Celebrating Scale the art of MAGAZINE Trains 1:48 modeling O u Mar/Apr 2010 Issue #49

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visit our Website for a CompLete shipping sCheduLe! To find an Atlas dealer, go to http://locator.atlasrr.com Get a copy of Atlas’ Catalogs at your LHS or visit www.atlaso.com Atlas O, LLC • 378 Florence Avenue • Hillside, NJ 07205 • www.atlaso.com Celebrating the art of 1:48 modeling Issue #49 Scale March/April 2010 Vol. 9 - No. 2 Editor-in-Chief/Publisher Joe Giannovario Trains MAGAZINE [email protected] O Features Art Director Jaini Giannovario [email protected] 4 The Deep Run Railroad — Stephen Fisher Visit a serious On30 railroad with a touch of whimsy.

Managing Editor 21 Building A Center Cab Diesel - Part 2 — Capt. Tom Mix Mike Cougill In this installment Tom begins construction of the diesel’s unique trucks. [email protected] 27 Make A Quick Tank — Joe Giannovario A visit to a big-box home improvement stores results in a nice looking Advertising Manager storage tank that can literally be built in minutes. Jeb Kriigel [email protected] 30 Starting Over - Part 2 — Joe Giannovario Evolution of the track plan. Customer Service 33 Scratch And Bash A P&LE Double Sheathed Box Car — Tom Houle Spike Beagle He’s at it again! Tom starts with one thing and ends up with another. Complaints

L’il Bear 58 Volume 7 Index

Contributors 60 2010 O Scale National — Neil Chichizola Ted Byrne Gene Clements Neil Chichizola’s SP layout is open for the convention. Carey Hinch Martin Brechbiel

Subscription Rates: 6 issues US - Periodical Class Delivery uS$35 Departments US - First Class Delivery (1 year only) uS$45 Canada/Mexico US$55 Overseas US$80 11 The Art of Prototype Modeling — Mike Cougill Visa, MC, AMEX & Discover accepted. Call 610-363-7117 during 12 Neville’s Workshop — Eastern time business hours. Dealers contact Kalmbach Publishing, 800-558-1544 ext 818 or email [email protected] Advertisers call for info. 17 The Modern Image — Gene Clements www.oscalemag.com • ©2010 All Rights Reserved Printed in the U.S.A. 19 Action — Martin Brechbiel O Scale Trains Magazine, ISSN 1536-9528, USPS 24457, is published bi-monthly in January, March, May, July, Septem- 45 Modelers’ Showcase ber and November by OST Magazine, PO Box 289, Exton PA 19341-0289. Subscription rates: US Periodical Mail, 46 Product News & Reviews $35 per year, US First Class Mail, $45 per year; Canada or Mexico, $55 per year; Overseas, $80 per year. Postage paid 54 Reader Feedback at West Chester, Pa., and additional mailing offices. POST- MASTER send address changes to O Scale Trains Magazine, PO Box 289, Exton PA 19341-0289. 64 Buy-Sell-Trade Ads Contributors: O Scale Trains welcomes your feature articles, 64 Events Listing photos, and drawings. Such material should be sent to the above address for possible publication. If we accept, you will be notified 65 Advertiser Index immediately. For more information concerning article preparation guidelines, please send an SASE to the above address and 66 Observations — Joe Giannovario request our “Guide For Authors” or visit our website at: www. oscalemag.com. Cover: It might be a lazy summer’s day in Still Pond, but Cer- rone’s Boat Yard is humming with activity. This scene and the centerspread are from Stephen Fisher’s Deep Run Railroad which is profiled starting on page 4 of this issue.

Centerspread: Deep Run Shay #5 has spotted the stone train and will pick it up later for the long journey “up county” to the barge at Betterton on Stephen Fisher’s Deep Run Railroad.

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 3 The Deep Run Railroad Stephen Fisher, a.k.a. the Maryland Rail Baron

It’s a quiet but hot day at the Chestertown yards and maintenance shops. The locos are simmering, and the crews are too. The year isn’t important; let’s say it’s between 1900 and brothers founded it back in the late 1800s. Just a mill and 1929. Life is slow with fishing, crabbing, and oysters plenti- store, but some day maybe they will become somethin’.” As ful. The folks from Baltimore come over for the summer to they moved along the line and approaching Still Pond, the enjoy the cool breezes, swimming, great food, and even bet- old man continued his narrative: ter, the Southern hospitality. “Not only is Still Pond a shipping point by water and rail The Deep Run Railroad is a sleepy kind of neighbor, it runs but they also have a thriving boatyard there, run by this ship- when needed. There is some passenger service but mostly it wright named Garry Cerrone. The boatyard keeps a lot of the hauls freight. The equipment is starting to show it’s age, and men in town working and the town also has the distinction of most of the locos have been bought from some other railroad. having invited women to vote a full four years ahead of the There is talk about the new logging extension that is being women of the rest of the country. As I understand it, now that built. It goes to the edge of the Piedmont Plateau up near Ris- the women are happy so are the men. Go figure that!” ing Sun. There are also rumors that the Moving on towards the thriving community of Marydale might be buying the DRRR and making it standard gauge but with its own station and freight house; the conversation got those rumors had been heard before. The railroad has its roots especially colorful. in Chestertown with a small railyard and engine facilities. Yes sir‘ree, Bob, Marydale is home of the famous ‘Thong- There’s also a machine shop, freight house, and a foundry, man’ whom it seems is a legend in these parts. Sometimes and the old man. one can spot him in his yellow and green thong outfit looking Eyeballing a stranger poking around the yard, he saunters at the pretty girls sunbathing or skinny-dipping in the creek. over to see who it is. He’s interesting, but not dangerous and he gives the locals a “Well, howdy, you ain’t from around here are you?” asks laugh now and then.” the old man. On the outskirts of town there’s a cattle yard where they “Naw. Just visitin’.” The young stranger replied. ship out their beef cattle. “Like trains do ya? Me too. So let me tell you about this “Talk about stink,” the old man said. Then he continued: here railroad. Better yet, jump on this here jitter bug and let’s “The guy that owns it says, ‘It’s the smell of money.’” take a ride.” The next stop is Deep Run, home of the Kenly Creek The two men climbed aboard and took off towards Ken- Lumber Company, which is owned and operated by a Mr. nedyville. All along the way the old man kept up a running Van Horn III. The old man noted that the owner wasn’t seen commentary about the sights. around much since his corporate office is over on the West- “Now we just need to keep going a bit ‘cause that up there ern shore. Pointing to a large trestle in the distance he said: is Kennedyville with its sawmill and fledgling community. “Ya see that trestle way over there? That’s the logging exten- For the moment, it’s but a wide spot in the road. The Kennedy sion that takes off from the main line and heads up through 4 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Drawn for O Scale Trains Magazine Hinch Carey by

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 5 Delaware and back into Maryland. Yea, the other end is up near Rising Sun, Maryland. This new railroad, the Meadow Mountain Lumber Railroad, hauls logs back to the Kenly Creek Lumber Company. They also have a stone quarry operation going on and have to bring the stone train down to Betterton once a week to meet the barge and have their stone hauled over to the other shore.” Approaching another bridge the old tour guide mentions how expensive the construction was. “Now here is where things get interesting and expensive. The railroad has to cross over the Corsica River, which is fairly large and a lot of money was spent to build a large rock and earth fill to sup- port the roadbed. We were told the bottom was too soft to support pilings for a trestle.” Rolling on to High Point, he observed how pretty the scenery is, and as the name implies, it’s the highest point in the county at 35 feet above sea level. High Point is mostly There is plenty of work going on at the Kennedyville sawmill and, from the farming but there is a garage/repair shop run by some young looks of the flatcar the local has just been through. guy named Jeff Gelner, “Who I hear is one smart guy.” said the old man. Continuing, he says: “I was told that he can fix anything, including those new gas buggies that have started to make an appearance in the county. Heck, you give me a good horse anytime. They can out work one of them new fangled things any day, and they don’t get stuck in the mud. Those folks also have themselves a factory where they are making machinery for different companies and it is mostly shipped out on the railroad.” The next stop is Rock Hall. “They’re a bunch of rough- necks, but they’re good folks’ who would help you at a drop of a hat. They ship out a lot of vegetables and fruit and they get in all kinds of stuff. They also do a lot of fishing and crab- bing and that goes over to the other side as well. Those folks have all kind of canneries and seafood houses along with shipping companies. Like I said, they’re a bunch, yes sir. Why did you know they shoot fireworks off on the 4th of July? Great Some of the town ladies are walking to the General Store and it looks like show they put on, yes sir!” they have garnered a parade. “Well, I guess that’s about it. All we have to do is cross over the Chester River on the big swing bridge and head back into Chestertown. If y’all head over that a way the railroad goes to Betterton, where there is a large amusement park and hotels for the chicken neckers, oops I’m sorry. I meant to say Baltimore folks. From Betterton the railroad goes through the community of Worton, where the Wisenheimer Brewery is located. This brewery produces some of the finest beers and ales on the shore, and if you get there when old man Wolschon is in a good mood, he will give you a taste or two. There is rail barge and freighter service located at Betterton and much of the libation products are shipped from there. They also get lumber in for all of the beer crates and barrels. You could say those are some of the mellowest folks you will ever meet. Thanks for stopping in; things are sleepy here and it’s nice to talk.” With that the tour was over and the young Cerrone’s Boat Yard seems to be busy. It looks like the crew is trying to stranger went on his way thinking to himself how he’d like to finish repairs on one of the many Bay boats. get back this way someday soon. About My Railroad with passing sidings and stub end sidings where businesses are. This version of the Deep Run RR is the culmination of 2: The control system is DCC. I wanted it to be easy to run, many versions and is probably the last one that I will build yet fun, with some challenge to it. due to my age and also because I am so happy with this ver- Because I like to model the Eastern Shore of Maryland, sion. So what has gone into this railroad to make it worth- which is somewhat flat, the railroad follows the same type of while for me? I have always believed in a few design rules: grades. Therefore, the railroad is of 1x4 frame construction 1: It must be simple in its track plan. It is a single mainline with a plywood subbase with Homasote on top. It follows 6 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 the perimeter of the basement with a series of islands. Track work and turnouts are mostly handlaid. The exceptions are the areas of Rock Hall and High Point. These two areas are Peco On30 flextrack and turnouts glued to 1” foam board over plywood. The rest of the railroad is handlaid with code 100 rail and either BK turnout kits or Fast Tracks scratchbuilt turnouts, all on Mt. Albert On30 ties. As for the throw mecha- nisms, I have either used a double pole slide switch mounted above the layout, with a safety thumbtack mounted on top to emulate a high level switch stand or a modified BIC pen that pushes against a microswitch mounted under the layout. You can read an article written by my friend and fellow operator Dave Renard in Railroad Model Craftsman, May 2007 issue, page 67, on how he did this. One of the greatest improvements to model railroading was the invention of DCC. I use the Lenz/Atlas DCC system that is interfaced with five blocks to segment the rail- road electrically. This way when a short occurs the entire The Village of Still Pond looks to be as busy as it ever gets. railroad doesn’t go down. I like the Lenz; it is easy for a new person to operate, and it has all of the features that are required for the DRRR. In conjunction with the DCC we have a computer generated switch list that was developed in part by Geren Mortenson and another person who is not part of our group. This was a major step in operating the railroad and one that I objected to at first but was glad when I accepted it. It has certainly added the fun back into operations. I have about 30 years of experience modeling in On2½ as we called it in the past, but now simply refer to it as On30. During those early years we had the first On30 modules and carried them all over the place preaching the virtues of On30: “Large scale modeling for the cost of HO.” I still have the scratchbuilt structures that graced those modules and many of the scratchbuilt freight cars as well as a few kitbashed locos. Today with the advent of Bachmann’s On30 line I don’t The local is pulling into Marydale station and it looks like a couple of kitbash locos very much but my best friend, Garry Cerrone, strangers are getting ready to board. has continued to do them for both of us and they do regular duty on the Deep Run. I hope to have an article later in the year on how I am lowering Bachmann frames to scratchbuild freight cars. Even though the majority of the work on the railroad is mine, there have been others that have invested their time, efforts, and talents to make the Deep Run what it is today. I have told you about Garry and Dave. Geren does all of the DCC work. Two friends in Michigan, Dan Wolschon and Dave Kunz, did all of the masters and cast up the Wisen- heimer brewery as a gift for me. Whenever you start naming folks you know someone is going be left out but I will try to get it right and hope for the best. Our operating group is large and diversified not only by age and where we live, but also that many of us are retired. There is one common thread - our love of trains and our A loaded reefer is sitting at the Marydale Cattle Company siding waiting friendships. The way we operate our railroad starts with the for pick up. switching list that, once generated, is handed to the Yardmas- ter at Chestertown, Steve Sherrill, and the Yardmaster at the during operations, we have two or three roving brakemen to saw mill in Deep Run, Ed Stone. These two locations have assist in coupling, uncoupling, and throwing turnout points. to have trains built and they need to notify the dispatcher, These tasks usually fall to Bob Vanzant, Jim Barcus, and Les GW Henderson, who calls the crews all by way of hand held Davis. The rest of the crew: Dan Gillenwater, Doug O’Dell, radios. A road or local crew must call into the dispatcher Dwight Varnes, Mark Friend, Jim Evans, Rick Baier, Roy Dietz, to receive clearance to the next location. Some day we will and Shawn Heath is responsible for local and road trains. have operating ball signals that will be controlled from the Along with these folks, the following people are also dispatcher’s panel. Because the lift out bridge is installed part of the team, but with some added responsibilities. Alan Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 7 Looks like the “old man” is taking the jitterbug out for a spin. It looks like Ted is working on that old truck again, while the fellows “help” by supervising him.

From the looks of all the cut lumber on the loading dock at the mill, Mr. Van Meadow Mountain Lumber Company Forney # 56 is hauling the freight into Horn III must have increased production. Rock Hall after crossing the Chester River swing bridge.

The train must be close for everyone is getting ready to get on board to The main industry in High Point is Heath Machinery. It’s what keeps the head to the big town of Rock Hall. town afloat, besides farming.

8 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 The local passenger train has stopped at Betterton to pick up a few folks. It Looks like the local is pushing a cut of cars onto the barge. has always been a mystery why the station was known as Deep Run. Anderson helps in building repairs, Dallas Mallerich is the tions recently. First, the train room had to be dismantled owner of Boulder Valley Models (John Willock and I are due to flooding from abnormal rains just before the NMRA building his On30 railroad). Martin Van Horn III is our histo- convention and open house tour back in 2006. Then, it was rian, and John Weigel is the guy that supplies us with all of moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the later part of those green Bachmann boxes. Many of you will be familiar 2006 and 95% of the railroad was rebuilt to fit the format of with some of these names due to their involvement in the the new room. I also took the opportunity to back date the hobby in some way or the other. railroad, which proved to be a modeling challenge. Finally, scenery and detail are a large part of what makes So there you have it. A story about this little backwater rail- the Deep Run Railroad plausible. The scenery starts with real road and the people that inhabit the land and how it has all dirt and then layers of reused ground foam, floral oasis, and come together over 30 years. So until next time hoping that plant material, followed by hand-made trees, commercial your rails are parallel and your trains are on time, keep on trees, and our favorite stand-by: weeds and sedums. railroading. u The railroad has gone through several trials and tribula-

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10 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 The Art of Prototype Modeling Michael Cougill

Two Photographs Consider the two photos presented here. One has a happy empty space on the layout, so that’s the plan. I hope you’ve outcome; the other less so, but still positive. The photo of put off reading this until after you’ve downloaded and orga- the Wabash boxcars (Photo 1) is the happier outcome of nized all those photos I told you to shoot earlier. the two. As I’ve mentioned before I was able to document Best regards, these four cars thoroughly in both pictures and written notes Mike u with dimensions. The photo of the abandoned mill building (Photo 2) is another situation though. It is only one of four photos that I have of the building. To my knowledge, no others exist showing the 1 place in better days. There’s still a positive outcome here in that I was able to learn something about the building’s history and overall dimensions through research at the Franklin County Historical Society and the Brookville, Indiana, Public Library. This brings me to the heart of the col- umn for this issue: If there is a car or build- ing you been meaning to document for a future modeling project; Go and take the photos today. Put the magazine down for a while and, if feasible, go do it now! Last year I went down to Brookville to photograph the remains of the old Robert’s Mill more thoroughly, only to discover that it was finally gone forever. The only thing 2 left is the foundation. Needless to say, I was a bit disappoint- ed and irritated with myself that I hadn’t done it much sooner. Hopefully, a lesson has been learned. The positive side to the situation is that I do have some basic numbers and ideas to go by for an upcoming model of the place, but I really enjoy a project much more when I have plenty of info to draw from. Having the basic building specs is good, but my knowl- edge of the framing member sizes and their construction is going to be pure speculation based one some poor quality photographs. For this project, I wanted to do something faith- ful and as close to the prototype as possible, and my lack of knowledge leaves many questions unanswered. For example: What was the missing addition like? How many doors or windows, if any, did it have? I infer from my photos that it was a single story with a gable roof but that’s all I can reason- ably assume. Was the building’s framing balloon framed or platform? Research indicated there was a large holding tank for liquid molasses that was used in the feed blending opera- tions. Where was that located, inside or outside? For some modelers a handful of poor photos are better than no photos at all, and for them, it would be plenty to work from. For now, there are some choices to make. I could shelve the whole project in the hope of finding more infor- mation, or I could go ahead with what I have and just live with it. I guess having an imperfect model is better than a big Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 11 New Staging Area for the BRHRR Text and photos by Neville Rossiter Drawings by Bruce Temperley

One of the problems with a large industrial layout like the Bayridge Harbor Rail Road (BRHRR) is that it requires a large number of freight cars to operate it realistically. This in turn means that you need some kind of staging area that can transfer cars on and off the layout efficiently. Over the years my good friend Bruce Temperley and myself have tried many ways of setting up a staging area in a limited space. One example was illustrated in my Workshop column in OST #21, July/August 2005. After years of operation we decided that nothing was work- ing to our satisfaction. So after looking at endless articles and different ideas, we decided to use a transverse table system complete with storage area for up to 86 cars not including the table. The area we had to work in was 115 inches long by 33 inches wide. Figure 1: An isometric view of the complete staging unit. This is not a step-by-step how-to-build-it, but maybe it will just inspire fellow operators that a successful stag- ing and storage area can be built in a small space with limited skills. There are many variations to this. We are just illustrating the system that works for us. We have had it installed now for two years and found it to be perfect for the BRHRR. It actually does work. I have included two CAD drawings by Bruce Temperley along with a series of photographs that I snapped while building. u

Here is the basic frame for the traverser storage unit.

Figure 2: Plan and elevation of the complete staging unit.

12 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 The extension of the layout bridges over to the traverser storage unit. The This is a view of the finished scene. The barge permits access to the top level is the car traverser. traverser table.

The storage drawers are fitted with guides to hold rolling stock. Track The unit is complete and ready for operations. As you can see it holds could also be used here. The ends of the drawers have foam rubber quite a bit of rolling stock. bumper strips to protect couplers.

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SEE OUR CATALOG AT: www.protocraft.com Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Two new O Scale publications. $14.95 $19.95 Learn all you need to know For too long O Scale plus p&h plus p&h about O Scale in the 21st modelers have had to contend century. We cover: Operations, with layout books and Track & Trackplanning, trackplanning articles geared Locomotives, Rolling Stock, to HO or other scales. Pieces Scenery & Structures and we of The Puzzle changes that cover the specialty topics of by giving design tips and Narrow Gauge, Traction, techniques directed to the P48/Finescale and the unique needs of O Scale. latest in Command This 48 page book also Control Systems. includes a PDF format Plus we give you photo CD featuring the our exclusive Source book’s photos in full lists to help you find color along with a everything you need bonus chapter of to enjoy modern O extra material and Scale. The 2nd Edition photos not included in the Guide is completely rewritten and printed copy. Pieces of The Puzzle revised with all new color photos and up- will get you off to a good start if you are new to-date Source lists. No O Scaler should be to O Scale, P48 or just thinking of finally without a copy of this invaluable guide. starting that new layout.

