329 model railroaders responded to our recent poll which asked – What do you most like to model?

Here’s what they said:

>>  Scenery (32%, 105 Votes)
>>  Buildings (30%, 98 Votes)
>>  Locomotives (24%, 80 Votes)
>>  Rolling stock (9%, 31 Votes)
>> Bridges (5%, 15 Votes)

Add your comment to this post.

Here are the results of last weeks poll which asked: What do you prefer to use to do switch work on your (or someone else’s) layout?

>>  4 – axle switcher (42%, 147 Votes)
>> Steam Loco (33%, 117 Votes)
>> 4 – axle road unit (18%, 63 Votes)
>> 6 – axle road unit (4%, 14 Votes)
>> I don’t operate model trains (3%, 13 Votes)

Total Voters: 354

Here are the results of the last reader poll with a response from 537 readers:

The question was – What is your favorite railroad hobby activity?

Results were:

•     Working on a layout (52%, 281 Votes)
•     Operating model trains (29%, 155 Votes)
•     Watch train operations (6%, 32 Votes)
•     Planning a layout (6%, 31 Votes)
•     Historical research (3%, 14 Votes)
•     Collect railroading artifacts (2%, 12 Votes)
•     Meet and discuss railroading with others (1%, 6 Votes)
•     Collect railroad photos etc. (1%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 537

Our last poll asked model railroaders – Who is your favorite manufacturer of model train locomotives?

Results were as follows:

Bachmann (25%, 148 Votes)
Other (18%, 108 Votes)
Athearn (17%, 102 Votes)
Kato (14%, 84 Votes)
Atlas (12%, 73 Votes)
Hornby (8%, 49 Votes)
Marklin (4%, 25 Votes)
Life Like (2%, 9 Votes)

Total Voters: 598

The last poll asked:

Do you like to weather your locomotives and rolling stock?

• The results from 534 blog readers were:
• NO (51%, 271 Votes)
• YES (49%, 263 Votes)

527 model railroaders participated in our recent poll which asked: “Do you take railroading photos/videos? If so, what do you prefer to use?” The results were as follows:

•     YES, digital camera only (stills) (33%, 175 Votes)
•     NO, I don’t take photos (31%, 164 Votes)
•     YES, both video and still photos (31%, 162 Votes)
•     YES, film camera only (stills) (4%, 22 Votes)
•     YES, video camera only (1%, 4 Votes)

Click this link for some great model train photos and clever ideas.

John kindly sent in this story for publication:

A train made entirely of chocolate has set a new Guinness World Record as the longest chocolate structure in the world. The sculpture, on display at the busy Brussels South station, is 112-feet (34.05 meters) long and weighs over 2,755 pounds (1250 kilos).

Maltese chocolate artist Andrew Farrugia spent over 700 hours constructing the masterpiece.  He said he came up with the idea of the train last year after visiting the Belgian Chocolate Festival in Bruge: “I had this idea for a while, and I said what do you think if we do this realization of a long chocolate train, you know, because a train you can make it as long as you like.  “Actually it was going to be much smaller than it was, but I kept on adding another wagon, and another wagon, and it’s the size it is today.”

After measuring the length of the train and confirming no material other than chocolate was used, officials from the Guinness Book of World Records added a new category to the collection of world records and declared the train to be the longest chocolate structure in the world.

Richard has a question for anyone with knowledge of G scale and asks:

“I am currently building a G-scale SF cable car from Occre. Would anyone happen to know where I could buy a pair of circular beacon lights for the opposite front panels of this model. Diameter would be .25 inch. Voltage should be 6-12v. DC. I also would like to install 4 overhead lamps to hang from the underside of the roof of the cable car, same voltage, diameter to be 3/16 inch. Color of these lights is clear. Finally, there are 4 pilot lights that need to be installed in the 4 corners of the roof top of the model. Color is yellow, voltage 6-12v. Diameter would be. 1/8 inch.”

Add your suggestion below.

Hans has a question for garden railway enthusiasts:

“I would like to know where I can get no 1 scale locomotives and rolling stock, and rails for an garden layout. I would prefer MARKLIN, but any a others with the detail of MARKLIN would also be acceptable.”

A reader with the nickname “Tbone” has a question for others in the hobby:

“I’m tired of just running trains around my layout. I now want more purpose for my system. I understand a little about how waybills work but need more input. What computer programs and/or other means do modelers use to operate and justify their layouts?”

Richard seeks advice from fellow model railroaders and asks:

“I am working on a new O scale layout and am having a hard time finding vehicles. Layout based in mid to late 1950’s. Any info on where to obtain properly scaled vehicles will be appreciated.”

Add your suggestion below.

Roy asks readers:

“Has anyone had experience with the Aristocraft Revolution radio control system? I am considering which system to use for my G gauge garden railway.”

Dave sent in this interesting yarn to share. You are welcome to send this link to your friends.

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4  feet, 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number.

Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and English expatriates designed the US  railroads.

