I'm working on a small 1x4' shelf switching layout. The layout is coming along well & I'm pleased with it. All of its turnouts are either made by Peco or Hornby*, except one, which is a Y turnout made by Atlas. I'm having problems with the latter -- all of my newer locos pass through this turnout OK, but I'm having trouble with my older ones. The older ones either derail or stall as soon as they touch the guard rail of this Atlas Y turnout. As soon as they hit the guard rail, you can see their wheels rise up as if they're trying to drive over the guard rail.

My theory is that, b/c the wheels/flanges of these older locos are coarser, they are too thick to pass between the rail and the guard rail. As a result, the wheels either get stuck or get pushed up over the guard rail. To solve this, should I try to slightly widen the space between the rail & the guard rail, or should I lightly sand down this plastic guard rail? Just want to check first before I possibly wreck this turnout with my surgery. Thanks in advance.

Rob

*(FYI, this is a British layout, which is why I've ended up using some Hornby track. Hornby & Peco track and turnouts are excellent, but I've had problems with Atlas turnouts several years ago. In recent years, they've seemed to be better, so I thought I'd be OK to use one now.)

Yes, it's Easter Sunday, for those that celebrate today, Happy Easter, for those that celebrate Passover, Happy Passover. For everyone that has other beliefs, have a great day as well.

   

Back in 1999 Atlas released this special addition RS3 #1949 to celebrate it's 50th anniversary.This may have been the first "Heritage Unit" produced long before other railroads followed the trend

Here are a couple of my old scratch builds. This freight station was built from various scraps of wood scribed sheets and strip wood. I couldn't find a kit or kits to kitbash what I liked, so therefore a scratch build.







It does have interior details and lighting. The little cafe below was also built from more or less scraps, including the windows. Ran out of Grant Line windows at the time. There are a few castings such as the wood stove, radio, cash register and such. The stools at the counter are small nails.





Sometimes you just do what you have to do to get what you want.

Having grown up in Montana, we took the North Coast Limited to the twin cities in order to transfer to another railroad to Chicago and then the South Shore to visit relatives in Indiana. Walthers has offered numerous passenger trains but not an entire North Coast Limited. I had picked up an Athearn Genisis F-7 years ago painted in the Lowey paint scheme that I grew up with. Walthers had come out with some generic passenger cars in the NP colors. After getting a number of them, the little F-7 couldn't pull what I had up the two and a half percent grade on my layout. I managed to fin a Stewart F-3A and and F-7B, but they were un numbered and lacked the proper details. The Stewart units were custom painted because the color ws way off with the proper details added.



Here's a video of it dropping down grade on my layout.

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I found this and it looks reasonable. They have a nice site too but the link is direct to the box car decals.
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Charlie

Hi all, this is some pics I took of my new K-27 #460.

Hello,

at first let me show you, why i did not like tubes as drive line:

Rubber ages over the time and became hard ...


... and brittle.




Silicone tubes are still not the real solution. They are crooked and for this they do not rotate true. If in addition still misused as torque lever too, the gearbox will forced to tilt forward and then afterward at every rotation and the tube is bended also alternating. Often the cause of mysterious noise and/or irregular running.
To make things worse, when on load the tube takes an S-like shape, causes by the strain to prevent the gear box from tilting over. Also a good deal of the motor's power is needed to felt the tube and at least dissipated into unwanted thermal energy.


One of the solutions is to replace the tubes by an articulated drive shaft with universal joints.
But there are provision to made to prevent the gar box from tilting over and catch up the resulting forces caused by the torque. This device is called torque lever.


In the course of time i created a number of very different torque levers. Some of the solutions i made over the time:


SP 0-6-0 with really tight fit under the boilershell. Grandt Line coupling. The front end has got a oblong hole, so the angle of the gearbox can be adjusted.
Sprung function of middle pair of drivers still present.





Drill and tap.


Brass stripe (recycled etching frame)


Bend to shape. Here too the sprung function still present.





Radical different-minded solution.





Shaft guide. Some pieces of styrene front and aft adjust the gear box within a fraction of an millimeter. This is only possible when the gearbox is straight upright.





Articulated lever with possibilties for adjustment. The articulation still enables sprung action.





Still an articulated torque lever. Recycled etching frame too.





Another torque lever. Here the articulation point is the rear fixing point of the lever. The bolt is counterd by an nut inside and the head is not press fit down.





0.8mm brass wire bend in strange shape. Artiuculation is enabled by "loose" fit of rear fixing point, in real the screw it is countered.

I hope this give you a little help for your next project.