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Lift Out or Up Section For Pass Through
Max wants advice from others and asks:
“My plan was to construct a duck-under to make my way to the inner track walkway. The benchwork is approx. 42 inches above the floor, which sounds ok, but right now I have my foot in cast (I won’t bore you with what happened… and you’ll probably only laugh when you hear my stupidity). It made me think though, I am not getting any younger so I should try and make access as easy as possible for an old codger like me, so a duck-under might not be the best option. I thought of using a rolling stool but that’s not great.
Thinking it through, I probably will need to have a hinged section that I could swing or lift up. It will need to be wide enough so I can easily squeeze my way through and past the benchwork some 4 ft. Without reveal my stomach size I will probably need about 14 inches to get by.
The particular portion of track will have 4 tracks so I will need to work out the electrics and make sure the tracks properly align. Obviously I don’t want to mess things up with constant use upsetting the electrics or track alignment. If someone has done something similar I would be interested in any advise – tips?”
Add your comments below to assist Max. Your question can also be published – see below.
13 Impressive Old West Buildings to Download, Print, and Build for Your Model Railroad
Have you ever wanted to create a realistic miniature old western town either for your model railroad, or as a scenic diorama without trains? Look no further, here are 13 old west buildings that can be made as OO gauge, N scale or HO scale buildings. https://www.modelbuildings.org/wildwest-mining/
The site also has a range of old west mining town buildings that would go with the nicely with the above series.
War-Time Peterborough Arena Model Rail Show
Ron from Leicester north of London in the UK sent in these photos taken at a Peterborough Arena Model Rail Show. He apologizes that a couple of them are a little blurry, but I thought they were so interesting, they deserved to be published regardless.
These photos are a wonderful example of a model train display telling a story. As many experienced hobbyists know; it is always a good start to write a short story (or series of notes) about the scene or industry you intend to create, or to thoroughly research aspects of a real railroad if you intend to model it. Using the ‘prototypical’ approach is to take a real full-sized railroad and model its operation at a certain point during a certain period in time.
Obviously is is easy to take the detailing to extremes, but often it is the attention to detail that adds the real interest and realism to a railroad display. Replicating a real life scene requires the location to be constructed so as to closely resemble the real community and surroundings as accurately as possible, if that is the way you decide to go. Others in the hobby just like to do their own thing and create a scene from their own imagination, and that’s okay too. The important aspect of this wonderful hobby is to enjoy what you are doing, and create something that you personally want to create, regardless of whether you want to create a prototypical replica, or something created from your imagination.
Feel free to add a comment below.
Changing from 18″ to 22″ Curves With Original Turnouts
Seb submitted this question for readers to ponder:
“I have an HO diesel loco with 6 (3,3) trucks. A couple of months back I converted the track from 18″ to 22″ curves and I decided to leave the original turnouts intact. This might be the cause of the derailments when the unit crosses the turnouts…not sure?!? I don’t want to replace things if I am barking up the wrong tree? Should I substitute the turnouts with #6’s [22″ curves] to minimize derailments?”
Get your question published. See link below.
Adhesives For Sticking Down Plastic Model People and Animals – The Dilemma
Max asks everyone:
“I’ve heard Elmer’s white glue is good for laying down the track with ballast. Problem is it takes some time to properly set hard if using it for other purposes. For gluing plastic model figurines in place it’s hopeless. They inevitably fall over. Does one of your members know of a hobby adhesive that will dry and set hard quickly and one that is useful for sticking plastic model figures to the ground?”
Have your question published. See below.
Nailing EZ Track to Plywood
Mike sent in this question. Perhaps you can help:
“I want to nail down to plywood my EZ track. I have some Atlas track nails which are long enough. Some of the track pieces need to be drilled in order for the nails to work. Do I use a pin vise or a mini drill? How do I determine the drill bit size I need? The hole is the size of the Atlas track nails. Thanks”
Access To Train Wheels
Robin sent in this question for readers:
“My Roco diesel engine (HO scale) requires traction tires part 40069 which I see I can get on eBay. Problem is; I can’t figure how to fit the tires. I can’t see any screws to undo thereby exposing the wheels? I know some other engines have tiny screws to undo to access the wheels. Any suggestions?”
Have your question published here. Use link under this post.
Track On Cork Difficulties
Ron W posted this question to challenge readers:
“This might sound like a stupid question but I want to lay cork using the center of the track. Marking the line with the track in position on plywood is difficult. I need some kind of tool to mark the center line accurately because my eyesight is not good enough. I thought of using a pencil through the hole but this didn’t work. I concluded the marking pencil needs to be securely mounted to the truck hole. Is there a better way of doing this or even a suitable tool available?”
