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 […]
Q: Recently, while driving along a highway in the vicinity of Lindsay, Mont., I came across a long, continuous line of covered hoppers. The photograph I took hardly does it justice. These cars stretched on for the better part of eight miles across the Montana prairie. I’d never seen such a thing before. From what […]
Q: I recently purchased the Kato 20th Century Limited in N scale. The documentation with the set says that run-through service was provided with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. Where can I find information on which ATSF cars were used for this service and where would they be cut into the NYC consist? – […]
Q: Have the model railroad manufacturers ever considered making the wheels on car trucks free-wheeling, or more specifically, independent of the axles? It seems to me that trucks would bind less on tighter radius curves if each wheel could rotate independently. – Wilt Nelson, Leesburg, Fla. A: Wheels and axles on model trains are solid […]
Question: What is the smallest point-to-point layout that doesn’t look like just a section of test track? How long does a shelf layout have to be to look like a working operation could be taking place? – Richard Helton, Meridian, Idaho Answer: That’s a matter of taste and perception, not something that can be quantified […]
Question: I have six freshly painted brass O scale auto racks that I need decals for. I’ve found some TTX flatcar sets that might be close. Do auto racks have special letters before or after the reporting mark different from those on a regular TTX flatcar? – Tom Champley, Oregon, Ill. Answer: Yes. Each type […]
Question: What type of couplers should be used for various types of cars (freight, passenger, Railway Post Office, Express, etc.) for the era between 1890 and 1920? – Michael Prahl, Cedar Falls, Iowa Answer: What kind of couplers you use isn’t dependent on the type or class of car; all classes of car had to […]
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