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Seawater Destroys Railroad Museum
Stephen sent in this information about how members of the Galveston Railroad Museum are coping with the disaster that destroyed almost everything.
Here is Stephen’s story and pictures:
The HO and O layouts at the Galveston Railroad Museum were completely destroyed by the seawaters during Hurricane IKE. I was the volunteer curator of the HO layout for the past three years (and about 5 cases of salvaged buildings sit on my front porch).
These are photos of the buildings sitting in their cases on the porch.
The Galveston Rail Road Museum occupies the station site of the old Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (subdivision of the AT&SF). Begun almost thirty years ago, the Museum added a new Digitrax HO layout about ten years ago and an O scale layout about 5 years ago.
The HO layout was very beautiful with much work done by local model railroad clubs as well as by the company which installed the layout.
I had the great pleasure to serve as curator and to clean the tracks and change out the trains on our four loops which ran all day while the museum was open. Some very nice people from NASA have taken a lot of our documents north to place them in a freeze dry chamber and we are hopeful that much of that material is recoverable.
The two layouts were completely under the seawater and the foam construction of the HO layout shattered under the force of the water. I was able to salvage a number of our original buildings which now sit on my porch awaiting their third and fourth water baths to wash off the silt from Galveston Bay. It is more difficult to remove than I had anticipated, things which remove it easily also remove paint and decals from the buildings so we are going slowly with that.
Much of our HO rolling stock and I believe all of our O scale rolling stock spent time under the seawater and is ruined (seawater is extremely corrosive). The Board of Directors is meeting this week to discuss rebuilding. It will take time as we are currently in the clean up phase. What had once been an REA building which housed our ho and O layouts is now a see through building with all the interior work removed to abate the water and mold.
There is a large blank space where the layouts had once been our most favored exhibits.All of our actual diesel engines were destroyed as the water level reached that of the cab floors. Traction engines do not survive the intrusion of seawater into their brushes.
Ping Pong Tables Base For Model RR Layout
Matt has sent in this information about his growing HO layout:
I have four old plywood covered ping pong tables used for an HO scale layout running two lines. One is used for freight and the other used for passenger trains. It started with one table and then expanded to four.
An 8 foot custom made bridge was added to join two tables. This bridge has two levels with two tracks on each level. It is made with metal studs and flat bars for supports in the design of a truss bridge. Another custom made 4 foot long bridge is a real suspension brige using metal studs and thin cable wire. And, yet another custom 3 foot long bridge is made form milk crates and designed into a truss bridge.
The running hardware (already on-hand) will include steam & diesel dockside switchers, GG1’s, FE3’s, steam 2-10-2’s and various other engines. This project is coming along slowly as time, new crazy ideas, and funds permit.
To comment on Matt’s layout click on the green comments link below.
G Scale Garden Railway Popular With Neighbors In Nowra
Rex (pictured here with his grandson) is from Nowra in New South Wales, Australia and has kindly sent in this photo for publication along with some information about his Garden Railway.
Here is what Rex has to say:
Just 2 hrs drive south of Sydney Australia is the town of Nowra were some Large scale “G scale” train enthusiasts get together to let of some steam. I have a small back yard but that doesn’t stop the trainers from down under. After 12 months fixing, changing and rearranging I don’t think I’ll ever finish this layout. But that’s just half the fun of having the back yard light up at night with half the kids in the street showing up with excitement written all over their faces.
What I’ve found is the parents are just as excited about the trains as their children. I have fun repairing, painting and rebuilding the buildings a couple of times.
There is always someone who has a bigger and better track and there are plenty of those here in Ozie land compared to mine but the camaraderie between all us trainees and the information that is shared around creates a great support team.
Getting parts is sometime a challenge but with the internet parts are only a finger tip away.
Anthracite Model Railroad Society
This is a photo supplied by club member Mike of the Ashmore turntable with Reading N1 at Anthracite Model Train Society in Hazleton Pa. USA.
Anthracite Model Railroad Society club member Mike has also sent this brief information for publication:
The Anthracite Model Railroad Society layout depects the Anthracite area of NE Pa serviced by the Lehigh Valley, Reading, Jersey Central and Lehigh New England Railroads. We have open house during the holiday season Thanksgiving to after New year.
The Anthracite Model Railroad Society has a two tier layout with the towns of Jim Thorpw, Hazleton,and Ekley’s modeled. There are two coal mines and historical structures. The Anthracite Model Railroad Society is open to all interested in model railroading.
The Anthracite Model Railroad Society is located at 1057 Peace St (rear Hanover Ct) Hazleton Pa. USA.
