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Scale Model Shopping Street Idea
Here’s an idea for a shopping street scene against a background on a model railroad layout. The plans and scale sizes at https://www.modelbuildings.org/packb-background-shops-railroad-scale-models
Mobile Police Charge Office South African Railways
Regular contributor Peter Field from South Africa sent in this article to share:
In 2010 when South Africa hosted the world soccer Cup crime was thought to become a problem on certain trains in operation, with drunkenness, rowdiness, and hooliganism.
Transnet built some +-12 mobile police stations which would be attached to certain passenger trains in certain areas where they thought they would experience problems e.g. Johannesburg to Durban and other main cities. These were hooked onto the rear of the train or behind the locomotive.
Should there be any trouble they could be charged on the train and then removed by the police at the destination to be dealt with by the courts. Each coach contained a charge office, counseling office three or so
compartments for the staff to reside in with a shower, toilet, a small kitchenette, and four cells. They fell into disuse after the world soccer cup and were in storage. However, in the last few years, I have seen them attached to container trains that are manned by the police. When the trains are stopped for a long period the police patrol along the train to safe guard the containers from break-ins as theft seems to be a problem at long stops or driver change over points. This method has stopped the break-ins of containers en route to their destinations. This photo shows a mobile police charge office on Peter’s layout.
Starting An Australian Themed Model Railway
Neil from New South Wales in Australia asks:
“Hi, I’ve been working in the railway industry for a long time and am starting from scratch into model trains, so would like to know what to purchase first? I live in New South Wales, Australia (NSW) so I would like to keep with the trains I worked with and loved if possible. NSW GR rolling stock would be good. Do I go plastic or die-cast models? I have seen a plastic model in a Tangra set. There are just so many options when planning a layout and don’t know where to start. Please help.”
Please add your thoughts to help and encourage Neil.
Convert Locos From DC to DCC
HO enthusiast Barnaclebill writes:
“After 30 years I decided to get back involved with model railroading. I have a whole bunch of trains in the box in the closet. I have been buying engines and cars for years and putting them in the box and not going to buy track until I’m ready to build as I want to get the best track available when ready. I visit my friend’s layout every once in a while and love the way his DCC engines run and sound. So my question(s) are : Is it possible to get these engines converted to DCC (mostly steamers) and if so how hard would it be for me to learn how to do it myself? Thanks for all responses.”
Animal Figurines
Dave is on the lookout for HO scale plastic animal figures:
“The ultimate finish to my Montana mountain/camping scene would be an HO figure of ‘Bigfoot’. Long-shot to say the least. I have been totally through the figures pages in Walthers 2022 catalog actually looking for maybe a gorilla in a zoo animal group that I could repaint brown… sitting or standing. Has anyone seen anything like this?”
Oil To Make Train Smoke
Barry sent in this question:
“Hi all, I have just acquired two Bachmann (steam) locos, both are 4-8-4 with 52′ tenders. Both are smokers but I don’t know if there is a particular brand, quantity, or grade of oil required to create smoke. The element down in the funnel on both lights up when power is applied so I am assuming that they smoke as designed.”
Please add your comments to assist Barry below.
DCC Sound Equipped Class K4 Bachmann 4-6-2 Issues
Phil posted this question:
“My HO loco has gone on strike and doesn’t want to move. The sound of the engine running works as does the horn noise and the light, but it just sits there and I can’t read the CV values. I can’t seem to reset the CV8 or read the loco number. The wheel contacts and wiring appear to be connected properly, and my other locos are operating correctly. Not sure what to do? Please help if you can.”
Post your comment (or read comments) below.
Is This The Ultimate Selfie?
Vietnam shut down its infamous ‘train street’ in the Old Quarter of Hanoi in 2019 because it was overrun with selfie-taking tourists like this one. The tourist hotspot in Hanoi is known for its single-track railway that runs dangerously close to local homes and cafes. The railway was built during French colonial rule in 1902.
Until the street closure, the twice-daily train was a unique attraction where tourists could experience a “death-defying” moment when the train passed as close as 0.4 m away.
Safety in the street had been a cause for concern for local authorities for some time, but the final closure notice was given for dozens of cafés to shut down after the emergency brakes on a train were applied when the street became overcrowded with tourists.
As of the beginning of 2021, during a Covid pandemic, cafes and businesses were allowed to reopen. However, owing to the small number of tourists, only a few businesses reopened their doors. What the future holds for ‘train street” when Vietnam reopens, nobody knows.
If you would like to send in a ‘selfie’ of yourself with your trains or layout, then send a comment via the COMMENTS link below and we will be in touch giving details of how to upload your photo.
Juicers on the Frogs
For those who are new to the term ‘juicer” here is a brief explaination. A frog juicer will automatically switch the power on a frog. A wire from a frog juicer is used to power the frog – if the frog is of the wrong polarity and shorts, a frog juicer will detect a current surge and will almost immediately switch the power before the engine dcc decoder or the dcc command station can notice.
George who models in HO scale asks:
“My dcc oval two-track layout has 4 zones, each protected by aPSX beaker. Using NCE sb5 for power. Recently a car derailment caused a short on one of the 2 crossover turnouts (Bachmann ez track dcc, left and right #6). Result: damage to SB5. Thinking of installing juicers on the frogs to avoid this again. Any thoughts?”
Add your thoughts below.
Parts for Marklin 67014 Z Scale Power Pack
Mari asks:
“Marklin 67014 Z Scale Power Pack has a single-knob operation for changing the direction of travel by turning the control knob away from the center position. What parts and circuits do Marklin 67014 use to achieve this single-knob operation? Fleischmann 6752 also has single-knob operation. What does Fleischmann 6752 use? Do they use double potentiometers?”
Add your comments below.
Second-Hand Trains
Cliff asks:
“Hey guys I just got 14 HO boxcars at a deceased estate sale for $90. They seem to be in good condition and most have knuckle couplers. I thought it was a good deal. How much do second-hand engines go for?”
Add your suggestions below.
Is this Volkswagen Kombi van real, or is it a scale model?
Creating a scene for a model railroad layout is not unlike a film producer creating a realistic movie set. These days many of the scenes and props in movies are generated using computer technology so that the actors and actresses can perform near impossible feats in convincingly realistic settings. The eye often sees what it wants to see. This is something to keep in mind when creating a scene for a model railroad layout.
Back to the question – Is this VW Kombie van real, or is it a scale model? It is actually a scale model.
Is the road and paving real? It looks real, but again, it is part of a model railroad layout.
Is the sky backdrop real. No, it is a photographic backdrop glued to a wall.
What about the buildings? They too are scale models, and a part of a new series at https://www.modelbuildings.org/packa-background-shops-scale-models
Are the people real? A photograph of real people has been photoshopped into this layout scene, just to make the VW Kombi Van look even more real. The eye sees what it wants to see. The orginal plastic figurines of people (although they looked real) were photoshopped out for the purposes of this demonstration.
So, next time you are designing a scene for your layout, think of it like a movie set. Carefully build the scene one element at a time. Have fun!
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