2016-04 Model Railroader Magazine - PDFCOFFEE.COM (2024)

PUT A DCC DECODER in an old Athearn diesel

p. 60

New ‘Bluetooth’ diesel tested p. 62 April 2016 www.ModelRailroader.com

TRACK AND ROADBED How to get great results like this!

p. 28

Build scenery using cardboard webbing p. 24 PLUS

Scale drawings for a junction tower p. 41

Add lights and animation to an HO structure p. 36

BONUS ONLINE CONTENT CODE PG. 4

Vol. 83 • Issue 4

New monthly column: Learn to operate like a pro! p. 70

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APRIL2016

Online Content Code: MRR1604 Enter this code at: www.ModelRailroader.com/code to gain access to web-exclusive content

Volume 83, Number 4

60

IN THIS ISSUE

PUT A DCC DECODER in an old Athearn diesel

p. 60

New ‘Bluetooth’ diesel tested p. 62 April 2016 www.ModelRailroader.com

41

TRACK AND ROADBED

28

How to get great results like this!

p. 28

ROCHESTER JCT RJ

28'-6"

24

Build scenery using cardboard webbing p. 24 PLUS

28 How to model realistic track and roadbed Learn an expert modeler’s tricks for making flextrack and cork look like a real right-of-way by Pelle Søeborg

Scale drawings for a junction tower p. 41

70

New monthly column: Learn to operate like a pro! p. 70

36

36 Animate structures with microcontrollers

On the cover: Pelle Søeborg shares the tracklaying techniques he used on his new Union Pacific Midwestern layout. Pelle

Arduino circuit boards simplify programming effects by Bruce Kingsley ▸ Online bonus ModelRailroader.com

Søeborg photo

41 A steam-era Lehigh Valley interlocking tower This tower protected a wye and small yard near Rochester, N.Y. by Harold Russell ▸ Online bonus ModelRailroader.com

44 A bridge line in HO scale

MREXTRA

A retired railroader builds his double-deck dream layout re-creating mountain railroading in West Virginia by Lou Sassi ▸ Online bonus ModelRailroader.com

53 Low riders on the Sandy River

Add lights and animation to an HO structure p. 36

IN EVERY ISSUE 6 Digital MR

60 DCC Corner

The latest features on our website by Dana Kawala

The basics of decoder installation by Larry Puckett

8 From the Editor

62 Product Reviews MREXTRA

Technology and operations by Neil Besougloff

Modifying boxcars to better resemble their Maine prototypes was simplified by a parts swap by Lou Sassi

10 News & Products

54 Building from memory

Hobby industry news by Cody Grivno

MREXTRA

Camping along the Chicago & North Western as a kid inspired this HO layout by Dave Rickaby ▸ Online bonus ModelRailroader.com

72 Trackside Photos by Steven Otte ▸ Online bonus ModelRailroader.com

16 Railway Post Office Letters from our readers by Hal Miller

18 Ask MR What’s in a buffer car? by Steven Otte

22 Heritage Fleet George D. Stock helped pioneer HO scale by Keith Wills

NEXT ISSUE In May, learn about building a model railroad in Costa Rica, weather a diesel with acrylic paint, check out a track plan for a compact switching layout, and more!

24 Step by Step MREXTRA

N scale ACS-64 and Amfleet set from Kato, HO scale Bachmann E-Z App RS-3, and more by Dana Kawala

70 On Operation It takes more than a rule book by Jerry Dziedzic

85 Index of Advertisers and Cartoon 86 Trains of Thought Lineside details by Tony Koester

Making mountains for MR’s project layout by Eric White

MREXTRA www.ModelRailroader.com subscriber extra MRVP

Video on www.MRVideoPlus.com

Model Railroader (USPS 529-810, ISSN 0026-7341) is published monthly by Kalmbach Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612. Periodicals postage paid at Waukesha, Wis., and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Model Railroader, Kalmbach Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612. Printed in USA. Canada Publication Mail Agreement # 40010760.

62

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Subscribers get more at ModelRailroader.com!

New product video Bachmann E-Z App control Don’t miss the review of the Bachmann E-Z App RS-3, which features touch-screen control. Magazine subscribers can watch a video of senior editor Dana Kawala using an iPad to run the locomotive on the MR staff layout.

MREXTRA

Project plans New layout video highlights

MREXTRA

Click on Videos at www.ModelRailroader.com to see trains running on many of the layouts featured in Model Railroader magazine. This month, website visitors can watch video of both John Mueller’s Northern Memories layout and Larry Hickman’s River Falls & Eastern Ry.

Arduino animation

Classic steam-era interlocking tower The prototype for this interlocking tower protected a wye and small yard along the Lehigh Valley RR. Click on the link under Online Extras to download scale drawings of the trackside structure.

MR Video Plus

Lay better track

MRVP

Model Railroader Video Plus is a monthly subscription video service covering all aspects of the hobby. Check out this free preview video showing more tracklaying tips.

Add lights and action to a structure Modeler Bruce Kingsley shows how he uses Arduino microcontrollers to add multiple lights, moving figures, and other animation to his structure models on page 36. Watch a video demo of the finished structure on Bruce’s layout. Click on the link under Online Extras. 6

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APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

7

Neil Besougloff

FROMTHEEDITOR

Technology and operations

This month senior editor Dana

Kawala reviews Bachmann’s new E-Z App HO scale diesel locomotive. What’s an E-Z App? It’s an diferent way to run a locomotive. he idea is to use an App designed for an iPhone or iPad that communicates directly via Bluetooth technology to a receiver inside a locomotive. here’s no other hardware, just a train and a phone. Set-up time is perhaps all of a minute. A company called BlueRail Trains is developing Bluetooth receiver boards for separate sale. Bluetooth technology applied to model railroading is in its infancy, and Digital Command Control is the longestablished leader in contemporary train control for good reason. But I can’t help but think that Bluetooth is a neat idea. Dana’s review starts on page 62. Jerry Dziedzic is Model Railroader’s

new operations columnist. As you might suspect, Jerry will be writing monthly about operating a model railroad in a prototypical manner. Jerry is a long-time modeler with a basement-sized New York, Susquehanna & Western layout in HO scale. Jerry frequently operates on other model railroads and oten dispatches Tony Koester’s famed Nickel Plate RR HO layout. Jerry is a steam locomotive ireman trainee and a licensed conductor. He has

an understanding of railroading operations past and present in detail. I asked Jerry to write about his railroad experiences, and rather than muck things up by editing Jerry’s words, this is some of what he wrote. “... I ired an ex-Rio Grande K-28 that I got so hot at Osier I didn’t throw another scoop until Los Pinos, 30 minutes away. I held down a seat box on 844, admiring Steve Lee’s handiwork at 70 per. I switched with an NS SD-70, putting together an excursion train. I worked that train, too, radioing the dispatcher with ‘Extra NKP 765 West entering DCS territory at Gap’. “hanks to model railroad operations, I shoved drags over Locust Summit on the Reading. I held down an operator’s Jerry Dziedzic desk and copied train orders at Grand Rapids, on Great Northern’s Mesabi Division. I ran Conrail hotshots down the former NYC main through Syracuse. I dispatched roads from the C&O to the SP&S, from the Santa Cruz Northern to the Virginia Midland. “Not quite a highlight, I also dispatched the La Mesa club’s Tehachapi line so woefully that I tied it into a knot an Eagle Scout couldn’t be more proud of. ...” Jerry’s column is on page 70. In case your tongue is tied in an Eagle Scout knot trying to pronounce Jerry’s last name, it’s DEED-zik.

▸▸ Contributing to Model Railroader We welcome contributions from readers, including articles, photographs, and drawings. For more information on submitting material, call us at 262-796-8776 and ask for an MR staff member or e-mail us at mrmag@ mrmag.com. Model Railroader assumes no responsibility for the safe return of unsolicited material. We assume unsolicited material is intended for publication by Kalmbach Publishing Co. unless otherwise noted. We assume letters, questions, news releases, and club news items are contributed gratis. 8

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PROTO 2000

GP-30, W/DCC & SOUND SUPER SALE $149.99 #920-41852 CHESSIE (C&O) GP-30, W/DCC & SOUND $239.99 EA. #920-41850 SANTA FE #2700 #920-41851 SANTA FE #2710 #920-41855 MILWAUKEE #1007 #920-41856 READING #5505 #920-41857 READING #5508

GP-30, STANDARD DC SUPER SALE $99.99 EA. #920-48850 SANTA FE #2713 #920-48851 SANTA FE #2723 GP-30, STANDARD DC $169.99 EA. #920-48852 CHESSIE (C&O) #920-48853 CHESSIE (C&O) #920-48855 MILWAUKEE #1013 #920-48856 READING #5504 #920-48857 READING #5517

GP38-2 PROTO 2000 STANDARD DC $89.99 EA. #30791 UP #2040 #31056 UP #2139 STANDARD DC SUPER SALE $69.99 #31057 UP #2142

WALTHERS TRAIN LINE

#920-105001 AMERICAN CRANE

CANADIAN PACIFIC STANDARD DC, POWERED

SUPER SALE $34.99 PROTO 1000 RS-11 #30264 #30284 #30323

$79.99 EA. NYNH&H #1404 NYNH&H #1407 NYNH&H #1412

PROTO 1000

GP15-1 $69.99 EA. #920-35056 CSX #1551 #920-35057 CONRAIL #1650 #920-35058 CONRAIL #1685 #920-35061 BN #1385

#920-35062 #920-35073 #920-35080 #920-35081

BN #1386 UP #1612 CONRAIL #1651 CONRAIL #1677

TRAINLINE GP9 DIESELS, With DCC

PROTO 2000 GP-60, W/DCC & SOUND $239.99 EA. #920-41800 BNSF #8734 #920-41801 BNSF #8735 #920-41802 D&RGW #3155 #920-41803 D&RGW #3156 #920-41804 N&W #7131 #920-41805 N&W #7133 #920-41806 UP #1955 #920-41807 UP #1953 GP-60 STANDARD DC SUPER SALE $69.99 EA. #30557 UP LIGHTENING BOLT #2081 #30565 BNSF #8739

PROTO 2000

GP-60, STANDARD DC $169.99 EA. #920-48801 BNSF #8738 #920-48802 D&RGW #3154 #920-48804 NS #7131 #920-48805 NS #7138 #920-48806 UPA #1946 GP-60, STANDARD DC SUPER SALE $149.99 EA. #920-48800 BNSF #8721 #920-48803 D&RGW #3155 #920-48807 UP #2000

#931-5100 #931-5101 #931-5102 #931-5103

SALE $54.99

CHESSIE C&O CNW CONRAIL DRG

EA.

TRAINLINE GP-9M DIESELS STANDARD DC

SALE $44.99 EA. #931-120 BNSF #931-130 PENNSYLVANIA #931-134 CHICAGO NORTHWESTERN #931-136 FARMRAIL TRAINLINE #931-123 GP-9M DIESEL

#931-139 SOUTH BRANCH VALLEY #931-141 RAIL LINK #931-142 SOUTHERN PACIFIC AMTRAK

H10-44 DCC READY $124.99 EA. #47783 MILWAUKEE #3 STANDARD DC #47784 MILWAUKEE #4 #47790 PENNSYLVANIA #4 #47793 UNDECORATED #47794 D&RGW #47795 D&RGW #47798 UNION PACIFIC #47803 PENN CENTRAL #8248 TRAINLINE #931-343 AMTRAK PH5 F40PH DIESELS #47805 SLSF (FRISCO) #273 STANDARD DC #47806 WABASH #380 #47809 PENNSYLVANIA #9083 #47810 PENNSYLVANIA #9097 #47820 SLSF (FRISCO) #272

SUPER SALE $39.99

H10-44 W/DCC & SOUND $189.99 EA. #40790 PENNSYLVANIA #2 #40803 PENN CENTRAL #8260 #40820 SLSF (FRISCO) #276

SALE $44.99

WALTHERS MAIN LINE

PROTO 2000 SD7 HIGH-HOOD, W/DCC & SOUND $249.99 EA. #920-41901 B&O #7403 #920-41902 B&LE #802 #920-41903 B&LE #803

#920-41904 C&NW #300 #920-41905 C&NW #301

PROTO 2000

SD-9, W/DCC & SOUND $239.99 EA. #920-41600 BN #6217 #920-41601 BN #6219 #920-41602 CHESSIE #1939 #920-41603 CHESSIE #1940 #920-41604 D&RGW #5307 #920-41605 D&RGW #5312 #920-41606 GN #582 #920-41607 GN #587 #920-41609 BNSF #6142 #920-41611 CONRAIL #6908 #920-41612 CONRAIL #6917 #920-41613 SOUTHERN #202 #920-41614 SOUTHERN #207

SD-9, STANDARD DC SUPER SALE $149.99 EA. #920-48602 CHESSIE #1939 #920-48603 CHESSIE #1940 SD-9, STANDARD DC $169.99 EA. #920-48600 BN #6217 #920-48601 BN #6219 #920-48604 D&RGW #5307 #920-48605 D&RGW #5312 #920-48606 GN #582 #920-48607 GN #587 #920-48609 BNSF #6127 #920-48612 CONRAIL #6917 #920-48613 SOUTHERN #205 #920-48614 SOUTHERN #206

WALTHERS PROTO SD45 W/DCC & SOUND $239.99 EA. #920-41059 DRGW #920-41065 SEABOARD #8917 #920-41066 SEABOARD #8918

SD45 W/DCC & SOUND SUPER SALE $159.99 EA. #920-41062 EL #3627 #920-41063 MONTANA RAIL #372 #920-41064 MONTANA RAIL #375

PROTO 2000 SD-45 STANDARD DC SUPER SALE $89.99 #30726 CSX #9919 SD-45 W/DCC & SOUND BEST DEAL $149.99 EA. #920-41052 CNW #6474 #920-41053 CNW #6485 SD-45 W/DCC & SOUND SUPER VALUE $189.99 EA. #920-41054 PRR #6110 #920-41055 PRR #6127 SD-45 W/DCC & SOUND SUPER SALE $199.99 EA. #920-41050 SANTA FE #5374 #920-41051 SANTA FE #5380 #920-41056 UNION PACIFIC #920-41057 UNION PACIFIC

SD-45 STANDRD DC $169.99 EA. #920-48050 SANTA FE #5377 #920-48051 SANTA FE #5400 #920-48052 CNW #6472 #920-48053 CNW #6482 #920-48054 PRR #6118 #920-48055 PRR #6136 #920-48056 UP #15 #920-48057 UP #18 #920-48059 DRGW #5326 #920-48060 DRGW #5331 #920-48061 EL #3624 #920-48062 EL #3629 #920-48063 MRL #370 #920-48064 MRL #374 #920-48065 SCL #8919 #920-48066 SCL #8923

PROTO 2000 SD-50 STANDARD DC $89.99 EA. #30854 CSX #8663 #30855 CSX #8672

MORE WALTHERS PROTO LOCOMOTIVES & FREIGHT CARS

TRAINWORLD.COM

DASH 840BW, W/DCC & SOUND $134.99 EA. #910-19551 AMTRAK #910-19552 AMTRAK

WALTHERS MAIN LINE F40PH W/DCC & SOUND $129.99 EA. #910-19451 AMTRAK PH III #910-19452 AMTRAK PH III #910-19453 AMTRAK PH IV #910-19454 AMTRAK PH IV

#910-19457 #910-19458 #910-19459 #910-19460 #910-19461

CALTRAIN CALTRAIN METRA, #128 METRA, #132 VIA

WALTHERS MAIN LINE DL-109 STANDARD DC SUPER SALE $74.99 EA. #910-9101 NEW HAVEN, #0703 #910-9102 NEW HAVEN, #0708

#910-9106 SOUTHERN, #6400 #910-9107 SOUTHERN, #6401

WALTHERS MAIN SW1 DCC READY $69.99 EA. #910-9205 SOUTHERN #910-9206 SOUTHERN #910-9209 ROCK ISLAND #910-9210 ROCK ISLAND #910-9211 PENNSYLVANIA #910-9212 PENNSYLVANIA #910-9213 GREAT NORTHERN #910-9214 GREAT NORTHERN

#910-9215 AMTRAK SUPER SALE $49.99 #910-9218 BURLINGTON NORTHERN #910-9219 BURLINGTON NORTHERN #910-9222 NORFOLK SOUTHERN #910-9223 NORFOLK SOUTHERN

WALTHERS MAIN LINE GP15-1 STANDARD DC $79.99 EA. #910-9401 BURLINGTON NORTHERN #910-9402 BURLINGTON NORTHERN #910-9403 CANADIAN PACIFIC #910-9404 CANADIAN PACIFIC #910-9405 CHESSIE #910-9406 CHESSIE #910-9407 CHICAGO NORTHWESTERN #910-9409 MISSOURI PACIFIC

GP15-1 W/DCC & SOUND $124.99 EA. #910-19401 BURLINGTON NORTHERN #910-19402 BURLINGTON NORTHERN #910-19403 CANADIAN PACIFIC #910-19404 CANADIAN PACIFIC #910-19405 CHESSIE #910-19406 CHESSIE #910-19407 CHICAGO NORTHWESTERN #910-19409 MISSOURI PACIFIC

WALTHERS MAIN LINE SD70ACe STANDARD DC $99.99 EA. #910-9801 BNSF #8427 #910-9802 BNSF #8492 #910-9803 CSX #4836 #910-9804 CSX #4844 #910-9805 KCS #4164 #910-9806 KCS #4199 #910-9807 CN #8008 #910-9809 NS #1142 #910-9810 NS #1171 #910-9811 UP #8799, FLAG #910-9812 UP #8716, FLAG

SD70ACe W/DCC & SOUNDTRAXX $149.99 EA. #910-19801 BNSF #8400 #910-19802 BNSF #8469 #910-19803 CSX #4831 #910-19804 CSX #4839 #910-19805 KCS #4140 #910-19806 KCS #4173 #910-19807 CN #8002 #910-19808 CN #8021 #910-19809 NS #1125 #910-19810 NS #1158 #910-19811 UP #8784, FLAG #910-19812 UP #8723, FLAG

TRAINWORLD®/TRAINLAND® TOLL FREE 1-800-541-7010 INFORMATION 1-718-436-7072 www.trainworld.com 10 Day Exchange Policy - Must be New Minimum UPS Standard Shipping & Handling $10.99 15% Restocking Fee on Approved Returns Prices Subject to Change Without Notice. 04/16F Quantities Limited All Right Reserved.

