Model Railroader
February 2005
132 pages
Editor: Terry Thompson
Managing Editor: Dick Christanson
This train is running behind schedule but is trying to make it up on the open stretches. Let’s get started.
Editor Terry Thompson starts off the issue with his From the Editor pondering the advancement of technology in model railroading, primarily when it comes to how model trains are powered. He states that “the way we power our trains hasn’t changed since the days of lead-acid batteries and cloth-insulated wire. Our model trains are still electric trains, and they depend on the track to carry power. Because of that requirement, our trains have to deal with a level of complexity that event the prototype doesn’t have to contend with. Even in the digital age, that complexity still frightens newcomers and diverts experienced modelers away from building and running trains.” He goes on to talk about what we call “dead rail” today as batteries were becoming smaller, longer lasting, and less expensive. He then goes on to make a prediction (oh, boy…crystal balls are notoriously cloudy, but let’s see what he thought was going to happen). His prediction was “I’m pretty confidant that within a decade or two today’s discussions about which control system is superior and how to wire crossings will seem like quaint anachronisms.” Now that we’ve leapt 20 years into the future and have the benefit of knowing now what we didn’t know then, we haven’t quite made it yet. Are we closer to dead rail than we were before? Does it exist? Yep. Is it widespread making track wiring and DCC system discussions “quaint anachronisms?” Nope, not there yet. I’m sure at the time that 20 years seemed like a safe bet. Even on his safe bet, the house still won.
Lionel Strang gives us a step by step on building scenery, and in particular, mountainous type scenery. This go round he uses foamboard to make vertical mountain shaped supports. He covered the supports with heavy craft paper. He then used blue shop towels (rather than ordinary paper towels), cut into various sizes, and soaked them in Hydrocal to make the hardshell scenery. He then make his rock castings out of plaster poured into crumpled aluminum foil. Nothing ground breaking, but I do forget about those blue shop towels as an alternative.
Jim Hediger’s Workshop column features Terry Thompson completing some simple upgrades on a Trix HO scale New York Central caboose. These improvements including shortening the smokejack, install body-mount couplers, changing out the trucks, replacing the roofwalk, and relocating the grab irons. It looks like an evening of work if you happen to have this HO scale Trix model.
In Step by Step, David Popp dips the readers toes in the operations water as “adopting the idea of operating trains with a purpose will make your layout more interactive and realistic.” Mr. Popp walks the reader through making a system map to decide how your layout fits into the outside world, conduct a layout industrial analysis to determine the products your online industries use, how often they receive them, and how they ship finished goods, making switch lists, and using car cards and waybills. It’s a pretty good dip into the water as it isn’t too deep and the temperature is mostly moderate.
The first feature article is Andy Schnur’s 22 x 24 HO scale Chesapeake & Ohio Allegheny Subdivision layout set in West Virginia in the summer of 1947. It’s a nice looking layout with looped hidden staging to accommodate his large steam engines. Within the article, he presents “A Cautionary Tale Involving Plywood.” He uses ¾” plywood as the sub-roadbed and notes that plywood is not flat as it usually has a slight bow in it. As such he makes sure that the bow faces up as two adjacent pieces with the bows facing down makes a bump in the track. With the bows facing up he can fill in any dips in the joints. Personally, I’ve never noticed any bow in plywood that wouldn’t pull down with some screws. Apparently he noticed that even with the plywood firmly attached, it has a natural bow in it. Have any of you noticed this bow in ¾” plywood? Maybe I just haven’t paid enough attention (I’m reminded of that on a routine basis by the Mrs. so won’t be surprised if it is me just not paying attention.) On the other hand, I do know that my wife’s favorite color is not red. I’m making progress.
Next up, Terry Thompson gets another writing credit for his article “Sound Advice.” The article is on the theory of do-it-yourself sound installation which results in the article being more timeless than had he discussed specific products. He discusses speaker enclosures, resonance, speaker placement, distortion, volume, and electrical pickup. Even with the advancement of sound products over the past 20 years, the theories remain relevant.
