N Scale Railroading 07-08 2009

For years I used a layout height of 48" but over time this "God's eye view" of things became distracting. I didn't quite like the eye level view because of building and maintenance considerations so 57" was selected as a good height for me(5-11"). A modern theme was important with industry, mountains, desert, a workable yard, and some storage tracks, so I didn't elect to model any specific actual scenes. Layout construction is typical 1x4 framing with 1/2" OSB or 2" foam sheeting. All tracks are Atlas Code 55 with #7 and #10 turnouts on the main lines. A few #5s were used at industry locations. All turnouts operate manually with slide switches or Bluepoint machines. HO cork was used for mainline roadbed and ballast is a combo of Arizona Rock GN basalt arid NP granite. Other natural rocks from Mt. St Helens, Washington (ash), Bend, Oregon (red lava), and Ludlow, California (desert gravel), add color variations. Woodland Scenics trees and scratch materials provided most of the landscape greenery. Electrically, the layout is wired in blocks and uses two MRC Control Master 20s with walk-around controllers. DCC is not in the current plan.

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Model Railroader 07 2009

Here's a CSX 52-foot gondola with an unusual load that's easy to model. It's a load of the heavy steel breaker balls that steel mills use to begin the slag crushing process. Slag is a red-hot byproduct of iron and steelmaking that looks like molten lava when it's dumped into the slag pits. As the slag cools, it hardens into large chunks that must be broken up before the slag can be crushed into a uniform-sized gray rock that's used for roads and secondary track ballast. The breaker balls are solid steel and weigh up to 20 or 25 tons each. They are lifted with an crane equipped with an electromagnet and dropped into the pit to shatter the hardened slag into chunks. The pieces of slag arc then fed into a crusher. Modeling this load will be easy, since all that's required is a handful of smooth plastic balls and a modern 50-foot gondola. Paint the balls with grimy black, apply a heavy coat of rust weathering to them, and you'll be all set. - Bob Warrick, Barberton, Ohio

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Railroad Model Craftsman 07 2009

David M. Hoffman, 8682 U.S. Hwy. 61 North, Woodville, MS 39669-3502, has now produced an HOn3 scale Mann's Creek Railway No. 2 420-ton Shay semi kit. This kit includes genuine MDC casting parts, plus specially made lost wax brass castings upgraded with NorthWest Short Line gearing and U joints. It is powered with a flat can motor. The price is $200.00, postpaid. Athearn Trains, 1550 Glenn Curtiss St., Carson, CA 80746, has introduced an all sound equipped HO scale Genesis locomotive with custom designed SoundTraxx Tsunami digital sound decoders. These new decoders provide smoother and more precise operations with back-EMF control for consistent operating speeds. This unit is compatible with NMRA standards for DCC and features dual mode capability for operation on analog or DCC layouts. The HO model will be available with Mars oscillating signal lights, Pyle Gyra-lights, Western Cullen rotary beacons and more. Also available from Athearn are a new line of HO scale of Fixible Visicoach bus. These standard designed 1950's buses are decorated for Consolidated Bus Lines (Roanoke); Fred Harvey Bus Line (Grand Canyon Village); Badger Bus Line (Madison) and Utah Parks Company (chartered). They are priced at $22.98. For TOFC modelers, there are three new 28-foot Wedge Trailers (two packs). Road names are Consolidated Freightways (two sets) and Roadway. The price is $24.98 per set.

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Railroad Model Craftsman 06 2009

When I began building HO kits I brought with me a background of building balsa wood flying models. Several of my fingers were perpetually scarred from using double edged razor blades given me by my father, which I would snap in two. The blades cut through the soft balsa with ease, so fingers were at risk. I eventually saw an ad for a safety knife which sold for five cents. I bought one and still have a scar in my right index finger from the deep gash I received from it! Not long after I discovered X-Acto hobby knives. What a difference in cutting not only balsa, but also basswood which was increasingly popular with scratch and kit builders back then.
The basswood parts that came with the early kits often required tender loving care before being useful. One pioneer in this area was Jim Doyle, of Ballardvale, Massachusetts, who devised an ingenious machine that produced basswood strips of then unbelievable quality. He was followed by Campbell and others. Doyle produced thin strips which made modeling of fences, stairs and other intricate pieces feasible and fun, especially in HO.

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