ost 47, 0 Scale trains
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]//-->OMAGAZINENov/Dec 2009uIssue #47ScaleTrainsCelebratingthe art of1:48 modelingDisplay until December 31, 2009US $6.95• Can $8.95Celebratingthe art of1:48 modelingIssue #47Nov/Dec 2009Vol. 8 - No. 6Editor-in-Chief/PublisherJoe Giannovariojag@oscalemag.comOFeatures412172123273037495156ScaleTrainsMAGAZINEArt DirectorJaini Giannovariojaini@oscalemag.comManaging EditorMike Cougilleditor@oscalemag.comAdvertising ManagerJeb Kriigeljeb@oscalemag.comCustomerServiceSpike BeagleComplaintsL’il BearContributorSTedByrneGeneClemenTsCareyHinCHroGerC. ParkerSubscription rates: 6 issuesuS - Periodical Class DeliveryuS - First Class Delivery (1 year only)Canada/MexicooverseasThe NP/GN Mountain Divisions — Duane DanielsonBig-time mountain railroading in Colorado.Double-Truck Double-Brush Trolley Sweeper — Bill BrandtPre-Ballast Track Before Spiking Rail — Russ BriggsReplacing Atlas O Couplers — Bob AnthonysonIt’s not as difficult as you might think.Save time and effort with this innovative method.Combining ideas from past issues results in a neat operating model.Basic Scratchbuilding Skills: Parts & Material Layout — Mike CougillEdge-of-the-Layout Switch Machine Installation — Charlie MorrillThey’re easier to install and service.This item will fit on any layout.Good models start with good foundations. Learn how to do it right.A Simple Timber Loading Dock — L. Lee DavisScratch ’n Bash An O Scale Caboose — Tom HoulePoweringUp: Crossing Gate Control — Ted ByrneRutland Railroad Ice House — Harold RussellNeed a specific caboose but can’t buy it? Try this method to build it.A simple relay circuit mimics real world action.This unusually small ice house is perfect for any small space.uS$35uS$45uS$55uS$80Visa, MC, AMEX & Discover accepted. Call 610-363-7117 duringEastern time business hours. Dealers contact KalmbachPublishing, 800-558-1544 ext 818 or email tss@kalmbach.comAdvertisers call for info.www.oscalemag.com • ©2009 All Rights ReservedPrinted in the u.S.A.2010 O Scale National Introduction — Rod Miller, ChairmanO Scale Trains Magazine, ISSN 1536-9528, USPS 24457,ispublished bi-monthly in January, March, May, July, Septem-ber and November byOSTMagazine, PO Box 289, ExtonPA 19341-0289. Subscription rates: US Periodical Mail,$35 per year, US First Class Mail, $45 per year; Canada orMexico, $55 per year; Overseas, $80 per year. Postage paidat West Chester, Pa., and additional mailing offices.PoSt-MAStErsend address changes to O Scale Trains Magazine,PO Box 289, Exton PA 19341-0289.Departments9111535455460606162The Art of Finescale – Mike CougillThe Modern Image – Gene ClementsReader FeedbackTraction Action – Martin BrechbielProduct News & ReviewsModeler’s ShowcaseBuy-Sell-Trade AdsEvents ListingAdvertiser IndexObservations – Joe GiannovarioContributors: O Scale Trains welcomes your feature articles,photos, and drawings. Such material should be sent to the aboveaddress for possible publication. If we accept, you will be notifiedimmediately. For more information concerning article preparationguidelines, please send an SASE to the above address and requestour “Guide For Authors” or visit our website at: www.oscalemag.com.Cover: NP Yellowstone 2-8-8-4 #5005 emerges out of Mullantunnel blasting its way up Mullan Pass west of Missoula MT. TheNP claimed these locomotives would pull anything up this hill thedrawbars could hold. The scene is on Duane Danielson’s O Scalelayout.Centerspread: A four unit hook up of Z-1 class GN electrics pulls adrag freight up the Cascades between Skykomish and WenatcheeWA. With a combined tractive effort of 144,000 pounds, these“motors” were as powerful as the massive GN R-2 class 2-8-8-4 ar-ticulateds. Another scene from Duane Danielson’s O Scale layout.Nov/Dec ’09 - O Scale Trains • 3The NP/GN Mountain DivisionsText and photos by Duane DanielsonCover & center photos by Randy LinbladMy history of railroad interests stem from my retiredgrandfather (a 50 year veteran as section foreman on theNorthern Pacific). When I was five years old he took me upin the cab of a NP W-3 class Mikado and let me blow thewhistle and ring the bell. From that time on I was hookedon model railroading. I can remember that day as if it wasyesterday.After several years of On3 modeling and building analmost complete layout of the Rio Grande Southern, Ibecame burnt out and decided to go back to modeling mygrandfather’s railroad - the NP and its cousin, the GreatNorthern. I have always been a fan of mountain railroad-ing; so I decided to model the western Montana to easternWashington area. We had just finished building a new homeand the layout’s size was determined by the basement. Iended up with 86 x 45 ft. L shaped layout with the small legof the L at 22 ft.DesignThe first phase was to design a layout that would takeadvantage of the room’s size yet not put so much track-age in that it would become spaghetti central. I wanted ahidden storage yard and a large visible yard that could beviewed close up and a major passenger terminal. Mountaingrades would be no more than 1-1/2 % and the mountainarea would feature catenary for my GN electric locomo-tives. The hidden staging yard would receive and send outtrains over the entire railroad. It could hold 18 trains, withapproximately 650 cars. The visible yard would