kasskaboose #firstworldproblem. Plenty of folks here who'd love to get to that spot!
#firstworldproblem.
Plenty of folks here who'd love to get to that spot!
The challenges here in the UK are trying to get items from Companies. Most if not all are not making anything due to the virus. Therefore many people are waiting for back orders. In the meantime I have been altering things a little; making some trees etc. Items in the 'to do box' getting done. Most important 'playing trains with what I have got'. New purchases can wait.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
This was only $600 but a pain to paint, yes painted a steam engine once. I only buy brass if that is all there is, don't like working on them. Recent exception is I bought a 44 ton engine in brass but it had DCC and sound and was painted and was on the cover of a Railroad Craftsman mag to boot, less than $100. Oh and the insides were compleatly rebuilt too (told you I buy wholesale).
Back to spending money, my vote is brass. It worked for me. A year ago I was on a quest for a CN K5a Hudson. A few were done by BLI 15 years ago in brass but the last one I saw for sale was in '08 and the shop wanted a grand for it. Anyway a Van Hobbies version came up last Nov on Brasstrains site with a really nice paint job, so I bought it. It is a beauty and I have purchased 2 more brass engines since then. There is something about the crisp detail that is just far above plastic especially piping. Now I have no spare cash so that issue is solved!
CN Charlie
Thanks all. I am still zip texturing and will be for days as I do it with very soft brushes and if they get gunked up with plaster, you need to clean them fast and let them dry. Also it takes a few layers the way I do it. I only have so many brushes and when you get to smaller spaces the brushes get smaller. Getting all the messy stuff done this time and will introduce the rock castings I want later. Got this process down pat from last layout. One thing I didn't do on last layout was under brush on forest floor, did some but want to do alot more. And yes, not as bored. Also I have noticed the hard liners (you have to do it this way) have largely disapeared from this forum.
hon30critter This is a hobby in which you do what you want to do when you want to do it. There are no schedules
This is a hobby in which you do what you want to do when you want to do it. There are no schedules
Exactly the way I feel about it Dave. Sometimes I get so into the Zone with an aspect of my layout that I become enthralled to the point where I lay awake at night thinking about it and just can't put it down. Other times I get burnt out on something and have to move on to something else.
That's the great thing about this hobby, there's always something to do. It's pretty hard to get bored with such a wide variety of things to do
Sometimes I give it all a rest and take a break for a while but it's always fun to come back to. A lot of times those long brakes are when I think of something new or problem-solve.
TF
rrinkerOne of these days I will figure out how to better manage my hobby time and actually get something done in a timely manner, instead of taking forever for projects that would typically classify as 3 or 4 evening projects. Yeah, as if...
Randy,
I was glad to read the last three words "Yeah, as if...." For a minute I thought you were losing it.
This is a hobby in which you do what you want to do when you want to do it. There are no schedules except for those who want to impose them on themselves. I haven't worked on my layout for several days and I'll be darned if I am going to feel guilty about it! I'll get to it when I feel like it, and if I choose to just spend the evening on the forums, that's fine by me.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I just made a list of stuff I need, if I actually go spend a few hours int he basement, I will be ready to lay the first track, so to do that I need some - track. Haven't placed the order yet though. Plus none of my usuals has sufficient stock of turnouts. So maybe I should order it all and when it finally comes in I will actually be ready for it. I was trying to focus on building the layout - but I recently ended up buying two new locos. ANd of course one will need a decoder and speaker - it was only available as the DC version. So yet anopther proejct. I also need to get my shelves set up for the modeling portion of my workbench, so I can unpack all my projects and get them set up on the shelves like I had at my old place. It's a big list. I should have been doing them all this time I was waiting to get my basement finished, but of course I didn't, and mostly took a detour off to the electronics side of things.
One of these days I will figure out how to better manage my hobby time and actually get something done in a timely manner, instead of taking forever for projects that would typically classify as 3 or 4 evening projects.
Yeah, as if...
But hey, I made a list! I also made a list on my web site long before I moved - not ONE of those in the list has changed status, and that list has only grown.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Little Timmy you could check the "oldmodelkits" site. They always have something I cant live without.
Hi Little Timmy,
Thanks for pointing out that site! I didn't know about it. I'll be keeping an eye on what they have to offer. I'm into older kits.
Went to hit the rack and wouldn't you know it, couldn't sleep right away. I got some more of that tart cherry juice and sometimes that stuff works.
I would like to thank you rrebell, Wayne and Dave.
These mini connectors are new to me but I will be checking them out on the web tomorrow along with the other LED connector stuff.
Who knows, could be the solution I'm looking for I am quite curious and will be checking it out.
Thanks
rrebell Just flustraited today I guess though nothing is going wrong. Want to spend some money but all the places I ussually do are closed and no one is really vacationing much now and if you go it tends to be a ghost town.
