here is some CSX action in New Castle,Pa. CSX has a yard there, and saw a lot of action too.



todd

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Hi Guys, following Ralph here and starting a blog on my Engine Roster. Im going to sorta follow my old Engine Roster Thread and post new post for each loco so i can go back and update it once something new has been completed on the model.

I made a cad drawing of the small control panel for my grandsons HO layout. What is a good removable cement to fasten it to an aluminum panel that will not stain the aluminum. I thought of using good old fashioned rubber cement, but not sure if it will stain the aluminum or not. Anybody out there with experience in this sort of thing?

Thanks for any help.

Hi, Due to having been laid off, I will not be using my time share in Pompano Beach, Fla this year. I would like to rent it and so am posing pertinent info here. If anyone is interested in using the unit, please pm me.

It is the week starting 5/9, ending 5/16. It is at the Seaside Beach Club in Pompano Beach. Here is a link to the website for the club.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.seasidebeachclub.com/AdditionalViews.html">http://www.seasidebeachclub.com/AdditionalViews.html</a><!-- m -->
Picture 15 shows the bldg my unit is in, on the second floor. Photo 17 shows the pool below the unit, and 18 is the view from the balcony. It is right on the ocean in a quiet section of town. It is part of a three block section where bldgs are no more than 3 stories high, most of Pompano is high rises. I far prefer the more intimate setting. There are about 40 units here, so usually I don't see more than a dozen people poolside, the beach is huge so plenty of space.

The unit is for two people. It includes a small kitchen fairly well equipt, I usually cook most of our meals while there. There are grills available near poolside. You can eat/drink on the beach, just don't litter!

Expect temps from the 70's to high 90's. Ocean temp in high 80's. If you love swimming in the ocean like I do, this is a great place. The water is mostly very calm, occasionally an off shore storm will increase the wave action making things a bit more exciting. There are lots of things to do and places to se, the Everglades are not that far, Fort Lauderdale is about 20 minutes away, (that is where you will fly to) Miami another 20 minutes south. One year I drove down to Key West.

Cost will be $500 Please ask any questions I haven't addressed. Thanks.

Gary

a post in the wahl thread made me remember that i posted a researched ( as i couldn't find and hard facts in the controversy)thread in a brass rail versus nickle sliver in the old forum so here it is whit some updated info this is not to start a argument i hope just some facts. .

After this thread started I did a lot of research on the properties of both brass and nickel silver also known as German silver and come up with a ton of information so I tried to keep it as short as I could. But first the chemical composition of brass is copper and zinc the commonest alloy is 63% copper and 37% zinc nickel silver is copper zinc and nickel the common alloy is 65% copper 18% nickel and 17% zinc the conductivity of each base metal using silver as a rating of 100 copper comes in with a rating of 97.61 zinc at 29.57 nickel at 12.98 so it would stand to reason that nickel silver rail is not as good of a conductor as brass rail but we use such short runs of it that re stance is not factor.now as for the oxides the major component being copper in both brass and nickel silver the common black oxide we get on our track is called cupric oxide its conductive qualities I didn’t find a site that dealt with it(fore all the years of shuddering locos we all can guess on it), but did find that it is a toxic substance(new to me).nickel oxide is also black but being only 18% of the metal in the alloy that it will be found in smaller amounts (which is a good thing as it carries a cancer warning) as to the conductivity qualities if the base metal in of low conductivity of the oxide would stand to reason to be also lower. The zinc oxide is a whitish gray color is not toxic and harmless unless you ingest large amounts of it, but the fumes of zinc are deadly if breathed in confined spaces. The oxides from all three of these metals are used in the electronic industry from what I found mostly in the integrated circuit manufacturing. Also there I a myriad of other compounds that can be formed the such as sulfides which form in locations having sulfur compound fumes in the air .so from all I can find the only advantage to nickel silver track over brass is the appearance and that is why I only buy new track in nickel silver but use brass I have.

update information on this, the first solid state rectifiers were copper oxide, so the black copper oxide on our rails is a rectifier more or less

It took me awhile to get around to posting this, but this last Valintines week-end I took my wife and went for 3 days to the Oregon coast. We had some very nice weather (for this time of year). One of the high lights (for me anyway) was stopping at Garibaldi to checkout the turist train there <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ocrs.net">http://www.ocrs.net</a><!-- m -->. The Heisler is down for repair, but they had a GN F7A on lone to pull the train. Here are a couple of picture that I took. The guy that runs the engine came buy as I was taking picture from the outside and he invited me in for a look. What luck, I had never been an engine before. The also had a old baldwin 2-8-2 on display.
I'll be going back in the summer when the weather is better for a ride. It is only $13.00.

Kent
   
   
   

Operation question:
I just got through reading an aritcal in MR March 2007 which the auther states on page 51:
"Once the crew has finished switching the line, they must turn the train at Puget Mills (the loop track back to the yard is off limits) for its return trip to Tacoma."
Without a turn table or a wye, how do you turn a train on this layout?
   
Second question is about installing a Walther #6 double crossover turnout.
I can see no reason that I would not want all turnouts to either line up for stright through (dual track operation) or all turnouts lined up for crossover operation. Therefore I think that I would like one machine to use some linkage to align all four turnouts at the same time.
Anyone done this before? If so pictures and direction about the linkage would be nice to see. Or is there a problem with doing this?

Kent

I have never posted photos to any web site. Do we have instructions anywhere on Big Blue telling people like me how to post pics?

To Selector for his outstanding pic in the model loco contest!

NANTAHALA TRIBUNE

SUNDAY MARCH 15th 2009


This just in:

The Nantahla Midland Railroad just reported the untimely death of it’s beloved station master I.M. Dunn.
It seemed the track crew had just finished ballasting the track in front of the newly built depot when a long black plastic tube dropped from the sky and proceeded down the track. It was accompanied by a loud humming sound according to wittnesses. When it approached the depot Mr. Dunn was apparently standing too close to the edge of the platform and was sucked up into this mysterious tube. Then just as fast as the tube appeared in the sky it was gone! Mike Goad the CEO of the railroad and ever mindful of the bottom line said at $10 for a 6 pack of these guys this was a serious blow to our bank account in these already troubled times. The NM is now accepting applications for Mr. Dunn’s old job at the depot Mon. thru Fri. from 9 am to 5 pm. Services for Mr. Dunn won’t be held as he is only a LPB after all.