I like using the RTS from atlas, but is there another program that has the peco stuff? or even better additional libraries?

You'll need:
barbecue sticks
scotchbrite scouring pads

First ( and the most important and delicate operation ) is to separate the scouring pad because it is made of 3 layers.
With your hands ( scissors gives a too regular shape ) roughly cut the layers in pieces of various diameters size.
( I use various Canadian coins as a template )

Please use a dust mask for those 2 operations.

Cut the barbecue stick ( 2.5 " is Ok for N scale ) , sharpen the tip and paint it a dark gray color.

Apply some Elmer's glue on the stick and insert the scotchbrite "disks" in decreasing diameters on it .
And voila ... your conifer is ready.

You can spray the tree with Woodland Scenics scenic cement and sprinkle some mixed turf on it.

Jacques

Last year I collected some weed around the Canadien/Canadian National track down the street.
Could someone please tell me the English name for it ?
I would like to use that material for making trees on my layout, but I don't know how to do it.

Jacques

Hi folks.

I'm working on a P2K loco and trying to quiet down the buzzing sound coming from the trucks. Quite annoying. It sounds like the gears have a hockey card stuck in the spokes.

I remember reading on the old board one member (I forget who... :oops: ) commented that he disassembled the trucks de-greased, carefully removed all the flashing from the gears and reassembled them which improved the performance and made them nice and quiet.

So. Two questions.

1) What is the best way to degrease the trucks? For some reason I'm thinking soap and water in a wire mesh strainer so as to not lose any small bits scrubbed with a tooth brush will be fine.

2) What would be the best method for removing flashing from such small parts? An X-acto blade would be too risky, might carve off too much. So either a quick pass with a small jewelers file or very fine grit sandpaper might be the best method.

Advice? Comments? Opinions?

Thanks!

I just picked up a pair of Super Detailed UP DDA40X's from Bachmann (SPectrum). I would like to add LED lights (including replacing the strobe on the roof). I was told I could put a single decoder in to run both motors in each unit, IF the motors only put out so many amps. I am an electrical IDIOT. I can barely change a household light bulb. I mean, I seriously SUCK at anything electrical, but I am good with directions, so, I am confident I can handle it with the assistance of the patient folks here at the Gauge. I know Deano has one of these, how did you install DCC in yours Deano? I would like to eventually do sound in them as well, has anyone ever attempted that?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I will be building in the near future a resistance soldering station based on some do it your self articles off the internet. will take pics of assembly as I go along.

When, Bam!...............followed by the sound of water splashing!
I live in a condo, one of four units in the building, one of which is completely above the four garages, through which (mine) run that unit's water lines.......................my garage is an "Ice Castle". I'll be busy for the next several days, thawing, cleaning, and trying to save things like all the power tools, and other things stored in the "Path Of The Flood". Nothing Railroad, got touched! There is that bright spot, at least.
The Property Manager, now knows what my dark side looks like.
I will be happy when spring arrives! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

When I want to quote previous post, the forum automatically quotes everything in the post including any other quotes that were in that post, then when I try to submit it, it won't let me until I delete all of the extraneous quotes that I didn't want to quote anyway. If I wanted to quote a previous post that the person quoted to reply to, I would have quoted that post directly. I think it would be easier if the forum was set to quote only the reply in the post being quoted without quoting any quotes that are in that reply.

For anybody on dial up, the home page for the Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine now has a lite edition that will download 19 MB instead of 78MB. It has lower quality graphics and less embedded rich media, but still uses the Adobe pdf format. The videos and extra rich media are now embedded in the web browser on the site rather than being downloaded in the magazine. All of the content is still there, just in a smaller MB package to make downloading easier and quicker.

Hi fellas,
Thought I would give an insight how my layout came into being, as well as maybe introduce myself to those of you who may not have been able to avoid me in the past.
Some of this has been posted on another forum awhile back in a slightly different way.....But....
If you can bear with me over the next little while, I will endeavour to chronicle all the fun and mistakes P[: from beginning to the present of the making of "The Pistonbroke RR"

OK. From the beginning............A few years back...

O.B. Jack was a complete novice at this techno internet stuff, and had no idea about making train stuff.
and I still am, ..but .. having a fat time of it now.

So back to the beginning......... Many moons ago , I had a triang train set as a kid and loved it. so when the little anklebiters (grandchildren) came along "The War Office" and I decided to get a train set for them to play with when visiting.

That was the beginning of the end.

We first tried to see how much space would be needed for this train set. Check out the 1 ft squares drawn in chalk on the floor, Ahhh we were going to be soooo professional about all this!!!

We did set it up once but it was never going to work . Hard concrete floor.
People tripping over it :'(
Having to pull it up all the time then relay it :

"So lets make a little table to put it on dear " whispered The War Office
"Cool" said Jack. "I can probably manage that"
"But first " says She " We need to polish the floor if we are going to put something permanent in here"
"Dang" says I "But OK lets do it"

Big Mistake

Here is the Real Estate


Here is the machine The orange thing ...not the driver


Here is the aftermath


and here is more. Note, even The Dog checked out the damage


And more


So the cleanup started ........ and 3 days later we had


Then this is it. Reclaimed for the right of way


and looking the other way


So there we were, some 3yrs ago setting out into the unknown world of model RR
Initially we were going to put the settrack onto a table, plug it in and away we go. But that would be to simple would'nt it?
So with great trepidation and a fear of the unknown we looked on the internet to find a trackplan.

Big mistake # 2
Because we found a whole new world of little trees and engines and houses and cars and flex track and scenery and on and on we could go, but mainly wonderful helpful people (who are probably not so little)
Now we had to make some hard decisions. ??? How big? How high? How Much? How to do it? Will we? Wont we?
What the heck. So like a Bull in a china shop we charged in boots and all.

So ends chapter one.
If you can be bothered to tune in sometime in the near future, you can follow the trials and tribulations of this never ending saga

Cheers Jack