I don't recall, but expect it's already been mentioned -- never throw anything away unless you're sure it's completely useless. A good scrap box can be the frugal modeler's source for many projects. I actually have multiple scrap boxes for materials and parts, somewhat organized so I can find things, mostly.
Case in point, as I sorted through some stuff from the many laser kits I've built in the last couple of years, was this group of representative selections.
Starting in the upper left is a nice piece of clapboard siding leftover from a Raggs---to Riches Durango station kit. More than enough for several small buildings, it's even already painted and is peel-n-stick.
Clockwise to the right are some leftover board-and-batten siding pieces, also enough for a small structure or two.
Below that with several different shades of examples are frets from thicker wood. The remains can provide lots of pieces of stick lumber.
The lower left corner has a couple of thick "frames" that make good foundations for small structures.
Finally, above the frames are various architecturally useful items like the end frames for roofs and various other angles.
I just happened to build a couple of small structures, a station and a shelter, which use hardly anything new. In this case, I used a Grandt Line door and window castings. I'm still detailing them, but here's a couple of pics.
Summit
Camp 10
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I was helping a friend on modifying a second level of his layout having a tunnel, got all the scenery in place but no Tunnel Portal plaster casting on hand, so made one out of a piece of Foam Core.
A Southern Pacific Common Standard Plan was used for a concrete Tunnel Portal drawn out in HO Scale on the Foam Core material. I drew light pencil lines where the 12 inch wide boards were used as the forms. wooden. Then with a metal straight edge and a Xacto blade, retrace the pencil lines cutting through the top part of the cardboard but not into the Foam.
Use a scale 12 inch wide piece of styrene to press onto the Foam Core cut lines pushing in here and there along the portal wall. Doing this will give realistic form lines. A foot wide piece of HO Scale wood was glued to top front of the portal and painted with a "concrete color" flat Latex indoor paint. Little weathering and it was in place within 20 minutes.
This method also works great for Retaining Walls. Cheap too!
Bruce Petty
I had to go take a picture of it.
Fences, railings, steps, fancy work, ladders....
LION uses this plastic hobby material used (I suppose) for embroidry or something. It is cheap enough, and with a knife you can cut away the parts that do not look like your railing. The more carefully you cut and finish the better it looks. And it takes paint real well. (LION uses a plastic compatible spray paint).ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
One of my favorite money-saving tricks when detailing locomotives is to make my own lift rings. Exactrail, Detail Associates and others all make lift rings, but they're often expensive, coming out to about a dollar apiece. Too much for a few inches of wire, if you ask me. I make my own with thin, solid-core wire from burned out 1.5 volt microbulbs. (The ones in Athearn locos won't work, as they use stranded wire). First loop the wire around a drill bit in a pin vise (I use a No. 77 bit), then twist the ends of the wire that hang down together until the wire is snug all around the bit. trim off the excess wire, leaving about 1/8" (I use a pair of cheap squizzers), slide the ring off the bit, then install like a normal lift ring. Once installed, I can't tell the difference between homemade & storebought, and that little trick saves me about $10. per loco.
-Sebastien Bolle
Unnecessary meta-discussion about bumping this thread back to the top of the first page has been removed. Now it can go back to where it falls naturally, and it won't go to the top unless people keep... uh... replying to...
D'OH!