THE PRODUCTS WE SELL ARE NOT TOYS AND ARE NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 14. THESE PRODUCTS ARE MODEL RAILROAD EQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES AND ARE INTENDED FOR USE BY ADULTS.

NEWS&PRODUCTS

HO scale General Electric Dash 9-44CW diesel locomotive. This modern six-axle road unit is the latest offering from MTH Electric Trains. The Dash 9-44CW is decorated for Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; BNSF Ry.; and five other railroads. The ready-to-run locomotive has

▸▸ New product announcements are posted on ModelRailroader.com every week

prototype-specific details, operating knuckle couplers, and a five-pole motor with flywheels. Direct-current models sell for $199.95. Versions with Proto-Sound 3.0 retail for $299.95. MTH Electric Trains, 410-381-2580, www.mthhotrains.com

Industry news ▪ Northeastern Scale Models closes. Northeastern Scale Models, a

manufacturer of N and HO scale structure kits, ended operations in February ater more than 65 years in business. he late James Doyle started Northeastern in Methuen, Mass., in 1946. In 2001, the company moved the kit side of its business to Chico, Calif. It sold the scratchbuilding line to Northeastern Scale Lumber Co., which continues to produce stripwood, sheetwood, and structural shapes in Methuen.

HO scale locomotives ▪ Electro-Motive Division GP7 and GP7B diesel locomotives. GP7:

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (pinstripe scheme, two road numbers) and Erie (Phase I in one number, Phase II in three numbers). GP7B: ATSF (two numbers). Also available undecorated (Phases I, II, and III). Road-number-speciic details, wire grab irons, positionable cab windows, and etched-metal detail parts. Direct-current model with Quick Plug (8- and 9-pin socket), $189.98; with dual-mode SoundTraxx sound decoder, $289.98. October 2016. Genesis series. Athearn Trains, 800-338-4639, www.athearn.com 10

▪ Baldwin DRS-6-6-1500, AS-16, and AS-616 diesel locomotives.

DRS-6-6-1500: Minneapolis, Northield & Southern (one road number); Chesapeake & Ohio; Erie Lackawanna; and Southern Paciic. AS-16: Reading Co. and Western Maryland. AS-616: Milwaukee Road and Pennsylvania RR (with train-phone antenna). Two numbers per scheme unless noted. Can motor with lywheel, RP-25 contour metal wheels, and deck- or body-mounted handrails. Direct-current model, $189.95; with sound decoder, $289.95. Summer 2016. Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc., 570-3682379, www.bowser-trains.com

three road numbers), Australian Railroad Group (Genesee & Wyoming scheme with ARG herald in two numbers, large “ARG” lettering in one number), Interail (Northern Rivers paint scheme, two numbers), Paciic National (two numbers), West Rail (orange with blue band and white pinstripe in three numbers, orange with blue band in one number, and orange with blue band and white pinstripe and radio markings in one number), and Western Australian Government Railways (as-delivered scheme and two-tone blue, two road numbers per scheme). Injectionmolded plastic body, die-cast metal chassis, ive-pole skew-wound motor, see-through etched-metal grills, and Kadee couplers. Without sound, $375; with ESU sound decoder, $495. Southern Rail Models, +61 2 4981 2945, www.southernrailmodels.com.au

▪ Alco PA and PB diesel locomo-

tives. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and

▪ Western Australian Government Railways L-Class diesel locomotive. Australian Transport Network

Access (Wisconsin Central scheme in

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

Pennsylvania RR (Tuscan ive-stripe scheme). Factory-installed handrails, molded drill starter points for grab irons, and Proto-Max couplers. PA: Direct-current model, $149.98; with dual-mode SoundTraxx sound decoder, $219.98 (add $20 for Santa Fe models). PA-PB sets: Direct-current models, $279.98; with dual-mode SoundTraxx

▸▸ Mobile Updates

Cody Grivno

Scan the code to access Model Railroader’s website for weekly News & Products updates.

sound decoder, $419.98 (add $40 for Santa Fe models). PA also available undecorated (DC only), $149.98. WalthersMainline. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

HO scale freight cars

▪ Assorted freight cars. Central Vermont 40-foot six-panel single-sheathed boxcar, $16.98. Detroit, Toledo & Ironton 41-foot steel gondola (single car, $16.98; three-pack, $46.98). Montana Rail Link 4,750-cubic-foot-capacity covered hopper, $18.98. Northern Paciic 40-foot PS-1 boxcar (single car, $16.98; three-pack, $49.98). Sid Richardson Carbon Co. American Car & Foundry three-bay Center Flow covered hopper, $17.98. Western Paciic 40-foot eight-panel single-sheathed boxcar, $16.98. Injectionmolded plastic kits with plastic wheelsets and Accumate couplers. Accurail, 630-365-6400, www.accurail.com

HO scale assorted vehicles. New vehicles available from American Excellence include a 1935 Mercedes 504K Autobahnkurier, a 1938 Mercedes G4, a 1969 Tatra 603, and a 1954 Jeep Willys station wagon. The factorypainted resin models, produced by BoS-Models, have detailed interiors and clear window glazing. The models sell for $19.95 each. American Excellence, 980-335-2701, www.american-excellence.com

Norfolk Southern. hree road numbers per paint scheme. Separately applied wire grab irons, etched-metal crossover platforms, and 70-ton trucks with rotating bearing caps. $29.98. Genesis series. Athearn Trains, 800-338-4639, www.athearn.com

▪ 1932 American Railway Association boxcar. New paint schemes: Erie

▪ Trinity 17,600-gallon corn syrup tank cars. New paint schemes: Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland Corn Sweeteners, Dow Chemical, Occidental Chemical, Rampart Range, Southern Paciic, and Univar Canada Ltd. hree road numbers per scheme. Separately applied brake rigging, 100-ton roller-bearing trucks, and Accumate couplers. $41.95. Master Line. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

(1945 repaint), Pennsylvania RR (ictional paint scheme in two road numbers), Missouri Paciic (“Route of the Eagles” slogan), Roberval Saguenay, Seaboard Air Line (1934-37 scheme), Soo Line (modern), and Western Maryland. hree numbers per scheme; also available undecorated in ive body styles. Solid-bearing trucks and Accumate couplers. $33.95 (undecorated, $26.95). hird quarter 2016. Master Line. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

Conrail (brown in one road number and Conrail Blue), and Penn Central (brown in one number and green). hree numbers per scheme. Factory-installed brake wheel, air tank, brake cylinder, and triple valve; metal wheelsets; and free-rolling trucks. $27.95 (with trainphone antenna, $35.95). Summer 2016. Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc., 570-3682379, www.bowser-trains.com

▪ 36-foot three-dome tank car.

Kanotex, North American, Pan-Am Oils, Shell Chemical Co., Sunoco, and Union Tank Car Co. Two road numbers per scheme; also available undecorated. AB brakes, 33" turned-metal wheelsets, and Proto-Max couplers. $27.98. Walthers Mainline. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-5270770, www.walthers.com

HO scale structures

▪ Pennsylvania RR class N5c caboose. Pennsylvania RR (Pittsburgh ▪ Southern Iron & Equipment Co. 50-foot boxcar. Bay Colony, St.

Lawrence RR, Boston & Maine, Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, Milwaukee Road, and

Region, Eastern Region with and without train-phone antenna, Lake Region with antenna, orange, shadow keystone with black roof, Western Region with black roof, and yellow cupola with antenna),

▪ The Worst Block in Town. Cast-Hydrocal kit with bricked over windows; missing and weathered bricks; APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

11

NEWS&PRODUCTS Ry., CSX (dark blue and yellow), and Union Paciic. Two numbers per scheme. Digital Command Control-friendly mechanism, illuminated ditch lights, and ive-pole motor with dual brass lywheels. Union Paciic models, May 2016; CSX models, May-June 2016; and BNSF Ry. models, June-July 2016. $130. Kato USA Inc., 847-781-9574, www.katousa.com

N scale freight cars ▪ North American Car Corp. 50-foot insulated boxcar. Central RR

HO scale wide-cupola cabooses. Mark the end of your freight train with these Ready-to-Roll cars from Athearn. The wide-cupola caboose ($26.98) is decorated for Spokane, Portland & Seattle; Missouri Pacific; Grand Trunk Western; St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt); and Union Pacific in three road numbers per scheme. The models have plastic end rails and metal ladders. Athearn Trains, 800-338-4639, www.athearn.com

plastic doors, windows, and awnings; full-color decals by Dave’s Decals; and discarded couch and mattress (cars and igures not included). Footprint is 10" x 8". $64.95. Downtown Deco, 406-821-0181, www.downtowndeco.com ▪ Public library. Injection-molded plastic kit with stone and brick construction, large entry, and elevated stairway. $49.98. Cornerstone Series. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

▪ Williams Industrial Electric Motors. Injection-molded plastic kit. Five-story brick and block construction, rootop elevator machinery house and skylights, front and rear loading areas for truck and rail service, and printed signs. $54.98. Cornerstone Series. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

HO scale details and accessories ▪ Air horns. Leslie: RSL-3L-R with

RR; and Union Paciic. Also available as undecorated kit. Includes raised and lowered landing gear. Two-pack, $24.98. SceneMaster. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

N scale locomotives ▪ Electro-Motive Division SD60 and SD60M diesel locomotives. New paint schemes. SD60: CIT Leasing and GMTX (P&W/Vermont Ry. in one road number). SD60M: Burlington Northern and Norfolk Southern. New numbers. SD60: Chicago & North Western and Susquehanna. SD60M: Conrail and Union Paciic. hree numbers per scheme unless noted. Golden-white light-emitting-diode headlights, modelerinstalled snow plow and winterization hatch, and Accumate couplers. Directcurrent model, $129.95; with NCE motor decoder, $169.95. Fourth quarter 2016. Master Line. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

bracket (low proile), S-3L-R with (standard) and without bracket, and Tyfon A-200-156-CA. Nathan: AirChime K5LAR24, M-3, M5R24, and P-3 (with and without bracket). Brass castings. hree-pack, $21.98 each. Athearn Trains, 800-338-4639, www.athearn.com

▪ 35-foot smooth-side trailer. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Bangor & Aroostook; Chicago & North Western; Minneapolis & St. Louis; Pennsylvania 12

▪ Electro-Motive Diesel SD70ACe diesel locomotive. New road numbers (model from previous run shown): BNSF

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

of New Jersey, Chicago & North Western, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Hamm’s Beer, Trona Chemicals, and Uniroyal. hree road numbers per scheme. Etchedmetal stirrup steps, 33" metal wheelsets, and body-mounted McHenry couplers. $21.98. October 2016. Athearn Trains, 800-338-4639, www.athearn.com

▪ American Car & Foundry 17,360-gallon tank car. New paint schemes: American Car & Foundry (ARIL repaint), Dana Railcare, Dow Chemical, E.I. Dupont, Occidental (7800-series), CIT Group (TTC conversion). New road numbers: General American. hree numbers per scheme; also available undecorated. Separately applied brake detail and 100-ton roller-bearing trucks. $29.95 (undecorated, $24.95). hird quarter 2016. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

▪ Pullman-Standard 4,427-cubicfoot-capacity high-side covered hopper. New paint schemes: Burlington Northern (original repaint, reporting marks only, and early 1990s repaint) and Milwaukee Road. Six road numbers per scheme. Etched-metal grab irons and running boards, three trough hatch styles, body-mounted couplers, and 100-ton trucks with Fox Valley Models metal wheelsets. $27.95. Trainworx, 970-874-9747, www.train-worx.com

O scale freight cars ▪ American Car & Foundry 17,360-gallon tank car. New paint schemes: American Car & Foundry (ARIL repaint), Dana Railcare, Dow Chemical, E.I. Dupont, and Occidental (7800-series). New road numbers: General American. Two road numbers per scheme; also available undecorated. Die-cast metal stirrup steps, 100-ton roller-bearing trucks with rotating bearing caps, and separately applied details. $86.95. hird quarter 2016. Atlas O, 908-687-9590, www.atlaso.com

O scale details and accessories

▪ Parking meters and sidewalk sections. 1:43 proportion. Lead-free pewter castings. Two meters and two sidewalk sections, $21.95 (price may vary depending on exchange rate). Brooklin Sidewalks. Brooklin Models, +44 (0) 1225 332400, www.brooklinmodels.co.uk

Z scale locomotives ▪ Electro-Motive Division GP38-2 diesel locomotive. Genesee & Wyoming. hree road numbers. Dual lywheels and light-emitting-diode headlights. Price to be announced. American Z Line, 614-764-1703, www.americanzline.com

Z scale freight cars ▪ Trailer Train 89-foot flatcar with two M548 tracked cargo carriers.

Brown RTTX latcar with two olive green tracked cargo carriers by Z-Panzer. Flatcar (four road numbers) features metal wheelsets and AutoLatch couplers. Price to be announced. American Z Line, 614-764-1703, www.americanzline.com

GAME CHANGERS. SoundTraxx continues our legacy of game-changer products with new sound decoders that do more for less, new decoders for things you never thought of and new decoders with nifty new features that put the fun back in the “function”. From the first Dynamic Digital Exhaust, Functional Braking, Equalizer and a whole lot more - SoundTraxx has been leading the way in sound for your railroad for over 25 years. Think you’ve heard it all? Visit your local retailer or our website today and see our newest game-changers. We’ve got something to make you giggle! ®

141 Burnett Drive, Durango, Colorado 81301 (970) 259-0690 Fax: (970) 259-0691 Website: www.soundtraxx.com

Not sure what you need? Visit our website and try our Decoder Selector!

Track ▪ N scale code 80 Snap-Track starter set. Includes one each 5" straight, rerailer, terminal joiners, and standard let- and right-hand manual turnouts; four 19" curves; and 15 93 ⁄4" straight. $39.95. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

Scenery ▪ Tear-and-plant meadow mat. Early spring, lowland, and winter. Apply as-is for large scenes. Cut or tear for small pieces. Flexible base can be used on rough or uneven terrain. Includes 10 separate grass tuts. Measures 85 ⁄8" x 77 ⁄8". $21.98. SceneMaster line. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com ▪ Plowed field mat. One-piece foam castings. Heat with hair dryer and bend to it uneven terrain. Includes 10 separate grass tuts. Measures 85 ⁄8" x 77 ⁄8". $21.98. SceneMaster line. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

13

NEWS&PRODUCTS ▸▸ Club offerings

Made in the U.S.A.

1:29 Scale Ratio

Additional Trucks Available Patent number 7,434,518 B2 ©2015 Kadee® Quality Products Co.

#970 A.S.F A-3 Ride-Control Metal Trucks ®

▪ New York Central Lines East brick manual tower. HO scale kit

produced by he N Scale Architect for the New York Central System Historical Society. Laser-cut basswood upper section and laser-cut vinyl brickwork. $87.50 ($70 for NYCSHS members) plus shipping. Ohio residents add 8 percent Ohio sales tax. NYCSHS Treasurer Joe Epperson, P.O. Box 52 Berea, OH 44017; www.nycshs.net

®

Kadee Quality Products Co. • 673 Avenue C • White City, OR 97503-1078 U.S.A. • Tel: (541) 826-3883 • Fax: (541) 826-4013 • www.kadee.com ®

▪ New York, New Haven & Hartford 3300-series 40-foot boxcar. InterMountain HO scale

model produced for the New Haven Railroad Historical & Technical Association. Four road numbers. $29.95 each plus $6 shipping for one car; add $1 for each additional car. NHRHTA, P.O. Box 289, Accord, MA 02018; www.nhrhta.org

14

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

HAWKINS RAIL 37 YEARS OF SERVICE -

GRAIN IS MOVING AT HAWKINS RAIL! -

See 130 car unit grain train running on the in-store layout. Many out of production items from estates. Providing same day shipment for 37 years! Call Jack Hawkins at 765-742-5577 See You at the UPHS Convention 3501 Union St., Suite 6. Everything for the serious modeler. Hours: Mon-Fri 12-5, Sat 10-5 Closed Sun. Evenings by appointment. ALL MODELS SUBJECT TO PRIOR SALE.

WE DO NOT HAVE A CATALOG. We ask that you call us or send us your want list with SSAE. We will advise you of the price, availability, and shipping charges. International shipments made only to countries accepting insured mail. We have no minimum order. Personal check orders are held 4 weeks. MASTERCARD and VISA accepted. Sorry, collect calls are not accepted, but feel free to call with your railroad questions, model or prototype.

HAWKINS RAIL SERVICES

Mail to: PHONE: 765-742-5577

%X\7LFNHWV2QOLQH1RZ FOR INFO OR TO EXHIBIT AT A SHOW CONTACT: DQG6DYH0RQH\ &DUOWRQ'ULYH&DURO6WUHDP,/ ZZZ7UDLQ6KRZFRP

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Feb. 27-28 • Louisville, KY Kentucky International Convention Center Feb. 27-28 • Sacramento, CA Cal Expo Mar. 12-13 • Knoxville, TN Knoxville Expo Center 'X3DJH&RXQW\)DLUJURXQGV DPSP :KHDWRQ,/ /DUJHVW0RQWKO\7UDLQ6KRZLQWKH86 Mar 13

April 10

May 1

Feb. 20-21 • Wilmington, DE Chase Center on the Riverfront Feb. 27-28 • Monroeville, PA Monroeville Convention Center Mar. 5-6 • Hampton, VA Hampton Roads Convention Center Mar. 12-13 • Edison, NJ New Jersey Expo Center Mar. 19-20 • Wilmington, MA Shriners Auditorium Apr. 2-3 • Rochester, NY Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex

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You CAN bring it with you… when you move to our community. Sharing the joy of model railroading is only one of the many possibilities available for active people 55 and over at our Continuing Care Retirement Community. We enjoy beautiful, one-of-a-kind surroundings and the benefits from the tax advantages of Pennsylvania residency.

