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A 5x10 is a 25% increase of a 4x8. 22" radius is very close to a 25% increase over 18". Take a 4x8 plan you like and scale everything up by 25% except the distance between parallel tracks. Everything will be a little more relaxed and less crowded, and you will like the layout much better...

Bill The issue is that the entire drive is contained in the tender, not just the motor. There is no gearing or gearbox in the engine. I have the same issue with my Model Power (made by Frateschi) 2-8-0. As the responses in the original post suggested, the easiest route is going to be using a...

That's a matter of individual taste - and I probably should have written it that way. Some - obviously including you - feel more like the prototype by reaching in and doing things manually, the same as on the prototype. Others - and I favor this point of view - see the non-scale hand and arm...

With resin kits, you have to wash off the mold release before the paint will stick properly. Usually, some dish washing soap and a toothbrush will take care of the mold release. The kit directions should include something about cleaning the mold release agent. I've always heard that the 1st...

Studied the Sergent couplers, and ended up deciding against them. Pros: - very realistic model of post-1930s prototype couplers - works just like the prototype - don't need a trip pin hanging down to uncouple magnetically - don't need to insert a skewer between the knuckles to uncouple manually...

XtrkCad is a fine open source track planning software package that runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac. See http://www.xtrkcad.org/Wikka/HomePage for details. Volunteers maintain the software and continuously update the libraries. As a result, the libraries are current for almost all makes of track...

You can't use a mechanical E-unit by itself. The can motors have to have DC power since they use permanent magnets. The electronic E-units almost always have a rectifier built-in, along with the sequence reversing. Mechanical E-units assume a motor with field windings, which can run on AC or...

Many manufacturers deliberately gauge their locomotives and rolling stock slightly on the narrow side to better go around small radius curves. They count on flangeways in turnouts being slightly wide or at least at the wide end of the tolerance. The same thing happens in HO. While the sloppy...

Bill The Blackstone K-27s were tested by Blackstone on 17" radius and Shinohara #4 turnouts by Blackstone. My FED 2-6-0 instruction sheet advertises a 13" minimum radius. The MDC 2-8-0 states 18" radius, but I know of many cases where it will do less. Some of the articles on putting together...

There's a design in 48 Top Notch Track Plans that's called the N/Z layout. It does what you are talking about using N and Z scales. The author has a very interesting discussion about the distance between tracks of the different scales for things to seem in the correct proportion. I highly...

Benchwork for the 1st phase (portable and test ovals) has been started but not completed as of today. Weather has not been conducive to sawing and gluing benchwork - has to be done outside on days off after honey do work is reasonably complete - here on the Palmer Divide in Colorado for the...

Bill Due to the limited space, the HOn3 portion has come to dominate my planned layout. The Port Orford & Elk River is a Southern Oregon logging line serving a doghole harbor where the lumber is shipped south to San Francisco and San Diego. The sawmill is located on the Elk River which is over...

I don't know that the motor cares about how the pulses are generated. The frequency and shape of the pulse have to be controlled for best slow speed operation without overheating. Pulse width modulation (PWM) is a rather simple and efficient method of producing pulses. One of the problems is...

The usual failure mode for Atlas switch machines is a sticking button on the controller - Atlas controllers are known for this. The switch machines can only tolerate the current being on for a second or so - then they start to melt. Failure is more likely with a marginal power supply and/or...

I typed "PWM throttle" into my Google search window, and came up with 3 different circuits in the 1st four listings. I typed in "DC throttle" and came up with a couple of sites with circuits for many types of transistor throttles. Is there a particular reason for choosing PWM over other types...

Like designing a layout, choosing a modular standard is best arrived at through examining one's priorities and purposes. Each modular standard has a philosophy and culture of its own. Each new standard usually comes into being through unhappiness with aspect(s) of existing modular standards...

There's a great many model railroaders that never cruise the MRR sites. They spend their time actually model railroading. Then there's a large group who never do any actual model or layout building but pontificate on the forums or sites. And there are those in between. I have to ration my online...

There are many methods and madness in the world of handlaid track. Fast Tracks is just one of them - and probably the most expensive way to hand lay track. In return, you get fabulous videos, instructions, jigs and tools, and general hand holding to guide you through laying your first (and...

About any twin coil switch machine will work EXCEPT Atlas or Peco. I think Rix is still making twin coil switch machines, and possibly NJ International. There are also usually older, out of production models on eBay. If the coils have not been burnt, it should work fine. A capacitive...

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