be based onLivingston MT and feature a 16 stall roundhouse, boiler shopand blacksmith shop. The main feature of the layout wouldbe a scale model of the Livingston depot, almost 10 ft long.After deciding on a track design, I built a 1/4” scale model ofthe track plan. The room walls and floor were made of foam boardand then the track was cut out from the blueprint and also pastedon foam board. Little foam bents were placed under the track toprovide a look at the elevation changes on the layout. I added clayalongside the tracks to simulate the mountain terrain. This provedvery helpful in correcting mistakes both in the track plan and in thescenery phase of the layout. I would strongly suggest that if one isbuilding a large layout, making a model really helps.ConstructionI installed all the benchwork before I laid any tracks to makesure they would fit in the given space. Because of the mixed typeof terrain I was modeling, I did not go with the common L girdersystem. For example, in the mountainous area I didn’t reallythink I gained that much flexibility with the L girder system andall the extra work of building the girders wouldn’t have paid off.I did make the benchwork in segments no longer than 10 ft. andthen screwed them together so that one could disassemble thelayout. I have two 3 ft. doors leading into the layout room, so anysegment can be moved without problems. Yes, cutting the wir-ing between segments would be a mounting task but at least itwould be possible.My track is Code 125 and Code 100 flextrack. My research onthe two railroads found that during and shortly after the WW IIera I am modeling, the NP and GN used 95 lb. rail on the main-line and 75 lb. rail in the yards and branchlines. Old Pullman hasvery good Code 125 flextrack and House of Duddy makes Code100 flextrack. I used flextrack rather than laying my own sinceI had over 1100 ft. of mainline and more than that in yards andbranches. The switches all came from Old Pullman. They arealready laid on weathered ties and look very realistic. In order to4 • O Scale Trains - Nov/Dec ’095000° and 6000° Kelvin lights on sepa-rate circuits placed in 2 x 4 ft fixtures ina drop ceiling.Control SystemI have a conventional block systemfor my railroad. DC powered. Every timeI laid a track I had the power on in theblock and if I got a short, the meter onthe panel showed it immediately. In thatway, I did not have to debug shorts after-wards. I use four Polk 5 amp RC throttlesto control the layout. A unique switch Ifound on the Internet routes the correctpower pack to each of the 19 blocks,with more to be added. It is made byEAO International [www.eao.com/global/en/products/product_search.asp], aSwiss manufacturer. It is called a 5 gang,illuminated, mechanical, interlockingpush button switch. They can be orderedwith as many pushbuttons as you desire(matching the number of your cabs) plusone for the off position. You can orderthe pushbuttons any color (they are sim-ply colored caps); so I got them in red,blue, yellow, green, and white. Each RCcontrol the switches, Ihandheld throttle was colored accord-used the Switchmasteringly. Thus, if you wanted to have the redmotors by Builders inScale. I see many advan- throttle active in a block on the railroad,you simply pushed the red button on thetages in them. They areswitch. If the green button was activeeasy to install; you canand illuminated, pushing the red but-add as many electricalton cancelled it out and the red buttoncontacts as needed towas now illuminated and powered tocontrol points, LEDsthe block. The white button is for an offback on the panel,position in the block.computer control, etc.SceneryThe motors use 3 voltsAfter the track was in and trains ranon a permanent stall,without derailments, I started on thewhich applies morescenery. Since my railroad was designedthan enough constantto be in the high mountains of Montanathrust on the switchto eastern Washington, I had to have apoints. I use a powerfast way to make lots of mountainous ter-supply with a commoncenter tap. That way the rain. After much debate, I settled on JoelBragdon’s method of geodesic foam forwiring is much easier.my mountains. There was a small learn-The common centering curve involved, but the effort paidtap is daisy chained tooff in that the terrain on the layout looksall switch motors andreal, goes up fast, and has no mess in thethe plus and minus on the panel to thehouse. I would never go back to the plas-outer legs of a SPDT toggle with thecenter pole going to the switch. All of the ter technique again. The cost is a littlemore, but the savings in time and withswitches on the panel are daisy chainedno mess completely overshadows all thein the same way. Only the center polegoes to each switch machine. The system old methods. One can make changeswith the foam method very easily andworks flawlessly and I have almost 150that cannot be said with the old plasterturnouts working at this time.techniques.LightingRather than have to paint 262 ft. ofGerry Cornwell, a commercial light-backdrop along the walls of the layout,ing expert and a close friend of mine,I chose to go with wallpaper that hadhelped design the fluorescent lighting inprinted mountains made from actualthe layout room. It is a combination ofNov/Dec ’09 - O Scale Trains • 5 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]