One of the common drawbacks of tubular track, particularly older pieces, is inconsistent electrical conductivity. This is caused primarily by corrosion inside the rails interfering with the flow of power through the track pins. I tried a number of solutions, including soldering track together (bad idea), running jumper wires from center rail to center rail, […]
There are many track choices available to the O gauge hobbyist, but for the traditional enthusiast Lionel tubular track has great appeal. This is the track we grew up with, and for many of us it is still the track of first choice. It’s toy-like, and many of us like it that way. However, […]
In the less technologically complex postwar era, the two most popular ways to activate such trackside devices from Lionel as grade crossing lights and block signals were the nos. 145C, 153C, and 1045C contactors (devices that used a train passing over the contactor to power a circuit) and the insulated track section. Over time, the […]
People collect almost everything imaginable — bottle caps, Cadillacs, pieces of string, sheet music to sing — and of course, toy trains. There are almost as many answers as to why we collect as there are collectors, but the reasons generally fall into two major categories: love of the object and expectation of financial reward. […]
Sketching with Steve Introduction to track templates Learning to use a track template was among the first tasks I gave myself as a model railroader. You may have seen one of them hanging next to the register in your local hobby shop. Perhaps, in these days of point-and-click track-planning software, you thought it was a […]
I can’t deny that I love Kato Unitrack. Its ease of operation, solid electrical contact, top-notch quality, and quick setup time make it irresistible to me. And unlike other plastic roadbed track brands and products, it has more prototypical dimensions. But there’s also no denying that straight out of the box it looks toy-like, a […]
Want more photos? Diesel locomotives in the garden Garden railroading in Hawaii Garden railroading in the snow […]
You may have heard the term “zinc pest,” or maybe “zinc rot” or “zamak pest,” but what is zinc pest? And how does it affect toy trains? In the earlier days of toy train manufacturing, trains and their parts were diecast with alloy metals, made from zinc, aluminum, magnesium, and copper. It was an inexpensive […]
Facts & features Name: Pacific Railway & Navigation Co.Scale: Proto:48 (O fine scale)Size: 4 x 38 feet (Palouse), 40 x 60 feet (entire layout) Prototype: Great Northern; Northern Pacific; PR&N; and Spokane, Portland & Seattle (elsewhere on layout)Era: mid-1950sLocale: Pacific NorthwestStyle: walk-in multi-deckMainline run: approx. 1,200 feetMinimum radius: 84″Minimum turnout: No. 7 (spurs), No. 8 […]
Facts & features Name: Pennsylvania RR, Central RegionScale: O (1:48)Size: 43 x 60 feetPrototype: Pennsylvania RRLocale: central PennsylvaniaEra: 1952Style: around-the-wallsMainline run: 355 feetMinimum radius: 60″ (main), 50″ (branch)Minimum turnout: No. 8 (main), No. 5 (secondary)Maximum grade: 2.2% (main), 3.5% (branch)Benchwork: open gridHeight: 47″ to 76″Roadbed: Homasote Track: code 148 and 125 flextrackScenery: plaster cloth and […]
Modelers David Popp, Brian Schmidt, and Bryson Sleppy install the wiring power bus and Digital Command Control system on their modular T-TRAK N scale layout. T-TRAK is a modular N scale railroading system that uses foot-wide boxes plugged together to build tabletop layouts. In this fourth installment, the trio demonstrates how to build a portable […]
Knowledgeable hobbyists will likely tell you the line Lionel cataloged for 1954 represented the pinnacle of post-World War II production. In their opinion, the roster of steam and diesel locomotives, freight and passenger cars, and operating accessories was unsurpassed in terms of design, creativity, appearance, and operation. The No. 2219W five-car freight train headed by […]