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
No hobby is cheap and I have 3 of them, model trains in 2 scales, RC cars and antique garden tractors. Of the later 2, I have what I want and only need to spend money when I break something or need fuel for the tractor. The trains, well I am a model railroader in the wrong century! I like my engines to be brass, and my freight cars to be kits, mostly craftsman kits. I am blessed with a shop nearby that gets in lots of estates, so older brass and car kits abound. I paid less for my PFM 2 truck Climax geared logging engine than I can buy one of the new fangled PRR H10 2-8-0s. No it doesnt have sound or DCC, but it could if I wanted it. I chose to limit my modeling to my fav prototype of a run down logging line with 2 engines, a few logging skel's and a bobber caboose. I run 2 PFM/United geared engines, one 2 truck class B Shay and I just purchased a 2 truck Class C Climax. I put my major investment in 2 really good and reliable engines that have proven themselves over the years. I use a tried and true MRC Golden Throttlepack to control my trains. I have had it since I was 15 and I am 41 now. By never failing, it has paid for itself many times over. I had DCC and a quite a large collection of plastic and brass all equipted with sound and DCC. Then my family went thru some hard times, so I sold it to keep bills paid. As I start to rebuild my layout, I am doing it on the less=more theme. Invest the most in the engines, and even then its less per engine than anything close to it new on the market, and much more reliable than the plastic geared power out there. Probably my biggest investment will be my own time, making trees. As long as your having fun, its money well spent! Mikie
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
This cheap trick has been around for awhile but I made it even cheaper by using cheap wood, instead of stripwood. I made six loads for about $1. These were done as raw ties and mine props. I'll make some more that are stained to represent treated ties. Here are some completed loads and my tie mill at Crater Lake.
They consist of a small scrap of foam, with the underside of the ends chamfered so you can push down to cause it to pop up, like this...
The wood is a small part of a package of craft wood sticks, cut to size. I used Titebond III to glue it on. I popped each one out of the car I made it in to finish drying. Best to build them in the car -- careful with that glue! -- so they fit right later on with minimal fuss.
I am sorry they un-pinned this thread as I like keeping up on it.
Joe Staten Island West
joe323 I am sorry they un-pinned this thread as I like keeping up on it.
Joe,
At the very top of each page of comments you should see a button that says "Subscribe to this thread." Click it and you will receive notice each time there is a new comment/reply posted.
I like your tie loads, gives me an idea for another industry on my future logging layout. Great idea. Mikie
Mikie,
Thanks
Yeah, tie cutting, mine props, fence posts, poles are all great supplements to the standard logging industry props. These sorts of raw material operations were often done by contractors, rather than the lumber company, but were often managed by it. The work especially well on the model RR, because you can set them in in very little space at a siding, require minimal facilities, and can be moved around at will, as they often were in real life. Loading a single car at a time is also quite plausible.
BTW, the tie mill is from Woodland Scenics. The kit has been available for a long time, but I think they recently made it available as a built-up model. It includes a small treatment tub that holds one or two ties at a time, but no external pressure to force the treatment into the wood.
Here, I ship the raw ties off the layout to the full-scale treatment plant that uses large chambers to force the treatment into large batches of wood at a time. Most of the cars I ship the raw timber out on come back empty, but a few come back with treated ties, poles, and other products for local use.
mlehman joe323 I am sorry they un-pinned this thread as I like keeping up on it. Joe, At the very top of each page of comments you should see a button that says "Subscribe to this thread." Click it and you will receive notice each time there is a new comment/reply posted.
Mike thank you I did that.
I have built a very inexpensive LNG fuel tender for my locomotives. What I did was I took an old locomotive frame and fitted a .080 piece of scrap plastic under the walkway. I then fitted a piece of .040 plastic between the walkways to make the center even with the walkways. MT truck were added. I used some 5/8 inch PVC pipe cut to a lenght a little onger than the ends of the walkways. I purchased a package of Plastruct VHE20 ellipical ends. I enclosed the fuel tank using .040 plasic. Made a bottom for the fuel tank which I filled with lead. I attached MT1015 couplers and made pilots for the ends of the car. I added the appropriate additional weight to the car in the tank and then glued the tank ends on. Afte painting the car is now ready for decaling. Total cost was $3.71. Here is a photo of the car.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsrrman/16351015922/
GP-9_Man11786 I think following Allen McClelland's "good enough" philosophy can save you a bit of money too. McClelland himself even said if a structure is only visible from the front, "then why do you want to finish the back of it?" No point in wasting money on details nobody is going to see.
I think following Allen McClelland's "good enough" philosophy can save you a bit of money too. McClelland himself even said if a structure is only visible from the front, "then why do you want to finish the back of it?" No point in wasting money on details nobody is going to see.
God's Best & Happy Rails to You!