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16 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Model A Prototype Train Its 11:59 a.m. as we report to work at the yard office in 2 Birmingham, called for a J-BIRRDR1-23A. The crew knows from the J prefix this is some type of a High-Wide load that can move only in special train service. Once we have the wheel report and other necessary paperwork in hand, only then do we know what we will be moving. The special load is a large transformer built by General Electric that measures 24 feet long, 17 feet tall and 13 feet wide with a loaded weight of 430+ tons, on a depressed cen- ter flatcar (Photo 1). Clearance and movement requirements state the load must travel with an empty car on both sides. The car transporting this load is a KRL 12- heavy-duty 1 3

articulated flatcar. The required idler cars are a NYC 52 foot control. The trip was uneventful but long. At 10:15 p.m. we gondola and an 89 foot PTTX flat (Photo 2). While an idler stopped on the Shelby main at Memphis and “swapped off” car is usually used to provide clearance for a load that over- with the outbound crew who would take the train on north. hangs the end of a car, in this case the idler cars are used This column and photos describe how the prototype to provide weight separation from the engine and load to moves a special shipment of this type. How you choose to comply with bridge tonnage restrictions along with additional model this scenario is your option. For the modern era a die- braking and an unrestricted view of the load so the crew can sel, a depressed center heavy-duty flatcar plus two idler cars monitor the car during transit. and battery powered LED rear end device would complete Since this train originated in Jacksonville, FL, the BNSF the train. Keep in mind your idler cars should have low sides received it as a run-through from CSX destined for Red Rock, so they do not restrict your engine crew from viewing the OK, via Kansas City. The inbound locomotive, a CSX 8-40C, load as it is being moved. If you model a steam era version, #7529 (Photo 3) was to continue on as the power for the substitute a caboose for the E.O.T. train. The only service in Birmingham was the exchange of I do not recall a commercial 12 axle depressed center flat- the end-of-train (E.O.T.) device and an Initial Terminal Brake car being available at this time, but feel free to enlighten me Test by the car department. if you are aware of one. MTH does have an 8-axle articulated A telephone conversation with the dispatcher prior to depressed center flat available in 3-Rail that could be con- departure confirmed she was aware of the train’s restrictions. verted to 2-Rail. You could leave it stock or possibly bash it Once on the road, operational requirements restricted the into a 12-axle version like the prototype KRL car. train to a maximum mainline speed of 45 mph with a 10 The photos were all taken while we were in the siding mph maximum speed through the controlled sidings. At 300 waiting to make a meet. In the photos you can see details feet long and weighing 520 tons, not counting the engine’s than I have not covered, so look them over closely. This train weight, this train was a handful since it reacted immediately can be modeled in any scale by a modeler of any skill level to any change in the track profile which required an imme- with products off the shelf. u diate response from the throttle jockey to maintain proper Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 17 18 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Well, when last here I was in part bemoaning the cur- variations of a traction flatcar at the same time. rent lack of kits for traction freight cars and taking a brief First thing we need to do is install the car bolsters – 5’ look into the past at what had been available, and then in from the ends. It helps to drill and tap them for 4/40 noting that there were a few options that remained avail- screws before gluing them down – trust me on that point. able. Most notable amongst these are a traction flatcar and The 1/4”x1/16” board goes wide section down centered stock trailer from MidWest Train Hobby and the trolley cars in between the bolsters. The 5/32”x1/16” will be fitted up from LaBelle. That rather brief list leads me forward down against that center board to form the hollow center sill. the pathway where we will go in this column; we’re just The 3/8”x1/16” boards will go in between the bolsters going to have some fun and quickly toss together some rel- flush along the outside edges of the body. Now, I think we atively generic scratchbuilt traction freight flats. And, since should pause here before proceeding further, but looking the flatcar literally is the underlying basis for all other cars, at Photo 3, I think you can see where we will be going we’ll be able to move onwards from this point to tackle a with the O Scale 2”x16” or 1/2” wide 0.020 styrene and more complicated car after getting this warm-up exercise some scrap 5/32”x1/16”. Next column we’ll wrap these under our belts. cars up and then move on to something a more challeng- I’m going to complicate this build right out of the box. ing (FUN!). u We can start with some 1/16” basswood sheet and cut from that a blank of 8’ wide by 38’ long. Mark a centerline 1 down the length and 4’ in from each end. Set your com- pass point there and scribe a half-circle with a 4’ radius. Cut, carve, sand, or shape both ends to a half-circle. Now, here’s where I complicate your existence – laminate some 0.040” sheet lead onto that 1/16” thick curved end blank. Yes, I know you probably don’t have that in your shop or have any way of finding some, but you can buy sheet lead from scientific supply houses. Generally, you can hide your favorite means of weight- ing down a car from inside the car, but flatcars have lim- ited options for discretely adding weight. Use some 0.040” brass, or just skip this entirely and just use some 3/32” 2 sheet basswood at the starting point. You can use epoxy or your favorite adhesive for the lamination step; I like to use Walther’s Goo. On top of the sheet lead (or your 3/32” basswood blank), put down some 1/4” spaced 1/32” thick scribed siding. At this point you should have something that looks like what’s in Photo 1; top to bottom (a) an all wood blank template (handy for future reference!), (b) an exposed lead sheet laminated onto a 1/16” blank, and (c) a 1/16” basswood, 0.040” lead, and 1/32” scribed siding sandwich. Don’t eat it and wash your hands when han- dling lead! Either route you take, we should all meet up with something looking like c in Photo 1. Now, mark a centerline down the length of the scribed 3 siding and 5’ in from each end draw a line across – that is the outside edge of where your body bolsters will go on the underbody. I use my own resin cast bolsters cut down to 8’ wide. You can make your own from wood or styrene, or buy and cut down some plastic ones from Precision Scale, or buy wooden ones from Ye Old Huff’n’Puff, or even contact me for some of mine. You’ll also need some stripwood: 1/4”x1/16”, 3/8”x1/16”, 5/32”x1/16”, and some O scale 2”x16” or 1/2” wide 0.020 styrene (Photo 2). That last “or” pertains to the fact that I’m actually building 2 Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 19 Hate Sawmills with Nothin’ Inside ? The O Scale Slatyfork Sawmill Interior kit includes all the machinery needed (carriages, rollers, band saws, swing saws, and edgers shown below) for a double band saw mill and a transfer table that is not available separately. In addition, a group of workers are in the kit, and there will be loads of details for the sawfiler's floor including extra saw blades, tools, hoists, benches, and clutter. #18301 O Scale Complete Interior Kit $ 429.95 The Machinery below is Available as Individual Kits

5' Band Saw Log Carriage & Track A cable pulled the carriage from each end and went below the floor to The saw includes a scale 8' the winch drums. The log carriage & track has a footprint of a scale 71' square base. The band saw x 7'. The scale 20' carriage is positionable on the track. The kit includes stands about nine scale feet the rail & spikes. above the base and extends #18306 O Scale $ 59.95 a scale four feet below. A metal blade is included. #18302 O Scale $ 39.95

Rollers Swing Saw Edger The frames have a scale footprint of The swing saw has a footprint of a scale The edger and rollers have a footprint 26' x 3.5'. The lost-wax brass rollers 16' x 6'. It can be built with the saw on the of a scale 37' x 6'. The lost-wax brass are a scale 30" wide. There are two left or right end of the rollers. rollers are a scale 4' wide. sets of rollers. #18305 O Scale $ 49.95 #18303 O Scale $ 49.95 #18304 O Scale $ 29.95 All the above are also coming in HO and S Scales! www.btsrr.com Shipping - $5.00/order in the US All Scale Catalog - $5.00 304-823-3729 Celebrating 30 Years of Service since 1979 Building a Center Cab Diesel Part Two: Building the trucks Capt. Tom Mix, USMC Ret.

The first things to consider if building this engine are the time to separate the individual frames. One of the accesso- trucks. If it can’t move on its own, it doesn’t pay to spend the ries I have with my resistance-soldering unit is a grounding time building a frame with a nice looking cab and hoods. plate. This is simply the bottom of an old iron I took apart Photo 1 shows a completed truck. and bolted upside down on my desk (See Photo 6). Place the assembly on the plate, set the soldering unit on high heat and 1 use a thin knife blade to separate the individual sideframes. All paint stores have black colored sandpaper of different grit. I use a lot of 400 and 600 grit to polish and remove excess solder. With a sheet of 400 grit flat on your desk, use your fingers to hold each side frame and rub off the solder and any mill markings. Now comes a decision. I don’t know how thick these frames were on the prototype. I have a 3/4 view top-down photo showing one truck before installation and it appears that the sideframes were a bit less than 6 inches thick. The extended ends of each frame have to be bent into a curve for the brake hangers. Hard brass may fracture if bent too sharp. It can be heated for bending but I did not want to Milling The Main Components soften the whole sideframe. I was reluctant to try bending the When machining several components of the same size 1/8“ brass stock and have it fracture and ruin all that work; I like to solder pieces of rough-cut brass together of the so here is what I did. I made a holder with a 1/8” x 1” flat approximate length, height and thickness, and do all the bar stock about 6” long with a 1/4” X 1/2” brass bar screwed milling at once. This is faster for machining multiple parts. In and soldered on the bottom to form a “T”. When this plate is addition, they will finish to the exact same size. clamped in a vise, the surface is lightly milled to ensure it is Using 1/8” thick C360 brass cut 4 pieces (scale dimensions completely flat. Then all four of the side frames are soldered now) 14’ long and 3’ high and solder them together. Those on and then milled to approximately 4½ to 5” thick (Photo 2). dimensions are oversized and will be machined to the correct I made a quick jig for bending (Photo 3). This piece of brass size. When cool enough to handle, clamp this assembly in a had a milled square in the center that precisely fit the journal vise and mill a smooth flat surface on top. This will be your base line for all measurements. 2 For these 7-foot wheelbase Commonwealth trucks, the first mark will be the centerline. Use a machinist’s square to scribe the line on top, and down the front and back of the soldered assembly. The finished height of the sideframe is 2 feet and that is the next milling operation. After milling the height, measure from left and right of the scribed centerline 3’ 6” to get the journal centers. The journal openings are 9” wide by 18” high. In the prototype drawing there is a portion on top of the journal slot that is three inches wider overall. This is one of those minor “detail” situations that you may or may not choose to do. The equalizers hide much of that extra opening. I milled it in as I had a 1/16” mill on hand but it was done after the individual sideframes were separated. Mill out the journal slots and then mark out the overall truck outline 3 including the top extensions, which will be bent into a curve to support the brake hangers. From the journal centerline, these will be about 3 feet long. Depending on the mills you have on hand, it is possible to use a 1/4” mill to make the curves on each side of the journal slots near the top. However, hand filing will have to be done to finish. The top of each frame is depressed in the center. The frame’s topside height between the journal slots is only 6”. This is another one of those “detail” situations. That 6” may look too small for strength but in reality, it’s not. When build- ing an accurate model, avoid oversizing the visible compo- nents for strength. It will make the model appear clunky. When the assembly’s machining and filing is finished, it’s

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 21 slot. One edge of the block was rounded with a file (not too sharp) that would be the gauge for the frame’s end curve. 5 Using a torch, I heated the extensions on each sideframe almost to cherry red. The sideframe with the gauge block was fastened into a vice with the extension pointing up. Use a piece of paper or thin styrene against the surface of the frame to keep from marring. When tightened use a small hammer to tap bend the end, matching the curve on the block. Reverse the frame in the block and repeat. No fractures and now the side frames were 10’ 8” long at the curve point. Note also that the holes for the safety chains have been drilled in the sideframes. Detailing Now comes the detailing. These trucks will require equal- izers (one each on the inside and outside of each frame for a total of 8), brake cylinders and levers, roller bearing journals, safety chain rings, journal wear plates (total 16) and a strap journal keeper (total 4). The bottom of the journal slots will have to be drilled for 00-90 hex head screws. This was one 6 reason I didn’t want the whole sideframe heated to a cherry red because heating also softens brass and makes it tough to drill and tap. You can see in Photo 4 how the bottom of each 4

also for mounting the bolsters, which will come later. Note the pin extending down. This pin fits into a hole drilled down through the frame center and not only helps to secure the piece to the frame but that extension is for fitting into a hole drilled in the leaf spring casting to keep the spring centered. And this is where I made a mistake. I cut the pin too short. When the engine is standing with the weight on the trucks that journal slot was scribed with calipers to center each hole on pin works as it’s supposed to. But when I pick up the engine, all the slots. Clamp the frames in the vise and align a pointed the wheels and boxes drop down enough to fall away rod (this one happens to be one of my rivet punchers) over from the pin, making a couple of the pins miss the hole when the cross marks. When aligned, use light pressure on the drill/ replacing the engine on the tracks. So I have to fiddle with the mill lever and spin the chuck by hand to make a small inden- trucks to get it into the hole. Make yours a tad longer. tation. Small drills must have a guide to start or they will The equalizers are carved out much the same as the side wander. With this setting, use a #63 bit, drilling deep enough frames. Use 8 pieces of 1/32” thick brass rough-cut into a to tap 00-90. Do this for each journal slot. Photo 5 shows scale 2’ x 8’ and soldered together for milling like the side- the assembly of the journal keepers and the jig for solder- frames. Mill the clump so that it is 7’ 8” long and 20” high. ing while Photo 6 shows how the soldering was done on my I used a scanner to make copies of the truck’s drawing and grounding plate. Note that this type of solder joint is not very then cut out two of the equalizer outlines and glued them on strong but it will work just fine after attachment to the side both sides of the clump (Photo 7). An important part of this frames. assembly is to use a punch to carefully and lightly tap a dim- Now the wear plates on each side of the journal slots ple on the center of the rods that hold the spring’s end brack- should be made and soldered on. Mine are made from nickel ets. Drill a 0.040” hole starting from both sides of the clump. silver so that it appears as steel. The prototype drawing shows Drill a little at a time until the holes meet near the center. these to have curves where they attach to the sideframes. I If you try to drill all the way through from only one side, I filed the curves but couldn’t get them equal; so I made them guarantee that the hole will be off coming out the other side. straight. This, too, is one of those details that you may not Then mill and file to the shape of the equalizers. It will help want to bother with. to use a scribe to outline the glued on paper guides because You have seen the small rectangular pieces (1/32” x 1/8”) they will wear off. The spring casting, PSH-4360, will have to attached on the bottom of the sideframe’s centers (See Photo be thinned by filing on one side to fit between the equalizers. 5). This is part of the leaf spring assembly. These pieces are Make them the same thickness as your side frames. Photos 22 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 7 8

Remember there are two passes of the mill, which keeps that axle hole centered. When you are close to the fit you may be only removing fuzz so to speak. When the journal block will show that these equalizers had a strengthening thickness slide up and down in the sideframe easily without sloppiness, at the cross pin area. I used pieces cut from 1/64” by 3/32” your settings are correct for the rest of the journal blocks. Do strips to represent this. each one with that same setting. Making The Journals Study Photo 9 to see my interpretation of what this diesel’s The “roller bearing” journals are next. These are machined roller bearing journals looked like. It is only a representation, from 1/4”square C360 brass stock. This requires a four-jaw as the available photos and the drawing are not very clear. chuck on your lathe. Only have a three-jaw? Try this. Find a thick walled brass tube that a 1/4” square rod will fit into. Cut 9 a piece about one or two inches long, split the tube length- wise, and when the square rod is inserted into the split tube it can be tightened in the three-jawed chuck. Make sure the split is between jaws. With a length of rod clamped in the chuck, machine the end surface smooth. Using a tailstock drill chuck, countersink a starting hole and drill to whatever size your particular axle ends are. Drill this hole as deep as you can because when you cut off a section for the journal bearing, and then face off for the next journal, the axle hole is already there. Since the drill is still in the tailstock, you can bore deep- er again. Do this 8 times. While you are set up for this part, make a couple more bearings just in case a mistake is made as you progress along. My journals are each 1foot long (1/4”) but yours may be different. For example, NWSL has a number of wheelsets with different sizes, and shapes of axle ends. Slots on two sides of each journal must be milled to fit the thickness of the sideframe. It is important that these slots be exactly the same depth so that the blocks are accurately centered in the sideframe’s journal openings and slide up and down without a lot of slop. Set up your mill vice with a piece of brass that is even for each journal block to rest on when the jaws are tightened. The inside top portion of the journal block must have enough protruding surface for the equalizer to ride on plus more outside to fit both the equalizer and the roller bearing details. So your slots probably won’t be cen- Note the outside-machined round surface, which is about tered on the sides of the journal block. The block is tightened 2 scale inches thick. The equalizers must rest on the square in the X-Y table vice, the mill (hopefully the same size as the portion of the journal. The small center square piece is a 1/8” thickness of your sideframes) set for the first pass. (See Photo C360 square bar machined with a round stub that will just fit 8 for this setup.) Make the first pass, turn the block over to into that axle hole. Cut the round stub off leaving a short sec- the opposite side and remove the same amount of material. tion of square, machine the next stub, (you left the tool setting Check how close the slots are now to the depth needed to fit. in place?) and make 8 of these. Then chuck each piece by the Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 23 round stub, set your lathe’s cross slide tool bit close enough to machine that square portion to about 2 scale inches thick. 11 Keep that setting and do all eight. With the last one still in the chuck, use a small center drill to just mark the center and drill a #70 hole for a short piece of .028 wire. These are sol- dered in place after you cut off part of that stub. Note that the square center matches the journal square. The length of the axle end must fit most of the way into the journal so the stub can’t be too long. Next drill four holes for nut/bolt castings at each corner of the small square. I have a divider attachment for the lathe and used that. But if you are careful you can make an indentation with a scribe at each corner and use that as a starter point. I’m not sure but that protruding section on the bottom of the center looks like it might be a place to fill an oil cup. I milled mine from 1/8” stock with a notch to fit, then soldered on the bottom. Then I chucked each journal and machined up to the previously cut circle to give the oil cup a round bottom. Hope you can see that in the photo. Bolster And Brake Gear The side and top photos of the truck shows the layout of the brake rigging and the shape of the bolster. The shape of this bolster will depend on what kind of gearboxes and con- necting shafts you will be using. Mine are from P&D Hobby but NWSL also has their own style of gearboxes and drives. When the eight end pieces are done, chuck each one by The bolster’s final shape, in addition to clearing the drive the very end of the stub and saw off the end with just enough components, must have the bottom of the engine frame set- left to fit into the tube. Before soldering the ends in place, ting at 3’ 8” above the railhead when setting on the complet- drill a tiny hole in the center of the tube to let the flux’s ed trucks. My bolsters were milled from one piece of brass hot gas exit. The support extension under the brake cylin- and made heavier than necessary for weight. They also will der extends 6” out from the sideframe center. I extended it carry the wheel wiper mountings for left side pick-up. even longer towards the truck center, which made it both a The brake cylinders are made from 1/4” thick tubing strengthener and in the correct position for soldering the bol- machined to a scale 8” wide and 11” long. Solid 1/4” C360 ster to the sideframes. rod was machined to fit into the tubing with the ends longer My P48 bolsters are 6’ 2” long, which is the distance for machining the front portion of the cylinder carrying the between the sideframes (Make them wider if using traditional piston rod. The stub that will slide into the tubing is made a O Scale track). I made a stripwood jig to place the sideframe tad longer for mounting in the lathe’s chuck. Note the parts of journal slots exactly 7’ apart and square with each other. The the cylinders in Photo 10 prior to finishing. The end carrying jig helps to ensure that the bottoms of the sideframes are level the piston rod will need to be drilled. Note in Photo 11 how with each other too. Mark out the centers of your sideframes a cylinder end is chucked by the stub and machined to the and the outside center ends of the bolsters. The top of the bol- proper thickness using the same method as the 1/8” square ster ends is exactly level with the top center of the sideframes. bearing center. When you have the correct thickness the same The extension from the brake cylinder mounting can be used setting can be used for all four ends. This same technique will to spring clamp the bolsters to the sideframes. When all is be used for the four piston rod ends too. square and even, solder them together. The brake cylinders are then mounted squarely on the centerline of the sideframe. 10 Note the cylinders on both trucks are pointed towards the locomotive’s center. The “casting” that holds the brake lever has a cut out where it comes over the rising portion of the sideframe just before the journal. This “casting” is another method I use to make several parts the same size. Photo 12 shows the four parts being milled on a ”sacrificial” plate: a piece of rectan- gular brass 1/8” X 1” a couple of inches long with a 1/4” X 1/2” rectangular bar screwed and soldered on the bottom for mounting in a vise. It looks like a “T” from the end. A small amount of the surface is milled flat where the parts to be shaped are soldered. The milled surface also sets in a ridge, which is exactly square with the mill chuck and X-Y table. Therefore, your pieces soldered to the surface will be square with the mill too. I call this plate “sacrificial” because I use each one many times for milling parts and after a while it 24 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 becomes thin and unusable. The remnants of the plate are 12 milled off the holding piece that is used for clamping in the vise and another rectangular piece of brass stock is screwed and soldered on for the next project. The layout of the brake rigging can be seen in Photo 13. Part Three will finish the trucks with the gearboxes and drive mounted and the beginning of the engine frame. u (Editor’s note. The e-mail address for Protocraft in Part One of the series should have been: [email protected])

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Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 25 CHICAGO “O” SCALE MEET

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26 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Make A Quick Tank Joe Giannovario

I was walking through my local big-box home improve- 2 3 ment store not too long ago when I spied a bin full of ABS pipe couplings. These pipe couplings are about 2.7” in diameter and 2.9” long. I thought that a pair of these glued together would make a quick and easy to build steel tank. Here’s what I did. The couplings don’t fit together as-is so I made four tabs from 0.040” sheet styrene and glued them to the inside of one of the couplings (Photo 1). Next I glued the second cou- pling onto the first (Photo 2). I used Tenax because the cou- plings are ABS plastic. Now I had a tube which I glued to a square piece of 0.040” styrene (Photo 3).When the joint had set I trimmed the edges of the square to the diameter of the tube. Next I scribed panel lines along the tank sides with a straight edge and the back of a razor knife. The couplings are conveniently divided horizontally so I just made a series of staggered vertical lines on each section. When this was done 4 I painted the tank silver (Photo 4). Voila! A nice sized O Scale tank (approx. 10’ in diameter and 23’ high) in about 20 minutes (mostly waiting for the paint to dry). If I were to do this over I might add rivets using Archer Wet Transfer resin rivets [www.archertransfers.com]. If you have not yet seen these, they are way cool resin rivets on decal paper. For a more modern tank use the Archer weld beads instead of scribing panel lines. u 1

