ScaleScaleScale OTTTrainsrainsrains OOMay/June 2003 • Issue #8 • US $8.00 Rose River RR • The Inside Story Mail Trains US $8 • Can $10 Modeling for the O Scale Craftsman Announcing in O Scale The CB&Q M-4a 2-10-4s & the CB&Q BE-1 Express Boxcars Precisely Handcrafted Brass Models! Prototype photo courtesy of W. Raia Collection. Similar to PSC #17403-1 #17403 CB&Q M-4a 2-10-4 as rebuilt with square cab, Elesco FWH, Mars light, disc main drivers and roller bearings. No paint. (Separate standard smoke box without Mars light supplied.) #17403-1 Same, painted black and graphite #6310 and #6315. #17405 CB&Q M-4a 2-10-4 as rebuilt with sport cab,Worthington FWH, Mars light, disc main drivers and roller bearings. No paint. (Separate standard smoke box without Mars light supplied.) #17405-1 Same, painted black and graphite #6323 and #6327. #17407 CB&Q M-4a 2-10-4 as rebuilt with square cab,Worthington FWH, disc main driver and roller bearings. No paint. #17407-1 Same, painted black and graphite #6318. Do not hesitate to reserve. Our recent CB&Q 4-6-4s are a sell out! A result of PSC high standards and specifications! Prototype photo courtesy of Colorado Historical Society. Similar to PSC #17373-1. #17373 CB&Q BE-1 Express car, (ex-troop kitchen car) with allied trucks, open windows, diaphragms, late 1940s. No paint. #17373-1 Same, painted Pullman green with bronze gold lettering (railroad roman). #17375 CB&Q BE-1 Express car, (ex-troop kitchen car) with A-3 ride control trucks, plated over side windows, no diaphragms. No paint. #17375-1 Same, painted Pullman green, modern lettering in deluxe gold. #17377 CB&Q BE-1 Express car, converted for freight service, with roof walk and end ladders. No paint. #17377-1 Same, painted Pullman green, modern lettering in deluxe gold. See Your Local Hobby Shop and Reserve Yours Today! Modeling for the O Scale ScaleScale Craftsman Trains Issue #8 OTrains May/June 2003 Vol. 2, No. 3 Features Editor/Publisher Joe Giannovario 4 Rose River Railroad Art Director Daniel Wehrli’s American style layout in Switzerland. Jaini Simon 14 Non Revenue Trio Contributing Editors Phil Opielowski shares some thoughts on scratchbuilding. Ted Byrne 20 Weathering Made Easy Gene Deimling Try this easy steps by Gene Deimling for more realistic models. Bobber Gibbs Roger Jenkins 22 Mail Trains Jeb Kriigel Neville Rossiter Think you know what an RPO is? Brain Scace gives us the real story. Brian Scace 36 Scale Command – Part 1 John C. Smith Don Woodwell Don Woodwell starts a 3 part series on a new 2 rail control system. Subscription Rates: 6 issues 38 The Inside Story United States US$36 Your buildings come alive with these tips from Herm Botzow. Canada/Mexico US$55 Overseas US$80 45 Where the Eagle Meets the Chief Mastercard & Visa accepted Day 4 of the 2003 O Scale National Convention. Call 610-323-7117 during Eastern time business hours 46 Build a PRR E-1, Part 3 Conclusion John Sauers adds some engine details then finishes off the tender. Dealers write for terms. Advertisers write for information 53 OST Visits O Scale West 2003 or visit our website. The staff had a great time and took lots of photos. O Scale Trains ISSN 1536-9528 www.oscalemag.com Published bimonthly (6 times a year) by O Scale Trains Magazine, PO Box 238, Lionville PA 19353-0238 Departments © 2003 OST All Rights Reserved 10 Easements for the Learning Curve - Brian Scace Printed in the U.S.A. 18 Narrow Minded – Bobber Gibbs Contributors: O Scale Trains 21 Traction Action – A new column by Roger Jenkins welcomes your feature articles, photos, and drawings. 24 Product News & Reviews – Weaver Am. Flyer Cars & 2-8-0 Such material should be sent to the above address for possible publication. If we accept, you will be notified 28 Proto48 – Gene Deimling immediately. For more information concerning article 31 Reader Feedback – Letters to the Editor preparation guidelines, please send an SASE to the above address and request our “Guide For Authors” 43 Crapola From The Cupola – John C. Smith or visit our website. 49 O Scale Hall of Fame – William K Walthers 49 The Workshop – Neville Rossiter Cover: It’s early evening in the yards at Daniel Wehrli’s Rose River RR in Switzerland. Photo by Ferdi Rat. 50 Modeler’s Shelf (also 52, 53, & 58) 59 Buy, Sell,Trade Ads Centerspread: In a scene reminiscent of decades past, N&W M class 4-8-0 #375 pulls out at dawn to make its 60 Events Listing rounds. The loco owned by Joe Giannovario was cus- 60 Ad index tom built for him by Harry Hieke, Jr., and pho- 61 OST Dealers List tographed for OST by Jeb Kriigel. 