Bing (RIPRR The Route of the Buzzards)
The future: Dead Rail Society
I won't make this thread Sticky again, but if people are still interested in it, here it is...
Thanks Steve!
How about a link to the active thread on CHEAP containers?
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/245741.aspx
Note: Thanks to Cuyama for the info on how to activate this!
EDITED...
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
ricktrains4824 Thanks Steve! How about a link to the active thread on FREE containers? http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/245741.aspx
How about a link to the active thread on FREE containers?
Some of them cost me chump change...
LensCapOn ricktrains4824 Thanks Steve! How about a link to the active thread on FREE containers? http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/245741.aspx Hey! It's not just free containers on that thread. Some of them cost me chump change...
Hey! It's not just free containers on that thread.
It depends on where you buy the brand and whether you want a specific name on your containers.
For example most of my containers have garden variety names Maresk Sealand P & O etc so I picked them up at a train show where they were $5 or so. But the Zim containers were hard to find and I ended up buying some at Train world for about $29 for 4 units. On the other end I picked up a few Matson containers for $2 or $3 on ebay.
Also I made copies of the containers on my scanner to put in the backdrop.
Ok. So cheap down to free..... Didn't want to steal the link from you... Count paper, ink, time, even the "free" ones are not really free.... But, from the link, free downloads.... Or, multiples from the "chump change" ones. Still, way cheaper than the average anyway you slice it. Just wasn't going to steal your thunder, so thought the link to the thread was better.
Edited prior post with link....
Plan before you build or buy so you don't waste time/money.
Lower expectations to a realistic level. I thought I'd be able to model a highly detailed small layout but the more I researched the prototype, the more I realized that even 'standard' rolling stock and locos aren't standard at all...everything seems to be slightly different so I have settled on the "arms' length" rule...with really dark sunglasses on...in a snowstorm.lol If it looks good under those circumstances, it's good enough for me.
http://delray1967.shutterfly.com/pictures/5
SEMI Free-Mo@groups.io
I still think this thread is worthwhile, and I will bump it up one more time.
A review of the many great posts should be helpful.
Some of the common ideas include
Making a budget and following it.
Plan ahead.
Scratch building
Fixing up and upgrading old trains.
Buying used locomotives, rolling stock and track.
Using materials that are commonly used for non-model-railroad purposes.
..... There are many more good thoughts.
Each of you who posted your ideas deserves credit.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Heres a few cheapies:
1) Next time your at McDonalds, grab some of the souffle cups and lids. Make great little parts holders for tiny things. Like rods pins, handrail stantions, detail parts, etc.. Or, just get your kid to get a few when they leave work.
They also make great mixing/measuring (if you have a scale, and you should) cups for your own castings when you only need a tiny amount of medium. And with the lid (with tiny holes added [ dont forget the air hole!]) on, can be used to pour very, very, tiny streams into the smallest of part molds.
(note to casters: if any air bubbles are in your mix, pouring through such a tiny hole the air bubble strikes the sides of the hole thus releasing the bubble from the medium)
And for those of you who get frustrated messing with those real tiny Kadee coupler springs, here is a great way to store them. And spear them when you wanna pick them up without them flying into unknown space. The lid helps too if needed. I use an X-Acto knife to load/remove mine. Works like a blessed charm! With lid off, stick knife with spring into cup, put on the lid as best you can, slide knife out. Lid captures the spring and it falls into the cup with the rest. Finish afixxing the lid to cup for storage. No more carpet quests to find the missing spring!
2) Paper towel rolls make great places to store your long handrails. That is after youve used all the towels ofcourse. Also great for factory stacks (vertical) or sewer pipes (horizontal) depending on scale. You cant beat them for tree placement in the woods either. Meaning: say you have a forrest of trees. You want to put on in wheres theres a slight clear area to do so but its smaller than your tree is in diameter. As long as its close, slide your tree in one end until its ready to come out the other. Slide tube into clear area. Put tree into place. Remove tube. Fluff new tree to interweave branches with others around it for a natural growth look.
