Search results

Alternative to cutting up the circuit boards - solder a plug to the end of the decoder wires. One of the DCC gurus at my local club did this for me on a couple of decoders. Very neat solution (although you need to be sure there's room, which is a whole other issue with DCC-readiness ;)). Andrew

Hi Larry, Unfortunately, DCC ready has a number of meanings depending on the manufacturer. If you are looking for DCC ready = plug 'n' play, then the post above is a good check, i.e. there should be a place to plug in a decoder, or the entire exisiting circuit board should come out and be...

Point/counterpoint. Interesting observations! I have recently acquired a whole set of MR from 1970 (plus a few before that) to 2004 (plus a few since), and have some similar thoughts. This is true for some things, but others truly do not change - soldering, for example. If you could solder...

Not that "high end" for me, although I do try to keep it very focussed. My collection (if you can call it that) includes a couple of out of print items on my home town, which are the ones that fall into the "don't leave the house" section. The others are about Canadian National, pre-1960, and...

You should be able to find a hole saw up to about 6 inches - or maybe more. This size is sometimes used to put a dryer vent through the foundation. Andrew

I'd recommend you rent a drill, and buy the masonry bit. My local Home Depot has hammer drills for rent, and for an extra $1 per day, you can add $0 deductable. That way, if you kill it, you can take it back and drop it off no questions asked. Depending on the size hole you need, you could...

Nice work! HOTrak.ca (my local modular club) standards allow the foam to be recessed inside the outer frame. No further protection for the foam is required. You may need to experiment to ensure yoru fibreglas resin does not attack the foam. Alternatives include thick styrene or thin...

I hope the landing gear and/or smoke stack is still intact after that low level pass over the roundhouse (last shot)!! :eek: :D Hope you stay safe, Herc! Andrew

No you did not miss anything. I think that you can go with either colour: 1959 - Everything is box car red (as per Ian Wilson). 1960 - New logo and colour scheme introduced. I am suggesting that not everything got painted overnight. Perhaps they concentrated on "public" buildings first -...

Josh, Sorry to hear about your troubles. Can you post any pictures to illustrate the problem areas (holes not lined up, bolsters, etc)? Andrew

Looked in two of my Ian Wilson books - colour section. As of 1959, all wood buildings seem to be painted box car red. Signs are black on white. Buildings built of other materials seem to be the colour of the material - i.e. concrete or brick. So unless they had a concerted effort to change...

Nolix = "No Helix" - height is gained simply by having a (continuous) grade around the enitre room. That way, it can all be scenicked and used for operations, rather than having a space eating helix in one corner. An 8x13 room though is a good sized space. Do you have a plan for all those...

Your "post-1960" clarification, plus that picture with the blue door jogged my memory... http://lyonvalleynorthern.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html http://www.ovar.ca/Interchange/oct2006.pdf According to the article in the Interchange (pdf file) the public access doors were...

Early diesel = late steam. The CN noodle was not introduced until 1960, so if you are aiming for late 50's you might still be looking at hold-outs from 1930s to 1950... Andrew

Some of Ian Wilson's "Steam..." books have colour photos, and there's another series (name escapes me) of colour photos of CNR and CPR. From what I recall (will check later) you can't go wrong with box car red for wood structures. Andrew

Several factors can create weak joints with any glue, but superglue joints may fail because: - Too much glue makes a weak joint. The glue seems to crystalize and weaken over time, especially when too much is applied. - Differences between materials joined - e.g. the brass details glued to...

Great stuff Wayne! :eek: :thumb: :thumb: And thanks Mr Nutbar ;) for the great shot of the head end - gives me some ideas for yet another project...! :rolleyes: Andrew

Here's Russ' link: http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115011 It is a great article and covers virtually every aspect of troubleshooting derailments, from the loco or car itself, to track problems, to a few other tips you might not think of... :thumb: :thumb: One other "fix"...

Kevin's message about mechanically joining parts reminds me of another tip you might find useful. If you assemble the model with a minimum of superglue, with neat joints, etc, and you are not doing a full interior, you can strengthen the joints later. Use epoxy or other strong glue (even more...

Testors "airplane" glue is designed for styrene. It will not work on polyurethane (resin) no matter how much you clean it. The best thing for resin castings is "superglue". Alternatives include hot glue or epoxy, but both are much messier. You can get superglue in thin or thick ("gel")...