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www.greenridgevillage.org It is our policy to admit residents without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, sex, religious creed, handicap or disability. APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

15

RAILWAYPOSTOFFICE Worldwide hobby Great photo on page 83 of February issue — a model of a Japanese railroad by a Swiss model railroad club in an American magazine. Gotta love it! Model railroading is truly a globe-spanning hobby. I think there’s a gene for it. Larry Covey, Longmeadow, Mass.

See the Eagle Mountain movie

PLUG & PLAY

THE SIMPLE SERVO CONTROL SYSTEM FOR TURNOUTS, SIGNALS AND MORE!

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DCC Control Connecting a Peco Smartswitch 70 Stationary Decoder (PLS-135) to the main control board, allows you to individually control each servo.

Available separately PLS-120 Smartswitch Control Board PLS-125 Single Servo Motor PLS-130 Smartfrog (switches polarity of Electrofrogs) PLS-135 Stationary Decoder PLS-140 Cable Extension

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16

I found it odd when reading the irst of the Eagle Mountain layout articles in the January issue, to see that not one mention was made of the railroad’s presence in popular culture. It stood in for a ictional Southern Paciic line to the border of Mexico in the 1986 movie, “Tough Guys,” that starred Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. he epic ending of the ilm was ilmed with former SP 4-8-4 no. 4449 at a point called Summit along the railroad. A full-sized mock-up of the locomotive was used for the post-crash scene. If the stafers working on the layout were looking for a good examples of what the area looked like, they only had to track down this movie. Lee Bishop, Rochester, Wash.

Vintage Pacific Electric models I read the December 2015 Heritage Fleet column about the Paciic Electric and models built by E. Suydam & Co. In 2012 I accepted the posthumous award given to Ed and Doug Suydam by the Hobby Industry Association’s Model Railroad Hall of Fame. As one of only a few living relatives of the Suydam brothers and the only one involved in the hobby, I’ve given a few presentations at my club and at National Model Railroad Association meets on E. Suydam & Co. and the interurban models they imported between 1956-77. hese presentations detailed all the different PE models imported and the evolution of and quality of the models over the period they were marketed. Suydam imported about 47,000 HO models of interurban cars and trolleys with 26,000 of them being PE cars. here were more than 90 production runs covering 36 diferent PE car types. hese cars represented the majority of the PE leet operating in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s when Ed and Doug were growing up and living in the Los Angeles area. Suydam imported a few one-of-akind PE models; however, their inclusion of every general class of car (with the

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

A reader in the know says the fastest cars on the Pacific Electric system weren’t the “Long Beach Twelves.”

exception of the 300-series “Blimps”) represented an unprecedented coverage of this once-massive system. One side-note is the fastest cars built for the PE were the “San Bernardino” (1200-1221) series of “Twelves,” not the “Long Beach Twelves” (1222-1251). he San Bernardino cars operated on longer runs and were able to reach higher top speeds with a more favorable gear ratio. he Long Beach cars made more stops and were designed to haul an unmotored car (sled), necessitating a lower gear ratio for better acceleration, but a lower top speed. he 1252-1263 cars were orphans obtained in 1928 from a Southern Paciic-controlled line in Portland and were nicknamed “Portland Twelves.” hese cars had similar gear ratios and horsepower to the San Bernardino cars. All three series of cars were operated in multiple-unit and pool service. Business car no. 1299 was created from one of the surplus Portland trailers, not a Long Beach Twelve. It can still be seen on exhibit at the Perris Railway Museum in California. Norman Suydam, Irvine, Calif.

Realism through scenarios Reading February’s Trains of hought got me thinking a lot more about realistic operation. I encourage modelers to at least try out realistic operation scenarios for fun. Set out bad-ordered cars, have sloworder track, broken rail, power failures, washout track or rock slide incidents, out-of-service situations, etc. You’ll be surprised how much fun you may have, even on the most perfect running layout. Mike Hauri, Tucson, Ariz.

Working safely Cody Grivno deserves big kudos for promoting and demonstrating safety practices and techniques. We all take shortcuts, but those of you in the limelight have a leadership responsibility. Cody does it well. Greg Payette, Springield, Mo.

APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

17

ASKMR sold for hobby use seems a little pricey for the amount in one package. Could you please provide, if possible, some ideas of materials I could use to create my own live coal loads?

Joe Knight, Mentor, Ohio

A

The light gray covered hopper behind CSX General Electric Dash-9 no. 9034 isn’t due to be dropped off at a shipper along the way. It’s on buffer duty, loaded with sand or some other inert cargo to shield this ethanol train’s crew in case of a derailment. Scott A. Hartley photo

What’s in a buffer car? are the buffer cars used for on an oil train, Q What and do they have anything in them? Richard from Maine, via the Internet

A

Bufer cars are a safety measure meant to give the crew in the locomotive of a train carrying oil, ethanol, volatile chemicals, explosives, or other hazardous cargo some protection in the event of an accident. Bufer cars are required by federal regulations imposed just ater the turn of the 20th century. Cars with hazardous cargos must be placed at least ive cars away from the engine (and from the caboose, when they were in use), if there are enough cars in the train. If there aren’t enough non-hazardous cars in the train, these cargos must be put in the middle of the train, with at least one nonhazardous car between them and the engine or caboose. In manifest freight trains, the role of bufer is illed by revenue cars bound for other destinations along the line. But these days, most oil on the rails moves in unit trains, which have no non-hazardous cars available for use as bufers. herefore, only one bufer car is required. Most railroads maintain a leet of dedicated cars assigned to this job. Usually, they’re old cars that still have a few years’ service let in them. hese cars are loaded with an inert material (such as gravel or sand in hoppers, water in tank cars, or shredded rubber tires in boxcars) to absorb impact in case of a catastrophe. hey’re oten lettered something like “Bufer Service Only – Do Not Load.” Athearn and Tangent Scale Models ofer HO scale bufer cars.

Q

Can you run direct-current engines with a Digital Command Control (DCC) system?

Rob Stevens, Ocean Park, Wash.

A

Some DCC systems let you run a single direct-current locomotive by setting the cab address to 0 (zero). 18

However, the engine’s motor performance will be rough, and most locomotive manufacturers don’t recommend it. Check your system’s user manual.

Q

I’m looking to use live coal loads in the hopper cars on my HO layout, but the prepackaged “coal”

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

hough some modelers use real coal in scenery or static loads, we don’t recommend it for live loads. Not only is the dust annoying (and hazardous, and lammable), but real coal isn’t dense enough to low well when crushed to the size needed for smaller scales. Our best recommendation for HO scale is black sand, which can be dyed quartz sand or ine volcanic basalt. Black sand is not as dark or shiny as real coal, but it should be fairly dust-free and have the density needed to low in your layout’s loading and unloading equipment. Look in loral or arts and crats stores (where it’s sometimes sold as “wedding sand”) or shop online. Since some kinds of black sand can be magnetic, test your sand with a magnet before using it on your layout.

Q

In 2010, you published a special issue with information about building a helix. Do you have copies of that issue for sale, or is it in the archives that I can look it up?

Jim Mercier, Chippewa Falls, Wis.

A

he article you’re thinking of, by then-senior editor Jim Hediger, was published in How to Build More Layout in Less Space, one of our most popular special issues. It’s still available for sale at our online store, www.KalmbachHobbyStore.com. But not long before that issue came out, we published the article “Construct a simple and reliable helix” by Jef Johnston in the April 2008 MR. Registered users can read it in the Online Extras section of our website. It’s also in our MR All-Access Archive at www.ModelRailroader.com/AllAccess.

Q

Is there a way to output the sound from an engine to speakers under the layout, by wireless connection or other means?

David Rogers, Northport, Maine

A

he dream of surround sound for model trains started with a irm called Paciic Fast Mail and its Sound System. his relied on transponders installed in model locomotives that

▸▸ More Q&A For more questions and answers, watch the video series “Ask MRVP” at www.ModelRailroaderVideoPlus.com.

transmitted to a base station that produced the sounds. It was an analog system, playing sounds from a bank of audio cassettes. Some still use the system, and you can occasionally ind a unit for sale on eBay or at swap meets. A similar (but far more modern) system is SurroundTraxx, available from SoundTraxx. Like PFM’s Sound System, it relies on transponder-equipped locomotives to transmit their location on the layout to the base station. Sounds stored digitally on the base station are piped to speakers installed around the layout. Broadway Limited Imports recently announced its new system, called Rolling hunder. his uses a wireless transmitter to send low bass notes to a receiver and subwoofer under the layout. It works with BLI locomotives equipped with Rolling hunder-compatible Paragon3 decoders. (We reviewed Rolling hunder in our March 2016 issue.)

Q

I recently purchased several Peco no. 5 and 6 HO code 83 switches to incorporate in my shelf switching layout. I discovered that the rail joiners I had been using (Atlas and Walthers code 83) are very loose on the Peco switches. It appears that the rail height is the same as my existing track (Walthers and Atlas), but the rail web and flanges are much thinner. Can you recommend a fix for this? I looked on the Walthers website, but they don’t

Steve Otte carry Peco rail joiners, and I suspect they would be too tight to fit on Atlas or Walthers track anyway.

Reader tip

Philip Gliebe, Waynesville, Ohio

A

Walthers does, in fact, sell Peco rail joiners — part number 552-1165. Peco uses the same size rail joiners for their code 70, 75, and 83 rail. I had the same problem with my home layout, which is mostly Peco track with a few pieces from other manufacturers. he solution is simple: solder. You should probably be soldering your rail joints anyway, for electrical integrity. Use the larger joiners, align your track ends carefully, and solder the joiners to the turnouts to keep them in place.

Q

I was wondering if you folks may know what color the lighter paint is on a CITI ES44AC locomotive.

David Irvin, Shelby, Mont.

A

In most photos we ind online of Citirail locomotives, the light gray appears to be either neutral or bluishgray, depending on the lighting. If you can get your hands on it, use Polly Scale New Gravel Gray. But since that paint line has been discontinued by the manufacturer, you may be forced to mix a custom color. I’d start with Reefer Gray cut about 4:1 with Reefer White to lighten it up, plus a few drops of Conrail Blue.

Send questions and tips to associate editor Steven Otte at [emailprotected].

New Product Announcement!!

Make herald magnets to keep switch lists handy Here’s what I use to attach switch lists to my model railroad’s fascia. Starting with a railroad herald lapel pin, I file off the pins and use cyanoacrylate adhesive (CA) to attach button magnets from a craft store. Iattach other magnets to the fascia below each industry spur, car shop, clean-out track, enginehouse, and yard track – everywhere on the layout where one would need to consult their paperwork. Train crews can then use the magnets to put their paperwork where they can see it easily. Murray Bouschlicher, Iowa City, Iowa

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APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

19

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Track Inspection Cars Find Trouble Spots Identifying problem sections of model railroad track can be difficult without the proper equipment. Our track inspection HO Gauge cars make the job easy. The crystal clear floor of the car gives you the best view of the movement of wheelsets through switches and crossings, around curves, and at rail joints. You can quickly detect the location of kinks, bumps, dips and roughness which can hamper the smooth operation of N Gauge your trains. Trouble spots can be repaired, then re-checked with the car to assure smooth operation and give more operating satisfaction. Assembles easily in a few minutes. Includes trucks, hardware and instructions. #82414 HO Track Inspection Car with metal wheels $15.50 #82120 N Track Inspection Car with plastic wheels and couplers $15.50

NMRA Gages Assure Trouble-Free Operation of Your Model Railroad These gages help you to make adjustments to rolling stock and track to end annoying derailments. They’ll check for accurate track and switch dimensions, wheel spacing, flange depth, tire width and wobble. Gages also check for structure clearance so trains can pass without hitting tunnel portals, station platforms, scenery, etc. These are precision stainless steel measuring instruments manufactured by the National Model Railroad Association. Instructions included. #84632 #80753 #80752 O Gage N Gage HO Gage $23.95 $18.50 $18.50

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Track Tool Provides a straight edge for cutting track without tie separation. Parallel Tool Maintains 2” spacing for two tracks running parallel to each other. Soldering Tool Prevents rails with plastic ties from moving while joints or feeder wires are being soldered. Flex Track Alignment Tool Straightens flexible track section while nailing it down to the roadbed.

Radius Tool Consists of two radius bars that let you draw curves from 7” to 23” radius in half-inch increments.

A. Our #82839 Spike Insertion Plier is manufactured with special dies that form perfect T-shaped grooves in the jaw faces. Spikes nestle perfectly into these grooves, and only a gentle squeeze of the handles is needed to hold them securely. The nose is specially contoured to push spikes home without slipping off and damaging the railhead or ties, and the comfortable grips let you spike for hours without fatigue. Your trackwork will be smooth and trouble-free. Works with all brands and gauges of spikes Z through O. $23.65

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Ballast Spreader Distributes ballast on both sides of the rail with a nice even layer between the rails.

Our rail nipper makes short work of making clean, flush cuts through model railroad track up to code 140. Spring-loaded steel jaws are hardened for a lifetime of rail-cutting. Thick rubber handles are comfortable to use. Note: Picture shows the correct way to cut rail. #86461 Rail Nipper $18.95 3 or more $15.95 ea.

We not only improved our already great spiking plier, but designed a spike removal plier as well. Add our rail cutter, and you’ve got a set of tools that will make handlaying smooth model railroad track a pleasure instead of a chore. Pliers are custom-made in the USA to our specifications by Xuron.

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2-in-1 High-Precision Miniature Digital Level Carpenter levels are just too clumsy for measuring model railroad track grades and superelevation. So, we encased our high precision digital level in a compact housing Measures superelevation that’s only 2” square by 1” deep. At the press of a button, the large LCD reads the percent grade from sea level. Embedded magnets attach it securely to cast-iron/steel surfaces as well for hands-free measurement. Range: 0 to 45˚/100%. Readability: 0.05˚/0.01%. Hold button remembers last reading. Housing made from durable CNC-machined, satin-finish alloy. Includes 9v battery and auto shut-off battery saver. #84519 Digital Level $41.95

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On DC-powered track, colored lights indicate the voltage present: low (red), medium (yellow), or high (green). On DCC-powered track, all 3 lights illuminate to indicate the presence of voltage. For track up to HO gauge. #86495 Track Voltage Tester List $26.00 . . . Our Price $18.95

Woodland Scenics Track Painters

Transform your track quickly and easily to look as realistic as the rest of your layout. Paint rails, plates and spikes with rust or steel colors; paint ties a realistic matte finish. Use before or after installation to paint metal or plastic track components. Works for all scales. Includes extra tip. $8.95 ea. #85264 Steel Rail Track Painter #85265 Rusty Rail Track Painter #85266 Weathered Tie Track Painter

Bright Bar Removes Tarnish and Rust Abrasive impregnated rubber bar cleans model railroad track for better electrical conductivity. 2” x 3” x 3/4”. 240 grit. #80437 Bright Bar $7.80

Push Hammer Drives a Nail with One Push

A fantastic tool that drives nails in places an ordinary hammer head won’t fit! Especially good for small size brads that are hard to hold. Just drop nail head-first into the guide tube. Magnetized plunger holds nail until you’re ready to push. Works on all steel nails up to 1-1/4” long x 5/32” head diameter. #86272 Push Hammer List $14.95 . . . Our Price $12.75

Easy-to-use MicroLux resistance Attaches feed wires without soldering unit generates heat only at the joint, so that already-soldered melting plastic ties parts won’t fall off while adding new ones. How it works: With the ground clip connected, place the carbon electrode on the tip of the handpiece in contact with the part to be soldered and step on the foot switch. The transformer passes a safe, low-voltage electrical current through the part, which heats it to soldering temperature within seconds. Apply the solder, then release the foot switch to instantly cool for a strong, durable joint. Includes 63 watt* transformer with dual power outputs for heavy- and light-weight parts, handpiece, 6 carbon electrodes, ground lead, on-off foot switch, and instructions. #85522 MicroLux Resistance Soldering Unit with Single Electrode Handpiece $169.95 *Since a resistance soldering unit concentrates heat at the joint, it will heat larger work than will a conventional soldering iron of the same power.

Scratch Brush Cleans Rail for Soldering

Plaster Cloth

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Dip pieces of Plaster Cloth in water and drape over Corrugated Strips (below) to make a durable shell for scenery. One roll 8” wide x 5 yards long. #80526 . . . List $10.99 . . . Our Price $9.75 2 or more $8.25 ea.

Pre-Cut Scenery Strips Eliminate the Hassle of Collecting and Hand-Cutting Corrugated Board

The Scratch Brush easily cleans away oxidation, dust and paint from brass, steel, copper, Use Micro-Mark corrugated strips with nickel silver and other solderable metals so your hot glue gun or stapler to construct that solder sticks properly. Retractable metal the underlying scenery web for your model bristles adjust like a mechanical pencil so railroad. Our strips are pre-cut and easily that Scratch Brush can reach where larger shaped, yet hold their contour while adding plaster cloth. Wave-cut edges practically brushes can’t. eliminate paper cuts. Each strip is 1” wide x 24” long. Package of 90 strips. #82466A Scratch Brush $15.30 #83081 Corrugated Scenery Strips #82467 Brush Refills (3) $4.60 $12.30/pkg. 3 or more $10.55/pkg. TALOG!

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HERITAGEFLEET

George D. Stock helped pioneer HO scale

George D. Stock, an early proponent and retailer of HO scale equipment, had his Diminutive & Obstinate RR on the cover of the fourth issue of Model Railroader. To read the story, archive subscribers can go to www.ModelRailroader.com/AllAccess. As a young boy, George Stock badly wanted a Lionel pre-World War I standard gauge interurban car, imagining a network of rail lines in his head. But his home wasn’t electriied until ater the war, and his father had other ideas, telling him he was “too big a boy for those toys.” Al Pittman, a son of Stock’s school teacher and later known for his model motors, soon became friends with Stock. On vacation at Pine Beach, N.J., Stock met the Rice family, whose son Allan Lake Rice became another close friend, later using the pen name Eric LaNal. It was a fortuitous friendship of three who would have wide inluence on HO scale model railroading. Returning from a 1929 trip to England, Lake brought news of a smaller 16.5mm train gauge: Bing’s OO/HO 4mm models itted with small electric motors. Inspired, Stock sent of for rails, joiners, trucks, and four- and six-coupled mechanisms. An architectural draftsman, Stock became unemployed in 1930 thanks to 22

the Great Depression, and decided then to enter the model railroad business as the irst to sell HO gauge materials across the United States. His HO Diminutive & Obstinate RR layout was featured on Model Railroader’s April 1934 front cover. Its name was indicative of problems experienced by early hobbyists. Allen Rice, as Eric LaNal, began a card-printed freight car line called H. Owen. Stock ofered to make 100 pairs of trucks for him with 33" brass wheels on axles produced by John Tyler’s Mantua Toy & Metal Products Co., a hobby motor manufacturer since 1926. Orders came in by the thousands, so Tyler stamped basic truck frames for them too. Repeat orders led Tyler to enter model railroad manufacturing, his irst ad appearing in the July 1935 MR. Pittman, with three partners, started producing 6V, three pole motors, his famed DC-6, based on a similar British design. By 1934, Stock ofered price lists for car and locomotive parts, blueprint drawings, British building papers, and custom locomotives and rolling stock from his home in Philadelphia. he next year, he presented a $20 Pennsylvania RR (PRR) class E6 4-4-2 Atlantic kit, the irst of its kind in HO. It was expensive, considering a typical hobbyist might earn $15 a week. In 1936, Stock introduced a $20 threerail twin motor PRR GG1 kit; two rail cost $25. National Model Railroad Association direct-current (DC) standards were beginning to inluence manufacturing, but that would take time. he GG1 was followed by a PRR class P5a electric locomotive. Finished brass and bronze models ran $35 to $65 – still expensive. Stock sold Pittman’s permanent magnet DC motor for American Flyer’s HO Hudson in 1941 and ofered Flyer’s New York, New Haven & Hartford baggage car, itted with multiple-unit trucks, plus

a coach as a $15 two-car set. He also catalogued a $13.50 interurban kit, available inished for $20. With rising wages, these prices were no longer that dear. During World War II, unable to obtain war work and turned down by the drat, Stock continued his model railroad business. He worked without enough machinery, space, or manpower, repairing 6V, three-pole motors mailed in by the dozens from Pittman, Tyler, and Varney. He would rewind them in 5 minutes and re-magnetize them. After the war, ads for Stock’s hobby

shop in Philadelphia ofered only price lists. In 1946, he listed 19 custom steam locomotives, from $50 for an 0-4-0 to $100 for a 2-8-8-2, allowing seven to eight months’ delivery. He also advertised custom work for OO and O gauges. In October 1946, the GG1 kit was $32.50, Lionel 2332 tinplate territory; inished, painted, lettered, and striped, it was $60. A Shore Interurban trolley was also announced. By 1950, Stock carried seven locomotive, ive passenger, and 12 freight car lines, while still building custom locomotives. Stock ofered custom-powered and exhibition O gauge models into the 1960s. Ater 52 years in the hobby, Stock, 75, closed his shop Dec. 31, 1980. Besides model railroad equipment, Stock crated ine commercial models for the Army, Navy, and Coast Guard, and subway and railway cars for the Budd Co. in 3 ⁄8" and 1 ⁄2" scales. Stock stands foremost in the pantheon of HO pioneers for his many irsts, the kits he ofered, and his famously superb custom work. He was truly a creative power.

I want to thank George’s daughter, Nancy Stock Jennings, for material making this column possible.

Stock’s company offered an HO scale Pennsylvania RR GG1 kit for $32.50, or assembled, painted, and hand-lettered for $60.

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

STEPBYSTEP EAGLE MOUNTAIN RAILROAD

Eagle Mountain RR no. 1037 pulls a mixed freight while a truck climbs the mine road on Model Railroader’s 2016 project railroad. This month, we show how we built the mountain on the mine side of the layout.

Making mountains for MR’s project layout with plaster gauze on a cardboard web Mountains are popular features on model railroads. Whether you’re modeling a speciic prototype that calls for mountainous terrain, or if you’re freelancing, mountains show up on a lot of layouts. Besides being dramatic, mountains can be important design elements. hey’re a way to hide track that would otherwise have to reappear unrealistically ater a turnback curve at the end of the layout. hey can disguise a place where the track needs to go through a backdrop, and of course, they help set the scene. 24

What would a coal-hauling Appalachian layout be without the mountains of West Virginia? Where’s the drama of the Denver & Rio Grande Western without the Rockies? So, now that you’ve decided you want a mountain on your layout, how do you build it? here are many choices, and they each have their pros and cons. What we used on the Eagle Mountain RR, Model Railroader’s 2016 project layout, is a tried-and-true method of plaster gauze over a lattice of cardboard strips. he advantages are quick construction, ease of modiication, and relatively

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

low cost. he main disadvantage is the potential mess of wet plaster. Since our workshop has hard-surface loors, and we have a solid tabletop under our mountain, the mess wasn’t a big issue. Follow along as I take you through the process, step by step.

Now on ModelRailroader.com Subscribers can learn more about the materials used to build Eagle Mountain by clicking on the link at www.ModelRailroader.com.

Eric White

Step 1 Preparing the area

Back of backdrop

Before I started construction, I made sure the track that would be hidden by the mountain was finished. In addition to painting the track, Cody Grivno ballasted the areas that would be unreachable, yet visible, when the mountain was finished. The next step was to cut strips from sheets of cardboard we had in the workshop. I cut with the corrugations, making pieces for the web about 1 ⁄2" to 3 ⁄4" wide. To build the cardboard web, which is secured with hot glue and staples, I needed to have something to secure it to. I hot-glued wood strips to the backdrop, since I knew it would be difficult to drive staples into the tempered hardboard. I also glued the strips to the extruded-foam insulation board layout surface. The wood is a little grippier than the foam would be. I stapled strips from the edge and the surface of the layout to the backdrop to start. Then I started weaving pieces in from the ends. Where they crossed, I stapled them together for strength. I made the grid about 4" x 4". I had to finish the tunnel portal and cast and paint a plaster liner [covered in an upcoming Step by Step column. – Ed.] before I could complete the web. Once the portal and liner were installed, I hot-glued the ends of the web to the plaster castings.

Track painted

Backdrop

Wood tacking strips

Stapled joint Cardboard web

Step 2 A road up the mountain

Roadbed Webbing cut away Ste

ep

s lo

pe

Ro ad

Cardboard supports

be

dc

ut

rface Layout su

To break up the expanse of mountainside, and to add visual interest, I added a road going from the site of the ore loader up and over the mountain. The base of the road is a piece of cardboard. The top is stapled to the wood strips on the backdrop, and the bottom is hot-glued to the foam layout base. In the middle, I made cardboard supports to get the roadbed to hold the shape I wanted. Once I was finished, I realized the road was too steep. An advantage of this construction method is the ease of making changes. I cut out the curve in the road and some of the webbing around it. I cut a new curve for the roadbed, then pushed and prodded the cardboard into a more realistic shape. Once I had the roadbed in a location I liked, I filled in the areas around it with more webbing strips. My only losses were a couple inches of cardboard webbing, a few staples, and the time it took to make the change.

New curve G

en

t le

rs

lo

pe

APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

25

STEPBYSTEP Step 3 Time to get messy Wood supports hold web at backdrop Approximately 4" grid

Tunnel portal placed temporarily

Old, steep roadbed

Two layers of gauze Mask under mountain Overlap gauze Plastic bowl

Gauze strips

Track covered

With all the webbing in place, it was time to start applying plaster-impregnated gauze. Since this is messy, I covered the track with masking tape. I also used pieces of paper to protect the areas under the mountain that would be accessible through a hatch I made in the fascia. This wasn’t really necessary, but I wanted to keep it as neat as possible under there. Plaster gauze is easy to work with. We used Woodland Scenics plaster gauze, which is a good size for model railroading. However, I did cut the pieces in half, since I was building a relatively small mountain. I used a flexible plastic bowl filled with water to soak the gauze strips. After dipping the strips in water, I shook off the excess, then placed the strips over the cardboard web. I overlapped the pieces as I went along, and added a second layer before the first had set up. I smoothed the gauze as much as possible with my wet hands. 26

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An alternative to plaster gauze is paper towels or newspaper soaked in Hydrocal. The process is similar, but you have to mix a soupy batch of Hydrocal to soak your paper in. Cut the paper into usable sizes, soak it in the plaster, and apply the same way as the gauze. Using a flexible bowl makes cleanup easier. Once the plaster dries, flex the bowl and it’ll flake right off. Don’t rinse the bowl and wash the plaster-laden water down the drain, unless you enjoy unclogging drains. I used up the excess plaster by brushing it over the gauze after it had set up a bit. The steep sides of the mountain were covered with plaster rock castings. The gentler slopes were covered with Sculptamold, a papiermache product. It’s useful for covering stubborn folds in the gauze material and for blending the rock castings into the surrounding terrain. I’ll describe both processes in next month’s Step by Step.

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ǁǁǁ͘ŶŝĐŚŽůĂƐƐŵŝƚŚƚƌĂŝŶƐ͘ĐŽŵ ModelRailroaderApril2016 APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

27

A mix of concrete and wood ties and varying rail and roadbed heights make Pelle Søeborg’s HO scale layout look like a real-life modern-era railroad.

How to model

REALISTIC TRACK AND ROADBED Learn an expert modeler’s tricks for making flextrack and cork look like a real right-of-way By Pelle Søeborg Photos by the author

aying track is one of my favorite projects when building a model railroad. It’s a relaxing task that I can easily start and stop, so I can always ind time to lay track. Recently I’ve been building my new HO scale layout that’s based on the Union Paciic RR main line through the Midwest. Many of the techniques outlined in this article are reinements to those that I developed while building my previous UP-themed modern-era model railroads, including my freelanced HO scale Daneville Subdivision.

L

28

One major diference between my new layout and its predecessors is that the new one is sectional. I want it to be easy to disassemble should I have to move. his afected how I installed both the roadbed and track. [Pelle described how he built his sectional benchwork in the March 2016 issue. – Ed.] Although I’ve been tempted to give handlaying track a try, I actually think the lextrack and ready-to-install turnouts available today look more realistic. I’ve used ready-to-install track on all my model railroads, including the one that I’m currently building.

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Painting is the key to realistic track, and I paint all my track ater it’s installed. My method of painting and weathering is easy to master. I use an airbrush and a combination of paint washes and weathering powders. Follow along as I share my favorite tips for building a good-looking and smooth-running right-of-way. I’ll describe how to cut and install cork roadbed, lay lextrack and turnouts, and provide my simple method for painting and weathering. Although I’m laying HO scale track, these techniques will apply to any modeling scale.

ROADBED Joint between sections Wood blocks

Curve template

A

Track centerline

B

C

Track centerlines

1. Preparing the tabletop I start by drawing the centerlines for the track and turnouts on the plywood tabletop on my layout benchwork. For straight track, I use a long steel rule. To make it easier to draw smooth curves with easements, I made curve templates from scrap hardboard. The minimum radius on my layout is 33". For my double-track main line, I draw the centerline for the inner track first, since that has the sharpest curve. A

.080" (2mm) cork base layer

.20" (5mm) cork for main line

I also used templates so that I could precisely position turnouts. To make a template, I photographed a turnout, then printed out the photos full size. [Many track manufacturers also offer turnout templates as free downloads on their websites – Ed.] For added durability I mounted the paper templates on cardboard. B The position of the track at the end of each layout section was crucial,

.080"(2mm) cork for siding

.5" (12mm) plywood tabletop

2. A lightweight, sound-deadening layer On my previous layout, I used a heavy, automotive sound-deadening material as part of the subroadbed. On my new layout, I wanted to keep the weight of the benchwork as light as

possible and still reduce wheel noise, so I used two layers of cork instead. As shown in the diagram above, I used a base layer of .080" thick cork that I cut slightly wider than the

since I wasn’t going to use rail joiners between the tracks of each section. A slight misalignment would cause a derailment. I wanted to spike the track at these locations directly to the plywood tabletop, but the two layers of cork proved too thick. Therefore I laminated .080" thick wood strips along the centerlines at the end of each section. This provided a secure attachment point for the spikes. C

right-of-way. I then installed the cork roadbed (.20" thick for the main line and .080" for sidings) on top of the base layer. My theory was that as long as the track and roadbed rested on something soft and flexible, instead of directly on hard plywood, the noise of wheels rolling over rails would be reduced. Although not as effective as the heavy subroadbed on my previous layout, the two layers of cork worked well enough and created much lighter layout sections.

Half width of roadbed

Track centerline

A

B

3. Installing two-layer cork roadbed For roadbed, I use cork sheet rather than pre-cut cork strips. These sheets are available from model railroad suppliers as well as home improvement and office supply stores. I found the sheets easier to use, since I could easily cut the cork to whatever width I needed. While working on the

roadbed and track I used a temporary workbench that I made from lumber left over from the benchwork. I cut the cork into strips half the width of the roadbed by running a sharp utility knife along the edge of a steel rule. A To glue the cork to the plywood tabletop, I used a marine sealant as an

adhesive. This sealant is commonly used between the wood planks of a boat deck. I like this material because it holds the cork securely in place and remains flexible. [Latex caulk or construction adhesive found at home centers could also be used for this step. – Ed.]. Using a caulk gun, I run APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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ROADBED (CONT’D)

Track centerline

D

C

Transition pieces Siding

Main line

E

Main line

F

Wood block

G

H

.080" cork

Joint between sections

3. Installing two-layer cork roadbed (cont’d) beads of the adhesive along each side of the track centerline. B I laid strips of cork over each bead of adhesive. By laying the strips along the centerline I could still follow the centerline as the joint between the two strips of cork. This would be helpful during tracklaying. When satisfied with the position of a strip, I used a rolling pin to press the cork to the tabletop. C I kept adding cork strips along the track centerlines until the roadway was covered with a base layer of .080" cork. Along curves and other locations where the roadbed wasn’t completely straight, I used pushpins to hold the cork in place. I then let the adhesive dry overnight before removing the pins. D 30

After the base layer was down, I applied the roadbed layer. I cut the cork into strips half the width of the track. To attach the roadbed, I used the same adhesive as for the base layer. Using a caulk gun, I applied a bead of adhesive along the joint between the base layer strips that again followed the track centerline. Then I carefully laid the cork roadbed strips along the joint and pressed them into place with a rolling pin. A steel rule is useful for aligning strips that butt together. E The transition between the .20" thick mainline roadbed and the .080" siding roadbed was made as two steps. The first step down was two

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

layers of .080" cork. The second step was one layer of .120" cork. As with the base layer, I used pushpins to hold the cork roadbed in place until the adhesive dried completely. F It’s important for the roadbed surface to be as even as possible before laying track. You could use a sanding block or file. I found it easiest to use a power sander to smooth out the stepped transition between the main line and siding. G The wood blocks at the end of each layout section weren’t as thick as the mainline roadbed. Using the same adhesive as before, I glued a layer of .080" cork on top of the blocks to keep the track at an even height. H

TRACK AND TURNOUTS Staging tracks Stock rail

Main line Siding

Frog

Frog rails removed

Stock rail

A

Gap

Gap

Spur

Siding

B

1. Modern-era track

2. Remove the frog rail

My main line is Micro Engineering flextrack that represents track laid on concrete ties. As of this writing, no manufacturer makes North American-style turnouts on concrete ties, so my HO turnouts are on wood ties. I’ve seen prototype turnouts on concrete ties along the UP main, but turnouts on wood ties are more common. When laying track, I start by installing all turnouts and other complicated trackwork. Then I cut flextrack to fit the spaces between the turnouts. I use a steel rule to help me lay straight track. I’ll sight down the web of the rail to look for major kinks. I don’t worry if it’s not pefectly straight. If you look down the rail of a prototype track, you’ll notice all sorts of dips and kinks. Most of my “straight” track has a gentle curve or curves to it. Track looks a lot more realistic when it isn’t perfectly parallel to the edge of the fascia.

When installing turnouts I eliminate the rail joints between the frog rails and the straight and diverging routes. This technique only works with the same size rail, such as code 83 track to a code 83 turnout. A On Micro Engineering turnouts, the frog rail is separate from the frog. There’s a gap between the two components to keep the frog electrically insulated. The rails are held to the plastic ties by tabs along the bottom of the rails. For each turnout, I carefully removed the frog rails. Then I slid the rails of the straight and diverging routes through the tabs. I still needed to use rail joiners between the stock rails and the outside rail of each route. However, I think eliminating one set of rail joints makes the turnouts look better. B

3. Spike at an angle Instead of adhesive, I use only spikes to attach the track to the roadbed. Every 20 ties or so, I drove a spike through the tie on the outside of each rail. Using curved-tip needlenose pliers, I grasped the spike by the shank and pushed it through the tie and the roadbed at an angle. Then I repeated this step for the other rail. The angled spikes hold the flextrack to a soft material like cork more securely than if I’d driven the spikes straight down.

APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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TRACK AND TURNOUTS (CONT’D) Cut web between ties Smaller rail soldered to joiner

Widened tie spacing

Out of the box tie spacing

A

B

Code 70 rail

Code 83 rail

4. Vary rail height and tie spacing For model track, “code” refers to rail height with a larger number referring to a higher rail. Depending on the type of track I’m modeling, I use three different rail sizes. Code 83 rail on concrete ties models the main line, code 70 on wood ties models sidings, and code 55 on wood ties models spurs. Industry spurs often have ties

spaced farther apart than those on more heavily trafficked main lines. To model this spacing, I cut the web between the plastic ties on Micro Engineering code 55 flextrack and slide the ties apart along the rails. A As with the transition from the main line to siding roadbed, I had to account for the transition between the different

rail heights. Track manufacturers make transition rail joiners for code 83 to code 70 or code 70 to code 55 rail. However, I find it easy to use the larger size rail joiner. After sliding the joiner on the larger rail, I use pliers to squeeze the other end flat. I then place the smaller rail over the flattened joiner and solder it in place. B

Cut tie bed in locations shown by X

A

Stock/frog rails

Ties removed and trimmed

B

C

5. Installing a crossover with two turnouts This crossover was located where the main line had a slight curve. However, it’s not enough to merit the use of curved turnouts. Instead, I modified the two ME no. 6 left-hand turnouts so they flexed somewhat by cutting the plastic web between the ties in the locations shown above. A Next, I trimmed the diverging route of each turnout so that the two straight routes matched the distance between my two mainline tracks. I then 32

removed the frog rails, as outlined in tip no. 2 “Remove the frog rail” on page 31. B After sliding the bare stock rails into the space left by the removed frog rails, the crossover didn’t have rail joiners between the frogs. I think this method made the crossover look more realistic, and my model trains will roll more smoothly through it. C Before spiking down the crossover, I soldered feeder wires to the under-

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side of the rails. The stock rails have feeders that will match the polarity of the adjoining mainline rails. I also attached a feeder to each of the metal insulated frogs on the ME turnouts. The frogs need to change polarity depending upon how the turnouts are aligned to prevent a short circuit. Since I use Tortoise by Circuitron switch motors, this is easy to accomplish. I simply attach each frog wire to the appropriate contact on

Frog

Feeder

Feeder

Feeder

D

Switch rod slot

E Styrene fills gap

F

G

the switch motor, as described in the Tortoise instruction sheet. D I had to make a slot in the roadbed for the actuating rod connected to each switch motor. This actuating rod connects to the turnout’s switch rod (or throw bar) that moves the point rails. After carefully marking the location of the switch rod, I cut away the roadbed with a hobby knife. Then I drilled three closely spaced holes through the plywood tabletop. I removed the wood between the holes

with a milling head in my power drill, which left a smooth 1 ⁄2" wide slot in the tabletop. I then repeated this process for the other turnout and switch motor. E I drilled holes through the roadbed and tabletop and slid the feeder wires through. Following the track centerlines, I then spiked the crossover in place. The turnouts are just flexible enough to follow the gently curving main line. I then installed the slowmotion switch motors under the

benchwork by following the included instruction sheet. F The frog on an ME turnouts is insulated by a gap between the frog and the adjacent rail. I filled this gap with a piece of brown styrene glued in place with cyanoacrylate adhesive (CA). After the CA dried, I used a scalpel to carefully trim the styrene flush with the railhead. I think this step enhances the appearance of the turnout, especially after the rails are painted. G

6. Superelevated curves Shims

As on a prototype railroad, I superelevated the mainline curves on my layout by making the outside rail slightly higher than the inside rail. This arrangement makes the train “lean” into a curve. Unlike the prototype, superelevated curves can make operation more troublesome on model track, as the cars can tilt too much and derail. For my superelevated curves, I used styrene shims placed under the ties along the outside rail. I started with .010" shims at the entrance of the curve, then .020" and .030" shims up to .040" at the apex of the curve. Then I reverse the heights (.030" to .010") through the curve. The transition from level to maximum elevation takes place over a distance of 12 to 15 inches, and I usually install shims two to three ties apart. However, I don’t glue the shims to the roadbed. That way it’s easy for me to adjust the superelevation if any derailment problems arise during test runs.

APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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TRACK AND TURNOUTS (CONT’D) Joint between sections

Joint between sections

Extra spikes

B

Spikes

Metal tab

A

C

7. Laying track between layout sections I cut the track at the joint between layout sections and spike the ends to the wood blocks shown on page 30. To account for expansion and contraction of the benchwork sections due to humidity changes, I leave a slight gap between the track ends of each adjacent section and don’t use rail joiners between sections. A

Some of my layout sections join at a curve. When flextrack is cut diagonally in the middle of a curve, it’s very difficult to keep the rails aligned between sections. I first tried to hold the ends in place with extra spikes, but this proved unreliable. B Instead, I keep the track aligned between layout sections by attaching

small metal tabs on the outside rails of one section’s track. These tabs then fit over the outside rails of the adjoining section’s track. I made the tabs by cutting slices off a metal rail joiner, then soldering it in place. C

PAINTING AND WEATHERING TRACK Vacuum

Foam between points

A

B

1. Track preparation My turnouts all rely on the contact between the point rails and adjacent stock rails for electrical continuity. To keep these areas paint-free, I placed scraps of foam between the points. A 34

Paint dust is an unavoidable part of airbrushing. To suck up most of the dust I used a clamp to place a vacuum cleaner hose close to the area where I worked. I turned on the vacuum

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

whenever I used the airbrush. Because dust particles can float around the room for quite a while, I let the vacuum run for 10 minutes after I finished each painting session. B

PAINTING AND WEATHERING TRACK (CONT’D) Main line Siding

Main line

Siding

Siding

A

B

Spur

2. Applying the base coat For base coat on the wood ties, I used a light gray color, such as Model Master Flat Gull Gray. For the concrete ties, I used a mix of equal parts Model

Master Flat Gull Gray, Sand, and Flat White. A After applying the base coat, I used a small chisel to scrape the paint off

the railheads. This step can be done after weathering. However, don’t allow the paint to harden overnight, or it will be much more difficult to remove. B

Siding

Siding Main line

A

Siding

B

3. Painting rail and ties For the wood ties, I mixed a paint wash from equal parts Vallejo Cam Black Brown, Gray Green, and Airbrush Thinner. I then applied this wash

to the ties with a soft brush. If the color looks light I’ll add a second coat. A Using a fine-tipped brush, I painted the web of the rail with a grayish-

brown mix of two parts Model Master Earth Gray and one part Sand. On the concrete-tie track, I also painted the rail clips this color. B

Weathering powder Base coat only

Siding Painted and weathered

Main line

A

B

4. Final weathering After the paint dried, I used a soft brush to apply brown weathering powder along the rails of the track on concrete ties. This weathering step isn’t necessary on the wood ties, since

they’re already painted with a grayish brown wash, described above. A Photo B on the right shows two layout sections. The background section has only the base coat applied,

while the foreground has been painted and weathered. Even without ballast, the finished track looks like the real thing. It doesn’t take much extra effort to get great-looking model track. APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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Bruce Kingsley enjoys adding animation to scenes to bring them to life. By using an Arduino project board, he was able to add more sophisticated effects, including sound, motion, and programmed lighting sequences.

ANIMATE STRUCTURES

with microcontrollers Arduino circuit boards simplify programming effects By Bruce Kingsley • Photos by the author

WITH THE AVAILABILITY of lowcost Arduino microcontrollers, layout structures can be transformed from having simple interior illumination to a structure that comes to life. My irst structure using an Arduino simply turned room lights on and of randomly. For this project, I used an Arduino board to do more by adding animated 36

lights, sounds, and igures to a small HO scale home. To enable layout visitors to see and hear what will be going on in my animated house, I made sure to place it on the front edge of my layout. Using seethrough windows also required me to put much more work into the interior details than I would customarily do,

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requiring a diferent approach to assembling the Branchline Trains Laser-Art Structures kit than the one explained in the kit instructions.

Kit considerations I completely assembled, painted, and detailed each exterior and interior wall individually. Basswood strips on the

.010" fiber optic strand

Vector Cut screen door

Kit walls

Basswood strips

Fig. 1 Preparing for an interior. Bruce built his HO scale house from a Branchline Trains Laser-Art Structures kit. He added interior bracing to minimize warping and to support interior walls and floors.

interior walls minimize the chance of warping and support loors, ceilings and interior walls (see fig. 1). Special attention was made to keep the window glazing clean. I added a Vector Cut screen door kit and used an .010" optical iber to model a lighted doorbell button, shown in fig. 2. Between all the basswood strips I glued wallpaper printed from my home computer using PowerPoint sotware’s built-in patterns. I made some test photos, and found I needed to turn down the color saturation on the prints to keep the wallpaper realistic looking. Window drapes were made from tea bag paper and stained with diluted acrylic paint. hese are shown in fig. 3. For interior walls, I used cardstock with printed wallpaper glued to it. For the carpet, I took a single layer of a paper napkin and used a wallpaper roller to latten the embossed pattern. I then used lat spray paint to make a realistic carpet mat. For the kitchen loor, I printed a simple tile pattern on paper and coated it with cyanoacrylate adhesive (CA) to give it a linoleum look.

Adding lights I like to use warm light-emitting diodes (LEDs). By purchasing strip lights sold at home centers (See fig. 4), I get a lifetime supply of surface-mount LEDs, already soldered to an adhesive strip, simplifying wire hook-ups. On the style of light strip I use, each LED cathode, the negative lead, has its own 30AWG wire, and all anodes, the positive leads, are tied together to a single wire.

Fig. 2 Screen doors and doorbells. The front of the house got a new screen door and an illuminated doorbell button. The doorbell is part of the soundtrack in the animation. Wallpaper printed in PowerPoint

Second floor

First floor

Carpet

Tea bag paper drapes Tile pattern in kitchen

Fig. 3 Interior finishes. The walls were covered with wallpaper printed in PowerPoint. Carpeting was made by painting flattened napkins.

To divide the loors, I made a ceiling/ loor “sandwich” with the LEDs inside, shown in fig. 5 on the next page. he LEDs will be used as ceiling lights. I used cardstock for the ceilings and loors and glued the LEDs over a small hole using 5-minute epoxy. I painted the surrounding area black to minimize light penetration. I tested to make sure the LEDs were operating correctly, and also made sure there was no light leaking around them. I grouped all the wires together and glued them to the loor at the back of the house. I used the same process for the lighted doorbell, gluing an LED to the back of the optical iber. For the ceiling lamp ixtures, I used small frosted glass beads with small washers for the ixture mount. I used epoxy to glue the lamp ixture to the ceiling cardstock while the LED was

Surface mount LEDs

Cathode

Anode

Fig. 4 Cheap lights. Bruce gets his surface-mount light-emitting diodes (LEDs) from light strips he buys at home centers. APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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Floor carpet made from Warm white led from painted paper napkin adhesive LED strip Epoxy painted 1⁄8" hole Floor card stock flat black

Floor carpet made from Figure mounts on painted paper napkin servo output shaft Styrene tube Floor card stock Mini RC servo motor

Small 1" speaker 30 AWG wires to existing solder pads

No. 2 screw Solder wires to pins

Ceiling white card stock

Small metal washer for lamp trim

Clear frosted bead for lampshade

Fig. 5 Floor sandwich. The ceiling lights are sandwiched between a cardstock floor and ceiling. Bruce uses black paint on the cardstock to prevent light leaks.

Mini USB connector

Styrene support “Invite By Voice” sound board

Arduino Micro pins cut-off and epoxied to support Mini USB connector

Fig. 6 Arranging components. The electronics are mounted to the first floor. Bruce made a hole in the floor above the servo. A dancing woman is glued to a disk attached to the servo.

Wires down kitchen wall Ceiling light fixtures

Servo under living room

illuminated so I could adjust the alignment.

Tiny dancer To animate an HO igure of a woman dancing, I made a hole in the living room loor and mounted a servo to the bottom of the loor (See fig. 6). A servo is a small motor with a potentiometer to control its position. I glued the loor material that was removed to the center of the servo, so only a small circular piece of carpet rotates. I glued a igure of a woman dancing to the cut-out on top of the servo.

Assembling the house With the subassemblies complete, I assembled the house. I irst completed the front porch and mounted it to the front wall. hen using CA, I assembled the front wall to the two side walls. he CA dries quickly, so I had to make sure the walls were square. I slid the irst loor in from the rear and glued it to the basswood strips, then glued in the interior walls and added the irst loor details. I made a miniature TV with a cool-white LED and glued it in the living room, making sure it could be seen from a window. I repeated the process for the second loor, routing the wires down the walls of the kitchen where they couldn’t be seen, shown in fig. 7. Finally, the rear wall was glued on, as well as the remaining roof and exterior details.

Electronics time

Fig. 7 Putting it together. The house is assembled with cyanoacrylate adhesive. After assembling the front and side walls, Bruce added the floors, then the rear wall once everything was aligned correctly. Mini USB connector

New speaker

470Ω resistors

Switch wires

Wires to lights Invite by Voice board

Printed circuit board

Fig. 8 Resistor mounting. Resistors for the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were mounted to a printed-circuit board. Each resistor is attached to the negative lead, or cathode, of the individual LEDs. 38

Fig. 9 Sound considerations. Bruce removed the Invite by Voice circuit board from its enclosure and replaced the supplied speaker with a smaller unit. He also added wires to a switch that triggers the sound.

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I soldered nine 470Ω, 1 ⁄8 watt resistors to a small printed-circuit (PC) board, tying one end of all the resistors together (see fig. 8). he resistors limit the current to the LEDs. To add a soundtrack, I used a sound module I found on www.Amazon.com called Invite by Voice. It’s capable of recording 104 seconds of sound and is triggered by an on/of switch. I removed the Invite by Voice circuit card from its plastic enclosure and removed the connections to the battery and speaker. I soldered new wires to a smaller speaker and wires to the sound trigger push button, shown in fig. 9. I made a simple voltage regulator circuit to provide 5V and 12V. he circuit is shown in the schematic in fig 10. his would enable a single power source to the house to operate from 5 to 20 volts with reverse power protection, as well as keeping the servo from making electrical noise that could result in motion “twitching” and static on the sound

VIN 5V 3.3V

Power supply

U1

U2 LM7805

Reset D13 PWM AREF D12 PWM/A11 D11 PWM D10 PWM/A10 A0 D9 PWM/A9 A1 D8 PWM/A8 A2 D7 A3 D6 PWM/A7 A4 D5 PWM A5 D4 PWM/A6 D3/SCL D2/SDA Arduino D1/TX D0/RX Micro (Rev3) MOSI MISO SCK RXLED/SS

U3 LM7812

Voltage regulator 5V

Voltage regulator 12V

D1 1N4001 3 Output Input + voltage voltage 1 – J1 15-20VDC

3 Output Input 1 voltage voltage

C2 100μF 35V

GND

GND

+ –

2 + –

C1 100μF 35V

2

Servo

GND

+ Pulse –

Invite by

LED1

LED2

LED3

LED4

LED5

LED6

LED7

LED8

R1 470Ω

R2 470Ω

R3 470Ω

R4 470Ω

R5 470Ω

R6 470Ω

R7 470Ω

R8 470Ω

+ Voice TRG – Optional sound and motion effects

Fig. 10 Building circuits. This schematic shows the house circuits and how they connect to the Arduino circuit board. Bruce built his own power supply, but a commercial supply would also work.

Invite by Sound board

Servo

Programming connectors

▸▸ Materials list Arduino MICRO A00053 Arduino microcontroller Branchline Trains Laser-Art Structures 625 Finley HO house kit

Front porch

Horizon Hobby SM8 super micro servo

Resistor board Speaker

Arduino board

Fig. 11 Putting it all together. All of the electronics were mounted to the bottom of the first floor of the completed house. Bruce painted the bottom of the floor and inside of the foundation walls black to prevent light leaks.

card. Electrical noise can distort the potentiometer signal for the servo. I soldered all the electronics together and mounted them to the underside of the house (See fig. 11). I made sure the programming USB connectors faced down so the Arduino and sound card programs could be changed from the underside of the layout once the house was installed in a rectangular opening.

I made a soundtrack that had all the sounds, voices, and music divided into room scenes, like in a play. Using multiple sound efect iles, I created a single .wav sound ile edited with a free, open source program, Audacity (www.audacityteam.org). he sound ile synchronized with the house animation was then downloaded into the Invite by Voice sound board.

Invite By Voice www.invitebyvoice.com musical box, push button white RadioShack 2710009 470Ω resistors 2760150 multipurpose PC board 2761170 5V regulator 2761171 12V regulator 2761101 1N4001 micro 1A diode 2721028 100uF 35V electrolytic capacitor Miscellaneous 28AWG wire SMD3528 Warm-White (2700K) light-emitting diodes APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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Completed house

What is Arduino? Official definition: Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. It‘s intended for anyone making interactive projects. To the model railroader it’s a quick, powerful, and inexpensive computer on a little board that can emulate many electronic control circuits in a fraction of the time. With a growing world-wide community of suppliers and users, you can find almost any solution on the Internet without being a computer or electronic expert. The programming software and many example programs can be downloaded from the Arduino website (www.arduino.cc) for both Windows and Mac. Using a standard USB cable, the Arduino programming software will download your software to the Arduino board’s memory and immediately start executing it. Once downloaded, every time the Arduino board is powered on, it will run your program. Below is a simple C++ program example that will blink two LEDs wired to two of an Arduino’s output pins for a railroad crossing signal. The code written in the setup() function is only executed once when power is applied, and code written in the loop() function will continually repeat until power is removed. The comment to the right of the slashes (//) describes the programmed action. void setup() { pinMode(13, OUTPUT); pinMode(12, OUTPUT); } void loop() { digitalWrite(13, HIGH); digitalWrite(12, LOW); delay(1000); digitalWrite(13, LOW); digitalWrite(12, HIGH); delay(1000); }

// turn the right LED on // turn the left LED off // wait for a second // turn the right LED off // turn the left LED on // wait for a second

Name

Digital Pin

Type

Once I liked what I had, I documented the time from the beginning of the soundtrack to each time I would want an animated event to occur. his included lights, the TV turning on and of, and when my animated igure would move.

Wire Color

Knowing I was going to animate other structures, I spent a little more time writing the Arduino program so it could be used universally following a script. (See “What is Arduino?” at let, for more information.) he script would handle the efect of lights turning on and of, TV licker, and servo commands based on the time I documented from the sound ile. I could have many events and durations occurring without complex reprogramming. With the house all completed and tested, I mounted it on my layout, shown in fig. 12, and completed the exterior scenery.

