Celebrating Scale the art of MAGAZINE Trains 1:48 modeling O u Jan/Feb 2010 Issue #48 US $6.95 • Can $8.95 Display until January 31, 2010 NOW’S THE TIME TO BE… WORKING ON YOUR RAILROAD! AND HERE’S THE RESOURCE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN 3-RAIL & 2-RAIL TRACK BRIDGES & SIGNALS N , HO, and O Scale Track, Layouts & Accessories The O Scale SOLID RAIL Track only SWITCHES & CROSSINGS STRUCTURES www.atlasrr.com www.atlaso.com “The Model Railroader’s Guide to the World’s Greatest Track” CATALOG COUPON Send this coupon, with payment, to the address below (“Attn: Track Catalog”) to receive your Atlas All-Scales Track Catalog for just $2.00! (offer applies to US residents only) Name ROADBED TRACK LAYOUT PACKAGES Address Email Phone # Our prototypical T-shaped rail easily connects to other Scale[s] Modeled O HO N includes all track, switches, brands of “O” scale track! electrical components needed To fi nd an Atlas dealer, go to http://locator.atlasrr.com Get a copy of the latest Atlas Catalog 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 #48 Scale Jan/Feb 2010 Vol. 9 - No. 1 Editor-in-Chief/Publisher Joe Giannovario Trains MAGAZINE [email protected] O Art Director Features Jaini Giannovario [email protected] 4 Building A Center Cab Diesel, Part 1 — Capt. Tom Mix, USMC, Ret. Follow along with Capt. Mix as he scratchbuilds an interesting Managing Editor CB&Q early diesel locomotive. This is going to take a while! Mike Cougill [email protected] 12 Starting Over, Part 1 — Joe Giannovario The old OST layout is gone and a new one takes its place. Joe will detail the design and development process. Advertising Manager Jeb Kriigel 17 The Engine House At Gorre — Jim Gore [email protected] Yes, John Allen’s Gorre! Jim gives us insights and details on building this well-known structure out of cardstock. Customer Service 27 NMRA 75th Anniversary — Ken Jaglinsky Spike Beagle Complaints L’il Bear 29 Flag Pole Uncoupling Tool — Ted Horvath Ted’s designed a clever and simple way to hide the uncoupling tool. CONTRIBUTORS 34 A Humpback Bridge — Ray Grosser TED BYRNE GENE CLEMENTS Inspired by a painting, Ray added this unique feature to his layout. CAREY HINch MARTIN BREchbIEL 38 Newark & Marion Freight House — Harold Russell A small freight house for any layout drawn by Harold. Subscription Rates: 6 issues US - Periodical Class Delivery US$35 US - First Class Delivery (1 year only) US$45 43 Bashing A U30C Into A BQ23-7 — Ed Reutling Canada/Mexico US$55 He’s at it again. Ed shows how he did this unique conversion. It’s not as Overseas US$80 difficult as you might think. Visa, MC, AMEX & Discover accepted. Call 610-363-7117 during Eastern time business hours. Dealers contact Kalmbach Publishing, 800-558-1544 ext 818 or email [email protected] 52 2010 O Scale National Convention Advertisers call for info. If you go to the 2010 Convention check out Jerry Guth’s SP layout. www.oscalemag.com • ©2010 All Rights Reserved Printed in the U.S.A. O Scale Trains Magazine, ISSN 1536-9528, USPS 24457, is published bi-monthly in January, March, May, July, Septem- ber and November by OST Magazine, PO Box 289, Exton PA 19341-0289. Subscription rates: US Periodical Mail, Departments $35 per year, US First Class Mail, $45 per year; Canada or Mexico, $55 per year; Overseas, $80 per year. Postage paid at West Chester, Pa., and additional mailing offices. POST- MASTER send address changes to O Scale Trains Magazine, 7 The Art of Prototype Modeling — Mike Cougill PO Box 289, Exton PA 19341-0289. 9 Neville’s Workshop — Contributors: O Scale Trains welcomes your feature articles, photos, and drawings. Such material should be sent to the above 11 The Modern Image — Gene Clements address for possible publication. If we accept, you will be notified immediately. For more information concerning article preparation 15 Reader Feedback guidelines, please send an SASE to the above address and request our “Guide For Authors” or visit our website at: www. 23 Traction Action — Martin Brechbiel oscalemag.com. Cover: Yes, that is a copy of John Allen’s famous engine house 46 Product News & Reviews at Gorre on his Gorre & Daphetid RR (pronounced gory and defeated). The model is made of cardstock. The engine house 49 Modelers’ Showcase resides on Jim Gore’s On30 Jemez & Rio Grande RR. Jim describes how he built the model starting on page 4. 56 Buy-Sell-Trade Ads Centerspread: A painting by Larry Fisher inspired this scene on 56 Events Listing Ray Grosser’s O Scale railroad. Ray scratchbuilt the bridge even to the extent of cutting his own scale lumber. Ray’s article starts 57 Advertiser Index on page 34. 