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 27 Jim Hackworth

Buy⁄Sell⁄Trade MODEL TRAINS Consignments (and Subsidiary JH Consulting) 2631 Edgevale Road, Columbus OH 43221-1113 Phone: 614-4514517 Fax: 6144514557 Email: [email protected] • Web: www.jhmtrains.com AOCC* AOCC* Gem PRR B6 0-6-0, C/P or N/P, OB ...... $575 .00 USH B&O C16a, 0-4-0, C/P, OB ...... $675 .00 WSM PRR J1a, 2-10-4, C/P, OB ...... $1,550 .00 PRB #4461P Dow 3-dome Tank, F/P, White OB, new ...... $285 .00 WSM PRR M1, 4-8-2, C/P, Nice, OB ...... $1,150 .00 OM PRR PAPB Set, Late Run, F/P, New ...... $2,875 .00 USH NYC J3a De-Streamlined 4-6-4 w/Centipede tender, OM #0445 C39-8, C/P, OB ...... $1,195 .00 C/P Ex, OB ...... $1,275 .00 OM NKP War Caboose, C/P, Wtd, OB ...... $295 .00 Williams “Crown” PRR 0-6-0 B6sb, F/P, OB ...... $525 .00 CB J&L Tank car, C/P, OB ...... $295 .00 USH PRR M1a, 4-8-2, C/P, OB ...... $1,175 .00 Scale Mod Ind Roundhouse Kit ...... $159 .00 MG NYC J3a, C/P, NOB From Tony Ambrose ...... $1,395 .00 PRB Sealand Gunderson D . Stack set, F/P, LN, OB ...... $1,525 .00 USH NYC S1b, 4-8-4, C/P, OB ...... $1,250 .00 PRb APL Blue Thrall D . Stack set, F/P, LN, OB ...... $1,575 .00 MG PRR J, 2-10-4, C/P, Icken , NOB ...... $1,895 .00 RY Models (Yoder) Brass C&O Woodside Caboose LN, OB . . . . $375 .00 USH NYC H10, 2-8-2, Mint, N/P, NOB ...... $1,275 .00 USH PRR N5 Caboose, New w/Trucks, N/P, OB ...... $250 .00 USH PRR L1, 2-8-2, N/P, LN, NOB ...... $1,175 .00 OM PS2-CD Covered Hopper, C/P ATSF, OB, LN ...... $319 .00 Gem PRR A5 0-4-0, C/P, NOB ...... $475 .00 PRB SP Gunderson D .Stack Set, LN, OB ...... $1,495 .00 Atlas EMD GP9, F/P UP, OB ...... $250 .00 Sunnyside PRR N5c Caboose, N/P, OB ...... $309 .00 OM N&W C630 High Hood, FM Trucks, New, OB . . . . . $1,195 .00 MG PRR N8 Caboose, N/P, NOB ...... $250 .00 OM NKP GP35 N/P, LN, OB ...... $950 .00 Alco PRR N6a, C/P or N/P ...... each $225 .00

*All Offers Cordially Considered

LSASE for Complete List Estates⁄Liquidations Layaway Available Shipping Cost Based On Location Collection Reductions Ohio Residents Add 6.75% Sales Tax 28 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 VALLEY MODEL TRAINS The Public Delivery Track Sumpter PO BOX 1251, Wappingers Falls, N.Y. 12590 Sumpter Credit Card Orders Welcome Custom Run Items Order/Info(845)297-3866 Fax(845)298-7746 Atlas..SP 2 bay hopper car, large lettering...$65 SP and SINCLAIR 8K tank cars..$63 ea Valley American Model Builders O Scale Laser Kits MILW and RI "MDT" steel reefers..$55 ea Dimensions: 9-3/4 x 4-3/4 x 4-1/2" 52' mill gondolas..WP, SN, Erie, DLW, SP, Rdg..$45 ea Depot SP double sheathed box cars & flat cars...reserve Depot Dock Adds 2" to Length Golden Gate...Sleepers..Erie, DLW, SF, MILW..$119 135 NW Greeley Avenue, Coaches..PRSL, RG, Erie, DLW, MILW..$109-$119 Bend OR 97701 Head end cars..Erie, DLW, MILW, NYC...$119 Weaver...50' flat w/trailer..UP, Erie, SP, SF..reserve ● Specializing in O Scale 2-rail RPO & Baggage..Erie, CNJ, SF, PRSL..$75-$90 model trains since 1985 484 Locomotives Atlas..U-23, GP-15, RSD's, Dash-8, RS-3..$159-$299 ● We buy or consign brass model 484 Elevated Warehouse Kit O...... 79.95 67.98 RS-1's, GP 7/9, F-3's..$399-$449. SW's..$199-$359 GP-35's, SD-35's, SD-40's, D8-40b's..$329-$449 collections 489 479 - 2 per pack Alco Century's..PRR, EL, CN, ACL, L&N, BRC..$349-$449 ● Model reservations gladly 3rd rail, Sunset..Greenbrier..$999. O-1..$899 SP Mogul..$749-$849. AM-2 $1499. MT-4..$1095 accepted Wvr/Wms brass..PRR K4, A5, B6, others..call ● Prompt, courteous service Weaver..SD-40, C628/630, E-8, Sharks..$199-$399 MTH..Premier and Railking Scale diesels..$199-$429 6 x 4-1/4 x 6" 4 x 3 x 2-3/4" K-line..GP-38..CNJ. RS3..Rdg, NYC, WM, SP, PE E's..NYC, SP, CN; F's..PRR, NYC, Amtk....$249-$429

489 Loft Barn Kit O...... 42.98 36.55 valleymodeltrains.com Now order online! Check our website for latest 479 Long-Bell Lumber skid shacks 2/ O42.98 36.55 Passenger & Head End Crow River Products Resin and Metal Kits..... Golden Gate..70' Bag, RPO. 80' Combine..$119 O Scale Listings Sleepers..Pullman, PRR, NW, SP, NYC..$ 109 308 Coaches..LIRR, PRR, C&O, CP, Reading..$100-$109 www.sumptervalley.com Footprint with Aluminum streamliners..NYC, SP, SF, PRR..call loading dock Atlas..Industrial Rail..SF, GN, PRR, PRSL..$49 [email protected] 3" X 10" New 60' coach, Comb, Bag., RPO..8 roads....$65 Use in the yard, Horizon cars..Amtk, NJT, Septa, Condot, MNR..$85-$95 on a dock or Tel: 541/382-3413 industry. CALIF ZEPHYR 80' domes and sleepers..$129 MTH sets..Amtk, UP, NYC, CZ, others..$249-$329 Fax:541/389-7237 Weaver..60' baggage or RPO..PRSL, Erie, CNJ 308 Fixed Boom Crane O...... 65.00 58.50 SF, PRR, NYC, NH, UP, CN, N&W, B&M..$60-$90 Includes utility tank Box Cars Hours: shown on right - For use Pecos River..B&O, Erie, NYC, SF, SP, T&P..$35-$45 with Derricks, Clam- O111 Shell Derricks or as Atlas..40' Woodside..40+ roads!!!...$55-$65 Mon. thru Fri 8:30 AM - 5PM Logging Donkeys 40' Steel..Rebuilts, or AAR..20+ roads..$49-$55 40' & 50' Trainman, 1970's (refurbished)..$30-$40 and sometimes on Saturdays 323 X-29's..$50-$62. HyCubes..60'..$69. 40'..$35 50'..Siide or plug door..$55-$60 60' auto parts..$55 Weaver..40' PS-1, 50' modern, Steelside, Outside braced 40+ roads..Old ones our speciality..$25-$40 323 3-Drum Steam Hoisting Engine O .....80.00 73.60 Refrigerator Cars O111 Utility Tank O....1 ¼”L X 2 ½”H ...... net 8.00 Weaver/Crown..30+ roadnames in stock..$25-$40 Main Street Heritage Resin Kits..... 57' Mechanical..15+ roads..no sound..$35, sound..$50 Atlas..53' xprs..$65. 40' steel..$49-$59 505 503 36' & 40' woodside..oldies, newies, custom..$55-$125 40' plug door..Trainman, 1970's refurbished..$30-$35 K-line..Woodside..same detail as Atlas..$45-$60 Covered Hoppers Weaver PS-2 & AC-2..old & new..30+ roads..$25-$40 Centerflow or Grain..old and new..25 roads..$25-$40 5 x 9-1/2" w/ boardwalk 5-1/2 x 8" w/ sidwalks our website to see hundreds of HOVisit Kits and O Scale Craftsman Atlas..3 bay PS-2..$35. ACF 2 bay..$55-$65 505 The Weekly Record O ...... 66.95 61.60 New Trinity 5161..$66-$70 Cylindrical 40'..$45-$55 503 Bill's Place O...... 62.95 57.90 Airslides and PS4427's....20+ roads...... $45-$55 Evergreen Hill Design O Laser Cut kits Hopper Cars Footprint: 9" deep (including both decks) 11" wide Atlas..3 bay..WM, SOU, BN, NH, Rdg, RG..$35 (including stairs) 8" high (including fire barrels) Ore cars..CN, UP, DMIR..$25. H21a 4 bay..$50-$58 2 bay. usra or Panel side..10+ roads...$50-$60 Weaver..2, 3, 4-bay..30+ different roads....$25-$40 Tank Cars Weaver...40' & 50', new & old, 20+ roads...$27-$35 Atlas..33K..Propane, Delta, CNTX, Union Tex..$52 17K..Trusweet, ADM, GATX, SHPX, Stauffer, more..$65 8K..Navy Gas, Woburn, Staley, Taylor, more..$55-$59 11K..SHPX, UTLX, Dow, 20+ roads..$55-$59 Flat Cars, Stock Cars Atlas..Double stacks..$129-$289. Pulp flats..$49 2007 Dollar Bros Motor Express Kit O Front runner..$45. 89' flats..$60-$65. Trailers..$29-$35 2007 Dollar Bros Motor Express Kit O 169.95 144.50 Trainman 50' flat w/pipe load and stock cars..$30-$35 lots of detail 2005 Includes Wvr..40' & 50' flat cars, Stock cars..20+ roads..$25-$40 parts pool table, Gondolas cues, balls, 2011 Atlas..52'..15+ roads..$30-$35. 40' composite..$55 stove, radio Wvr..LV, RI, SF, UP, NW, Rdg, B&M, MEC, PRR..$29 Now order online! valleymodeltrains.com Atlas Track..2 rail, 3 rail, 3 rail steel Industrial Rail..Locos.cars.trolleys.sets.track Dealers..request our wholesale list 2005 30's Gas Station O (4 x 6.25”) ...... 59.95 50.99 2011 Pool Hall with table O (5.25 x 6”)..69.95 59.50 www.PublicDeliveryTrack.com Add $8.00 S&H in 48 States • Others pay actual e-mail us: [email protected] postage cost • N.Y. residents add 8.25% sales tax. Drexel Hill, PA • Paso Robles, CA (prices are subject to change w/o notice) 610-259-4945 • 805-226-0320 www.valleymodeltrains.com Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 29 From Alvarado the track continues to climb until it reaches Damascus on the lower wall. Damascus is a major stop on the Starting Over branch with many industries to serve. I’ll start the grade at the left end of Damascus although in reality, the grade decreased Part 2 — A plan evolves from Abingdon to Damascus but if I’m going to get two levels Joe Giannovario in here the grade has to start early at Abingdon. To facilitate operations the track will split near the end of the Alvarado Let’s review the ”Givens” from last issue: module and one line will go to Damascus while the other 1. The new layout will be based on a prototype: the Abing- continues to climb toward White Top, the summit. don Branch of the N&W. Okay, based on the concepts outlined above, here is the 2. The minimum radius will be 44”. first crack at a track plan for the space. 3. No track will be closer to the walls than 6” from the cen- 28" wide Pass Sta Std Oil Depot Frt Sta. lower deck terline. This will help make sure there is room for scenery and 0" 1" my hand if I need to get to a derailed car. 44.8r Abingdon Tobacco Whse. Stock Pens 4. No benchwork will be deeper than 30” unless there is 45.2r Water Tank 2" 43" min Rad. Whlse Produce access to it from 3 sides (no more step stools). 48" or larger where possible. 42" aisle 3.7% grade 5. The benchwork will be between 36” and 48” high, give Alvarado Max train length = 8 feet 3" 45r or take a couple inches. Bristol 34" aisle Coal Sand 6. The maximum train length will be 96”. Ash 4" 49.5r 7. Room space is 14’ wide by 22’ long with access at the Water Inbound right end of the room. Outbound 5" Beaver 8. My workbench has to fit under the new layout. 17" 23" aisle Now the ”Druthers” 47r 6" Smthprt Xtrct 0" 9. The layout will be double-deck with a 4% grade. 43r 16" Frt Sta. 50r 48r Damascus 0" 10. I will model two time periods: 1948 and 1968. 7" 15" 11" 11. Use Atlas O track and switches. 8" 9" 10" 12" 13" 14" The benchwork design is shown below. Abingdon Branch — Lower level Bristol to Damascus

20"

White Top 20"

48r

20"

Bristol 19" Alvarado Coal Sand Ash Creek Jnct

Water 18"

Inbound Beaver Outbound

17"

Smthprt Xtrct DH Hrdwd Flr 50r

16" Frt Sta. 0" Damascus

11" 12" 13" 14" 15" I bought Empire Express, which will run on a Mac, to help Abingdon Branch — Upper level Damascus to White Top design the track plan. It’s not much more than a simple draw- ing program tweaked for drawing curves easily. For real design The track is all Atlas O flextrack. The turnouts are all #5. power you need to use 3rd PlanIt or CADRail both of which In order to make the plan work I had to cheat and make one are Windows based only. curve (lower left corner) a 43” radius. So, now I start doodling track plans. Obviously, this is going I shared the design with several friends and other modelers to be a point-to-point layout. My plan started at Bristol, Vir- to solicit feedback. Brian Scace and I played with making it a ginia, (actually Bristol is bisected by Virginia and Tennessee) Nodal design (See the Track Planning chapter in the Second where the N&W had engine facilities for the locomotives that Edition Guide to Modern O Scale for a discussion of Nodal ran over the Abingdon branch. That central island will become designs). I also discussed how to construct the double deck Bristol with a roundhouse and other service facilities. with several people including how to light the lower deck. Leaving Bristol to the right, the track curves around coun- I contacted Clark Thorp who had helped me design the ter-clockwise to the upper portion of the benchwork that original layout and gave him my track plan to redraw in represents Abingdon itself. The track from Bristol to Abingdon 3rdPlanIt. It was Clark who informed me that I had not drawn would be level, i.e., no grade. Continuing around the room the room correctly based on the space plan I had given him 5 counter-clockwise to Damascus, there are a multitude of years ago. Oops! Back to the drawing board. trestles on the branch many of which still exist on the bike Clark did a great job fitting the plan above into the correct trail. I wanted a trestle feature on the lefthand wall, which I’ll space and tweaking the design so it would fit my ”givens”. call Alvarado. Compare this lower level plan (top next page) from Clark’s 30 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 the Abingdon branch without at least one trestle!

   With this plan in hand I started considering how to build   the benchwork. I thought of building the benchwork again 

  myself. I also investigated two manufacturers of modular  benchwork: Mianne [www.miannebenchwork.com] and Siev- ers [www.sieversbenchwork.com]. Both of those would have   worked out well but I would have had to customize them fur- ther to accommodate my under-the-layout workbench and the   10 inch drop for the Creek Junction trestle. Maybe there was another option? I met Tom Thorpe maybe   5 or 6 years ago at a local train meet where he was displaying his custom curved benchwork. [tomthorpecurvedbenchwork.

     com] If you’ve never seen his benchwork let me tell you it’s  more like fine furniture than benchwork. Even better, Tom          lives not too far from me so I called him to discuss the project. Abingdon Branch — Redrawn lower level using 3rd PlanIt He made a proposal and I accepted. As it turned out, having Tom come to the house to build 3rdPlanIt to the lower level plan I drew in Empire Express. See the benchwork was a huge benefit in more ways than just that bump out in the lower wall? That’s a problem maker. I getting exactly what I wanted/needed. Tom is an idea guy. He also realized that carrying the track over top of Bristol would generated innumerable questions and ideas while we worked be a real issue both mechanically (how do I support it?) and together and several of his suggestions were incorporated into scenically (how do I disguise it?). Plus, the track and services the final plan shown below. at Bristol look really crowded. I was falling into the same trap

Stock Pens as before of trying to cram too much track into the available Smthprt Xtrct Flooring Whse. Frt Sta. space. 79/52"r 67/52'r Damascus It was time to rethink the plan and simplify, simplify, sim- Water Tank plify! I dropped the idea of a two level design. I decided to start the layout at Abingdon rather than Bristol. I also decided 52"r that the scenery would be the dominant feature and the track would wander through it. So it was back to the drawing pro- Std Oil Depot Tobacco Whse. 132"r gram and ... Abingdon Pass Sta Frt Sta. 45"r 48"r

Stock Pens Smthprt Xtrct Creek Flooring Whse. Frt Sta. Junction

48"r Damascus 45"r Furn. Whse. Whitetop 48"r Whitetop Depot 74"r

20 x 65 Std Oil Depot Tobacco Whse. Water Tank

Abingdon Pass Sta Abingdon Branch — Revision eight 45"r Frt Sta. Creek 48"r Junction There are several major revisions here, all based on sug- gestions Tom made. The first was to skew the tracks running Whitetop through Damascus and Whitetop so they were not parallel to 45"r 48"r the benchwork. Another was the use of wye turnouts, which Whitetop Depot I had not considered. One more was the incorporation of a large radius curve through Creek Junction. The last (and Abingdon Branch — Seventh revision most helpful) was to widen the benchwork at the right end of Whitetop to fit the turntable within the benchwork rather than Seven iterations later I had the design shown above. There have it hang off the end on the drop leaf. This really opens up are several significant features to this plan. The progression the entry to the layout. I added two more curved turnouts on around the layout is now Abingdon to Damascus to Creek each end of Damascus. Junction to Whitetop (Yes, I know. It is spelled both ways, So, that’s the final-final plan. It does require four custom White Top and Whitetop. It is now officially Whitetop). I built curved switches which I had made by Old Pullman. Wait found a way to trick the drawing program into giving me a until you see the size of those 48”/44” curved switches! In curved switch... well, two curved switches of 45” and 48” future articles I will discuss why the track arrangement is what radii. I also planned a turntable at Whitetop on a drop leaf to it is and why those buildings are there. u provide clearance to walk into and out of the layout. The other feature that is important is one that you cannot Next time... the build begins. see in this flat plan. That trestle at Creek Junction runs over a 10 inch drop in the benchwork to provide the scenery neces- sary to support the trestle. I just could not envision building Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 31 Custom Building, Repair & Painting Services Available Buy-Sell-Trade, Consignments-Appraisals, eBay Sales Website: www.alleghenyscale.com • Email: [email protected] 470 Schooley’s Mountain Road, Suite 8-117, Hackettstown, New Jersey 07840 • Voice - (908) 684-2070 • Fax - (908) 684-8911

