As some of you may know, my family and I are planning to visit the UK later this month, mainly staying with my wife's parents & family near Winchester, England.

I've been to England 14 or 15 times and have driven there only a few times. I find motorway driving the easiest as -- apart from being on the opposite side of the road -- it is the most similar to Canada. However, I find driving on their small, narrow streets and driving through roundabouts (in the opposite direction from Canada) to be extremely difficult.

I feel so foolish when I try to drive there, like a kid just learning to drive! I've been driving in Canada and the US for 30 years or more and find driving in downtown Toronto to be EASY compared to driving in England. I find UK driving so difficult because of being on the left side of the road, the very narrow streets, not being used to roundabouts and the volume and speed of the traffic there.

Just wondering if anyone can relate to this or am I in a minority?

I'm thinking of trying to drive over there again on this trip because I get frustrated of having to rely on other folks to drive me around. I wouldn't mind going to 1 or 2 places on my own or with my sons -- such the Watercress Line (aka Mid Hants Railway) which is only 11 miles from my in-law's house!

Rob

In the past, I've had problems with curved turnouts, even with Peco ones which are supposedly the best quality.

I'm working on a new, small layout and I've re-used one of my older curved Peco turnouts on it. Most of my locos and coaches pass through them OK except for one of my tender-drive British locos & 1-2 of my coaches also derail when they pass through them as well. The frog area seems to be the worst area.

It's possible that this older turnout is damaged so I'm wondering if I should simply replace this turnout by buying a new one. Or, have other folks had trouble with Peco curved turnouts? Maybe I'd be wasting my money and should simply revise the layout plan so it doesn't use any curved turnouts? BTW, this curved turnout is placed on a very flat surface, so I doubt that any unevenness is causing these problems.

Thanks,
Rob

Hey guys, Ive been lurking around lately, and havent really posted anthing worthwhile in a long time,m but these pics came up on another forum Im at thats non train related. Figured this was worthy off a new thread from me.


It was a normal day in Sharon Springs, KS when a Union Pacific crew boarded a loaded coal train for the long trek to Salina.
Just a few miles into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated and melted, letting a metal support drop down and grind on the rail, creating white hot molten metal droppings spewing down to the rail. A very alert crew noticed smoke about halfway back in the train and immediately stopped the train in compliance with the rules.

The train stopped with the hot wheel over a wooden bridge with creosote ties and trusses...




the photos speak for themselves....

Hi Guys,

I just picked up the new Kato SD70ACe and have a small problem/question. Some websites indicate the correct decoder to use is the K1B while others claim the K1C should be used. Does any knowledgeable DCC guru's know which would be better to use? They measure out to be identical (according to Digitrax) but even Digitrax doesn't specifically indicate which decoder is better for that engine. Any ideas?

Thanks

Sad to say, but it looks like Brian Martin has closed up shop on Hamilton Model Works. The website is no longer available, and Dave Cool of Canadian Express Lines had this to say in his latest newsletter:

Quote:HAMILTON MODEL WORKS

...........is no more. Sorry to say, this small manufacturer of fine
Canadian structure kits has ceased operation. All I have left in stock are
the following kit and detail parts...

How do you modelers that use Kadee coulpers deal with the trip pin?
I bought a couple of packs of the #158 scale couplers to experiment with. I am in the process of weathering them and will be using some sort of pick for uncoupling.
Given the fact that I will not be using any magnets to uncouple the cars,I am thinking or cutting off the trip pin and replacing it with air hoses made by Cal-scale which get attached to the side of coupler pocket.
How do you handle this? Your input is appreciated.
Bob

Here is a link to an amazing display of craftmanship. It is hard to believe!

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.maniacworld.com/art-in-the-eye-of-a-needle.html">http://www.maniacworld.com/art-in-the-e ... eedle.html</a><!-- m -->

Yes after years of missing, seeing them pull coal trains, I finally managed to get a picture of one of my favorite diesels. The SD80MAC. I caught it over the winter sitting on the Portage Branch Line that leads to the Coal Cleaning Plant here in town. The locomotive was occupied by the conductor and engineer and they left me get close enough to get a picture of it. Now here is the kicker. I took this with my cell phone and look how great it turned out!!!!!!!!

I want to create a reasonable representation of this building for the structure challenge:




I was considering either DPM or Walthers modular systems, but the DPM seem to cost too much. Or, I was considering scratchbuilding. I am not too familiar with the walthers modular system or how the parts go together, or if creating a structure that resembles this would even be reasonable. I understand the wondow arrangement would be somewhat different, and that I would have to substitute brick for stone. So, for those familiar with the walthers system, what parts/kits would work best to represent this building? I am thinking about a space of 6" by 14" on my layout. Again, I am not looking for an exact replica, but something that captures the feel. That includes - the peaked roof visible from the front, the loading area on the lower level, and the best way of representing the window arrangement.

Thanks,