like old fashioned fluro's and those yellow merc vapour lights as well)