Recent content by CNJ999

John - It would be advantageous to all if you could provide a picture of the Amtrak station in question, or something similar, as specifically what the prototype is constructed of weighs heavily on the best material to use in replicating it in miniature. If a converted existing station from...

Actually, there are several, although locating the manufacturers on-line seems to be rather difficult. Only the one occasionally produced by Walthers (currently OOP, but sometimes popping up on eBay) is made of plastic. All the others I've encounter are cast resin, which is quite different to...

Indeed, Bill, the Mantua Belle of the Eighties went with the Mantua brass passenger cars. In the early part of that era there was also the "8-Ball" Mogul, an 1880's, or so, freight locomotive more-or-less suitable to haul these cars around, too. Oddly, I don't think Mantua ever offered more...

Nice Mantua brass combine, Tyler. As you are likely aware, but perhaps others here are not, Mantua offered a three car set of these during the late pre war, early post war era. Their quality was unusually good for the period and one does see them still turning up on eBay from time to time...

To be very honest, Dave, I have to say that any validity this item might have depends exclusively on the purchaser's personal outlook regarding it as well as what he thinks he sees as its purpose in giving it to a child. But be advised that items such as this are typically shunned most in the...

Just as a POI, while Ambroid was the only manufacturer of craftsman kits that I too recall ever offering an ACL watermelon car (was this perhaps the only road that rostered them?), the car was also done way back in plastic by AHM and maybe even briefly by its successor IHC. Actually, for the...

As already indicated, Campbell Models is still operating. Suydam is today known as Alpine Division Scale Models. I do not believe that Muir has any currently existing counterpart. All these are considered "craftsman" model kits intended for the more advanced model railroader. New, these kits...

Unless the masking is printed on a surface with some sort of self-sticking backing to seal it to the model, odds are that any paint applied under pressure (i.e. by an airbrush) will have a tendency to bleed under the stencil's edges to some degree (been there, done that!). CNJ999

Tyler - I'd have to say that the concept, when in strictly a hobbyist's hands, is somewhat suspect. It does work well at the manufacturing level, of course, but there the stamping is by machine. Attempting to make full, firm, contact every time with any and all irregularities in the model's...

Ernie - Walthers offered them...about a half century ago! About the same time, Pittman had their "Bride & Groom" set; powered and trailer heavyweights based on the John English HO die cast 60' coaches. I do seem to recall perhaps Bachmann also issuing some heavyweight electrified cars of this...

Among U.S. manufacturers the only one I'm aware of ever producing a car intended for carrying prisioners was Walthers. In that case, it was a tongue-in-cheek model from back in the 1980's they called the Jail Box (a play on the name of the Rail Box cars). The car came equiped with barred car...

Hmmm...I'm leaning more toward it being an old Mantua now. Ted, did you tap on the car sides to see if they were metal, or not? The thing that's throwing me off is the lack of many specific Mantua car details. The trucks are correct but the underbody lacks much of the cast frame cross member...

Those couplers are examples of the once famous Mantua Hook and Loop design, used by perhaps 90% of the serious model railroaders from the 1940's until the mid 1950's. The car looks, at first glance, to be a pre-war Varney card-side reefer. However, if the sides are metal, then the alternate...

John, the reason you are not finding the advice you are looking for and the comment was made elsewhere that your idea is impossible, is because of the complexity of your trackage as shown. You don't have simple return loops, which could be easily controlled with something like an auto-reversing...

If indeed a 4x8 HO layout then, yes, the trackplan as drawn to scale is largely untenable. Whether DC or DCC, as drawn I'm afraid that the radii of the return loop curves are all well below 18". In addition, there are no commonly available turnouts that will fit most of the proposed locations...