Model Railroader 2015 No 06

p. 22

on m HO fa ake W ct s TO or ig ie ns s

Track plan for a mountain line

p. 54

New Walthers diesel tested p. 64 June 2015 www.ModelRailroader.com

.

7 tips for lively operations How to add realistic action to your railroad p. 26 Exchanging engines enhances operations on Dan Lewis’ N scale layout. See page 26.

Rebuild an old Athearn ‘blue-box’ freight car p. 38 HOW TO Build a through-truss bridge p. 48 Use software to program DCC decoders p. 60

Vol. 82 • Issue 6

Model utility poles p. 57

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JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

3

JUNE2015

Volume 82, Number 6

54 22

p. 22

IN THIS ISSUE

on m HO fa ake W ct s TO or ig ie ns s

Online Content Code: MRR1506 Enter this code at: www.ModelRailroader.com/code to gain access to web-exclusive content

Track plan for a mountain line

p. 54

New Walthers diesel tested p. 64 June 2015 www.ModelRailroader.com

48

26

7 tips for lively operations How to add realistic action to your railroad p. 26 Exchanging engines enhances operations on Dan Lewis’ N scale layout. See page 26.

26 7 ways to add operating interest

Rebuild an old Athearn ‘blue-box’ freight car p. 38

These tips will enliven your next ops session by Dan Lewis ▸ Online bonus ModelRailroader.com

HOW TO

32 Rewriting history on the Kaw Valley RR

57

A defunct interurban line inspired this S scale layout by Don Ball

60

Build a through-truss bridge p. 48

42 Narrow gauge logging in a small space

Use software to program DCC decoders p. 60

On the cover: Steam takes over for electric on Dan Lewis’s layout. Dan Lewis photo

38 A new look for a ‘blue box’ car Details, paint, and decals breathe new life into an Athearn kit by Andy Renshaw

Model utility poles p. 57

IN EVERY ISSUE

An interest in a particular locomotive led to a model railroad measuring less than 4 x 7 feet by Dave Jacobs

6 Digital MR

60 DCC Corner

The latest features on our website by Dana Kawala

48 ‘Scratchbashing’ an arch through-truss bridge

8 From the Editor

Use DecoderPro to simplify programming by Larry Puckett

Parts from two different bridge kits make a hefty span for an HO scale gorge by Jim Richards ▸ Online bonus ModelRailroader.com

Smoke, cinders, and photos by Neil Besougloff

54 Track plan for a Conrail mountain branch

62 Product Reviews MREXTRA

10 News & Products

A little-known former Pennsylvania RR line is the focus of this HO scale plan by Bob Sprague

16 Railway Post Office

57 How to make and wire realistic-looking

Letters from our readers by Hal Miller

N scale Chesapeake & Ohio Berkshire from Bachmann, HO scale EMD GP30 from WalthersProto, Kato Sound Box, and more by Dana Kawala

18 Information Desk

69 Trains of Thought

How a local agent ran a typical small town station by Jim Hediger

Caboose motels by Tony Koester

utility poles MREXTRA

With a little bit of work, those bare poles can come to life by Lou Sassi ▸ Online bonus ModelRailroader.com

70 Trackside Photos by Steven Otte

Hobby industry news by Cody Grivno

20 Workshop Tips Choosing car sizes, curves, and turnouts by Jim Hediger

NEXT ISSUE In July, learn about using your smart phone to run trains, build a Bentonite mine with drawings, model horse-drawn vehicles, and more!

22 Step by Step

81 Index of Advertisers and Cartoon 82 The Operators MRVP A good pre-session checklist by Andy Sperandeo

How to model industry signs by Cody Grivno ▸ Online bonus ModelRailroader.com

MREXTRA www.ModelRailroader.com subscriber extra MRVP

Video on www.MRVideoPlus.com

Model Railroader (USPS 529-810, ISSN 0026-7341) is published monthly by Kalmbach Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612. Periodicals postage paid at Waukesha, Wis., and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Model Railroader, Kalmbach Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612. Printed in USA. Canada Publication Mail Agreement # 40010760.

62

TRACK IS BACK! Atlas is currently receiving multiple container shipments each month and we’re working diligently to fill all your model railroading needs. If you need a listing of our products, we have you covered with a new printing of The Atlas All Scales Track & Accessory Catalog, which contains every track piece, structure, wiring component and accessory that we currently produce in N, HO and O scales.

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Bonus article

Exclusive new product demos MREXTRA

Watch 3 new videos! This month’s product reviews feature Digital Command Controlsound-equipped HO and N scale locomotives as well as a product that allows you to add sound without DCC. The Bachmann N scale 2-8-4 steam locomotive and the Walthers HO scale GP30 diesel both feature SoundTraxx DCC decoders. The Model Railroader staff also demonstrates the new Kato Sound Box analog sound controller. There are more than 200 product demo videos at www.ModelRailroader.com, featuring new product videos added each month.

MREXTRA

Accurate utility poles and wires

Learn how to model and “wire” utility poles on page 57. For even more information, subscribers can check out this previously published article by author Jeff Wilson. Read the article at www.ModelRailroader.com.

Bonus download Brewed since 18

45

New desktop wallpaper ‘Best mit Wurst’ AGE CO.

KELLER BEVER

Signs for Keller brewery Keller Beverage Co. is a signature industry on the Model Railroader club layout, the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy. Add a piece of the brewery to your model railroad with these signs featured in the Step by Step article. Find the link to download the signs under Online Extras.

Get inspired by this featured layout photo Don’t miss Dan Lewis’ tips for adding operating interest on page 26. Dan took the photo above on his N scale Milwaukee Road North Montana Line. This month you can download the image to use as a background on your computer screen. Find the link under Online Extras on the MR home page.

30% off featured PDF Add a logging line to your layout

‘Scratchbash’ a bridge Download the scale plans

Arch through-truss bridge

6

176° Gusset C

172° Gusset C

Gusset B 140° Gusset A

Gusset A

Cut angle 140°

Jim Richards “scratchbashed” this arch throughtruss bridge in HO scale. Registered members of www.ModelRailroader.com can download copies of the plans and diagrams featured in Jim’s article.

176°

172° Gusset B

Cut line

86° 70° 86°

Double-stack clearance line

88°

88°

88°

88°

86° 86° 70° 70°

70°

Gusset ⁄ H

Railhead

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Gusset F

Gusset E

Gusset D

24-5⁄8" Splice

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B

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Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

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Gussets shown full size for HO. Make 8 except as noted

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JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

7

Neil Besougloff

FROMTHEEDITOR

Smoke, cinders, and photos I had the pleasure of seeing Dan’s layout on a bus tour during the National Model Railroad Association 2007 Convention in Detroit, Mich. Dan’s N scale steam locomotives don’t smoke in real life. But in my mind, when I leaned over to watch trains traveling at eye-level across his Montana layout, I saw exactly what you see in the photo on this month’s cover. Yes, the great-looking smoke coming out of the stack of the Milwaukee Road locomotive on this month’s cover is, in the parlance of the 21st century, “Photoshopped.” Dan Lewis, who wrote the operating tips story on page 26 in this issue, did a great job with the cover photo and the other photos in his article. Whether you are a fan of digital smoke or not, these photos are downright cool to look at. There was a time not that many years ago when the Model Railroader staff thought long and hard about using digitally altered images in the pages of the magazine. Most of the alterations then, as they are now, focused on smoke billowing from steam locomotives or blue sky backdrops replacing drab, concreteblock walls. Even as recently as 2008, Model Railroader’s photo contest made a distinction between digital and film entries. A few years earlier, in the 2004 contest, both film and digital categories featured winning entries with smoking steam locomotives (the smoke in the film entry was simulated by jiggling a piece of cotton during a 10-second exposure). Regardless of your position concerning altered photos, the tide of technology continues to rush in, and today altered images, even in model railroading, are commonplace.

Most of us enjoy reading lists, and I came upon a list of significant Model Railroader articles while cleaning out a closet here in our offices. Former editor Russ Larson wrote the list roughly 30 years ago for a series of promotional advertisements, and it still has merit today. Some of the stories on his list are: • Automatic HO gauge uncoupling by Eric Lanal, January 1935, page 16. • Minton Cronkhite’s Texas & Santa Fe layout, cover story, October 1936. • Frank Ellison’s “The Art of Model Railroading,” March 1944, page 108. • First article on John Allen’s Gorre & Daphetid, January 1948, page 20. • First John Armstrong plan (other than his own), the “Convolutions & Western,” July 1952, page 26. • The review of the Kadee HO automatic coupler, September 1952, page 53. • Start of “True Action Throttles,” by Linn Westcott, January 1962, page 58. • L-girder benchwork, by Linn Westcott, September 1963, page 44. • Zip Texturing for landscapes, by Linn Westcott, April 1965. These are oldies but goodies, and you can read all of them in the magazine’s new online archive by going to www.ModelRailroader/allaccess.com.

▸▸ Contributing to Model Railroader We welcome contributions from our readers, including articles, photographs, and prototype drawings. For detailed information on submitting material to MR, contact our editorial assistant at 262-796-8776, ext. 583, or mrmag@ mrmag.com. Model Railroader assumes no responsibility for the safe return of unsolicited material. We assume unsolicited material is intended for publication by Kalmbach Publishing Co. unless otherwise noted. We assume letters, questions, news releases, and club news items are contributed gratis. 8

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9

NEWS&PRODUCTS

HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP15-1 diesel locomotive. Walthers is now offering this four-axle road switcher with sound. The GP15-1 is decorated for Burlington Northern, Canadian Pacific, Chessie System (with Chesapeake & Ohio reporting marks), Chicago & North Western (Operation Lifesaver scheme), and Missouri Pacific. The WalthersMainline model has a

HO scale locomotives

▪ General Electric B23-7 and

B30-7 diesel locomotives. New paint schemes. B23-7: CSX (yellow-andgray and yellow, blue, and gray schemes), Missouri Pacific (Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray, three road numbers), and National Ry. of Mexico. B30-7: East Penn Ry., Southern Pacific, and St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt). New road numbers. B30-7: Chessie System (with Chesapeake & Ohio reporting marks, three numbers). Two numbers per scheme unless noted. Separately applied detail parts, etched-metal radiator grills, and painted crew figures. Direct-current model, $169.95; with dual-mode sound decoder, $279.95. Fourth quarter 2015. Master Line. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

▸▸ New product announcements are posted on ModelRailroader.com every week

five-pole skew-wound motor, all-wheel drive and electrical pickup, and a die-cast metal chassis. Directcurrent models sell for $119.98. Versions with a dualmode SoundTraxx sound decoder (long and short horn, bell, prime mover, and three lighting functions) retail for $189.98. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

Canada; CN (wet noodle with black window band); Canadian Pacific (maroon and Action Red schemes); Chicago & Eastern Illinois; Central RR of New Jersey; Long Island Rail Road; New York, New Haven & Hartford (script and McGinnis schemes); New York Central (Beeliner); Penn Central (ex-NYC Beeliner); Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines; Southern Pacific (as delivered); and VIA Rail Canada. Painted but unlettered versions also available in Phase Ib, Ic, and II (with or without nose fluting) body styles. Prototype-specific details, interior and underbody detail, and etched-metal roof grills and fan covers. Direct-current model, $225; with dual-mode sound decoder, $325. Early 2016. Rapido Trains, 905-474-3314, www.rapidotrains.com

HO scale freight cars

▪ Assorted freight car kits.

▪ Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC)-1.

Phase I: Amtrak (single arrow); Boston & Maine (Minuteman scheme); Baltimore & Ohio; Canadian National/VIA Rail

10

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 50-foot boxcar with Superior doors, $16.98. Central of Georgia 40-foot PS-1 boxcar, $16.98. Great Northern 41-foot steel gondola, $16.98. Southern Ry. Pullman-

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

Standard 4,750-cubic-foot-capacity covered hopper, $18.98. Plastic kits with plastic wheelsets, separate brake hardware, and Accumate couplers. Accurail, 630-365-6400, www.accurail.com

▪ Bay-window caboose. New road numbers: Erie Lackawanna, Chicago & North Western (each with different safety slogan), Norfolk Southern, Southern Pacific (brown in two road numbers or re-issued American Revolution Bicentennial scheme in one number), and Western Pacific. New paint scheme: National Ry. of Mexico. Three numbers each unless noted. Separately applied running boards, brake wheel, brake stand, and smokejack; metal wheelsets; and window glazing. $19.98. Athearn Trains, 310-763-7140, www.athearn.com

▸▸ Mobile Updates Scan the code to access Model Railroader’s website for weekly News & Products updates.

▪ Aluminum coal gondola. New paint schemes: BNSF Ry. (circle-cross herald, mineral red rotary ends), CIT Group, Conrail, Great Northern (fictional scheme), and Norfolk Southern (yellow rotary end and Thoroughbred scheme). Four numbers per scheme. Removable coal load, weighted underframe, and metal wheelsets. $26.95. Third quarter 2015. Trainman series. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

Cody Grivno

one car, $4 for each additional kit. Illinois residents add 7.25 percent sales tax to the total price and shipping. Resin Car Works, www.resincarworks.com

▪ Pennsylvania RR class F39A

75-foot piggyback flatcar. Pennsyl-

vania RR; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Erie RR; Southern Pacific; TTX; and Wabash. Two car numbers each; also available undecorated. Two trailer hitches, improved brake gear details, and Proto-Max couplers. $24.98. WalthersMainline. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

▪ Pennsylvania RR class H32

covered hoppers. New road numbers:

Pennsylvania RR (Freight Car Red with white circle keystone, gray with black shadow keystone, gray with PRR reporting mark and black keystone, and gray with Pennsylvania lettering and black circle keystone), Conrail (red and gray schemes), and Penn Central (gray and Jade Green schemes). Detailed underbody and brake system, separately applied details, and Kadee-compatible couplers. Two-pack, $89.99. Broadway Limited Imports, 386-673-8900, www.broadway-limited.com

▪ Rock Island class B-2 stockcars.

Original sides and doors ($40 each) or double-deck version ($41 each) with Hutchins, Murphy XLA, or wood roof and AB brakes. Cast-resin kit with decals and one-piece roof frames but no trucks or couplers. Westerfield Models, 303-6589343, www.westerfieldmodels.com

▪ Bethlehem 3,737-cubic-foot-

HO scale passenger cars

(1977 as-delivered scheme in 12 road numbers, May 1979 as-delivered scheme in 15 numbers, June 1979 as-delivered scheme in nine numbers, and no. 588663 in one number). American Steel Foundries 100-ton trucks, 36" metal wheelsets, and Kadee no. 158 couplers. Each car includes choice of heap- or flood-style coal load. $38.95. Platinum Series. ExactRail, 801-342-5436, www.exactrail.com

1971 Capitol Limited cars. Budd

capacity hopper. Missouri Pacific

▪ Baltimore & Ohio late 1950s to

Buy MR gear! Get the same gear used by the staff members of Model Railroader and Model Railroader Video Plus. An MR baseball cap (one size fits most) is priced at $15.99, an 11-ounce MRVP coffee mug sells for $9.99, and a fulllength MR work apron is priced at $24.99. These items are available at www. kalmbachhobbystore. com (click on “products” and then “gear”) or by calling 1-800-533-6644.

85-foot Bird-series 16-duplex-roomette, 4-bedroom sleeper, $79.98; PullmanStandard 85-foot 56-seat full dining car, $74.98; PS 85-foot kitchen-dormitory, $74.98. Tinted window glazing as appropriate, sprung diaphragms, factory-installed grab irons, Proto-Max couplers, metal wheelsets, and car name and number decals. WalthersProto. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

▪ American Car & Foundry Type 27 7,000- and 8,000-gallon acid tank cars. Shippers Car Line Corp.

(SHPX) 7,000-gallon car (General Chemical Co. Inc., National Aniline & Chemical Co., Consolidated Chemical Industries Inc., and no lessee lettering), Consolidated Chemical Industries Inc. (7,000- and 8,000-gallon cars with SHPX reporting marks and 7,000-gallon car with CCIX marks), and Hooker 8,000-gallon car. Cast-resin kit with cast brass, resin, and photo-etched detail parts. $64 each. Tahoe Buckeye American Railway Association 50-ton truck sideframes, $3 per pair. InterMountain semi-scale 33" wheelset 12-pack, $10 (available only with orders for tank car kits). $5 shipping for

HO scale Southern Pacific Mt-4 4-8-2 steam locomotive with Skyline casing. This West Coast classic is the latest steam offering in Athearn’s Genesis series. The Mt-4 is offered in three road numbers. The model has a five-pole skew-wound motor with dual flywheels, a detailed boiler backhead, and McHenry knuckle couplers. Direct-current models sell for $299.98. Models with a dual-mode SoundTraxx sound decoder are priced at $399.98. Tenders (painted but unlettered and lettered SOUTHERN PACIFIC or SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES) are also sold separately for $89.98. Athearn Trains, 310-763-7140, www.athearn.com JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

11

NEWS&PRODUCTS Seaboard System. Three road numbers per scheme. Low-friction mechanism with dual brass flywheels, golden-white light-emitting diodes, and Accumate couplers. Direct-current model, $124.95; with dual-mode motor decoder, $159.95. Fourth quarter 2015. Master Line. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com O scale Pullman-Standard modernized 50-foot PS-1 plug-door boxcar without running boards. This ready-to-run freight car is now available from Atlas O. The modernized 50-foot PS-1 boxcar is decorated for Chicago & North Western (with Chicago Great Western reporting marks), Chessie System (with Chesapeake & Ohio marks), Missouri Pacific (with Texas & Pacific marks), Southern Ry., and Union Pacific. The boxcar ($79.95) is available in two road numbers per scheme; an undecorated version is also offered. The model has separately applied grab irons, prototype-specific trucks, and die-cast metal couplers. Atlas O, 908-687-9590, www.atlaso.com

HO scale structures

▪ Pete’s Freight Dock. Laser-cut

wood kit with windows, doors, roofing material, scale stripwood, and detail parts. Office footprint is 23 ⁄4" x 33 ⁄4", loading dock footprint is 21 ⁄8" x 11", and storage shed footprint is 13 ⁄4" x 41 ⁄4". Limited production. $114. The TrainMaster LLC, 740-405-4722 www.thetrainmaster.com ▪ Assorted structures. Trackside signal tower and Victoria Springs station. Factory-assembled injection-molded plastic structures molded in multiple colors with window glazing. Tower features exterior stairway, station includes platform and non-operating train-order signal. $29.98 each. WalthersTrainline. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

HO scale details and accessories

▪ Ford F-850 boom truck. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Canadian Pacific; maintenance of way; Pennsylvania RR; Union Pacific; and Western Pacific. Positionable boom and outriggers, separately applied steering wheel, and vinyl tires. $24.98. December 2015. Athearn Trains, 310-763-7140, www.athearn.com

12

▪ Assorted mobile trailers. Bob’s Hot Dogs, Buns on Wheels, Hard-WokCafe, and Rings of Fire. $12.95. Early summer 2015. Oxford Diecast USA, 775-773-8850, www.oxforddiecast.co.uk

▪ Electro-Motive Division GP38-2

diesel locomotive. Soo Line, BNSF Ry. (post-2005 scheme), Canadian National, Conrail (“Quality” scheme), CSX (boxcar herald), and Union Pacific; also available undecorated. Clip-fit printed-circuit board, Digital Command Control decoder-ready mechanism with insulated motor, heavy die-cast metal split frame, five-pole motor with flywheels, directional light-emitting diode headlights, and Magne-Matic couplers. $99.98. WalthersN. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

N scale freight cars

▪ RailCrew on-off remote uncoupling magnet. Can be operated as

Digital Command Control accessory. Features a light-emitting diode between the rails to indicate uncoupling zone in “on” position. In “off” position, magnet has no effect on couplers. Compatible with all brands of standard magnetic couplers. Works on diaphragm-equipped passenger cars. Momentary 12VDC power draw allows multiple magnets to be powered off one power supply. Footprint is 7 ⁄8" x 13 ⁄4". $19.95 each; six-pack, $109.95; 12-pack, $209.95. Rapido Trains Inc., 905-474-3314, www.rapidotrains.com

N scale locomotives

▪ General Electric B23-7, B30-7,

and B36-7 diesel locomotives. New paint schemes. B23-7: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Conrail; Norfolk Southern (high short hood); Southern Ry. (high short hood); and Union Pacific. B30-7: St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) and Southern Pacific. B36-7: CSX and

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

▪ Three-bay covered hopper. New

road numbers: Grand Trunk Western; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Central of Georgia; Chesapeake & Ohio; and Southern Pacific (red lettering). New paint scheme: Reading Co. (with Share in Freedom placard). Three road numbers per scheme. Etched-metal running boards, separately applied details, and truck-mounted McHenry couplers. $19.98. Athearn Trains, 310-763-7140, www.athearn.com ▪ 50-foot double-door boxcar. New paint schemes: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Maine Central; Monon; New York Central; Southern Pacific; and St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco). Two road numbers per scheme. Accumate couplers. $19.95. Third quarter 2015. Trainman series. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

DCC PRODUCTS & SERVICES DCC Products & Services

▸▸ Club offerings

▪ Louisville & Nashville 42foot single-dome tank car.

Athearn HO scale kit customdecorated for National Model Railroad Association, Mid-Central Region, Division 8. $14.99 plus $5.95 shipping. Send check or money order to Division 8 Company Store, Division 8, MCR, NMRA, P.O. Box 99041, Louisville, KY 40269; www.div8-mcr-nmra.org

SOURCE

.6 6

Subscribe to Model Railroader today! IR D IN C G C TIP Sp

Rapido Trains HO scale model custom-produced for the New Haven RR Historical and Technical Association. Ten road numbers plus one unnumbered car (decals included). Detailed interior and underbody, sprung diaphragms with end gates, and 41-BNO-11 outside swinghanger trucks with blackened metal wheelsets. $79.99 plus $6 shipping for one car and $1 for each additional car. Massachusetts residents add 6.25 percent sales tax. Orders due September 30, 2015. Car scheduled for release in early 2016. NHRHTA, P.O. Box 289, Accord, MA 02018; www.nhrhta.org

RAILROADING

trucks p. 54 e to freight car Modelers’ guid April 2015 ader.com www.ModelRailro

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▪ Kansas City Southern de Mexico Christmas Train 50-foot equipment boxcar. Custom-produced by

Micro-Trains for Custom Model Trains. Car features Micro-Trains trucks, plastic wheelsets, and Magne-Matic couplers. $49.99 plus $9.99 shipping. Custom Model Trains, www.custommodeltrains.com ▪ Assorted freight cars. Canadian Pacific United States Railroad Administration 40-foot boxcar with crate load,

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JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

13

NEWS&PRODUCTS

N scale Pullman heavyweight diner. Micro-Trains now offers this readyto-run car decorated for New York Central. The heavyweight diner has an injection-molded plastic body, detailed interior, plastic wheelsets, and Magne-Matic couplers. The model has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $31.80. Micro-Trains Line Co., 541-535-1755, www.micro-trains.com

$23.75. Conrail heavyweight depressedcenter flatcar with equipment load (one road number), $27.90. TTX 89-foot tri-level closed auto rack, $39.95. Two numbers per car unless noted. Micro-Trains Line Co., 541-535-1755, www.micro-trains.com

Z scale freight cars

O scale locomotives

Z scale passenger cars

F7B diesel locomotives. Amtrak;

weight passenger cars. 12-section, 1-drawing-room sleeper (Dorchester, Tuscaloosa, and Gloucester); 28-seat, 1-drawing-room parlor car (Rambler and Wayfarer); 8-section, 1-drawing-room, 2-compartment sleeper (Centstar, Rock Pass, and Riverdale Park); 36-seat diner; paired-window coach; observation car (City of Wabash and City of Lafayette); baggage/Railway Express Agency (two numbers); and Railway Post Office (two numbers). $53 each. American Z Line, 614-764-1703, www.americanzline.com

▪ Electro-Motive Division F7A and

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (three road numbers on A units); Denver & Rio Grande Western (three numbers on A units); Erie Lackawanna; Milwaukee Road; and Pennsylvania RR. Two road numbers on A and B units noted. Die-cast metal chassis, fuel tank, and trucks; metal grab irons; and railroad-specific details. Sound-equipped units, $499.95; unpowered models, $219.95. Fourth quarter 2015. Atlas O, 908-687-9590, www.atlaso.com

O scale structures

▪ Small water tank kit. Four one-piece wood bents, real photo tank wrap, positionable spout, and optional basswood risers. Measures 21 ⁄2" x 3" x 51 ⁄2" (without risers, with risers add 7 ⁄8" to height). $39.95. Trackside Scenery, 304-279-7375, www.tracksidescenery.com

▪ Wide-cupola caboose. New paint scheme: Rock Island. Two road numbers. Separately applied details, window glazing, and AutoLatch couplers. $61. American Z Line, 614-764-1703, www.americanzline.com ▪ Wabash Cannonball heavy-

Multiple-scale details

▪ Assorted pavement markings.