Why  did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad  tramways, and that’s the gauge they  used.

Why did ‘they’ use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used  for building wagons, which used that wheel  spacing.

Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would  break on some of the old, long distance roads in England,  because that’s the spacing of the wheel  ruts.

So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for  their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.

And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial  ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying  their wagon  wheels.

Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike  in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot.  Bureaucracies live forever.

So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process  and wonder ‘What horse’s arse came up with this?’, you may be  exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses.  (Two horses’ arses.)

Now, the twist to the  story:

When  you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are  two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel  tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are  made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah.

The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit  fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the  factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs  had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider  than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now  know, is about as wide as two horses’ behinds.

So,  a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the  world’s most advanced transportation system was determined  over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse’s arse.  And you thought being a horse’s arse wasn’t important? Ancient  horse’s arses control almost everything!

The Soar Valley Model Railway Club (SVMRC) stirred in June 1981 when about six enthusiasts met at the Manor House pub in Quorn in the UK. The landlord, also an enthusiast offered the stable loft alongside the hotel as a clubroom but only if we cleaned and cleared away years of accumulated rubbish including several dead birds and rotted food.

At the first proper meeting a constitution was written, officers elected and a recruitment drive initiated. By Easter 1983 the club was arranging it’s own small exhibition. The club established itself with good management and a strong membership and had gone from strength to strength from the small beginnings with only six members. SVMRC currently has 55 members.

Dorehill St. Stevens (00)

The layout measures 41ft 9ins x 14ft 6ins on 22, 6ft x 3ft or 2ft 6ins boards made from 12mm exterior ply on 75mm x 25mm battening, with occasional variations as can be seen in the canal area. The layout ideally requires ten operators but can run with only seven.

Sowters Lane (009)

Sowters Lane is a fictitious “009” narrow gauge junction layout, situated in a rural location and is based loosely on a number of slate, coal and quarry railways. Trains converge from the three quarry and mine  and takes them via the junction at Sowters Lane to the Main line transfer yard off scene . In addition to the mining traffic the occasional passenger and goods freight trains can be seen meandering through the scenic countryside, where the keen eyed will spot the blacksmith welding in his works and the Farrier working on his horse shoes. The local bus awaits passengers to be taken to the nearby town, the taxi awaits fares and the postman makes his rounds delivering letters.

Aylett End (00)

This layout is based on a Southern Region branch line terminus around the Ashford area in the British Railways era 1950s & 1960s.

Hardington Valley (Hornby Dublo)

The station is based on a large provincial town with a goods yard, sidings, coal staithes and working colour light signals.

The club is currently developing 3 new layouts:

Monkton Howland (00) – A modern image DCC layout .

Shawley (0) – A 1950s branch line, loosely based upon the Charnwood Forest Railway.

Swithland Sidings (N) – A semi-fictional recreation of the area around Swithland Sidings on the
Great Central Main Line, set in the 1950s.

Arlin sent in this update of his layout:

“My layout is a mixture of some old and more recent era which depicts many small lumber communities in Oregon. The wiring under the deck has been slow because I’m not able to get under and my neighbor has been helping in his free time, so that has me at a stand still. We are in the process of connecting the lights for most all structures and street lights. In the corner of the layout will be a stream, waterfall and lake with a camp ground. I have added a hobo camp in a front corner so kids can see it up close. The N scale is lake a back drop to the HO and will feature a small town and farm scenes. Back drop scenery is also in the works. It seems to never end! That is why my wife refers to me as “Chug Along Arlin.”

R.C.Belcher sent in this question for readers:

“I am 72 yrs old and I was raised within 50 yds. of the Virginian Railroad, formerly known as the Deepwater Railroad. I live about 2 miles outside of Princeton WV, still close to the railroad. I have been trying to find a EL-2B Virginian electric locomotive with the pantograph in ho scale.  The one I did find was over $1700.00, way out of my price range as I am retired and on a fixed income. I would be greatly appreciative of any help I can get. I am a greenhorn in this. I already have the N&W Powatan arrow still in the box.”

Bryan sent in his railroading memory to share:

I grew up in Mitchell County, NC, a couple of miles from the Clinchfield RR mainline.  Every chance we got, my Dad would take us hiking on the railroad, mostly around the now-abandoned Yancey Railroad in Burnsville.  I remember one Christmas getting an HO Scale GI Joe trainset from Tyco, complete with a GE 35 ton loco, flat car with two Sherman tanks, a gondola, tanker, and caboose.  I still have the flat car, caboose, and the tanker and loco bodies. That same year, my brother got a Tyco set with a matching Conrail Geep and caboose, and a Rock Island boxcar. I still set giddy like a kid whenever I see the Conrail can-opener logo or the big black, blue and white.

Christmas train

331 model railroaders responded to the last poll which asked: Will you be building (or setting up) a Christmas layout this year?

Results are as follows:

– NO (54%)
– YES (33%)
– MAYBE (13%)