I get the whole how computers work thing. Been using them since 1976. 
check out cyber1.org
I just missed the attach button down there.
Ah ha thanks!
Is that a Vollmer crane kit? I have on in HO scale. I was going to use it with my HO scale euro trains, but now I am thinking I might use it with my 55n3.
Awesome shot. Visitor or roomate? My Grandmother would do that with a pack of them. I do better with wild rabbits 
I struggle at times with changes; online networking is a weak point, but mostly it's unintuative design that gets me. (like tools at the bottom ) I don't like Apple limits and Linux drives me "buggy" 
I'm really just got tired of the tech chase. I started about 79-80 with Basics, and later IMB/Lantastic/Apple graphics, etc. with "bigger plans" until I met (a poor) Bill Gates and watched him do binary for a week. (driven hardly describes him, he deserves that $ 
.... & still owes me $1- $2 from lunch 🤔 
) That was boring enough to reset my compass though 
General ability on them plus family/self taught electronic & controls abilities fed & occupied me decently enough since then
I think it's why command control doesn't really appeal to me much; another tech chase which will be replaced soon enough over and over and over and over, x(O) =∞= I'm bored; now where is the transformer handle. 
I was thinking. Maybe reverse what I have going. Instead of short static narrow gauge feeding Standard ; narrow gauge feeding short static Standard ....?
Forced perception using multiple scales at different distances is another "realistic" option. (pun intended on ability vs results)
The squirrel adopted me as I was walking down the street by climbing up my pants and onto my back. I just have the one.
I am more of a computer user. But after all these years I get tired of the fact that everyone has a different interface. what is worse is those places that insist on changing theirs every few months; they call it an upgrade--I call it an uprage!
Yeah, there is that multi scale perspective shift. I can;t do static, the trains must roll. I will likely just get a board and set up an oval so I can do roundy roundy. It's part of why I love the 3 rail crowd so much. 3 railers have no shame about having lots of roundy roundy action. Who knows, maybe I will do what you are doing and combine my 3 rail O scale with these models on a runner type layout.
Just grinding away on this latest build.
More on the caboose build. I am actually done with it for now. Need to snap a pic of the finished model.
I am using Tyco chassis pieces and trucks and couplers. Never look underneath my models as you'll see all kinds of weird crap under there. I kept the steps even though a real caboose of this kind had stirrups, but who cares.
Doing Crap building is like doing a puzzle. Everything needs to fit and sometimes to save hassle I don;t exactly follow the plans. One thing I did was to eye how many boards across the end piece would be. It turned out that my scribed wood was a perfect fit. I also did the same board count on my side pieces and just winged the length which is within inches of the real thing.
This brand of scribed wood is brilliant because it is as thick as an individual board and saved me a lot of trouble matching things up on the corners.
As you can see the chassis is hidden underneath some wood planks which also raises the model a tiny bit. I have not measured to see how it would compare to the real thing.
This odd picture is of my roof piece getting steamed over my stove top tea pot.
And here you see it after the steam bending. It took about 30 seconds and was ten times easier than expected.
now onto other cool train things like that PIER baggage car. It should be a blast to build.
You should try a pro steamer. It'll turn the arm of a chair to an al dente' noodle if you let it
Lol....I did this a few days ago, but the page wouldn't post. I think it's still on my clioboard....
Very mystical connection there. I have to call rabbits (thumping) Does it (he/she) have a name?
I changed OS-s after W-10 cooked about a dozen boards with a supply/charge issue (never stopped charging). I hate it. "Spellwreck"&"vindictive text" (vs predictive") drives me nuts. The whole of Linux is just too unstable imo. Big mistake, but Windows hadn't been that bad since # III. I do like the price 
i
It'snot derailed either it's on the left of a Y to two mine portals.) The crossbone tank load is a dolls suitcase on a fireplace matchstick rack. The "top" is a the crane claw, not a top , this is something 
A quick late night post. I liked that box car and the tin can roofs are something I will need to explore.
anyway, some recent shots of the fleet in relation to each other.
A quick late night post. I liked that box car and the tin can roofs are something I will need to explore. Anyway, some recent shots of the fleet in relation to each other.
I've been pondering this new build for some time. It seems like the best cure for over-think is to cut some wood. Again, the model won't be very specifically prototype because the lumber I use is just stuff from the art supply store that costs $0.29 per strip. I am once again using a scaled computer print out as my reference. Since the lumber doesn't exactly match anything I am just fudging the sizes.