Yellow and white dashed and solid lines; assorted arrows, “Slow,” “Xing,” “Only,”

Z scale locomotives

▪ Electro-Motive Division E8

diesel locomotive. New paint scheme: New York Central. Four road numbers. Prototype-specific details, can motor with dual flywheels, and extra front truck with coupler. $176. American Z Line, 614-7641703, www.americanzline.com 14

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

and “School Zone” lettering; and railroad crossing. HO and N scales, $6 each; four-pack (one of each), $18. O scale, $9 each; four-pack, $32. Vinyl, adhesivebacked graphics. Road stripes are a scale 6" wide; dashed lane dividers are 10 scale feet long. Grade crossings and other graphics have transfer tape for easier application. Can be weathered. Highways & Byways Model Railroad Graphics, 281-725-3754, www.highwaysnbyways.com

Tools

▪ SandIts sanding sticks. Tear-drop shape with 120/180 grit and 400/800 grit heads and wedge shape with 120/180 grit heads. Reusable six-inch sticks with plastic stems. Aluminum oxide/silicone oxide sanding grit bonded with marinegrade epoxy. For use on wood, metal, and plastics. Can be used wet or dry. Eightpacks, $6.99 (10-packs available online). Orion Products Group, 727-898-0212, www.sandits.com

DVDs

▪ Building and weathering HO scale vehicles. Featuring Chester

Fesmire and Danny Raymond. Includes segments on how to build vehicle kits by Jordan Highway Miniatures and Sheepscot Scale Products and interviews with Clare Gilbert (Sylvan Scale Models) and George Barrett (Sheepscot Scale Products). DVD, $24.95; Blu-Ray, $29.95. Building in Miniature Signature Series. B.E.S.T., 603-267-1818, www.besttrains.com

Hal Miller

RAILWAYPOSTOFFICE

My Father, Charles D. Spencer, was a founding member of the Council, and as the president, would proudly show people “the old key to the depot” that he used to unlock to doors for meetings in the waiting room. He recounted how difficult it was to conduct a meeting when a long freight train would pass through on the way to or from the Saluda Grade. Unfortunately, he didn’t keep the key as a memento. Ross Spencer, Inverness, Ill.

Model small, live large

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s wooden waycars rode out their days on wooden trucks. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and Chicago & North Western had similar trucks, but they were gone in the 1950s.

Wood-framed trucks on the Burlington’s waycars Jim Hediger’s “Guide to freight car trucks” in the April issue packed a lot of good information into three pages. A correction is needed, however. Jim stated some railroads, like the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy “operated wood cabooses with Archbar trucks into the 1960s.” Burlington Route wooden waycars rolled to their last days on wooden trucks. Resembling an older passenger car truck, the entire frame was made of heavy oak timbers. The pedestals were cast iron and there were other small castings and nuts and bolts holding everything together. The few wooden waycars that made it into the Burlington Northern era were equipped with “boxcar” trucks in the early 1970s. Philip A. Weibler, West Chicago, Ill.

Trucking on... While the statement “freight car trucks are rated by the total weight (car and its load) they carry,” seems quite logical, it is incorrect. Freight truck ratings reflect the “nominal load capacity” for a two-truck car, exclusive of the tare (light) weight of the car. Despite this stated nominal load, actual rated load capacity can vary substantially depending mostly on car construction materials and car design (i.e., steel versus aluminum.) This is reflected by the difference between Capacity (CAPY) and Load Limit (LD LMT) stenciled on cars. Keith Hawthorne, Pueblo West, Colo.

Helping hand signals I found Andy Sperandeo’s column (February) mentioning hand signals quite a memory. I grew up in Hammond (sort of Whiting), Ind., very near the Pennsylvania RR tracks that ran out of Chicago south and east. There was (and still is) Colehour Yard where every day a 16

Really enjoyed the coverage of Duane Ericson’s Torres & Prietas RR in the April issue. He has definitely captured the look of the Southwest with the scenery dominating the trains. This is an excellent example of how a smaller model railroad can live large. Bill Uffelman, Ocean View, Del.

Vacuum tubes: just fooling I just read the article about using a vacuum tube amplifier as a DCC Booster in the April issue. The title itself was interesting, but the further I got in the article, the stranger it got. Adding 5 watts to the power? Adding 12 watts? Blue sparks from the wheel as the lights lit. ...Wait a minute, it’s gotta be the April Fools’ article. Gotcha. Good fun. Robert Doss, Norfolk, Va.

Canada had ’em, too! very large freight train was assembled to head east around Lake Michigan. It had to pull out and back into other tracks to pick up more cars. There was a signalman every 100 yards or so working in sequence to tell the engineer what to do, and it was so much fun for me – a kid of about 12 – to watch them. One would swing his arm, the next would repeat, and so on, then the engine would move. In the dark of winter they had flares; in the summertime it was just arms and hands. George Best, St. Louis

A key to the depot What a treat to read “A Dream Layout in a depot” in the March issue. We’ve visited the layout several times in recent years and are always thrilled to see the attention to detail of the local sites. One addendum: After the Southern Ry. ceased passenger service in 1968, the depot was leased to the local Council on Aging chapter that was founded in 1969.

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

I just wanted to comment on the review of Walthers’ Santa Fe 24 duplex roomette sleepers in April. The item states these cars were the only all-duplex roomette cars to operate in North America. Not so; Canadian National Rys. had 19 of these cars in the “I” series. They operated on overnight trains from the early 1950s into the VIA Rail Canada era in the 1980s. VIA used the cars as crew dormitories on its transcontinental trains. Bill Nesbitt, Mississauga, Ontario Comments, suggestions, and additional information on Model Railroader articles and departments are welcome in this column. Every comment will be read, but not all can be printed or answered. Make your statement in 300 words or less, and send it to Railway Post Office, Model Railroader magazine, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187, or e-mail [email protected]. Please include your name, city, and state.

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WE DO NOT HAVE A CATALOG. We ask that you call us or send us your want list with SSAE. We will advise you of the price, availability, and shipping charges. International shipments made only to countries accepting insured mail. We have no minimum order. Personal check orders are held 4 weeks. MASTERCARD and VISA accepted. Sorry, collect calls are not accepted, but feel free to call with your railroad questions, model or prototype.

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JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

17

Jim Hediger

INFORMATIONDESK

How a local agent ran a typical small-town station Agent’s office Train order signal Baggage room Passenger waiting room

To street

New concrete foundation

Small towns across America were once served by combination passenger and freight stations like this restored Wabash depot in Edon, Ohio. Jim Hediger photo What was involved in the daily operation of a small town station during the steam and early diesel eras? What sort of duties did the local agent have to do besides selling tickets?

John O’Hara, Hixton, Wis. In the early days of railroading,

nearly every town of any size had a depot run by a local “agent” or an “operator.” Depots near major cities were usually small with just a ticket office and a waiting room for a few passengers. More remote towns had combination depots that were generally run as a oneman show with an “agent-operator” in charge. He was the railroad’s local representative who handled all the company’s passenger and freight business. The “stationmaster” job title was normally reserved for the manager of a large passenger station who had a staff working for him. Combination stations generally had three rooms: a passenger waiting room at one end, a private agent’s office in the middle, and a freight or express room at the opposite end. Most of these depots were built with a raised floor in the express room to make it easier to trans18

fer shipments between the trains and local customers’ wagons or trucks. Stations were generally open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. unless there was a reason for different hours. Some busy depots were open 24 hours a day, while others had odd hours such as 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. to serve passengers riding overnight trains. The agent’s first job of the day was to go out and survey all the freight cars standing at his local industries. He had to determine their loaded or empty status and which customers would need a pickup or an empty car to load. This information was then called in to a nearby yard office so the appropriate empty cars could be included in the next local train. Any pickup orders were added to the local conductor’s switch list. Once back in the office, the agent opened his ticket window and took care of any passenger ticket sales. If a customer wanted sleeping car space, he had to call a central booking office to reserve the space before he could issue the actual tickets. The passenger waiting room was usually in the end of the depot adjacent to an access road. Once the initial ticket sales slowed down, the agent moved on to billing his

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

local customers for freight services and received payments for finished shipments. As these receipts were collected, they were held in a company safe in the office or out of sight in the freight room. The agent regularly deposited these funds into a company account in a local bank, which regularly forwarded the deposits to the railroad’s bank in its headquarters city. The same local agent also served as an “operator” who copied and delivered the dispatcher’s train orders throughout the day. He also prepared any outbound waybills before the local freight arrived to collect the loaded cars and deliver the empties that were ordered earlier. An agent-operator also dealt with the attached baggage room that held outbound express and less-than-carload-lot (LCL) shipments. Inbound shipments were also held there until local customers came to pick them up. Part of this job was to make the necessary phone calls to notify customers when their shipments arrived. Steel dock plates, ramps, and an assortment of hand trucks were provided to help move things around, and the local freight’s train crew also helped him handle any heavy shipments. During inclement weather, the agent was responsible for operating the potbellied stove to heat the building. He was also responsible for the depot’s housekeeping. This meant everything had to be swept and dusted regularly. In remote areas, early stations often included second-floor living quarters for the agent and his family. Most of these accommodations were pretty Spartan, but they did provide a place to live until a community was established. Once you understand all the work that went on in a small town depot, it’s easy to develop all sorts of realistic super detailing to enhance any station’s appearance and give it a “lived-in” look. – Jim Hediger, senior editor Send your questions about prototype railroading to Information Desk, Model Railroader magazine, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187, or e-mail [email protected]. We regret we can’t answer all the questions we receive.

FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION

BUILDBETTER BENCHWORK Subscribe today at MRVideoPlus.com/intro

P25273

In all-new instructional videos from MR Video Plus, David Popp guides you through the essential stage of layout construction as he tackles assembly for L-girder framework. He also shares decades-old tips pioneered from former Model Railroader editor Linn Westcott.

Jim Hediger

WORKSHOPTIPS

Choosing car sizes, curves, and turnouts As tracklaying begins, don’t forget to

Even medium size locomotives and cars look more realistic and operate more smoothly on medium radius curves and longer turnouts. Bill Zuback photo Many of our readers are fascinated whenever the Model Railroader staff begins building a new project layout, like our recently completed Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Red Oak series. This layout is designed to capture the look and spirit of the former CB&Q’s 1960s diesel era in the Midwest. We always get a lot of questions about how we design a fresh track plan and make the decisions that result in a smooth operating layout. So let’s take a look at what we do. In this case, our theme was established after we received a Kato N scale Burlington Silver Streak Zephyr train set that included an E5A passenger locomotive and five matching Budd streamlined cars. Obviously, the new Zephyr would be the featured train on the layout. We knew from previous reviews in Model Railroader that N scale Kato trains are designed to negotiate the company’s Unitrack 9¾-inch radius track curves, and we verified that by running the locomotive on an older MR project layout built using Kato track. We also knew the layout would be built on a 36-inch wide door, and we wanted to leave room for a passenger depot along the front of the layout and passing sidings in the concealed staging 20

area for the main line and the branch line across the back of the layout. Sketching this out on a sheet of graph paper led us to 13-inch radius curves for the mainline. These curves are wide enough to minimize the overhang of the longer scale-length passenger cars. From past experience we knew that using curved turnouts maximizes the length of passing sidings and, in our case, the diagonal branch line that cuts across the center of the layout. We also had a few samples of Peco code 55 no. 8 curved turnouts and Peco no. 6 medium radius turnouts on hand and decided that they would be the standard turnout sizes for the layout. Using those dimensions, it was relatively easy to use N scale track templates to continue to work out the basic track plan on graph paper and fill in the various trackside details. These tools made it easy to draw the full-size mainline plan on the foam board base and then fill in the details with a black marking pen. In a few locations, we assembled actual track components to make sure a given arrangement would fit as planned. Thus, anything that didn’t have smooth joints and transitions between all the components could be taken apart and redone until it did work.

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

check clearances on curved mainlines and industrial tracks. Long car ends tend to swing well off-center toward the outside on most curves, while the middle of these cars shifts toward the inside. Thus the curve introduces clearance problems that aren’t present on straight track and may cause moving trains to hit the inside edges of tunnel or bridge portals, or run into high station platforms, unloading docks, and industrial awnings. Allowances must be made when using tall passenger cars, as well. Dome cars are taller than normal, and they varied in height to fit specific operating areas. Low clearances in the East limited the Baltimore & Ohio’s domes to a maximum height of only 15'-3", while the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s cars were 16'-2" tall and the Union Pacific’s were 15'-10" high. Today’s Amtrak Superliners stand 16'-2" tall and most bi-level commuter cars have a similar height. Extra-height freight cars are another problem, as there are many different non-standard (excess height) car types marked with a white stripe across the top of the ends. Most of the cars in this category are susceptible to cornering and other carbody damage. Auto parts cars (60 to 89 feet long), auto racks (bi-levels or tri-levels), piggybacks, and doublestack cars all need to be tested if you plan to run them. The point of all this is a little testing can save a lot of work. As I’ve built my HO scale railroad, I always keep a cardboard tray handy with samples of my longest and tallest cars. Anytime that I spot a tight location, I always pull out the appropriate test car, put it on the track, and push it back and forth to look for any interference with the trains. If there is a problem, I’ve found it’s best to immediately make any necessary adjustments to clear the obstacle while I still have easy access to the work site. – Jim Hediger, senior editor Workshop Tips will pay $25 for published tips. Send your modeling and layoutbuilding questions and ideas to Workshop, Model Railroader magazine, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187, or e-mail workshop@ mrmag.com. We regret we can’t answer all the questions we receive. There is no payment for questions; tips are paid for upon publication.

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21

STEPBYSTEP

Cody Grivno added two new signs to Keller Beverage Co. The signs help visitors identify the large industrial complex at Big Bend, Wis., on the HO scale Milwaukee, Racine & Troy. Photos by Bill Zuback

How to model industry signs In the August through October 2014 issues of Model Railroader, I wrote about modeling Keller Beverage Co. This multi-structure industry was identified by one small sign on the front of the brewhouse. Unfortunately, the sign is somewhat obscured by the adjacent sugar unloading building. To leave no doubt as to what this industry is, I added two more signs. 22

The first sign is a simple industrial signboard with supports that are attached to the roof of the old shipping house. The sign uses the same typeface and background color as that on the brewhouse, giving the complex a family look. The second sign is a painted on the side of the brewhouse. Though the sign also features the Keller name, it uses an

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

advertising slogan from an earlier era when the firm only produced beer. Whether you use commercial offerings or make your own, signs are a great way to give the structures on your layout an identity. Not only will they give your model railroad a more realistic appearance, your operators will have one less excuse for spotting cars at the wrong industry.

Cody Grivno

Step 1 Assembling the plastic kit Supports

Locating ribs for supports Tweezer sprue cutters Sprue

Signboard

Hobby knife with no. 11 blade

Top of supports

Microbrush with liquid plastic cement

Supports Angle bracket

Sprue cutter

I used the City Classics rooftop signs kit no. 801 (industrial set no. 1) for Keller Beverage Co. The injectionmolded plastic kit includes signboards in four sizes (I used the 5 ⁄8" x 5" version), supports, bracing, and paper signs. First, I used a pair of tweezer sprue cutters to remove the signboard, supports, and bracing from their respective sprues, as shown at upper left. Next, I dragged a no. 11 blade along the edges of the signboard to remove the molding seam (upper middle image). Then I used a sanding stick to smooth the nubs where the part attached to the sprue. I repeated this process for the supports and bracing. The kit includes short and tall supports. The former were too short to raise the sign over the roughly 1 ⁄4" lip

between the roof and front wall. The latter raised the signboard too high, resulting in a large gap between the top of the wall and the bottom of the sign. To remedy this, I positioned the signboard lower on the tall supports. I used liquid plastic cement to bond the parts (upper right). Once I had all of the supports attached to the signboard and the glue had dried, I used a pair of sprue cutters to trim off the top of each support (lower left). I cleaned up any rough spots with a sanding stick. Finally, I attached the supplied piece of angle to connect the supports (lower right). As with the other parts, I used a no. 11 blade to remove the molding seam and a sanding stick to smooth out the nubs. I attached the angle with liquid plastic cement.

Step 2 Painting and installation Custom sign

Attach with double-sided tape

Grimy Black, Model Master 4887

Before painting the assembled signboard, I washed it in warm water with liquid dish soap added. This removes skin oils, dust, and other impurities that might affect paint adhesion. I let the signboard air dry before spraying it with Model Master 4887 Grimy Black. I let the paint dry until there was no discernible odor (about 24 hours) and sprayed it with Testor’s Dullcote to give it a flat finish.

I made the Keller Beverage Co. sign using Microsoft Word. To do this, I made a text box the same dimension as the face of the signboard (measuring from inside the raised edges). I used the same Copperplate Gothic Bold font and the green background color as the sign on the brewhouse (see photo on opposite page). After printing the sign on a laser printer, I attached it to the signboard with double-sided tape. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

23

STEPBYSTEP Step 3 A sign with history

Stencil

Mask areas painted brick red

⁄"

5 8

⁄"

5 8

Reefer White tinted with Oxide Red

Paint and varnish stripping pad, 3M 7413NA

To give Keller Beverage Co. a sense of history, I used paint and decals to add a sign to the side of the brewhouse. First, I masked a 3" x 49 ⁄16" rectangle on the wall facing the aisle. Then I used an airbrush to spray the uncovered area with Model Master 4873 Reefer White tinted with the same firm’s 4882 Oxide Red. After the white had dried, I masked the top and bottom 5 ⁄8" of the rectangle and sprayed the middle with a light coat of 4886 Reefer Gray. After masking one box for KELLER and a second box for BIER, I sprayed over the gray with 4887 Grimy Black. I’d originally planned to make the sign using a homemade decal, but the toner didn’t adhere to the decal paper like I’d hoped (more on that later). So I went to plan B, printed a new sign on paper, and cut out the KELLER BIER lettering to make a stencil. Next, I aligned the stencil over the two Reefer Gray boxes and applied Reefer White tinted with Oxide Red (upper left). When I removed the stencil, the edges of the letters were a bit fuzzy, so I touched up those areas with a paintbrush and some Reefer Gray. I filled in the missing dots in the B and Rs freehand with Grimy Black. To give the sign an aged look, I used a 3M paint and varnish stripping pad (7413NA) to remove some of the paint (middle photo). I applied gentle pressure to the pad, being careful not to remove the paint down to the bare plastic. Happy with the look of the sign, I used a tack cloth to remove any dust. Then I sprayed the sign with a clear gloss finish, necessary for the next step, decaling.

The BREWED SINCE 1845 and ‘BEST MIT WURST’ lettering were the only parts of the Keller Bier decal that somewhat survived my failed attempt at making decals on our color laser printer. The toner didn’t adhere evenly, giving the lettering an aged look. Happy accident? Yes. So I ran with it. I carefully removed a bit more of the lettering with tape before sealing the lettering with liquid decal film. After positioning the decals and letting them dry (upper right), I applied Micro-Sol setting solution. This helps the decals conform to the brick wall’s irregular surfaces, giving them a painted-on look. I popped trapped air bubbles with a no. 11 blade between applications. Though the red lettering had a chipped appearance, the color was still vibrant compared to the rest of the sign. To blend everything together, I sprayed a control coat of thinned Reefer Gray over the entire sign (lower left). Finally, I masked the three windows on the side of the brewhouse and sprayed the entire side with Testor’s Dullcote (lower right). This gives the wall a uniform, flat finish and helps seal the decals. If you’re looking to increase the visual interest of your structures, try adding signs. Not only do signs give buildings an identity, they can give them a sense of history, too.

Now on ModelRailroader.com Get the signs from this article under the Online Extras tab at our website, www.ModelRailroader.com.

Masked windows Control coat of thinned Reefer Gray

Testor’s Dullcote

Reefer Gray rectangles

24

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

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Price does not include shipping. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

25

7 ways to add operating interest Tips to enliven your next operating session By Dan Lewis • Photos by the author

O

perations have become a big part of model railroading. With timetables and train orders, car cards, and fast clocks, among other items, we can run our layouts in a prototypical manner. But over time, running a train from Point A to Point B and occasionally setting out cars can become routine. With a bit of research, you can add scenarios that will enliven your operating sessions. The examples shown here are from my N scale North Montana Line, an 18 x 24foot N scale layout featured in the September 2011 issue of Model Railroader. The layout is set in 1953-54 along the Milwaukee Road in central Montana, so some of my examples may not work for your railroad or era. For those committed not only to building a model railroad but running it

26

as a transportation system, these smaller aspects of operation are worth considering. Not only do they replicate situations that occur on full-size railroads, they supplement operating sessions with meaningful jobs, adding interest and variety. Dan Lewis lives in Rochester Hills, Mich., with his wife. He is a pastor, writer, and university guest lecturer. Dan also enjoys golf, tennis, and reading.

Now on ModelRailroader.com The photo above is this month’s free computer desktop wallpaper. Download the image by clicking the link under Online Extras at www.ModelRailroader.com.

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

The cattle on this train have been in stockcars for 36 hours, so they need to be unloaded, watered, fed, and given a five hour rest before continuing. This is just one way Dan Lewis adds interest to operating sessions on his N scale Milwaukee Road layout.

1 Icing refrigerator cars

2 Transfer runs

Before mechanical refrigeration, reefers carrying perishables were kept cool by manually loading ice into bunkers at each end of the car. The bunkers were filled at icehouses typically located in or near a yard. Blocks, or “cakes,” of ice were moved by conveyor along a raised platform, where workers used steel poles to shove the ice across planks and into each car’s bunkers. Before shipping, the ice blocks were often topped off with crushed ice. Cars were re-iced in transit approximately once per day. For operating purposes, it can be the yardmaster’s responsibility to make sure all reefers are iced.

Railroads use transfer runs to move cars from a rail yard to a nearby yard or industry. In other instances, the yard might be located some distance from the city, necessitating a transfer run to serve the shippers and receivers in town. On my layout, transfer runs are handled in two ways. First, a pair of An Alco is in charge of the transfer industries in Harlowton are east of, run from Great Falls, Mont., to Falls and not visible from, the yard. A Yard. Later, a transfer run back to transfer run between the yard and Great Falls will be made to deliver these industries ensures any setouts cars from trains 163 and 195. and pickups by scheduled trains are expedited in advance of their arrival. Yard limits extend to these industries, so the yard switcher must pull any cars to be forwarded or spot any incoming cars. The second example follows the prototype. Falls Yard lies some distance from Great Falls. Transfer runs into Great Falls serve the various industries. I don’t model much of the city, but I’ve constructed a staging spur that disappears behind a hill, simulating the line into Great Falls. A transfer run from the spur to the yard and the return trip bookend each operating session.

Workers ice reefers in Harlowton Yard. Dan recommends five fast clock minutes per car for icing.

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

27

A Consolidation helps push time freight No. 163 up the 2 percent grade toward Lewiston, Mont. At the top of the grade, the pusher will disconnect, put the caboose back on the train, and return light to Harlowton.

3 Helper service Any model railroad with grades should consider helper service. To be sure, helpers may be unnecessary for short trains, but as the tonnage increases, the ability of a single locomotive to conquer the grade decreases. Adding locomotives on the front end isn’t the only way to model helper service. Most often, helper engines are at the middle or rear of a train and are cut off after the grade has been crested. Multiple head-end units usually stay with the train for its entire run. There are a few things to keep in mind about helper service. Back in the days before cabooses were built with steel underframes, helper engines had to be placed ahead of the caboose to prevent damaging the car and injuring the crew. When cabooses with steel underframes were the norm, helpers could push on the caboose and easily uncouple at the top of the grade. Some railroads had policies that helpers could only push on the rear of a caboose if they were below a certain horsepower rating. 28

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

On a model railroad, the helper engine requires careful handling. The engineer must coordinate his engine’s speed with the speed of the train in order to avoid derailments and/or to reduce drag. On the prototype, whistle signals were employed by the lead locomotive to tell the helper crew when to apply power, when to drift, or when to brake (e.g., four shorts meant slow down; five shorts indicated speed up). You can incorporate this practice into your operating session if you have soundequipped locomotives. If you’re assigned to be an engineer on a helper engine and can see the entire train at a glance, keep your eye on the coupler slack. The couplers should be bunched near the rear of the train and pulled out near the motive power on the head end. A helper can even disconnect on the fly by putting the couplers in the opposed position between the pusher unit and the last car in the train. At the top of the grade, the helper unit can disconnect by simply reducing his throttle so that the pusher unit drops off. Keep in mind, however, that some railroads had safety policies against uncoupling on the fly.

Electric locomotives running east must be changed out at Harlowton, where the Milwaukee Road’s electrified division ended. Here, a steam locomotive is prepared to replace the boxcab for a run north to Lewiston and Great Falls.

4 Changing motive power There may be several reasons for changing motive power at some intermediate point in a train’s scheduled run. In Montana, the Milwaukee Road changed motive power at division points when the mainline transitioned to the electrified district, beginning at Harlowton and extending west to Avery, Idaho. Beginning at Harlowton, the North Montana Line turned north from the east-west trunk line through Lewistown and Great Falls. Hence, on my layout, I have electric locomotives to simulate trains coming from the electrified district. Obviously they can’t come up the North Montana Line, since there’s no wire! (Actually, I rewrite history just a bit, since no east-west trains from the trunk line were directly routed over the branch.) Electric units coming from the west must be changed, and trains from the east entering the electrified district could be changed over to electric boxcabs.

5 Work trains A work train is used in a variety of situations, including routine maintenance, new construction, derailments, and washouts. Work trains are extras and require clearances and train orders appropriate for extras. Unlike regular extras, work trains can move in both directions, usually for a specified time. A typical work train order might be: ENG 509 WORKS EXTRA 1:00 P.M. UNTIL 4:00 P.M. BETWEEN DENTON AND GREAT FALLS NOT PROTECTING AGAINST EXTRA TRAINS So what does this train order mean? There’s a specific time window when Extra 509 has authority, beginning at 1 p.m. and ending at 4 p.m. Between those times, the train has the right to work the line in either direction between the stations named. Still, during this time the work extra must clear the main for any regularly scheduled trains on the timetable. Other extras intending to come through must wait either at Denton (if westbound) or Great Falls (if eastbound) until after 4 p.m., since there will be no flag protection for the work extra between those points.