3) Dont just scrap that old puter for a new one, i mean really scrap it! The wiring inside puters is the same gauge we use in model railroading. Not to mention that old hard drive, or cd/dvd player that wont read/write anymore but still spins??? Take the motor out of that puppy! These can make great little automated device drives for your layout. Good thing is puters run on DC voltage at 5 or 12 volts. Same ratings we use in MRing. Yes this means you can use the LEDs, switches, and buttons too. Take every nibbon and nobbin off that puppy and reuse it! Mice are the best for buttons! Bad thing is here, its usually the button that fails making the mouse bad. So this one is 50/50. Oh, and dont forget the optics! That is for you light activated signalling/block occupancy/grade crossing detector users. Rip them out (carefully) and use them!
4) Pizza boxes make great storage boxes for models. Just make sure you get them BEFORE the pizza is added.
5) That $5000 posture pedic bed not living up to its claims (mine sure didnt!)? Well, those things have so much packing foam in them you can pack a hobby shop up with the stuff! Great liner material for storage boxes. (yes, this is where my bed is now. And my back felt better right away and so did my stored trains). Im not kidding, my particular bed had 4 different foam widths in it. Since i was replacing it anyways.... nice repayment for the lost nights of sleep from being uncomfy!
6) Doller Tree. Fast becoming a model railroaders best supply house. Glass panes in all sizes up to 8.5x11" for a buck! Toothbrushes for parts cleaning.... one buck for 6 brushes! And for those who use brake fluid for stripping, one buck gets you a quart as opposed to $5 at an auto parts place. Metal boxes for casting/ storing parts, in all shapes and sizes for a buck! No more making a casing for your molds. Picture hanging kits. Toss the stuff inside and use the small 6 or 8 compartment plastic box it came in. More parts storage! I am thinking Kadees here.
7) A free lump of coal off the side of the tracks when pulverized down to tiny pebbles (scale size) then washed, then sprayed with laquer (or a clear clothes protectant like waterproofing) makes great looking coal loads. But then, so do the granules that work free from your black shingle roof that collect by the pile in your gutters. I recommend this tip for those NOT living under trees.
8) A boat load of household products when new, contain celephane/clear plastic in their packaging. Isnt that what we use for windows in our models? Dont just toss it in the trash after you open your whatever it is.... toss it in your MRing project bin like the rest of us hoarders do. Especially ththat Logitech mouse replacement you just got to replace the mouse you just scrapped after it failed. Those cases are all clear plastic, and very formidable in strength. Cut it to order, as needed.
9) Sometimes dear ole mom or your 'other' half (notice i didnt say 'better' half) might be so inclined as to be able to sew. And inside their kit of mischief-n-magic might be a spool of dark or black thread. If it was purchased only for a small fix and thus leaving the remaining amount uneeded.... well heck. This stuff makes great power lines, and even replacement cableing(sp) for those 200 ton cranes you might have.
10) and probably most important... a "friend" in model railroading. They cost nothing, are fun to have around, and are great things to have to share the hobby with, learn from, or better yet.... teach! And good graces willing they will last a life time without needing replacement, and theres no limit to how many you can have.
Bonus) Get yourself some Model Railroader . While this one doesnt usually come free when new. You can find them here and there for $0. Unfortunately, and sadly that this happens..... some leave the hobby. Some of those have been known to 'give away' MRing items. I find books are usually top of the free list.
Theres 11 Al Bundy style cheap ideas. Most are free. Some initially arent but....
My apologies if i have repeated anything posted by another.
Cheers!
PM Railfan
Here's my suggestion: Reset your attitudes/expectations/preferences.
About a month ago, I lamented in the Mad City Show thread about the number of "clean out your attic/garage/basement" sellers, since very little of that stuff was of any interest to me (or so I thought).
Fast forward to this past weekend, when at another show I decided to look over some of that "junk" because I had some time to kill before my next committment.
I noticed the corner of a circuit board peeking out, and dug out what appeared to be an intact EasyDCC Booster3. A quick visual exam showed that one of the output drivers appeared to have been replaced, but there were no other signs to indicate that any of the magic smoke had escaped.
