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Hey, shaygetz. This is off topic, but I was looking at your avatar -- I really like the little scene there -- and thinking, "All its needs is some pigeons!"

You could go to your local electronics store and see what they have. Most likely, they will have a transformer that plugs into household current and gives you the voltage and amperage you need. $10-15 I expect.

Another solution for playing with ideas is simply to get ahold of a drafting compass -- even a simple school one will do -- and set the points for a scale 18 inches. That is the tightest curve you can consider. It's a tough lesson when you first try it out, as you can't get in a lot of...

Hey, Andrew. I tried the sandpaper idea, too, but decided it was too time consuming. Moving one tie, or a set of four or five in the area, seems to work as well, and is easier. I am not worried about any change in gauge, as I am moving the nearby group of ties only about 0.1 mm. That's all the...

Hey, all. I am now getting around to installing the switch machines, and seeing how they work with the turnouts. Right away, I can see a problem. Oh - and for background, these are the nice Walthers Shinohara code 83 Ni-Ag turnouts that look great. But they need work... Nearly all of them (I...

An electronics surplus store is the ticket! We have one nearby that gets surplus from our local nuclear weapons laboratory. They have some unbelieveable stuff. In addition to the exotics, though, there are bins and bins of toggle switches, half-used spools of hoolkup wire in many colors and...

This is called a dovetail joint. I used no power tools to make it, though some people do (that's cheating). You mark it out carefully, use a fine-toothed wood saw to do the rough cuts, then cut out the rest with a chisel. It is a bit more time consuming, and requires a steady hand, but the...

That's a very nice collection of photographs. And it is definitely my neck of the woods, since I live about 20 miles from Santa Fe.

There was a thread awhile back about using black thin foam sheets that are available at craft stores. They come in 1-ft squares, and are about a millimeter or two thick. This was suggested in the context of asphalt streets. I got some of the sheets, but have not had the chance to try them out...

I used dirt for dirt. But since I have a geology background, I should call it "sediment". :) It's dirt cheap (free.) In this photo, you will see a dirt road and a ballasted track: The ballast (not sure if you were interested in that) is medium grade. I'd use fine in the future. The dirt is...

Oooh! Oooh! I can help! I have recently completed the structure for a nifty table layout. Mine is 6 ft x 10 ft, and the general plan would easily work for 4x8. See pics at http://ho.tauxe.net Main features are that the frame is rigid, the layout is light enough that it can be picked up and...

You are so sunk! You have about a 6-month window, here before you will have no time and no money left. :) Ask me how I know! I can tell that Daddy has set himself up a perfect basement refuge for when he needs time alone. Which will be as much time as Mommy will allow. :) I hope your wife is...

Right. I don't think cab-centric switches will work as well as block-centric ones. I intend to have block-centric rotary switches installed in a small "map" of the layout that also includes switches controlling the switch machines, and the occasional branch or end track that could be either OFF...

This is actually where I had started in my mind, but it was pointed out to me earlier in this thread that having the block-centric switch was how most people would do it. I hadn't even thought that way before, but in doing some thought experiments in running imagined trains around a layout...

Yes, I am aware of the advantages of DCC, and am still considering that as an option. In this thread, however, I'm attempting to completely vet the issues with DC. It comes down to economics, and although more complex (and complex can actually be more fun at times) DC is still a good bit...

The radio buttons (from wihc the computer GUI analygy is derived) is exactly the type of device I need. But after browsing through my Mouser Electronics catalog last night, I can't find anything like them. And if Mouser doesn't have it, it's not availabe except as some sort of custom device...

Imagine the possibilities, especially when connected to a PC. You could track each piece of rolling stock and each engine individually and model operations in great detail on the PC. That would be cool, but prohibitively expensive for most of us, I expect. :)

I checked it, and there are many insulated and cleverly cross-wired sections. The piece ways it's "DCC-friendly", FWIW. The outer rails being continuous, I cut them with a hacksaw and inserted some plastic between the rail junctures. So now it works fine - each of the four leads is independent...

Wow - yes, that is cheap. Best I had found was $59. They don't seem to have the set of three cars, though... I'll keep trying. Thanks for the tip. :)

I was just at my "local" train store (about 50 miles from here) and saw a lovely Athearn release: our new New Mexico Rail Runner. Very nice. Has anyone seen a good on-line source for this?