Q: I’m relatively new to the hobby and am seriously thinking about expanding my 4 x 8-foot HO scale layout to something larger. When I read about all the great layouts that appear in your magazine every month, I often wonder how you keep a large layout clean and free from dust. Right now I […]
Q: How would a car card or waybill be noted or used for reefers needing icing or cattle needing feed and water along the way between the car’s origin and distant final destination? – Dick Piehl, Whitewater, Wis. A: Both activities are governed by time – the first by the practical limit of how long […]
Q: I’ve given up counting rivets; now I’m into what I call chronological accuracy. My layout is set in 1956. I’m OK with choosing appropriate vehicles and diesels for that era, and I learned that yellow stop signs were replaced by standardized red signs in the late 1950s, but other questions remain. When were roof walks […]
Q: Here are several photos of an HO scale wall hanging diorama that I bought at a garage sale. I’m trying to learn more about it. However, I can’t make out the artist’s last name on the back and I can’t find an address or phone number for the company whose name is also stamped […]
Q: I model some small industries and businesses in the early 1950s. Were pallets and forklifts in common use at that time? – Chris Gabel, Loveland, Colo. A: As you alluded to, the development of the pallet went hand-in-hand with the development of the hand-operated pallet jack and its motorized version, the forklift. Prior to […]
Q: I saw some kind work train on my local BNSF line today that I’ve never seen before and I was curious as to what it was. The thing that surprised me the most is it looks like double stack well cars were converted to MOW duty. Is that the case? – James Cox, Portales, […]
Q: I’ve searched all over the internet for information on how to build a model railroad when you’re in a wheelchair, but I’ve found nothing. Nada! Zilch! Can you help, please? I’m desperate! – Joe Kienlen, Conshohocken, Pa. A: Though we haven’t run an article specifically about how to build a layout while using a […]
Q: Are Atlas turnouts “DCC friendly” in the way Walthers turnouts are advertised? Do I need to do anything special to make Snap-Switches and other track products operate properly on a Digitrax DCC powered layout? – Edward Gardineer, East Berne, N.Y. A: Before I answer your question, I have to give you two caveats. First, […]
Q: Where did Pelle Søeborg get the parts for his utility poles? They’re the most correctly done of any I have seen. – James Bodnar, Brunswick, Ohio A: Luckily, Pelle wrote an article for us explaining not only what parts he used, but how he used them. “Quick and easy utility poles” was published in […]
Q: After five decades away from model railroading, I dug into my trove of old N scale track, locomotives, and rolling stock, and built a small, old-school, direct-current layout. I moved on to build a sizable layout with new Atlas flextrack affixed to a Homasote surface. Track laying was completed by mid-summer last year. But after the […]
Question: In the days when passenger trains carried open-platform observation cars, which passengers were allowed to occupy the platform? Was this subject to permission of the conductor, payment of an extra charge, or was it simply on a first-come, first-served basis? — John W. Eiszner, Indianapolis Answer: Open-platform cars and their successors, the round and […]
Q: I have an old Rivarossi locomotive from a Northern Pacific passenger set. Have you ever run an article on adding a DCC decoder to one of these? – Chuck Kvasnicka, Chicago, Ill. A: Former DCC Corner columnist Mike Polsgrove ran a column titled “Installing a decoder in a Rivarossi locomotive” in our April 2006 […]
