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Friday night I will begin construction of the benchwork for my helix. I am planning at least two tracks - one at 26", and one at 28.5". The mainline will climb 1.83 revolutions; there will also be a fully scenicked level above the helix; and there is a branchline below the mainline of the...

So here's my question of the week. The Wheat Kings & Pacific layout is coming along quite nicely, and I'm about to start placing buildings and wiring two additional buses (apart from track) - one for accessories, and one for night lighting. So here's finally the question - what's a good...

I have thusly returned from Chicagoland, and present to you a set of pictures from the same. This is all the pics I took during the week, so I've taken the liberty of marking the pics of interest to members here with either "TRAINS" (for prototype) and "LAYOUT" (for pics of the Museum of...

Well, I just booked a business trip for next week (August 16th-20th) to Chicago. Ahhh yes the Windy City. Just wondering if there's any can't miss train places???? I.e., stores, layouts, viewpoints, et al. Thanks for any info. (( I will have a car ))

So I have my dedicated train space - 19'7" x 13'7". In the initial reno budget, we had included $150CDN for carpet underneath the benchwork to protect the hardwood from scuffing, scrapes, paint, et al ($0.56CDN per square foot, had the color already picked out). However, upon review, the...

you realize the layout space you have allocated to yourself in your new basement is larger than the feature layout in Model Railroader.

It looks like I'll be in sunny California for a couple of weeks in August for training on our new budget software my company is buying. San Jose to be precise (Santa Clara to be even more precise). I'm hoping to catch a ball game while I'm down there, but obviously need to ask: any train...

Well, my wife and I signed the papers yesterday making us official houseowners to be. Just a couple small conditions, and then we move in 02-July. The train room is part of the giant rumpus room downstairs, complete with a wood-fired stove, and enough room for a nice cozy lounge and sizeable...

So my wife and I are in the process of buying a house, and it looks like I'll have a pretty good-sized layout room. The ceiling is a drop type, so it would be pretty easy to install lighting as I see fit. I'm looking for recommendations for types of lights, as well as placement - i.e...

Hey guys, my brother beat me to the punch on a digital camera, so I get the old family one for eternity. I was sort of looking forward to a new camera, but the one I have now does the trick. Sssooooo . . . I'm considering either a table saw or a compound miter saw, and thought I'd get your...

So I've got like six or so dumpsters ready to go, and I'm gonna use a color similar to BN Green on them. But as for the name I'm at a loss. I want to make up my own name for the "waste management company" that's catchy or even funny, but I can't come up with anything. Any ideas ????

Okay, so this week my main project has been the creation of multiple flatbed trailers and dumpsters. The dumpsters turned out GREAT; the flatbeds still need some work. The dumpster (4 cubic yard) was scratchbuilt from styrene, then I made a silicone mold and cast three units. I painted two...

Hey guys, I've got 0.039" "WIRE" from a company called K&S Engineering in Chicago. I'm using it for axles for tractor trailers, but I'm not sure of the best way to cut it. I've been using my Gerber for the first four of 'em, but that seems like a bad idea long term. Is wire snips the way to...

Here's the other project I've been working on recently. Built entirely from scratch, it's a Sonic Drive-In, which will be included on my Hutchinson KS diorama. Mmmmmmmm . . . . I can taste one of their milkshakes right now. (( the two summers I spent in Houston there was a Sonic...

Me again with more bulkhead photos. While Rock Island did not have this type of bulkhead flat car (they only had Commonwealth units), and they certainly weren't repainted in blue, I say "so what". After all, in my world they've survived through until June 1980, and are doing quite well thank...

Hey guys, does anyone have any good ideas on how to make a satellite dish ??? The ground ones for broadcast stations, that is (not the roof-mounted ones). I figure 1" - 1.5" diameter would be fine. I do have casting and molding capabilities, so if I could fabricate one, I could use it to...

Finally got my Rock Island RS-3 (Atlas) this morning from my "connection". Was playing around with it, and the macro setting, on my Hutchinson diorama.

As some of you know, I've been working on some loads for my fleet of bulkhead flats. Here's the first demo units. I think they look great already, I might add some banding, and I want to add lines on top to simulate the separation there. Otherwise, they're pretty much good to go...

Here we go - all 236,150 bushels of grain elevator. Wow, and I thought the plastic pellet facility looked pretty big on this diorama. This thing is just massive, and heavy to boot (what with the PVC pipe). PS - a single track will go through the loading facility once installed permanently...

Sort of looking at my options in the way of a new digital camera (so I don't have to share with my dad and brother anymore), and I'm wondering what the difference is between optical zoom and digital zoom.