A work extra crosses the dry gulch between Great Falls and Choteau. Judging by the consists – a ballast car, tie car, and maintenance-of-way caboose – the work assignment appears to be track maintenance. The operating challenge for the crew of a work extra is to keep a sharp eye on the timetable. If a scheduled train is due to leave Denton westward at, say, 1:35 p.m., the work train crew must have the main cleared at least 5 minutes prior to the train’s departure time. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

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6 Trackage rights and interchange

Spring Creek Junction is where the Milwaukee Road and Great Northern come together under a trackage rights agreement. The Great Northern train is waiting for an eastbound Milwaukee Road time freight before entering the latter’s line.

Some areas of common track existed between the Milwaukee Road and the Great Northern in Montana, which I re-created on my layout. The normal position of the junction switch would be set to the railroad that owned the track. If, for instance, the Milwaukee Road owned the track (which it did coming north out of Lewistown), GN trains had to observe the MILW timetable in that area and restore the switches to the MILW main after entering the line. On the other hand, if GN owned the track (which it did between Emerson and Dracut Junctions), then MILW trains had to observe the GN timetable in that area and normalize the switches to the GN main after entering line. Even if your railroad doesn’t share track with another line, you might consider an interchange, where another railroad crosses your mainline. Often at such crossings there would be an interchange track, where freight cars from one railroad could be transferred to the other. Virtually any type of car might be found on an interchange track, which doubles as a universal industry.

Time freight 195 has been forced to stop due to a situation card – a hotbox in a composite gondola. The car has to be set out on a nearby siding before the train can proceed.

7 Situation cards Unexpected events, while not everyday occurrences, do happen on railroads. A boxcar journal may catch on fire or a drawbar might break on a car or locomotive. On my railroad, the dispatcher has the option of inserting a “situation card” in the op session. The following situations call for appropriate responses: a) You have a hotbox on the second car from the rear of your train. The car must be set out at the next siding. b) Due to delays on the trunk line from Miles City, the incoming stock shipment you picked up at Harlowton now has been on the road for nearly 36 hours. Due to the 36-hour rule, all cattle must be fed, watered, and rested at the next available stock facility. 30

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

c) The drawbar has been pulled from the draft gear of the fourth car in your train. You must stop on the main for repairs, providing flag protection for the front and rear of your train. Repairs should take about 35 minutes. d) Before descending the 2 percent grade from Lewistown to Harlowton, you must set retainers at the top of the grade and release them at the bottom. The time required will be 30 minutes for each action. e) A passenger has died on your train. By law, you must take the body off the train at the first available station in the county where he died. (This actually happened and was recounted by Ray Grensten, who worked on the North Montana Line from 1924 to 1968.) You shouldn’t overuse situation cards, as they may become implausible, if not unbearable. Once in a while they may add interest to your operating session.

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JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

31

Rewriting history

on the Kaw Valley RR A defunct interurban inspired this freelanced S scale layout By Don Ball Photos by the author

M

ike Fyten found the almost perfect prototype for his S scale model railroad in the Kansas City, Kaw Valley & Western Ry. Founded in 1914, the 37-mile short line ran through an idyllic Midwestern setting between Lawrence, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo. However, the line was an electric interurban, and Mike wanted to model steam and diesel locomotives. The railroad also steadily declined from the Great Depression, when it eliminated passenger service, until its ultimate demise in 1961 when it had to pull up tracks to make room for Highway 32. So what should a model railroader do when history doesn’t quite fit his plans? Rewrite it, of course! Mike’s S scale Kaw Valley RR runs around the walls of a 28 x 28-foot space in his basement. It’s set in 1957, and in his vision of history, the Kaw Valley is a prosperous enterprise, so much so that the railroad was able to purchase new diesel locomotives. There are also plenty of rail-served industries and passenger traffic to keep train crews busy on this operations-oriented model railroad. Model Railroader first published a story on Mike’s layout in the August 2001 issue. Here’s an updated look at the Kaw Valley RR, including updates to the towns of Fairfax and North Lawrence.

Getting into S scale Mike has been interested in railroads as long as he can remember. Raised in 1. Train No. 4, a Brill gas-electric, meets an Alco-led freight at Muncie, Kan., on the Kaw Valley RR. Mike Fyten’s freelanced layout provides an alternate history for the prototype Kansas City, Kaw Valley & Western Ry. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

33

2. Alco RS-3 no. 324 pulls a hopper ahead for loading at the Lone Star Cement plant in Bonner Springs. Mike scratchbuilt this industry and almost all the other structures on the layout.

In the late 1980s Mike visited a friend’s S scale model railroad. He was fascinated by the detail and size of the locomotives. Despite already having an HO scale model railroad, Mike purchased his own S scale engine, and then another one a month later. A few years later, Mike moved into a new house and began planning his new S scale Kaw Valley RR.

Building the layout 3. Even though there isn’t a passing siding at Linwood, meets occur with extras taking the industry sidings. Here, a freight extra gets out of the way of the local passenger train led by 2-8-0 no. 41, the last steamer on the Kaw Valley.

Minneapolis, he spent the summer months watching trains run along the Mississippi River. One summer proved especially memorable. “I was about 12 years old and got a ride on the local freight that was working the industries one Saturday,” Mike 34

said. “I thought I’d died and went to heaven.” Mike and his family moved to the Kansas City area when he was in high school. He also built his first 4 x 8-foot model railroad in his family’s basement. He continued the hobby into adulthood.

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

Layout construction began in 1993. Mike held the first operating session in 1994 before most of the scenery or structures were in place. As of this writing, Mike considers the Kaw Valley to be about 90 percent complete. The layout is supported by 1 x 4 opengrid benchwork. Although Mike used some commercial flextrack, most of the track is handlaid using codes 70, 83, and 100 rail on wood ties. The shorter rail height is used on sidings and spurs to look more prototypical. All the track is

Safeway Cereal

KCTRR

Stranger Creek

Paulsell’s Pallet Co.

Chuck’s Concrete

C&NW interchange

45"

6

44"

Cooper’s Elevator and station

Muncie

Ampex Oil Co. 46" Station

Leupold Bros. Co-op

Muncie Sand & Gravel

Station

Mattoon Junction

Station

3 Linwood

1

KCTRR interchange

45"

J. Breau’s Feed & Seed

Keeler Electronics

Inland Cold Storage

42"

Team track

Mobil Oil

46"

Fairfax

4 Kaw River landing

Turntable

Bonner Springs Long’s Lumber

Lone Star Cement

2

Sunshine Biscuit Co.

Station

46"

Turntable

Kansas City, Kan. Yard Federal Cold Storage

Crystal Chemicals

5

Team track UP interchange

North Lawrence

The Kaw Valley RR

Munson’s Meat Co. 46"

S scale (1:64) Room size: 28' x 28' Scale of plan: 1⁄4" = 1'-0", 24" grid Numbered arrows indicate photo locations Illustration by Rick Johnson and Kellie Jaeger

South Lawrence

Station

Dispatcher’s Office

Station Classification tracks Tomie’s Tire Co.

Find more plans online in the ModelRailroader.com Track Plan Database

McKenzie’s Steel Co.

Lawrence Co-op Lift bridge

Lawrence Paper Co.

Ottawa, Kan.

46" ATSF RR

▸▸ The layout at a glance Name: The Kaw Valley RR Scale: S scale (1:64) Size: 28 x 28 feet Prototype: inspired by the Kansas City, Kaw Valley & Western RR Locale: eastern Kansas Era: late 1950s Style: walk-in

Mainline run: 145 feet Minimum radius: 36" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: open grid Height: 40" to 48" Roadbed: 1 ⁄2" Homasote over 3 ⁄4" plywood

Track: code 100 handlaid and flextrack Scenery: plaster gauze over cardboard strips Backdrop: painted wallboard Control: Digitrax DCC

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

35

4. A drag line unloads a coal barge at Kaw River landing. The Kaw Valley will forward the loaded hoppers to connecting railroads.

Finding and building models

5. South Lawrence provides interesting switching challenges for the train crew operating out of the North Lawrence yards. The scenery has yet to be completed, providing an unballasted view of Mike’s track and roadbed.

laid on Homasote roadbed over 3 ⁄4" plywood subroadbed. Mike scratchbuilt the layout’s more than 75 turnouts. He powers the turnouts with Hankscraft display motors in Rix Rax mounting brackets. Control panels along the layout fascia feature turnout controls and maps of specific switching spots. Mike’s train crews appreciate these handy guides during operating sessions. The scenery base is a web of cardboard strips hot-glued together then covered with plaster gauze. Once the plaster dried, Mike covered it with a layer of Perlite, a type of soil additive that can be purchased in bulk at home garden 36

centers. Perlite is a relatively coarse material made from ground volcanic rock. On Mike’s model railroad it provides a good texture base for additional layers of ground cover. Once the basic terrain is in place, Mike adds natural and foam ground cover and other vegetation. He uses a combination of kit-built trees from various manufacturers as well as some scratchbuilt trees that he made from natural materials. Mike finished off his layout’s scenes with a backdrop that he painted. All the scenes are illuminated with overhead fixtures equipped with compact fluorescent lights.

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Compared to more popular modeling scales, there aren’t a lot of kits available commercially in S scale. Mike scratchbuilt almost all the structures on the Kaw Valley. The result is a realistic assortment of models that reflect the variety of industries in the Kansas City area. These include grain elevators, a cement plant, and a coal barge. When Mike first started his layout, it was also difficult to find S scale locomotives and rolling stock. Over the years, though, it’s become easier to find both brass and plastic models. There are currently 13 locomotives on the Kaw Valley roster. Diesel-electric road switchers include Alco RS-3s and General Motors Electro-Motive Division GP9s. Handling switching chores are some EMD SW1 and SW9 diesels. The last steam engine on the line is a 2-8-0 Consolidation. A Brill motor car putters along the line in local passenger service. The entire fleet is equipped with SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Command Control sound decoders. Most of the motive power is lettered for the Kaw

6. Train crews need to pay attention when operating on the Kaw Valley. The light bridge at the pallet plant can’t support the weight of the engine, so an idler flatcar must be used to spot the boxcar.

Valley RR, but there are some locomotives leased from Union Pacific. Mike scratchbuilt about half the rolling stock on the layout. The other half consists of ready-to-run models from several manufacturers, including American Models, Des Plaines Hobbies, and S Helper Service (now owned by MTH).

Operation While Mike enjoys all aspects of the hobby, realistic operation is his favorite part of model railroading. He designed and built the Kaw Valley RR to host operating sessions. The layout runs by timetable and train orders with a dispatcher controlling traffic flow. Mike installed a wireless Digitrax DCC system, which allows his operators to easily follow their trains around the railroad. There are also telephones at each town that connect train crews to the dispatcher. During a typical operating session, eight people run the railroad. Along with

the dispatcher, other jobs include the Kansas City and Lawrence yardmasters and an assistant yardmaster who works out of South Lawrence. Four road crews handle freight and passenger traffic over the line. Using a 4:1 fast clock, a three-hour operating session results in 8 to 10 trains moving over the system. A total of about 50 cars are handled during each session. Off-layout staging tracks allow connecting railroads to interchange with the Kaw Valley. Connections include the Chicago & North Western at Fairfax, the Kansas City Terminal RR at Mattoon Junction, and the Union Pacific RR and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. at North Lawrence. The operating sessions have done a lot to bring the Kaw Valley to life, especially now that the layout is almost finished. Even though the scenes are nearly complete, there are always details that can be added or improved. The S scale Kaw Valley RR should keep its owner and his

operating crews happily busy for many years to come. Don Ball wrote “Build a working interlocking plant” in the January and February 2015 issues of Model Railroader.

▸▸ Meet Mike Fyten Mike Fyten lives in Shawnee, Kan., with his wife of 45 years. After a career in the mechanical and architectural fields, he’s now semi-retired. A lifelong railfan and model railroader, Mike feels fortunate to have visited and operated on some of the best layouts in the United States. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

37

A prototype photo inspired Andy Renshaw’s boxcar detailing job.

A NEW LOOK for a ‘blue-box’ car Breathing new life into an older Athearn boxcar By Andy Renshaw • Photos by the author

T  

he market in the last decade has witnessed the growth of highly detailed ready-to-run models and kits. As new models come out to tempt our pocketbooks, these great models populate our layouts and push classic kits to the back, or even into storage. Returning to model railroading after many years’ hiatus, I discovered some old Athearn freight car kits in various conditions, many of which were inherited from my grandfather. Not wanting to toss them or leave them in storage, I set out to give them a new lease on life. First in line was a 40-foot steel boxcar painted for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. The model captures the overall look and feel of the Association of American Railroads 40-footer well, despite some inaccuracies. My version had the older, small herald and map. A photo I found showed a 40-foot AAR Santa Fe boxcar with the billboard-

38

style herald, yet I could still faintly see the older, small herald beneath the new paint. I realized the existing paint scheme on my kit, plus some new paint and decals, would be perfect to replicate this kind of lineage weathering. Much of my painting process comes from my experience building armor and aircraft models, on which considerable time is spent during painting to provide shadows, highlights, and color modulation. Through layering of colors, much of the weathering is done during the initial painting instead of later trying to make full-strength color look weathered. I’ll touch again on that later, but first, there was a bit of work to do, so out came the tools, paints, and decals. Andy Renshaw is a custom model builder who lives in Archer, Fla., with his wife and daughter. This is his first byline in Model Railroader.

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▸▸ Materials list A-Line 29002 C-style stirrup steps Detail Associates 501 40-foot boxcar detail set Microscale 87-09 Santa Fe freight cars, 1958-1972 87-460 Red/yellow data 87-463 Data and inspection dots Tichy Train Group 3075 Bracket grab irons 3055 6'-0" x 9'-4" Youngstown door

STEP 1 Removing molded-on details Molded-on ladder chiseled off

STEP 2 New doors New 8-foot Youngstown door

New guides from styrene L-angle

Old door guides chiseled off Grab irons chiseled off

The first order of business is removing the coarse details molded into the one-piece plastic body, such as the ladders and grab irons. A chisel blade, files, and some fine-grit sanding sticks are all that are needed, along with patience and a steady hand. I spread out this process over a few workbench sessions. I also removed the brake gear from the underside, as “blue box” cars often placed these details in a mirror image from their correct positions.

After comparing photos and the model, it became obvious to me that one of the things that throws off the look of the Athearn car is the doors. Not only are they the wrong kind, but they’re also a bit short. Substituting them with some 8-foot Youngstown doors and replacing the guides with L-angle styrene strip is one of the greatest improvements one can do. You could replace them with other door sizes or styles, depending on the prototype you’re modeling.

STEP 3 Removing the running board

STEP 4 Underbody detail

Running board removed

Holes filled with styrene

Since this car is from the late 1970s, it wouldn’t have a running board. I removed the one-piece plastic running board and plugged the holes with plastic rod. Detail Associates also makes plugs, if you so desire (part no. 6224). I also used styrene strip to replace the missing portion of the rib where it passed over these holes and used putty to blend the work into the rest of the roof.

Replacement wheelsets

Triple valve

Master cylinder

Reservoir Replacement wheelsets

With all the molded-on grab irons and ladders removed, reconstruction and detailing could begin. The basis for detailing was Detail Associates 40-foot boxcar detail set (no. 501), but the items included are all available separately, as well. Starting with the underside, I added the brake gear and its brass wire piping and rodding. Replacement wheelsets were also provided in the detail set.

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

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STEP 5 Ladders, grabs, and more

STEP 6 Primer paint Hand-paint roof Old Silver

Ladder

Stirrup steps

Grab irons

Airbrush new details with flat black enamel

Tack boards

I used the long ladders from Detail Associates to help cover up the some of the scars left from removing the molded-on ladders. A-Line stirrups replaced the overly thick plastic ones, and grab irons from Tichy and Detail Associates were added. New low tack boards were also placed on the ends and doors.

With construction complete, painting began with brush-painting Floquil Old Silver onto the roof. [Substitute: Model Master German Silver Metallic (no. 2714)] I next primed the underside and the new added detail with airbrushed flat black enamel, which also acts as a nice “shadow” layer. Completely cover any raw metal or plastic in this step, as subsequent paint will be applied in translucent layers, and you don’t want any raw plastic or metal to show through.

STEP 7 Pre-shading

STEP 8 Body paint

Airbrush dark brown into joints and crevices

ATSF Mineral Brown

Old markings show through

Next, a thinned dark brown, such as Burnt Umber or Railroad Tie Brown, was airbrushed on the various joints and crevices. In military modeling, this is referred to as a “pre-shade,” and will show through subsequent layers of paint.

40

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

At last, the desired body color, Floquil ATSF Mineral Brown, [Substitute: Model Master Rust (flat enamel, no. 1785)] is airbrushed on in thin layers. Take your time and build the desired opacity so the preshade and “old” markings show through. The roof also received a layer of paint.

STEP 9 Peeling roof

Scrape off some of Mineral Brown on roof

STEP 10 Applying decals

White glue

Decals

A nice quality of the Old Silver is paint doesn’t adhere to it that well. A scrap piece of plastic was used to scrape off some of the Mineral Brown paint on the roof for the look of peeling paint on galvanized steel. You could also use the chisel blade for this, if you use a very light touch.

After applying a coat of acrylic gloss floor polish (Pledge Multi-Surface Floor Polish), I applied decals from Microscale. I used decals from a variety of sets to reproduce the various markings. To reduce silvering, I brushed on a thin layer of white glue immediately before applying the decals. Any excess glue can be wiped off with a damp cloth or washed off once the decals are dry. I also used Walthers Solvaset to help the decals snuggle around rivets and seams.

STEP 11 Weathering wash

STEP 12 Final weathering

Oil-based wash dragged down sides

Grime airbrushed along bottom

Weathering applied more heavily to detail

Once the decals were dry and the excess white glue removed, I protected the decals with a second coat of acrylic gloss. Now I weathered around the details with a thinned mix of black, brown, and yellow ochre artist’s oil paint. I also dragged this translucent mix gently down the car body sides with a soft brush. A brush dampened with thinner can be used to tidy up unsightly spots as the wash dries.

Once the wash was dry, a light dry-brushing of tan helped some of the details stand out. After that, a coat of clear flat and a faint dusting near the trucks and underside using Floquil Grime finished off the car. Now she rides with pride, and few can tell that it’s an old Athearn model under that paint.

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

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1. The crew plans the day’s operations on the Michigan-California Lumber Co. RR. Shay no. 2, The Deuce, with its unusual T-shaped boiler, inspired Dave Jacobs’ research into logging railroads, which resulted in his On30 layout.

NARROW GAUGE LOGGING

in less than 4 x 7 feet A compact model railroad ended up having a lot to offer By Dave Jacobs • Photos by Dennis Brennan

T  

he Bachmann Shay and Climax were what first attracted me. At the time, the Shay model had recently had excellent reviews, and I started researching the prototypes of the diminutive On30 [also called On21 ⁄2 – Ed.] locomotives. The locomotives, combined with an interest in Western logging railroads, led me to build my small layout, which I call “The Deuce,” after the name given to the Michigan-California (Mich-Cal) Logging Co.’s Shay no. 2. The operational purpose of the MichCal Lumber Co. was logging. Sugar pine was the most profitable, but Douglas fir was available in California as well. The latter wood was used for railroad ties and trestles.

Layout goals I designed a logging camp and its environs after studying a number of model railroading publications. Modeling a logging camp requires a variety of structures, trackwork, scenery, figures, and activities. The camp includes not only loggers involved in different pursuits, but also woodchoppers, a laundress, checkers players, engineers and mechanics, stable hands and horses, bears and garbage cans, railroad materials, and more, surrounded by a forest. The Mich-Cal had at least 16 logging camps, but I focused on one camp and spent time on the details of my compact layout. I enjoy scenery construction because it provides an enormous canvas of opportunities to express whatever creativity I may possess. I truly enjoy beholding the beautiful Earth about me and I try to construct a little portion of it in miniature.

Building the layout My friend Miles Hale built the oval table for the layout using our combined specifications. (I’m not good enough of a carpenter to build an oval table.) Miles and his wife, Fran Hale, greatly enhanced the track plan, and often consulted with considerable kindness to resolve problems. I once asked Miles for psychotherapy. He knows I’m a physician and seemed surprised at my request. “Miles,” I explained, “I have a short circuit somewhere that I can’t correct. The thing is driving me crazy!” Miles found the short. I used Fast Tracks templates and materials for five of the turnouts and some of the trackwork, and bought

2. A logger guides the Hayrack boom system on the spar pole over a pile of logs as a donkey doctor, right foreground, works on the stationary donkey engine. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

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▸▸ The layout at a glance Name: Michigan-California Logging Co. Scale: On30 (1:48 proportion on HO scale track) Size: 3'-10" x 6'-8" Prototype: Michigan-California Lumber Co. Locale: El Dorado County, Calif. Style: Tabletop oval Era: 1918 Mainline run: 19'-4" Minimum radius: 18" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 4 percent Height: 41" to 47" Roadbed: Homasote Track: handlaid Fast Tracks and Micro Engineering code 70 flextrack Scenery: Sculptamold on extruded-foam insulation board Backdrop: photomurals on blue background paper Control: Bachmann E-Z Command DCC

3. The Deuce rolls up to a water tank as log cars roll by below. The hills were created with extruded-foam insulation board covered with tinted Sculptamold. 44

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flextrack for other portions of the layout. Of six turnouts, only one is commercially made. Tortoise by Circuitron switch motors power the turnouts. I used Woodland Scenics SubTerrain inclines to create grades and change elevations. Landforms were created using layered extruded-foam insulation board covered irregularly with Sculptamold; the latter had small quantities of tan acrylic paint mixed in. Cliffs were modeled with products from Bragdon Enterprises. I used several layers of various ground cover, including sand, and foliage from a number of sources, including Woodland Scenics and Brennan’s Natural Ground Cover (www.brennansmodelrr.com). I built Douglas firs from wood trunks dyed with Higgins russet drawing ink and painted with a grimy black color. I drilled holes for caspia branches, which were dyed with Moss Green Design Master spray paint no. 721. I then used Woodland Scenics Green Blend fine ground foam applied with a spray adhesive. The towering trees on the hill on the layout are the first things one sees when entering the train room. The water was modeled with EnviroTex two-part resin. A trickle of water seeps between hills in the forest, where a wrecked steam donkey lies rusting after falling down the hill. A sound system, employing two old automotive speakers, reproduces the sound of the stream and

2

Michigan-California Lumber Co.

Loggers cabin

Stable

Log and stone retaining walls

Spar pole

7

Douglas firs

On30 scale (1:48 proportion on HO scale track) Layout size: 3'-10"x 6'-8" Scale of plan: 1" = 1'-0", 12" grid Numbered arrows indicate photo locations Illustration by Roen Kelly

Timber retaining walls

Bridge

Engine house

Latrine

3 8"

Latrine Stream

Branchline water tank Blacksmith shop

4

Find more plans online in the ModelRailroader.com Track Plan Database.

Firewood shack

1

Ash pit

6 Cribbing

5

Loggers Trackside Timber retaining cabin repair shop walls

Log and stone retaining walls

4. This little logging camp took Dave about two years to build. Structures were scratchbuilt, kitbashed, and assembled from kits. Portions of the fascia remain to be finished. The Douglas firs represent the second-tallest trees in North America. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

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Mich-Cal roster In researching the prototype for Bachmann’s Shay locomotive before building my model railroad, I looked into classic books, including Michael Koch’s Steam and Thunder in the Timber: Saga of the forest railroads and The Shay Locomotive – Titan of the Timber. R. Steven Polkinghorn’s book, Pino Grande – Logging Railroads of the Michigan-California Lumber Co., is also superb. Although all out of print, they can still be found at used book sellers. Reading these books, I learned something about logging, but nothing about mining. Thus I looked at narrow gauge logging railroads using the T-boiler Shay (the so-called “boot boiler Shay”). Possible choices for prototypes narrowed considerably. My penchant for modeling backwoods hills, valleys, and mountains led me to discover the MichiganCalifornia Lumber Co. (the MichCal) and its Deuce, Shay no. 2, the two-spot. This 3-foot gauge locomotive was built by Lima in 1884, it’s builder no. 122. Originally a wood-burner in Michigan, it was brought to California by the El Dorado Lumber Co. in 1901. The railroad became the Mich-Cal Lumber Co. in 1918. Its Shay no. 2 worked for a total of 50 years and is presently the oldest known Shay in existence. I think this no. 2 bears a remarkable resemblance to the Bachmann product. The Mich-Cal roster included a Class B Climax and a StearnsHeisler locomotive, both narrow gauge locomotives and each, at least in my eyes, beautiful. The Climax was Mich-Cal no. 4, built in 1902, and shop no. 339. The Stearns-Heisler, Mich-Cal no. 1, was the third type of geared locomotive on the railroad. Heislers were known for power, durability, and (compared to Shays and Climaxes) speed, but only 625 were built. My three Bachmann geared locomotives, one example of each type, are all appropriate for the MichiganCalifornia Lumber Co. – D.J. 46

5. The Climax moves needed supplies up past a loggers’ cabin to a switchback. The cabin is a Foothill Model Works kit with a scratchbuilt roof and modified door. Dave built several retaining walls on the layout using various materials.

a thunderstorm. Johnny Cash is also available to sing Lumberjack. I applied photographers’ blue background paper to a wall in my room for sky. I drew clouds with white and gray chalks. Modified dry-mounted photomural pictures of hills and mountains were placed on the background paper. Overhead, I had halogen lights installed, which are directed at scenes on the layout.