So I offered the seller $5, because unless it was completely fried I'd probably be able to scavenge at least that value of spare parts. He countered with $8, and we had a deal.
There were no references to the Booster3 that I could find on the CVP web site, except a blurb that it was still repairable by them. But a little searching on the WayBack Machine got me the manual and the updated MR construction article. With that information, I was able to determine that the Booster3 works perfectly!
The moral of the story is that had I not "reset" my attitudes/expectations/preferences, I never would have looked at that "junk", and I never would have walked out of there with a perfectly functional 3-amp DCC booster for $8.
It's simple really:
1. Buy a model. Build a model. Don't allow yourself to buy another till the first is done.
2. Build the layout, then worry about the cars.
3. The quality of beginner engines is exceptional compared to the 80's and 90's. You can get a new good running Bachmann Diesel for $50 or less. F7's are particularly cheap because so many people make them.
4. Make a budget, and stick to it. 5. You don't need 50 engines if you don't have a layout to support them.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Make your own weathering powder. Rub ordinary school blackboard chalk on wire screen, or a food strainer, and presto, a nice white powder. Do some shopping and you can find colored chalk both in kid's sets, and at artist supply stores.
Likewise the old RIT dyed sawdust trick for grass still works. Any woodshop, home or commercial always has plenty of sawdust. Make two batches, one light green and one dark green. When sceniking, do the scenery with one color and then go back and accent it with the other color.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
I just returned from Discount Model Trains (Addison TX) as we're visiting Fort Worth, with some spare time. I picked up another Tichy flat car, $7.16. And a Tichy ground jib crane kit, $4.76. And some JL Innovative Design Shell decorated oil barrels, $4.39 for five. And two Classic Metalworks automobiles for $11-12 each. I consider all these reasonably priced.
The most "value" may be in the flat car kit, as it will take me hours to build it. It may get a pickle car kit attached to the top, which is somewhere in the storage closet last time I looked. That was pricier, I recall, maybe $25.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
DAVID FORTNEYWhat have you found?
All of P2K SCL Geeps(GP7/9/38-2) for less then $60.00 each.
P2K Ohio Central GP7 for $55.00
Atlas Classic SCL RS3 $70.00.
Atlas/Kato SCL RS11s for $45.00 each.
Genesie SCL GP9 with DCC/Sound for $130.00.
Add a Kato GP35,some older BB locomotives,a Bachmann Alco S4 with DCC/Sound and 2 Bachmann DCC 70 Tonners.
Several Atlas Precision Designed 50' boxcars new for $10.00 and several tank cars for !2-15.00 each found at a train show. I spent $90.00 that day on Atlas freight cars.
I lost count of the used Athearn and Roundhouse cars picked up for 3.00 without KD couplers and 5.00 with KD couplers and metal wheels at various train shows over the years.
Several of my Walthers cars was bought used at train shows.
The majority of those P2K engines was found on e-Bay or at Train shows.
98% of my new purchases was bought on line.
Some may say they're not up to today's "standards" but,they fill my simple standards to a "T" and that's all that matters to me.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
A neighbor was building a workshop for his son. He had some scrap siding leftover, which he gave me. I was able to complete the top of the benchwork for the expansion I was working on. Another modeler gave me sheets of foam. I already had caulk on hand, so the cost so far (including more caulk) has been about $5.00 to complete that section of benchwork. I picked up some ceiling tiles that I'm going to use to make a rock outcrop at a hospital that was doing some remodeling. Sometimes, it's just a matter of keeping your eyes open and being at the right place at the right time.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
To me - inexpensive and bargains are two different things.
I picked up my two Trix 2-8-2 Mikes several years ago for more than 60% off MSRP. While that was a bargin, it wasn't exactly inexpensive. I have no qualms about paying for those beauties because they have been two of my favorate locomotives in my roster.
One of my LHSes was selling some old Proto 2000 boxcar and tanker kits to move stock. I walked out of there on a couple of occasions paying only $8-$9 a kit. Given the complexity (and delicacy) of Proto 2000s, the assembly "value" approached $1/hr. THAT - to me - was both a bargain and inexpensive!
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.