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Consolidateing “Wall-Wart” Power Supplies
Ken writes:
“Greetings. I have somewhat of an elaborate HO layout (for a residential layout) with over 30 commercial businesses, half dozen residential houses, a campground and multiple streetlights. They are all powered by 2 adjustable 3 amp 3-24 Volt power supplies on 2 buses under my layout. Most of the lights are LED’s that draw around 20 milliamperes each, but some of the “grain of wheat” incandescent’s go up to 70 milliamperes. I figured I could safely wire up about 40 – 50 lights on each power supply, because I’m not even close to 50% capacity. But, one of my power supplies started humming yesterday and it felt much warmer than the other one. I don’t know if I got a bad unit or not, but I’d like to upgrade to a more heavy duty power source to give me more head-room and security knowing I’m under my load limits. Does anyone have any suggestions on what kind of power supply I should be looking for? I really like to be able to dial them back to around 9-10 volts in the evening so the lights are more pleasant around the track. Thanks in advance for your responses.”
If you can your thoughts with Ken, then I’m sure he would appreciate any advice he can get. Simple use the comments link below.
Wheel Slippage on Grades
Ken who models in HO scale writes:
“Greetings, I’m trying to come up with the ideal track cleaning process that would protect my track from oxidation without causing my locos to spin their wheels at my overpass grade. I’m limited to space and my double continuous running oval has a ‘non-prototypical’ grade of about 4.5% – 5% at the trestle (but the trains look very cool climbing the grade). I used No-Ox ID as was suggested by some experienced modelers but it was a disaster! My locos used to pull 17-18 cars with no issue, and after the No-Ox ID my loco couldn’t make it up by itself! It was heart-wrenching! Should I just continue to use mineral spirits and clean the track weekly, or is there something else that will work better? Thanks in advance for your response.”
Suggestions welcome below.
Watch How To Make This Industrial Background Building For Your OO, HO, or N Scale Model Railroad
You can download the plans for this model railroad industry building here https://www.modelbuildings.org/background-buildings
HO Kato 37-6110 GE P42 Amtrak V Genesis Problem
David is having problems with his Kato locomotive. He writes:
“The wheels are trying to run on my Kato 37-6110 GE P42 but it will not run. Had it about a year (it ran fine). Steadily it did not run as it did before. I understand the trucks have both motors in them. Not inside the engine. Does this cause problems while in use? My layout has a grade of 2″ drop and travels 8′. The train does pickup some speed going down the grade. Is this the cause of the problem. Can it be fixed? How can I do that? Thank You for your HELP.”
You can contribute your thought below.
Florida East Coast – Ortner Hopper Cars
Keith writes:
“I’ve been modeling on and off since my teens, with my dad. I was brought up in South Florida and we had a layout above the garage that was pretty amazing for the small space we had. Being brought up in Florida, I saw the Florida East Coast RR for all my life; going train watching with my dad and at crossings all the time.
This railroad has an amazing history and I’ve collected and built models from different periods. I’m working on building Ortner cars from the 1980s and 90’s at the Cemex plant in Miami. They had hopper cars with white lettering that I’d like to recreate.
My question is, what color to paint them? I think the color is a caboose red, but I am uncertain and would love some feedback and even checking the colors, some opinions. Thanks everyone.”
Minimum HO Turn Radius
Frank writes:
“I’m a novice HO model railroader. I usually set up a simple oval under the Christmas tree annually. I’m bored with that. Furniture confines me to 5′ x 7′ area. I want to add a couple turnouts, a 2nd oval, and sidings for some wild west buildings. What is the minimum HO turn radius for 4-4-0 and a 4-6-0 1870-80’s steam locos and that era freight cars?”
What Do Timed Voltage Pulses Have To Do With DCC Model Train Operation?
Tony sent in this short article to share:
Thanks to the invention of the transistor in 1947 and largely because of the US space program and the cold war, we live in an entirely different control world today. Analog control systems are mostly museum curiosities, and the world has gone almost completely digital. We now control complicated spacecraft with the tiniest of signals over billions of miles of space. And believe it or not, the basic element of the control system is so simple that it’s almost unbelievable. A simple on-off signal does all the work! That’s right! After a hundred years of increasing complexity, we have left all of that behind and are working at the level of the most basic control systems ever invented.
OK, caught in the act! Digital control isn’t really THAT simple, but the on-off nature of the signals it uses certainly is. What is different about today’s control from the analog world, is that instead of looking at what value of the signal, they now detect the duration or timing of the signal. One of the greatest features of solid state (transistorized) electronics has been the ability to generate exceptionally accurate timing, which all digital control systems use extensively. In fact, the entire underpinning of Digital Command and Control is the generation of precisely timed voltage pulses. Digital electronics also makes it easy to count pulses and store them and execute actions based on the counts. This is precisely what DCC does.
At this point, we could degenerate into a detailed, multi-volume dissertation of computer system organization and theory to explain how this all works, but unless you actually are interested in the gory details of that side of control systems it would be much better to just make a statement about the end effects of a command rather than the theory of computer processing and microcontrollers.
Make This Crossing Shanty For Your Train Layout – Watch How
You can download the plans and construct this model railway crossing shanty to N scale, OO, or HO scale size https://www.modelbuildings.org/railroad-structures
40 Scale Model Intermodal Shipping Containers To Make to HO Scale, OO, or N Scale
You can download any or all of the 40 PDF plans to your computer at https://www.modelbuildings.org/shipping-containers
Best Turnouts For DCC And Can I Run DCC And DC On The Same Track
Ed has these questions for readers:
“Let’s start with I am very new to this. I haven’t had a train layout since I had been eight years old and my father did it. I’m now 68. I’m looking to set up a new layout and I’ve been doing some research. I want to start with DC trains but then eventually do some DCC so I want to build my layout for both. My first question is what would be the best turn outs to use for DCC so I don’t have any dead spots? My next question is can I run DC and then change over to DCC when I am ready? I don’t expect to run both at the same time just one or the other. Thanks for any help.”
Please add your thought to assist Ed below.
Make This Farm Barn Complete With A Grain Silo For Your Scale Model Railroad Layout
Watch this step by step demo showing how easy it is to construct a barn complete with silo for an HO scale, OO gauge, or N scale model railroad. The plans can be downloaded from the Farming Category at https://www.modelbuildings.org/farm-buildings
Can Model Buildings Be Reduced to TT Scale
Tim asks:
“I am looking for TT:120 scale printed backdrop buildings or anything done to this scale. The scale has been revived by Hornby and I am heavily involved in it now.”
The quick answer is YES you can make TT scale model buildings!
TT Scale is 1:120 scale so is roughly halfway between HO Scale and N Scale, so you could simply scale the OO plans on your home printer reducing them to 63% of the OO size.
There is a big selection of OO/HO and N scale background building plans available for download at https://www.modelbuildings.org/background-buildings
Removing DCC Decoders
Arnaldo models OO and asks:
“I have been offered three cheap locomotives that are fitted with DCC but I operate DC. Is it simply a case of removing the chip to run them on my system, or will I need to do more?”
Supply your own suggestions under this post, or see what others have to say.
Turnouts for Bachmann GP40
Bruce models HO and asks:
“I spotted a Bachmann GP40 I want to buy but I think the turnouts on my switching layout will be too short or tight for it to operate. If I upgrade what turnouts should I go for #5 or #6? Thanks in advance.”
Read the comments below, or add your own comments and suggestions below.
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