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Ver., Black Boiler, No. 3700 ...... $3,695 USH UP TTT Class 2-10-2 - Custom Rebuild CP EX, BL FWH, Sweeney Stack, PSC D&RGW L-131 2-8-8-2 FP L/N, PSC No. 16857-1, Black Boiler, No. 3600 ...... $3,895 Larger Tender, Road #5305...... $2,195 PSC D&RGW L-131 2-8-8-2 FP L/N, PSC No. 16857-2, Green Boiler, No. 3607 ...... $3,795 C&LS WM M-2 4-6-6-4 FP L/N, Hinged Smokebox Front, Road No. 1208 ...... $3,195 PSC D&RGW M-68 4-8-4 FP New, PSC No. 17247-4, Green Boiler, Road No. 1804 ....$2,895 WSM WM 3 Truck Heavy Shay UP L/N, Late Run, Can Motor, Full Backhead ...... $2,095 Max Gray Erie K5 4-6-2 UP New, Unassembled, Spoked Drivers - 1 of 10 Built...... $2,695 Diesel Custom Brass Little River 2-4-4-2 UP L/N, Can Motor, Test Run ...... $1,795 OVL ALCO FA-1/FB-1 Units UP New, OMI Nos. 0356/0356/0358, Per Unit ...... $595 USH L&N M1 "Big Emma" 2-8-4 CP L/N, Pro Paint, Road No. 1970 ...... $1,195 Car Works B&M ALCO S-1 Switcher CP EX, w/DCC and Sound, Road No. 1161 ...... $650 OVL NYC J1e Hudson 4-6-4 CP L/N, Pro Paint, Cockerham Drive, Road No. 5336 ....$2,295 PSC B&M EMD SW-1 Phase 1 CP EX, Low Stack, Black w/Red Nose Stripes, No. 1112 ..$625 Kohs. NYC J3a Hudson 4-6-4 FP New, Scullin Disk Drivers, Road No. 5425 ...... $3,795 OVL EMD E8 A/B Units UP L/N, OMI Nos. 0304/0305, Per Unit ...... $595 WSM NYC J3a Hudson 4-6-4 CP L/N, Pro Paint, Original Version, Road No. 5405 .... $1,095 OVL EMD F3 A/B Units UP New, OMI Nos. 0292/0293, Per Unit ...... $625 WSM NYC J3a Hudson 4-6-4 CP L/N, Pro Paint, Original Version, Road No. 5414 ..... $1,095 Oriental EMD GP-9 Phase III UP New, Samhongsa Korea ...... $825 WSM NYC J3a Hudson 4-6-4 CP L/N, Pro Paint, Fully Streamlined, Road No. 5447 .$2,295 OVL # 0393-0397 PRR ALCO FA-2/FB-2 - A-B Units CP New, w/Antennas, Twr Drive $1,595 WSM NYC J3a Hudson 4-6-4 CP L/N, Pro Paint, Mod Streamlng, PT-4, No. 5451 ...... $2,295 OVL PRR ALCO DL600B High Hood UP New, w/Ant., OMI No. 0201A, 2 Available ...... $695 USH NYC J3a Destreamlined Hudson 4-6-4 CP EX, PT-4 Tender, Road No. 5447 ...... $1,095 OVL PRR BLW RF-16 Shark A-B-A Units UP Mint, OMI Nos. 0425, 0426, 0425 ...... $2,995 Key NYC K3q 4-6-2 FP New, Single Window Cab, Road No. 4675 ...... $2,250 SS/3rd #M402/M405 PRSL RDC-1 - Two Units FP New, 2-Rail, Pwr & Dummy Units .....$795 PSC NYC S1b Crown Niagara 4-8-4 CP New, Pro Paint, Road No. 6021, Exquisite .....$4,095 Atlas O P&LE GP7 Units FP L/N, 2 Rail DCC/Sound, Powered and Dummy Units ...... $575 Sunset N&W Class J 4-8-4 CP L/N, Pro Paint, Coal, Lights, Road No. 600...... $1,195 Atlas O SRR F3 Phase 1 A/B/A Units FP L/N, 2 Rail DCC/Sound, Freight Scheme ...... $895 PSC N&W Class S1a 0-8-0 UP L/N, PSC No. 15699, Road Nos. 200-244 ...... $1,595 OVL UP ALCO PA-1 UP New, OMI No. 0322, 2 Available ...... $750 OVL NP Z8 2-6-6-4 CP EX, Coal Version, Weathered, Road No. 5130 ...... $2,295 Hallmark UP FT A-B Units CP EX, Yellow/Gray, Lights, Crew, Road Nos. 516/516B ...... $795 Gem/Heike PRR A5s 0-4-0 CP L/N, Compl. Rebuild, 1 of a Kind, Road. No. 94 ...... $2,895 OVL UP Standard Turbine, Mint, OMI No. 0354, Round Tender ...... $2,695 SS 3rd-Heike PRR E6s 4-4-2 CP L/N, Compl. Rebuild, 1 of a Kind, No. 1092 ...... $2,695 Atlas O Gold WM F3 Phase 1 A/B Units CP L/N, Fireball Scheme, Nos. 51A/B ...... $695 Sunset-Heike PRR H9s 2-8-0 CP L/N, Compl. Rebuild, 1 of a Kind, No. 1145 ...... $2,595 Kohs PRR GG1, Brunswick 5 Stripe, New, Clarendon, Fixed Coupler, Rd #4840, Rare$4,995 Key PRR H10 2-8-0 FP L/N, Pro Details, Weathering, Road No. 8014 ...... $2,495 Kohs. PRR GG1 Tuscan 5 Stripe, New, Clarendon, Drop Coupler, Road No. 4911 ...... $5,195 OVL PRR HH1 2-8-8-2 CP New, OMI No. 139, 1 of 10 Produced ...... $2,595 Rolling Stock USH PRR I1sa 2-10-0 UP New, Late Run, New Correct Steel Driver Tires ...... $1,295 PSC GN HWT Empire Builder 9 Car Set FP New, PSC No. 16981 ...... $7,595 Key PRR J1a 2-10-4 FP L/N,210F84 Tender w/Antenna, Road No. 6498 ...... $2,795 PSC Harriman 72' 72-D-3 Diner UP New, PSC No. 15477 ...... $425 WSM PRR J1a 2-10-4 UP New, 210F84 Tender w/Custom Antenna, ...... $1,695 Custom Brass PRR B60 Baggage Car CP EX, CNJB No. 702-O...... $295 Kohs. PRR K4 4-6-2 Prewar Version FP New, 130P75 Tender, Road No. 3863 ...... $4,195 SS/3rd PRR BM54, P54 Commuter Cars, FP New, 2 Rail, Bag, Comb, Coaches, each ....$250 PSC/Heike PRR K4s 4-6-2 Postwar Ver. CP L/N, Compl. Rebuild, 1 of a Kind ...... $2,795 SS/3rd PRR B60, P70, Baggage, Coaches FP New, 2 Rail, Price Each ...... $275 WSM PRR M1 4-8-2 UP New, Last Run, Full Backhead ...... $1,495 P. Co. PRR X-42 Mail Storage Car CP New, Pro Paint, Shadow Keystone, Rd #2541 ...... $350 Max Gray PRR M1a 4-8-2 UP Mint, Late Run, 210P75 Tender ...... $995 PSC REA Steel 50' Expr Reefer CP L/N, Late Version, PSC No. 15519, Lg. REA Herald ...$295 OVL PRR M1b 4-8-2 FP Mint, 210p75 Tender w/Antenna, No. 6753 ...... $2,295 OVL GPEX 47' Pfaudler Steel Milk Car UP New, OMI No. 0700 ...... $295 Max Gray PRR N1s 2-10-2 CP New, McCafferty Paint and Weathering ...... $1,695 Div. Point N&W CF & CH Class Cabooses FP New, Several Versions Available ...... $395 WSM PRR Q2 4-4-6-4 UP New, KTM Japan ...... $1,995 W&R NP 24' Wood Caboose FP L/N, 2nd Run, Version 3, Interior, Road No. 1644...... $435 SS/3rd PRR S1 Duplex 6-4-4-6 FP L/N, Deskirted, Lightly Weathered, No. 6100 ...... $1,195 OVL Palace Poultry Car UP L/N, OMI No. 0055, W/Trucks ...... $575 OVL P&LE A2 2-8-4 FP New, W/Decals, OMI 0159 ...... $1,995 Kohs PRR N5c Cabin Car New, Version 2, "Buy War Bonds", No. 477009, 1 of 10 ...... $675 OVL RDG T1 4-8-4 UP Mint, W/Decals, OMI 0150 ...... $1,595 RY Models PRR GLca Fishbelly Twin Hopper UP New, AB Brakes ...... $275 Weaver/Heike RDG G2sa 4-6-2 CP L/N, Compl. Rebuild, Exceptional, No. 112 ...... $2,495 OVL UP CA-1 Wood Caboose UP New, OMI No. 0797 ...... $225 PSC SP AC-9 2-8-8-4 FP New, Coal Version, Road No. 3800 ...... $3,295 Kohs. VGN Class C10-1 Caboose FP New, Road No. 309 ...... $595 PSC SP F-4 2-10-2 FP L/N, PSC No. 16915-1, Postwar, Road No. 3679 ...... $1,795 C&LS WM "NE" Steel Caboose FP L/N, Round Heralds, 2 Versions Available ...... $435 PSC #17347-1 SP GS-4 4-8-4 Postwar Version FP New,, Black, Road No. 4436 ...... $2,695 Int’l, Harriman 65,000 Gal. Water Tank UP New, Model No. IH-03, W/Spout...... $395 PSC # 15839-1 SP MT-4 Crown 4-8-2 FP New, Gray Boiler, No Skyline, Ser. 4 of 9...... $2,495 Various Craftsman Structure Kits UP T. Yorke, Stoney Creek, Others ...... Call SS/3rd SP MT-4 4-8-2 FP New, 2-Rail, Daylight Scheme, Skyline, Road No. 4352 ...... $1,495 Various Freight Cars, Brass, RTR, Kits Pac Ltd, PSC, USH, Intermountain, Atlas, etc...... Call

32 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Scratch and Bash a P&LE Double-Sheathed Box Car Tom Houle

For years, I’ve wanted to add at least one, if not several, dou- owner of the only extant model of this car in any scale anywhere. ble-sheathed boxcars to my early Fifties era CNW/Soo branchline. I noted the P&LE car is two scale feet shorter than the 40’ AN They would look great mixed into my steel box car fleet. One day car. I decided to overlook that discrepancy and stay with the AN while sorting through my unbuilt kits, I ran across an All Nation dimensions. I made up for this by replacing the non-scale slab #3500 undecorated 40’ reefer kit. It struck me it would be rela- underframe with a built up and correctly recessed underframe per tively easy to convert this kit into a double-sheathed boxcar. In its the Train Shed Cyclopedia drawings. Let’s begin construction there. simplest terms, it involves skinning the basic wooden AN car with Underframe Assembly Evergreen car siding and adding a pair of sliding doors. The AN car consists of a 1/4” thick basswood floor, ends and So, why convert a pristine and now defunct kit into a double- two lengths of milled roof (Photo 1). The floor in my kit had devel- sheathed boxcar? Well, I already have a nice reefer block on the oped a curl or warp that could not be straightened so I replaced it. layout; in fact, too many for my 40’ icehouse to efficiently handle. I skinned one side of the floor with Evergreen Scale Models Additionally, I suspect there are plenty of these All Nation reefers 0.020” x 0.100” V-groove styrene. I used slow-setting CA glue to available at eBay, O Scale shows, and under peoples’ benches. attach it to the basswood. The V-grooving simulates the under- Walthers reefer kits can also be used. The overall dimensions and body’s exposed flooring (Photo 2). As shown in the underframe construction are nearly identical to the AN kits. Lacking a kit, you drawing, I laid out the lengthwise stringers, crossmembers, and could easily scratchbuild the basic structure from either wood or bolster locations on the styrene. Since the car is slightly longer styrene and then proceed as I did with my kit. To this end, I have than the P&LE prototype, I used the white metal AN bolsters and provided drawings for the basic carbody components. located their centers per the kit’s dimension. This is shown on the I realize that Atlas has brought out a nifty series of double- underframe drawing. sheathed cars. However, these cars have corrugated steel ends. Since the floor is going to be recessed, the AN bolsters will I went ahead with my kitbash because: (1) I prefer not to open need to be trimmed lengthwise to match the width of the floor. The boxes and place cars on the layout; (2) I wanted wooden ends recessed floor necessitated increasing the height of the bolsters because they simplified the kitbash; (3) I happened to find the perfect prototype in my reference library; and (4) TMR distributing has the correct dry transfer lettering and NYC heralds (formerly 1 CDS) for this car. Odd Ball Decals sells a Minneapolis and St. Louis set of decals for a double-sheathed boxcar, and I might have used them, but I was unable to determine if the M&StL car had the requisite wood ends. I found the prototype Pittsburgh & Lake Erie car on pp. 266 – 267 in Train Shed Cyclopedia No. 35 Freight Cars (Part 1) published by Newton K. Gregg. This car was built by the Pressed Steel Car Company. Comprehensive drawings and a photo are provided on the two pages. Curiously, a diligent follow-up search on the Internet and e-mails to the P&LE Historical Society and P&LE Yahoo Group didn’t turn up any additional photos or other information on this car. It appears to have dropped off the face of continued on page 36 the earth, which led me to wonder if I am the proud creator and Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 33 34 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 35 by 0.140”. I laminated 0.040” x 0.375” and 0.100” x 0.375” 2 styrene strips and glued them to the bolsters with CA glue. Then, I glued the bolsters to the underframe with Testors liquid plastic cement (Photos 3-4). As shown in the underframe drawing, the four 0.080” square stringers and 0.040” x 0.080” sidesills are attached next. Note they run from end to end. Next, I added 0.020” x 0.100” styrene strips to the tops of the stringers and sidesills at each crossmem- ber’s location to simulate the flanges (Photos 5-6). The 0.060” x 0.250” centersill alignment strip goes in next. You can see this detail in Fig. 2. Make sure the strip is aligned down the center- line of the underframe. The two centersills are cut from 0.040” sheet per the drawing. I added Keil-Line #4866 0.050” wide rivet stripping to the lower edges of the sills. I added 0.020” x 0.100” 3 flanges to both sills before I attached the sills to the car. As shown in Fig. 2, the centersills butt up to the alignment strip. This ensures the sills are securely attached and run straight and true. They should fit snugly between the bolsters (Photo 7). 7

4

Cut ten crossmembers from 0.040” sheet, glue them to the underframe and attach 0.020” x 0.100” flanges (Photo 8). Alter- nately, and it might be easier, the flanges could be glued to the crossmembers before attaching them to the underframe. I built up the coupler mounting pads by filling in the spaces between the two innermost stringers with 0.080” thick sheet. Then, I glued 0.100” x ½” wide strips over these. The ½” wide strips extend from the bolsters to the ends of the underframe. The 5 addition of four 0.020” x 0.100” angle braces to the corners of the underframe completes the assembly (Photo 9). (Note: due to recessing the underframe into the car body, I had to add a 1/8” x 1/4” basswood strip to the bottoms of the car ends. This is shown in the end drawing.) Carbody Assembly I began assembly of the carbody by carefully marking the floor location on the inside faces of the car ends. This line is 0.475” up from the bottom (see Fig. 1). Next, I glued one end to the assembled underframe. I used slow-setting CA glue and epoxy to build my car. When you glue the underframe to the car end, make sure the top of the floor of the underframe is exactly aligned

6 8

36 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 9 10

with the 0.475” line on the interior face of the car end. Using a small square, make sure the end is square to the floor. Repeat the process for the other end. I ran another bead of thin CA into the joints after the slow-setting glue had kicked. If you’re using CA to attach the parts, consider using a kicker 11 or accelerator. Kicker comes in pump bottles and spray cans and accelerates the curing of the CA. There’s a myth that using kicker makes the joints brittle. It just ain’t true. What it does is make assembly a heckuva lot faster. White or yellow glue or epoxy works just as well for those who don’t like CA glue. Before adding the two car sides, you might want to add weight - lead sheet, washers, etc. - to the interior floor. Without any weights, my finished car came in between 10 and 11 oz, and I’m happy with that. Do check the fit of your car sides before you attach them to the ends and floor. Mine were 3/32” too long. I had to trim them before I glued them to the ends and floor (Photo 10). Roof sections are next. The AN roof halves are designed to drop in between the sides and ends. The milled edges overhang the ends and sides. As 12 shown in Photo 11, I glued the roof sections in place with white glue and held them tightly with masking tape while the glue set. I used a lot of tape because white glue can cause the basswood to warp as it absorbs the glue. When the joints were cured, I trimmed away the roof overhangs so that they were flush with the faces of the sides and ends (Photo 12). I gave the entire basswood car body a good block sanding and then attached Evergreen #2067 0.020” x 3-1/4” car siding, first to the car ends and then to the car sides (Photo 13). I used five-min- ute epoxy to attach the siding and I don’t recommend it. It takes time to spread it thin enough and meanwhile the epoxy starts to cure. Next time, I’ll use 30-minute epoxy. I cut the ends and sides a little wide and long, and then trimmed them after the epoxy had set. I held them in place with masking tape while the epoxy cured. Next, I laid out the grab irons, end braces, brake platform and staff, door, and door guide locations (see Fig. 3). I added 0.060” x 0.125” upper door guides and built up the doors from a laminate of 0.020” car siding and plain 0.020” sheet and trim strips (See 13 Fig. 3 for dimensions and details). As shown in Photo 14, I skinned the basswood roof with 0.020” plain styrene. Before I attached the styrene, I laid out the roof’s centerline and rib locations. Then I scribed and folded the styrene so the roof skin went on in one piece. This process kept those pesky rib lines squared up. With the roof skin in place, I attached the doors, the 0.040” square door stops and the 0.020” x 0.060” upper fascia trim; along with the 0.015” x 0.060” corner braces, and 0.010” x 0.030” door rub strips and the lower door guides. I used Chooch #215 door parts for the upper hangers and latches. The corner steps are 0.032” brass wire. I bent the upper ends of the steps and inserted them into holes drilled into the car sides. They are held in place Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 37 with CA (see Fig. 3 for placement and dimensions of these details). fers (lettering only) and decals (heralds). I purchased CDS Pitts- The 1/2” roof walk supports are next (Photo 15). I made mine burgh & Lake Erie #762 dry transfers from TMR Distributing in from 0.060” square styrene. I cut lengths 18-1/2” scale inches Canada. You can reach their website at: [http://www.tmrdistribut- long, then in the center of each support I made a cut half way ing.com]. I used Champ decals for the NYC heralds. through. Now, the supports can be bent to match the contour of I would have used the CDS heralds, but I ran into trouble the roof. Using Testors liquid plastic cement, I glued each support transferring the black and then the white dry transfer heralds onto in place as shown in Fig. 4. When the cement had cured, I used a the car. The black backgrounds and white lettering for these her- 10” flat file to gently file the supports until they were dead flat the alds are printed on separate dry transfers. I found it impossible length of the car. There is a cross-sectional view of this process in to register the white outline and lettering of the herald with the Fig. 4. It’s really much easier to do than describe. black film already rubbed onto the car. The problem is the dry The roof ribs were added next using 0.020” x 0.030” strips. I transfer backing paper is translucent and I simply could not make cut the ribs an inch or so long to facilitate holding them in place out the black outline well enough through the backing paper to while applying Testors liquid cement with a small brush. They are accurately register the white overlay and hold it in place while I trimmed after the cement cures. rubbed the white onto the black. Fortunately, Champ Decals has As shown in Fig 4, the running boards are 0.020” x 0.156” styrene strip. First, attach the two outer boards to the supports and 14 then center the middle board. I left my boards long and when the glue had cured. I set the car upside down and cut the ends to the correct 5/32” overhang at each end. The end platforms consist of two 0.040” square support strips spaced 9/16” apart with 0.020” x 0.125” strips cut 9/16” long. I added right angle grabs to both end platforms made from 0.020” brass wire. As shown in Photo 17 and on the cross-sectional end view detail drawing in Fig 3, I added a .015” x .250” x 1/2” styrene shim to the bottom of the car end to bring it flush with the cou- pler pad. I used the white metal end sills that came with the AN reefer kit as they are very close to the P&LE end sills. Unfortunately, these end sills were designed for use with solid couplers long before Kadee® couplers were a reality. I had to carefully cut a 1/2” wide coupler box opening with a Zona saw and files to allow the couple boxes to come through the lower 15 half of the sills. If you’re rolling your own car, I have included a drawing that illustrates how to make the sills from 0.250” styrene channel and Precision Scale #4043 poling pockets. This might actually be easier to do than cutting and filing openings into the AN center sills. Note the end sills extend below the bottoms of the car ends. The car end drawing indicates where to align the tops of the cen- ter sills to the car ends. I attached the white metal sills to the car ends with slow-setting CA glue. The wire grabs are next. I drilled all of the holes in the ends and sides with a pin vise and a #74 drill bit (Photo 18). The holes are centered 3/8” apart for Tichy/CMA #2001 drop grabs. Note there are no ladders - only grabs. On the doors, I used Intermoun- tain plastic grabs or you could also make your own from 0.020” brass wire or use Tichy/CMA straight grabs. I elected to use an Intermountain brake platform and supports in lieu of the AN parts. I drilled 0.030” holes into the car end to align with the posts on the IM platform and supports. The brake 16 platform’s location is shown in Fig. 3. The brake staff is 0.032” brass wire that extends 1/4” above the roof with the AN brake wheel mounted to it. I through-drilled the white metal end sill to accept the brake staff. The staff is retained just below the roof with a U-shaped 0.015” brass wire. The wire ends are glued into holes in the car end. With the exception of trucks and couplers, which will be installed after painting and lettering, this completes the car assem- bly. I gave my car a light coat of Ace Hardware sandable auto primer (Photo 19). I’ve used this primer for a while now. It’s rea- sonably priced and really snuggles down nicely into the cracks. I sprayed the car with Scalecoat #10136 spray can Box Car Red. This paint cures to a nice sheen, which is perfect for either decals or dry transfers. My car is lettered with a mix of dry trans- 38 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 17 19

20

18

- 126 0.020 x 0.125 - 164 0.80 x 0.080 - 101 0.010 x 0.030 - 112 0.015 x 0.040 - 113 0.015 x 0.060 - 144 0.040 x 0.080 - 125 0.020 x 0.100 - 159 0.060 x 0.250 - 127 0.020 x 0.156 - 153 0.060 x 0.060

Northeastern Scale Lumber - 4046 1/8” x 1/4” basswood strip Keil-Line - 4866 .050” wide rivet strip Tichy/CMA the correct NYC lines heralds for this car: Champ set #OH-156. - 2001 drop grab irons As Shakespeare quothe, “All’s well that ends well.” Chooch Ultra Scale My Pittsburgh & Lake Erie car is now in service moving goods - 215 Camel door hardware from its Lake Erie terminus to my upper Midwest customers along Kadee Lake Michigan’s shore (Photo 20). u - 804 couplers Athearn - 90801 Bettendorf trucks Prototype Reference K & S Train Shed Cyclopedia No. 35 Freight Cars (Part 1) PP. 266- - 1596 0.020” brass wire 267 Newton K. Gregg - 1602 0.032” brass wire Paint & Decals Bill of Materials - Ace Hardware Sandable Auto Primer (spray can) Evergreen Scale Models Styrene - Scalecoat 10136 Box Car Red (spray can) - 2067 0.020” x 3-1/4” car siding - Testors 1260 Dull Cote (spray can) - 2100 0.020 x .100 V-groove siding - TMR Distributing CDS 762 P&LE box car dry transfers - 9040 0.040” sheet [www.tmrdistributing.com] - 9030 0.020” sheet - Champ Decals OH-156 B&W NYC Lines herald set - 0.015 x 0.250 strip - 123 0.020 x 0.060

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 39 Figure 1 — Not to Scale

40 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Figure 2 — Not to Scale

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 41 Figure 3 — Not to Scale

42 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Figure 4 — Not to Scale

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 43 SMR TRAINS Virginia & Truckee In stock now!

Photo by Get Real Productions

Your source for: Model Building Services Models built by Stu Gralnik Motive power, rolling stock 264 Marret Rd • Lexington MA 02421 Ph: 781-860-0554 and structure plans [email protected] (since 1975) Tell our advertisers that you saw their Quik-Signs sign sets Coal Mine by Scale industry directory ad in O Scale Trains K&P Brick and Building Paper Creek Models Magazine. We’d Send $2.00 for catalog appreciate it! Assembled buildings from any manufacturer’s kit. Underground Railway Press Kitbashed, painted and detailed...“Just Like Real!” P.O. Box 814OS Brevard, NC 28712-0814 www.modelbuildingservices.com 44 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Mix Pix Capt. Tom Mix sent these photos and some words about one of his current projects.

We thought you’d enjoy seeing more of his work.

CB&Q R4 2-6-2 I have come further along with the 2-6-2. More small details are yet to be done but the next project on this loco is the brakes. They should be close to the drivers as prototypical and removable for maintenance and painting. I have to watch for electrical shorts though when getting those brake shoes close to the drivers on the left side.