Structures and rolling stock I scratchbuilt two of three loggers’ cabins, a blacksmith shop, a firewood shack, log and stone retaining walls, and an outhouse, mostly from published photographs. A number of structures were kitbashed from SierraWest Scale Models, Berkshire Valley Models, and others’ kits. An ash pit was kitbashed. The enginehouse was scratchbuilt, based on published photographs of one housing a Shay in El Dorado County, California, owned by the Diamond & Caldor Ry. This county was also the home of the Mich-Cal. One of the pieces of logging equipment I wanted to model was a spar pole, or spar tree. A spar pole was used like a crane to move logs onto log cars. Some sources show only a stick in the ground, stabilized by cables. I’d thought that building one would be a piece of cake, but I was quickly disillusioned. I desperately faced the fact that all of those cables had to go somewhere and do something! These include guy lines and yarding lines, which are used to move

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the logs. I was on a steep learning curve. Each piece of hardware had a purpose, and I wanted to try to get it right. Following a small disaster, I bought fishing line to replace sewing thread for the guy lines. My spar pole is a Hayrack type, and two steam donkey engines were needed. I bought one and modified it, and built another from a kit. I enjoy kitbashing or scratchbuilding from wood. I color with Rembrandt pastels mixed with rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits. I use Bragdon pastels, Prismacolor pens, India inks, conventional paints, and chemical techniques such as A-West Blacken-It for metal. To detail structures as much as possible, I added as many quality figures as possible, and extensively scattered tools, junk, debris, rocks, forest twigs, and other landscaping items. Rolling stock includes a scratchbuilt gondola loaded with leftover hardware from construction of the spar pole. One scratchbuilt flatcar carries a couple loggers enjoying lunch, their saws tossed about with other loads. Another flatcar carries some cant hooks (log rollers). A scratchbuilt water car is built on a modified flatcar.

More online about logging Find “Modeling logging railroads,” a downloadable package about logging railroads, at www.kalmbachhobbystore.com.

6. A trainman crosses the tracks toward a wooden caboose. A stable in the background houses the Mich-Cal’s horses, which haven’t quite been replaced by steam donkeys.

A growth experience My layout, called “The Deuce” after Shay no. 2, has led me into tracklaying, turnout construction, logging scholarship, construction of landforms, a wooded hill, buildings and other structures, and a lot of fun. I think all of these things have been reasonably successful, and I’ve established friendships, which I value. It’s challenging to study the background of a prototype and try to learn to model its features. Digging into the literature was a bit of work, but rewarding. Many of the best sources are out of print and not readily available, but my local library was wonderful. It borrowed books for me from around the country. I needed all the help I could get; there isn’t a lot of narrow gauge railroad logging presently going on in my home state of Kansas. I didn’t find it possible to re-create a precise model of all 16 logging camps of the Mich-Cal. Elements have been condensed to create scenes as closely as possible, and as historically accurate as possible of logging in those bygone days in the American West.

▸▸ Meet Dave Jacobs Dave Jacobs is an 83-year-old retired pathologist in Overland Park, Kan. He spent his career as a hospital director of laboratories with a special interest in surgical pathology. Dave and his wife, Judy, have four kids and eight grandchildren.

7. Mich-Cal Climax no. 4 is about to pass cliffs made with Bragdon Enterprises products. The track is a combination of handlaid and flextrack. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

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In place on Jim Richards’ HO scale Athabaska RR, this Parker through-truss bridge spans a gorge that’s awaiting scenery. Jim “scratchbashed” the bridge using girders modified from two different bridge kits.

‘Scratchbashing’ an

ARCH THROUGHTRUSS BRIDGE Parts from two different bridge kits make a hefty span for an HO scale gorge By Jim Richards • Photos by the author

48

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

T

he western approach to the yard at Grande Rivière on my HO scale Athabaska RR features a dramatic leap across Athabaska River Gorge. Since this is the first thing that a visitor entering the basement sees, it called for an imposing and unusual bridge. I decided to scratchbash a 20thcentury Parker arch through-truss bridge. “Scratchbashing” is a term I coined, meaning to scratchbuild a structure from kit parts. In this case, I’d use parts from Central Valley’s (CV) Pratt through-truss kit and Micro Engineering’s (ME) steel trestle kit. Stretching CV’s kit by one panel would result in an arch through-truss 253 ⁄4" long, perfect for the gap I had to fill.

Fig. 1 Girders from Micro Engineering trestle bents

4. Add sections to top side

Cut on red lines

Girder assembly I cut the long legs from the ME trestle frames and cemented them together, facing the studs toward each other to maintain even spacing. See fig. 1. Next, after cutting away the gusset plates from the X-bracing, I cemented these lacy sections to one side of the legs. See fig. 2. I found out the hard way that not all X-bracing sections are created equal. The

3. When set, cut out spacer studs

1. Cement bent into channel 2. Add more sections

Flip and cement

Micro Engineering TB lattice, detail side down

Fig. 3

The best-laid plans An office supply store made me a mirror-image copy of the CV half-bridge elevation drawing. I cut and taped three copies together to make a full elevation of a stretched through-truss bridge. I taped tracing paper over the top, and with a straightedge, drew a new upper chord, lengthening the two center posts by 1" and the two intermediate posts by 3 ⁄4". I also lowered the bottom chord by 3 ⁄8" to improve clearances for doublestack cars. I planned to use ME trestle bent girders for the vertical posts and CV C-C girders for the diagonal braces. This made my design look much heavier than the original CV bridge design (see the elevation plan on the next page). To prepare for construction, I built a work surface of 1 ⁄2" medium-density fiberboard with a 1 ⁄4" cork covering and a 1" aluminum stop strip along one edge. I also built a simple girder-assembly and cutting jig out of pine that helped me mass-produce a stockpile of CV girders and then cut various materials to length. To kick things off, I built the CV floor assembly according to the directions, lengthening it by one panel. Two steel strap stiffeners supplied with the kits were long enough to do the job. I left off the rail and tie assembly until later.

Fig. 2 Assembling Micro Engineering girders

Micro Engineering TB girder

Drawings not to scale unless noted

ones on sprues numbered 6 and higher are slightly narrower than those on sprues 2, 3, 4, and 5. I used the wider ones. Also, the number of X’s per inch can vary, even within the same sprue. It might not be noticeable when you’re comparing pieces side-by-side, but once they’re glued on opposite sides of the same girder, differences really stand out. I separated the X-bracing strips into three different but compatible batches. I began the bracing slightly back from the leg-girder ends. That way, I could saw off the end with the spacer stud, leaving a socket for the posts that would join them to the bottom girder. After cementing one set of girders to an X-brace section with liquid styrene cement, I let the piece set up overnight. I then used a razor saw to cut out the spacer studs, and cemented X-bracing onto the second side, being sure the Xs lined up with the first. The resulting ME girders resemble CV B-B box girders, but are slimmer, adding interest to the bridge’s appearance.

Building a truss I glued up a number of CV girders on a pine assembly jig, applying long beads of styrene cement with a needle applicator, then pressing the halves together. I cut the bottom off my expanded elevation drawing so I could position the

Lattice removed Central Valley B-B girder .125" x .125" styrene strip .005" x. 165" x .25" (cut from .005" styrene sheet) .040" x .125" styrene strip

.005" x. 165" x .25" (cut from .005" styrene sheet)

bottom chord against the stop strip on the work surface. I then began cutting and dry-fitting bottom chord B-B box girder sections onto the drawing. Here I departed slightly from the CV instructions by rearranging splice positions so a long box girder section spanned the center of the chord. I made sure that the halfway point fell in the middle of an X brace, not between two braces. I used white correction fluid to mark X braces for removal where vertical and diagonal members would meet the bottom chord, then cut them out. I then cemented the B-B sections end to end, pinning them in position as I went. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

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176° 172°

Bridge elevation and assembly

Cut line

Gusset C

Gusset B

Gusset A

All drawings by Rick Johnson Cut angle 140°

86°

88° 88°

86° 70° Double-stack clearance line 70°

Railhead 52° Gusset D

Gusset F

Gusset E

Splice

Bottom chord, CV B-B

Locator post

Truss diagram Vertical girder, ME TB

Fig. 4 Locator posts. When he’s satisfied with the fit of the vertical girders, Jim glues them in place on the previously added locator posts.

Lattice girders

Pins to keep parts aligned

Gusset G

Splice

To hold the ME vertical posts firmly in the CV B-B (lower) and A-B (upper) chords, I made 28 locator posts from strip styrene. I first laminated .040" x .125" styrene strip to .125" x .125" styrene square stock to make a .125" x .165" post. This size is a slip fit in the ends of the ME girders. I cut this composite into 15 ⁄32" lengths, then laminated 1 ⁄4" long pieces of .005" styrene to the bottom half of both sides to make them .135" wide. This is a slip fit in the CV girders. See fig. 3 on the previous page. Note that the angled end posts will require .005" shims along their entire length, since both ends fit into CV girders. I cemented the locator posts in place in the lower chord. To cut the ME vertical girders to length, I dry-fitted them in position, marked the upper end cut angles from the elevation drawing with a razor saw, then completed the cuts at the cutting jig. I sanded the ends where needed to obtain a good fit into the future upper chord’s CV girders. When satisfied, I put a couple of drops of cement inside the lower end of each vertical, re-fitted it over its peg (as shown in fig. 4), slipped a strip of file folder cardstock under it to

Now on ModelRailroader.com

Fig. 5 Diagonal braces. The Central Valley bridge is a pin-connected type. Jim replaced its I-beams with more substantial looking lattice girders. 50

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

The diagrams that accompany this article are available for download so you can have them copied at the needed size. Find them on our website, www.ModelRailroader.com.

176°

Gusset C 172° Gusset B

88°

140° 88°

86°

Gusset A 86° 70° 70°

Gusset H

Gusset G

Gusset F

Gusset D

Gusset E

24-5⁄8" Splice

hold it level as it dried, and pinned it into final position. Installing lengths of CV A-B girders for the upper (arched) chord was a simple matter of marking each piece with a razor saw right on the diagram, transferring it to the cutting jig to complete the cut, slicing out a small piece of X-bracing at each end for a slip fit over the locator pegs, then fitting and cementing the girder sections in place. It’s important to put special care into the cut angles so you’ll get a good-looking upper chord. I then clamped everything in place on my cutting board to let the cement cure. I cut pre-assembled lengths of CV C-C girders to fit as diagonal braces, chamfering the ends into a V and cementing them in place, as shown in fig. 5. I used .040" styrene spacer strips under the diagonals to keep them centered on the larger girders while the cement set, knowing that the gusset plates will hold them securely.

Splice

Full size for N scale Copy at 184 percent for HO

Fig. 6 Gussets shown full size for HO. Make 8 except as noted

C

B

A

H Make 4

D Make 4

E

F

G

Razor blade Gusset templates

Perfect-copy gussets The CV kit is a pin-connected Pratt truss. Since my design had lattice diagonals instead of I-beams, I left out the pin connections and made styrene gusset plates for all girder connections. First, I drew gusset outlines on the plan (the shapes are shown in fig. 6). According to prototype reference photos I studied, lower-chord gussets overlap the lower-chord girder; upper gussets butt up underneath the top chord. For the lower gussets, I cut a strip of .010" styrene 6 scale feet wide. After

.010" styrene

Fig. 7 Making copies. To cut identical gusset plates from .010” styrene, Jim aligned a razor blade with a template and tapped it with a hammer.

making a sample gusset (and marking it “S”), it was easy to make duplicates. Eight gussets of each type are required, except as shown above. Don’t try to draw around the sample and cut on the lines – you’ll never get the accuracy. Instead, clamp the sample down on the material

and work your way around the faces, tapping a razor blade with a hammer, as I’m doing in fig. 7. You’ll cut a perfect copy every time. The upper gussets are narrower. I cut a 31 ⁄2 scale foot strip and followed the same cutting method. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

51

Sighting the lines

Micro Engineering TB girder

Gusset, .010” styrene

Central Valley B-B girder

Filler strips Central Valley C-C girder Flanges trimmed

Fig. 8 Adding gussets. Jim trimmed flanges on the wider girders and added filler strips to the narrow ones to make a flat surface for the gussets.

Micro-Engineering lattice

Central Valley crossbearer

Fig. 9 Mid-level braces. Jim cut down leftover crossbearers and topped them with X-bracing to make these more substantial spreader beams.

Now for something completely different. On my layout the approaches to this span are on curves. The last few feet of bridge track at each end needed to be curved slightly to line up. After removing ties to clear crossbearers, I epoxied Micro Engineering bridge flextrack onto the under-bridge girder structure. To ensure ultimate straightness I clamped the assembly against the aluminum stop strip on my work surface and weighted it down. I left the last flextrack panel at each end unglued for final adjustments. After the epoxy had set overnight, I rested the under-bridge temporarily on the abutments, carefully formed the flextrack ends to line up with the approach curves, and epoxied the ends down on the under-bridge girders. The ME bridge flextrack is narrower than the CV bridge ties, so I made catwalks from .040" x .100" styrene strip to fill the gaps. I scuffed them with coarse sandpaper to simulate wood grain and cemented them directly to the tops of the crossbearers. At this time I also installed the Code 70 guardrails that came with the ME bridge flextrack. I knew painting would be tricky inside the completed through-truss, so, after smearing a film of petroleum jelly onto the tops of the running rails, I airbrushed the insides of the bridge members, plus track and catwalks, with Polly Scale Southern Pacific (SP) Lark Dark Gray with a dusting of Polly Scale SP Lettering Gray. [Polly Scale has been discontinued by the manufacturer. – Ed.] I sprayed the ties and catwalks with Roof Brown. The bridge ties got an airbrushing with Rail Brown, with a blur of Engine Black down the center. When everything looked good, I carefully wiped the paint off the rails.

Stick ’em up To ensure gusset contact with girders of varying thicknesses, I cut away sections of flange on lower chord pieces and vertical posts and made strip styrene spacers for the CV C-C girders, as seen in fig. 8. When cemented in place, the gussets strengthen the assembly enough to permit unpinning the truss from the board and flipping it over for gusset installation on the reverse side. I covered the splice joints between the lower chord girders with riveted splice plates supplied in the CV kit. For the sides and top of the upper chord, I made my own splice plates and cap plates from the same .010" styrene used for the gussets. I made the cap plates the full width 52

of the upper girder. In theory, the bottom of the truss should also have splice plates, but I didn’t bother, because once the bridge is in place the underside is almost impossible to see. I ordered a stock of Micro-Mark’s rivet decals, thinking I might apply rivet detail to all those gussets and splice plates. But in the interest of finishing the bridge sometime this century, I left off the rivet detail. In my mind, those gussets and splices were welded on. The first truss is now complete. Now go back and repeat the process to build a second truss assembly identical to the first. It’ll feel like the movie Groundhog Day, but the second one goes faster.

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Time to stand the two trusses up and make this look like a real bridge. The CV bridge can be built two ways – as one solid piece, or with a lift-off truss assembly for easier track cleaning. The length of my span needed the rigidity of an integrated structure, so I carefully marked the trusses’ lower chords and drilled holes for the alignment pegs molded into the CV crossbearers. I clamped the lower chords onto the pegs with carpenters’ quick-clamps, and, keeping the trusses vertical with two machinist’s squares, cemented them in place. Again realizing I’d have problems getting an airbrush inside the bridge once the upper braces were installed in

the next step, I now masked the track and walkways, suspended the bridge vertically, and sprayed all lower connections and gussets, concentrating on the inside surfaces facing the track.

Original CV cross braces Brace made from ME lattice

Brace yourself To give the bridge a beefier look, I planned to install mid-level spreaders between the trusses. Prototype photos showed many different types of spreaders: flat lattice, lattice girders, angle iron, and I-beams. No two bridges were alike, so I felt free to improvise without fear of contradicting prototype practice. Four CV crossbearers were left over from under-bridge construction. I cut them down and sanded them to a snug fit. I bonded leftover sections of ME lattice back-to-back, cemented them to the tops of the crossbearers, then cemented the resulting spreaders between the trusses at mid-level height. See fig. 9. The beautiful CV top struts with their diagonal braces just looked too delicate for a girder-built bridge. I cut the Xbracing out and cemented a leftover section of ME lattice onto each side to form a narrow lace box-girder. See fig. 10. Because these top struts are so visible, I sanded the tops flat and finished them with 600-grit emery paper. The CV end bracing, with its distinctive “1902” cutout, is too lightweight for this bridge (and, in my eyes, too recognizable), so I fabricated my own. I began by sawing the solid flange off a CV B-B girder-half. I cut the resulting lattice to fit between the trusses’ angled end posts and added 1 ⁄16" styrene angle to both edges as stiffeners. I cut the angled sway braces off the CV end bracing and cemented them onto the bottom of the stiffened lattice. After checking doublestack clearance yet again, I cemented this assembly between the end posts of the bridge. To close the visual gap at the top of the end posts I added a final upper brace of CV lattice stiffened with 1 ⁄16" angle. The result is shown in fig. 11.

Final finish I masked the running rails with 1 ⁄8" art tape and airbrushed the completed bridge with Lark Dark Gray. To create subtle age and shadow effects, I lightly misted Steam Power Black upward on the lower portions of the bridge, then sprayed a light fog of SP Lettering Gray from the top down to simulate sun bleaching. I sprayed a hint of Rail Brown and Roof Brown onto the upper surfaces of the lower chords to suggest mud and rust spray from trains.

Fig. 10 Top bracing. More X-braced girders replaced the top bracing that came with the Central Valley kit. Micro-Engineering lattice

Sway braces

Fig. 11 The end. Deciding the CV end bracing was too distinctive, Jim made a more generic version, incorporating the sway braces from the original part.

I simulated rust, rain streaks, and bird droppings using diluted paint applied with small brushes, powdered pastel stroked on with cotton swabs, and pastel touches straight from the stick. I finished the weathering with pastel fixative (an old trick: warm the can under hot water for a finer spray), followed by a light spray of matte finish. I’m really happy with the way my “scratchbashed” bridge turned out. In its setting across the Athabaska River Gorge, the bridge has a “landmark”

appearance. By type, it’s a Parker truss. That’s especially appropriate, because I’m naming it John Parker Bridge, in honor of my closest collaborator on the railroad, who passed away in 2011. As John would have said, “Now let’s get going on that river scenery down below!” Perhaps that will be the subject of a future article. Jim Richards lives in Durango, Colo. His article “Build a diesel shop” appeared in the July and August 2011 MR. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

53

Track plan for a

Conrail mountain branch

Buffalo

NEW YORK

Lock Haven Altoona Harrisburg

PENNSYLVANIA Nittany & Bald Eagle Conrail

A little-known former Pennsylvania RR line is the focus of this HO scale plan By Bob Sprague

M

odel railroaders are a nostalgic lot. Through modeling we can revisit – or even reinvent – the past. Not surprisingly, many of us wind up adopting a prototype that was operating when we first fell in love with trains. For some, it is the mighty Pennsylvania RR or Southern Pacific. For those who came of age in the 1960s, it may be the Santa Fe or Lehigh Valley. My prototype is the Chessie System, primarily because I spent my teen years chasing yellow, vermillion, and blue diesels around the Mid-Atlantic states. Younger modelers now remember with fondness the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac and Penn Central. Mike Stine is a fan of Conrail, the mega-merger that operated up until 1999. He was quite specific about the era – 1996 – and the area he wanted to model when he asked me to design a layout to fit his 11'-4" x 27'-4" space. Lock Haven, Pa., in the north-central part of the state, was the junction of the Pennsy’s main line between Harrisburg and Buffalo and a branch that ran southwest into the Bald Eagle Valley. Mike wanted to capture the Lock Haven yard, a little bit of Conrail main line, and a portion of the Bald Eagle Branch, which by Mike’s era was being operated as the Nittany & Bald Eagle RR. A prototype like this can be a great choice for a home layout. Sometimes referred to as a “one town” approach, it means that relatively little needs to be left out. Operations can mimic the real thing without resorting to fast clocks or

54

other machinations. Lock Haven offered both mainline action and plenty of opportunities for local switching and way freights. So once I took a look at the substantial packet of maps, drawings, and photos Mike had taken of key features around Lock Haven – very helpful to a designer even when satellite maps are available – I was eager to see what we could do in his space.

Givens and druthers When I’m asked to design a model railroad, I ask the owner to complete a short questionnaire. This helps me to understand what absolutes exist – the “givens” – as well as where the modeler comes down on some of the compromises typically required of a layout design – the “druthers.” Mike was finishing an outbuilding for his layout. It’s 11'-4" x 27'-4" on the inside, but one corner has a pellet stove for which Mike requested 44" of clearance. Because he intends to run auto racks and 89-foot piggybacks, he wisely specified a minimum radius of 30" and no. 6 turnouts. Some modelers try to run long modern freight cars, six-axle locomotives, and passenger cars on curves of 24" radius or even smaller in HO. Such equipment may run, but it often looks terrible as it swings wide on the turns. Mike also wanted to stick with a single-deck layout. He commented, “I only have this lifetime to build it, and I know of no long-lost rich uncles who are about to die.” In terms of “druthers,” Mike listed a mix of longer mainline trains – up to 24

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

cars, plus engines – and local freight. In addition to the junction between branch and mainline, he looked forward to yard switching at Lock Haven. He was okay with short stretches of 18" aisleway (acceptable, in my opinion, if there are wider passing points).

Making it fit Yards and junctions can be among the hardest things to work into a layout design. In general, a yard must be at least twice the length of the longest train, because it must have both classification tracks and a switch lead long enough to hold a train’s worth of cars. Since Lock Haven was to be the centerpiece of Mike’s railroad, I needed 15 feet or so for the longest classification track and another 15 for a drill tracks to accommodate 24-car mainline freights. The prototype yard is mostly straight. I knew I didn’t have a 30-foot wall to work with. But the prototype yard throat

▸▸ The track plan at a glance Name: Conrail’s Bald Eagle Branch Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 11'-4" x 27'-4" Prototype: Conrail Locale: central Pennsylvania Era: 1996 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 60 feet Minimum radius: 30" Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent

50"

Buffalo/Harrisburg (staging)

52"

24" radius Bald Eagle Creek

Down 1.5 percent

Chemical plant

Lock Haven

Chemical plant

Castanea

McElhattan 45"

24" radius

Up 2.5 percent Chemical plant

Down 2.5 percent 52"

Up 1.5 percent

Farm

Bellefonte (staging behind bluff)

Mill Hall

A 47.5"

A East to Nisbet (staging)

50"

45" Up 2.5 percent

Down 2.5 percent Swing gate 47.5" West to Glen Union (staging)

50"

B B

47.5"

Paper mill

Conrail’s Bald Eagle Branch HO scale (1:87.1) Room size: 11'-4" x 27'-4" Scale of plan: 5⁄16" = 1'-0", 12" grid Illustration by Robert W. Sprague and Roen Kelly Find more plans online in the ModelRailroader.com Track Plan Database.

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

55

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Mist-shrouded mountains and then-newly constructed Pennsylvania Highway 220 loom over Tyrone Station on Conrail’s Bald Eagle Branch as a hopper train leans into the curve on Sept. 27, 1981. Ken Kraemer photo

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includes the beginning of the Bald Eagle Branch. By having the branch do doubleduty as yard lead, and by bending the body tracks around a broad curve, I was able to keep the prototype track arrangement of the Lock Haven yard more or less intact. With a 48" or greater radius to the classification tracks, magnetic knuckle couplers should generally couple and release almost as well as they would on a straightaway. A “pinwheel” of turnouts makes the east end of the yard fit on the shorter wall. I was able to represent a little bit more of the Conrail main toward McElhattan to the east on one side of the peninsula. On the real thing, the main line here lies between the river and a bluff. This allows the model main line to descend on one side of the peninsula and then disappear into a backdrop. From there, it enters a double-ended staging yard that represents the continuation of the main line east to Williamsport and Harrisburg. Trains leaving Lock Haven to the west also descend quickly to the same staging yard, representing Buffalo to the west. In this way, west is always to the operator’s left and east is always to his right. This leaves a respectable amount of benchwork to represent the Bald Eagle Branch and the industries at Castanea and Mill Hall. Today some of those industries are gone, with a large “brownfield” marking an Environmental Protection Agency “Superfund” cleanup site. But in a more innocent era, Mike will be able to run local turns out of Lock Haven and service paper and chemical industries along the way, with even space for a

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

little staging representing Bellefonte behind the backdrop and river bluff.

Building the Bald Eagle Branch Construction of the Bald Eagle Branch should be relatively straightforward. I would use L-girder benchwork, supported by shelf brackets around the walls and by 2 x 2 legs on the peninsula. One construction complication is the swinging gate that allows entry to the interior aisle. In order to reach the lowerlevel staging, the mainline west from Lock Haven must descend at a 2.5 percent grade. This means that two tracks must cross the gate, and that they must be at different heights, with the hidden main line a few inches lower than the branch. Mike was game because of the operating variety the hidden staging would offer. Some engineering will also be required to make sure there is sufficient clearance between the staging yard and the main line at McElhattan. I prefer staging yards that are more accessible, but again this arrangement seemed justified to make the plan work. Mike is looking forward to building the Conrail Bald Eagle Branch, and I’m looking forward to pictures of his progress. I think we have succeeded in designing a manageable railroad that represents his chosen “one-town” prototype well. Best of all, he won’t have to outlast rich relatives to complete it! Bob Sprague is a professional layout designer (www.annapolisjunctionrr.com) who frequently contributes his track plans to Model Railroader magazine.

Steam isn’t the only power modeled on Lou Sassi’s Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes RR layout. In this article, he explains how he installed and detailed electric and telephone lines on his model railroad.