This little Baggage car should be pretty awesome despite my Crap Building techniques.
The Primary rule for Crap Building is: Does it feel good to make something with your hands? If so, just keep building.
Just prepping pieces of wood for the build here.
The lumber I have is not exactly to the correct dimensions, so I am pondering what to fudge and what to spend time making as individual planks.
Either way, it's already really shaping up nicely.
Well the day seems to have come.
The A-proximo knife is in the shot to show how big this is. It's literally half way between O and S scales: Q scale?
I have two of these wall sections built. I am gluing right onto the printed out plans. It is revealing just how bad my wood cutting skills are. Look at the middle of the car next to the door sill. Uhm... Oh well!
Still need to get the window sashes constructed. That will require some cutting to make tiny planks since I do not have scale wood for this project. I am just using standard wood from the craft store; and of course gluing. The window sashes are the tear your hair out part, but if you work really slow and take breaks it's ok.
And now I have scale figures -- well they will be here soon enough.
I had seen someone commenting on getting things at shape ways. Since it's all created inside a computer I just asked for the prototype to get scaled to my scale of 1/55.
The vendor was open to the idea, and I now have this on order:
https://www.shapeways.com/prod...k6?optionId=91138906
Work is keeping me from modeling lately, but maybe some figure painting is in order.
I've seen the 55n3 stuff before on different forums online. It's an interesting idea, 1:55 scale being right between On30 (1:48) and Sn3 (1:64) scale size.
BTW, not to cause a ruckus, but 30" gauge really was pretty rare in the US. IIRC only 1% or less of US narrow gauge railroads used 30" gauge - making it rarer than 2' gauge. 3' was far and away the most common.
Traingeekboy posted:Well the day seems to have come.
The A-proximo knife is in the shot to show how big this is. It's literally half way between O and S scales: Q scale?
Looking good.
If I remember correctly, "Q" scale was used in the '30s(?) to make the scale of the trains the same as the 1 1/4" gauge track used (then and now) for "O" scale. Bob2 will correct me if I got this wrong...
Mark in Oregon
My fading memory informs me that "Q" was narrowed track gauge to match 1/4" scale trains...predecessor to today's P48.
We do need Bob2 to adjudicate
About Q scale....100+ years ago, Marklin in Germany offered electric trains in track gauges from IIRC Numbers 1 through 4, with No.1 gauge (1.75", today's "G gauge") being the smallest(!). When they created an even smaller size, 1.25" gauge, they had to call it 0 (zero) gauge, which we call O (like the letter) gauge.
If you divide it out, the correct scale for O is 1:45, or 17/64th" = 1 foot. Virtually no one liked that; too hard to work with. In the U.S., we decided to use 1/4" = 1 foot, or 1:48 scale. So US O scale trains are running on 5' gauge track instead of 4'-8-1/2" like the real standard gauge. In Britain and Europe, they were more familiar with the metric system than us, so they went with 7mm = 1 foot, or 1:43.55 scale. That's why there are all those "O scale" automobiles from Europe that are 1:43 scale. It's also why HO ("Half-O") scale is 1:87.1 - it was developed in Europe, so is 1/2 of European O scale.
A few hardy souls in the 1930's, like Minton Chronkite, built layouts using 1.25" O gauge track, but with trains (mostly scratch)built to the correct 1:45 scale. That's what came to be called "Q scale". Later O "fine scale" developed, which is 1:48 scale trains but using the corrected narrower track gauge.
Hadn't posted in a bit. The latest progress is the addition of some details.
The second paint layer seems to have a real orange peel to it, I am not going to bother fixing it I'll just do extra weathering!
All it needs now is some grab irons here and there and a curtain over the back door to hide the motor.
The loco crews have already dubbed this loco "The Lobster" because of it's chunky look and red paint.
I have some other things in the works, like figure painting and adding last touches on some rolling stock. I also purchased a really crappy steam loco to use as my next piece of motive power that I will destroy and rebuild. It is a play Art 0-4-0. Cheapest loco I could find in HO scale on the auction site as it only cost 8 bucks shipping included.
My exhaust stack is a bit bigger, but not totally off base from prototypes. It's all I could scrounge off the locos I have, the other choice was a big domed stack from an Old 4-4-0.
And yes, sand domes like steam engines on the old lokis too.
Still fiddling around with what I have and plotting for a small layout. Right now time and space to work are at a premium.
I set up some track at a 12" radius to test how my trains would run. Everything clears on the corners.