1

Television

13

PWM

Brown

2

Doorbell button

8

DIG

Red

3

Front porch light

10

PWM

Orange

4

Living room corner light

11

PWM

Yellow

5

First floor side room light

6

PWM

Blue

6

Kitchen light

5

PWM

Green

7

Living room ceiling light

11

PWM

Violet

8

Second floor front bedroom

3

PWM

Gray

Bruce Kingsley and his wife, Janine, live in Yakima, Wash., where he works as a test manager for an aerospace manufacturer. His major model railroading interests are detailing scenery, structures, and making customized weathered locomotives. Bruce likes to use his engineering background in electronics and computers to create prototypical efects in his layout scenery, and operating his cameraequipped locomotive through a half scale F7A cab DCC throttle.

9

Second floor rear bedroom

4

DIG

White

Now on ModelRailroader.com

10

Woman servo

9

PWM

Gray

11

Sound-Box trigger

12

DIG

Blue

Arduino pin output configuration PWM = Pulse Width Modulation; DIG = Digital Output 40

Fig. 12 Final mounting. The completed house is mounted over a hole in the layout to allow access from below. Bruce then finished off the scenery around the house.

Programming

// set digital pin 13 as an output. // set digital pin 12 as an output.

Arduino Micro output mapping for house effects Effect ID

Mounting hole

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

Readers can view a short video of Bruce’s animation and listen to the sound file he created for this project at www.ModelRailroader.com.

Drawings of a steam era

interlocking tower

It’s winter at Rochester Junction, and a westbound Lehigh Valley passenger train headed by a 4-8-2 is passing the tower in preparation for a station stop. The time is likely 1935 to 1945. Photographer unknown, Harold W. Russell collection

This Lehigh Valley tower protected a wye and small yard in New York By Harold Russell • Drawings by the author

T

his Lehigh Valley RR interlocking tower once sat diagonally across from the station at Rochester Junction, N.Y., adjacent to a wye that served the branch to Honeoye Falls, N.Y. he wye was used to turn the gaselectric car that ran to Rochester. I had visited this area once before to study and draw the station [published in the June 1990 Model Railroader], but at that time, the tower was already gone. However, I later acquired more information about the tower, in the form of some old photos and a plan of a similar tower that was published in Flags, Diamonds,

and Statues magazine, the publication of the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society (www.anthraciterailroads.org). Since the tower in the photographs looked like the one in the plan, producing the drawings on the next two pages was a simple matter of visiting the site and measuring the old foundation to get the dimensions of the Rochester Junction tower.

Modeling notes he tower can be easily built in any scale from commercially available styrene or wood, milled to represent the

siding and shingles. hese materials are available from such suppliers as Kappler Mill & Lumber, Plastruct, and Evergreen. Grandt Line or Tichy Train Group windows and doors can be used. I have not drawn any of the details of interlocking levers or linkages, because these would vary with the track plan being served. Certainly, their addition to the scene would greatly enhance the realism a modeler desires. To my knowledge, this tower was never modernized with electric switch machines or signals; the “Armstrong” levers remained until abandonment. APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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A westbound Lehigh Valley 2-8-2 Mikado takes the branch off the main to drop cars in the small yard at Rochester Junction. The wye to Honeyoye Falls veers off to the right. Photographer unknown, Harold W. Russell collection

28'-6"

42

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

ROCHESTER JCT RJ

Drawn for Model Railroader magazine by HAROLD W. RUSSELL Magazine purchaser may have photocopies of these drawings made as an aid to personal model making but does not have the right to distribute copies of the drawings to others. Contact Model Railroader regarding commercial use of these drawings.

8'-9"

Ratio 1:87.1, HO scale TO CONVERT HO SCALE DRAWINGS TO YOUR SCALE COPY AT THESE PERCENTAGES: N 54.4 percent S 136.1 percent O 181.4 percent

6'-6"

4'-3" Privy

Now on ModelRailroader.com Registered users of our website can download these drawings for personal use. Look under Online Extras at www.ModelRailroader.com. Upper door

Lower window

Upper window

Knee brace

Alternate metal roofing

ROCHESTER JCT RJ

6'-0"

19'-6"

53"

8'-0"

11'-6"

APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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A bridge line

in HO scale

A retired railroader builds his double-deck dream layout re-creating mountain railroading in West Virginia By Lou Sassi Photos by the author

1. River Falls & Eastern ElectroMotive Division GP7 no. 221 leads train No. 117, the Robertstown Turn, on Larry Hickman’s 28 x 38-foot HO scale layout. In the foreground, Alco RS-3 no. 105 switches the yard.

APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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Depot

Sand and fuel track Starbucke Lumber Co. (tank cars) lead Western Maryland Low Gap staging

Staunton staging

Standard Box Co. Helix to McDermott (not shown)

River Falls & Eastern Ry. PulpwoodPerry Co.

HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 28 x 38 feet Scale of plan: 3/16" = 1'-0", 24" grid Numbered arrows indicate photo locations Illustration by Roen Kelly

Durbin Junction Hanson Chair Co.

WB Tower

spur

Dauterman’s Mill American Creek Millworks Southern Junkyard Oil Co. Woodside House Depot

3

track

Sand and fuel track (covered hoppers)

Depot

5

Enidicutt Supply Co.

Car cleanout area

Stairs

Little Creek Plywood Co.

EB Tower

Henderson Coal Co. no. 8

Upper level Thornwood Yard Window Shavers Fork tower

Lumber loading area

Andrews Feed & Grain Co. Team track

Scenery divider Window Depot Enidicutt Lumber Co. Shop complex with unloading dock

Black Creek Coal truck dump

Shavers Fork

Woodside Tower

Rockside

Marcum & Packs Pulpwood Co.

Robertstown C&S Caboose building Yard track supply

Castle Rock Coal & Coke Co. Castle Rock

4

Castle Rock passenger shelter

Depot MX Tower Depot

Huttonsville Saunders

Saunders Coal Co.

2 Rockside Tower

Duckunder

Henderson Coal Co. no. 4

Hyde

L

arry Hickman began work on his dream layout, the 28 x 38foot HO scale River Falls & Eastern, in November 1999. But his journey in model railroading started decades earlier. he retired professional railroader, whose father and step-grandfather were also railroaders, received a Marx layout when he was 6 years old. he track was attached to a 4 x 6 sheet of wood that conveniently slid under his bed when not in use. His interest in trains was further fostered by a childhood friend. he friend’s dad was a Greyhound bus driver who would return from trips with a new piece of Lionel equipment. Larry and his friend would run Lionel trains “for hours on end.” Fast-forward to married life. When Larry and his wife, Dalene, were irst married, he dabbled in HOn30. Family commitments and lack of space and money led him to dismantle the layout. He parted with all but a few pieces of scratchbuilt equipment.

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River Falls & Eastern Ry. Western Maryland KC (New York Central) Baltimore & Ohio

Saunders Company Store & Supply Co.

D.P. Industries

Find more plans online in the ModelRailroader.com Track Plan Database

But Larry is quick to credit his wife for providing the much-needed space for the River Falls & Eastern. While planning the two-car detached garage for their home, Dalene asked the contractor how much it would cost to add a second loor. When he quoted the price, she thought for a moment and said, “Go for it. If you think I’m going to listen to Larry complain for the next 20 years about not having a place to model railroad, you’re crazy.”

seemed to be ample aisle space. When inished, I realized I didn’t make the aisles wide enough.” With the benchwork installed, Larry cut, it, and screwed 1 ⁄8" tempered hardboard panels to the walls. Ater patching the seams and screw holes, he handpainted the backdrop following instructions in Dave Frary’s book Realistic Model Railroad Scenery (Kalmbach Books, out of print).

A quick start

Prototype knowledge

Once the garage was completed, Larry and his son installed lighting and ran the necessary wiring. hen Larry built the open-grid benchwork for the double-deck layout on the loor, hoisted it into place, and screwed it to the walls. He added legs to the front of the lower level and used wood and steel angle braces to support the upper level as necessary. “At the time the layout was being built, there weren’t many articles on how to build a multi-deck layout,” Larry said. “Most of it was trial and error. When the benchwork was lying on the loor, there

hough Larry admits to “doodling” the coniguration of some industries and sidings on paper prior to construction, he didn’t draw a track plan. Instead, he thought about what he wanted and built the layout. he track plan incorporates elements of various track arrangements he encountered during his railroad career. hough the track plan is freelanced, the railroad was inspired by Baltimore & Ohio, Western Maryland, and New York Central lines in West Virginia in 1959-60. Larry selected this two-year window to

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To Charleston staging tracks B&O Blue Creek staging tracks

Baltimore & Ohio Clarksburg staging yard

Helix to Robertstown (not shown) Red Wing Shoe Co.

A

McDermott Coal & Coke Co.

Harsel Co. Freight house stub Team track Baltimore & Ohio depot

Depot Kanawha Head Appalachian Tannery Co.

Depot

Ganes Team track

Diamond Coal Co. store

Passenger shelter Depot Alexander

McDermott B

Bork Electric Co. C

Weston

McDermott Supply Co.

Fuel rack

McMillian Blade Co.

B

C

Diamond Coal Co. supply stub

Stairs Yard office

1 Lower level Blackburn Plumbing Industrial Sand stub Lewis County Cold Storage Co. Cresent Glass Co. dock McDermott Coal & Coke Co. Potash stub coke track Seaman Window Co. Whitewater Brewery Co. West Virginia Aldrich & Homecrest Pulp & 6 Homecrest Sons Inc. Coal & Fuel Co. Paper Co. Crockers

A

Block station

Hemlock Tower Charleston cutoff

Rock Cut KC Valley View Yard

Depot Block station

Hemlock Brick & Tile Co.

River Falls

Duffy Diamond Coal Co.

Murphy Cartage Co. C.J. Burkey Burns & Groghan Valley Supply Co. Co. Walkersville Furniture Co.

Walkersville Lumber Co.

Team track

Depot

Busler Pallet Co. McCarthy Feed & Grain

▸▸ The layout at a glance

2. This view shows Robertstown Yard (left), Huttonsville (middle), and Saunders (far right) on the upper deck. On the lower deck, from left to right, is McDermott, Duffy, and Crockers.

Name: River Falls & Eastern Ry. Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 28 x 38 feet Prototype: Freelanced Locale: West Virginia Era: 1959 to ‘60 Style: Double-deck Mainline run: 400 feet Minimum radius: 24" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 21 ⁄2 percent Benchwork: open grid Height: 42" (lower level), 65" (upper level) Roadbed: Homasote Track: code 100 Scenery: wire mesh covered with plaster-impregnated gauze and Hydrocal-soaked towels Backdrop: painted tempered hardboard Control: Digitrax Digital Command Control APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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3. Hurry up and wait is a common theme in railroading. In Mill Creek, Va., River Falls & Eastern train No. 134 waits at the Mill Street Crossover for room at the Robertstown Yard.

4. Western Maryland trains can also be found on Larry’s layout. Here, ElectroMotive Division GP7 no. 22 switches cars at the Castle Rock Coal & Coke Co. as sister Geep no. 29 drifts past on its way to Saunders Mine. 48

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

“eliminate the hassle of dealing with steam engines and the various structures necessary to service them.” Larry’s choice of the Appalachian locale was inluenced by personal experiences, books, and conversations with fellow railroaders. Also, he and Dalene made many ield trips to the region, wandering the back roads and seeking out evidence of the various railroads that operated there. “Ater working on the railroad for so many years, I’ve found that all railroads are essentially the same, no matter what part of the country they’re in,” Larry said. “he only difer-

Setting the brakes

A red sign and painted rails indicate the location of the handbrake. The brake can be set or released using a fascia-mounted toggle switch. Unlike their full-size counterparts, HO scale freight cars lack brakes. This proved problematic for members of my operating crew. Cars they’d spot at industrial spurs located on a grade would roll away after they were spotted. To remedy this, I drilled a hole in the middle of the track where a handbrake was required. Then I fed a short length of piano wire through the opening. I mounted a Tortoise by Circuitron switch motor on its side below the layout. I bent the piano wire into an “L” shape and secured it to the switch motor with a screw. Operators activate the handbrake using a fascia-mounted toggle switch located near the turnout.

ence is that the scenic features surrounding them may vary.”

Mountain scenery Appalachia wouldn’t be complete without mountains. Larry roughed in the terrain using a wire mesh and crumpled newspaper taped together. He covered the base materials with towels soaked in Hydrocal. He later switched to plaster-impregnated gauze, which wasn’t as messy. Larry painted the plaster with water-based paints prior to adding scenery materials. he trees and ground cover are a mix of commercial and natural materials. Larry used horseweed, which grows wild near his northwest Ohio home, for trees. he rock outcroppings are a combination of plaster castings made using com-

mercial molds and real rocks. Larry painted the plaster castings with artists’ colors to match their real counterparts. Larry used acrylic gloss medium and Woodland Scenics E-Z Water to model rivers and creeks. Ater melting the E-Z Water pellets, he poured the watermaking material into place.

Structure showcase Larry built several of the structures for his layout from wood, plastic, plaster, and resin, among other materials. In many instances, he opted for 1 ⁄8" Plexiglas, which oten served as the base for his structures. If Larry decides to replace an industry, he cuts around the base, removes the building, and assembles a new structure with the same footprint. He inds it easier to handle the bases

This under-the-layout view shows two Tortoise by Circuitron switch motors turned on their side. The L-shaped piano wire is secured to the motor with a screw. When the brake is activated, the piano wire catches an axle on the car and keeps it from rolling away. – Larry Hickman

rather than the building when placing them into a scene. When possible, Larry also uses Plexiglas for the sides, backs, and roofs on buildings. his way he doesn’t have to waste more expensive materials for structural features that can’t be seen. Another of Larry’s passions is kitbashing. He made the buildings it his track plan, so it’s not unusual to ind structures with oblong, angled, and

Now on ModelRailroader.com Model Railroader subscribers can watch video of Larry Hickman’s HO scale River Falls & Eastern in action. Visit www.ModelRailroader.com.

APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

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5. Leased Precision National F units provide a splash of color to train No. 130, seen here entering Robertstown Yard. Most of Larry’s locomotives were detailed and painted by Dale Devene.

Situation cards

rounded walls. A good example of this is Burns & Groghan Furniture Co., which consists of seven commercial kits. He tried to detail the buildings just enough to get the overall feel of the subject modeled without going overboard. “I’m known as the building man,” Larry said. “he idea of making the layout look like what you see in everyday life is important. In my opinion, this is what makes or breaks a layout.”

Motive power and rolling stock

Here’s the situation box and examples of two cards at Shavers Fork Tower. The drawn cards are returned face up in the right side of the box. Hotboxes, stuck brakes, and engine failures are just some of the problems real railroads deal with. To re-create these occurrences on my layout, I installed situation boxes. Here’s how they work. When the caboose clears the interlocking, a card is pulled from the box. If there’s a problem, the operator must follow the information on the card. If it reads “Highball – No Defects” the train can keep going. Once the card is drawn, it’s returned face up on the opposite side of the box. For variety, the cards should be changed out between sessions and shuffled before they’re put in the boxes. I’ve found that one problem card in every 10 is sufficient. Some operating sessions may have a problem, while others are situation-free. – L.H. 50

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Most of the motive power and rolling stock is appropriate for the 1959 to ’60 time period Larry models. He runs some equipment, given to him by friends, in schemes outside that two-year window. Larry weathered his models with water-based paints and weathering powders. His years on the railroad taught him many valuable lessons in this aspect of the hobby. “Every freight car is diferent,” Larry said. “Some cars are weathered and rusted so badly it will not be long before they meet the scrapper’s torch, while others have a modest amount of rust, grease, dirt, and grime.” he layout features Atlas code 100 lextrack. here are 185 turnouts, primarily Peco with a few Atlas. he majority of the

6. Homecrest Yard Job HC1 handles the switching duties at Variety Printing Co. Larry kitbashed the buildings using structures from various manufacturers.

turnouts are controlled by Tortoise by Circuitron switch motors, while a few, where accessible, are hand-lined with Caboose Industries ground throws. Larry’s friends Bill McDermott and Bob Ashcrat helped build and install an oblong helix with more than 200 feet of mostly hidden double track. His friends also helped install the Digitrax Digital Command Control system. he layout is fully signaled, with stop indications showing where operators must stop at interlockings. Along with route maps, there are switch panels around the layout to help operators ind the correct turnouts to line. A dispatcher panel is on the irst loor of the garage.

A teaching tool he railroad is a coal hauler and bridge route. he RF&E and Baltimore & Ohio trains handle the bulk of the general freight business. here are also transfer jobs, road locals, yard jobs, and enough through trains to keep the dispatcher, two yardmasters, and 10 operators busy for four hours. Each four-hour session is divided into “tricks” like the prototype. A typical session involves 20 to 22 trains. Dalene also has her oice car special travel the railroad once or twice a year,

stopping to inspect everything. As Larry puts it, “she controls the purse strings.” Larry uses Albion Sotware’s ShipIt and switch lists for car routing. All trains are run in sequence. he dispatcher works with the two yardmasters via radio, while the train crews use a telephone blockline to advance their trains. hey must stop and call the dispatcher for instructions before advancing to the next block. Trains are dispatched via a magnetic board on a block-by-block basis with verbal permission. Larry designed the layout to be a teaching tool. Working in train service for more than four decades gives Larry insights most modelers don’t have. When Larry visits other layouts, he notices in many cases they’re not operated correctly. He built a railroad to help teach people about the ins and outs of prototype operations. He does things that most layout owners don’t, such as simulating everyday problems encountered by real railroads with situation cards (see “Situation cards,” opposite). Larry thinks building and operating a model railroad should be a learning experience. If modelers can’t ind the answers on their own, he encourages them to ask around. “Find a hobby shop

and ask questions,” Larry said. “Many times they know the answers or can refer you to someone who is willing to help those new to the hobby. In addition, join the National Model Railroad Association. hey’re a wealth of information.”