The second layout feature is about a small a layout entitled “Big-city Railroading in a Small Apartment Room.” It is a 9 ½’ by 10 ½’ freelance HO scale layout with an urban setting set in the 1950s. It also has 9 ½’ x 6 ½’ hidden staging. This switching layout fits in a 9 ½’ by 11’ room. The layout features structures in varying heights, depths, and colors to give the feel of urban switching. The article insets highlight the use of Venetian blinds around the bottom of the layout to hide the bench, spraybooth, and supplies stored underneath and how the fascia is made from pre-finished shelving boards with simulated wood grain. Although more photos would have been better, the author did a nice job with the layout and buildings. And using the blinds and shelving boards may be useful for someone out there looking for simple and unique solutions to spruce up the front of the layout. It is also an example of MR publishing small layouts even though we have in our memories that they focus only on the basement-fillers.
Kevin Holland gives us a nice, meaty, 6 page article on the “Modeler’s Guide to Lightweight Passenger Trucks.” Complete with information, photos, and a chart showing what was available from hobby manufacturers (in 2005), the article provides some very good prototype information. To me this is a throwback article that bucks the trends at the time for shorter, concise articles. This one is a keeper.
Tom Piccirillo contributed an article that is after my own heart. He turned a stock Atlas suburban passenger station kit into a model that is not as recognizable. This kit has been around for a long time and it is easy to spot on layouts. He altered the roof by removing all of the dormers, substituted a wooden platform the stock concrete platform, and then applied paint and finishes that help disguise the kit’s origins. It doesn’t completely walk away from being that old reliable Atlas kit, but it may take you just a bit longer to recognize it. I enjoy transforming buildings to make them look different than the stock buildings that are common to many layouts. This one fits my bill.
Part 2 of the Turtle Creek project layout branch line expansion is up next. This month, tracks and rocks are added to the layout. There wasn’t anything groundbreaking here, but who can resist the Route of the Dashing Turtle?
Finally, something for you N-scalers. Bill Pearce gives us how to detail Kato N scale Santa Fe PAs. The article outlines the removing the molded grabs and replace them with etched and wire grabs, installing etched stirrups, and also m.u. receptacles and hoses. The author installed diaphragms and upgraded the lighting. After a few other details, he touched up the paint and weathered the model.
Kathleen Renninger, a custom painter of model railroad rolling stock and signs offers up her painting and decaling secrets. Her tips, which by can no longer be classified as secrets, include using and burnishing blue painters masking tape, making sure to use (always) a paint bottle holder to prevent spills, using Rub ‘n’ Buf metallic cream in their Silver Leaf shade to paint trucks silver, using a citrus-based cleaner for tool cleanup, using a stick type eraser to push put stubborn number boards without marring them, making number board installation easer by using a exceptionally light coat of lubricating grease around their edges, and restoring the clarity and gloss of clear parts with Microscale’s Micro Crysal Clear.
DCC corner explores adding LED lighting effects to locomotives and mapping the functions to control them. Many of the new RTR locomotives have all of these built in today, but 20 years ago it wasn’t as common to have all of these cool lighting effects on locos.
In Trains of Thought, Tony Koester explores expanding the scope of prototype modeling to include modeling the jobs of a railroad. The more well known aspects of what he is writing about is the layout having a CTC panel and dispatcher. But Mr. Koester suggestions going further, such as having a local agent scout the local industries and then calls the yardmaster to request the needed empties. Then when the local arrives, the agent works with the crew to ensure the shippers get the cars they need. Mr. Koester provides other examples of expanding the scope to include other railroad functions. Thought provoking, but I don’t know if that falls into my “givens and druthers.”
Trackside Photos provides 4 photographs, but the money shot is an N scale D&RGW coal train descending the Big Ten Curves on Mike Danneman’s layout. That’s some model railroading eye candy right there.
That wrap’s up our look back on the goings-on in MR 20 years ago. 20 years ago? Can you believe that when talking about 2005 that it is now two decades in the rearview mirror? That doesn’t even sound right but the math does not lie. I hope you enjoyed this trip back in time.
Jeff
