CTT Magazine, January 2014 --- Maybe the best issue ever!

[Buckeye Riveter]

For me the January 201 issue was a blue ribbon winner.  Some very good articles on how to do various tasks for a model railroad.   With that in mind, it reminded me of some items I thought the forum could comment on:

CTT Project Railroad

1. The photos of the CTT Project Railroad are great, but why is Kent and Carl doing all the work and Bob watching?
2. Kudos to CTT for building the layout with 2"  foam, however the Chief has always said that 2" foam was not available in the south.  
3. From my experience with 2" foam, wood glue is far superior than the white glue. 
4. I found that L-Girder and joist construction for the table was very simple and 1x2s are cheap.
5. Irwin bar clamps are great.  Buy some.

Q-Tip Tune-Up

1. I just purchased a foam cradle for maintenance.  I used to use a cardboard box with a 2" foam pad.  I wouldn't use a towel.  
2. Mr. Teal doesn't say much about the jumper cables.  My cable is about six feet long.  
3. The article is correct about the Johnson & Johnson Q-tip.  They don't fall apart.
4. The article recommends an electronic cleaner from NAPA Auto Parts Store.  I have used Goo Gone but I've heard that it can decrease the life of traction tires. Is this true?
5. Yes on a steam engine, the pilot truck and the trailing truck need cleaning, but I would not recommend removing them.  Just purchase a Scotch Brite tool for Dremmel and clean them with that in the foam cradle. This is the same way I clean passenger car wheels and tender wheels, too.

Making a Track Clean Tool

1. I think David Smith has a good idea.  It is simple and could even work on G-Scale with a few modifications.  
2. Something that I have used similar to clean track is my long handled ice scraper.  I use duct tape to attach a pad over the scraper.  The scraper lets me put some pressure on the track to get it clean.  Old dull scrapers work fine and we have plenty of those after an Ohio ice storm.

Background Sounds

1. I have background sounds on my layout and visitors try to find the speakers, but they are hid as described in the article. 
2. I wish the article had shown an ITT Board Mounted.  The photo seems to show only one mounting screw.  

Overall it was a great issue and I might just try to visit Ashe Rawls layout in Blackstone, VA.  His suggestion for the feeder wire spacing at 36" to 40" is right on the money. 

[Blueberryhill RR]

Very good, Buckeye.   I also enjoyed this issue very much.

Chuck

[wmwalker]

Yes I agree as well. I really like CTT articles. I never thought about the 2 inch form but I really like the idea. Great stuff.

[lionelsoni]

I suggest doing the table expansion differently.  The way shown involves nailing the 1-by-4 pieces that are parallel to the 8-foot direction into the end grain of the three 10 1/2-inch perpendicular pieces.  This makes for a very weak connection.  To quote the UBC, "Nails driven parallel to the grain of the wood shall not be allowed for resisting withdrawal forces."  I expect that they will hold the boards themselves up; but I doubt that it would take much downward force on the edge of that addition to pull those nails right out.

A better arrangement--no harder to build--is to nail through the shorter pieces (which would be a full 12 inches long) into the end grain of the others (the longest of which would be 94 1/2 inches).  That T-shaped joint in the middle would become an L.  The nails would then be loaded in shear rather than in tension.  Even better would be to nail into 2-by-2 blocking inside the corners rather than into the ends of any of the 1-by-4s.

[Buckeye Riveter]

Bob...I agree, however I have yet to build a layout with nails.  I have always used screws and glue and never had problem. 

[LittleTommy]

I agree, it was one of the best issues in the long history of CTT.

I was more than a little uncertain about the use of nails, especially in the way that the addition was attached.  I would have much more comfortable with using screws and I also agree that glued joints with screws into a  2 x 2 block would have made me feel much more secure about the stability of the addition (but I've been known to wear a belt AND suspenders). 

Just my

Little Tommy

 

[ChiefEagles]

Buckeye Riveter

Bob...I agree, however I have yet to build a layout with nails.  I have always used screws and glue and never had problem. 

Amen.  Why taking down the old layout was easy and saved the wood and etc. 

[fifedog]

It certainly was the thinnest issue in recent years.....  Wifey almost tossed it out with the furniture circulars....