▸▸ Meet Larry Hickman Larry is a retired professional railroader. He hired out on the Pennsylvania RR in Gibsonburg, Ohio, in 1966 and retired from CSX 41 years later. He and his wife, Dalene, enjoy traveling and gardening. APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

51

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Stock boxcar underframe Underframe, Bachmann 29906 Bolster flush with center sill

The difference is obvious between the lowered car with low-profile trucks on the right and standard car on the left. Lou Sassi modified the boxcars on his Sandy River & Rangely Lakes On30 layout with inspiration from an old magazine article.

LOW RIDERS

on the Sandy River

Modifying boxcars to better resemble their Maine prototypes was simplified by a parts swap By Lou Sassi • Photos by the author

A

n article in an old Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette inspired me to try a modiication of the boxcars on my On30 Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes RR layout. he Bachmann boxcars I have on my layout ride too high and on the wrong style trucks for the SR&RL. Fortunately, Bachmann makes a truck (standard equipment on its pulpwood cars) that’s virtually identical to those used on the Maine two-footer railroads like the SR&RL. hese low-frame archbar trucks are part 29904. he article, by Bob Hayden, was in the May-June 2008 issue of the Gazette. Bob’s technique for altering the boxcars was to grind away the bolsters and replace them with various thicknesses of styrene strip stock. He also cut of the Bachmann

drat-gear boxes and installed Kadee no. 5 couplers in their stead. Ater reading the article a few times, I decided that even though it was a bit involved and would take a few hours per car to complete the project, the end results would be worth the efort. A call to Bachmann saved me a bit of work, however. I called to see if the replacement trucks mentioned in the article were still available. Ater learning what I wanted to do, one of Bachmann’s phone representatives mentioned there was a lowproile underframe compatible with the boxcars that wasn’t available when Bob did his project. I ordered a three pack of low proile underframes (part 29907 oxide red or part 29906 black) and, sure enough, they were direct replacements for the high

Bolster on top of center sill

Fig. 1 The lowdown. A call to Bachmann simplified the project for Lou. He ordered new underframes with flush-mounted bolsters so he didn’t have to rebuild the parts that came on the cars (right).

proile originals (see fig. 1). One problem encountered when lowering the car is keeping the couplers at the proper height. Instead of replacing the original couplers and coupler boxes with Kadee no. 5s as Bob did, I replaced the original couplers with Kadee no. 27s, which are ofset, making the coupler knuckles sit higher. An additional step in the project is the installation of a plastic cylindrical spacer between the truck and the underframe. Although the folks at Bachmann don’t mention this, 10 spacers are included in each three-pack of underframes. Ater press-itting a spacer onto the center of each bolster, I installed the trucks. his allowed the trucks to rotate freely. Ater a bit of airbrushing and light weathering, my entire boxcar leet was re-equipped and riding low. Lou Sassi is a frequent contributor to Model Railroader and its special issues.

▸▸ Materials list Bachmann 27097 and 27098 On30 boxcar, mineral red or oxide red 29904 low frame 4'-1" arch bar freight trucks 29906 and 29907 freight car underframe, black or oxide red Kadee Quality Products Co. 27 medium underset shank coupler APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

53

BUILDING

FROM MEMORY

Camping along the Chicago & North Western as a kid inspired this HO layout By Dave Rickaby • Photos by the author

1. Electro-Motive Division GP7 no. 1518 and SD7 no. 300 are pulling a time freight through the S curve above Big Piney Lumber on John Mueller’s Northern Memories model railroad. The HO scale layout is inspired by John’s childhood memories of camping alongside the Chicago & North Western.

J

ohn Mueller considers himself lucky to have grown up next to the tracks in Port Washington, Wis., a Lake Michigan city just north of Milwaukee. Next to his yard was a spur track, which was heaven to a kid who had loved trains as long as he could remember. As he grew older, his family took him on camping trips to northern Wisconsin. John has vivid memories of endless

pulpwood trains streaming past their campsites along the Chicago & North Western (C&NW) tracks in places like Minoqua, Woodruf, and Rhinelander. hese experiences let an unforgettable impression on him. John was introduced to model railroading at an early age. He has memories of his older brother’s second-hand Lionel train set, which his dad would set up. John was too young to play with it, but

remembers watching the trains endlessly travel that oval. When he was around 10 years old, his mom and dad gave him an HO scale Fleischmann train set for Christmas. He built a small layout for it in their home, which he says wasn’t much by today’s standards. Fortunately, a family friend named Walter Chossek had a huge model railroad in his basement. He took John under his wing and was never too busy APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

55

52"

48"

Big Piney Lumber

2

1

Pulpwood loading

Mueller Wood Products

3 Smiley’s Towing

Wayside

Bait shop Uppanort River Hobo camp 50"

Duckunder (entrance)

Dry creek

49" Highway 8

Dari-King

Gibraltar Girdle

47"

Gas station

4

Highway 17

Northern Memories

Side Track Tap

Woodlander

Nauman Chisel

Farm supply

Two Lakes Eagle Mountain

Badger Outerwear

Belmont Label 47"

Tabasco Novelty Giant Shoe Shotzie Brewing Frehner Musky Tire River Salvage Highway Sam’s Place 32

Musky River Campground Motel

Station

Roundhouse Highway 32

47"

Miracle Salve Fireworks stand

for a “dumb kid” who wanted to come over to his house and drool over his layout. Walter’s beautiful layout let an indelible impression on the young lad.

A change in plans

2. Alco RS-1 no. 1080 holds onto a gondola as it’s being loaded with pulpwood, while a freight led by Electro-Motive Division SD7 no. 300 is on point of the train to Two Lakes. John scratchbuilt the claw for the Jordan Models crane.

56

HO scale (1:87.1) Layout size: 10x21 feet plus 13x17 feet Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 24" grid Numbered arrows indicate photo locations Illustration by Rick Johnson and Roen Kelly Find more plans online in the ModelRailroader.com Track Plan Database.

John and his wife bought their house in DeForest, Wis., in 1990. Within six months he was hard at work building a layout. It was a slow process at irst, because his newborn baby required much of his attention. But working on the model railroad a little here and there, he eventually inished it. his original model railroad occupied the present layout’s entrance room and an adjoining room. As John’s daughter grew, he felt guilty about his layout taking up so much living space, so he tore down half of the layout and turned that space into a rec room for her. Eventually, though, he built an addition on the back of the house, which gave him more basement space into which he could expand the layout.

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

John models the C&NW in the 1950s in a freelanced version of northern Wisconsin. His choice of eras lets him run both steam power and the ElectroMotive Division F3s, F7, and GP7 diesels he watched on his camping trips. To him, irst-generation diesels had so much character that they were a must for his railroad. Also appealing about this time period were the pulpwood gondolas and the cabooses. John built his semi-freelanced railroad around his memories, making sure to include a campground. Even though he wasn’t modeling the C&NW prototypically, he still wanted to evoke the feel of the Northwoods. He substituted the town of Woodlander for Rhinelander and Two Lakes for hree Lakes. Other northern-sounding landmarks include the Uppanort River, the Musky River, and the names of actual highways that cut through timber country. Prevalent along these roadways were small touristtrap businesses enticing travelers to stop and buy their wares or take in their roadside attractions.

Building the line Entering the layout, one has to stoop beneath a duckunder. John has used foam pipe insulation attached to the bottom of the support beams to help alleviate any head-knocking.

▸▸ The layout at a glance Name: Northern Memories Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 10 x 21 feet plus 13 x 17 feet Theme: freelanced, inspired by Chicago & North Western Ry. Locale: Northern Wisconsin Era: early 1950s Style: around the walls Mainline run: 190 feet Minimum radius: 24" Minimum turnout: Atlas no. 6 (main), no. 4 (yard) Maximum grade: 3 percent Benchwork: open grid and L girder Height: 47" to 53" Roadbed: cork Track: Atlas code 100 flextrack (main), code 83 (sidings and yards) Scenery: plaster and Sculptamold over nylon screen supported by cardboard webbing Backdrop: tempered hardboard Control: NCE Digital Command Control

he layout is built around the walls in adjoining rooms. he track plan meanders quite a bit; not much of the main line is tangent track. It wanders through many curves, giving the illusion of a longer mainline run. Scenic view blocks isolate scenes, keeping the viewer from being able to take in too much of the railroad at once. John’s original benchwork in the long rectangular room is L-girder, while the layout in the other two rooms was built on a base of box girders. he layout is cantilevered from the walls in the entrance room, while the other sections are supported on legs. John enjoys carpentry and supported his benchwork on 2x4s, resulting in a layout he says is strong enough to polka dance on. he layout is approximately 400 square feet. Trains traverse a mainline run of 190 feet, rising from an elevation of 47" and topping of at the summit at 53", with a maximum grade of 3 percent and a minimum radius of 24". he track on the main line is Atlas code 100, with Atlas code 83 on the sidings and spurs. John uses Atlas code 100 no. 6 turnouts on the main and no. 4 turnouts on some industrial spurs. All track and turnouts are tacked to cork roadbed. Almost all the turnouts are lined by hand with Caboose Industries N scale ground throws.

3. This overall view of the main layout room shows the pulpwood loading track to the left and the bridge over Uppanort River to the right. The entrance to the rest of the layout is behind and to the right.

John weathered his track with Railroad Tie Brown paint and a smattering of Rust, painting most of the rails by hand with a small brush. he rest were done with a paint marker. John attached sheets of tempered hardboard to his walls to form his backdrop. He painted it light blue and drybrushed white paint up from the horizon to give the impression of wispy clouds. He also hand-painted the distant horizon line. For background hills, he used a lighter green in the mid-ground, fading to a greenish-gray for distant hills. He stippled on dark green for the lower tree line, then added specks of gold to represent sunlight. John lights his layout with a combination of luorescent shop lights and incandescent bulbs. he layout is inished with a 1 ⁄8" fascia and matching skirting.

Scenery John built up his landforms by hotgluing cardboard strips together to form a web and attaching them to risers as needed. He then attached black nylon screen directly to the cardboard webbing, hot gluing the pieces in place as he went along. On top of this he applied a coating of Hydrocal plaster, followed by a coating of molding plaster and topped of with Sculptamold in any areas that needed illing. John started with

Sculptamold to make his rock work and build up his scenic base, as well. Sometimes Mother Nature provides the perfect material for landscaping, one of which John came upon by accident – tree bark. One day in a landscape shop, he noticed an open bag of large tree bark. It dawned on him that if it were stacked, it would look like the rocks of the Wisconsin Dells. He used this method along with broken ceiling tile along the Uppanort River, painting the rocks with earth-toned latex paints. John’s ground cover is foam turf from Woodland Scenics and Scenic Express. His deciduous trees are from Woodland Scenics and Scenic Express SuperTrees, while most of his conifers come from Grand Central Gems and Noch. He is especially proud of his scratchbuilt pine trees, which are made from balsa trunks and caspia branches. On his background ridges and hills, he used the puball method, carpeting the landscape with treetops made of poly iber balls dusted with ground foam.

Now on ModelRailroader.com John has filmed a video of trains running on his layout. Look for the link in the Online Extras box on www.ModelRailroader.com.

APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

57

4. Chicago & North Western 2-8-2 Mikado no. 425 pulls a manifest freight alongside Highway 17. Pulpwood reigns supreme here in Wisconsin’s north woods, and gondolas bound for the paper mills are common to most consists.

Instead of gluing the puballs directly to the scenery, he irst planted twigs to represent trunks and then attached the puballs to the tops of these. To create his water scenes, John tried several diferent materials. On all, he started with a plywood base, applied a sealant to prevent warping, then brought his scenery down to the water’s edge. He painted the middle of the rivers black and feathered tan out to the edges before pouring his resin. he Uppanort River was made using Enviro-Tex Lite, a two-part epoxy. he Musky River on the Woodlander side was made with Woodland Scenics Realistic Water, while the same river on the Two Lakes aisle was made with Magic Water. Woodland Scenics Realistic Water was also used to create waves on all three bodies of water by simply stippling it on with a brush. For the two sections of the Musky River, John applied layers of Timberline Pond Scum before pouring the resin, which really added some depth and murky color. John built his roadways using foam core as a base topped by gray illustration board. He cut and it the foam core, and when he was satisied, used it as a template to cut the illustration board. Before attaching the road material, he used spackling compound to form the shoulders. Ater the roads were attached, he weathered them with chalks. Several structures and bridges are scratchbuilt, while others are either kitbashed or kit built. John has many lasercut buildings from J.L. Innovative Design, Bar Mills, and GCLaser. he plastic buildings are primarily from Walthers, Atlas, and Woodland Scenics. 58

His igures are primarily from Preiser and Woodland Scenics, with a few oddballs thrown in for good measure.

Running trains All of John’s cars and locomotives it his modeled era. Most of his rolling stock are 40-foot cars from Walthers, Accurail, Athearn, Roundhouse, and Kadee. he diesel engines on the layout are from Kato, Stewart, and Walthers. His 2-8-2 heavy Mikado steam locomotive is from Broadway Limited Imports. He’s weathered his rolling stock and locomotives with an array of chalks, dry pigments, and a small degree of airbrushing. he layout is wired for Digital Command Control (DCC). John uses NCE Pro Cab radio throttles. he three layout rooms are small enough that he only needs a single antenna and no boosters. Four of his locomotives have sound. John runs the layout by himself, but he’d like to get into more prototypical operations. John is interested in the fourcycle car card and waybill system, which he thinks will be easy to set up and use. He envisions mainline freights, locals, and passenger service. John regrets not including hidden staging when he designed his layout. He’s been eyeing the adjacent furnace room, and with his wife’s approval plans to complete his layout with a staging yard.

Lessons learned When John started model railroading 30-plus years ago, he did what many do and bought anything and everything that looked good to him, ending up with a mish-mash of stuf. Ater rambling through the hobby for a few years, he

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

realized that choosing an era and region in which to model narrowed down his choice of railroads. He then started to purchase only what he needed to model his railroad of choice, the Chicago & North Western. Today, John would tell anyone just starting out in the hobby to design their layout with an era and geographical area in mind from the beginning. He would also tell them, though, not to let rigid adherence to a prototype get in the way of having fun. When John comes home from his job, he doesn’t want to see going down into his basement as work. To escape into the world he created gives him a lot of personal satisfaction. What really gets John passionate about his hobby is to see a realistic train running through a detailed scene he created. Scenery is important to him because it sets the stage for the layout, and having the right equipment gives the layout plausibility. He also feels the hobby involves so many diferent facets, from construction and electrical work to painting and detailing, that it’s hard to get bored. here’s always something to do, he says. In the future he would like to add more details and improve on some of the scenes he’s already built. John’s layout is now 99 percent complete. It was open for tours during the National Model Railroad Association’s 1997 National Convention in Madison. He says he loved having folks come to see his layout and just had a ball. One of the greatest compliments he has ever received was when visitors who came to see the layout would say, “Wow, this looks like Northern Wisconsin, like the real thing!”

▸▸ Meet John Mueller John and his wife, Carla, live in DeForest, Wis., where they raised one daughter, Angelica. He has worked in sales management for more than three decades and is currently an appliance salesman in Beaver Dam, Wis. Besides model railroading, John enjoys carpentry, planting hostas, biking, and puppeteering for his local church youth group.

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APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

59

DCCCORNER

The basics of decoder installation he resistors are soldered to the leads of the correct function wire – white for the front light, yellow for the rear light, and green and violet for the two ditch lights. hen I soldered all the other wires to the blue common wire. Be careful to keep track of all these wires and connect them to the correct colored wire in the harness, shown in the table in fig. 1. I don’t recommend operating multiple bulbs of the same resistor, because if one bulb fails, the others will receive too much current and also fail. Likewise, I don’t wire them in series because it’s diicult to tell which bulb has failed. I connected the wiring harness to the decoder and attached it and the No Halt capacitor unit to the shell using doublesided foam tape. I gathered the loose wires and taped them in out-of-the-way locations inside the shell (See fig. 2). Amtrak General Electric AMD-103 no. 824 heads north through Rockfish, Va., on Larry Puckett’s HO layout. Larry explains how he added a motor decoder and lights to this classic Athearn “blue-box” locomotive. Larry Puckett photos Sound decoders are increasingly

popular. However, I know there are still a lot of model railroaders who aren’t interested in them. So this month I want to show you how to do a basic installation of a non-sound Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder, the NCE D13NHJ and its No Halt capacitor unit, in Athearn’s General Electric AMD-103. As I’ve mentioned previously, the old Athearn “blue box” design that dates

Fig. 1 Wire harness color codes The functions of the wires on a Digital Command Control decoder are standardized with corresponding wire colors. Wire color

Function

Green

Output 3 (F1)

Red

Right track

Orange

Motor +

Blue

Common

White

Headlight (F0 Fwd)

Yellow

Rear light (F0 Rev)

Gray

Motor -

Black

Left track

Violet

Output 4 (F2)

60

back to the 1950s served as the basis for many other manufacturers’ model locomotives. For example, I oten replace drivetrain components in my Life-Like Proto 2000 locomotives with Athearn parts. Consequently, there are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of models based on this design. I’ll tell you what’s involved in adding DCC. Let there be lights. he AMD-103

model has provisions for twin headlights and ditch lights up front, and a pair of lights in the rear bulkhead over the door. Fortunately, Miniatronics Micro Miniature 1.2mm diameter, 1.5V bulbs it in the headlight holes. I sealed them in place with Testor’s Clear Parts Cement. he ditch lights, being slightly larger, required Micro Miniature 1.7mm diameter, 1.5V bulbs. I soldered an 820Ω resistor to one wire on each of the smaller bulbs and a 330Ω resistor to one wire for the larger ditch light bulbs. he ditch lights required diferent resistors because they drew a higher amperage. he instructions with the NCE decoder have an excellent table of resistor values for various combinations of bulb amperage and track voltage.