You can see more of Tom’s work at the Proto48 website:

http://www.proto48.org/

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 45 NEWS: New convention car announced for 2010 O Scale NEWS: On30 2010 Annual; MSRP: $14.95 US/Canada plus S&H National. Carstens Publishing, 108 Phil Hardin Rd, Newton, NJ 07860 The 888-526-5365 • www.on30annual.com previously announced Carstens Publications, Inc., is Chateau Martin pleased to announce the release of the wine car will On30 Annual 2010. This new annual not be available marks the fifth anniversary of this inno- as the 2010 vative publication, and is geared spe- convention car. There will now be three cars available at the cifically for the On30 narrow gauge convention. One is a special run for the convention. The other modeler. Written by veteran On30 two were special run cars for previous O Scale West meets. modelers, this new publication contains The new special run car is the Atlas O Trainman 53 foot 6 a wealth of modeling information and inch gondola. The Atlas O Trainman car is an upgraded version inspiration. The On30 Annual 2010 of the former Altas/Roco gondola. That car was based upon retails for $14.95 US & Canada and 19.95 Foreign (Plus S/H, the PRR G31 series gondolas. AC&F built clones of the cars for please see website or call for details) and is available at hobby other roads including the SP who bought 50 and then 300. The shops, or can be ordered online at [carstensbookstore.com] or first lot of 50 cars were delivered in black paint; the remaining by calling toll free (US & Canada) 1-888-526-5365. 300 were delivered in SP red/brown freight car color. The con- The On30 Annual 2010 takes you on a tour of several vention will have 80 of the black cars in two road numbers and beautiful layouts and includes a track plan designed specifi- 44 of the red cars in two road numbers; all cars will be 2-rail. cally for an On30 client by MMR Bill Miller, the White Pine These cars will be priced at $50 each. The Atlas O artwork for Mining and Lumber Co. Railway. This issue features a number the car is shown above. The illustration depicts a 3-rail car; the of scratchbuilding and construction projects including: how to convention car will be an RTR 2-rail car. RTR 3-rail cars will be build a Barnhart log loader; a new and innovative technique available from Petersen Supply. for building stone structures; how to build an operating gal- lows turntable, and more.

NEWS: Resin kit for Southern Radio Receiver Cars; MSRP: $99.99 parts, a steel plus postage weight, decals, Dave Friedlander, [email protected] or 919-218-5888 Weaver diecast In 1966, Berwick Forge and Foundry built 50 radio receiver trucks, Kadee cars (RRC) for the . Until their retirement by couplers, and Norfolk Southern (NS) in 1996, they were MU’d to midtrain step-by-step locomotive consists on long freights. A unit in the lead consist instructions with would use Locotrol to synchronize speed, and other signals, to color photos. Kits are $99.99 plus postage and completely fin- the midtrain locomotives via the RRC. Before they were scrapped ished models are $175 plus postage. Models finished in NS liv- in 2003, Jim King, of Smoky Mountain Model Works, hand- ery are $12 extra. Kits are available in both 2-Rail and 3-Rail. measured one of these cars and Dave Friedlander is now offering Dave can be contacted by email at davidjfriedlander@gmail. a cast urethane kit to build an RRC. com, by phone at 919-218-5888 or through his website [http:// Designed with CAD for precision, the kit includes a 2-piece www4.ncsu.edu/~djfriedl/SRRKit.html]. Photos at the website urethane casting (body and underframe), all necessary detail show all the available paint schemes and truck/coupler options.

NEWS: Custom painted Atlas O tank car and 2-bay hopper; cars at any diesel facility or layover yard, where engines were MSRP: See text refueled. These cars are super detailed, with separately applied The Public Delivery Track, PO Box 2637, Paso Robles, CA 93447 handrails, diecast sprung trucks, full brake gear and very sharp, [email protected] • www.PublicDeliveryTrack.com accurate lettering. Tank cars prices: $62.95 for 3-rail; $67.95 for 2-rail. Four Sinclair 8000 gallon tank car: Sinclair in the 1950s had the road numbers available. largest tank car fleet in the US with 7000 cars. This version was Southern Pacific 2 bay hopper car: SP has always had a the most common lettering large aggregate business, and a large fleet of 2-bay hopper scheme. The tank car fleet was cars. There are still hopper cars lettered SOUTHERN PACIFIC sold to GATX in the 1960s. in rock train service today. This car is super detailed, with This car is the 1955 hopper separately applied handrails, car scheme with the large let- diecast sprung trucks, full tering and SP logo. The model brake gear and very sharp, has opening hopper bottoms, accurate lettering. separately applied handrails, Southern Pacific 8000 gallon fuel service tank car: Head- diecast sprung trucks, full brake quartered in 1950s oil rich gear and very sharp, accurate lettering. Price: $65.95 for 3-rail, California, SP had a fleet of $70.95 for 2-rail. Available in 2 road numbers tank cars to get diesel fuel to engine facilities. It was very common to see a few SP tank

46 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Review: MTH # 20-2822-2 GE ES44AC Diesel; MSRP: $449.95 appears to be that of a unit placed in service within the last M.T.H. Electric Trains, 7020 Columbia Gateway Drive, couple of years. The paintwork is sharp and crisp down to Columbia MD 21046 the warning placards on the long hood. 410-381-2580 • www.railking.com Grabirons, stanchions and safety railings all appear to be installed per prototype photos. Additional details included Reviewed by Gene Clements coupler lift levers, m.u. hoses and crew. The pilots are cast to accept Kadee #806 couplers & boxes, which are attached The Prototype by two machine screws per box that are supplied with the Produced by General Electric as its answer to the Envi- engine. After installation, the couplers checked out at the ronmental Protection Agency’s exhaust emission standards correct height and required no adjustment. An included that took effect on January 1, 2005, this locomotive series snowplow also attaches to the front pilot in the same man- is commonly referred to as the “GEVO” or Evolution Series. ner. The trip pin on the front coupler has to be modified The first production models went to the Union Pacific, Burl- slightly since it strikes the top of the plow and forces the ington Northern Santa Fe and Norfolk Southern which opted front pilot slightly upwards. for the DC transmission units. A word or two about sound under the Fidelity heading, While similar in carbody design to the AC4400, the radi- while the ES44 is equipped with a new 12 cylinder power ator section has the most visible changes. The radiator wing plant, its still a GE with that distinct “Burble Sound”. Most is much larger and longer extending several feet further into noticeable is a more profound electrical whine especially at the carbody where it overhangs the walkways at the rear of #7 or #8 throttle than in previous models. the long hood. The roof of the radiator is divided into two Performance parts, the rear two thirds is the radiator section while the I tested the unit on a conventional DC system using a front third houses the new heat exchanger fans. Also new Starr Tech “Hogger” 10 amp. power supply and throttle. for this series is the power plant, a 12 cylinder diesel engine Applying power, the sound system activates and you go rated at 4400-hp that is more fuel efficient and reduces through startup at 4 volts. At 5 to 6 volts the headlights illu- emissions by 40% from the previous 16 cylinder engine. The minate to a constant brightness and at 7 volts plus the unit wide North American style cab has multiple window and will start to move. At standard operating speed on my layout cab arrangements available for each railroad’s version. Our the unit drew 12 volts while I was at 50% throttle, and at BNSF units came with similar cab arrangements but differ- 80% plus throttle this unit will really move and trip the over- ent control stand configurations as the orders arrived. The speed control at 72 smph plus. BNSF units are replacing older SD40-2 EMD locomotives, Once the sound system goes through startup, the prime which are being retired and the new units are receiving road mover revs up with the increase of power, likewise it numbers from that series as they become available. The Model As I stated in the MTH 8-40C review (OST #43, Mar./Apr. 2009) this is not the MTH 2-Rail locomo- tive from the 1990s. Although this locomotive has a plastic body shell and metal frame used before, the quality and detail is much improved. Twin vertical can motors power the model, while the cast metal fuel tank houses the speaker for the sound system. Scale plans found in the November 2004 issue of Model Railroader were used to check measure- ments. The unit is a scale 73’ 6” over the face of the Kadee® #806 couplers, and is a scale 10’ wide and stands 15’ 6” from the rail top to the roof of the cab. It comes factory equipped with Proto-Sound 2.0, a variable intensity smoke unit, operating head- lights, flashing ditch lights, scale wheels and perma- nently attached front and rear pilots. The unit is also available in 3-Rail and un-powered versions. Other road names include CSX and Canadian National in the ES44DC version. The ES44AC is also available in NS, KCS, CP, UP and GE Demonstrator in 3-Rail and un-powered version as well as the 2/3-Rail unit with scale wheelsets. Fidelity & Compatibility This review unit is painted and lettered in the latest BNSF “Swoosh” scheme. Since the BNSF removed the locomotive numbering system from its special instructions, all I can say is the number

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 47 throttles down as power is decreased until you stop and good results. After performing the m.u. tests and a “Brain the sound system returns to idle. Once stopped with the Cramp”, it occurred to me that DC locomotives have always throttle off, the battery backup keeps the sound system in needed to be tweaked and fine tuned and sometimes have idle for about 15-20 seconds until the system cycles through their pickup system modified to perform well together. In all shutdown and turns off. The sound system is not playable or fairness, optimal performance would be achieved with an adjustable in conventional DC mode, with the exception of MTH DCS system which was not available to me for testing. the volume control located underneath the radiator housing. Conclusions Since MTH’s DCS system is proprietary you will need to use MTH has been listening to the requests from O Scale it to control and enjoy the full effects of the sound. diesel modelers. For those of you like me, who own MTH Weighing in excess of 6-1/2 pounds with twin motors 2-Rail diesels, you will be impressed by their attention to and 6 powered axles the ES44AC has some real pulling detail and efforts to improve their products. While not the power. In testing on level track the engine reached 22 ozs. quality level of a brass model, the detail and correctness of of drawbar pull prior to wheel slip. It easily handled a 24 these plastic models is much improved. As was rumored, car weighted train around the layout that normally requires I am curious about MTH’s plans to have DCC compatible two Geeps. locomotives out in 2010. I am still looking forward to those I ran the ES44AC with an MTH SD70ACE and other con- products because my current plan is a DCC conversion of ventional DC diesels without onboard electronics. Mu’d the ES44AC and SD70ACE in the very near future. This DCC with the 70ACE, the two ran together as a team but the elec- conversion is a separate story within itself. Once completed, tronics seemed to compete with each other. Operating with I’ll pass on my experiences and results. non-electronic units these engines tended to push or pull the ES44AC simply because of the electronics power require- ments. Operating it as a single unit or with a dummy yielded

Review: The Station Scene; MSRP: $225, plus postage a razor knife, some files Stoney Creek Designs, 4100 Hunters Run Blvd., Reading, and sandpaper are real- PA 19606 • www.stoneycreekdesigns.com ly all that are required. One of the things Reviewed by Joe Giannovario I liked most was the painting and weather- Background ing suggestions. Often, Roger Malinowski has written numerous articles for this is left up to the the Narrow Gauge And Short Line Gazette, has built a few modeler with little or notable layouts and has done design work for other manu- no guidance. This does facturers. In 1994 he decided to manufacture his own prod- slow down construc- uct line, designing and building quality O Scale structure tion somewhat but the kits under the name of Stoney Creek Designs. Roger’s kits are end result is worth the always released first at the National Narrow Gauge Conven- effort. Of course, you tion. His kit for 2009 was called the Station Scene and con- are free to choose your sisted of three structures: a depot, a passenger car converted own color scheme but to a work shed, and an outhouse/coal bin. Roger models in I’d still follow Roger’s On30 so his kits tend to be smaller than one might expect for weathering sugges- O Scale and that’s a good thing. tions. The Kits I’ve not finished the The Station Scene is actually three kits in one box and station yet and I’m con- each can be built separately. The station has a footprint of sidering a modifica- 11-3/4” x 5”, the work shed is 7-1/2” x 3”, and the outhouse/ tion that would make coal bin is 5” x 2-1/2”. These are all quite reasonable sizes the station walls one and will fit nearly any O Scale layout. continuous piece. I’ll Highly detailed instructions are provided for each kit as let you know later how well as a CD with PDFs of the instructions and hi-res photos that works out. of each construction step for the three structures. The kits As each kit is separate I’m using them in separate areas of consist of precision laser-cut wood parts plus castings. Every- the new OST layout rather than together as Roger designed thing you need is included except glue and paint, for which them. That’s another nice thing about this design. Roger makes some very specific recommendations. Conclusion Building The Kits Roger’s kits are limited production and sell out quickly These kits almost fall together themselves. There are a few although the Station Scene is still available in late November little tricky parts like laminating the inner and outer walls as I write this. Contact Roger through his website to see if the with contact cement but there’s nothing here that will cause kit is still available now. His 2010 kit is called the Scrap Yard. you any problems with assembly. Typical modelers’ tools like You can see it and place a reservation at his website.

48 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Review: N&W Y6b; MSRP: $1799, plus shipping The model I tested is painted, lettered and lighted and Sunset Models, 22 Beta Ct, San Ramon CA 94583 has several sliding hatches, opening doors and something 800-373-7245 • www.3rdrail.com new for Sunset, cab ”wing” windows, a nice detail. The locomotive has a single large can motor powering Sunset’s Reviewed by Joe Giannovario ”quiet drive” belt and pulley system down to the gear- boxes. I had a problem with the front gearbox. When it was Background assembled the front screw was driven in so tightly it cracked The N&W Y6b is one of those legendary steam engines the gearbox cover allowing the worm to come away from that everyone recognizes. It’s been made in N, HO and O the worm gear. It sounded like a coffee grinder. An email to Scale several times. Sunset brought a replacement cover in the post and I was During World War I the U.S. Government took over back in business in no time. the railroads via the United States Railway Administration Fidelity (USRA). The USRA set up a design committee to develop a I measured the Sunset model against plans in the Model set of ”standard” locomotives to use during the war. The del- Railroader Locomotive Cyclopedia, Vol. 1 (in HO Scale) and egate from the N&W Railway brought a full set of blueprints in Norfolk & Western Steam (The last 25 years) by Rosen- for the Class Y2, 2-8-8-2 which was used for the basis of the berg and Archer (in S Scale). With a few minor exceptions, it USRA 2-8-8-2, and the N&W took delivery of 45 USRA 2-8- is accurate to within 2-3 scale inches in every major dimen- 8-2s. sion. I did notice an extra scale foot in the distance from the Not content to sit on its laurels the N&W continued to first driver to the lead truck and a several extra inches in the develop the 2-8-8-2 design through Y4, Y5 and Y6 designs. distance from the last driver to the trailing truck, yet they The Y6 was further refined and designated as Y6a and managed to keep the overall length of the locomotive cor- Y6b. The Y6b is considered the ultimate N&W freight rect. The locomotive width and height are also correct. The engine. A fully modernized Y6b was capable of develop- tender wheelbase seems a bit off by several inches but the ing 166,000 lbs. of . Compare that to a UP Big tender itself is dead on the money. Boy’s 135,375 lbs. of tractive effort. Y6s regularly pulled The finish is a semi-gloss black which looks nice. The coal drags at speeds up to 50 mph. They were the ”pocket smokebox front is graphited which is okay but the smoke- battleships” of steam. See the list of references for more box access area behind the stack is also graphited and that detailed information about the N&W Y class locomotives. looks really odd. I can’t say it’s wrong, just odd. The Model I examined as many photos of Y6bs as I could find in Sunset has produced an exceptionally fine model of the my library and online to validate the various details. I was Y6b in both 2-Rail and 3-Rail versions. The model is con- initially convinced the front porch railings were done incor- structed of brass with rolled, machined and lost wax detail rectly. However, I was able to confirm that all the major parts. Of particular note is the valve gear, which is more details are correct. finely detailed than normally found on locomotives at this Sunset, like many other manufacturers, illuminates the price point. I also noted that the mechanical lubricators class lamps, in this case with green lights. In reality, the were properly connected to the valve gear, something which class lamps would not be lit in most normal operations, so is often incorrect or left out entirely. Another nice touch are there should be a way to turn them off. running boards with drain holes rather than the diamond Compatibility plate we’ve been used to for so many years. Last but not I checked the drivers with a digital caliper and found least is another nice new touch for Sunset, plastic brake the tires measure 0.175” thick. This is reflective of the old hangers and shoes with attached sanding lines. What a great NMRA standard. The new standard is based on a 0.145” idea! tire. However, all drivers and wheelsets passed the NMRA

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 49 check gauge test. I ran the model through a 48” curve and a tweezers. No. 5 crossover with no problems. I checked The front pilot has a dummy coupler, which will mate the other with a Kadee. The tender comes equipped with a Kadee three coupler set to the correct height. joints and Performance they were All testing was performed with an MRC ControlMaster all tight. If 20 outfitted with both Volt and Amp meters. I also measured I had run drawbar pull. the engine Best slow speed performance was achieved at 1.8 V and with the 800 mA. The locomotive ran smoothly at 4 scale miles per loose hour. As this a drag freight engine and not a switcher, this is combina- excellent performance. I noted that the engine would start to tion lever, move at 1.5V but I could not sustain a smooth speed. it could Maximum power draw was 2 Amps at 4 V with the driv- have ers slipping. That is only 8 Watts of power. The pull meter caused showed a tractive effort of 24 ounces. I used my N&W G1 the run- 2-8-0 as the baseline as it is the lightest and least powerful ning gear engine I own. Its tractive effort at slip is 10 ounces. to bind up so check your fittings before you run the engine. At all speeds the locomotive ran smoothly and almost There are a few minor disappointments. Those lighted silently. If there had been sound onboard, you wouldn’t class lamps are really annoying. For a have heard the drive train at all. so historically important it is a shame not to include some The locomotive weighs about 7 pounds. I added several detailed information about its development. tungsten weights (close to 8 ounces) on top of the boiler Regardless, this is probably the finest steam locomotive while performing the slip test and did not see any appre- Sunset has yet produced. The fine detail on the running gear ciable increase in tractive force so I would conclude the is outstanding. I used to say that the N&W K3 4-8-2 that locomotive is weighted correctly as-is. Sunset produced almost 10 years ago was my best running Conclusions locomotive. That has now been replaced by this Sunset Y6b. Aside from the gearbox cover I did have one other issue It’s running performance is superb. It will make a fine candi- with this engine to which I was alerted by another modeler. date for a DCC with sound installation. After I had installed the new gearbox cover, which neces- References sitated turning the locomotive upside down, I noticed that a Classic Power #3A: USRA 2-8-8-2 Series, by Tom combination lever on the front engine had come loose from Dressler & Ed King, published by NJ International (no date). its valve rod (see the close-up photo). The combination lever Norfolk & Western Steam (The last 25 years), by Rosen- has a hole in it and the valve rod clevis has a pair of pins berg & Archer, published by Quadrant Press 1973. (trunnions) that fit into the hole from either side. The clevis must be squeezed closed to capture the combination lever. I managed to refit the parts with a bit of fussing and a pair of

Review: NYC 36’ Wooden Box Car kit; MSRP: $125 sions. In 1910 the steel underframe was designed and the Mullet River Model Works, 118 Hudson Ct, Plymouth WI wood body was applied over it. In 1912 the steel Murphy 53073 ends were added to the cars built between 1912 and 1917. 920-892-8159 • www.mulletrivermodelworks.com All the New York Central’s affiliated lines had these cars. In the 1920s this design evolved into an all steel car, while the Reviewed by Joe Giannovario wood-sided cars lasted into the early 1950s. The Model Background This kit is a model of a New York Central lines 36’, 80,000 In 1901 the American Railroad Association adopted lbs. capacity boxcar. The model features a laser-cut wood dimensions for a “standard” boxcar. The car’s inside dimen- body with interior scribing on the walls and floor. The roof sions were to be 8’ 6” wide and 8’ tall. They were never able is made with wood carlines and purlins like the prototype. to agree on the length. The eastern railroads wanted to stay A wooden subroof with scribing is covered by a plastic with 36’ cars because all the doors in freight houses were roof to look like the Murphy steel roof. The underframe is a on 36’ centers. The width and the height were established to full-length 0.010” brass etching that has the rivet locations clear the New York Central, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore & marked for easy embossing and which can be shortened for Ohio clearances. The idea was to have a free roaming car and your choice of couplers with pockets. Trucks and couplers to eventually lead to a common car design. Also at this time are not included, however, this kit is available with decals for steel was being used more in car construction. NYC&HR (#403207), B&A (#403208), Big Four (#403209), The New York Central version of this car had a steel frame P&LE (#403210) and LS&MS (#403211). with a wood body. These cars evolved from an all-wood car Building The Kit developed in 1902 to meet the “standard boxcar” dimen- Mullet River kits are not for the faint of heart. This kit will 50 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 challenge your modeling skills but the result will be worth it. you plan to build a lot of these it’s probably not worth it. You The instructions tell you to build the boxcar body first. This is could also make a bending jig from two pieces of flat bar the easy part. I chose to build the underframe first. This is the stock that you clamp together. challenging part. Once all the pieces are folded, it’s time to solder the The underframe is made up of flat brass etchings. Many of frame together. A wooden fixture is provided to facilitate the parts have divots etched into one side to indicate where assembly. Unfortunately, there are no photos with the instruc- you need to make rivet impressions. The instructions say tions to guide the assembly and all of the parts are called out “take your rivet tool” and impress the rivets. What they really with their correct prototypical names. So, if you don’t know want you to do is use a rivet press and die to make the rivet what a bolster diaphragm is, you’re in trouble. I’ve spoken impressions. If you don’t have a rivet press you can do what with Glenn Guerra of Mullet River about this and he will be I did and make a rivet tool from a “sharps” sewing needle in posting construction photos at the Mullet River website. He a pin vise. Make sure you blunt the tip of the needle or else will also be posting a clinic about working with brass etch- it will pierce the thin brass. I hand pressed the rivets over a ings. piece of soft wood. These won’t look as good as if you used a Because the parts are so delicate, you will want to use a press and die but they will be covered in paint and mostly out resistance-soldering unit for assembly. Glenn recommends of sight once completed. It took me close to 3 hours to press that you tin the part with a regular iron first and then use the all the rivets. If you do the rivets by hand, do not clip all the resistance unit to tack solder it in place. If you don’t have a parts off the etching tree as they’ll be easier to handle. If you resistance unit you can kludge one up from a Weller gun by do use a press and die, you will have to cut the parts loose to cutting off the end of the copper tip so you have two prongs. get them into the press. Making the rivets isn’t difficult; it’s just As a last resort, you could CA all the parts together. tedious. Conclusion The next part is the real challenge—folding up the brass I have to be honest here. The photos shown here were parts. All the fold lines are etched into each part and you just supplied by Mullet River because there was just no way I need to remember that the lines all go to the inside of the could get the car built in time for publication. To do this kit fold. justice, it cannot be rushed. This is going to take maybe 20 I did the trickiest piece first, the side sills. These flat hours to build since I’ve never done a soldered frame before. pieces need to be folded into a ”z” shape. I used a Panavise Overall, the kit is a masterpiece that will rival any brass with brand new nylon jaws, a straightedge and my fingers. import you’ve ever seen. It’s greatest failing is the instructions. I clamped the sill in the vise on one end and made the fold Fortunately, Glenn Guerra is a great guy to talk to and he with my fingers. I then slid the piece further long, reclamped will happily answer any questions you might have about the and folded again, continuing until I had the entire 9” length assembly. Give him a call or email him. folded. Once I had the whole thing folded on one side I If you are looking for a challenge that will expand your pressed it flat against the vise jaws with a straight edge. modeling skills, take a look at a Mullet River boxcar kit. Now, flip the sill over and fold in the other direction. It’s going to look grotesque until you get the whole length folded and then it just sort of straightens itself out. Keep checking the straightness with your straightedge. You could buy a commercial bending jig but unless