How to make and wire realistic-looking utility poles With a little bit of work, those bare poles can come to life By Lou Sassi • Photos by the author

One feature that draws favorable comments on my current On30 Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes RR, and did on my former HO scale West Hoosic Division RR, is the power and telephone lines that serve the miniature homes and industries. I first saw such pole line detail on the beautiful HO scale Hoosic Valley RR of my good friend Dick Elwell. Dick

worked for 45 years as a lineman for New England Telephone Co., and spent most of those years installing and maintaining pole lines in northeastern Massachusetts. He’s been the “expert advisor” I’ve turned to when working on my own miniature pole lines. Depending on what part of the country you’re from, there may be minor differences in

power and telephone line configuration but, by and large, the approach is the same. Remember, too, that the period modeled will dictate the exact look of the lines. I’ve always modeled the early-tomid-20th century Northeast, as has Dick, so we follow the procedures I’ll now explain. If you’re replicating today’s more modern lines, study those in your area.

Building power poles I used Rix Products poles on my HO layout and Berkshire Valley Models railroad line poles on my O scale layout. See fig. 1. Typically, utility poles are about 30 to 35 feet high and carry both power and telephone service. The Berkshire Valley poles are basswood and soft metal kits, and the poles are too short (25 feet) for utility

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

57

3 ⁄16"

Kit includes wood crossarms and cast metal insulators

diameter basswood

Plastic poles and crossarms

Fig. 1 Raw materials. Lou used Rix Products poles, left, on his West Hoosic Division HO scale layout, and Berkshire Valley Models telephone poles, right, along with a couple lengths of 3 ⁄16" diameter basswood on his On30 layout.

White glue

poles. I substitute 3 ⁄16" diameter basswood dowels cut to a scale 40 feet high, 5 feet of which will be buried in the ground, which on my layout is extruded-foam insulation board. In both scales, after distressing the surface with a razor saw, I lightly sand the poles with fine sandpaper to remove any fuzz. Next, I glue the crossarms in place using plastic cement for the Rix poles and Weldbond adhesive for the Berkshire Valley poles. I glue the O scale soft metal insulators in place on the Berkshire Valley poles before painting them. I paint the poles and crossarms an earth color and the insulators Burlington Northern green. I drybrush black pastels on the lower portion of the pole to replicate the weathering caused by rain washing away the creosote that’s often applied to the poles.

Preparing the wires Alligator clips

Fig. 2 Line management. Lou hangs thread and applies white glue to its length to make it easier to work with. Power lines Laterals

Telephone lines

Telephone terminal box Electric meter

Transformer

Fig. 3 Web of lines. A close-up of the detail on a pole serving the Mountain View House shows the power lines, transformer, and telephone lines. 58

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

I use various thicknesses of thread for the actual power and telephone lines. If you try to install thread directly from the bobbin, it has a tendency to curl. To eliminate this problem, I hang a 6-foot length of the thread I intend to use from a screw I drilled into a rafter in the attic. I tie one end of the thread to the screw and attach a few alligator clips to the other end to stretch it straight. If I want any additional stiffness (this makes it easier to create sags) I apply white glue to the thread by putting some glue on my fingers and drawing them along the length of the thread (See fig. 2).

Power to the people Power lines in the era and rural location I model consist of two wires, and are the uppermost wires on the pole. More densely populated areas use three or four conductors, depending on the system in use. I use heavy black button/ carpet thread for power lines in both scales. Before the power is run to individual dwellings, it must be stepped

down from the primary’s higher voltage to the secondary’s lower voltage. To do this, it’s first run through a transformer that’s mounted to the pole just below the power lines and above the telephone lines. Selley Finishing Touches sells HO scale transformers, while Berkshire Valley has them in O scale. One transformer can serve several homes. I glue the transformers in place with 5-minute epoxy, and paint them gray. After running the power lines, I apply white glue to a couple short lengths of the same weight thread from the power lines to the top two electrical mounts on the transformer (fig. 3). I use fine wire to represent the lines running from the three electrical mounts on the face of the transformer to a power head mounted to the side of the pole. Scale Structures Ltd. makes power heads in HO scale, but for O scale I made my own using 2 x 4 Kappler basswood strip stock and three Berkshire Valley insulators. I run three lengths of lighter weight dual-duty quilting thread from the power head on the pole to another mounted on the structure being serviced. The amount of power used by each home is registered on an electric meter that is either attached to the side of the building or in the basement. Berkshire Valley makes O scale meters, while I scratchbuilt my own in HO scale. I used .030" x .125" strip and .100" rod styrene from Evergreen to make my HO meters. I cut the strip to a scale 12" length and the rod to 4" lengths. I paint the strip stock a medium gray, then glue the rod to it and paint that silver to represent the actual meter. I paint the O scale soft-metal meters the same color combination. I prefer to use thin wire (the same diameter as the thread) painted black to simulate the line that runs down the side of

the house from the power head to the electric meter. Everything is glued in place using full strength white glue.

wire (painted black) that’s run down the side of the house to just above the foundation.

Telephone connections

In the case of both power and telephone poles, there would be only one crossarm at a given height per pole unless the pole was at the end of a run or at a sharp bend. In this case an additional crossarm would be added on the opposite side of the pole for additional strength. If the pole in question is at the end of a run, a push (wood) or pull (either wood or cable) support might also be installed (See fig. 4).

Telephone lines are strung a minimum of 8 feet below the power lines. In rural areas these lines are run separately, two wires per dwelling (unless they’re party lines, in which case two wires would serve multiple residences, but let’s not make things too complicated). These are mounted on crossarms with up to 10 insulators. If more insulators are required, more crossarms are added. When lines are run separately, they’re referred to as open wire. In an urban area, where housing is dense, the wires are bundled into a single cable that’s mounted directly to the side of the pole. In either case, the wire (either open or cable) is run to a terminal box I made from 2 x 4 stripwood, and mounted on the side of the pole. Laterals run from the boxes to residences. As with power, the laterals are run to just below the eaves of the house, then down the side, entering the dwelling just above the foundation. For service to a larger commercial structure (like the Mountain House Hotel in fig. 3) I also add a terminal box at the base of the building. Telephone and telegraph wires are usually copper, and since copper turns green from oxidation as it ages, I use light green button thread to represent open wire. Although not used on this project, I opt for fine rosin-core solder for telephone cable. Dual duty quilting thread works for telephone laterals from terminal boxes to homes where, like the power feeds, it’s glued to the end of a length of thin

Double crossarms

Extra support

Power head

Push pole

Fig. 4 End of the line. Power service in town ends near the station, which has its power head affixed to a 6 x 6 pole.

Wiring between the poles Regardless of what I use for wire, I attach it to the pole using a small drop of white glue. An alligator clip is attached to the thread as a weight and the thread (wire) is strung from pole to pole, draping it over the crossarms, up against the insulators. Once I reach the end of a run, I again attach an alligator clip to the thread (fig. 5) and apply a dab of white glue to the thread where it rests against each pole insulator. Once the glue dries (a few minutes) I remove the clips and cut off any excess thread. In the case of telephone cable made from solder, I apply a drop of white glue to the side of each pole, then use an alligator clip to hold the solder in place until the glue dries. While it isn’t necessary to carry all your pole detail to this extreme, I’ve found, despite the additional time and energy spent, the results dramatically increase the realism of a scene. Lou Sassi is a frequent contributor to Model Railroader and its special issues.

Now on ModelRailroader.com Subscribers can download a PDF of Jeff Wilson’s article “Make accurate utility poles and wires” from How to Build Realistic Layouts 4 at www.ModelRailroader.com.

Green thread simulates copper wire

Alligator clip White glue

Fig. 5 Adding tension. Lou used the weight of an alligator clip to keep the lines taut between the poles. He used white glue to attach the lines to the insulators.

▸▸ Materials list Berkshire Valley Models 411 pole insulators 413 electric meters 412 transformers 552 telephone poles Evergreen styrene 136 .030" x .125" strip 213 .100" rod Kappler Mill & Lumber Co. KP1120-OP12 O scale 2 x 4 stripwood Midwest Products 7905 3 ⁄16" diameter hardwood dowels

Rix Products 628-0030 30 and 40 foot poles Selley Finishing Touches 637 transformers Scale Structures Ltd. SS2331 Commercial electrical service power head SS2396 Residential electrical service power head Miscellaneous Thread - various thicknesses fine rosin core solder JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

59

DCCCORNER

Use DecoderPro to simplify programming Type of interface

USB port

Fig. 1 Getting started. When starting DecoderPro, wait for this main pane to open, then either set preferences in the Edit menu or open the Roster. After the February meet-

ing at the Apple Valley Model Railroad Club, one of our members asked me for a simple way to program decoders. He isn’t alone in looking for one. Using a throttle for programming is fine if all you need to change are a few configuration variables (CVs). However, when it comes to much more than using a throttle, it can get cumbersome. If you want to enter a speed table or do some function mapping, programming can become a chore most folks avoid. For that reason I started

using a computer for programming back in 1995 and downloaded DecoderPro as soon as it became available. DecoderPro is one of a package of computer programs called Java Model Railroad Interface (JMRI). It’s designed specifically to program decoders. The great thing about JMRI is that it’s open-source software, regularly updated by a group of volunteers, and is free from the JMRI website (www.jmri.sourceforge.net). These folks regularly add new features and updates to

the programs, and when a new decoder is released, they create a new decoder definition file that users can download and add to the database. Computers with operating systems as old as Windows 98 are supported; I use an old Pentium running Windows 2000. You also need a way to connect your computer either to your command station or to a standalone programmer, usually through a serial or USB port. There’s an extensive list of supported interfaces on the JMRI website. For this article I tested DecoderPro with a Digitrax PR3, RR-CirKits LocoBuffer, and a Sprog DCC Sprog 3. I’ll have a more in-depth look at how these three devices work in the August DCC Corner column. So, what are the advantages of using a computer program like DecoderPro? First, all the CVs for the decoder being programmed are right there on the screen, so you don’t have to remember them. Plus, instead of showing up as, say CV3, it tells you what it is in plain English: acceleration rate. In addition to making programming easier, using a

Click to start new entry

Direct Byte Mode selected

Fig. 2 Looking at the roster. The Roster pane provides a listing of the locomotives saved in DecoderPro with brief information on each. 60

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

computer means you can save all the settings for a decoder. That way if your decoder settings get corrupted or reset to factory default, all you have to do is reload the saved settings and reprogram the decoder. But wait, there’s more! Let’s say you have five Atlas RS-3s all using the same type of decoder. Once you program one, you can simply copy and edit that roster entry, write the settings to the decoder, and then save it in the roster file. Do that three more times and you’re done. After installing JMRI, you’ll notice there are two DecoderPro icons on your screen. DecoderPro and DecoderPro3 are essentially the same, with DecoderPro having the more complete selection of options. Start DecoderPro by clicking on the screen icon and wait until the main pane (fig. 1) opens. Click on the Edit menu option and pick Preferences – this is where you choose which interface you’re using. Select the appropriate choices for your system then hit the Save button – the program will ask to restart DecoderPro, and you need to do this before your settings will take effect. When the program has restarted, your interface should now appear in the main pane (fig. 1); in this case I was using a Digitrax PR3 interface on COM6, which is the USB port the computer will use to communicate with the system. There are several ways to proceed, but I usually select the Roster pane in the main menu. You can see a portion of my loco roster in fig. 2. Note also that Direct Byte Mode is selected as the Programming Mode – some decoders do better with this, while others work best with Paged Mode. To get started

Larry Puckett

1. Fill in these boxes Set the address Choose address type

Saves all changes 2. Click save

3. Read CVs

Fig. 3 Creating an entry. Once you open a roster item or create a new one, you can edit the information or move on to other panes by clicking the tabs along the top.

with your roster, hit +New Loco. At this point you can either read the decoder type from the decoder itself or select it from the list. This is where you may get an error. The JMRI folks told me many manufacturers don’t assign a unique identification to each decoder, instead using the same software version number for all decoders in a series, which can confuse DecoderPro. Consequently, it’s best to just select the correct decoder type from the extensive list and then click on Open Programmer. At this point you’ll see the Roster Entry pane come up (fig. 3). Enter all the appropriate information for the locomotive and click Save to Roster. Next, hit the Read All Sheets button and wait while the program reads all the CVs. Once this is finished, you can move on to any of the other panes by clicking on the appropriate tab at the top. In the Basic pane (fig. 4) you can enter the short and long addresses, set which is active, control the normal direction of the locomotive, and specify the speed steps. In all these panes you’ll have the

option of reading and writing just the changes you make or all settings. Just to be safe, I usually select Write Full Sheet in each pane after making any changes. Some panes only offer a couple selections, whereas some like Speed Table, Function Map, and Sound Levels have many. Let’s move on to the Speed Table pane (fig. 5). Speed tables allow you to fine tune how your locomotive runs. However, because of the complexity, I don’t know many folks who attempt to use them. As you can see though, DecoderPro provides a simple graphical way to create and edit speed tables. You can use the default curves or move the sliders up or down to adjust each of the 28 speed steps. Once you’re done, save the changes and head for the track to see how your new speed table works. Try several different speed tables in the same locomotive just to get a feeling for how they can alter its performance. If you aren’t sure about using DecoderPro, take a few minutes to download it and give it a test drive. You can set

Fig. 4 Basic information. The Basic pane allows you to enter or edit the decoder addresses and the information required for CV29, which controls five characteristics.

Choose a default curve

Or set the sliders manually

Fig. 5 Simplifying speed tables. The graphical interface simplifies complex tasks such as creating speed tables.

it up to operate with a virtual interface simulator in the preferences settings before you decide to purchase an interface. And once you get an interface, don’t be afraid to experiment with all the CV settings available. If you make a mistake, you can always reprogram or reset your decoder to factory default and start over. Because of the low voltage on the programming track you’re unlikely to do any physical damage to a decoder,

and some interfaces shut down if they detect a short when a locomotive is placed on the programming track. If you run into any problems, there’s extensive troubleshooting information on the JMRI website and a JMRI users group on Yahoo Groups (www.groups.yahoo.com). If you have any questions or comments for me, visit my website at www.dccguy.com or e-mail me at dccguy@ dccguy.com.

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

61

PRODUCTREVIEWS

Factory-installed DCC and sound highlight the Bachmann N scale 2-8-4 A late-era Super Power steamer

joins the Bachmann Sound Value line with this N scale 2-8-4. All the models feature roadname-specific detailing; our review sample is decorated and detailed as Chesapeake & Ohio no. 2760. Developed with SoundTraxx, the Sound Value decoder installed in the model operates on direct-current and Digital Command Control layouts. The prototype. The Super Power concept developed by the Lima Locomotive Works combined design elements such as high boiler pressure and a large firebox to maximize a locomotive’s use of steam. The first non-experimental example of such a fast and powerful locomotive was the 2-8-4 Berkshire type delivered to the Boston & Albany in 1925. The Advisory Mechanical Committee of the four major Van Sweringen-owned railroads (the Chesapeake & Ohio, Erie, Nickel Plate Road, and Pere Marquette) revised the 2-8-4 Super Power design in 1927. Starting with the Erie in that same year, all four lines would eventually roster similar 2-8-4 locomotives.

The Chesapeake & Ohio received its 90 class K-4 2-8-4s between 1943 and 1947 from both Lima and Alco. Named the Kanawha type by the C&O, the versatile workhorses hauled coal drags, merchandise freight, and protected passenger schedules during busy seasons. The Kanawha type had a relatively short career. By the early 1950s, ElectroMotive Division F7 diesels had taken over many of the steamers’ assignments. The entire class was retired in 1957. The model. The Bachmann 2-8-4 matches the dimensions of prototype builder’s diagrams. As with most N scale models, the oversize couplers make the total length over pulling faces 2 scale feet too long compared to the prototype. Our review sample models C&O no. 2760, one of 25 class K-4 locomotives delivered by Alco in 1947. The model includes the spotting features that differentiated the C&O Kanawha from other Van Sweringen 2-8-4s. The placement of molded and separately applied details matches the C&O prototype. The steam dome is located behind the sand dome. Metal handrails

Knuckle coupler

Drawbar

The smokebox door features an oval numberplate and low-mounted headlight. The rivet pattern on the plastic tender also matches prototype photos. Separate plastic parts include the tender ladder, throttle linkage along the engineer’s side of the boiler, and sand lines. The handrails and stanchions are separate metal parts. There’s clear glazing in all the cab windows. The boiler backhead features molded fire door detail. The vent on the cab roof is molded in the open position. The black paint on the locomotive and tender has a smooth satin finish. The smokebox, stack, and exposed firebox are correctly painted graphite. The yellow window sashes and green interior walls are also prototypically correct. The non-functioning white classification lights on the smokebox are appropriate for an extra (non-scheduled) train or following section of a scheduled train. The cab numbers and tender lettering are opaque and in the correct font. The tiny locomotive classification printing is so small that I couldn’t read it. It’s correctly placed in the lower front corner

Die-cast boiler

Builder’s plate

Knuckle coupler

The N scale locomotive features operating knuckle couplers and a die-cast metal boiler with plastic and metal detail parts. 62

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

▸▸ More reviews & videos At www.ModelRailroader.com subscribers can read more than 1,000 previously published reviews and watch more than 200 exclusive product demo videos.

of the right cab side, but according to prototype photos, it’s incorrectly placed in the rear corner of the left cab side. The diamond-shaped Lima builder’s plates are out of place for our review sample. Based on an Alco-built prototype, the model should have that firm’s distinctive rectangular builder’s plates. Mechanism. The flywheel-equipped coreless motor is inside the split die-cast metal locomotive chassis. A gearbox is connected to the second and third driver axles. Metal side rods transfer power to the other axles. A plastic drawbar with copper electrical contacts running under it connect the locomotive and tender. After removing four screws on the tender chassis, I easily lifted off the plastic tender shell. Six wires running from the locomotive are soldered to the main printed-circuit (PC) board. The Sound Value decoder is also plugged into a 9-pin socket on the main PC board. A downward-facing ½" diameter round speaker fits into a recess on the plastic tender chassis. Performance. On our DCC test track the 2-8-4 started rolling at 4 scale mph in speed step 1 and accelerated to a top speed of 75 scale mph in speed step 28. Setting the decoder to 128 speed steps offers finer control, and with that setting the locomotive rolled smoothly at 2 scale mph in speed step 1. On our DC test track, I ran the locomotive with an MRC Tech 7 power pack. The model required a lot of voltage (9.5V) to start moving smoothly at 6 scale mph. The 2-8-4 accelerated to 45 scale mph at 12V. The model easily negotiated the 13" radius curves and no. 6 turnouts on our Red Oak project layout. Its 1.25 ounce drawbar pull is equivalent to 30 N scale freight cars on straight and level track.

Dana Kawala

Sounds. Out of the box, our review sample emitted a sharp squeak whenever I pressed the whistle. Removing the tender shell and making sure it was seated correctly on the chassis before reassembly solved the problem. The Sound Value decoder has the same excellent sonic qualities of a fully featured SoundTraxx Tsunami decoder. The exhaust chuffs are properly timed at four chuffs per wheel revolution. The whistle has the deep “steamboat” quality of the prototype. Both a long and short whistle blast can be triggered with function keys. Other functions include the bell, a boiler blowdown, and a headlight dimmer. Unlike the Tsunami, the Sound Value decoder lacks an adjustable equalizer and some of the other advanced sound controls. It also doesn’t support CV61 for setting up a function key to be used as a brake to stop the locomotive. However, most of the programmable CVs are supported, including adding momentum, setting up speed tables, and adjusting individual volume levels. Using an NCE Powercab DCC system, I easily programmed CVs both on a programming track and on the main. On a DC layout, most of the sound effects are automatic, including the exhaust chuff and the cross-compound air compressor. A forward whistle signal (two toots) sounds just before the model starts moving forward, while a reverse signal (three toots) sounds just before the model backs up. A single toot sounds when the locomotive stops and the bell rings at speeds under 20 scale mph. The Bachmann 2-8-4 is an impressive model that captures both the look and sounds of a powerful mainline steam locomotive. – Dana Kawala, senior editor

▸▸ Bachmann N scale 2-8-4 Price: $329 Manufacturer Bachmann Trains 1400 East Erie Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19124 www.bachmanntrains.com Road names: Chesapeake & Ohio (nos. 2760 and 2724), Nickel Plate Road (nos. 759 and 765), Pere Marquette no. 1225 Era: 1943 to 1957 (as detailed) Features ▪ Coreless motor with brass flywheel ▪ Die-cast metal boiler and chassis ▪ Dual-mode sound decoder ▪ Electrical pickup on six drivers and all tender wheels ▪ E-Z Mate Mark II knuckle couplers on pilot and tender at the correct height ▪ Light-emitting diode (LED) headlight and backup light ▪ Metal wheels in gauge ▪ Minimum radius: 11.25" ▪ Traction tires ▪ Weight: 6.3 ounces (total), 4.4 ounces (engine only)

N scale 2-8-4 steam locomotive Drawbar pull

1.2 ounces 30 N scale freight cars

Scale speed (DC) Volts Scale mph 9.5 (start) 3 10 6.5 11 25 12 45

Scale speed (DCC) Speed step Scale mph 1 4 7 40 14 61 28 75

DCC decoder

Now on ModelRailroader.com Subscribers can see and hear the DCC-sound-equipped Bachmann N scale Berkshire in action. Click on the link under Online Extras at www.ModelRailroader.com.

Knuckle coupler

The Digital Command Control decoder is housed inside the tender. A downwardfacing speaker is enclosed in the tender floor. JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

63

PRODUCTREVIEWS

Road-specific details and sound highlight WalthersProto HO scale GP30 diesel 2,500-hp unit would eclipse General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division’s 1,800 and 2,000-hp GP18s and -20s. GM didn’t have a 2,500-hp locomotive to sell. Instead of continuing its short-lived practice of naming locomotives to indicate horsepower ratings, EMD decided the next model would be the GP30. It sported a 2,250-hp 567D3 V-16 engine and a distinctive fairing at the top of its carbody that helped integrate an electrical cabinet that was stuffed full of equipment

Featuring a high level of protoypical detail and available with a SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Command Control decoder, the WalthersProto HO scale GP30 captures the sights and sounds of its second-generation prototype. The decoder delivers realistic sound on direct-current and DCC layouts. In the early 1960s, General Electric had severed ties with Alco and was about to debut its U25B road-switcher. The LED headlight

PC board and decoder LED headlight

Flywheel

Motor

Die-cast metal frame

The WalthersProto GP30 has a large die-cast metal weight on top of its frame. A decoder, light-emitting diode lights, and speaker are attached to the weight. 64

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

to deal with the increased horsepower. The units sold well, with nearly 950 built from July 1961 to November 1963. Walthers is offering numerous detail differences depending on road name. The Norfolk & Western and Southern Ry. units have high short hoods and the CSX and Union Pacific models have enlarged cabs on the fireman’s side to allow for an extra seat for a brakeman. The WalthersProto GP30 matched dimensions I found in a 1962 EMD specifications book, and the CSX paint scheme matched photos I found online and in Brian Solomon’s book CSX. The road numbers match CSX’s 1980s rebuilds classified as GP30Ms. The only detail discrepancy I noticed was the louvered battery box door. All the photos of CSX GP30s I found showed “mail slot” style battery box doors. Etched-metal grills highlight the fan castings on the roof, and the radiator, electrical cabinet, and dynamic brake grills are painted with a gray wash to simulate open areas. The bell is mounted on the fireman’s side of the long hood on the front of the dynamic brake blister as per CSX practice. Walkways have diamond tread detail and the plastic steps are perforated. The handrails are molded in flexible gray plastic with the railings at the ends painted yellow to match CSX paint schemes. There were some voids in the large CSX lettering on the side of the



long hood, and the yellow paint on the sills and the nose is a little heavy, softening the detail molded into the shell. All the small lettering is neatly printed, and I could even count all 50 stars in the flag decals on the sides of the cab. Under the hood a five-pole can motor

and flywheel are mounted in the middle of the die-cast metal frame and drive all eight wheels through universal joints. A die-cast metal weight is screwed on top of the frame. The electronics, including in our sample a SoundTraxx Tsunami dual-mode Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder, are screwed to the weight. The WalthersProto GP30 was a solid

performer in DCC. Using an NCE Power Cab, the locomotive started moving at 3 scale mph in speed step 1, topping out at 85 scale mph in speed step 28, just above the 83 mph the prototype could do with the highest gearing. When I switched to 128 speed steps, the locomotive crawled along at just over 1 scale mph in speed step 1. Over on the Wisconsin & Southern Troy Branch on Model Railroader’s Milwaukee, Racine & Troy club layout, the GP30 performed well. With the throttle set to 128 speed steps, I could ease the locomotive up to a cut of cars and stop just as the couplers locked. Sound quality from the SoundTraxx Tsunami decoder enhanced the experience with the throb of EMD’s 567 diesel engine. The model had no trouble moving cuts of cars in and out of the yard and sidings on the layout. Using an MRC Tech II powerpack, I found the locomotive didn’t perform quite as well on direct current (DC) at first. Engine sounds started up at 6V and the locomotive started moving jerkily at a little over 2 scale mph at just over 7V. It didn’t smooth out until about 8V, at which point it ran smoothly at 3 scale mph. Following the SoundTraxx online users manual, I improved the DC slow speed operation by raising the analog start voltage in Configuration Variable (CV) 63 from a factory setting of 25 to 35. A DCC system or analog controller such

Now on ModelRailroader.com Subscribers can watch a video of the Walthers HO scale GP30 diesel at www.ModelRailroader.com.