Just flustraited today I guess though nothing is going wrong. Want to spend some money but all the places I ussually do are closed and no one is really vacationing much now and if you go it tends to be a ghost town.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
So ....
Are you still bored?
Or, has this lively thread relieved the boredom?
( Sorry, I cant help you spend money.... but, you could check the "oldmodelkits" site. They always have something I cant live without.)
Rust...... It's a good thing !
In addition to making mini connectors, the strips that doctorwayne shows are great for connecting LEDs with solid leads. They fit onto the LED leads quite nicely (you will need to hold the LED lead with pliers) and the biggest advantage is that it is easy to reverse polarity without having to unsolder anything. I used the connectors on my old club's control panels. In several instances the RG bi-colour two lead LED polarities had to be flipped to match the colour to the turnout position. Easy peasy.
If you want really tiny mini connectors there are smaller versions of the pin strips available.
Thems it and there are similar ones too.
Track fiddler I completely understand the gist of what you're saying rrebell. But I feel like a complete idiot because I am not familiar with micro plugs. I'm sure if I saw an image of them, everything would fall into place in my understanding. TF
I completely understand the gist of what you're saying rrebell. But I feel like a complete idiot because I am not familiar with micro plugs. I'm sure if I saw an image of them, everything would fall into place in my understanding.
I'm not sure if these are the same plugs to which rrebell is referring, but I use them between locos and tenders on my DC-powered layout.
These are the male connectors on the front of an auxillary water tender....
...and the female ones, in the end-beam of the regular tender, into which the ones above are connected...
These mini connectors generally come in blocks of varying lengths, and single or multiple ones can be cut off using a utility knife....
I get mine at an electronics supply outlet.
Wayne
I Thank you Wayne
I'm sure you do realize you are the one I got this idea from when we were PM-ing each other back and forth a couple of years ago.
I admired the examples you showed me back then and wished to do the same myself.
The difference from HO scale to N scale may have created a bit more of a challenge for me. I don't give up on anything. It may take some time but I am a patient man.
The one thing I have noticed is each bridge that is different has ended up with different fastening and removable systems I have slowly been figuring out. This difference in track hieght connections has really thrown me for a loop though.
Thanks for your information here as I do think it'll be helpful after I look over it for a while.
Track fiddler I understand the conceptual idea of it makes perfect sense rrebell. The verbal schematics of it aren't painting a clear picture in my head though. TF
I understand the conceptual idea of it makes perfect sense rrebell. The verbal schematics of it aren't painting a clear picture in my head though.
Track fiddler...first I got to figure out this removable Bridge situation with the mixture of track before I can proceed....
All of the bridges on my layout are removeable, and it's extremely easy to accomplish. I don't recall if the bridge track is all from Micro Engineering or if some of it might be from Central Valley. I do know that all of the track leading to the bridges is from Atlas, and all track, regardless of manufacturer, is Code 83.
As long as your rail is all the same code, the main difference in rail height will be due to the varying thickness of the ties to which it's attached. That means that for any such differences, you'll need only adjust the height of the abutments so that the top of the rails on the bridges match the adjoining ones on the abutments, then alter, as necessary, the ties which will need to be slipped into place at those joints.
While all of the track that's not on bridges is soldered at every rail joiner, the joiners at the ends of all bridges are not soldered, so it's a simple matter to use a small screwdriver or the tip of an X-Acto blade to slide the joiners back from the joints and onto the rails of the approach tracks, which will then allow careful lifting-out of the bridge.
In 30 years-or-so of operations, I've not had an electrical issue due to this "temporary" set-up. I did install drop-wires from all rails on all bridges, in the event that the joiners failed electrically, but I've never had to connect them to wires dropped from the approach rails.
Here's one in-place...
...and the same one removed...
...and another one in-place....
...and the same one, (only partially visible) removed...
This one is also removeable....
The bridges shown that are supported by structural steel towers are also removeable, but after trees are added, mine are more difficult to remove, as the towers are all pegged to the supporting "concrete" bases by piano wire, with the trees making them mostly inaccessible. The one shown above is the same bridge as the one shown below...
This is one of my favourite scenes...
....but the multi-span bridge, even though it's almost 5' long, is still removeable as a unit...
...another multi-span bridge...
...also removeable as a single unit...
You know you could solder the track ends to some mini electrical pins on the bottom without the plastic and plug them in so to speak. I wonder if I make myself clear? You would be lining up the track automaticaly and also providing the electric to the rails.
I getcha Mister B
What you figured out and did does sound like fun. Don't get me wrong, ...I think laying my track will be fun too. I have all my cork down where the tracks go so there's no figuring like that anymore. But first I got to figure out this removable Bridge situation with the mixture of track before I can proceed.