62 Observations – Joe Giannovario OST is a proud Member of the Model Railroad Industry Association O Scale Trains • 3 RoseRose RiverRiver RailroadRailroad By Daniel Wehrli A Norfolk and Western Y-6b passes a special switch at Ferdi’s Junction. The junction is named for the builder of the switch, in the background the Devil Hills. Photos Ferdi Rat ting the model run just forward and backward on a short, straight piece of track was English Translation by Roland Marx too boring, so my decision to build an O scale layout came quickly. My only space The Beginning was limited, just 15' x 15', but a circle with a small yard and a little ore dock for Growing up in nearby Zürich, a big switching operations was possible. Building the benchwork, an open frame con- city in Switzerland, I was involved in struction with a plywood roadbed, took 3 weeks. ROCO track and switches, which model railroading since my early child- are all powered by a switch machine from our local hobbyshop (Feathers Train hood, with my father and older brother. Shop), was my choice. On this layout Rene and I shared the work. I did the track So it was natural that my first contact work while Rene did the wiring of the whole layout. Honouring my wife’s patience with model trains was the Swiss railway, and understanding at this time, the new railroad was named Rose River because her and Märklin HO gauge. first name is Rosemarie. My First Layout After all the basic work was done, I could start my favourite work – building the After a short stint in N gauge, I found enough space for my first HO sized lay- out. Building this I realized that a lot of practice and knowledge is necessary for getting a good looking layout. While I was still modeling in HO, my model railroad friend Rene Schweighauser was a step ahead and already owned several O scale brass locomotives from Williams. One day he offered to swap me a Pennsy K4 for some Märklin stuff. Since the Pennsy is my favourite rail- road I was more than pleased about this deal. My first O steamer! The Second Layout Now I was hooked on O scale. Let- Freight train passing Ferdi’s Junction westbound. 4 • O Scale Trains Rose River Grain Co., with service track between the yard and mainline. (The silos are 27 inches tall.) scenery. This work was done with the help of several common nightmare became a reality – a move! The layout was disman- products from Woodland Scenics. The large scale of O allows tled saving just the trees and buildings. In my new home more a lot of detailing and that makes the difference! space was available, two rooms in the upper storey. Soon after Moving And A New Layout moving in a new track plan was created and I spent the time After three-plus years of operations the model railroader’s during my summer holiday of 1998 to built the benchwork. This was done in the same way as I did it on my previous lay- out. Every new layout is an improvement so it is now possible to operate on conventional DC or digital command control. Rail fanning Showcases under the layout O Scale Trains • 5 Engine house in the sunset glow Rose River Town The New Layout The town of Rose River is a fictional town anywhere in Penn- The track work is now PECO and all the switches are sylvania. The time frame is the transition era in the 50’s where installed with switch machines. I have the space for a large railroads changed from steam to diesel. The buildings and the View over the Devil Hills to the second room. railroad had seen better times, everything gives a seedy impres- Rene sitting on a passenger seat from the Swiss railway. sion. I got the inspiration for the atmosphere from a book by George Sellios “The Fabulous Franklin & South Manchester Railroad,” and my goal is to reproduce it on my layout, a difficult task. Remember, this is just my third layout! But with only a few steps from my living room to my railroad rooms it is possible to work every time I have a new idea... hoping to fulfill my dream. The team: the owner, Daniel Wehrli (right), Ferdi Rat (mid) who takes the photos and the decoder installation, Rene Schweighauser-the genius electrician (left) 6 • O Scale Trains turntable, (Bowser), which got an upgrade from my friend Theo Wittmer, for better oper- ations in the yard. The choice for the digital control system was the Lenz system. The whole wiring of the track was done by Rene and the installation of the decoders in the locomo- tives was done by anoth- er friend, Ferdi Rat.