▸▸ WalthersProto HO GP30 Price: $299.98 with SoundTraxx dual-mode sound decoder, $199.98 direct current Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 www.walthers.com Era: 1963 to 1990s Road names: CSX, Norfolk & Western, Southern, Union Pacific Features ▪ 14:1 helical gears ▪ Factory-installed metal grab irons and lift rings ▪ Five-pole skew-wound can motor with flywheel ▪ LED constant and directional headlights ▪ Proto-Max metal knuckle couplers at correct height ▪ Road-specific details ▪ Weight: 13.1 ounces

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WalthersProto HO EMD GP30 Drawbar pull

2.7 ounces 38 HO scale freight cars

Scale speed (DC) Volts Scale mph 7.4 (start) 2.4 9 33 10 39 12 93

Scale speed (DCC) Speed step Scale mph 1 3 7 23 14 46 28 85

as an MRC Tech 6 is required to program CVs. Note that different power packs may require different settings. At up to 10 scale mph on our DC layout, the diesel’s bell rings, and the horn automatically sounds before starting forward, reversing, or stopping. A quick flick of the throttle triggered a grade-crossing warning of two long, one short, and one long blast. With a little practice, I was able to reverse direction without the sound dropping out and restarting. Top speed at 12V was a little high at 93 scale mph. The GP30 was a landmark locomotive for EMD in the early 1960s. Serving into the 1990s on Class I railroads, these locomotives are still working for short lines and scenic railroads today. Anyone modeling the last 50 years could find a use for one on his layout. – Eric White, associate editor

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65

PRODUCTREVIEWS Sound card

▸▸ Kato analog sound controller Price: $279.99 Manufacturer Kato USA Inc. 100 Remington Rd. Schaumburg, IL 60173 www.katousa.com

Speaker Male snap connectors

Kato Sound Box brings user-controlled effects to non-DCC locomotives Sound brings a new level of fun to a model railroad, but what’s a modeler to do if he doesn’t want to convert to Digital Command Control? Kato USA offers one solution with its Sound Box analog sound controller. With this device attached to a direct-current power pack, a modeler at a stationary location can blow the horn, hear the rumble of the diesel engine, and set momentum and effects without the need to install a decoder or convert a layout to DCC. Easy set up. An instruction sheet out-

lines how to connect the Sound Box to a Kato power pack with the supplied Kato jumper cable. The unit is designed to work on both N and HO scale layouts. The Sound Box is self-contained in a 21 ⁄8" x 5" x 95 ⁄8" plastic case. Male snap connectors on its left side allow the Sound Box to easily connect to the female snap terminals on a Kato power pack, which eliminates the need for an additional power supply. A Kato turnout controller can be attached to the female snap connectors on the Sound Box’s right side. The Sound Box can be connected to non-Kato DC power packs via a terminal adapter cord (Kato part no. 24-843, manufacturer’s suggested retail price $3.50). This component has a Kato plug that fits into the Sound Box on one end and a pair of spade clips on the other 66

that attach to the screw terminals of non-Kato power packs. To get power to the Sound Box using a non-Kato power pack, modelers can use either a separate power supply (up to 18V, 3A, not included) or purchase a Kato DC converter (part no. 24-842, MSRP $7). This latter component connects the snap terminals of the Sound Box to the alternating-current accessory terminals of a non-Kato power pack. The track feeders attach to a socket in the Sound Box. This can either be the cable from a Kato UniTrack terminal section or a Kato adapter cable for other brands of track. Operation. Instead of on-board decod-

ers, the Sound Box uses removable sound cards that fit into a slot on top of the unit. Each card features a different selection of prototype sounds. The Sound Box includes a first-generation General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division diesel sound card. As of this writing, sound cards that feature other steam and diesel prototypes are in development. The sound files on the cartridge are from SoundTraxx and are of the same high quality as those on the firm’s DCC sound decoders. After placing an N scale Kato F3A on the track, I turned up the voltage on the power pack, and heard the EMD 567 prime mover start up. Since the 2"-diameter speaker on the Sound

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

Box is larger than those typically used in HO or N scale decoder installations, it captured more of the rumbling bass of the prototype. The sound remained clear without any distortion as I turned up the volume knob. The sound card includes three different airhorn sounds. I chose a singlechime horn for our F3A. Turning up the start knob added some realistic acceleration and deceleration momentum, while adjusting the sync knob allowed me to have the diesel engine ramp up before the locomotive started moving. When using a steam sound card, this knob is also used to synchronize the exhaust chuffs to the motion of the drivers. Six numbered buttons control the sound effects. In addition to the horn and bell, other user-triggered effects include a coupler crash, brake release when stationary, and squealing brakes when moving. Button 3 triggers the dynamic brake fan sound. That button also turns the engine sounds on or off when the model is stationary. A mic jack lets users attach an external microphone for making station stop or other announcements. There’s also a separate volume knob for this output. The line out jack allows the Sound Box to be connected to an external sound system or a set of headphones for a more immersive experience. Since it’s DC, the Sound Box can only run with one train at a time on a layout or electrical block. However, for solo operations or watching trains from a stationary location, the Sound Box offers an easy way to add high-quality sound effects to a model railroad.– D.K.

Now on ModelRailroader.com Subscribers can hear the Kato Sound Box for themselves. Click on the link under Online Extras on the MR home page for a video demo.

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PRODUCTREVIEWS QUICKLOOK Tangent Scale Models HO scale 8,000-gallon acid tank car Price: $44.95 (R-T-R, decorated or undecorated), $37.95 (undecorated kit) Manufacturer: Tangent Scale Models P.O. Box 6514 Asheville, NC 28816 www.tangentscalemodels.com Era: 1949 into the 1980s Paint schemes: (4 road numbers each, all GATX reporting marks) DOW Chemical Co. (1953 black scheme with bright yellow graphics), 1952+ black general service, Stauffer Chemical Co. (1953 gray-and-black scheme), 1971+ white lease scheme with a large black stripe. Undecorated versions available. Comments: Tangent Scale Models has released a superb replica of a post-World War II 8,000-gallon acid tank car with a welded steel tank built by General American Transportation Corp. (GATX). With a booming postwar economy, shippers demanded new specialservice tank cars to haul dangerous commodities such as hydrochloric (muriatic), hydrofluoric, phosphoric, and sulfuric acids. These special acid

cars had rubber linings and could be easily spotted thanks to their small single expansion dome and lack of bottom tank outlets. The GATX plant in Sharon, Pa., made large quantities of at least three different, but similar riveted post-war acid tank cars. The specific prototypes for these welded models were built between 1949 and 1960. Most of the welded cars remained in acid service well into the 1980s. With a scale 78" diameter tank, this acid car has a visually different proportion from most petroleum tank cars, so it’ll add some variety to a train. Our sample includes prototypespecific plastic detail parts with an etched-brass see-though dome platform and safety running boards. It’s assembled with a combination of cement and concealed screws.

These parts include AB brake detail and train air line, distinctive dome appliances, individually applied tank handrails and tank strap detail, plus wire grab irons and uncoupling levers. Our car weighs 3 ounces, which matches the National Model Railroad Association’s Recommendation 20.1. The sample car rolls smoothly on plastic models of ASF cast-steel trucks with spring plank details, separate brake beams, and free-rolling scale 33" metal wheels (mounted in gauge). Our acid car came fitted with body-mounted Kadee no. 158 “scale” couplers, but they were mounted about .010" low. Whether decorated for “plain” cars or GATX lease colors, these acid tank cars will certainly draw attention in an HO scale freight train. – Jim Hediger, senior editor

The gondola’s interior and exterior have molded rivet and tie-down detail. The metal floor is painted to simulate wood and has board and bolt-hole detail. The stars of the show are the separate Z-shaped exterior posts. The underbody has a one-piece sill with crossbearer and crosstie detail; separate brake appliances; and brake lever, hanger, and pipe detail. Overall, the model’s dimensions closely follow dimensional data published in the January 1949 Official Railway Equipment Register. The inside length is a scale 6 inches too short, and the inside width is a scale

foot too narrow, a problem typical on most gondola models. The Macdonald-Cartier knuckle couplers are at the correct height. The 70-ton trucks have properly gauged 33" metal wheelsets. At 4.2 ounces, the gondola is .5 ounce too light based on National Model Railroad Association recommended practice 20.1. The prototypes operated on both sides of the border, so this car would be appropriate whether you’re modeling a Canadian or American prototype. – Cody Grivno, associate editor

QUICKLOOK Rapido Trains HO scale 52'-6" mill gondola Price: $44.95; six-pack, $269.70 Manufacturer Rapido Trains, in association with MLW 500 Alden Rd., Unit 16 Markham, ON L3R 5H5 www.rapidotrains.com Era: 1965 to 1999 (as decorated) Road names: Canadian Pacific; CP Rail; Canadian National (two schemes); and Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Comments: A new run of Canadianspecific 52'-6" mill gondolas is available from Rapido Trains. The HO scale cars are based on prototypes built by National Steel Car and Eastern Car Co. between 1943 and 1957. Our sample is decorated in a 1960s repaint scheme. The full-size CN no. 143193 was part of a 500-car order built by Eastern Car Co. in 1949. 68

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

Tony Koester

TRAINSOFTHOUGHT

Overnighting in a ‘caboose motel’

When Clark Propst spotted this caboose on a specific track, a retiree of the railroad recognized the place thanks to Clark’s accurate modeling and confirmed it indeed was the place they left their caboose overnight. Clark Propst photo We have several interesting aspects

of railroading large and small to discuss this month, all based on the above model photo: modeling a prototype accurately, getting counsel from professional railroaders, and remembering that a caboose was once a conductor’s home away from home. Let’s start with the caboose as a bedand-breakfast. Back in the good ol’ days, which many retired railroaders will tell you weren’t really that great after all, each caboose was assigned to a specific conductor. I spent many an interesting afternoon on Nickel Plate Road wood caboose 1149 as it – and NKP conductor Bill Love, to whom it was assigned – overnighted in Michigan City, Ind. Bill had rigged a TV antenna on a power pole, and the engine crew took care to spot his caboose within hookup distance of that pole. The caboose was literally his home away from home. When Bill was not at his home terminal in Peru, Ind., 1149 served as his “motel.” Most conductors were understandably a bit fussy about how the rest of the rear-end crew treated their away-from-home domicile.

Clark Propst, who models the Minneapolis & St. Louis, wasn’t sure where the local’s crew that overnighted in Mason City, Iowa (River City of “Music Man” fame), spotted its caboose. When Clark invited a retired M&StL brakeman to see his railroad and asked him about that, the pro recognized the location because Clark had modeled it accurately and pointed to the exact spot. An old photo later confirmed this. That was a win for Clark on several

fronts. First, it’s always rewarding to have a knowledgeable observer view one’s work, recognize the surroundings, and pronounce them authentic. It confirms that one has done his or her due diligence and produced an accurate rendition of a given time and place. And it confirms that one’s operating scheme is correct: That caboose should indeed be spotted right there to allow the crew to get a good night’s rest. It would be unlikely for this caboose to be in another crew’s way and have to be moved, thus almost certainly incurring the wrath of someone senior enough to be a conductor. But in a large yard where many cabooses are shoved into a caboose track, there is a high

probability that those cabooses will have to be switched during the rest period so that a rested crew’s caboose can be attached to the proper train. Woe betide the switch crew that bangs into a cut of cabooses and either rudely wakes “the boss” or upsets the contents of his neatly maintained caboose. In any event, Clark had the good word straight from the horse’s mouth. There was no longer a need to assume that thus and so was how things were done on the “Louie” in Mason City. We modelers often make inaccurate assumptions simply because we don’t do our homework. Sometimes that’s because the subject we’re modeling doesn’t exist anymore, or a railroad is too far away from our homes to be easily, or frequently, researched. Sometimes it’s because we simply don’t make the effort. That’s a lose-lose situation; we don’t gain that sense of fulfillment that comes with learning interesting facts and applying them to our modeling, nor is the history of that railroad passed on. “Not my concern,” you say; “I freelance.” Maybe, maybe not. Those of us who just enjoy running our miniature trains may not care much about the fullsize hardware they represent. Come home from work, grab a brew and some dinner, kick back, and watch the trains roll by. I can see the appeal. As one who has built one freelanced and one prototype-based model railroad, I have a keen understanding of the differences and, ideally, the similarities. What you get back from something is indeed a function of what you put into it. Invest little, and you’ll receive less in return. Invest more, get a bigger reward. Of course, not everyone is looking for a big reward, so a small investment suits him or her just fine. Full-size railroading is really interesting. Tales (and photos) of the rails almost always make fascinating reading. Kalmbach’s Trains magazine will keep you up to date on today’s railroading, and Classic Trains will inform you about the 1960s and earlier eras. I read both magazines and glean modeling tips from each issue. And learning how the pros do or did it is just downright interesting! JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

69

TRACKSIDEPHOTOS Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe FTs lead a westbound freight as newly painted F45s pull an eastbound through Abo Canyon, N.M. The action happen on the N scale Southwestern-themed layout built by John Fogg of Lakewood, Colo. The FTs are by InterMountain and the F45s are from Athearn. John shot the photo.

Want to see your work in Trackside Photos? Trackside Photos is a showcase for the work of Model Railroader readers. We encourage contributions. Send your photos (digital images 5 megapixels or better) to: Model Railroader, Trackside Photos, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612; or upload them to http://fileupload.kalmbach.com/ Submission/contribute/. Include caption information, such as what’s going on in the picture; the layout’s scale, era, and locale; and information about the rolling stock or structures shown. For a copy of our photo submission guidelines, contact editorial associate Eric Stelpflug at 262-796-8776, ext. 583, or [email protected].

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Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

71

TRACKSIDEPHOTOS

Train No. 11, which originates in Winnebago Rapids, Wis., crosses the gantlet bridge over the Winnebagoland River on its way to Lake Trudie. The action takes place on Emory Luebke’s Winnebago Rapids & Northern, an HO scale railroad in Greenville, Wis. Dave Rickaby shot the photo.

As fishermen try to get in some quiet time below the rural Pennsylvania covered bridge, a Chattanooga RR 2-8-0 backs to pick up its caboose after doing some local switching. Pete Lachelli of Monaca, Pa., photographed the scene on his freelanced HO scale railroad. The engine is a Tyco model; the caboose is from Roundhouse.

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Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

It’s a busy day at the J. Britton Brewery, and Milwaukee Road SW9 no. 1643 has spotted a boxcar of empty bottles to be filled. Bill Alt of Evansville, Wis., named the brewery on his HO scale layout for the late Jim Britton, who with Bill helped found the WIS-ILL Modular RR Club of Janesville, Wis., in 1994. The industry is a modified Heljan kit, the switcher is a Proto2000 model, and the ribbed-side boxcar is from ExactRail.

The Empire State Express, the Grand Central Terminal-to-Buffalo, N.Y., streamliner, interchanges Montrealbound cars to the Delaware & Hudson’s Laurentian at Troy, N.Y. Tom Gillen of Evergreen, Colo., was inspired by a photo of the prototype New York Central RR by Jim Shaughnessy that appeared in the book The Call of Trains (W.W. Norton & Co., 2008). Tom staged the scene on his HO scale NYC layout; Paul Brennecke shot the photo.

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

73

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EMBROIDERED RAILROAD PATCHES, 1,000 designs. Catalog $5.00. The Patch King, PO Box 145, York Harbor, ME 03911. EVERGREEN TREES and tree kits made with real wooden trunks. Simple method with realistic results. See more at www.coastmans.com

Services CUSTOM LAYOUT DESIGNS by James Adams. Flat rates based on size and levels, also full size layout print templates available. 602-705-2330.

INDUSTRIES BEST BACKDROP Hi-res. photo quality, washable and resistant to water, 70% alcohol, most household cleaners, hydrocal even paint! www.RailroadBackdrops.com or 800-216-9202.

Business Opportunities

Wanted - Miscellaneous

HELP WANTED Hiring 2 part-time positions - Experienced Model Railroad Modeler and Apprentice Model Railroad Builder. Both positions require the ability to travel out of state. Send contact info, skill level and pay requirements to [email protected]

ALL TRAIN COLLECTORS & MODELERS- We need more trains to supply our ever expanding group of interested buyers. We buy HO & N Scale Trains - Brass, Marklin, Rivarossi, Atlas, Kato, MicroTrains, etc. as well as better trains in all scales. We also purchase store inventories. We also can auction your trains with rates starting as low as 15%. We travel extensively all over the US and Canada. Send us your list today or for more information see www.trainz.com/sell Trainz, 2740 Faith Industrial Dr., Buford, GA 30518. 866-285-5840, [email protected] Fax: 866-935-9504

ARIZONA • Phoenix

CORONADO SCALE MODELS

1544 E. Cypress St.

602-254-9656

ARIZONA • Tempe

Family owned, full service. Special orders welcomed. Athearn, Lionel, Bachmann, Digitrax & Soundtraxx dealer. Plastic models, books, magazines, paints, building materials, scenery, & more. Free classes and clinics.

HOBBY DEPOT

216 W. Southern Ave.

480-968-1880

CALIFORNIA • Atascadero

All scales G to Z. Special orders welcome. Midway LA & SF. US 101-US 41, easy access. Open Tuesday - Friday 10-6, Saturday 10-5 E-mail Anita at: [email protected] Web site: www.centralcoasttrains.com

CENTRAL COAST TRAINS

7600 El Camino Real # 3

805-466-1391

CALIFORNIA • Bellflower

Friendly Hobby Store Now Open! We carry N, HO, HOn3, S, Sn3. RailMaster, Athearn, Tangent & more. DCC: Digitrax, Soundtraxx, dealer. Special Orders Welcomed! www.railmasterhobbies.com

RAILMASTER HOBBIES

9812 Belmont St.

562-867-5627

All scales G through N, collectibles old & new. Authorized LGB, Lionel, MTH & Märklin dealer. One of the most complete train stores in So. Calif. UPS worldwide shipper. Visit our website at www.trainshack.com

THE TRAIN SHACK

1030 N. Hollywood Way

800-572-9929

Largest selection in the East Bay. 93 foot HO layout. Buy - sell - trade - consign - repairs detail parts in all scales. Lionel. Discount prices & friendly service. Website: www.just-trains.com

JUST TRAINS

Subscribe to Model Railroader! Call 1-800-533-6644 or visit ModelRailroader.com today!

CALIFORNIA • Costa Mesa

CALIFORNIA • Roseville (Sacramento)

Exclusively model trains since 1989. Athearn, Kato, MDC, Lionel, Atlas, LGB, Mårklin, Brass Imports, books, detail parts. Everyday low prices. Open 7 days. www.rrhobbies.com

Lionel, AF, LGB, HO, N, & Z Gauge. New, used, & collectibles. Buy, sell, trade & repair. Tue-Fri 12-7, Sat 9-5, Sun 11-3.

THE TRAIN CROSSING

1089-C Baker Street

714-549-1596

CALIFORNIA • Culver City

Narrow gauge almost exclusively. On3 - Sn3 - HOn3 - On30. Kits, parts, brass & books. Mon-Fri 8-12, 1-5, Sat 8-12.

5650-H Imhoff Dr.

CUSTOM MODEL RAILROAD DESIGN and Building Service. Fair pricing, willing to travel to your site to build. Start new or work on existing projects. 844-TRAINS-O ask for Mike.

For Sale - Miscellaneous

CALIFORNIA • Concord

Come and see our NEW store! Tues - Fri 10-5:30, Sat 9-5, Sun 1-4 Shop online at www.aawtrains.com

CUSTOM LAYOUT BUILDING. Fine scale custom layout building. Specializing in prototype modeling. Layout Design. The Shelf Layouts Company, Inc. www.shelflayouts.com 301404-8164.

Wanted-O Tinplate

CALIFORNIA • Burbank

Full line of HO scale trains. New and used and repair. Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 - 5:00 www.jackstrainsofaz.com

CUSTOM BUILDING & PAINTING, kit building, kit-bashing & scratchbuilding. Locomotives, rolling stock, structures & more. 12 Penny Lane, Newark, DE 19702, 302-229-6010, www.tmbcustommodels.com

925-685-6566

Exclusively trains. Craft kits, detail parts, scratch supplies, books. Ride the trolley to Reed's. Open Mon through Sat 10:00-6:00; Sun 12-4. www.reeds-hobbies.com

ALLIED MODEL TRAINS

310-313-9353

CALIFORNIA • Hemet

DYNAMIC HOBBIES

951-925-9331

CALIFORNIA • Hollister

Model planes, car, ships & figures. Model train scales: Z, N, HO, O & G. Paints, tools. R/C & parts, incl. service. Craft & educational kits, supplies, products. ESU Lok Sound Dealer clinics available. Tue-Sat 11-6; Sun 12-4.

B.C.T. HOBBY & CRAFTS

201-C McCray St.

831-635-0537

CALIFORNIA • La Mirada

R HOBBIES

562-777-9492

TALBOT’S HOBBIES

445 South “B” Street

650-931-8110

CALIFORNIA • Santa Clara

100% trains. Discount prices. Super selection. Monday 9:30am-3:30pm Tuesday - Saturday 9:30am-6:00pm Closed Sunday Dennis Cole E-mail: [email protected]

THE TRAIN SHOP

1829 Pruneridge Ave.

408-296-1050

707-545-7643

Visit us and the Tehachapi Loop N thru G - Also Trains with History Mon -Sat 9:30-5 (closed Tue & Wed), Sun 11-4 www.trainsetc.biz or [email protected]

ROGER’S RAILROAD JUNCTION

209-334-5623

CALIFORNIA • Pasadena

Model rail specialists since 1951. LGB, Lionel, O, S, On3, HO, HOn3, N, Z. Complete stock of brass imports, new & used. Books, tools, structures, detail parts. Open 7 days. www.thewhistlestop.com

THE ORIGINAL WHISTLE STOP INC

POGGIES TRAINS

100 Foley Street

CALIFORNIA • Tehachapi

Z - N - HO - HOn3 - O27 - On30 Locos - Rolling Stock - Digital - Structures Landscaping Material & more. www.Rogersrailroadjunction.com E-mail: [email protected]

2490 E. Colorado Blvd.

Lionel, Märklin, HO scale. Domestic and imported trains. Mon-Sat 9:30-6, Sun 11-5. www.talbotstoyland.com

HO and N Scale is our specialty. Blackstone, Atlas and SoundTraxx factory-trained dealer. Model trains is all we do. Mon - Thur 10-5, Fri 10-6, Sat 10-4

CALIFORNIA • Lodi

105 S. Sacramento St.

619-464-1672

CALIFORNIA • Santa Rosa

We now carry Z, N, HO, S, O and G. Lionel, LGB, S-Helper and MTH Monday - Saturday 10-6. Closed Sunday 14269 Imperial Hwy.

REED’S HOBBY SHOP

8039 La Mesa Blvd.

CALIFORNIA • San Mateo

We carry Lionel, MTH, HO, N, Atlas, Walthers, Ross switches, Gargraves & Peco. 45’ long in-store layout. Open 7 days. www.dynamichobbies.net 811 East Florida Avenue

916-782-6067

CALIFORNIA • San Diego (La Mesa)

A friendly model railroad store since 1946. 3 miles north of L.A.X. All scale, all sizes including Märklin, Fleischmann and Digitrax too. [email protected]

4371 S. Sepulveda Blvd.

RAILROAD HOBBIES

119 Vernon St.

626-796-7791

TRAINS, ETC.

114 W. Tehachapi Blvd.

661-822-7777

CALIFORNIA • Westminster (Orange Co.) Model Train Super Center Largest Selection of Model Trains in So. Cal! Discount Prices. Open 6 Days a Week! www.arniestrains.com

ARNIE’S MODEL TRAINS

6452 Industry Way

714-893-1015

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

77

RETAIL DIRECTORY

LITCHFIELD STATION

1412 N. Central Ave., Ste. D

Custom Painting & Building

QUALITY O SCALE FRT & PASS TRAINS mid-50’s prototype. Joe Fischer hvywt pass consists and cars. CN steam era. Pass decals midwest (Chicago). What have you? Full Want List for SSAE. No calls. Jim Seacrest, PO Box 6397, Lincoln, NE 68506-0397.

to established accounts for one year minimum); also for six months at $353 (payable in advance). Ads will be set in standard listing typography. All insertions must be consecutive and may be invoiced if you have credit established with us. No mention of mail order business permitted. CLOSING DATES are listed in the “Schedule of Events” section. For more information call 888-558-1544, ext. 815. Northeast Alabama’s Largest! All Scales - All Major Brands Tues - Fri 10-6; Sat 9-3 E-mail: [email protected] www.modelcitymodels.com

MODEL AUTOMOBILE AND TRUCK KITS WANTED- unbuilt or built, any size collection. Fred Sterns, 48 Standish, Buffalo, NY 14216. 716-838-6797. email: fsterns@ aol.com

Wanted-O Scale

LEADING MODEL RETAILERS Retail Directory spaces are sold on a year’s basis at $654 per year (payable in advance) or at $60 per month (billed ALABAMA • Anniston

IREK’S TOYS AND TRAINS buys vintage slot cars and diecast vehicles including Matchbox, Dinky, Schuco and others. Call 972-429-7980 or email: [email protected]

CALIFORNIA - MICHIGAN

CALIFORNIA • Yuba City

A full service model train store. Large inventory, HO, N, O & O27 Tinplate. Books, videos, collector & gift items. Repair service. We buy old toy trains. www.westerndepot.com

THE WESTERN DEPOT

1650 Sierra Ave. #203

530-673-6776

COLORADO • Colorado Springs

New and used brass, Southern Colorado's oldest, largest, and most complete train store. All gauges. Authorized Lionel and MTH sales and service. www.CustomRailwaySupply.com

CUSTOM RAILWAY SUPPLY

1015 Garden of the Gods Rd., #150

719-634-4616

COLORADO • Colorado Springs

Full service store for all skill levels. 100% trains. Z, N, HO, O, G scales. Lionel, Märklin, MTH: Authorized Dealer. Repair all gauges. www.sunbirdtrainmart.com Open Mon-Fri 10-8, Sat 10-5:30, Sun 12-5.

