Forums

[Anonymous]

Good moring everyone[#welcome]

Yep, MR is still all locked up[banghead]

Anyway, this is not model train related, but it is real train related. upcsx, you said how you enetered a weathering contest, I also entered a contest...

The Montana Rail Link, one of my all time favorite railroads had a photo contest for regular folks (not pro photogs) to submit their MRL photos with a hope of being published in the MRL's 06-07 calendar. I entered 10 of my best shots- Boy I hope i make the cut!
The lady on the phone @ MRL said that I am the first teen to enter thier contest!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rgroeling


The lady on the phone @ MRL said that I am the first teen to enter thier contest!

[tup]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rgroeling

Good moring everyone[#welcome]

Yep, MR is still all locked up[banghead]

Anyway, this is not model train related, but it is real train related. upcsx, you said how you enetered a weathering contest, I also entered a contest...

The Montana Rail Link, one of my all time favorite railroads had a photo contest for regular folks (not pro photogs) to submit their MRL photos with a hope of being published in the MRL's 06-07 calendar. I entered 10 of my best shots- Boy I hope i make the cut!
The lady on the phone @ MRL said that I am the first teen to enter thier contest!

Good luck!

Man, I'm going to need it. I'm going up against one of the greats, MrKluke[B)]

[chrismay]

Anyone have any experience using the MRC Railpower 1300? Is it a good powerpack? Pros / Cons etc. I ahve the potential to get one fairly cheap and would like to know what everyone thinks.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chrismay

Anyone have any experience using the MRC Railpower 1300? Is it a good powerpack? Pros / Cons etc. I ahve the potential to get one fairly cheap and would like to know what everyone thinks.

Thanks in advance.

Hmm...Haven't had experience with that particular model, but just about anything MRC is good.

[Anonymous]

After a prolonged absence from railroading I see that many of you folks are using foam for about everything. Someone please tell me the difference between blue and pink foam and where it is desireable to use either. I have recently retired from the National Park Service and as you may expect we had few facilities that would make it possible to have a layout.

[MisterBeasley]

Pink and blue foam are the same stuff, and it's typically used for insulating walls. The only difference is who makes it and who sells it. I get the pink stuff at Home Depot. What you want to avoid is the white stuff, which is made by a different process, and is usually found as packing material.

Foam is replacing plywood, because it's cheaper, lighter and easier to work with. One thing you can't do with it, though, is build a layout you can climb on. It won't hold your weight. My layout is a frame of 1x4's and 1x3's, but the entire surface is foam and the only plywood is used for gussets to keep the legs rigid. I use a foam roadbed made by Woodland Scenics, which I glue down with Liquid Nails for Projects, a latex caulk adhesive. Then I glue down the track with the same stuff. For wiring, I just use an ice pick or a bamboo skewer and poke a small hole all the way through the foam - easy.

There are lots of different construction methods, and what I outlined above is just the path that my railroad is on. Lots of other people have good ideas, too, so read, learn and plan. Just don't put it off too long - the real fun comes when you start laying track and running those first trains!

By the way, there's a train shop (referred to here as LHS for Local Hobby Shop) in Acton, and my favorite is Maine Trains in Chelmsford. Hobby Emporium up in Tyngsboro is very well stocked with both HO and N, and Ian behind the counter is quite an N-scaler himself.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by sidflak

After a prolonged absence from railroading I see that many of you folks are using foam for about everything. Someone please tell me the difference between blue and pink foam and where it is desireable to use either. I have recently retired from the National Park Service and as you may expect we had few facilities that would make it possible to have a layout.

Blue is for Boys, Pink is for Girls [;)], actually I think it's just different manufactures have different colors for marketing. I could be wrong. I used all foam even for the base, but I am doing N scale so the weight factor is much less.

[cheapclassics]

To all,

Here is another refugee from the CTT forum (looking for the coffee pot). I thank you for taking us in. Hopefully the regular forums will be up and running on Monday. I got all my "chores" finished today, and hope to spend Sunday relaxing with my trains. We have a one track line that runs thru Greensburg that was part of the New York Central at one time. We have a train that usually runs in the evenings when needed out of Cincinnatti.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[ChessieFan13]

hello to all of my friends...............first of all im shocked at what happened.........not to beat a dead horse though...................any how .............gots a question....how about any ideas on chain link fences......any frugal ideas on what to use? ist for HO scale by the way.............J.W.

[Dr. John]

Hey Mike C. Good to see another CTT refuge. I tried finding the coffee pot on this forum but only came up with some instant coffee and a microwave. [xx(]

Chessie Fan - a good material for chain link fencing is tule fabric, used to make veils. It can be found in most fabric stores, usually in white. Cut it to size, make your fence uprights and crossmembers out of styrene rod or metal, or even wood dowels, spray paint your materials silver, cut the tule to size, glue it all together, and there you go! Works well in HO and relatively cheap.

Thanks to all who responded to the "temporary weathering" question. I appreciate the responses.

[Anonymous]

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2367

A step-by-step thread on my Railbox. Will be posted here if the darn MR Forums' gates are opened soon enough![:(!]

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MisterBeasley

Just for something different, can anybody identify the manufacturer of these? They are probably over 50 years old, and have no visible markings as to who built them. They're all-metal bodies, with plastic end-doors and vestibules. Frosted windows, and lit with a single incandescent.





I'd love to find an observation car to finish off the train. I've only got 2 of these, and it just doesn't look complete.

Looks like a Herkimer/OK extruded aluminum shorty (60 footer). Interestingly enough, the company is still in business and you CAN get additional cars. I've seen OK cars advertised in MR in the last year or so. Whether they still make the shorties or not, I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me, though.

OK's website is a bit sparse on content, but you still might want to take a look. http://okengines.com/

Andre

[inch53]

evening all
I'm outcast from the coffee shop here. Just looking for a hang out for a bit, if'en it be ok. I hope I don't step on any one's toes. I seen a couple of names I thought i knew
MR. BEASLEY; Don't know for sure, but that looks like a what i think is a hobby craft. if it is it was one of the to use a fly wheel motor. It was bult in late 50's early 60's if i remmeber rightly. I need to go digging round in boxes to find mine, as i'm rebulding my layout,so it's not handy at the moment. I bought a complete set at a swap meet last spring.
laters all
mike

[cheapclassics]

Dr. John,

Glad to be here. I hope the other forums are unlocked soon. I like my caffeine cold, but I have started to enjoy the "morning cup of coffee" on the CTT forum. It is a shame when a few "inconsiderates" ruin the fun for the vast majority of enthusiasts. The train ran thru Greensburg last night, but it was too late for me to go train-chasing. I did get to run the standard gauge trains a little bit on Saturday night.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana