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3 Quick Model RR Questions
Here are a couple of questions that are fully answered in the online model train club members area.
In the meantime, readers might like to provide the answers:
George asks:
“How can I make simulated water. What material can I use to do a good job making water and make it simple for me.”
Gary asks:
“I know N guage is smaller that HO, but where does O or OO fit in?”
Richard asks:
“What are the 3 track rails used for?”
Add your answers below.
3 Responses to 3 Quick Model RR Questions
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For George’s questions:
For water:
You could use multiple layers of slightly tinted, clear casting resin or artist matte for water Or try using multiple layers of clear varnish with a colored undercoat.
By doing it in layers you can create the illusion of depth.
Regarding the scale sizes. Large “G” scale is the size generally used for “Garden Railroads”, “S” scale is smaller but larger than “O” scale. Now as a loose general rule of thumb. “O” scale is about the size of Lionel or American Flyer train that you may have seen as a child. “HO” scale is one of the most common scale trains used in the American home. “OO” scale is about half way between “O” and “HO. Now “N” scale is the second popular scale used in America and is about half the size of “HO”. and there is a “Z” which is about 1/2 the size of a “N” scale model.
I have not mentioned a few other scales because I did not want to over-load you with too much info.
About Richard’s question regarding tracks with 3 rails. As I remember our family train set. The center rail was a ‘common’, main power rail while the other outside rails were for power and for ‘forward and backward’ direction of the train, depending on the type of power transformer and engine used.
Comments for the three rail question.
There are a couple of reasons for the three rail systems. Electricity (power) for the train track is AC (Alternating Current). The proper way to wire the track is to have the hot wire go to the center rail and the common go to the two outside rails. This allows all turnnouts to operate correctly. Terminating the rails in this fashion, allows the electricity to flow back to the source (transformer) with less resistance. This is similar to the wiring in your home, where you have a three prong receptacle in your walls. Wired correctly, the smallest hole is hot and the larger slot is common along with the round third hole as groung. Also in your homes the wire is usually black, white and green. The black wire is hot, the white is common and the green is ground. Once al wires are bruoght back to the fuse panel, all white and green wiring is joimed together, going to ground. This is also why the newer plugs have a larger blade on them forcing you to plug them into a receptacle correctly. The principle is, electricity flows in the path of least resistance, where two outer ralis act as a common return and the center as the power source.
It is hard to determine the power terminal on some transformers. I usually open them up to see which terminal is attached to the frame or ground wiring.
The advantage of a three raill system in that the trains can run either direction without changing the polarity of the current as you must do with DC (Direct Current) systems.
Hey George,
Toni had a great idea about using clear varnish. It will, however, tend to yellow a bit over time. An alternative that some folks use around here (Alabama, USA) is clear lacquer, or even better, a clear acrylic lacquer. The acrylic lacquer is guaranteed not to yellow in 5 gazillion years. Another thing about the lacquer is that it dries much, much faster than varnish. This means less chance for dust nibs or insects getting on or in it. You can do it much the same way that Toni suggests, layering, etc. It will just go faster. Good luck.