DISCOUNT TRAINS

3311 N. Academy Blvd.

719-574-2080

COLORADO • Denver

CABOOSE HOBBIES, INC.

303-777-6766

CONNECTICUT • Branford

Trains, planes, boats, cars. Closed Sun & Mon. Open Tue, Wed, Thu 10-5:30. Fri 10-9, Sat 10-5. (West Main)

BRANFORD HOBBIES

609 W. Main St. (rear)

203-488-9865

CONNECTICUT • Canaan

BERKSHIRE HILLS HOBBY SUPPLY

860-824-0527

CONNECTICUT • Cos Cob

ANN’S HOBBY CENTER

203-869-0969

CONNECTICUT • Manchester

All scales Z, N, HO, O, O-27, G, #1, MTH, Lionel, Märklin, LGB, Walthers, Aristo, Trix,etc. Digital Sales-Install. Large operating layouts. Mon-Wed 10-6 Th-Fri 10-9 Sat-Sun 10-6 www.timemachinehobby.com Time Machine Hobby - New England Hobby Supply 71 Hilliard St. 860-646-0610/Fax-645-0504

CONNECTICUT • Winsted

A hobby shop for modelers by modelers. From hard to find to latest & greatest. Free classes & clinics / multi scales. Large store of quality products @ fair prices. Friendly service: www.rrhobbysupply.com

RR MODEL & HOBBY SUPPLY

100 Whiting Street

860-379-3383

CONNECTICUT • Wolcott

Exclusively brass models. One of the largest selections in the country. All scales. Buy, consign, trade - entire collections bought. Mon - Fri 8 -5 www.thecaboose.com

THE CABOOSE

5 Mohawk Drive

203-879-9797

DELAWARE • Ocean View

No sales tax at the Delaware seashore. Lionel new & used . . . . also Atlas, Bachmann, MTH. We buy used trains. Auth. Lionel repairs. Large inventory of used HO trains. Open Tues - Sat 11-4:30, Closed Sun & Mon

SEASIDE HOBBIES

15 Daisey Ave.

302-539-1601

One of Florida's largest model train & hobby shops. All scales. Authorized Lionel & MTH service station. MonThu 9-7:30, Fri 9-9, Sat 9-6. 20 min. from Disney.

COLONIAL PHOTO & HOBBY, INC.

634 North Mills

Competitive prices, friendly service. All makes & models, trains & accessories Z - G. Lionel, Micro-Train, MTH Dealer www.trainsbyjohnson.com Old Palafox St. at 10 Mile Rd.

TRAINS BY JOHNSON

10412 N. Palafox Hwy.

ROUNDHOUSE SOUTH

4611 Ridgewood Ave.

Trains, trains, trains. Model railroading at its best. Visit us in the store or on the Web at www.gcmrr.com Open Mon-Fri 10-6. Sat 10-5.

GULF COAST MODEL RAILROAD, INC.

3222 Clark Rd.

941-923-9303

The last decent place in Florida not endorsed by Mickey Mouse. Huge inventory in all gauges. Great store, come see! Daily 10-6, Sat 10-6, Sun 11-5 www.hrtrains.com

H & R TRAINS, INC.

6901 US Hwy. 19 N, Pinellas Park

239-332-0422

FLORIDA • Lantana (West Palm area) Full line Hobby Shop specializing in Trains. Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-4, Sun 12-4 www.depothobbyshop.com 1/2 mile east of I-95 exit #61.

THE DEPOT HOBBY SHOP

561-585-1982

FLORIDA • Miami

Shop "Warehouse Style" for Z to G. MTH, Lionel, Kato, LGB, Broadway Ltd., Atlas, Peco, Walthers at discount prices. Open Mon 11-5, Tue - Fri 10-6, Sat 9-6, Sun closed Feb - Oct, Nov - Jan 10-3.

READY TO ROLL

305-688-8868

B & G TRAIN WORLD

829 Walnut Ave.

847-888-2646

ILLINOIS • Marion

LEGACY STATION TRAINS

Full-Line Hobby Shop. HO & N scale locomotives, scenery, plastic models, R/C, tools, paints, and more. Open Tue - Fri 1:30-6:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm

CHUCK’S DEPOT

1913 W. Rendelman St.

P/F 618-993-9179

ILLINOIS • Maryville

Large 60’ x 70’ customer operated DCC HO layout. Located 17 miles from St. Louis near I-70/I-55 exit 15B. For shop hours/maps pictures, layout construction times, train running see www.k-10smodeltrains.com

K-10'S MODEL TRAINS

618-288-9720

19 Schiber Court

ILLINOIS • Mundelein

Specializing in trains, HO, N, O, G, Lionel. Books and videos. Northern IL railfan headquarters. Closed Monday. Please call for other hours. Fax 847-949-8687. [email protected]

RON'S MUNDELEIN HOBBIES

847-949-8680

431 N. Lake St. (Rt. 45)

ILLINOIS • Springfield HO / G / N. Special orders / discount prices. Display layouts / clinics / assistance. Sat 9-6; Sun 12-5; Tues & Thurs 10-9.

CASTLE TRAINS & TREASURES

4782 Old Jacksonville Rd.

217-793-0407

Say you saw their directory ad in Model Railroader. INDIANA • Bremen

770-991-6085

GEORGIA • Blue Ridge

Small town, Large shop, O, HO & N scales. Discounts. Three operating O, HO & N layouts. Large selection- since 1961. Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri 10-6; Sat 10-4.

BREMEN HOBBIES

FREE TIME HOBBIES

4167 East First St.

706-946-1120

GEORGIA • Braselton

Bargains Galore! Located 1/2 mile off I-85 exit 129. Featuring HO, O, toys and die cast items from Trainz.com Hours: Mon - Sat 10-6, Sun 1-5

ANTIQUE MALL TRAINS

5134 Georgia 53

706-654-3693

GEORGIA • Buford (Atlanta)

Quality, Selection & Service. Discount pricing in all scales. Mon - Sat 11-6, Sun 1-6 Across from NS Mainline in Downtown Buford Web store at: www.trainmastermodels.com

TRAINMASTER MODELS

601 East Main St.

678-546-3600

Exclusively model trains & slot cars. Lionel value-added dealer. Trains & accessories from Z - G discounted. HO ordered at a discount. Kato, Atlas, Micro-Trains, MTH & Lionel. Call for hours. www.antiochmodeltrains.com

ANTIOCH MODEL TRAINS & HOBBY

847-395-5025

THE GOLDEN SPIKE TRAIN SHOP

708-598-3114

ILLINOIS • Des Plaines

N, HO, S, O, G Std. & Narrow gauge too. Lots of scratchbuilding parts and stuff too. Brass, books & DVDs. Close to O'Hare. M, T, W, F 10-6; Th 10-8; Sat 9:30-5; Sun 11-5 Web Store: www.desplaineshobbies.com

DES PLAINES HOBBIES

1524 Lee St. (Mannheim Rd.)

847-297-2118

ILLINOIS • Downers Grove

TIMBERLINE TRAIN SHOP, LTD.

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

PARK LANE HOBBIES

219-322-1123

1080 Joliet St. (US 30)

Trains are our only business! HO, N, O27. Brass, books, magazines, detail parts, paints & accessories. 1 block West of Shadeland Ave. on Washington St. Mon-Sat 10:30-6. www.waynestrains.biz

TRAIN CENTRAL

6742 E. Washington (U.S. 40)

317-375-0832

INDIANA • Lafayette

New location. You have to see it to believe it. Color photos, rolling stock, structures, detail parts; HO, HOn3, O, N scales. Monday - Friday 12-5; Sat 10-5. Evenings by appointment.

HAWKINS RAIL SERVICES

765-742-5577

3501 Union St., Suite 6

IOWA • Urbandale

N, HO, & O Lionel, MTH, Atlas Exit #129 I-80/I-35, 2 miles south Iowa’s premier Model Railroad store Open 7 days a week.

HOBBY HAVEN

515-276-8785

2575 86th Street

KANSAS • Overland Park (KC Area)

O, S. HO, N, Z & G Scale Lionel, MTH, A/F, Marklin, LGB & more! New, Used & Vintage. Extensive scenery line. Repair, custom work & layouts. www.fredstrainshop.com

FRED’S TRAIN SHOP

913-383-3500

7327 West 80th St.

HO scale model trains. Custom paint, structure building, scenery, parts, tools, DCC, N. E. RRs our specialty. Located on Rt. 1 between Portland & Freeport. Mon - Sat 10-5, Sun 12-4 www.mainemodelworks.com

MAINE MODELWORKS

207-781-8300

417 US Route 1

MAINE • York

630-324-6136

TRAIN DEPOT

Model trains & slot cars. Most scales available. Accessories & services. New, pre-owned & vintage. Working layout! Open 7 days 10-5 www.yorkvillagemarketplace.com

YORK VILLAGE MARKETPLACE

207-363-4830

891 U.S. Route 1

If we don't have it, we'll get it! LGB, Woodland Scenics, Walthers Dealer, Aristo, Delton, Pola, Lionel, Bachmann, Spectrum, Proto 2000. Mon - Sat 10-6. Full line Kalmbach! [email protected]

STAR HOBBY

1564 Whitehall Rd.

301-607-8155

MARYLAND • Pittsville (OC)

Selling used and new trains of all scales, plus accessories for your layout. Retail store open Thursday, Friday & Saturday. [email protected] www.scaletrainsnow.com

K & K TRAINS

34594 Mt. Hermon Rd.

443-944-1546

MARYLAND • Sykesville

Central Maryland’s best kept secret - a family friendly model train shop that specializes in HO & N Scale at very generous discounts. Please call for hours or visit us at www.themoosecaboose.com

THE MOOSE CABOOSE

1341 W. Liberty Rd.

410-795-4610

100% trains, N, HO, HOn3, O, kits, tools, books, videos. New/used, buy, sell, trade. Appraisals. Railroading spoken here. M, W, F 7pm-9pm, Sat 9am-5pm.

ACTON MODEL RAILROAD CENTER

562 Mass Ave. (Rt. 111)

978-264-4020

MASSACHUSETTS • Ashburnham

Specializing in New England road names, HO/N Scale. Micro-Trains, Walthers, Horizon. Special orders discounted. Tu & Th 10-4, Wed & Fri 11-6, Sat 10-6 www.halfpricehobby.com [email protected]

SHEPAUG RAILROAD COMPANY

978-537-2277

HO & N Model railroading Scale kits, parts & supplies How-to books and magazines Tues-Fri 11AM-5:30PM, Sat 10AM-4:00PM www.mainetrains.com

MAINE TRAINS

210 Boston Road Rt. 4

978-250-1442

MASSACHUSETTS • Duxbury G - 1 - O - S - HO - N - Z Buy - Sell - Trade - New - Used - Repairs Märklin Dealer Wednesday - Sunday 11-6

DUXBURY GREEN, INC.

382 Kingstown Way (Rt. 53)

781-585-2164

MICHIGAN • Bridgeport

Scales Z to G. All at discount prices. Am. Models, Aristo, Athearn, Atlas, Bachmann, Con-Cor, IHC, USA, Kadee, Kato, K-Line, Lionel, MTH, Walthers, LGB, HLW. www.jvrailroad.com

JUNCTION VALLEY RR HOBBY SHOP

7065 Dixie Hwy.

989-777-3480

MICHIGAN • Flint

G (LGB & 1:20,3), O (Lionel & MTH), On30, HO, N, & Z. Locos,cars, figures, buildings, track, kits, scenery supplies, details, books & videos. Digitrax Dealer. Repair service. VISA/MC. Mon-Fri 10-8, Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5

RIDERS HOBBY SHOP

2061 S Linden Rd

810-720-2500

MICHIGAN • Fraser Full line hobby shop. Open Mon-Fri 10 -8, Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5 www.pdhobbyshop.com

P & D HOBBY SHOP

31280 Groesbeck Hwy.

586-296-6116

MICHIGAN • Grand Rapids

LGB, O (Lionel, MTH & Scale), HO, N & Z Locos, cars, figures, buildings, track, tools, kits, scenery supplies, details, books, videos. Digitrax Dealer. Repair service VISA/MC Open Mon-Fri 10-8 & Sat 10-7

RIDER’S HOBBY SHOP

2055 28th Street SE

616-247-9933

MICHIGAN • Leslie

Michigan’s Largest N Scale Dealer. Tue - Thur 1-9. Fri & Sat* 1-5. *Closed Saturdays Memorial to Labor Day. We also carry Z, HO & G Scales. www.ggtrains.com

G&G TRAINS

1800 Baseline Road

517-589-5977

MICHIGAN • Mount Pleasant

MARYLAND • Annapolis

HO and N Scale Model Trains and Accessories Two Blocks South of Metra Station at Maple Ave. www.timberlinetrainshop.com 5228 Main St

N, HO & O, DCC & Digitax Dealer. Atlas, Athearn, BLI & Walthers. Plastics, modeling supplies & detail parts. Special orders. Competitive prices. Mon-Fri 10-6; Sat 10-5; Sun 11-3. www.parklanehobbiesonline.com

MAINE • Falmouth

Specializing in HO. One of the most complete exclusive model railroad shops in the midwest. 6357 W. 79th Street

574-546-3807

INDIANA • Indianapolis

North Georgia’s train store in Blue Ridge Specializing in N & HO scale Mon - Fri 10:00-6:00; Sat 10:00-2:00 www.freetimetrains.com Valley Village Center

1 S. Main St.

MASSACHUSETTS • Chelmsford

INDIANA • Dyer

RIVERDALE STATION

410-229-9995

For all your model railroad needs. Sales & service since 1910. Authorized Lionel value added dealer, service station #20. American Flyer, MTH sales and service. www.traindepotatmtairy.com

23 Westminster St.

GEORGIA • Atlanta (Riverdale)

6632 Hwy. 85, Riverdale Plaza

M.B. KLEIN

243 Cockeysville Rd., Ste. A

MASSACHUSETTS • Acton (West)

308 N. Bowen Ave., SR 331

Atlanta's Finest Shop for serious modelers! Quality items in all scales at fair prices. Service - Repairs. Over 32 years of quality service. Close to all Interstate Hwys. 8-min. from Atlanta Airport. Tue-Sat 10-5:30

Model RR headquarters since 1913. Excellent selection HO & N equipment & accessories; Lionel. All at disc. prices. Mon - Fri 10-5; Sat 9-5. www.modeltrainstuff.com

MARYLAND • Mt. Airy

4153 Lawrenceville Hwy., #12 770-339-7780

ILLINOIS • Burbank

METRO TRAINS & HOBBIES

MARYLAND • Baltimore/Cockeysville

N, HO, O, Circus models. Scratchbuilding supplies, paints, tools. Repair service. We will special order. Digitrax dealer.

727-526-4682

Lionel Train Top 10 Dealer MTH Train Mega Dealer 400 s.f. layout, HUGE selection, service, repair www.legacystation.com 800-964-8724

FLORIDA • Ft. Myers

78

386-304-7003

FLORIDA • Sarasota

924 Main St.

831 N.W. 143rd Street

850-478-8584

Your Southern Connection for Quality Products! Featuring O, HO, Woodland Scenics. MTH MegaStation & National Service Center. Breyer Horses. Mon - Fri 9:30-5; Sat 9:30-4. www.roundhousesouth.com

Lionel, American Flyer, MTH Trains bought and sold www.traincity.com www.choochooauctions.com TRAIN CITY, INC. - CHARLES SIEGEL 387 Imperial Blvd., Ste. 2 321-799-4005

518 W. Lantana Rd.

407-841-1485

FLORIDA • Pensacola

ILLINOIS • Antioch

Come visit our new store! N, HO, O, G scale model railroading. Paint, tools, scenery, & accessories. Plastic models & rockets. Mon-Sat 10:00am-6:00pm. Closed Sunday.

RETAIL DIRECTORY

FLORIDA • Orlando

FLORIDA • Cape Canaveral

12951 Metro Parkway

352-854-2799

GEORGIA • Atlanta (Lilburn)

HO, N, Lionel. Lionel authorized dealer & repair. Plastic, wood kits, rockets, tools, structural & diorama supplies. Special orders welcome. 405 E. Putnam Avenue

ROB'S HOBBY WORLD

8585 SW Hwy. 200

FLORIDA • Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater/PP

Mainly model railroading. All scales. www.berkshirehillshobby.com Tues - Fri 11-6, Sat & Sun 10-5. 93 Main St. (Rt. 44)

ILLINOIS • Elgin

HO, N trains & accessories Visa, MC, AX, Discover Open Mon - Fri 10-5:30, Sat 9-4 Call for Sunday hours.

FLORIDA • Port Orange (Daytona Beach)

Since 1938! All scales & gauges. Open daily. See all this & more in our on-line catalog. http://www.caboosehobbies.com 500 S. Broadway

FLORIDA • Ocala

410-349-4290/4291

We carry N through O scale, structures, tools, scenery, scratch building supplies. Special orders welcome. Authorized Lionel & MTH Dealer. Open Mon - Fri 9-6, Sat 10-3, Closed Sun.

MOUNTAIN TOWN HOBBY'S

307 S. Mission St.

989-779-7245

MICHIGAN • Saginaw

Personalized Customer Service! Trains & Accessories N to G Authorized Lionel/K-Line, MTH, DIGITRAX Sales & Service - over 12,000 parts www.traindoctor.com

BRASSEUR ELECTRIC TRAINS

410 Court St.

989-793-4753

Let your imagination run wild! Z to G, Lionel, scenery, tools, structures, scratchbuilding supplies, special orders, ships, armor, cars, dollhouse miniatures, more...

TRAINS & THINGS HOBBIES

210 East Front St.

231-947-1353

MICHIGAN • Troy

FORMERLY MERRI-SEVEN • NEW LOCATION All scales Z thru G, new and used Complete selection of RR equipment/supplies BUY • SELL • REPAIR • PARTS Tues - Fri 11-7, Sat. 11-6

EMPIRE TRAINS & HOBBIES

3278 Rochester Rd.

248-680-6500

MICHIGAN • Wyoming

HOBBY RECYCLING

616-257-7155

MISSOURI • Branson/Hollister

The Ozarks' full-line hobby center N-G scale trains & building accessories Mon - Sat 9am-5pm, Closed Sun E-mail: [email protected] www.bransonhobbycenter.com

BRANSON HOBBY CENTER

251 Saint James St.

417-335-6624

MISSOURI • St. Louis

HOBBYTOWN USA

636-394-0177

MONTANA • Billings

Model railroading headquarters for the Northern Rockies. HO, HOn3 & N scale. Kits, parts, tools, books. Tues-Fri 10-5:30; Sat 10-4. Closed Sun & Mon. [email protected] www.jimsjunction.com

JIM'S JUNCTION

811-B 16th St. West

Largest HO/N scale inventory from Denver to Chicago. Stop in and say WOW! All major brands plus books, videos, tools & scenery. Mon-Fri 10-6, Weekend hours vary- call ahead! www.springcreekmodeltrains.com

SPRING CREEK MODEL TRAINS,

402-365-7628

NEBRASKA • Omaha

Trains & supplies for all scales Z-G. We are DCC ready & installation service available. Service work, repairs, technical support. Family owned since 1938. Mon-Fri 8:00-5:30; and Sat 10:00-5:00 www.houseoftrains.com

HOUSE OF TRAINS

8106 Maple St.

402-934-RAIL (7245)

NEVADA • Las Vegas

HOBBYTOWN USA

702-889-9554

NEVADA • Las Vegas

TRAIN EXCHANGE

702-456-8766

NEVADA • Las Vegas

WESTSIDE TRAINS

702-254-9475

NEW HAMPSHIRE • Hampton Falls HO - N - O & accessories. Carrying Atlas, Athearn, MTH-RailKing, Lionel, Williams Open 7 days a week 10-5.

BRENTWOOD ANTIQUES

106 Lafayette Rd. (Rt. 1)

THE MODEL RAILROAD SHOP, INC.

Vail Ave. & New Market Rd.

732-968-5696

A Complete Model Railroad Store • Over 600 Engines in Stock N• HO • O DCC/DCS/TMCC Authorized MTH & LIONEL Dealer. Walthers • Atlas • Atlas O. Sun - Thur 10-6, Fri - Sat 10-8 www.thetrainroomnj.com

THE TRAIN ROOM

715 Arnold Ave.

732-892-5145

NEW JERSEY • Somerville

Full line all scales N thru G. Specializing in service. Tues to Fri 11 am - 7 pm; Sat 11 am - 5 pm; Sun 12 pm - 4 pm www.biglittle.com Fax # 908-685-8894

THE BIG LITTLE RAILROAD SHOP

63 W. Main St.

908-685-8892

Athearn, Atlas, Bowser, Walthers. Structures, books. Exclusively trains since 1955. HO and N.

SATTLER’S HOBBY SHOP

14 Haddon Ave.

603-929-1441

856-854-7136

When traveling, bring MR, look up a shop and stop in. NEW MEXICO • Clovis

HO & N model railroad supplies; railroad books; videos and memorabilia; Walthers dealer. Located in old ATSF passenger depot. Wed-Sun: Noon - 5pm. clovisdepot.com

CLOVIS DEPOT MODEL TRAIN MUSEUM

221 West 1st St.

575-762-0066

NEW YORK • Horseheads N, HO, O, & G scales. Authorized Lionel dealer. www.wholesaletrains.com

LANTZ HOBBY SHOP

3312 S. Main St.

607-215-0019

Trains- Z, N, HO, S, O, G scale, models, rockets, hobby supplies. Lionel & MTH authorized dealer. 4 working layouts. Repairs, buy/sell. Open 7 days. An old fashioned general store. www.hurleycountrystore.biz

HURLEY COUNTRY STORE INC

2 Wamsley Pl. (Old Hurley)

845-338-4843

Since 1949. Long Island’s largest full-line hobby superstore. 10,000 sq. ft. Featuring MTH, Lionel, Marklin HO and Z, HO and N scales. Books, detail parts and much more. www.willishobbies.com

WILLIS HOBBIES INC

300 Willis Ave.

516-746-3944

O, HO, & N gauges. All major lines carried. We are model railroaders.

3 GUY'S HOBBIES

10 Lawrence Ave.

631-265-8303

NEW YORK • Syracuse (East)

100% scale model railroading. HO, S, O, N. Northeastern, New England, Canadian specialists. Exclusive; Northeast Modeler, West Shore Line kits. Closed Mon. Call for free map & hours. www.centralhobby.com

CENTRAL HOBBY SUPPLY

102 Walter Dr.

315-437-6630

332 E. Dyke St.(Rt. 417E)

NEW JERSEY • Cedar Grove

NORTH CAROLINA • Arden

973-857-2337

NEW JERSEY • Kenvil

EAST DYKE DEPOT

585-593-0005

HO, N, Model Trains and accessories. Broadway Limited, Kato, Walthers, Digitrax, Atlas, Athearn, and more. Mon-Fri 9:00am-5:00pm Order by phone 24 hours. www.factorydirecttrains.com

FACTORY DIRECT TRAINS

7 Glenn Bridge Rd., Ste. B

800-990-3381

NORTH CAROLINA • Raleigh/Wake Forest

Full service hobbies, a full line of HO, N, 3-Rail, military, cars, boats, planes, dollhouses, scratchbuilding supplies, plus details-details-details! 590 Rt. 46

O, HO & N. Weaver, Atlas, Athearn, MDC & Walthers. Start-to-finish railroad supplies. Magazines, Craftsman kits & Kadee. Old local lines like W.A.G., Erie & E.L. Tues. - Fri. 12-5, Sat. 10-3.

KENVIL HOBBIES

973-584-1188

Authorized Digitrax, Soundtraxx, Walthers, Bowser dealer. DCC experts. Installation & Service. Computerized customer order tracking. “Sharing the joy of model railroading” www.trainbuddy.com

TRAIN BUDDY™ PRODUCTS

1200 Jenkins Rd.

919-562-4378

Model Trains New & Used Supplies, Paint, Tools Rockets, Slot Cars, Lionel/MTH Trains Tue - Thur 10-6, Fri 10-7, Sat 10-4 We buy train collections large & small

COOLTRAINS HOBBIES

106 W. Main Street

NORTH CAROLINA • Wilson

PENNSYLVANIA • Lansdale

Complete stock HO, N, O, G. Discounts. HO layout display. I-95 Exit 119, east on US 264, 4 miles to exit 42, right on Downing Street and go to first light. Tues. - Sat. 10 a.m. -6 p.m.

THE ANTIQUE BARN TRAIN SHOP

2810 Forest Hills Rd. SW

252-237-6778

OHIO • Alliance

LIN'S JUNCTION

128 S. Line St.

215-412-7711

Mon - Fri 9-5:30, Sat 9-5 Extended weekday & Sun hours in Nov. & Dec. E-mail: [email protected] www.englishsmodelrailroad.com

ROB'S TRAINS

330-823-7222

OHIO • Cleveland (West Park)

ENGLISH'S MODEL RAILROAD SUPPLY

570-368-2516

201 Streibeigh Lane

PENNSYLVANIA • Philadelphia (Feasterville) Lionel, American Flyer, LGB, MTH, Marklin, Bachmann, Williams. HO, N & Z. We buy, sell & repair. Mon-Fri 12-8; Sat 10-5 (Closed Sat. July & Aug.) Sun. in Dec.10-5 www.JoesTrainStation.com

Full line “old time” Hobby Shop located in a 1914 Victorian farm house, since 1983. www.depotland.com

DEPOT TRAIN & HOBBY

4342 W. 130th Street

Exclusively Trains Specializing in DCC NCE • Digitrax • Tsunami www.linsjunction.com [email protected]

PENNSYLVANIA • Montoursville

New and used trains of all scales. Custom painting, full service repair department. Tue, Thu, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10-3pm. www.alliancelink.com/robstrains 333 E. Main St.