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 51 Review: Protocraft’s AAR Type E Scale operating couplers operation. #PC-1076; MSRP: $62.50/ five pairs To assemble the knuckles to the coupler body, you insert Protocraft 18498 Half Moon Street, Unit 203 the escutchion pins through the holes. I had to drill out the Sonoma, CA 95476-4835 holes in the coupler body and the knuckles with a #63 drill 707-935-7011 • www.protocraft.com bit in a pin vise. The brass is soft and easily drilled by hand pressure using a drop of hair clipper oil as a lubricant. You are Reviewed by Mike Cougill instructed to nip off the excess pin length and peen the cut end over in order to secure it from falling out. I found this was Back in the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of OST I wrote in my col- simple to do with a small ball peen hammer by placing the umn that I wished someone would produce a scale operating coupler assembly on the anvil portion of my bench vise. A coupler that married the faithful prototype appearance of a few light taps was all it took to peen the soft brass. Take care San Juan coupler to the bulletproof operation found in Kadee not to restrict the of the knuckle by getting things too couplers. Norm Buckhart of Protocraft has answered the call tight. with his newly redesigned Type E operating scale couplers. Assembling the completed coupler to its box and attaching Type E coupler designs were a modification of the exist- it to the carbody is as easy working with the familiar Kadee ing Type D couplers and came into use during the 1930s. brand. The Protocraft boxes have the same mounting hole Dimensionally, the two were virtually identical except for the pattern, so there are no surprises here. You may have to do a coupler shaft. The Type E coupler shank’s dimensions were bit of light touch up to the inside of the box and the coupler increased from 5” x 7” to 6-1/4” x 8”. shank surfaces for smooth centering operation. Protocraft’s new couplers were made from master patterns The instructions also give guidance for forming working lift made by the late Bill Clouser. From a posting on the P48 bars (cut levers) for both bottom and top operating designs. Yahoo Group, Norm provided the following information: Additionally, the Protocraft couplers are designed for mag- “The design used by Bill Clouser follows the plans almost netic uncoupling by inserting a small piece of steel in the lift exactly for the ARA Type E coupler as depicted on page 889 pin’s slots. Norm recommends using a small section of paper of the 1931 Car Builder’s Cyclopedia. The coupler body mea- clip for this, and Protocraft has a magnetic uncoupling wand sures 12” from the knuckle pin to the rear of the lift pin cast- to lift the pins once they are fitted with the steel inserts. ing and is 12.5” tall. The knuckle measures 11” tall (Sharon’s I put the samples through some very unscientific testing measures 9” tall).” Norm also noted that Bill Clouser made and found the operation was very reliable, for both coupling some additional changes to the design as a concession to the and uncoupling. Uncoupling a car only requires one knuckle realities of model railroading, such as slightly narrowing the to be opened. I mounted a pair on each end of two fifty-foot coupler’s shank in order to accommodate existing model’s car freight cars (see Photos 2 and 3) and I didn’t have any issues bodies and coupler boxes commonly used at the time. with coupler swing or binding on my tight 36” radius curve. These brass coupler kits feature a self-centering coupler (See the additional photos from my online review posted shank and spring action that replicates the draft motion of the under Mike’s Projects on the OST blog.) I also noted that prototype; a brass coupler box these couplers would mate with Kadee’s even though the 1 with mounting screws, along literature from Proto- with brass train line air cocks, craft says they won’t. 2 two lengths of flexible tubing The instructions for the airhoses and brass glad also note that they hand castings (Photo 1). will mate with the The face of the knuckle San Juan delrin cou- castings will need to cleaned pler and some PSC up with a small file to remove non-working brass the flash left over from cut- couplers. However, ting the casting sprue off. Be I would suggest that certain to exam the coupler a modeler standard- 3 knuckle castings as the ones ize on one brand or I received were deformed. another for more sat- I didn’t pay much attention to this until I tried to couple isfying operations. them together and couldn’t because the deformed castings My layout was wouldn’t close and lock properly. A conversation with Norm designed for switch- via e-mail diagnosed the problem and he sent two replace- ing from the start ment knuckles, which solved the problem. Norm apparently and manual uncou- had a defective casting mold that he has now stopped using pling was part of that for production runs of the couplers. Anyone who has the plan from Day 1. At sixty dollars plus for five pairs, they might deformed knuckle castings can get a replacement part by be a bit pricey for those with many cars to convert, but if you contacting Protocraft. The supplied instructions are very clear are just starting out in O Scale or have a small roster of equip- and cover the assembly process in detail. The modeler is cau- ment, these couplers are hard to beat. Protocraft has won me tioned not to remove too much material or to file the inden- over as a convert. tations on the lift pins as doing so may affect the coupler’s

52 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Review: Wood Bent Trestle Kit #TJK-4DSO; MSRP: $89.65 Black Bear Construction Co., PO Box 26911, Austin, TX 78755 512-467-8400 • www.blackbearcc.com

Reviewed by Joe Giannovario 1

If you study the Abingdon Branch of the N&W one of the first things you will notice is the unusual number of trestles and bridges. There are 108 over the 70-mile run, which has got to be some sort of record. The majority of these are tim- ber trestles, so I knew I had to build at least one trestle for the new OST layout (see Starting Over - Part 2 in this issue). The thought of scratchbuilding a timber trestle was intimi- dating until I found the website for the Black Bear Construc- tion Company. They offer trestle-building kits in a variety of configurations that contain everything you need to construct the trestle. What makes their kits special are two things: the construction jig that comes with the kit, and the Mt. Albert stripwood in 24” lengths. 2 Black Bear offers 4, 5, 6, and 8 leg bent designs in O Scale for both narrow and standard gauge. I chose a 4-leg standard gauge design based on a photo I found of an N&W trestle under construction. Photo 1 shows the kit as received. I also ordered the optional Nut-Bolt-Washer (NBW) casting kit ($10.00) shown. You start a trestle bent by cutting the bent’s legs to the correct angle using the bottom edge of the jig (Photo 2). You then flip the legs over and glue them to the top cap of the bent. The length of the cap is measured at the top of the jig so it is just a matter of measure and chop. I used a gel-based CA to glue all the wood together so I would not have to wait for the glue to dry. Once you determine how tall your bent needs to be you trim the leg length, again using the jig to hold the legs at the correct angle. When that is done, you use the jig to measure the hori- zontal cross braces and CA those in place on one side, flip the bent over and do the other side. The last bit of assembly is to add the diagonal braces on both sides. It takes more 3 time to sort out the different pieces of stripwood needed than to do the assembly. Photo 3 shows a completed bent before staining and before adding the NBW castings. It took me about 20 min- utes to make the first bent. The rest took about 10 minutes each. Drilling the bents for the NBW castings and inserting the castings took the most time of all the steps but the end result is worth it. I will provide a more detailed description of how I installed the trestle in a future installment of Start- ing Over. The kit provides enough material to build 7 bents (about a 30” long trestle) and you can buy more wood from Black Bear if you need to make a longer trestle. The instructions were pretty straightforward and the jig makes building a trestle a snap. I am extremely pleased with the results. Black Bear also makes wooden arch, truss and deck bridge kits with assembly jigs. You can also buy just materi- als packs or assembly jigs alone for any of their kits. Check out their website for all the details.

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 53 standards years ago. I started with .115 wheel sets. They Standards Times Three: 1 looked great but ran very poorly due to existing track There has been a lot of talk about wheel profile and standards. I then migrated to .145 wheel sets, the best track gauge in the magazine the lately and I have read compromise I could find. Looks pretty good, runs fine. these articles with interest. They have made me think Thanks to the good folks at NWSL for making all about just what kind of modeler I am and about my real the products available. Thank you for the push. Best to desires as a modeler. Gary. So here is the question: What is a P48 modeler and Jesse Patton, Spicewood, TX am I one? I think I can say yes! What do I mean? To ...And A 3 me the track gauge and the wheels is the major issue. I In the current issue of O Scale Trains Magazine you just can’t do the 5’ gauge thing nor can I do typical O ponder about the history behind the selection of 1:48 scale wheels and I have a very hard time with non-scale rather then 1:45 for American O Scale. Let me suggest couplers. So from that stand point I’m definitely a P48 an answer. Back in the early days of the hobby, there modeler. were no scale rulers available and the closest was the Where I feel I deviate from the typical P48 modeler triangular rule used by draftsmen. The 1/4” to the foot is in the fact that I do not have to build a model after scale was close so modelers used it. a specific prototype but can build a freelance model As for P48 flextrack. If Ed Duddy’s dies would work as long as it follow prototype practices. My logging with code 125 rail, I for one would purchase a couple caboose in Mar/Apr 2009 issue and my flatcar in the of hundred feet of it. While handlaid track is easier to Sept/Oct 2009 issue are examples those type of models. replicate specific configurations of track, handlaying Many have the idea that in order to be a P48 mod- hidden track or a staging yard appears to me to be an eler one is limited to only prototype specific models. I experience similar to a visit to the dentist. Thanks for a don’t believe that to be true. Don’t get me wrong I do very good magazine. build models of specific prototypes and these are built Lawton Maner, Williamsburg, VA as true to the prototype as possible and I enjoy those challenges. But I find the freedom of building a free- Prototype Prefab Switches lance model just as challenging. Actually in some ways Author Gene Clements, in his article concerning pre- more, as that kind of modeling requires designing as fabricated turnouts and track panels is correct in think- well as building. ing that the prototype got the idea for prefabricated Bottom Line: I feel that using correct wheels and turnouts from model railroading. Although it wasn’t the track gauge is the most important aspect of finescale prototype railroads that used the idea but the design and specifically P48 modeling whether it’s a prototype came out of The Bethlehem Steel Company’s Frog and specific model or a freelance one. Thank for some inter- Switch Division. esting articles that gave me some food for thought. My father-in law, R. M. Frey, was Chief Engineer for Bill Davis that Division. He was in my basement one day and I Mike replies: Bill touches on a point that needs to be was working with an Atlas prefab turnout (probably clarified further. Does P48 modeling only involve build- about 1972 as I didn’t move to O Scale until1974). He ing models of specific prototypes? The answer is: No. picked up that turnout, kept rolling it over and look- Many have this impression of P48 and nothing could be ing at it and finally put it down. He didn’t say much further from the truth. And while some might want to but I could tell from his expression that the wheels extend the definition to all aspects of modeling, some- were turning. Several months later he invited me into thing I have been guilty of myself, P48 only defines the their shop floor and there lay a turnout in three pieces, track and wheel standards. each separated by about a foot. Also sitting there was a specially modified gondola car into which they were ...And A 2... preparing to load the turnout. I believe this was the first Appreciate your thoughts regarding standards. I am prefabricated turnout shipped to a customer. Sorry to a member of a national-international standards board- say I don’t know which railroad was the customer? (I’d IEEE/ANSI, and have been for over 20 years. (There are like to think it was the PRR!) some great modelers there also.) “Dad” Frey received the patent for both the turnout One must remember that a standard is a dynamic and the modified gondola both of which were assigned thing, not static. Things and products change, so stan- to Bethlehem Steel and for which he was paid One dards must adapt. We use a 5-year sunset rule: reaffirm Dollar each. it or lose it. Any standard over five years old should be Dad Frey was an unsung hero to those of us who reviewed. Good for the NMRA also. They should follow love track work. He was an AREA Member and much the same guidelines. of the design for the rebuilding of Penn Station, Union I have adapted products that follow Gary’s proposed Station in DC and the various yards, station, and track 54 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 work for BART was accomplished under his supervi- times and, as with each issue, I keep finding myself sion. Thanks Gene for a great article. wanting to contact you so I can extend my warmest George Eschbach, East Berlin, PA thanks for all you and Mike are doing for our hobby. I Gene replies: Thank you very much for your com- love everything in each issue, all of it and as a “trying ments concerning your father-in-law Mr. R.M. Frey and to be” P48er... well of course all the P48 stuff keeps me his work at Bethlehem Steel. I know in times past I have hooked in. seen the track gangs build complete turnouts in place But then with this issue to have the new series with close to their installation site from what appeared to be the “master” Tom Mix. This is the greatest for me. I am kits and ribbon rail. I often thought a company such as trying really hard to build the simplest of models, to Bethlehem Steel provided these kits. improve my basic skills. I guess I aspire to heights quite Change in the railroad industry is certain. Turnouts beyond my current skills and then I buy a brass model being shop built by the railroad or a private company, and it is feat sometimes just to figure out how to unpack shipped to the installation site, assembled and then and repack the damn thing. It was done by someone installed with a minimum down time for the track itself with skills unknown to me and is somehow harder than reflect this. Again thanks for you comment; I hope you any scratchbuilt project. Strangely, I love all this chal- continue to enjoy O Scale Trains Magazine as much as lenge and, odder yet, I seem to like this thing I do with we do in presenting the articles to the reader. all these almost un-seeable tiny little parts that go fly- ing out of the tweezer’s grip just at the wrong moment, Hard Coal sending me crawling all around on the floor (some I truly appreciate seeing Captain Tom Mix’s magnifi- times for hours) mumbling and grump-ling. Then to see cent brass work in the magazine. For a long time I have what Tom does (and others) I am reinvigorated to keep admired his high level of craftsmanship whenever I see on modeling. I guess if I never get the knack of the re- it in print. I’m looking forward to learning more about pack thing I suppose I might have to leave those models working with brass from his series. out where I can keep my eye on them, where they draw Also, I appreciate Mr. Ed Burnett’s comments on my me back to my workbench for lot more very satisfying B&O coal dump trestle article. Perhaps I should have modeling hours. indicated in the article that I am a “Northeasterner” Maybe my skills will grow, and maybe not, but noth- born and raised, where hard coal was the norm for ing will deter my love for this hobby. It wouldn’t be the home and small business use. Agreed, other areas of great hobby that it is without the part you are doing to the USA likely did not have the same access to this fuel keep us all so informed. My most solid thank you and and used what was locally available. I apologize for appreciation, showing such bias in how coal was marketed, being Alan Vivanco, Wenatchee, WA only familiar with what I experienced living on Staten Island many decades ago. Novelty vs. B&B? One thing about which Mr. Bennett (or anyone else) Much thanx for another excellent issue of O Scale may help me know more. I grew up during the 1940s Trains Magazine. I particularly liked the articles about and 50s in a family-owned bakery that used a large, the G&D engine house and the N&M freight house coal fired, brick arch oven. I can’t think of how soft (OST#48). Its good to see how simple materials used to coal could be used in one like it, since the draft of our build a typical railroad structure combine to produce a oven’s fire passed directly over the items being baked realistic effect. from the firebed in one corner, to the chimney dia- Concerning the notes about building the freight metrically opposite. Smoke and gas were minimal with house, the text mentions using commercial board and anthracite. Even at that, we had to wait a while after batten siding for the structure. Should that not be nov- putting coal on the fire. Using an ashpit blower through elty siding rather than board and batten? Either way, the firebed helped the fire clear faster to provide clean, the structure would be a dynamite addition to any rail- even, direct heat for baking the bread, rolls, cakes, pies road scene. and pastries. Thank you for publishing the scale drawings of the Was a baker’s oven that used soft coal designed dif- N&M freight house. The drawings, along with the ferently? Perhaps it had a firebed underneath the oven photos of the prototype, make it possible for modelers floor instead of beside it? Ever curious and with thanks to print their own cardstock ”kit” similar to the G&D in advance, enginehouse offering, opening up an inexpensive way Ed Bommer, OK to add structures to their layout. Casey Sterbenz, Crofton, MD Mix Is Tops I’m a subscriber out here on the west coast and, by golly, yesterday your fine publication arrived. Thank you so much. I must have read it through two or more Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 55 56 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 ASSEMBLED TWIN WHISTLE SIGN & KIT CO. BUILDINGS ARE 31 Turnberry Dr., Arden, NC 28704 (828) 684-6785 AVAILABLE! Kit: $69.95 Laser-Cut Body 2 Billboards 2 Gas Pumps 1 1934 Guitar 1 Rocking Chair Many Castings Assorted Graphics 12.5”l x 4.5”w x 4”h Buy Directly from our e-store! e-mail: WWW. TWINWHISTLE.COM [email protected]

2010 O SCALE NATIONAL CONVENTION

Why Attend? Up to 300 trading tables of 2-rail O scale items, about 40 home and club layouts open, banquet, Cali- fornia State Railroad Museum tour, contests, clinics, convention cars, O scale layouts on site, videos. Fly to a major western city and drive a DYI Grand Tour between there and the convention, visiting model and real railroads, muse- ums, national parks, and other attractions. Complete information is on the web site (see below). Convention sponsored and managed by O Scale West.

Where: Santa Clara, California (San Francisco area) When: June 30 - July 3, 2010 Location: Hyatt Regency Santa Clara Room rate: $109 plus tax for 1 - 4 occupancy, Regency rooms $145 + tax Registration: $35, $40 after April 30, registration includes spouse and children under 18 Table Rentals: 30" x 72" tables are $45, $50 after April 30, electrical hook-ups are free Banquet: Friday July 2, $50 per plate including gratuity and tax, sign up by June 20 Tour: Wednesday June 30, California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, $60 per person includes round trip train ride between Santa Clara and Sacramento, museum admission, sign up by June 1

Overall Schedule: June 27-July 4: layout visits June 30: register, set up, layout visits, videos, clinics, museum tour July 1-3: register, sales/exhibits, contests, layouts, clinics July 4-on layout visits Web Site: www.2010oscalenational.com E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 650-329-0424 please call between 9AM and 8PM Pacific time The registration form can be downloaded from the web site. To receive a paper form, send an LSSAE with 1 oz. of postage to: Registration Form, 2010 O Scale National, 876 Boyce Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301-3003.