58 Observations — Joe Giannovario Jan/Feb ’10 - O Scale Trains • 3 Building a Center Cab Diesel - Part One Capt. Tom Mix, USMC Ret. Here’s an overview of the locomotive Tom will be describing in coming issues. Tom’s model was built to P48 standards but it is easily adapted to O standard. Ever since I got into building railroad models I have always This series will be of how I built this engine but I’m sure concentrated on steam engines and freight cars from the that there are builders out there who may have ideas that are 1920s and ‘30s. I never considered having a diesel on my easier and simpler than my methods. For those following this steam road. Diesels are ugly; they sound wrong, and have series, especially first time builders, I want to talk about work- no visible moving parts. Even with today’s sound decoders ing with brass based on my experiences of soldering, milling, that can bring a model engine to life, a diesel is still a rather turning, filing, and yes, occasional swearing, while learning boring, moving steel box that rumbles along with an occa- about this wonderful material. Moreover, who knows, you sional air horn blat. But a steam engine has the fascinating too may become afflicted with that common sickness among movement of side rods and crossheads and that wonderful scratchbuilders. sound of a steam whistle along with the chuffing and assorted Understanding Brass sounds of air pumps, generator whine; the sound of the fire- The main understanding of brass is its hardness. There are man’s shovel on a steel deck, clank of the water hatch and several degrees of hardness from easy machining to a softness much more. However, I am afflicted with that common sick- that is easy to form. ness among scratchbuilders, that of seeing a drawing of an C360, Free Machining Brass, is the one that you will use engine, either steam or diesel, and studying it with a “How the most because of its easy workability. It comes in many would I build that?” frame of mind. sizes of flat bars, rectangular, square, and rods. It works very I follow the CB&Q railroad and have been a member of well for drilling, especially when drilling and tapping small the Burlington Route Historical Society for many years. I holes such as down to 0.037” or a #63 bit for 00-90 screws. have a good collection of books, photos and drawings of that C360 is easily machined in a lathe or mill and has no prob- road’s equipment. I have seen photos of a Burlington center lems with soldering. cab diesel and then I ran across an excellent drawing and C260, Cartridge Brass, is softer, usually comes in sheets, article in the July 1984 Railroad Model Craftsman. The draw- and is easy forming. You can also get this in stamped flat bars ing was by Marty Feldner and F. Hol Wagner, Jr. wrote the rather than extruded flat bars like C360. C260 is also used in article. That drawing, in O Scale by the way, really perked tubing both rounds, square or rectangular. One trick in using the question of “How would I build that?” There are no com- C260 sheets when you will be bending for a locomotive boil- mercial trucks (that I know of) for engines like this and with er, or in the case of this diesel, the cab and hoods, is to hold those narrow hoods, would there be a motor small enough the sheet and flex it. You will note that it will bend more eas- to fit and still be powerful enough to pull our heavy O Scale ily in one direction than the other. Then you will know which cars? More studying and research found that there are suit- way to bend or roll. C260 does not mill very well as some- able motors, and the trucks would have to be scratchbuilt, but times the mill leaves a ragged cut. Drilling and tapping small gearboxes are available and wheelsets are out there for both holes in soft brass, like C260 will almost guarantee to break O Gauge and Proto 48. either the bit or tap even while using a fluid. These small bits Etched material is available for the deck and there are and taps are cleverly designed to break right at the surface commercial brass shapes of all kinds. My growing interest in making it impossible to remove. Usually the part cannot be building this particular center cab cascaded into setting aside saved so a lot of work up to that point is lost. my current steam projects and concentrating on the construc- C770, Nickel Silver, comes in thin sheets up to a thickness tion of one of those boring steel boxes with the wrong sound of ¼” and possibly thicker.