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Is the only problem getting the ballast in there and all arranged? How about taking a drinking straw, split it open on one end, and use it as a small scoop to pick up ballast and arrange it under the building? That should work, no?

Sure, or a blue LED. I have some fantastic bright blue ones. I got them from KingBright (go to ::: Welcome to Kingbright web :::) Depending on the light, these may look a bit greenish: But I agree, the Cherenkov radiation is more of a pale blue. Oh - and here is a flat car with a spent fuel...

This sounds like it should work. Do you know the resistance of the LEDs? You need to know some of the LED specs before you can be sure of what will work. You can use one of the handy on-line LED calculators (just Google for it) to calculate the proper resistance to add for LEDs in parallel...

I don't know about the potentially different types of containers. The ones in the photo do look a bit different, and I do know that NRC has approved several varieties. Tom - What a great collection of heavy load cars. I love the one with the reactor vessel. How do these monsters behave on a...

cool. You know about how to set these up with the appropriate resistors for 12 v or 14 v or whatever, right?

That reactor, which can still be seen at the end of a dirt road, has the distinction of being the first reactor to produce electricity for public use, and powered a small town nearby. The very first reactor, following the Chicago pile built in a squash court, was the Graphite Reactor in Oak...

No, rhtastro, I am not California-trained. :) Now a Federal contractor, though. Dirtyd79 -- There is so much interesting stuff on the History channel... Wow. The empty flat beds surrounding the load were probably there for radiation protection. And yes, the caboose was probably a sort of...

Bob - I'm with you on the dirtiness of coal and all that. I do computer modeling of low-level radioactive waste facilities (dumps) including the one in southern Nevada that you sent waste to (at the Nevada Test Site). I make a living cleanup up the junk that people just dumped in the ground...

So, I work as an environmental engineer in real life, and deal a lot with radioactive waste issues. Once in awhile, there is something cool to see w.r.t railroads, as a lot of radioactive waste travels by rail. Here's a neat prototype pic of a naval nuclear reactor cask getting offloaded from a...

This is a good case for experimentation. On part of the layout, or on a separate piece used for experimenting (I have couple of these little dioramas for just that purpose) try it both ways and see how it works. I expect each modeler will develop his/her own preferences.

I don't know how you guys can live with having to leave layouts behind! I can't imagine building in a layout and having to destroy it or abandon it later. Ouch! Or -- is it just part of the hobby? You move on, do the next one better... I know that some of you make these layouts one after...

I agree, Gary. Some of the work I see is downright intimidating. Sumpter's photo is a good example. It's lovely. So are the photos in the Walthers' catalog. Awesome stuff.

Ya know... there are so many subtle things that make something look realistic. Stuff you don't even notice, really. The eye (and brain) is very good at picking up on these clues. For example: If the grass or pavement is too clean, it's a dead giveaway. You need weeds in the ditches and around...

That looks great except for your choice of tape (echoing the previous poster). Masking tape is for masking -- paint. It is by its design temporary, and will dry out. You want a couple of passes of electrical tape for insulation. As for attaching the decoder to the body, I'd suggest using a few...

This simply is a function of how tall the power poles are that you want to model. It's all a matter of scale, 1:87 to be exact. If your power pole is 10 meters tall, then the HO scale pole would be 10m/87 = 0.115 m tall, or 11.5 cm. Or, in Fred Flintstone Units (FFU), if the pole is 30 feet...

Oh, well, sure. None of my buddies wants 'em, and I'm just trying to contain costs. :) I expect they will just remain in the box of spare parts that are available for other modelers.

I'll ship at cost. That is, whatever it costs to ship it from my zip code (87544) to the buyer's by whatever means is preferred. Usually, Priority Mail is the best deal. That's a lot for a single unit, but would be cheaper for several. I don't mean to be in competition with you, and my previous...

Good suggestions. And I love that advice. That is pretty much my approach and is why I've been working on this layout for over a year and half and still cannot actually run a train. :roll: I am trying to be more like Nicola Tesla (think it through and build it right the first time) and less...

I have all the layout of the thing worked out. That is, centering and cutting of the circular hole, and centerlines for all the tracks at 10 degrees. It's the fine tuning of the bridge locations that I'm wondering about. This is a programmable indexed turntable, so once I get them in, it should...

Folks - I am ready (I think) to install this turntable: Walthers Model Railroad Mall -- product information page for 933-2840 and the associated roundhouse: Walthers Model Railroad Mall -- product information page for 933-3041 Before I go for it, however, I want to check to see if anyone...