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 57 Index for O Scale Trains Magazine: Volume 7 Jan 2008 to Dec 2008 Sorted by Author Giannovario, Joe Review: SP AM-2 4-6-6-2 by Sunset 3rd Rail OST #38 59 Author Title Issue # Page Giannovario, Joe Review: Typhoon Track Cleaning Car by Aztec Mfg Co OST #41 52 Becker, Dirk Tillamook Spruce Company: an On30 Logging RR OST #37 10 Giannovario, Joe Review: USRA 40’ Single-Sheathed Boxcar OST #40 58 Bommer, Edward F Fine Tuning the Golden gate Depot B&O Pullman OST #38 21 Giannovario, Joe Review: White WC22 Dump truck 1:50 OST #36 51 Brechbiel, Martin Building Clugston’s Store - Pt I OST #36 11 Giannovario, Joe Review: Wood-sided Passenger Set OST #39 52 Brechbiel, Martin Trolley Snowplow for the CG&W OST #41 9 Giannovario, Joe Review: Treeline Background #R017 by SceniKing OST #40 59 Brechbiel & Reutling Building a Simple Wooden Trestle OST #37 18 Gribler, Ron Two Quick Projects-1: Steel Key Stock for Car Weights OST #39 22 Brothers, Gerald Sweeper/Track Cleaner OST #38 52 Gribler, Ron Two Quick Projects-2: Wabash Gondola OST #39 22 Brown, Ben Building a Portable End-of-Train Device OST #41 17 Grosser, Ray MTH DCS to DCC Conversion OST #40 17 Brown, Ben Chemung Northern Story OST #36 4 Grosser, Ray Soo Line Door-and-a-half Boxcar OST #36 22 Byrne, Ted Miniature LED Lights by Richmond Controls OST #39 53 Grosser, Ray Spiff UP Your P&D Tower Drive OST #37 17 Byrne, Ted Powering Up (col): Block Detection in O Scale OST #40 15 Grosser, Ray Spring Loaded Power Pickup OST #39 13 Byrne, Ted Powering Up (col): Short Story about Short Circuits OST #36 47 Grosser, Ray & Renee Applying a Stucco Finish OST #41 22 Clements, Gene Alco C630 Diesel by Atlas O LLC Gold Series OST #38 61 Grosser, Ray & Renee Scratchbuilding Grandma’s and Grandpa’s House OST #38 10 Clements, Gene Crossing Signals: Model CS-2 by Custom Signals OST #40 56 Hill, Jim Anniversary Billboard Reefer 4-Pack by Atlas O LLC OST #38 60 Clements, Gene K-Line Bombardier Commuter Car 2-Rail Conversion OST #41 39 Hirailer, Hobo D Confessions of a HiRailer (col): Coming to Terms with O Scale OST #37 29 Clements, Gene MILW Rib Sided Caboose by Weaver OST #39 50 Hirailer, Hobo D Confessions of a HiRailer (col): End of the Line OST #39 25 Clements, Gene Modern Image (col): Feeding the Red Birds OST #40 31 Hirailer, Hobo D Confessions of a HiRailer (col): In Living Color OST #38 25 Clements, Gene Modern Image (col): Power by the Hour OST #37 39 Hirailer, Hobo D Confessions of a HiRailer (col): Sticky Business OST #36 25 Clements, Gene Modern Image (col): Railroad Flatcars OST #38 27 Houle, Tom Building an Adirondack Car & Foundry Box Cab OST #37 49 Clements, Gene Modern Image (col): Red-Yellow-Green What does it mean? OST #41 25 Jogwich, Bernd Everywhere West! A Modular Layout from Germany OST #38 4 Clements, Gene Modern Image (col): Researching the Prototype OST #39 27 Keck, Harv Review: DCC-equipped On30 4-4-0 by Bachmann OST #39 49 Clements, Gene Modern Image (col): Specialty Trains OST #36 34 Kendall, William Introduction to Soldering OST #40 49 Clements, Gene Modern Loads for the Weaver Flatcar OST #38 29 Kline, Larry Postwar AAR Boxcars OST #36 31 Clements, Gene Railroad Never Sleeps (The) OST #40 55 Lavezzi, Bob In Search of the Second Phoebe Snow OST #37 62 Clements, Gene Sound decoder & Programmer by QSI Quantum OST #36 52 Leverknight, Bob Budget Piece of Brass OST #41 27 Clements & Mix Universal Sound Decoders for O Scale OST #40 53 Levitsky, Myron Sweeper Suggestions OST #41 30 Cougill, Michael ACF 50’ Boxcars by Atlas O LLC Trainman Series OST #38 57 Madonna Jr, Richard Panel-Side 55-ton Hopper by Atlas O LLC OST #40 55 Cougill, Michael Review: Advanced Terrain Modeling OST #41 51 Mathews, J W More on SP Caboose Review OST #37 32 Cougill, Michael Review: Airslide 40’ Covered Hopper OST #38 58 Miller, Rod Custom builder Jerry White OST #36 42 Cougill, Michael Art of Finescale (col): Getting Started in P48 OST #37 15 Mix, Tom Working/Shifting Valve Gear OST #39 17 Cougill, Michael Art of Finescale (col): Keeping Track OST #36 18 Morrill, Charlie Boxcar-to-Caboose Conversion OST #40 41 Cougill, Michael Art of Finescale (col): Measuring Up OST #41 15 Nance, Jim About Those Woodside Cars OST #41 30 Cougill, Michael Art of Finescale (col): Modeling Roads OST #38 9 Parker, Roger C Favorite New RR Books of the Past Few Years OST #37 23 Cougill, Michael Art of Finescale (col): Odd Couple & Scratchbuilding OST #40 13 Parker, Roger C Review: Railroads of Pennsylvania by Solomon OST #41 53 Cougill, Michael Art of Finescale (col): Trees OST #39 7 Parker, Roger C Traction Action (col): Info for Boston Traction Modelers OST #38 19 Cougill, Michael DCC Wireless Dynamis Systrem by Bachmann OST #40 61 Parker, Roger C Traction Action (col): Learning from the Loop OST #39 20 Cougill, Michael Review: Interior kits for Atlas/Intermountain Boxcars OST #36 53 Parker, Roger C Traction Action (col): P&N #5600; Aroostook Valley OST #36 20 Cougill, Michael Pieces of the Puzzle-Conclusion (Pt 3) OST #39 37 Parker, Roger C Traction Action (col): Visit with Bill Brandt OST #40 26 Cougill, Michael Pieces of the Puzzle-Pt 1 OST #37 42 Parker, Roger C Traction Action (col): What to do with your excess models OST #41 20 Cougill, Michael Pieces of the Puzzle-Pt 2 OST #38 42 Peterson, Eric G More on Standards OST #41 32 Cougill, Michael Simple Styrene Cutter OST #37 60 Pitogo, Mike DCS Commander control unit by MTH Electric Trains OST #40 62 Cougill, Michael Weathering Stains by Dr. Ben OST #40 57 Purin, Charles C Toivo’s Garage: Kitbashing Clever Models Quonset Hut OST #38 17 Deimling, Gene Scratchbuilding with Prototype Drawings OST #41 45 Reutling, Ed Build a GATX Whale Belly Covered Hopper OST #39 41 Divizio, Rich Weathering an O Scale (Covered) Hopper OST #40 4 Roberts, John Home Layouts & Clinics at East Wind ‘08 OST #37 64 Elms, Greg Review: Trainman Bay Window Caboose OST #39 51 Roberts, John Layouts planned at East Wind ‘08 OST #38 64 Giannovario, Joe Review: CPR Empress H-1b 4-6-4 by Weaver Models OST #37 58 Roberts, John Schedule of Events at East Wind ‘08 OST #39 45 Giannovario, Joe Convert the MTH Woodside Passenger Car to 2-Rail OST #39 9 Romano, Andy Custom Backgrounds for Train Layouts OST #38 46 Giannovario, Joe Review: EMD F2 & F3 Diesels by Atlas O OST #41 54 Romano, Andy Running O Scale Trains with On-Board Power OST #37 25 Giannovario, Joe Review: EMD MP15DC by Atlas O OST #40 60 Rossiter, Neville Bay Ridge Harbor RR Cab Control System OST #36 27 Giannovario, Joe Images of the Past-Art & Artistry of Dan & Armando Vargas OST #37 4 Rossiter, Neville Steel Rails OST #39 4 Giannovario, Joe Much Ado About Corners - Pt 1: The Factory OST #41 4 Rossiter, Neville Workshop (col): Brick Pillars OST #38 33 Giannovario, Joe Review: N&W/VGN Wood & Steel Cabooses by Kohs OST #36 54 Rossiter, Neville Workshop (col): Flour Unloading Facility OST #40 45 Giannovario, Joe Observations (col): 3-Rail Scale vs 2-Rail scale vs Toys OST #36 70 Rossiter, Neville Workshop (col): Paint Caddy OST #39 29 Giannovario, Joe Observations (col): In Defense of Manufacturers OST #37 70 Scace, Brian Easements for the Learning Curve (col): Scace’s Laws OST #36 9 Giannovario, Joe Observations (col): More on kit building OST #39 62 Scace, Brian Review: EMD SD-40 by Atlas O LLC OST #36 55 Giannovario, Joe Observations (col): Return of the Kit? OST #38 70 Scace, Brian Lionel PS-4 TOFC Flat Cvsn by Norm’s O Scale OST #36 53 Giannovario, Joe Observations (col): Standards, Standards? OST #40 70 Scace, Brian Tricks N Tips (col): Replacement Diesel Drive Components OST #38 15 Giannovario, Joe Observations (col): I Get It (3 Rail Scale) OST #41 66 Staff 2008 (O Scale Nat’l) Convention Highlights OST #40 38 Giannovario, Joe Review: Practical Guide to Digital Command Control OST #41 55 Staff 2008 Chicago March Meet Contest Results OST #38 62 Giannovario, Joe Review: PRR K4s #3768 Streamlined by MTH OST #37 59 Staff 2009 O Scale Convention OST #41 59 Giannovario, Joe Review: Russian Decapod 2-10-0 by MTH OST #41 56 Staff O Scale West 2008 Contest Photos OST #39 54 58 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 More on SP Caboose Review Mathews, J W OST #37 32 Sorted by Title More on Standards Peterson, Eric G OST #41 32 Title Author Issue # Page MTH DCS to DCC Conversion Grosser, Ray OST #40 17 2008 (O Scale Nat’l) Convention Highlights Staff OST #40 38 Much Ado About Corners - Pt 1: The Factory Giannovario, Joe OST #41 4 2008 Chicago March Meet Contest Results Staff OST #38 62 N&W/VGN Wood & Steel Cabooses by Kohs Giannovario, Joe OST #36 54 2009 O Scale Convention Staff OST #41 59 O Scale West 2008 Contest Photos Staff OST #39 54 About Those Woodside Cars Nance, Jim OST #41 30 Observations (col): 3-Rail vs 2-Rail vs Toys Giannovario, Joe OST #36 70 ACF 50’ Boxcars by Atlas O Cougill, Michael OST #38 57 Observations (col): In Defense of Manufacturers Giannovario, Joe OST #37 70 Advanced Terrain Modeling Cougill, Michael OST #41 51 Observations (col): Return of the Kit? Giannovario, Joe OST #38 70 Airslide 40’ Covered Hopper by Atlas O Cougill, Michael OST #38 58 Observations (col): More on kit building Giannovario, Joe OST #39 62 Alco C630 Diesel by Atlas O LLC Gold Series Clements, Gene OST #38 61 Observations (col): Standards, Standards? Giannovario, Joe OST #40 70 Anniversary Billboard Reefer 4-Pack Hill, Jim OST #38 60 Observations (col): I Get It (3 Rail Scale) Giannovario, Joe OST #41 66 Applying a Stucco Finish Grosser, Ray & Renee OST #41 22 Panel-Side 55-ton Hopper by Atlas O LLC Madonna Jr, Richard OST #40 55 Art of Finescale (col): Getting Started in P48 Cougill, Michael OST #37 15 Pieces of the Puzzle-Conclusion (Pt 3) Cougill, Michael OST #39 37 Art of Finescale (col): Keeping Track Cougill, Michael OST #36 18 Pieces of the Puzzle-Pt 1 Cougill, Michael OST #37 42 Art of Finescale (col): Measuring Up Cougill, Michael OST #41 15 Pieces of the Puzzle-Pt 2 Cougill, Michael OST #38 42 Art of Finescale (col): Modeling Roads Cougill, Michael OST #38 9 Postwar AAR Boxcars Kline, Larry OST #36 31 Art of Finescale (col): Odd Couple & Scratchbuilding Cougill, Michael OST #40 13 Powering Up (col): Block Detection in O Scale Byrne, Ted OST #40 15 Art of Finescale (col): Trees Cougill, Michael OST #39 7 Powering Up (col): Short Story about Short Circuits Byrne, Ted OST #36 47 Bay Ridge Harbor RR Cab Control System Rossiter, Neville OST #36 27 Practical Guide to Digital Command Control Giannovario, Joe OST #41 55 Bay Window Caboose; 2R Trainman Series Elms, Greg OST #39 51 PRR K4s #3768 Streamlined 4-6-2 Giannovario, Joe OST #37 59 Boxcar-to-Caboose Conversion Morrill, Charlie OST #40 41 Railroad Never Sleeps (The) Clements, Gene OST #40 55 Budget Piece of Brass Leverknight, Bob OST #41 27 Railroads of Pennsylvania by Solomon Parker, Roger C OST #41 53 Build a GATX Whale Belly Covered Hopper Reutling, Ed OST #39 41 Running O Scale Trains with On-Board Power Romano, Andy OST #37 25 Building a Portable End-of-Train Device Brown, Ben OST #41 17 Russian Decapod 2-10-0 by MTH Electric Trains Giannovario, Joe OST #41 56 Building a Simple Wooden Trestle Brechbiel & Reutling OST #37 18 Schedule of Events at East Wind ‘08 Roberts, John OST #39 45 Building an Adirondack Car & Foundry Box Cab Houle, Tom OST #37 49 Scratchbuilding Grandma’s and Grandpa’s House Grosser, Ray & Renee OST #38 10 Building Clugston’s Store - Pt I Brechbiel, Martin OST #36 11 Scratchbuilding with Prototype Drawings Deimling, Gene OST #41 45 CPR Empress H-1b 4-6-4 by Weaver Models Giannovario, Joe OST #37 58 Simple Styrene Cutter Cougill, Michael OST #37 60 Chemung Northern Story Brown, Ben OST #36 4 Soo Line Door-and-a-half Boxcar Grosser, Ray OST #36 22 Coming to Terms with O Scale Hirailer, Hobo D OST #37 29 Sound decoder & Programmer by QSI Quantum Clements, Gene OST #36 52 Confessions of a HiRailer (col): End of the Line Hirailer, Hobo D OST #39 25 SP AM-2 4-6-6-2 by Sunset 3rd Rail Giannovario, Joe OST #38 59 Confessions of a HiRailer (col): In Living Color Hirailer, Hobo D OST #38 25 Spiff UP Your P&D Tower Drive Grosser, Ray OST #37 17 Confessions of a HiRailer (col): Sticky Business Hirailer, Hobo D OST #36 25 Spring Loaded Power Pickup Grosser, Ray OST #39 13 Convert the MTH Woodside Passenger Car to 2-Rail Giannovario, Joe OST #39 9 Steel Rails Rossiter, Neville OST #39 4 Crossing Signals: Model CS-2 by Custom Signals Clements, Gene OST #40 56 Sweeper Suggestions Levitsky, Myron OST #41 30 Custom Backgrounds for Train Layouts Romano, Andy OST #38 46 Sweeper/Track Cleaner Brothers, Gerald OST #38 52 Custom builder Jerry White Miller, Rod OST #36 42 Tillamook Spruce Company: an On30 Logging RR Becker, Dirk OST #37 10 DCC Wireless Dynamis Systrem by Bachmann Cougill, Michael OST #40 61 Toivo’s Garage: Kitbashing Clever’s Quonset Hut Purin, Charles C OST #38 17 DCC-equipped On30 4-4-0 by Bachmann Keck, Harv OST #39 49 Traction Action (col): Info Boston Traction Modelers Parker, Roger C OST #38 19 DCS Commander by MTH Electric Trains Pitogo, Mike OST #40 62 Traction Action (col): Learning from the Loop Parker, Roger C OST #39 20 Easements for the Learning Crv (col): Scace’s Laws Scace, Brian OST #36 9 Traction Action (col): P&N #5600; Aroostook Valley Parker, Roger C OST #36 20 EMD F2 & F3 Diesels by Atlas O LLC Giannovario, Joe OST #41 54 Traction Action (col): Visit with Bill Brandt Parker, Roger C OST #40 26 EMD MP15DC Diesel Locomotive by Atlas O LLC Giannovario, Joe OST #40 60 Traction Action (col): What to do with your xs models Parker, Roger C OST #41 20 EMD SD-40 by Atlas O LLC Scace, Brian OST #36 55 Treeline Background #R017 by SceniKing Giannovario OST #40 59 Everywhere West! A Modular Layout from Germany Jogwich, Bernd OST #38 4 Tricks N Tips (col): Replacement Diesel Drive Scace, Brian OST #38 15 Favorite New RR Books of the Past Few Years Parker, Roger C OST #37 24 Trolley Snowplow for the CG&W Brechbiel, Martin OST #41 9 Fine Tuning the Golden gate Depot B&O Pullman Bommer, Edward F OST #38 21 Two Quick Projects-1: Steel Key Stock Car Weights Gribler, Ron OST #39 22 Home Layouts & Clinics at East Wind ‘08 Roberts, John OST #37 64 Two Quick Projects-2: Wabash Gondola Gribler, Ron OST #39 22 Images of the Past-Art & Artistry of Dan & Armando Vargas Typhoon Track Cleaning Car by Aztec Mfg Co Giannovario, Joe OST #41 52 Giannovario, Joe OST #37 4 Universal Sound Decoders for O Scale Clements & Mix OST #40 53 In Search of the Second Phoebe Snow Lavezzi, Bob OST #37 62 USRA 40’ Single-Sheathed Boxcar by MTH Giannovario, Joe OST #40 58 Interior kits for Atlas/Intermountain Boxcars Cougill, Michael OST #36 53 Weathering an O Scale (Covered) Hopper Divizio, Rich OST #40 4 Introduction to Soldering Kendall, William OST #40 49 Weathering Stains by Dr. Ben Cougill, Michael OST #40 57 K-Line Bombardier Commuter Car 2-Rail Conversion Clements, Gene OST #41 39 White WC22 Dump truck 1:50 scale by SpecCast Giannovario, Joe OST #36 51 Layouts planned at East Wind ‘08 Roberts, John OST #38 64 Wood-sided Passenger Set by MTH Giannovario, Joe OST #39 52 Lionel PS-4 TOFC Flat Cvsn by Norm’s O Scale Scace, Brian OST #36 53 Working/Shifting Valve Gear Mix, Tom OST #39 17 MILW Rib Sided Caboose by Weaver Clements, Gene OST #39 50 Workshop (col): Brick Pillars Rossiter, Neville OST #38 33 Miniature LED Lights by Richmond Controls Byrne, Ted OST #39 53 Workshop (col): Flour Unloading Facility Rossiter, Neville OST #40 45 Modern Image (col): Feeding the Red Birds Clements, Gene OST #40 31 Workshop (col): Paint Caddy Rossiter, Neville OST #39 29 Modern Image (col): Power by the Hour Clements, Gene OST #37 39 Modern Image (col): Railroad Flatcars Clements, Gene OST #38 27 Modern Image (col): Red-Yellow-Green Clements, Gene OST #41 25 Visit www.oscalemag.com and click on the “Free Downloads” Modern Image (col): Researching the Prototype Clements, Gene OST #39 27 link to find our All-Time Article Index and our All-Time Review Modern Image (col): Specialty Trains Clements, Gene OST #36 34 Index. Modern Loads for the Weaver Flatcar Clements, Gene OST #38 29 Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 59 2010 O Scale National Convention

Why Attend?Neil Up to 300 Chichizola’s trading tables, clinics, tour ofLayout the California State Railroad Museum, videos, convention car, contests, six O modular layouts on site, about 40 home and club layouts open for visiting ,fly into/out of a major westernCross, city and drive B.C. a Grand Models Tour between and thereCurley to and/or Bellaver. from the These passenger trains have been a conventionBy and visitJ. Neil dozens modelChichizola and real railroads, national parks, and other attractions.fascinating Convention sponsored and time and managed consuming by O Scale project,West. but add the finishing touch to the Where: Railroads,Santa Clara, and California the (San Southern Francisco Bay Pacific Area) in particu- layout. When: June 30 - July 3, 2010 I still continue to build and upgrade equipment. There is always some Location:lar, capturedHyatt Regency me Santain the Clara. mid-1940s Room rate: $109 when plus tax forsteam 1 - 4 occupancy Registration:ran all $35,day, $40 every after May day, 31, registration up and includes down spouse the andSan children Fran under- little18 thing to add to the layout and maintenance, though not frequent, also Table ciscoRental: Peninsula30" x 72" tables and are$45, the $50 entire after May S.P. 31. Electricalsystem. hook-ups There are free has to be done. I do have metal wheelsets on everything, which tends to Banquet: Fri. July 2, $50 per plate including gratuity and tax, sign up by June 20 keep the track quite clean. O Scale trains are heavy and do tend to move Tour: was somethingWed. June 30, about California the State mass Railroad and Museum, scale Sacto., of $60 rail per- person, incl train to/from Sacto. and admission, sign up by June 1 Web Site:roads thatwww.2010oscalenational.com I couldn’t resist or get enough of! things around a bit. It is especially nice to be able to enter the room, duck E-mail: [email protected] being involved in HO Scale for years, I under the railroad truss bridge, flip on the power and just run trains when- Telephone:was bitten650-329-0424, by the please O Scale call between bug 9AM in andBob 8PM DuPont’s Pacific time ever you feel like it.

A freePeninsula newsletter with Hobbiesregistration information around will 1991. be available The on restthe website is his for- downloadNeil’s after February layout 1, 2010. is Toone receive of aover hardcopy, 30 send local an layouts that will be open for visiting LSSAEtory with 2oz.now. of postage to: 2010 O Scale National, 876 Boyce Avenue, Palo Alto, CAduring 94301-3003. the 2010 O Scale National Convention. To make it possible for first After collecting O Scale equipment and time visitors to see many of them, they will be open from Sunday June 27 buildings for a number of years, I decided it was through Sunday July 4. time to build a layout. I knew I would not have For more information about the layouts and the convention please visit a huge amount of room to do a railroad, but I the convention website at [www.2010oscalenational.com]. u found just enough space to run trains and do some switching at industries. After constructing the room, I got the benchwork up and started laying track according to my plan. I decided to use Old Pullman flextrack and their handlaid switches with manuel throws. This kept things simple and gave me more time to construct buildings and rolling stock. Once the railroad was up and running well, it was time for scenery. I had known Dan and Armando Vargas of Images of The Past for a num- ber of years. They told me to contact them when I was ready for scenery and they would take it from there. What a trip it was transforming an around-the-room railroad into a series of scenes. Now trains appear to be coming from some- where and continuing on to somewhere else. The Vargas Brothers did their magic and trans- formed my railroad into another world. I am still discovering details around the layout two years later. We now have lights in buildings and streets, T-31 2354 makes a local run from the south end of the yard. automobiles and trucks placed around, and people all over going about life. The trains are the stars, but the details are the supporting cast. I like to keep things simple, so I am using an Aristocraft radio control system to run two sepa- rate trains and a third cab to operate the yard tracks. The one thing we lack is sound because of the cost of installing it in all the locomotives. Motive power consists of both steam and diesel locomotives, all S.P. of course. Some are brass imports, some built from brass kits and upgraded, and some are old chestnuts like Lobaugh and Scale Craft that were upgraded. Many of the locomotives are weathered. Rolling stock is a mix of brass, wood and metal, and plastic. Some are imports, but most are scratchbuilt, kitbashed or kit built. Passenger trains consist of one heavy weight train, plus a Daylight Train courtesy of Lou Cross and Cur- ley Bellaver, and a Lark Train courtesy of Lou Alco RSD-5 enters the main line at Vargas Junction headed for the yard. 60 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Jus Golden Gate Depot K-Line Circus ’09 Williams Trains 2009 Lionel Product Trains IN-STOCK Golden Memories Vision Line Info (302) 453-0465 F-3 AA $239 ABA $335 Orders (888) 453-9742 18” Heavyweight Car 89 Wab,IC,B&O,MR,Sou,NH,RG,CP #70 CT, Advert x2, Obs x 2 WP, SF Red/Sil, SF Blk/Red, TS, NYC PRR 0-8-8-0 CC2s Steam 1399 *Mon-Fri 9-6* 21688 18” Heavywt Coach 2Pk 177 15” Aluminum 4-Pk 229 2-Pk 119 Fax Orders (302) 368-6447 NYC 21” 6-pk 575 2-Pk 259 GG-1 Girls Freight Set 335 215 Newark Shopping Center Steam Girls Freight Set 379 SF 2-10-10-2 Steam 1799 Newark, DE 19711 GG-1 Girl’s Passenger Set 335 Buy both PRR & SF get $300 Most Orders over $200 Free Ship 18” Alum Animal Car 102 2-Pk 199 1520W F-3 Texas Special Set 285 Store open 7 days a week 1464W UP 50th Anniversary Set 320 MC VISA DISCOVER P70 20” Coach 4-Pk 399 2-car add-on $80 Full Set $395 PRR GG-1 Congressional Set 410 18” Aluminum Coach or Shop Car 119 Sunset/Third Rail LIRR, PRSL, PRR 12# 2-car add-on $115 Full Set $515 15” Aluminum Advertising Car 85 No Deposit on Reservations Heavyweight 20” 4-Pk 399 N&W 4-8-4 J Class Steam 259 GG-1 179 PRR x 4 GE ES44AC Evol Hybrid 699 NW-2 C&O, SF, Seabd 155 Die-Cast Shell Gold Unit Replica Set 38 Combo Flat w/Boxcar & wagon 45 Wood Gondola w/Cicus Equipment 48 22250 Dining Dept Billboard Reefer 65 CNW H-14-8-4 1245 FA-1 AA 225 B 80 ABA 299 UP 3GS21B Genset Switch 539 Combo Flat/Stock Car w/Wagon 38 Die-Cast, 3 smoke units Scale Dining Woodside Reefer 59 B&O, LV, L&N, NYC, PRR, RI, PRR 20” Head-End Set 359 SF,WM,LNE,GN Buy both diesels get $50 K-Line 2009 Product PA-1 AA 225 B 80 ABA 299 Op. Wind Turbine 3-Pk 185 SF, PRR, RG, UP, D&H, NYC, CP F-7 AA 205 B 70 ABA 269 Ethanol Tank 3-Pk, Sound 216 NYC. PLE H-10 2-8-2 1245 Pullman 12-1 Sleeper 109 Am, ACL, B&O, Burl, C&O, GN, Ethanol Tank 3-Pk 152 PRR & Pullman Broadway Lmt 18” 4-Pk 425 Lack, NH, PRR, UP Broadway Lmt 18” 2-Pk 222 PRR Op. Stock Car Sound 120 Shark AA 219 B 75 ABA 289 Can National Coal Train 639 B&O, D&H, PRR x 2, NYC, Demo

