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1/87 Scale
Originally, the layout was illuminated with 75 watt incandescent bulbs. Over time, more energy-efficient bulbs were tried, but the lighting remained uneven and tough on the eyes. Finally, a solution was presented, using 3w LED bulbs housed in used cat food cans. The illumination is now consistent and yet does not strain eyesight when viewed for long periods.
1/8 Scale
I've always have liked Steam Engines and wanted to own on in 7.5 gauge. A new on was way out of my price range so I needed to build one. This is how it's going.
In Howard yard I have a narrow area to put in some side tracks to run some cars into to make the area more interesting to work. So I designed a building that would take three cars on one side and two cars on the other. This turned into a Z building that when using plastic kits ended up being 2 inches wide. Each of the sides ended up 8 inches long.
One of the main curves of the layout had a switch at either end of the single track which no one could keep straight, resulting in head-on collisions and derailments. The fix was to hand-lay and install a Gauntlet at that spot. This is how it went.
I needed to go from one height to another in a small area. The way to do this is to run the track back and forth on the wall or fold it over its self. The track is at a 2.3 % grade with the height between the decks at 4 inches in height. It took some planning to get the front tracks to clear the rear tracks going down the grade. Each on of the sections had to be leveled and set to 2.3 % grade.
I needed to go from one height to another in a small area. The way to do this is to run the track back and forth on the wall or fold it over its self. The track is at a 2.3 % grade with the height between the decks at 4 inches in height. It took some planning to get the front tracks to clear the rear tracks going down the grade. Each on of the sections had to be leveled and set to 2.3 % grade.
Glad we were able to make a trip to Florida for the Florida Live Steamers Winter Fest.
This is a heads up, the date for the NMRA is July 21/2018 to have a rail ops. 23 members showed up. 9 went to lunch. Great to have the group over. This is what’s happening, we’ll be going to the railroad first, and operating after the meeting is over. The meeting will be at […]
Started working on my AP Awards in 2017. I have worked on them instead of the railroad. On some of them it was just filling out the paperwork. In January 2018, I picked up five AP Awards. Master Builder – Scenery Model Railroad Engineer – Civil Model Railroad Engineer – Electrical Chief Dispatcher Association Volunteer […]
It all started with the trains running so long that the modules in the Club layout wouldn’t let but 4 trains run at a time, and when more were added there were problems. The Club made the rules follow the NMRA standards set for modules. This is a lift bridge to let members get in […]
For several years I have been working on making up two new modules for the Concord Area Model Rail Road Club. This is just to let people know that I have started them. The first one is the left side transition. Because there will be three tracks on the new modules, a track is needed […]
Adding Loads to the Coal Cars is a way to show different trains. One that has empty cars and one that has full cars. I had a problem with the weight of the cars to. I had to add more weight to the cars so this helped. After some thought I came up with a […]
Weeds to Trees is what starts in or around Labor-Day weekend. The weeds start out on the side of the road in uncut fields on the east side of the United States. I’ve seen them in North and South Carolina, Tenn, Kentucky, and Ohio. I have found the lost photo’s to show you what they […]
Railroad Modeling University, Charlotte’s one-day program of clinics and workshops on model trains, is held on January 21, 2017. I will be presenting two clinics this time around. See the schedule of classes and register to attend by visiting the RMU 2017 page at the Carolina Southern Division of the NMRA. Hope to […]
The railroad had a small problem with the two curves making an S curve on the railroad. This happens when the first curve ends and there is a second curve starting in a different direction that is to close to the first curve. The way to get rid of that is to put a straight […]
OK, The video is out and it looks great. Many of the people that have seen it and have been very positive. Took three hours of running trains with Morgan and will be editing soon. As time allows us to complete the different video’s you will see them on the web page.
I taught a class at the MER Convention this October 21st in Raleigh. The title was “Speed Ballasting & Great Trackwork in Less Time“. Quickly installing track and ballasting that will perform well and look great is something that many modelers struggle with. This class shows how to do both accurately, yet rapidly. In this […]
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