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

Get your motor running. With the lights and decoder installed, I removed the metal clip that runs from the top of the motor to the truck gear towers. his clip, shown in a photo in the February 2016 DCC Corner column, carries current from the right rail to the motor. Next, I gently pushed against the vinyl rubber motor mounts using a small lathead screwdriver while wiggling the motor itself to ease it out of the frame. If you look at the bottom of the motor, you’ll see a bronze clip with two small prongs sticking out. his part is shown in the March 2016 DCC Corner. hese prongs connect the motor to the frame completing the electrical circuit. Disabling them is essential to isolating the motor. You have two options, either latten the prongs using a pair of pliers, or break them of. I usually just break them of. I removed the bronze clips from the top and bottom of the motor, being careful not to lose the springs that hold the brushes in place. Using a TCS 6-wire harness (a 4-wire harness would work too, but I had the 6-wire harness on hand), I soldered a wire to each of the bronze clips and reinstalled them on the motor. Now let’s deal with getting power from the trucks to the decoder. First I soldered a wire from the harness directly to the top of each gear tower. Once this was done, I carefully removed

▸▸ More DCC Learn even more by watching the video series “DCC Programming” at www.ModelRailroaderVideoPlus.com.

Larry Puckett

Headlights Lighting resistors

NCE No Halt Ditch lights

6-pin TCS connector

NCE D13NHJ decoder

Backup lights

Fig. 2 Installing electronics. Larry glued the light bulbs into the model’s headlight and ditch light openings. Then he soldered all the leads and resistors to the wiring harness, and installed the NCE decoder and No Halt capacitor unit.

the sideframe from the let side of each truck and sanded a clean spot on the side of the metal truck frame. Next I removed any grease and oil with some alcohol on a cotton swab. Working as quickly as possible to reduce the chance of melting the plastic components on the trucks, I soldered another wire to each truck frame. Using rosin lux and pre-tinning both the frame and the wire ends made for faster work. At this point I had six wires, one from each motor clip, and one from the opposite sides of each truck, connected to the wiring harness. If you’re using a 4-wire harness, you can splice the truck wires from the same side of the locomotive together before connecting them to the harness. With all the motor and truck wires connected to one end of the harness, I connected the male and female ends of the harness and soldered the appropriate wires on the free end to the matching decoder wires (fig. 3). Again refer to the table in fig. 1. In all cases I protected the joints with heat-shrink tubing. Get with the programming. Having

completed the installation, I put the shell on the chassis, installed plastic couplers to prevent shorts, and moved the locomotive to a service-mode programming track. I did a test read of the address to make sure there were no shorts. Proceeding with the programing, I set a 4-digit address in place of the

Right side rail pickup

6-pin TCS connector

Wires to left side of truck frames Motor isolated from frame Wires to left side of truck frames

Fig. 3 Chassis wiring. Larry soldered wires to the gear towers and to the left sides of the trucks to provide reliable electrical connections to the decoder.

default value of 3, and customized the light functions. he NCE instructions provided excellent examples for programming special efects such as Rule 17 dimming and ditch light operations. I conigured the headlight to operate normally in the forward direction and optionally use function 4 to dim it, by setting coniguration variable (CV) 120 to a value of 32. To have the reverse light come on in reverse and go of in forward, I set CV121 to 2. NCE ofers two types of ditch light efects. With type one, the ditch lights are on whenever the headlight (F0) is on and lash when F2 is pressed. With type two, the lights are of until the F2 (horn) button is pressed, at which time they lash. In all the photos I’ve seen of these locomotives, the headlight and ditch

lights were on, so I used the type one option. his requires more complex programming. First, I set CV122 and CV123 to values of 56 and 60, respectively, for type one ditch lights. hen I set CV35 to 0 so output 3 wouldn’t be controlled by F1, and CV36 to 12 to map outputs 3 and 4 to F2. Finally, I set CV118 to 20 so the ditch lights would lash for 5 seconds ater the F2 button is pushed. Fortunately, all of these programming steps were provided in the NCE instructions, making this a quick and easy process, and the functions all worked correctly on the irst try. For more tips on soldering and installing decoders, check out my book Wiring Your Model Railroad, available at www.KalmbachHobbyStore.com, and visit my website, www.dccguy.com. APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

61

PRODUCTREVIEWS

Bachmann E-Z App HO scale Alco RS-3 introduces Bluetooth model train control The HO scale Alco RS-3 models a workhorse road-switcher and introduces Bachmann Trains’ new E-Z App touchscreen train control. Bachmann’s E-Z App product line of locomotives and train sets features Bluetooth-based technology from BlueRail Trains that lets modelers run locomotive models using an Apple iPhone, iPad, or other Bluetooth 4-supporting iOS device. Simple to use without any programming whatsoever, E-Z App control operates on direct-current (DC) and Digital Command Control (DCC) layouts.

The E-Z App touch screen features controls that are easy to use on an Apple iPad or iPhone. 62

Alco RS-3. Introduced in 1950, Alco built more than 1,300 RS-3 dieselelectric locomotives for railroads in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. he RS-3 featured Alco’s 1,600-hp 244 prime mover. Although RS-3 production ended in the mid-1950s, the Alco road switcher served for decades, and some remain in tourist train service today. he Bachmann model’s dimensions match those of a prototype drawing in the Model Railroader Cyclopedia: Vol. 2, Diesel Locomotives (Kalmbach Publishing Co., out of print). he arrangement of various details, especially access-door louvers, changed over the course of the RS-3 production run. Modelers and railfans refer to these details as distinct “phases,” even though the various changes were ongoing. he details on the Bachmann model, especially the horizontal louvers on the battery box doors, correctly model a phase Ib RS-3 that was produced between 1950 and 1953. he molded detail on the model’s plastic body shell is well deined. he single-chime air horn is a separate part. All handrails are made of scale-proile acetal plastic. On our review sample the handrail on the ireman’s side was warped inward. All the model’s paint features sharp color separation. he model is decorated for Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. no. 2099. However, this prototype is actually an RS-2, which is nearly identical to an early production RS-3. he main spotting diferences are the RS-3

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

has a battery box on the running board behind the cab and the RS-2 has fuel illers and gauges on the sides of its cab. Mechanism. I removed the couplers, plastic fuel tank, and two screws under the fuel tank that held the plastic body shell to the die-cast metal chassis. he shell, including the running boards and pilots, could then be easily lited of. he lywheel-equipped motor is mounted in the center of the chassis. Driveshats with worm gears transfer power from the motor to each truckmounted gearbox. A printed-circuit board that includes the Bluetooth receiver is screwed into a set of additional die-cast metal weights. here’s no speaker or DCC decoder. A light-emitting diode at each end of the chassis provides illumination for the directional headlights. E-Z setup and operation. Bluetooth is a wireless technology for exchanging data across short distances and is commonly found in cell phones and related home electronics. One of my favorite things about E-Z App is that because it’s based on Bluetooth, it doesn’t require a Wi-Fi signal to operate. here’s no need to worry about setting up a Wi-Fi router or a separate computer to run a layout. he only time you need a connection to the Internet is to download the app itself, which took less than a minute. Ater typing “Bachmann E-Z App” into the App Store search box of my

▸▸ More reviews & videos At www.ModelRailroader.com subscribers can read more than 1,000 previously published reviews and watch more than 150 exclusive product demo videos.

iPad, I easily found and downloaded the free app. I then placed the locomotive on our layout, turned on power to the rails, and clicked on the E-Z app screen icon. I touched connect next to bachmann loco on the screen and was ready to run trains. he locomotive name can be easily changed to the road number or anything else the user wants. here are control screens for running either single or multiple locomotives. he control screens are very intuitive, with a throttle and buttons to trigger efects such as the headlights, horn, and bell. here are also buttons for direction and start up/shut down. hrottle control with the E-Z App was surprisingly precise for a touch screen. I could use my inger to slide the throttle up and down. I could also tap the screen above or below the throttle to adjust the speed. Pressing the loco stop and the for/rev direction buttons performed those tasks. A quick start guide is included with the model. A more extensive user guide is available as a free download at e-zapptraincontrol.com/user-guide/. Performance. For E-Z App control,

the locomotive uses constant voltage to the rails. I ran the RS-3 on a DC layout with a power pack turned all the way up to 14.5V and a DCC layout that supplied 15V to the rails. he model’s motor was a bit noisy, but it ran smoothly throughout its speed range. he instructions state not to exceed 18V. In the settings menu, I could add acceleration and deceleration momentum, but users should take note of the instructions, as these values work opposite of the momentum coniguration variables in DCC. When using the E-Z App control, a higher value indicates less momentum. he default value is 255, which means the locomotive will stop instantly. I set both values to 4, which provided for more realistically gradual starts and stops.

Now on ModelRailroader.com Subscribers can see a demo of the E-Z App Alco RS-3. Click on Videos at www.ModelRailroader.com.

Dana Kawala

I appreciated the operation mode check boxes. By default this is set to full speed. Other options are passenger, switcher, and freight. When freight was checked, the top speed was reduced from 82 scale mph to a more realistic 60 scale mph. It’s easy to change this setting on the ly, so when using the RS-3 to work a yard, I could change the setting to switcher and the model would creep through the ladder tracks at a prototypically slow speed. he range of the Bluetooth signal is impressive. With the RS-3 on the test track in our workshop, I ran the locomotive from down the hall, which was about 100 feet away. Since the model doesn’t have a DCC decoder, it can’t be run with a DCC throttle. However, the locomotive can be controlled with a the variable voltage dial of a DC power pack by turning the power pack throttle all the way up and lipping the direction switch four times. here is a delay in the throttle response time, though, and I found that the locomotive ran much more reliably with E-Z App control. On our layout and during tests in the workshop, the RS-3 easily negotiated 18" radius curves and no. 5 turnouts without losing track power or the E-Z App signal. he four-axle locomotive has a respectable 2-ounce drawbar pull, which is equivalent to 28 free-rolling HO scale freight cars on straight and level track. Sound and other options. he

sound efects play through the device speaker. he sounds are generic rather than prototype speciic. his was disappointing, as I would’ve liked to hear the distinctive growl of the Alco 244 prime mover. he engine rpm sounds increase and decrease with the throttle. In addition to the horn and bell, sound efects include the coupler, radiator fans, and air compressor. Since the same app is used in a holiday set, an extras screen features a list of Christmas carols that will play as the headlights lash in time with the music. Although an E-Z App locomotive can only be assigned to one smart device at a time, a single smart device can be used to control several locomotives simultaneously. However, there isn’t a provision for consisting locomotives together. here are fun options for changing the look of the touch screen. All are reminiscent of a model train power pack.

▸▸ Bachmann E-Z App RS-3 Price: $239 Manufacturer Bachmann Industries 1400 E. Erie Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19124 www.bachmanntrains.com Era: 1950 to 1970s Road names: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry.; Boston & Maine; Denver & Rio Grande Western; New York, New Haven & Hartford; Pennsylvania Features ▪ All axles powered ▪ All-wheel electrical pickup ▪ Can motor with dual brass flywheels ▪ Directional light-emitting diode (LED) headlights ▪ E-Z Mate Mark II knuckle couplers at correct height ▪ Minimum radius: 18" ▪ RP-25 contour metal wheels in gauge ▪ Weight: 10.7 ounces ▪ Wireless control with Bluetooth 4 supporting Apple iOS device

EZ-App HO scale RS-3 Drawbar pull

2 ounces 28 HO scale freight cars

Scale speed (E-Z App) Throttle Scale mph Start 2 25 percent 23 50 percent 64 Top 82

I would like to see an option that looked like a prototypical steam or diesel cab. More to come. In addition to the

RS-3, Bachmann announced E-Z Appequipped HO scale Electro-Motive Division FT and GP35 diesels, as well as train sets featuring these locomotives. As of this writing, an Android version is in development but not yet available. Although I would’ve preferred more prototypical sounds, overall I’m impressed with the E-Z App train control system. It’s quick to set up, easy to use, and reliable. I look forward to seeing further developments in this technology from Bachmann. – Dana Kawala, senior editor APRIL 2016 • Model Railroader

63

PRODUCTREVIEWS

Amtrak’s Cities Sprinter/ACS-64 with Amfleet I cars debut in N scale from Kato The first prototype Cities Sprinter

locomotives have been on Amtrak property for little more than two years, and now N scale modelers can get their hands on one from Kato. Also known as the ACS-64, these locomotives will pull all non-Acela trains on Amtrak’s electriied Northeast Corridor. The prototype. he Cities Sprinter, or

ACS-64, is an American-built, Europeandesigned replacement for Amtrak’s 30-to40-year-old AEM-7 and much younger, yet less reliable, HHP-8. he locomotives are based on Siemens’ successful four-axle Eurosprinter and Vectron electrics. Modiications for North American use include improved crash protection for the engineer and the ability to run on Amtrak’s three alternating-current catenary power supplies. he 64 in the name refers to the maximum power output of 6,400 kW, equivalent to 8,600 horsepower. his translates to a top cruising speed of 125 mph, with a lat-out capability for 135 mph. he locomotive was designed to accelerate 18-car trains of Amleet equipment to 125 mph in about 8 minutes.

Included in Kato’s set, packaged in an attractive bookcase-style box, are four Amleet I passenger cars: three coaches and a cafe car. he prototypes for these 85-foot-long cars were designed to replace the equipment Amtrak acquired from the railroads that opted out of passenger service at the debut of the National Railroad Passenger Corp. in 1971. he cars were built by the Budd Co. with deliveries beginning in 1975. here are several seating conigurations, but outwardly, there are two variations. he coaches have windows from end to end, while the food service cars have a blank portion in the center of the car. The models. he ACS-64 matches most of the dimensions in a Siemens technical sheet I downloaded from the company website at www.siemens.com/ mobility/locomotives. he overall length is about 2 scale feet long over the coupler pulling faces, but this is common on models, as the couplers are larger than exact scale. Also, Kato equipped the locomotive with long-shank, pivoting couplers to improve performance on tight model railroad curves.

Amfleet I coach

ACS-64

Photos of these new locomotives show Kato did its homework. From rootop to running gear, all the vents, conductors, insulators, resistor banks, and motion dampers are accounted for. he wheels even have the ventilated disk brake rotor detail of the full-size locomotive. he conductors and insulators on the roof are brightly colored. hese lexible plastic parts could beneit from some detail painting, which would help with the apparent chunkiness of the parts. he pantographs are made from the same plastic, which is forgiving of typical handling. Nubs on the pantograph arms keep these parts either stowed or raised, depending on the operator’s desires. he locomotive paint is smooth and opaque, with sharp separations and clear lettering and numbering. he only lettering missing is the tiny instructions printed on the running gear and chassis parts. Detail painting would also add to the appearance of the underbody and truck detail. he cab side windows don’t include rearview mirrors. he all-new Amleet I cars share Kato’s attention to detail. he cars match dimensions published in the 1997 Car

Amfleet I coach

Amfleet I coach

Amfleet I cafe

Kato’s ACS-64 is sold in a bookcase set with four Amfleet I passenger cars. The three coaches and single cafe car can be supplemented with two, two-car sets. One has two coaches, and the other a coach and cafe car. Lighting kits are available. 64

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

International 7600 Vacuum Truck

Limited Run Model

NEW 1/87th (HO) Scale! and Locomotive Cyclopedia (SimmonsBoardman). he so-called phase 6 paint scheme, also known as phase 4b, is evenly applied with sharp separations between the wide blue band and red and white pinstripes. An injection point in the center of the coach roof let a small mark. Unlike the prototype, the couplers are truck-mounted. his means the end buffer detail is deleted. he trucks have wipers for picking up track power. Modelers can install the 11-211 - Interior Lighting Kit w/ LED Version 2. To gain interior access, spread the body sides above the trucks to release the catches and remove the loor. he interiors are molded in light tan plastic. he cars weigh 1.1 ounce, .3 ounce lighter than the National Model Railroad Association recommended practice RP-20.1. he blackened metal wheels were all in gauge. Under the shell. Slipping a thumbnail

under the locomotive shell between the silver-painted body and the gray chassis, I was able to release the body casting from the underframe. A pair of die-cast metal weights encloses the lywheelequipped motor. A light board snaps into the top of the weights and conducts power to the motor. Surface-mounted light-emitting diodes illuminate the headlights and ditch lights at both ends through cast plastic light bars. A Train Control Systems K7D4 or Digitrax DN163K4A drop-in Digital Command Control decoder will it this locomotive. All wheels are powered through the universal shats on the ends of the motor. One wheel on each truck has a traction tire. All other wheels pick up power. On the test track. I used a Model Rectiier Corp. Tech4 MRC 200 power pack to test the direct-current performance of the locomotive. At 1.5V, the model started moving at a barely perceptible speed, much less than 1 scale mph. At 6V, the ACS-64 averaged 113 scale mph, and at 12V, it lived up to its Sprinter name, posting a 248 scale mph average, much faster than the prototype. he locomotive’s .96 ounce of drawbar pull is equivalent to 12 N scale passenger cars on straight and level track. I ran the ACS-64 and Amleet I passenger car set on Model Railroader’s 2015 project layout, the N scale Red Oak. Although the models had no trouble

▸▸ N scale ACS-64 Price: $250; Amfleet I Phase 6 two-car set A with two coaches or Amfleet I Phase 6 two-car set B with coach and cafe car, $55 each. Manufacturer Kato USA Inc. 100 Remington Road Schaumburg, IL 60173 www.katousa.com Era: Feb. 2, 2014, to present, locomotive; 2003 to present, rolling stock Roadname: Amtrak Phase 6, locomotive and rolling stock Features (locomotive) ▪ Positionable pantographs ▪ Directional headlights ▪ Traction tire-equipped ▪ Flywheel-equipped motor ▪ Geared to match speed of Kato GE P42 ▪ Weight: 3.6 ounces

Kato N scale Amtrak ACS-64 Drawbar pull

.96 ounce 12 N scale passenger cars

Scale speed (DCC) Speed step Scale mph 1.5

2016-04 Model Railroader Magazine - PDFCOFFEE.COM (2024)
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