717-898-7119

216-252-8880

JOE’S TRAIN STATION

215-322-5182

21 East Street Rd.

PENNSYLVANIA • Strasburg

From trains to diecast to scenery, everything for the layout builder. Open 7 days a week. N, HO, O, Lionel, LGB. Buy, sell, trade used trains. Located adjacent to the Choo Choo Barn.

All scales: N, HO, LGB www.hobbylandstores.com

HOBBYLAND

614-888-7500

206 Graceland Blvd.

OHIO • Columbus

STRASBURG TRAIN SHOP

717-687-0464

Route 741 East

RHODE ISLAND • Warwick

Exclusively trains. LGB, Lionel, O, HO, N scales. Books, Thomas, videos. Mon-Thur 10-6, Fri 10-8, Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5. www.trainstationohio.com

HO trains & acces., detail parts, plastic & craftsperson kits. Hobby supplies, tools. Tu-Fri 12-8, Sat 10-6 (Sun Nov-Jan 12-5) Closed Mon. 1/2mi.W. of airport. E-mail: [email protected]

THE TRAIN STATION

614-262-9056

OHIO • Mansfield

A. A. HOBBIES, INC.

401-737-7111

655 Jefferson Blvd.

SOUTH CAROLINA • Greenville

Full line hobby shop since 1977. Z through G scales. Authorized Lionel service station. Thomas the Tank and Brio. Open Mon-Sat 10-5, Fri 'til 6:30.

Model Trains Only - ALL AT DISCOUNT PRICES! 130,000+ Items in all scales available online 24/7 at: www.BlueRidgeHobbies.com Retail Store features HO, N and O. Open Tue, Wed & Fri 9:00am-1:00pm

JOHN’S HOBBY SHOP

BLUE RIDGE HOBBIES

15 N. Main St. (on the Square) 419-526-4426

2327 N. Pleasantburg Dr., Ste. H

OREGON • Beaverton

SOUTH CAROLINA • West Columbia

Complete full line service hobby shop. Z, N, HO, O, Lionel, and LGB. Open Mon - Fri 10-8, Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5.

All scales, all major brands of model railroad equipment. We buy & sell used Lionel trains. Open daily 10-6. Closed Sun.

TAMMIE’S HOBBIES

12024 SW Canyon Rd.

503-644-4535

OREGON • Eugene

Complete HO & N for beginners, experts. O-27 and G too. We carry all major brands. Scratchbuilding supplies, books, tools. Big RC selection, planes, boats, cars. Open Mon - Sat 9-6, Friday to 7.

EUGENE TOY & HOBBY

32 East 11th Ave.

541-344-2117

OREGON • Portland

503-284-1912

503-761-1822

PENNSYLVANIA • Blue Ridge Summit

717-794-2860

PENNSYLVANIA • Broomall

865-675-1975

98 Main St.

THE DIXIE FLYER

1-800-465-0448

HARRIS HOBBIES

9323 CR 1127

903-489-2646

TEXAS • Corpus Christi/Portland

Lionel, American Flyer, LGB-Aristo. HO, N, ON30, RMT. Standard O & S gauges bought, sold & traded. Auth. service center. Mon, Wed, Fri 10-9, Tue & Thu 10-7, Sat 10-5 www.nstrains.com

HO, N, O and G scale. New and used trains. Radio control planes, boats and cars. Plastic kits, rockets - all at discount prices. Thur & Fri 3pm-6pm, Sat noon-6pm, Sun 2-5pm and also by appointment.

NICHOLAS SMITH TRAINS

610-353-8585

PENNSYLVANIA • Gettysburg

Everything for the model railroader. Huge selection of brass locos. Complete stock N & HO gauge. Daily 10-5, Sun 12-5. E-mail [email protected] www.gilbertshobbies.net

TOMMY GILBERT’S

717-337-1992

PENNSYLVANIA • Jeannette

JIM’S HOBBIES

207 7th St. (Portland)

361-229-0229

TEXAS • Dallas

Official Lionel Layout Builder Since 2001 Traingineer shop/showroom includes; Custom Layouts, Modulars, Model Stations, Bridge Kits...come see...there’s always something new!!! www.TrainWorxStore.com

TW TRAINWORX

2808 McGowan St.

877-881-4997

TEXAS • Dallas (Addison)

Trains exclusively. Lionel, MTH, HO & N. Supplies and accessories at discount prices. Open daily 9:30-5, Mon & Fri 9:30-7, Sat 9-4. Closed Tue. Expanded hours Nov.and Dec. www.needztrains.com

NIEDZALKOSKI’S TRAIN SHOP

HOBBYTOWN USA

11145 Turkey Dr.

Your East Texas country train store. Digitrax Dealer • Walthers • Soundtraxx Kadee • Microtrains• HO/HOn3, & N scales Open Tues - Sat 12-5. Call first. [email protected] www.harrishobbies.com

MAINLINE HOBBY SUPPLY

214 South 4th Street

423-622-0630

TEXAS • Athens

The Exclusive model railroad store. From N to G, we stock it all. OPEN 7 days a week. Only minutes from Frederick, MD. www.mainlinehobby.net

346 E. Water Street

CHATTANOOGA DEPOT

3701 Ringgold Road

Located next to CSX Nashville-Chattanooga mainline 10 min. off I-24 exit #97. Model railroad supplies, operating HO, O & N scale trains, railroadiana & collectibles. Th-Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5. www.dixieflyertrains.com

WHISTLE STOP TRAINS

2343 West Chester Pike

Specializing in HO & N scale model railroading. Convenient to I-24 & I-75. On US 41 near Germantown Rd. Open Tue-Sat 10-6. www.chattanoogadepot.com

TENNESSEE • Wartrace

Your complete model railroad store. Gauges Z through G. Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-5, Closed Sunday www.wsor.com

15066 Buchanan Trail E.

803-791-3958

TENNESSEE • Chattanooga (E. Ridge)

Located in Knoxville’s premier shopping destination. We are the area’s most diverse hobby store with a large selection of HO, N, and O. Open 7 days a week. Turkey Creek Area.

THE HOBBY SMITH

11724 SE Division St.

NEW BROOKLAND RR & HOBBY SHOP

405 State Street

TENNESSEE • Knoxville

HO, N, Z, Lionel, DCC, brass Reservation discounts, new, used, Consignments, 16 minutes from Airport www.hobbysmith.com 1809 NE Cesar Chavez Blvd.

800-988-2125

Great discounts on thousands of G to Z scale items. NCE & Digitrax dealer. Monday - Saturday 10-6.

724-523-8035

DISCOUNT MODEL TRAINS

4641 Ratliff Lane

972-931-8135

JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

79

RETAIL DIRECTORY

Z, N, HO, O, G, LGB, Märklin. Hobby Shop, Museum. 16,000 square feet. www.hartmannrr.com HARTMANN MODEL RAILROAD, LTD. 15 Town Hall Rd 603-356-9922 / 9933

TONY'S TRAIN TOWN

LITTLE CHOO CHOO SHOP, INC.

PENNSYLVANIA • Landisville (Lancaster)

500 S. Salisbury Av. 704-637-8717/800-334-2466

OREGON • Portland

NEW YORK • Wellsville

575 Pompton Ave.

Across from NC Trans Museum. Big selection of trains in all scales, Digitrax Dealer, RR videos/books & children’s toys Tue-Sat: 10 -5:30. www.littlechoochooshop.com or [email protected]

4430 Indianola Ave.

NEW HAMPSHIRE • Intervale

Celebrating our 33rd Anniversary 1979-2013. Authorized Märklin Digital Dealer. Lionel Station & V.A.D. LGB Train Stop. O, O-27, HO, N & Z scale. We sell the best & service the rest.

NORTH CAROLINA • Spencer

OHIO • Columbus

NEW YORK • Smithtown

Big selection of HO, N and Lionel O Gauge trains. Only 7 miles west of the Las Vegas strip. www.westsidetrainslv.com 2960 S. Durango #117

Serving hobbyists since 1933. Large selection of HO, N, S & O scale Railroad books - complete repair service Mon., Tues. & Thurs. 10am-6pm, Sat. 10am-5pm, Wed. & Fri. 10am-9pm.

NEW YORK • Mineola L.I.

Electric trains & accessories N, HO, S, O Lionel/American Flyer Dealer 6008 Boulder Hwy.

NEW JERSEY • Piscataway

NEW YORK • Hurley

While in Las Vegas, check out our train selection. Close to the Las Vegas strip. Hours: Mon - Fri 10-7, Sat 10-6, Sun Noon-5. 4590 W. Sahara Ave., #103

973-263-1979

406-259-5354

NEBRASKA • Deshler

304 E. Bryson Ave.

THE TRAIN STATION

Romaine Road

NEW JERSEY • Westmont

Full line electric train store - N, HO, O & G All major lines including Lionel, Kato, Walthers & Bachmann. We provide service and repair. Open 7 days a week. 15037 Manchester Rd.

One of northern NJ's largest train stores. Auth. Lionel sales, service, and parts. Old Lionel trains bought and sold. LGB, Atlas, LifeLike, MDK. Auth. Walther's dealer.

NEW JERSEY • Point Pleasant Beach

HO, N and Marx bought and sold. American Flyer and Lionel also. Tuesday thru Friday 12-6, Saturday 10-5. Other hours available by appt. Please call. 2313 Lee St. SW

NEW JERSEY • Mountain Lakes

MICHIGAN - TEXAS

MICHIGAN • Traverse City

TEXAS - UK-ENGLAND

TEXAS • Denton

VIRGINIA • Roanoke

HO & N scale at discount prices. DCC decoder installations. Home of Silver Spike Shop's custom cars. Tuesday-Friday 10-6, Saturday 10-4.

SILVER SPIKE HOBBIES

525 N. Elm St.

940-383-3914

TEXAS • Fort Worth

HO, N, Z scale trains. Craftsman kits, scenery, paints, tools, accessories. Plastic models & books. All at discount prices. Special orders welcome. Hours: Tues, Wed & Fri 3-6,Thu 3-7, Sat 9-4:30, & by appt.

HOBBY WORLD

5658 Westcreek Dr., Ste. 500

817-263-5750

TEXAS • Ft. Worth (N. Richland Hills)

817-428-0190

TEXAS • Houston

HO & N, Lionel trains. Complete line of plastic kits, military and architecture supplies. Open Mon - Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm www.gandgmodelshop.com

G & G MODEL SHOP

713-529-7752

TEXAS • Houston

All trains, all scales. Magazines, Books, Videos, Repairs, Brass, Consignments. Discount program, will ship. [email protected] M,Tu,Th & F 10-6; W 10-7; Sat 10-5; Sun 12-5 Major Credit Cards. www.papabens.com

PAPA BEN'S TRAIN PLACE

4007-E Bellaire Blvd.

713-523-5600

TEXAS • Irving (Dallas Area)

U/C and R/C planes. HO, N trains. RR & aviation magazines and books. Scale plastic kits, balsa wood. Mon 1-6, Tue-Wed 12-6, Thur-Fri 10:30-7, Sat 10:30-6. www.malhobby.com

M-A-L HOBBY SHOP

972-438-9233

108 S. Lee Street

TEXAS • San Antonio

210-735-7721

VERMONT • Rutland

802-775-2736

VIRGINIA • Chantilly

MTH/Lionel, Piko, LGB, Marklin, Bachmann, Aristo-Craft, USA. Digitrax & repairs done on site. All scales, sales and service. G, O, S, HO, On30, N, Z. S www.traindepot.biz 703-953-3767

VIRGINIA • Portsmouth

DAVIS HOBBY SUPPLIES

3594 Griffin Street

206-244-7077

WASHINGTON • Kennewick (Tri-Cities)

509-585-2510

WASHINGTON • Kirkland

EASTSIDE TRAINS, INC.

425-828-4098

WASHINGTON • Spokane

888-838-2379

866-799-6098

Large selection of model RR supplies including Min. by Eric, Athearn/MDC, Atlas, Peco, Shinohara, Rapido, SoundTraxx, brass, etc. Special orders. www.central-hobbies.com Open 11-6, Friday til 9. Closed Sundays.

TACOMA TRAINS

253-756-7517

CENTRAL HOBBIES

2825 Grandview Hwy.

604-431-0771

CANADA–ON • Dundas

Specializing in HO, N, Books, DVD’s, DCC. Special Orders Welcome. Discount Prices. Tue-Wed 11-5, Thur 11-6, Fri 11-5, Sat 9:30-3 www.southsidetrains.com

SOUTH SIDE TRAINS

414-482-1566

WISCONSIN • Green Bay

Your full line hobby shop. Open 7 days a week. N, HO, AF, Lionel, LGB. Scenery and scratchbuilding supplies. Walthers dealer, Kato products. Special orders welcome! E-mail us at: [email protected]

DUNDAS VALLEY HOBBY

905-628-9156

15 Cootes Dr.

CANADA–ON • Fergus

Exclusively trains, specializing in DCC, N, G, & HO. DCC installation and award winning custom painting and building available. WWW.ENGINEHOUSESERVICES.COM

ENGINEHOUSE SERVICES, LLC

920-490-4839

Model Trains for Beginners to the Experts. Buy, Sell, Trade, Repair. HO, N, O/O27, S, G. Come See Our Trains. www.2bintrains.on.ca

6168 Road 29

2B IN TRAINS

519-787-3280

CANADA–ON • London

WALTHERS SHOWROOM

5619 W. Florist Avenue

EURO RAIL HOBBIES & MORE INC

1526 232nd St.

CANADA–BC • Vancouver

Complete Canadian trains & more N, HO, G, Athearn, Hornby, Peco, Walthers. Special orders, plastics, parts, supplies, books, DVD’s. Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 9-5. [email protected] www.rrhobby.ca

Exclusively Model Railroading since 1932. One-stop shopping from Z to G. 800-487-2467 walthers.com

757-397-1983

Model trains in G, O, S, HO, N, Z Old toy trains, railway antiques, art, books, DVDs, souvenirs and Thomas too. Canadian road names a specialty. www.kellyskaboose.ca KELLY’S KABOOSE, THE RAILWAY STORE 250-377-8510 634 Victoria Street Specializing in European Model Trains, Mårklin, Roco, LGB, Carrera, Brawa, Fleischmann & more. Huge selection of trains, kits, & access. HO-N-Z-1-G Scales. Mon-Fri 9-4:30 Sat 10-2. www.EuroRailHobbies.com

SUNSET JUNCTION MODEL TRAINS

2737 N. Packerland Dr. 2H

780-430-9072

CANADA–BC • Langley (VAN)

100% trains. Open Monday-Friday 10am - 6pm. Always open Saturday 10 - 5. Closed Sunday & holidays.

3979 S. Howell Ave.

ROUNDHOUSE SALES

9518 - 87th Street NW

414-461-1050

BROUGHDALE HOBBY

1444 Glenora Drive

CREDIT VALLEY RAILWAY COMPANY, LTD

1-800-464-1730

2900 Argentia Rd. Unit #24

CANADA–ON • Mount Forest

45 Min North of Guelph. Fax# 519-323-3809. Authorized Lionel value added dealer. One of Canada’s largest lionel retailers MTH, K-Line & more. Full line HO dealer. www.tctrainscanada.com Closed Monday.

THE TRAIN CELLAR

130 Main Street North

519-323-3935

One of Canada's leading model shops. Complete selection of HO & N gauge. Friendly knowledgeable staff. Free Parking. On parle Francais.

HOBBY HOUSE, LTD.

80 Montreal Road

613-749-5245

CANADA–ON • Paris

CANADA–BC • Kamloops

Lionel, American Flyer, LGB, HO, N. Buy, sell, and repair. Supplying all your railroading needs. Open Mon-Sat. www.eastsidetrains.com

3813 North 26th St.

403-277-7226

Everything for model railroading. Most quality lines in completeness. Hobby tools. Special orders. Fax: 780-430-9073.

PARKADE HOBBIES

419 E. Sprague Ave

TRAINS AND SUCH

6043 Centre Street SW

New Larger Location! All rail, all scales! Premier Selection & Service! In store clinics and layouts! Railfan Headquarters! Quick special orders! www.cvrco.com

CANADA–ON • Ottawa (Vanier)

CANADA–AB • Edmonton

HO and N trains. NCE & Soundtraxx authorized dealer. Hours: Wed - Fri 11-5:30; Sat 10-4. www.parkadehobbies.com

217 Central Way

262-544-4131

All Scales, New & Used, Brass, Lionel, Collectibles, Books and more! www.trainsandsuch.com

THE ELECTRIC TRAIN SHOP

23 N. Cascade Street

JETCO’S HIAWATHA HOBBIES

2026 Silvernail Rd.

CANADA–AB • Calgary

WISCONSIN • Milwaukee

MTH, Lionel, Athearn, Digitrax, More davishobby.com The World of Model Railroading

519-434-0600

Full line hobby shop. Large stock N, HO. Special orders weekly, all scales. All accessories, scenery and supplies. www.parisjunctionhobbies.com

PARIS JUNCTION HOBBIES

300 Grand River St. N.

519-442-5800

CANADA–ON • St. Catharines We buy, sell and trade. 6,000 sq. ft. of hobby supplies. Daily 9:30-5:30, Fri til 9. Closed Sun. Fax 905-684-1700. Visit us at www.niagaracentralhobbies.com

NIAGARA CENTRAL HOBBIES

401 St. Paul Street

905-684-7355

CANADA–ON • Toronto (Markham) North American Train Specialists since 1962 HO, N, O, G and DCC Railfanning beside CNR Mainline Closed Mondays www.georgestrains.com

GEORGE’S TRAINS LTD.

550 Alden Rd., Unit 101

905-470-6200

CANADA–ON • Windsor

Model Railroading since 1970. Operational in-store layout. HO & N trains, bits & pieces. "Simplified Wiring & Trackwork" by Fred Stainer.

WINDSOR HOBBIES LTD.

519-945-5471

3895 Tecumseh Rd. East

GERMANY • Kaarst

Europe’s best known address for US Railroads. We carry N, HO & G scale for all road names, Atlas to Walthers. Mon-Fri 10-6:30, Sat 10-2. Overseas orders with VS & MC

ALL AMERICAN TRAINS

www.aat-net.de

e-mail: [email protected]

SWITZERLAND • Kilchberg, Zurich Specializing in American models since 1977. Huge selection of consignment brass models. Open Sat 13.00-17.00. Fax: 044-715-3660. Web: www.trainmaster.ch

TRAINMASTER BY WERNER MEER

3 Hochweidstrasse

011-41-44-715-3666

UK-ENGLAND • Slough / Berkshire Specialists in American HO Plus scenery, tools, DCC, track, etc. Established 1996 Exclusive Pelle Soeborg Products www.modeljunction.info

MODEL JUNCTION

916 Yeovil Road

+00441753528360

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RETAIL DIRECTORY

THE STEAM SHACK

TRAIN DEPOT

540-885-6750

WISCONSIN • Bay View (Milwaukee)

Exclusively Model Railroading. Most major lines. Brass, custom painted models. Competitive prices. Personal service. Open by appt. Eves 6-10, Sat 10-10.

13944 Willard Rd., Suite I

STAUNTON TRAINS & HOBBIES

625 SW 152nd St.

608-325-5107

Märklin • Lionel • MTH • AF • LGB • Z to G • buildings • scenery • detail parts • books • scratchbuilding supplies • special orders • NMRA discounts • Mon-Fri 11-8 • Sat 10-5. Sun 12-5. www.hiawathahobbies.com

Lionel Service Center #2507, 3rd Rail, HO, O, N. Plastic models & supplies, rockets. Garrett Metal Detectors. Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-4, Sun 1-4. 331 N. Central Ave.

THE HOBBY DEPOT

835 17th St.

WISCONSIN • Waukesha (Pewaukee)

Lionel, LGB, HO, N, G Athearn, Bachmann, Walthers, Micro-Trains Books, paints, supplies, Thomas See our website! www.tacoma-trains.com Mon-Sat 10-6 (Sun 11-4 Nov-Jan).

DIBBLE'S HOBBIES

10 Engrem Avenue

VIRGINIA • Staunton

WASHINGTON • Tacoma

Model railroading our specialty. Märklin, G, HO, N, O, Z. Superdetailing parts galore. Books, structures, figures and tools. Tuesday - Saturday 10-6pm

1029 Donaldson Ave.

540-362-1714

New location - downtown Burien. Close to SEA-TAC airport - short drive from downtown Seattle. New & vintage electric trains in all scales. Tue-Sat 11-6 www.electrictrainshop.com

ANGELO HOBBIES

2522 Times Blvd.

RAIL YARD HOBBY SHOP

7547 Williamson Rd.

CANADA–ON • Mississauga

N, HO and Z scale trains & accessories, plastic kits. Books, videos & tools. Summer hours: Tues - Sat 10-5 Winters: Add Sun 12-4

WASHINGTON • Burien (Seattle)

Craftsman kits, Details/Tools. DCC sales and installation. Tues - Fri 11:30-6:00; Sat 10:00-6:00; Closed Sun & Mon www.angelohobbies.com

5600 Rufe Snow, Suite 106

WISCONSIN • Monroe

Lionel, LGB, G, AF, HO, N & MTH Buy, sell, trade, repair. Lionel SS # 383 Mon-Fri 10-6; Sat 10-5 Two minutes off Exit 146 on I-81.

80

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Visit a free-lanced Appalachian railroad Visit a rugged, backwoods coal-hauling layout featuring the operations of a Baltimore & Ohio subsidiary in the mountains.

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Upgrade your turnouts for better operation Contributing editor Pelle Søeborg shares tips for making turnouts look and work better.

Plus more: Visit a 30- by 54-foot HO layout with upper-Midwestern scenery and a 215-foot main line How to use your smartphone for DCC layout control All about horse-drawn wagons and how to build them Scratchbuild a bentonite plant

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JUNE 2015 • Model Railroader

81

Andy Sperandeo

THEOPERATORS A good pre-session checklist I pay attention to how operating sessions get started. My friend Ted Schnepf developed a list of hints and procedures that he goes over with the crew before the trains start running on his O scale Milwaukee Road. It combines useful information for visitors and helpful reminders for the experienced. It all fits on a 3 x 5-inch index card, so everyone can keep a copy handy for reference. Here’s Ted’s list, 15 points in all, with a few comments and explanations from me in parentheses. 1. Maps of northeast Iowa locations are

posted around the layout – note similar town names. (Ted wants to avoid possible confusion; pronunciation of distinctive place names might also be important.) 2. Uncouple with pointed dowels or swizzle sticks. (It’s always good to clarify your preferred uncoupling method.) 3. Track clearance points are

marked with tie tops painted white outside the rail. Ground throw handles are painted green on the mainline or normal side, and red on the diverging side. Line switches back to main or normal position after use. 4. Handle derailed equipment care-

fully – look out for delicate details. 5. Mark problems with Post-It notes,

on the car for rolling stock troubles, or next to the track, and notify the superintendent of any track problems. (The superintendent, Ted, can’t keep up with maintenance unless he knows what to fix.) 6. Throttles – unplug when not in use;

use push buttons for precise control. (Ted wants operators to know the best ways to use the engineer controls of his NCE DCC system.) 7. Fast clock ratio is 1:2 – Slow Down.

This is South Yard at Marquette, Iowa, on Ted Schnepf’s O scale Milwaukee Road layout. There’s also a South Marquette industrial area, served by the City Job switching crew out of Marquette’s West Yard. Ted’s pre-session briefing calls attention to such possible points of confusion. Daniel Dawdy photo

not just being helpful, he’s also avoiding problems he’d surely have to resolve himself later on.)

(Ted likes the added realism of locomotive sounds and wants his operators to enjoy the extra play value.)

9. Swing gate to enter new room is

14. Keep cars in blocks when mak-

controlled by dispatcher.

ing setouts and pickups. (Correctly blocked trains are easier to handle in yards, avoiding long delays that can make things dull for waiting train crews.)

10. Train packs – Get one for each train and check contents: a. Train card, gives train identification and work locations. b. Engine card, white. c. Car cards, check against cars in train for accuracy. d. Caboose card, red. 11. Many cars have similar numbers – check for accuracy. (Just knowing that you have a Milwaukee Road – or Burlington, or Pennsy – boxcar in your train isn’t enough. Do you have the right car from that road?) 12. Patrols (local freights) are to

15. Steam engines make coal and water stops. (This not only increases realism, but also adds to a train’s running time.) Ted’s list may not directly apply to your railroad at every point, and you may think of other reminders that will help operators do a better job of running your system. If you find inspiration here that gets your sessions off to a better start, you and your operators will enjoy your railroad that much more.

spot cars accurately at the correct door or correct loading/unloading location. (A car isn’t delivered correctly unless it’s where the customer can use it.)

(The emphasis is Ted’s.) 13. Sound effects: 8. Call superintendent to leave or

enter upper and Madison staging yards. (Ted wants to help where the operation is less than straightforward. But he’s 82

a. Whistle for grade crossings, cuts, and bridges. b. Ring bell at depots and when passing other trains.

Model Railroader • www.ModelRailroader.com

Andy Sperandeo discusses operation in a series of videos on Model Railroader Video Plus. Watch by subscribing to www.MRVideoPlus.com.