Have your question posted on this Blog for others in the hobby to see and comment on. Use the link below.
Model Train Passes Funeral Gathering
There’s an old rule in this hobby to add people and animals to model railroad scenery to bring the scene to life, but this is an interesting twist to that concept. This grave-side funeral gathering was spotted by Walter at the Balatonfüred International Model-Railway Exhibition, Hungary. It certainly adds interest to scene and is something a little different from what you are likely to see on most layouts.
Hornby 08 Shunter With Sound Problem
Rick S used the ASK A QUESTION form to submit this question:
“I model British Rail in OO gauge and have a Hornby 08 Shunter that is giving me problems. When I operate it with the sound switched on it stops and starts back up then just repeats itself over. When I run it minus the sound it works fine. What can I do please?”
Post your question on the Blog using the link below.
Electrical Switch Relay For LED
Peter M asks readers:
I would like to run LED street lights off of my garden railway track. As LED’s only work in one direction can any one tell me what I need in the way of an electrical switch (relay) to enable the lights to work when I change direction?
Post your answer below.
How To Scale Model Buildings To Provide Realistic Perspective
For scale model buildings that are seen as up-close or positioned in the foreground they need to be seen at 100% size. If the model buildings are 100 – 500 yards (90 – 450 meters) away then the model building plans be reduced to 90% to 100% of the downloaded size to give real illusion of distance. If the model railroad buildings are supposed to be ¼ or up to ½ mile away then the models could be reduced to approx. 80% to 90% of the full size of the PDF. Buildings that need to appear to be a mile or two away could be 30% – 50% of the full PDF size. Understandably these sizes are a guide only.
So if for example; if an N gauge building is 5 inches (13 cm) tall close-up, it would need to be 4 inches to 4½ inches (10cm to 11.5cm) tall if it was positioned ¼ – ½ mile away.
That’s one of the huge advantages of downloading PDF plans of structures – they can easily be scaled down to a smaller size. Download a free catalog at https://www.modelbuildings.org
Converting Dad’s Layout to DCC
Trevor H sent in this question:
“I inherited my late fathers train set and only have a limited knowledge of running trains. Watching my Dad operate the trains has fond memories for me, and if I could half as much pleasure from the layout as he did, I know I would be stoked!
I am keen to learn but would but the main problem I want to rectify is that my Dads layout was never set up for DCC. I don’t want to rush out and buy lots of things without first understanding what I can and can’t achieve in the way of converting the layout to DCC. I suppose the first question is can I run a train loco that has DCC on the layout? And, how difficult will it be to upgrade to DCC? The track is already in position as is most of the scenery and structures. Will I need to revamp everything and start afresh?
If all I need is DCC control and power pack then that would make things easy? If I can get the trains running on DCC then I can concentrate on converting lights and other accessories later. I am just thinking out load and trying to get my head around how difficult the conversion will be, not that I’m not up for the challenge, I just want to work through things logically and at my own pace. Advice from your experienced followers would be greatly appreciated thank you.”
If you have a question you would like published, send it in using the link below.
The Range Of Downloadable Scale Model Building Plans Just Expanded Some More
Just download and print these photo-reastic paper plans and stick them to card or corflute (the latter is best for backdrop structures). They look amazing and so real when constructed. The printable plans come in OO gauge size which you can very easily reduce to 87% to convert them to exactly HO scale, or you can buy the N scale versions which you can print same size for N scale. You can also download the latest free catalog. The new website still has lots of value-packed deals with savings of between 50% and 87%, or you can purchase plans individually. The choice is yours!
Visit the new look modelbuildings.org website with a great range of new designs to download.
Rusting Track Problems
Michael G asks readers:
“My HO railway layout is in our garage. My wife doesn’t drive so we only have one vehicle which takes up the other side of the garage. The problem is that we live just a short walk from the coast, and although you don’t see the salt spray in the air, it has had an effect on our outdoor furniture, and there’s even rust developing on the mailbox. I do my best to keep my train track clean, but I think longer term I will be fighting a losing battle with the invisible salt vapors in the air. Does any one have any ideas for preventing the inevitable problem of rusting track?”
If you would like your question published, just submit it using one of the ASK A QUESTION shortcuts.
Create A Realistic Scene With A Fire Damaged Building
17 new designs have just been added to the range of OO/HO and N scale plans at modelbuildings.org including a fire damaged background building and a city fire station. The fire damaged building is realistically detailed to show charcoal damaged wood around the windows, soot, and even broken windows. There are so many possibilities for the hobbyist to add to the scene with emergency vehicles, bystanders watching on etc. Now available on the newly designed ModelBuildings.org website. 
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