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If you are looking for 2" styrofoam, you need to go to a building supply store where the home builders and commercial building contractors shop. Home Depot usually carries the stuff in sizes up to 1½" - 2". Make sure it is "extruded polystyrene" and not the white "bead board". Technically...

Part 1 - Using C-Clamps C-clamps work very well in connecting two modules together. You want to be able to get the C-clamp as far up into the underside of the two modules so that you are clamping as close to the top of your module as possible. C-clamps are classified as 1", 2", 2½" etc in...

Hello Inkaneer. The use of 1"x 4" for the frame and 1"x 2" for some cross bracing is a very good choice, particularly if it's pine. I would suggest that you might want to take a look at the number of 1"x 2" cross braces and how you place them. By my calculations, you've got six 1"x 2" cross...

Actually, I saw a ton of them running between Lake Louise and Field BC last February when the snow was flying. The only way you could tell an AC4400 from an ES44AC was the cleaness of the unit (aside from the absence of the beaver logo). They run quit frequently through Smiths Falls and...

Hi Loud. For construction techniques, visit my website: http://www.railwaybob.com/Modules/ModConstr/ModConstr01.htm Rather than using four 8' modules, you might find that your track radius might be a bit tight. If you work out the geometry, you will find that a 2' wide module will limit your...

Hello Mason Jar. I get mine at Larkspur Line in Merrickville. However, if you are trying to equip your double-stack intermodal train with containers, be prepared to pay a high price - unless you find them on sale. And then the ones that are on sale are not the brands that you would want on...

Hi Gareth. If you happen to live in the Ottawa area, why don't you join us this Saturday. Ottawa Valley HOTRAK is having our first meet of the season this Saturday at St Anthony's Soccer Hall on Preston St at the Queensway overpass (in the basement). You'll be able to meet Ron, David, Mason...

Note that, for club modules, the location of the track according to standards is only applicable for the track at the end of the module. This is so that your module can connect to other members' modules. For conventional NMRA HO-scale modules this is 2 1/2" and 4 1/2" from the front edge of...

"Wiring For DCC" is an example of overkill. If you follow those instructions, you will wonder why you ever got into DCC in the first place. You don't need to do all of that work when you go into DCC. For turnouts, there's only two rules. Rule #1 (Most important!) - The frog must be...

Now the real question is this. Why should you follow some module standards? The answer depends on what you plan to do with your modules. If you plan to build modules in your basement so that you can take your layout with you when you move, then the only reason you might want to take a look...

There are probably two reasons for building a layout in module format. The first is for your own personal use. We've all been in the situation where we've spent a lot of time building a nice layout in the basement. And then we decide to move and we have to junk everything that we've built...

"By The Labour of Their Hands - The Story of Ontario Cheddar Cheese" by Heather Menzies details the story of the cheddar cheese industry in Ontario. One of the first mammoth cheeses was the Ingersoll cheese of 1866. It weighed in at 7,300 lbs. It took the milk of 2,400 cows from some 250...

Have you ever heard of a "ploughman's lunch"? During the Industrial Revolution in Britain, before the sandwich was invented, every working stiff ate a ploughman's lunch - a hunk of bread (not the white sliced kind), and a chunk of cheese. Specifically cheddar cheese. More specifically...

Once upon a time, they used to make an SCR throttle. This operated the same way as the speed control on your car. The loco would run at a constant speed, regardless of the hills or grades. The 22" - 33" radius, along with the 4" grade is definitely going to suck up a lot of juice with a...

Hello Dave. I have a series of "Laws of DCC" on my website. One of the laws is the "Law of the Pocketbook". It says that if the pocketbook can afford it, go for it. Speaking from experience, if you buy the lower level one, later on, you'll regret it! So, if you're budget can afford it, go...

The DCS100 command station booster (which comes with the Super Chief set) allows you to read back the values of the Configuration Variables (CVs) that you have previously programmed or just programmed into the decoder. The CVs are what controls the characteristics of your loco (lights reverse...

What you are experiencing is normal for DC operation. As the loco experiences more friction on the rails as it travels around, it requires more power to overcome the friction. Hence the voltage drops and the amperage increases. This is part of Ohm's law which says that voltage equals the...

I've used spachling compound quite a bit on my modules. Because I want my modules to be light, plaster, hydrocal, and other plaster compounds are out. I carve the hills in styrofoam, glue them to the styrofoam deck, and then use spachling compound to make the transition between the deck and...

AAaaarrrrrgggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! I was on my usual Saturday trip out to Smiths Falls. The Ottawa-bound VIA train was waiting on Track 2 for the arrival of the Toronto-bound VIA train. The Christmas train was parked on Track 5 or 7. I pulled out my digital camera, slid back the lens cover...

A further update on the schedules for CP Rail's Christmas trains. On Friday, December 2nd, 2005, tomorrow, the Canadian train with engine 9713 will leave Beaconsfield at 18:45, arrive Smiths Falls 2215 for its event from 22:15-23:00. It will stay in the Smiths Falls yard overnight. It...