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AA16 NOHAB 3-R 399 2-R 449 ES44AC 399 385 169 GN, Denmark, GM Demo, Norway, VO1000 Power 259 NP, UP, Demo, CP, UP 7840 BNSF Patch Job -8, DC 299 Dash-8W CN, CSX, SF, UP Belgium, Luxembourg, Hungary Burl, Patapsco & Black Rivers 7841 BNSF Patch Job Dmy 195 Specialty Set 2008 Vol II RailKing Am. Freedom PA Passenger 599 Scale Size Diesel 255 Dmy 129 GE Evolution Hybrid Set 449/479 Dash 8 Conrail, CSX x 2, UP GN 2-8-8-2R-2 Freight Set 1399 NYC J1e Hudson Passenger 999 TRAXX F140 AC2 399 2R 449 7848 GE Demo Dash 8, DC 299 CNW E-4 Streamlined Pass 999 Demo, SBB Cargo, Veolia, Europe SP Cab Forward Freight Set 1389 C628 D&H, LV, N&W, SF U30C Chessie, MR, PRR, SP RailKing – Scale Size th 0-8-0 Steam Switcher 359 GP60M SF, DC 299 Erie Triplex Freight Set 1389 64’ 19 Century Coach 76 IC, Sou, NYC, NKP, NP, PLE LIRR, B&O 3-Pk 225 GP-9 USCG, FEC, PRR, SP 255 All Atlas Rolling Stock $25-$40 GP-35 PRR, NYC, GN, AK, GMO 2009 Dealer Appreciation C&O M-1 Stm Turbine Pass Set 899 Limited Quantities 20-3279-2N&W Class A 2-6-6-4 1150 MP-15AC CP, CSX, MR, UP 255 SD45 MR,GNx2,SF,UP UP DDA40X Diesel Loco 649 RS-11 DW&P, NYC, NP, PRR 255 PRR P5a Beer Train Set 819 R142A MTA Sub 5-pk 369 2-pk 125 ScaleTrax -INSTOCK 10” 3.00 O31 or O54 Curve 3.00 SD70ACe BHP Billiton, KCS, UP UP Pass 5pk 335 2pk 137 Vista 40 O72 3.75 O80 4.45 1 ¾” 4-Pk 7.75 BMT 2500 Subway 3-Car 399/269 30” Rigid or Flex 8.65 ITAD $23 K-Line 2-R Shay $499 90, 45 or 22.5 Xing 16 Op. Track 16 Lackawanna, PLC Remote Switch O31, O54 or O72 $38 SD70M-2 NS, CN R40 Subway 4-Car 445 2-Car 175 Engineering Version Orient 999 Switch #4 $44 #6 $51 Bumper 13 www.justrains.com Just TrainsTM Free Shipping over $200 on all Korber Orders (888) 453-9742 Made in USA www.justrains.com

302 One Stall Diesel Shed w/Shop 69 901 Action Machinery 6 x 8 25 917 Gen Lt & Power Sub Station 32 959 Midland Supply 8x6 35

304 3-Stall Roundhouse, 30”D 189 304A Xtra Stall or 304B Extender 45 960 John’s Cutlery 6x8 25 902 Jaybar Company 6 x 8 27 921 JLC Manufacturing 65

305 Sandhouse, 16 x 6 45 966 Lehigh Engineering 6 x 8 25

903 Skyline Steel 6 x 8 25

950 American Flag Co. 14x9 69 306 2-Stall Diesel Shed 25 x 11 69 306A Extender 12.5 x 11 27

967 Shoe Co. 7 skylts 20 x 9 x 11 69 905 Blackshear Refrig. Transport 59

307 3-Stall Trolley Barn 23 x 11 95

953 Joe’s Pickle Factory 14 x 9 69 968 Freight Terminal 8 x 15 49

908 Shanahan Freight 20 x 8 x 9H 75 308 Quincy Mining Co. 47

954 Buck Island Canning 8 x 12 59 969 Gen Lt & Pwr Office 6x13x12 65

310 Mitchell Textile Co. 39 911 Perfect Tool Co. 8 x 16 55

955 RJK Tool&Die9x14 55 P56 Cut Stone P81 Random Stone 10

912 Roller Bearing Co. 9 x 28 89 3115 Grain Silo, 7 x 34 x 22 H 135 P83 Concrete 10 P57 Double 13 957 Lewis & Sons Machine Shop 25

915 Quaker Foods 9 x 12 49 D929 Roof Top Water Tank D30 12 315 Grain Silo, 7 x 19 x 22 H 85 956 James Company 13 x 8 x 9H 55

New Modular System Kit 74.95 Unlimited configurations 24 walls 320 3-Stall Roundhouse 26” Deep 159 916 General Light & Power 48”L 175 958 Mill Works 11 x 7 w/Tower 49 Just Trains (888) 453-9742 Buy–Sell–Trade Buy-Sell-Trade ads are $5 for 30 words plus your address information. Additional words are $0.25 each. Subscribers are permitted one free ad per subscription cycle . All B-S-T ads are prepaid. You may send ads by postal service with a check or money order. Ads sent by email or called in must use a credit card. See our contact info on page 2. THE O SCALE KINGS are looking for new KY 42066. Call 270-247-0303 between 8 Weaver VO-1000, $200; PSC PRR 0-6-0 members. The present members are good am and 8 pm CST, or email [boyceyates@ FP, $975; Sunset NYC J-1e 4-6-4 FP, $875. but we need more good members. Send bellsouth.net]. Phone 423-772-4401, or write. Norm LSASE for “O Scale Trains Shows” flyer Reaume, 129 Hamby Rd, Roan Mt, TN and “Projects List” flyer to Bob Retallack, FOR SALE: New Sunset 2-Rail engines: 37687 Dept. OST, 2224 Adner Ct, Columbus, OH 2-Rail UP Big Boy, $1500; 2-Rail UP 43220. Challenger $1500, 2-rail UP 4-12-2 $1500, FOR SALE: Kohs GG1, Dark Green, 5 2-Rail B&O EM1 2-8-8-4, $1500. Email: stripe, Gold Leaf, Clarendon, Fixed coupler WANTED: Small N&W custom-built or [email protected], or call 505- #4821, TRO, beautiful condition, $2950; scratchbuilt steam. Especially looking for 898-6956. Westside Santa Fe Mikado, mechani- N&W 4-8-0 by Bill Lenoir. Also 2-8-0, 4-6-0. cally rebuilt by Gary Schrader, $1100. Bill Also looking for N&W brass parts, e.g., pilot, WANTED: Steam/Diesel era, DM&IR, Soo Pierson, 133 Wheatland Rd, Lewisberry, PA cylinders, domes, tenders, etc. Contact Joe Line, DSS&A. Frt., pass., MoW, cabooses, 17339-9408 Giannovario, [email protected] or call NO ORE CARS. Joe Fischer pass. & head 610-363-7117. end cars. What have you? Mail contact FOR SALE: Thinning fleet, 50’ Weaver only. Jim Seacrest, PO Box 6397, Lincoln, freight cars, slightly weathered with Kadees WANTED: Ambroid special run 50’ Milw. NE 68506-0397 and trucks, $19.95 each. Lake County boxcars, Hallmark comp gons, Sunset WWII Illinois pick-up. Call Bill 847-816-7707. emergency boxcars, PRB WWII comp gons, WANTED: LTD AMT Steam/Diesel era GN, Lobaugh 50’ reefers, WWII era boxcars what NP, C&NW, CM&O engines, passenger FOR SALE: Sunset UP 4-4-2, new, $599. have you? Mail only. Jim Seacrest, PO Box cars, freight cars, MoW, cabooses, What Call 650-759-9054 or mail to James J 6397, Lincoln, NE 68506-0397 have you? Mail only please. Jim Seacrest, Herdrich, 3220 Upper Lock Ave, Belmont, PO Box 6397, Lincoln NE 68506. CA 94002-1317 FOR SALE: Brass and die-cast parts for All Nation/Babbitt steam locomotives, frames, FOR SALE: FtD.D.M.& S. decal sets. Will FOR SALE: 3 Atlas N&W High Hood GP- drivers, rods, valve gear, boilers, cabs, do 2 locos and several cars. $18.50 per 35s, #207, #207 & #213. Mint, never run. tenders, and details. Also restoration and set. Call Mike at 515-353-4292 or email $275 each plus shipping and insurance. repairs available. Some complete kits avail- [email protected]. Email to [email protected] or call Ed able on a limited basis. Some older kits and Kelly at 302-234-2089. FOR SALE: Berlyn 20-ton gantry crane, built up kits also available on a limited basis. $700; GN 4-8-2 FP, $750; CB RS-1 CP GN, Write and include $1 for a catalog. Babbitt $500; Sunset NYC S1b FP, $850; PSC PRR Railway Supply Co., 715 Barger St, Mayfield K4a FP, $900; PSC NYC 4-6-0 FP, $900;

Events To ensure your event listing makes it into the proper issue, please note the following deadlines for publication: Jan/ Feb issue: November 1 of the prior year. March/April issue: Jan. 1. May/June issue: March 1. July/August issue: May 1. Sept. /Oct. issue: July 1. Nov. /Dec. issue: Sept. 1

March 2010 June 2010 11-18: Milwaukee WI 6: Merchantville NJ 30th to July 3rd: Santa Clara CA NMRA National Convention & 75th Anniv. Cherry Valley Model RR Club is hosting their The 2010 O Scale National is being held The National Model Railroad Association semi-annual swap meet and open house in lieu of the 2010 O Scale West. The hotel (NMRA) will be celebrating its 75th birthday from 9 AM to noon. 2 rail O scale items room rate is $109/night plus 10% room tax, in 2010. As part of the festivities the National from local dealers and modelers are avail- for up to 4 people in the room. Registration Convention will be held in Milwaukee able for sale. The club layout will be open is $35, $40 After April 30, 2010. Vendor Wisconsin, the birthplace of the NMRA. at noon with an operating session. The meet tables (72”) are $45, $50 after April 30, We are planning a, rip roaring Midwestern, will be held at Grace Church, 7 E. Maple 2010. A banquet will be held at 7:30 PM good time for all, both model railroader and Ave, Merchantville, NJ 08109. Table cost: Friday outside the hotel. For more details, general interest attendee alike. Dates for the $20 for first table (incl. 1 admission), $15 contact the O Scale National Convention, convention are Sunday July 11th to Sunday ea. add’l. table. Admission: $5 (spouse and c/o 876 Boyce Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301- July 18th. On Sunday the 11th, we are going children free). For information contact John 3003 or call Rod Miller at 650-329-0424 to kick off the week with a Beer and Brat Dunn Sr. 1-609-432-2871 or email Contact between 9:00 AM Pacific Time and 9:00 PM Fest (a Milwaukee favorite) at Zeidler Union [email protected] Pacific Time. Email: [email protected]. Square Park, just a stone’s throw away from the convention site and hotel. Contact Ken 12-14: Lombard IL July 2010 Jaglinski, Vice-Chair. Contact mjaglinski@ Midwest March Meet 2010. New loca- 10: Merchantville NJ wi.rr.com tion! Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, 70 Cherry Valley Model RR Club Open House Yorktown Center, Lombard IL 60148. Call Cherry Valley Open House during the Mer- August 2010 800-937-8461 and ask for the Chicago O chantville Antique Car Show, 1 PM to 7 PM. 7: Strasburg PA Scale room rate. Show registration write to At Grace Episcopal Church, 7 E Maple Ave. Strasburg Train Show Two-rail swap meet at March Meet, 2636 Hallquist Ave, Red Wing No admission but donations accepted. Con- the Strasburg Fire Co., 203 W. Franklin St., 9 MN 55066 or call 630-745-7600. By email tact [email protected] AM to 1 PM. Admission $5 (Wives/Children/ contact [email protected]. Active Military w/ID, FREE).Tables: $25 first one, $20 each additional table. Great food, modular layout, clinics. Call John Dunn, 609-432-2871. Contact jdunn8888@hotmail. com

64 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 Advertisers Index Advertisers

2010 O Scale National 57 Just Trains 61, 62, 63 Public Delivery Track 29 AAA Turntables 16 JV Models 10 Rails Unlimited 10 Allegheny Scale Models 32 Keil-Line 10 RGSRR Hobbies 13 Atlas O IFC Key Model Imports 14 Scenic Express 10 Bachmann 18 LaBelle Woodworking Co. 29 SceniKing 57 Baldwin Forge & Machine 10 Micro-Mark 25 SMARTT 56 BTS 20 Millhouse River Studios 57 SMR Trains 44 Bullfrog Snot 10 Model Building Services 44 Stevenson Preservation Lines 10 Chicago O Scale Meet 26 Model Rail Scenes 10 Sumpter Valley Depot 29 Custom Signals 14 MTH Electric Trains IBC Sunset⁄3rd Rail 15, BC East Gary Car Co. 10 Mullett River 27 Twin Whistle Sign & Kit 57 Get Real Productions 65 NCE Corp 28 Underground Railway Press 44 Gorilla Glue 25 O Scale Realty 57 UpBids.net 44 Guide to Modern O Scale 16 O Scale Trains 14 Valley Model Trains 29 Hackworth Model Trains 28 P&D Hobby Shop 14 Wasatch Model Co. 26 Howard Zane 10 Pieces of the Puzzle 16 Weaver 56 Irish Tracklayer 25 Precision Scale Co. 9 Woodland Scenics 26 JD’s Trains 25 Protocraft 16

Mar/Apr ’10 - O Scale Trains • 65 Joe Giannovario

Nine And Still Counting! powered by DC or AC current and can also be programmed Welcome to the official start of our ninth year publishing O to accept a DCC accessory address. It operates with just two Scale Trains Magazine! I am very pleased to have come this far push buttons and two LEDs. The design is brilliant! and also very pleased at the way the magazine has developed. I bought one to play with and you will be reading a full OST is the last bastion of O Scale model building and I’m very review in the next issue but let me say here it’s slicker than a proud of that. Most of the hobby these days is so heavily ori- Slip ’n Slide. Even better is the cost. I bought the Singlet kit, ented toward operations that model building gets neglected. which requires you to do a bit of soldering, for $10.50 (if you I hope that those of you who read OST but have not yet tried buy 10 or more the price drops to $8.75 each). I also pur- your hand at building something will give it a shot in 2010. chased a miniature servo from Tam Valley for $4.50. That’s a There is nothing more rewarding that the feeling one gets from total cost (excluding shipping) of $15 and it’s tiny. You’ll have saying “I built that.” to wait for next issue to learn more but you can visit the Tam If you are one of our readers who is building models, I ask Valley website to explore Duncan’s other products. you to consider sharing those models with us, either by send- Having found a new switch motor, I was still in search of ing photos, or (better yet) by sending a construction article. an optical sensor. With some persistance I found Tim Hatch’s We always need articles as the magazine is powered by you TCH Technology website [www.tchtechnology.com]. Tim is an not a paid staff of writers, photographers and illustrators. Any N Scale modeler who uses DCC and started building circuits subject is fair game. Drop me a line; send me an email. The in 1995 to sell to other modelers. TCH Technology makes and worst that can happen is I’ll say “no thanks” if I don’t feel the sells IR optical sensors, turnout controls, power condition- other readers will be interested. ers, and a number of other DCC items. As it turned out TCH’s It Takes All Kinds Sensa-Trak II optical detector was exactly what I needed. The Over the holidays I worked on the OST layout laying track best part is the sensor is $9.95. Another well-known online and switches. As I noted in “Starting Over - Part 2” I had firm sells a comparable IR dtector for over $20 each. two curved switches custom made by Old Pullman and they The final piece of my needed solution is the Atlas O Non- require the frog to be powered. I‘ll go into the specific details derail Circuit we reviewed in issue #43. If you poke around why in a future article but I started looking at optical occu- the Atlas O website you will find a link to several pages of dia- pancy sensors and switch motors for the layout. These items grams [www.Atlas O.com/manuals.htm] using this circuit. On have to work with DC, DCC and MTH’s DCS for them to be these pages Atlas calls the board a Universal Switch Controller useful to me. and, indeed, that is its real purpose. I queried Atlas electronics I used twin coil switch machines (Hammond & Morgan) guru Steve Horvath (again over the holiday break) with some on the old layout. The H&M machines are, in my opinion, the technical questions and he graciously provided the answers. finest twin coils ever made. Unfortunately, they are no longer Both Duncan and Tim also provided some technical sup- made and while they worked just fine I wanted to get away port. Duncan even took out time while traveling to look over from the bang-bang switch action and use something more the Atlas USC schematic for me and provide an opinion on sophisticated. how to connect the Singlet to it to do what I wanted. Everyone will immediately think of the Circuitron Tortoise The final solution for my curved switch frog powering stall-motor switch machine. So did I. However, looking at experiment involves a Tam Valley Singlet Servo Decoder, a some online posts about the Tortoise raised some questions pair of TCH Technology’s Sensa-Trak II IR sensors and an Atlas about their ability to handle and switch O Scale current loads O Universal Switch Controller. I made a breadboard to test it for powering frogs. I was also not impressed with their size, out and it works. Now I need to get it all installed on the lay- nor the way they mount under the switch. Finally, you cannot out and see if it still works in real operations. buy them from Circuitron online. In fact, Circuitron doesn’t The combined efforts of an O Scaler, an HO Scaler and even have its catalog online other than as a PDF download. an N Scaler produced the desired outcome. That outcome in (Isn’t this the 21st Century?) this case will be described in an article that I will write called I wish I could tell you how I found Duncan McRee’s Tam “Turnout Control Schemes”, likely for the July issue. In it, I will Valley Depot website [www.tamvalleydepot.com]. I think it explore different ways to throw turnouts using some neat, yet was via the Fast Tracks website [www.handlaidtrack.com]. relatively inexpensive, electronics that anyone can use and no Duncan is an HO Scale modeler (Espee), uses DCC and also EE degree required! has an interest in RC flying and battlebots! Tam Valley makes I would like to thank Steve, Tim and Duncan for their help and sells a number of items, all DCC related, and one of those in figuring out the solution I needed. It’s great that we all share items is called a Singlet Servo Decoder. Basically, the singlet the love of a hobby that is so diverse. is a microprocessor on a circuit board that allows you to use Keep Highballin’ u an RC servo motor as a switch machine. The Singlet can be

66 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’10 O Scale Trains mth 04-2010.qxp 1/14/2010 4:33 PM Page 1

The Princess Coronation

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In the years before World War II, Londoners had at least two ways to get to Scotland in style. From Kings Cross, one could speed up the East Coast main to Edinburgh on the LNER's Flying Scotsman, behind one of Nigel Gresley's handsome Pacifics - perhaps a streamlined A4 or maybe an older, apple- green A3. Or one could depart instead from Euston station on the LMS and fly northward to Glasgow on the Coronation Scot or the Royal Scot behind the most powerful steam locomotives in the land, William Stanier's Princess Coronation Class 4-6-2's.

Stanier's crowning achievement was the four-cylinder Princess Coronation Duchess Class Pacifics, built from 1937-1948. In contrast with American design- ers, who generally shunned engines with more than two cylinders as being too hard to maintain, Europeans often used three or four cylinders to pro- duce a more balanced engine that was easier on the Features Include: track. In Stanier's design, the Walschaert's valve gear • 1/43.5 Scale Die-Cast Steamer on the outside cylinders also drove the valves on the • Equipped With Proto-Sound 2.0 Digital Sound inside cylinders, located within the frame, through a set of rocker arms. • Variable Intensity Synchronized Puffing Smoke Relive the glory days of LMS express passenger serv- • Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH ice with our superbly detailed Princess Coronation Increments Class Pacific, complete with sounds recorded from the • Featuring European & U.S. Couplers prototype Duchess of Sutherland, synchronized puffing • Operates On O-54 Curves smoke with synchronized chuffs per driver revolution, and station sounds for the Royal Scot. • Choose From FIVE Different Versions • Available in 2 or 3-Rail Versions SEE IT IN AACTIONCTION ON THE WEB

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