The close ups also have reminded me I need to re-glue a brake wheel and make some railings.
I am leaning toward using a 15 inch radius on curves, but spurs can get as tight as 12 inches. which means I can squeeze a lot into a tiny space.
wjstix posted:About Q scale....100+ years ago, Marklin in Germany offered electric trains in track gauges from IIRC Numbers 1 through 4, with No.1 gauge (1.75", today's "G gauge") being the smallest(!). When they created an even smaller size, 1.25" gauge, they had to call it 0 (zero) gauge, which we call O (like the letter) gauge.
If you divide it out, the correct scale for O is 1:45, or 17/64th" = 1 foot. Virtually no one liked that; too hard to work with. In the U.S., we decided to use 1/4" = 1 foot, or 1:48 scale. So US O scale trains are running on 5' gauge track instead of 4'-8-1/2" like the real standard gauge. In Britain and Europe, they were more familiar with the metric system than us, so they went with 7mm = 1 foot, or 1:43.55 scale. That's why there are all those "O scale" automobiles from Europe that are 1:43 scale. It's also why HO ("Half-O") scale is 1:87.1 - it was developed in Europe, so is 1/2 of European O scale.
A few hardy souls in the 1930's, like Minton Chronkite, built layouts using 1.25" O gauge track, but with trains (mostly scratch)built to the correct 1:45 scale. That's what came to be called "Q scale". Later O "fine scale" developed, which is 1:48 scale trains but using the corrected narrower track gauge.
Thanks, that is about the best sorting out of all the various O Gauges I have read.
Some neat stuff in this thread. I'm just stuck on the fact that the G.I. Joe train is a collectors item. That was one of the many sets I received from Santa as a young boy. It also was added to collection of sets that was destroyed a week or two after the big day. 
Dave
I guess I neglected to post here in a while. Been making a log car based on an actual 1890s prototype. I have no plans, just some old photos.
Was a really cheap model. Some basswood strips and some trucks from an old tyco HO boxcar. I weathered the wood with cheap water color from the dollar store.
Just to clear up a loose end from earlier in the thread... the “Airline” 55n3 site, and the “5.5mm Association” website are completely unrelated.
55n3 is a American site about one modeller’s thoughts and work representing 3’ narrow gauge using selected Bachman On30 stock and the variations in figure sizes which are common knowledge.
The 5.5mm Association is a British membership group, dating from the 1960s and still in existence. It was founded when GEM Kits, a small hobby producer of cast whitemetal loco kits, introduced a small range of kits to cater to a niche interest modelling narrow gauge on 12mm gauge, then the smallest available commercial gauge. They then expanded to model 3’ narrow gauge on 16.5mm gauge track.
It’s a small, but respected group with a reputation for small, high quality exhibition layouts depicting Welsh or Isle of Man locations.
They still produce occasional short runs of kits from the old GEM tooling, among other things. I wouldn’t be particularly surprised if they still produced their print newsletter.
Joe Toth,
I am intrigued by small, single-track backwoods railroads, especially narrow gauge. Years ago, I began purchasing Bachmann On30 locomotives and rolling stock in anticipation of someday building a layout for them. During the past 23 years, I have built two O gauge layouts (both the subject of articles in OGR magazine) that now occupy most of my basement. Just yesterday, I went downstairs to organize my On30 collection and to see if there is enough room to build a small On30 layout. I have no intention of working in anything other than 1:48 scale and On30 is the only thing I would consider at this point. If you can't manage a layout, have you considered building an On30 diorama? Picture below is a non-operative On30 scene on my 10'-by-5' O gauge railroad.
MELGAR
@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:Really neat stuff and lives up to the onetime slogan Model Railroader used on their covers back when this world wasn't complicated like it is today: Model railroading is fun! In other words, GO FOR IT!
...and please keep updating.
Thanks. It's definitely in the mindset of what I saw in the old days of that magazine. I got tired of the perfect models in all the magazines, being told only a layout with realistic operations and speeds is ok, etc.
Frankly, my output is a bit low. Work and such always gets in the way. I don't have a layout room right now either. Yet, I am doing more model railroading than the decades before. I am sitting here staring at a bunch of old plastic kits I never assembled, I actually find scratch building and kit bashing is easier to do than build a kit, especially in a larger scale.
More updates when I get a lull in the work stuff. I have a mail car to finish and a steam engine to tear apart.
@Rockershovel posted:Just to clear up a loose end from earlier in the thread... the “Airline” 55n3 site, and the “5.5mm Association” website are completely unrelated.
