Search results

For some step-by-step tips and tricks on how to build some lightweight modules, check out these pages on my website. Module Construction Bob M.

Hello Grain Baron. Very interesting post on the movement of grain cars under the "GD the CPR" thread. Having watched many grain trains going over the hump of the Kicking Horse Pass between Lake Louise and Field and seeing many trains coming through Smiths Falls, ON, these are one of my...

I use McHenry almost exclusively as it is a one-piece pop-it-in coupler. Simply unscrew the cover on the coupler pocket, remove the old coupler, insert the new McHenry, and replace the cover. Kadees are also good but can require a bit of extra work fitting the copper spring in place. You can...

I got it last night and am only at the first 10 pages. It's not only a detailed history of the TG&B and the T&N but also gives a good overview of the economic and political circumstances under which the development of railways occurred, not only in Canada but also in Britain and the US. Lots...

Nope. I frequently travel by the station on my way through Smiths Falls. My white Dodge minivan automatically knows the route. If there are trains, I usually stop. If there are no trains, I keep on going. It's hit-and-miss but I've seen lots of trains coming through over a 2 - 3 hour...

Before installing capacitors onto decoders, make sure you have power pickup on all wheels. It's a lot cheaper to install pickups than to fool around with capacitors on decoders. Clean tracks are even more essential with DCC as DCC is not as forgiving as DC when it comes to dirty tracks. A...

If you decide to use "joiner tracks", terminate the track on the ends of the module (back 1 1/2" for 3" joiner track, 3" for 6" joiner track, etc) with a piece of 3" snap track. Removing the joiner track will subject the module tracks to a lot of stress and will ultimately pop out of the...

A good time to be in Smiths Falls is between 1:00 and 1:45 when VIA's Toronto southbound comes off of VIA's Smiths Falls sub and VIA's Ottawa northbound comes off of CP Rail's Brockville sub. They both meet at Smiths Falls as there are no passing sidings on the Brockville or Smiths Falls subs...

Hello CNTown. George's Trains seems to show a bit of a preference for NCE over Digitrax. The question will be which is the most popular in the area that you live in and at what level of investment do you want to make. Hello RogerW. The upgrading of "software" is not necessarily a major...

Originally a Soo Line locomotive that is now owned by CP. Soo Line is a subsidiary of CP. However, Soo Line had extra motive power that they didn't need so the surplus was transferred to CP who needed extra motive power. Most of the transferred motive power was SD40-2s. It's the light...

If you want to run more than two trains at a time on your layout, or if you want to run one train and then run another one, then DCC is definitely the way to go. Or if you have friends over for operating sessions. Wiring is very straightforward. No DPDT switches on a control panel to decide...

If you happen to be in the Ottawa area this weekend, drop by St Anthony's Soccer Hall on Preston St. It's the annual Ottawa Valley Associated Railroaders (OVAR) module rally where the module railroad clubs go all out. Ottawa Valley HOTRAK http://www.hotrak.ca will be there with the biggest...

Canadian Branchline Miniatures - no "s" Canadian Branchline Miniatures His books are well written with lots of photos of steam. A real pleasure to read. Bob M.

The caboose may not be a caboose but a "flanger" used to clear the snow from between the rails either after the snow plows had gone by or in tandem with the snowplow - snowplow, engine, flanger, caboose. The lines of the "caboose" are definitely not CPR but look like PRR, NYC, or some other...

Hello Floyd. No, I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at myself recalling when I did the same thing about 12 months ago. I've been very fortunate as I belong to a model railroad club, Ottawa Valley HOTRAK http://www.hotrak.ca where we periodically run some clinics. One of our scenery...

To spray wood glue or matte medium, you need to dilute it down to a 20% (1 part glue/matte medium - 4 parts alchohol) or even down to 10%) as anything less will plug up the sprayer. Add a couple of drops of soap to the mixture. Purpose of Soap Glue or matte medium, by itself, regardless...

Are you sure the LEDs were 12 volts? Typically, LEDs are 2 volts and 10 - 20 mA. Depending on what you are using the LEDs for, you may have to vary the resistors for the different colours of LEDs. Typically, a red LED will require a higher valued resistor (1,000 ohms on 6 volts) to tone down...

For a full discussion on whether to twist or not to twist, look up some of the old discussions on the Digitrax@Yahoogroups forum.

The speed limit will depend upon the track conditions and whether the track is operated by the major railways (CN and CP) or by a shortline operator. A shortline operator will put very little time and effort into maintaining the track. They don't need to as they can take their time picking...

Yes, if the command station was located in the middle, it would mean a shorter run for the track power buss. Theoretically, voltage drops with the length of the run. However, I think Gary's problem is something other than the length of the run of his track power buss. At Ottawa Valley...