I think I might have it figured out but first I must do an experiment. I'm thinking of scrapping my ME bridge track and making my own out of the PECO because the two don't line up at all making it hard to do traditional modifications. I want the bridges removable. The traditional modifications of rail joiners isn't panning out for me.
I'm thinking of gluing a styrene strip to the outside of my pieces of Atlas code 80 being identical in tie spacing to mimic the guard tie. Cutting them with a razor saw or a Dremel rotary disc and styrene solvent gluing them to the outside of the PECO track to make my own Bridge track before paint
After some of the other crazy stuff I've done through the years, I think I might be a crazy enough guy to pull it off
You see another thing about me is I succed in almost anything (I want) to do, not because I am better but because I will work at it till I do. When I had a first had a morgage pay me off (unexpecticly), I went to my mom's broker. Told him I was getting 7% on my money before taxes and wanted to do the same in safer investments, said I was being unrelistic, then we worked together and that is what I got and the only thing I had ever done stock wise before was sell some HD stock I was given from work at HD. It is lucky I ended up with real estate because I used to give up on things once I proved I could make money at it, you can't bail on real estate at a moments notice.
dknelson There was probably more model railroading activity this last summer than there is in a "normal" summer and I suspect most of us were grateful to have a true hobby that could eat up the available hours rather than spending it all watching TV or snacking as some of my retired counterparts tended to do. So now the normal fall/winter time for the hobby rolls around and boredom is a distinct possibility. We've attacked our stash of unbuilt kits, we've weathered the unweathered, we've scenicked, we've organized the magazine collection or the boxes of detail parts (the model railroader's equivalent of organizing the sock drawer, a sure sign of desperation). We have filled boxes of stuff to sell at the next swap meet, if there ever is another swap meet. We have in other words, picked the low hanging fruit. One possible cure is to try something new, or to really explore something that has been put off. If you have not previously done so, or if it is a long time since, or if you botched the one you did try: try a laser cut kit try a white metal casting kit Try one of those prototype resin freight car kits Speaking personally, I have never really learned how to do all the things my airbrush is capable of doing. (I hate cleaning the thing so I tend to do almost anything to avoid cranking it up.) I marvel at Cody Grivno's willingness to airbrush for any little reason. Dave Nelson
There was probably more model railroading activity this last summer than there is in a "normal" summer and I suspect most of us were grateful to have a true hobby that could eat up the available hours rather than spending it all watching TV or snacking as some of my retired counterparts tended to do.
So now the normal fall/winter time for the hobby rolls around and boredom is a distinct possibility. We've attacked our stash of unbuilt kits, we've weathered the unweathered, we've scenicked, we've organized the magazine collection or the boxes of detail parts (the model railroader's equivalent of organizing the sock drawer, a sure sign of desperation). We have filled boxes of stuff to sell at the next swap meet, if there ever is another swap meet.
We have in other words, picked the low hanging fruit.
One possible cure is to try something new, or to really explore something that has been put off.
If you have not previously done so, or if it is a long time since, or if you botched the one you did try:
try a laser cut kit
try a white metal casting kit
Try one of those prototype resin freight car kits
Speaking personally, I have never really learned how to do all the things my airbrush is capable of doing. (I hate cleaning the thing so I tend to do almost anything to avoid cranking it up.) I marvel at Cody Grivno's willingness to airbrush for any little reason.
Dave Nelson
Track fiddler I haven't got them yet and I'm very excited to see them because when you get track in the mail it's only fun to look at for about 2 minutes and then it's just track. How fun can that be? TF
I haven't got them yet and I'm very excited to see them because when you get track in the mail it's only fun to look at for about 2 minutes and then it's just track. How fun can that be?
Lors of fun! I built a yard throat for a 4-track staging yard plus a single long branch line spur. The throat is on a 90 degree curve, and I did not want a yard ladder taking half my space, so I planned carefully and ended up with a curved turnout and a 3-way. These are Walthers-Shinohara. When I picked them up from my former LHS, I was a kid in a candy shop, fitting the plan together.
Sure, it's just track, but these are special sections and provide a lot of compressed switching in a small space. Probably the most fun I've had with "just track."
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Hi rrebell
Last night when I saw your thread I completely understood where you were coming from. At the same time it struck me as funny and I decided to drop the leash and run with it and have some fun, ...Hope you didn't mind.
The world the way it is these days, it's almost impossible some days to try to think of something to do because there isn't much you can do anymore.
Since then I have found myself rather compulsive at times buying stuff at on eBay that I want but I really don't need. It's just for the sake of buying something because I'm bored.
Since I have purchased all my track that I do need which I haven't laid yet the only other purchase I really needed was a string of eight custom mining cars so I know where to position my tipple models to load them.
I still want to buy something for the thrill of getting something fun in the mail even though I don't need anything.
So I do know EXACTLY what you mean.