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By the way, there are ways to make this work. It's called a reversing loop. You can buy a special "autoreverse loop" circuit that will handle it correctly, if in fact you want to keep the reverse loop.

Good point on the "shorting rotaries" problem. What would be ideal, I think, would be pushbutton selectors, if I can find such a thing. So, now I am pausing in layout development to consider the pros/cons of converting to DCC. Can I even convert an old Gilbert steam engine from 1959 to DCC?

I intend to use Tortoise switch machines with my Shinohara turnouts, and have a question about if there are reasons to hook the switch machine control wire to one place or another on the turnout. My turnouts typically look like this one: There are two holes for sticking the wire into, one...

enolcmelca - I appreciate your screen name. Am I correct that it is a very obtuse reference to Firesign Theatre's "I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus"? As for block wiring, I was advised in another thread here that I should abandon attempts at DC and go DCC. But - geez, the expense! $200 for...

Well, now, David, that is most interesting. I had not even thought of it that way. I see what you mean about having many blocks and each of them being able to powered by any particular controller. That's a cool idea. So, here's what I've got: The two loops have a double crossover. It's a...

Rath - Using the 1" sheets is actually fine. In fact, two 1" sheets laminated together are stronger than one 2" sheet. Take a look at my layout site (in the sig) to see what I did - laminating three 1" sheets to make a rigid board. It works great. In fact, I have discovered yet another...

Greetings, all. As I build my layout, I've been intending all along to go with DC, and perhaps change over to DCC at some point in the future. I have carefully selected the turnouts to be DCC-friendly, for example. But I have this wiring logic problem that I'm wrestling with: I have three...

Ya know, if you like the store and the owner, and like to have the store be around, then go ahead and give him what he asks. $30-35 is certainly not much for a working engine. Maybe you could even stash it away for your son's next birthday. BTW, I was curious where Spring Hill, TN, was, as I...

See? Now this is what makes this forum great. That's an excellent idea, Tom, and easy to do. :) Thanks! :wave:

Greetings! I am in need of a technique. Most of my track is laid upon a standard cork roadbed, which is about 5 mm in thickness. I have one lead out of the yard, however, that will go over to a separate area where there is a turntable surrounded by service tracks. The area around these radial...

Nice outcropping -- it looks like a limestone. I can't wait to get into the rocks! But I'm trying to do things more or less in order (I'm just that way.) I like the track weathering, too.

Apparently from what I've read, there are regional differences. It also comes in a variety of thicknesses -- I've seen 3/4-in to 2-in. Also, last time I went to the local "home improvement" store, the only foam sheets I could find has already been scored on 16-in centers. This, I suppose, makes...

I like the electromagnet idea. Has anyone here built those? How many loops of what gauge wire would be required for 12 V DC operation?

Well, that's cool. I have one of these tank cars, painted in blue for Magnolia, and I've been wondering how to go about fixing the truck-mounted coupler problem. This certainly seems to work. Good idea! :thumb: I'll try that, and will try to keep the six-wheel trucks at the same time.

Coyote - I just now got around to following this thread. Nice work! I really think you'll like the foam. I have one suggestion, though it is probably too late, and that is that you should simply leave out the 1/4" birch plywood under the foam. The foam is stable enough that the plywood is not...

Thread bump and layout update! I got a lot done over the winter break. Now the layout is suspended from the ceiling of our sunroom, on steel cables routed to a nifty hand-cranked hoist. I am very pleased with how this worked out. Now I can lower the layout, work on it for a few minutes or hours...

Hey, Ed. You're taking on quite a task for ADS and CDS, and you're doing great. Consider it therapy. :) We all get frustrated in this hobby, and hate having to tear stuff out and redo it, but I think it simply comes with the territory. My method is to think a lot ahead of time, make drawings...

This looks great, Chrisdapos. You are a couple steps ahead of me, as I am just now tacking down the cork roadbed (though have not yet updated the pics in the web site noted in the sig). I hope to be laying track soon, but do not have a lot of time with three kids. :) Nice work on the loco...

Excellent. What fun to go fetch Santa. And Happy Solstice to all, and to all a long night. :) FYI the solstice is scheduled to occur at the following time today (21 Dec 06): 19:20 eastern 18:20 central 17:20 mountain 16:20 pacific - John

Well, yes. Exactly. Those look good, though I think I would like a mix of states rather than having to get just one state on a sheet. Thanks for the link! - John