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Psychological research has shown that human perception is colored (or coloured, depending on which side of the pond you're on) by what the brain expects to see. Photographs of common scenes often surprise people who are familiar with those scenes. ("Does it really look like that?") This suggests...

What a great question! For me, the "correct answer" is "it depends". Are you a prototype railroad modeler? If so, then replicating every little detail may be critically important to "realism". Are you a "dioramist"? By that I mean do you build scenes that just happen to have model trains in...

I got a little computerized message when I logged into one of these forums chiding me for not posting message for “a while now”, practically begging me to post something of interest to the membership. Well, I just happen to have something I’d like to share. . . Don’t let me get off on a rant...

You are absolutely right. The key term in that assessment, for my purposes, is "free standing". By making this project an around-the-walls construct, I'll be able to use wall brackets to support each level independently, so dominos can be removed and inserted at any point on any level without...

I've just acquired a building that has a usable space 24' x 28' and since my main interest in mainline operation I, too, have thought about a modular triple-decker (10 scale miles of mainline!). I'm a big fan of David Barrow's Domino approach, and I'm planning to treat the whole thing like a...

Methinks something's rotten in Denmark ... fish perhaps? Because nothing stinks so bad as something that doesn't make sense when no sensible explanation is forthcoming. $1500 for a limited edition brass locomotive, maybe. $22K for that amateurish hunk of junk? If it's faked, at least they were...

I'm trying to track down a supposedly well-know model railroader named Dick Truesdale. I think he modeled the Southern Pacific. Does anybody know of him or where I can find information about him or his layout(s)? Thank you!

Based on my experience, "island" layouts like your 4' x 6' (and most of my early Plywood Pacific RR's) need about 30" access space all around to comfortably be able to walk around the layout to access areas from every edge, so you're looking at a minimum of 9' x 11' (unless you put the 4x6 on...

Those O trains would be very cool zooming around a room on a high shelf. For example, see A Model Railroad Around Your Room (no, I don't work for them or get a commission! There are other suppliers for this kind of equipment; do a Google search and check them out.) I'm doing something like...

I find that not everything that works on paper works on the "table". I've even tried printing the track plan 1:1 and laying it on the benchwork -- still get the "Oops Factor".

I think this equipment is generic Bachmann that gets painted for all Hawthorne's different "Collector" series'. I have the "Wolf Train" and although I know it's overpriced, I like it, and I get a lot of ooooh's and ahhhhh's from visitors when I put the whole train on the layout and run it...

I have a mixture of Code 100 track in a hidden staging yard & some of it is Model Power. Since it holds its shape once you bend it (unlike most other flex track), I like to use it for curves coming out of turnouts leading to the spur tracks in the yard.

I know this is not the main topic of this thread, but since the subject was brought up, this is one of my problems with DCC -- it's an all-or-nothing proposition. And the "all" ain't cheap, especially if you have 80 locomotives. I've been thinking about building a 2' x 8' switching-style layout...

Since gauntlets can vary greatly in terms of length and the separation of the "pairs" of rails depending on the amount of room available, I would be surprised if there was anything but the most basic of "kits" available to make a gauntlet. Even if you don't like to / are not good at hand laying...

If safety is a potential issue, you could also make the benchwork in front of the window removable, like you might do for an entry doorway. A bridge? Or make the benchwork narrow enough that it would be easy to climb over. Maybe putting a step-stool nearby to give you a boost to get through the...

"Alright, before anyone blows a gasket, understand that this is all in fun." :-D That was my intent, too. I may not have used enough "smiley face" emoticons in my original post. :) I'm not really a curmudgeon. Well, not a total curmudgeon, anyway. :mrgreen: One of the great things about...