Ann Arbor Model Rail Road Club
Club member Phil submits this posting about the Ann Arbor Model Rail Road Club
“I am working with the president of our Ann Arbor Model Rail Road Club in NTRAK modules in his basement. We feel that this is a very good way to promote the hobby of model railroading. We have five other members involved in this project along with us. Our main club is HO scale so the use of N scale is more to our liking since it is easily portable and we can get more trackage and scenery in smaller spaces.”
The Ann Arbor Model Rail Road Club is located in the former Michigan Central depot in the Village of Dexter, Michigan at 3487 Broad Street, Dexter, MI, USA.
Pennsylvania GG-1 RTR Needs Locating
David is looking for a replacement locomotive and wants to hear from you:
“I am seeking to replace a Pennsylvania GG-1 RTR maroon locomotive that was destroyed by flooding damage and have been unable to locate any to date. I have seen several ads for the green version for about $50 or $60 but none for the maroon version. Does anyone know of any for sale?”
Southern Ore And Lumber Railroad Planned
Blog reader Roy shares some information on his HO Southern Ore & Lumber RR:
My little backwoods Southern Ore & Lumber is still being planned. Also being planned is a move to NC so little has been done beyond a constantly improving trackplan, the construction of all the needed buildings (about 30) and a few ‘test modules’ just to see what was needed for radius and elevation parameters. I have two locos (Spectrum 3 trk Shay w/sound DCC and a DCC 2 trk Climax) just waiting to get to work in their 1928 era hills, woods, and small town of Snoggert’s Gap.
To tell people about your model RR go to http://www.model-railroad-resources.com/my-layout.html
Lionel Accessory Wiring Puzzles Railroader
Donald has a question for Lionel fans:
“I recently purchased a Operating Flagman’s Shanty from lionel / k-line. The wiring instructions call for insulation of one rail. Then connecting power to shanty via transformer. The remaining wire to insulated rail. When the train enters this section it just stops. I believe this wiring information is for 3 rail lionel. Does anyone have any idea on how to wire on 2 rail? I may need a track trip? It has 3 wires. 2 for power and one to activate man with lantern. I tried contacting Lionel but without success.”
Container Cranes And Computer Control On Mike’s Layout
Mike has a z scale layout and shares some information on his progress:
I am building my first and only 99 percent totally automated layout in z scale. Everything will be loading/unloading,movable, working, playing, and awesome!
I am starting my z scale layout with a 5 foot by 5 foot open pit mine. I have made a rotary digger that actually digs into the cat litter like walls of the pit. There are other smaller diggers moving all over the place shoveling the ore back and forth. The ore ends up on long conveyors that are movable to the four rock crushing stations, finally into the trucks, and train cars. The trucks have their own area to go up and pour their loads, which actually works. The trains take it straight to the 23 spur lines to be taken to the foundry.
There are just to many things being loaded and unloaded to tell about them all. I have 3 ships at a shipping yard. One ship loads ore which is silently vacuumed back to the mine loaders, the other two are container ships.
The container cranes actually work. I designed a laser system for turning on a very small electromagnet on the end of the crane. I molded over 1800+ containers, each with a small metal disk in the center. As the magnet connects, it turns on, picking up the container. It moves to where the 4 – 25 car spline cars I made are located. It moves slowly so its ready to receive the load.
Everything on the layout is connected to a main computer I built. Some master boards I had to build from scratch to do the things I wanted it to do. I have over a terrawatt, and 6 Pentium2 chips, making sure everything once it hits a reed switch does what it is suppose to do. Over 500 small lasers keep everything running smoothly. If you lose a car, that area stops until it is fixed.
I am still designing the layout as it grows. I am constructing new buildings daily and adding every detail. I am also trying new things with smaller motors, getting the fine tuning on things. I still need a full city with transit stations, moving cars and trucks with the lights, and I am even playing with moving people around a block. This gives the effect that every time you look there are different people on every street. There is still lots of work to do. I don’t have any pictures until I am finished.
Station Track Plans For Shelf Layout Wanted
Niels from Denmark has an HO layout and is looking for track plans. If you want to help Niels simply click on the green comments link below this posting. Here is Niels posting:
“Hello fellow RR’s. I am revisiting the H0 modelrailroad-hobby, which started in the 1960’s. Anyhow – I have decided to take a modular approach to an around-the-walls layout. For a start I have a dog-bone layout. I have made 2 temporary ‘turning loops’ and now look for a track plan for the 1st real module: a small station on single track mainline, also starting point for a single track sideline and with room for few warehouse/shuttle tracks. Size of the main module should be approx 200cm x 60 cm (approx 7′ x 2′). I would like to hear from readers who might have any suggestions for a track plan?