55n3 is a American site about one modeller’s thoughts and work representing 3’ narrow gauge using selected Bachman On30 stock and the variations in figure sizes which are common knowledge.
The 5.5mm Association is a British membership group, dating from the 1960s and still in existence. It was founded when GEM Kits, a small hobby producer of cast whitemetal loco kits, introduced a small range of kits to cater to a niche interest modelling narrow gauge on 12mm gauge, then the smallest available commercial gauge. They then expanded to model 3’ narrow gauge on 16.5mm gauge track.
It’s a small, but respected group with a reputation for small, high quality exhibition layouts depicting Welsh or Isle of Man locations.
They still produce occasional short runs of kits from the old GEM tooling, among other things. I wouldn’t be particularly surprised if they still produced their print newsletter.
I discovered 55n3 because of Harold Hminky, who was posting all over the web about it.
Sadly, Harold passed away about a month ago.
@Traingeekboy posted:I discovered 55n3 because of Harold Hminky, who was posting all over the web about it.
Sadly, Harold passed away about a month ago.
That’s the site I was referring to, and seemingly the one referred to earlier in the thread. The 5.5mm group also refer to him by name in their literature.
One other detail about the various O Gauges. Given the general size of US rolling stock and locos, and various details of its design and overall appearance, it’s easier to be over-Gauge, relative to scale, than under-Gauge in modelling US stock. Hence the various O27 and Traditional variants, which still capture the general appearance of the intended prototypes quite well.
British and European rolling stock tends to be different in design, with a distinctive design aesthetic (this is particularly true of older prototypes) and as a result, when technical problems arise it’s easier to slightly enlarge the scale relative to the track gauge. Hence O Gauge was developed as somewhere between 1:43 and 1:50 to suit the arbitrary track gauge inherited from the toy train days, and when British manufacturers adopted it, they adopted the slightly larger 1:43.5 scale, 7mm/ft because the interchange with Europe meant that British modelling (and engineering generally) was already using hybrid systems of measurement. 17/64” is just the American take on that, adapted to a country with no tradition of using metric measurements.
I decided to go and gather some simulated rock for the new layout.
I am going to use pressure treated rock product made from mud. Essentially like using plaster rock casting, but using these pre-made rock products.
I have some lumber I found. It's all scrap. Bench work design is bit of a puzzle to get it to fit together and make a layout with what I have. The layout will be about 30" x 44" as a small test bed for my models and a place to display scratch build items.
The green is 1/4 inch ply that is 6" wide, these are the puzzle part. The red line is a vertical box frame of 1x6.
Hope everyone is having some train fun.
I got lazy. Yes, I am a lazy model railroader. It's supposed to be fun, not work.
My scratch builds were getting too time consuming. I didn't feel like I was getting anything done at all. So I bought a cheap old TYCO Hopper, cut off the grab irons and set to painting it and weathering it to make it work for my 1/55 scale fleet.
I've never done hair spray chipped paint effect and decided to give that a shot, but I screwed it up.
The victim of my efforts.
After a coat of Humbrol oil paint.
After a coat of matte, a spray of hair spray, and the addition of the wrong kind of paint. I used poster paint and it should have been enamel.
This is when I had to make a decision: Wash the poster paint off and start over, or get really weird and just keep going - I got weird.
I got the crazy idea that using a lighter to damage the paint might add texture. Out came the bic lighter. On came the flame. And now my paint job is all bubbly like it is rusting out from underneath.
I call this Griff's Fire Weathering.
I've since added a bunch of rust particles and it looks really beat to crap and old.
A detailed shot of the final effect.
I post on a variety of sites. I come here and binge through layout threads to see what's new. Seems I've been away a bit.
Finally got around to playing with making "hand made track" by glueing ties I cut from tree branches by hand and then glue to HO scale track.
The hopper is now on wheels. I added some end beams that I need to weather, but I am going to call the model done for now.
I finally got back to my PEIR baggage car scratch build. Added tiny pieces of wood to the windows for the sashes. It's all hand cut and to be honest the old motto of Model Railroading is Fun, was a bit more like, Model Railroading Induces Screaming.
And I got a really good deal on an old Rivarossi/ AHM Bowker HO steam loco. I am going to have some fun re-arranging the domes and enlarging the cab so it can represent something similar to an old Forney 2-4-0. More Model railroad screaming to come.
The 9 volt battery was what I used to test the loco. Very surprised by how good the motor is in this model.
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