David welcomes Steve Sweeney as co-host. Steve reflects on his career at Kalmbach and gives encouraging words about the Model Railroading hobby. Rene and Bryson pop in to talk about David’s upcoming Modeling Class video series, coming soon. Cody returns with an update on some new pieces that are soon to be hitting the Kalmbach Hobby Store. Mitch shows off the progress of a structure he’s building. And, of course, more viewer questions are answered!
Midday Modeler – April 5th, 2023
By Vince C | April 6, 2023
See what you missed in the Model Railroader workshop!
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Is there a way to get closed captioning on your videos?
Have a question about scale with trees (specifically pine). What’s a good rule of thumb for the tree trunk size for an O Scale (or any scale) pine tree? I’ve seen quite a few really good videos for techniques in building them, but they always seem kind of forget the scale of the trunks. Thanks!
Steve,
In this week’s video you mentioned how many new items, 35?, were recently added to trains.com. That sounds great but how do we find all that new content?
I only see a few things change a week on the trains.com video page or it seems that way to me and I check almost every day.
Do you have any tips on how to EASILY find all of the new content available on the website?? With not too many clicks?
I wonder if a simple listing of “What’s new at trains.com” would help? Much like the new products page but with very short descriptions, much like a table of contents or an index organized by date and brand (?). I’m afraid I am missing lots of good content that is there somewhere.
Regards, Amby N
Best of luck Steve on your new endeavors – you willed be missed as a vital part of the Trains.com community!
Steve, I know what you mean regarding “locomotives.” I have never had a real layout; in the 1960’s and 70’s, I belonged to the Peninsula Model Railroad Ass’n. in San Mateo, CA (featured in MR in 1985) and now belong to the West Bay Model Railroad Ass’n in Menlo Park, CA., both grand layouts with big sweeping curves. I primarily model BNSF and have Dash 9 and GEVO units. I also have a Great Northern Athearn Genesis GP9 in the Omaha Orange and Pullman Green scheme and have ordered (a year ago) another GP in Big Sky Blue. I have two Great Northern brass locomotives, a Tenshodo Great Northern S2 4-8-4 and a United Great Northern H5 4-6-2 that are being converted to DCC as well as an ALCO Models Alco RS1 custom painted in Great Northern colors that I may convert to DCC and finally a NWSL 2-6-2T painted for my own road (Cascade River). I know the conversion of the brass locomotives will cost me $$$ so I’m holding off picking up another Dash 9 or GEVO in either NS or CSX. I need to choose my battles, so to speak.
And regarding the gunpowder van. As far as I know. There should be at least 5 cars between the GPV (Gundpowder Van) and the locomotive, and also between the GPV and the brakevan. And if I’m correct, the GPV’s are constructed from metal not from wood, for extra strength in the case of an accident.
Markus
Hello,
Steve I wish you all the best for your future.
Regarding your british Dapol models. The locomotive is an 0-6-0 GWR Pannier Tank. It was used on branchline service for passenger and goods trains. Some of these locomotives where specially equipped to run with Autocoaches/Auto-Trailers. These passenger coaches where used in Push-Pull service with steam locomotives. Years ago Dapol offered an Autocoach in N scale. Today Graham Farish by Bachmann offers an GWR Hawksworth Auto-Trailer. But the later one is only offered in British Railways colour schemes. And a little tip. Don’t run british N scale locomotives and wagons over Atlas Code 55 turnouts, the wheelflanges will catch at the flangeways. Use Peco Code 55 or British Finescale Code 40 track.
Markus
I’ll miss Steve Sweeney. Are you at liberty to say why he’s leaving and where he’s going? In any case, I wish him the best.
For trains.com, I have seen an issue with logging in. If I click a trains.com video link from a trains.com newsletter email, my credentials do not work on the trains.com video page. I must go to the trains.com page to log in and then search for the article via the web page search box to see the video. It seems that the login window does not “bridge” the trains.com video page to the trains.com main page to find that my credentials are authorized for trains.com video. It’s a little annoying but I have managed to find the work around to get logged in.