Recent content by the_great_snag

Jeff, what Hotel room was that? The Super 8 is the closest thing to across from the depot. I've been around there since 1978, so I've seen a lot of decline, particularly when they did away with firemen and brakemen on the crews. The yard also declined while BN changed some of the crew...

Thanks for the info Jesper. I might try doing a small diorama soon myself and see how it comes out. I would really like to try my hand at doing a turnout too, as I would think the ability to do high frog numbers would be the biggest plus to handlaying, other than the realistic appearance of it.

WOW! I have been chewing on the idea of doing some handlaying as well, but don't know where to start. I read on the trainworx.com site that they recommend using Pliobond adhesive to secure the track to the wood ties. They say to simply run a soldering iron along the top of the rail after...

Hello again Screwy! That is one nice friend you have! That layout is simple, but well-designed. It appears to be very well contructed as well. It just screams out for some plaster work to hide the cookie-cutters and risers. I would recommend you get it up and running and use it to...

Thanks for the info guys. You saved me a few bucks, as I was going to buy one. I might anyway, just for my Christmas tree HO setups! I've used tiny philips screwdrivers with fair results too. I tend to be a bit ham-fisted though, so it's tricky to do it without derailing the cars in...

I have to agree Hemi. That pic has my 2 favorite locomotives AND my 2 favorite paint schemes! I think I like the Heritage paint best though... It's the GN fan in me, I guess... The SD40-2 rules though! I used to live in Staples, MN in the 80's, and I think I saw about 100 of 'em a day...

Glad to see I'm not the only Atlas refugee who isn't working on his layout or whatever other lofty goal we had set for ourselves... My train room is so hot I work up a sweat just selecting the loco's addresses on my DCC! This is too good a board to stay away from anyway... Jeff is...

Gregg, I believe Trainworx offers ME code 40 rails and flextrack. You may be right about the flextrack being OOP though. They have good articles about handlaying it on regular wood ties on their site... www.trainworx.com I'm thinking about trying it, but the turnouts make me a bit...

HI everyone, I was in the LHS yesterday and saw the little Rix uncoupling tool. You know, the one that looks like an inverted U with magnets on each side and a little handle? Anyway, the package shows it being used on HO equipment. Has anyone tried this little beauty on N scale stuff...

I have to agree with Rick N... I also like the pace of the Atlas forum. It is especially nice if you need a question answered quickly. You don't always get good answers, but you usually do. I will say that the community on here, although smaller, is generally a lot more cordial. I also...

I use a little bit of vaseline on the rail heads. This hugely helps with getting the paint off them later! The trick is to apply it with your index finger. Get a blob on your thumb, and keep lubing your index finger with it every so many inches. You just want enough to get your finger...

Hey Kettlestack! I'm hoping to snap up a couple of the LL SW9/1200's in GN, CN, or NP here very soon myself as I've heard nothing but good about them too! Someday I'll be able to afford Atlas or fall into a good deal on some, but for now I'll take my LIfe-Likes! My favorite HO is the good...

I can only afford cheaper locos, but my favorite has to be my Life-Like GP20 and my Life_Like SD7's a close second. The SD's would have it all over the Geep, but they run about 800 miles an hour scale speed! Boy are they smooth and do they ever pull though! My only gripe about the GP20 is...