Where To Locate Signals On 1930’s British Southern Railway Layout
Jon asks a question on signals for his British Southern Railway layout:
“Where is the correct place to put signals on a British Southern railway 1930’s layout?”
Reply to this posting if you would like to help Jon.
Lionel TMCC and RailKing Proto Sound II
This question is for Lionel fans who hopefully can help Doug with his question:
“What do I have to do, or is it even possible, to run a RailKing Proto Sound II DCS engine on Lionel setup using TMCC. If not, can the reverse work – in other words, if I purchase the Railking DCS will Lionel TMCC trains run on that system? Can one of your readers please help me.”
Comment on Doug’s posting by clicking the green comments link below.
Cleaning Stainless Steel Track On Outdoor G Layout
Ron has a question he is hoping someone with an outdoor garden railroad can help him with:
“My track has been outdoors exposed to the heat and cold of the Las Vegas valley for over a year and never had trains run on it. I am just now able to get it connected and hopefully wired soon. How do I clean the residue that has built up on the rails? Does one of your G scale readers know the answer?”
Ron’s question is unusual because stainless steel track is generally durable and rarely needs cleaning. To comment on Ron’s question click on the green comments link below.
Reader Has Problem With His Hornby Elite 8216 Accessory Points Decoder
Brian has a question relating to his Control Unit – Hornby Elite Hornby 8216 Accessory Points decoder.
Brian says ” I have followed the instructions to program using prog track into my Hornby Elite. I am unable to get it to control points but the machine shows it has been addressed. I then pressed control ‘1’ three times to reprogram it. I then repeated this many times as advised and followed the instruction to no avail.I tried leads into Elite to charge capacitors. I tested for power in decoder while connected, power there. Once disconnected I had no power in the decoder and no working points. Have any of your OO readers with a Hornby Elite Hornby 8216 has similar experiences? Can they help me?”
If you have a Hornby Elite 8216 Decoder and would like to share your experiences, simply click on the green comments link below to add your thoughts to this blog posting.
Note: The Hornby Point Accessory Decoder can be programmed to take four point motors or solenoid operated accessories like semaphore signals or electric uncoupling ramps. Connection of the points or accessories to the Hornby Accessory Point Decoder uses three wires from the solenoid (point motor).
The next solenoid is connected to the second three terminals, with the following two solenoids being connected in the same way. Once the solenoids are connected two wires are then plugged into the track using the Hornby R602 Power Connecting Clip, the location of which can be anywhere within reason that is convenient. Allocating addresses to the four points is then just as simple as pressing up to 4 buttons.
All Hornby points are self isolating. To obtain the best from the Hornby Digital system it is recommended that all points arc made live by attaching 2 x R8232 DCC Electro Point Clips to each point.
When Two Locomotives Go In Reverse Only
Ken is having problems with his HO layout and wants to hear from others with the same problem:
“My train layout was shut down for about a month due to building a mountain which three trains and a trolley run through or over it. I cleaned the track, but on one line I can’t get the loco to run at all and on another line the loco goes in reverse only. I tried two different locos and both would only run in reverse on this line, but would run normal on a different set of track. Have your readers experienced this type of problem? Do they have any ideas on what the problem might be?”
Wiring Problems On HO Layout
Ken needs help with HO wiring:
“When I run my engine on the mainline it works fine running forward, however when I go to switch to another line, it will not cross the points unless I have the second line set at reverse. Can anyone explain the problem?”
If you have experienced similar problems you can tell Ken by clicking on the comments tag below.
Circuit Diagrams Hard To Find
Pierre is looking for circuit diagrams for his HO layout. Can anyone help him?
“I am looking for a circuit diagram (with parts list) for a device to automatically reverse a locomotive on DC analog HO track. It should preferably have an adjustable delay time. Up to now I could not find such a diagram in the printed media or on the internet. Can one of your readers point me in the right direction please?”
Peter has a DCC question for you:
“I have a locos with 2 motors. Do I need 1 or 2 decoders to convert it to DCC?”
To comment on these two problems click on the comments tag and add your thoughts.
Programming DCC Locos
Ron has a question for those experienced with programming DCC locomotives:
“When trying to re-program one of my DCC Locos I keep getting message “d nA” which I understand to be an indication of an open circuit on Programming Track. I am using a 3 foot strip of track made up with E-Z Track and have dismantled and re-made it up 2 or 3 times but get the same error message. Is this a problem with the decoder in the Loco, or is it the E-Z Track? Should I use a 3 ft strip of ordinary Peco or Atlas track?”
To comment on Ron’s problem click on the green comments link below this posting.
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