The Walthers / Shinohara turnouts cannot do this. I had to cut down the #6's quite severely to get them to go back-to-back on a 2 1/2" center...
If the motor is an open fram / can type I'd sugest using a white ink-type eraser to polish down the commutator on the armature. That's the brass...
Got two more switch machines installed. Cut the aluminum plate for my switch panels (5 of them). Wired up and installed two panels. They work!!...
I plan on installing a couple more tortoise switch machines and start installing the plates to mount my toggle switches and LED's for the...
The cuts I made were very close to the same locations as the other factory turnouts. In retrospect I could have both cut the frog closer to the...
I wasn't planning on powering the frogs. Down the road I might if I run into any problems. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll probably end up...
I've been busily laying track, installing feeders, and started to install switch machines. Here's a picture of "Dad's Toy Room" for those that...
A while back I purchased 27 Walthers (Shinohara) Code 83 turnouts. They are the DCC-ready turnouts (Insulfrog). Over the last while I've been...
I've heard the Reboxx makes the wheels for Intermountain. If the IM wheels fit right, then you're in good shape. If not, spend the extra for the...
Triplex, I'd make up templates of the building blocks you want, and shuffle them around to give you what you like. The general tendency of...
Because of the LONG list of requirements you have, I'll try and summarize them. 1. You want multiple main-lines for continuous running. Some...
If your peninsula bask a backdrop, it's easy to use it as the main support. If it's an open peninsula, I'd support the bottom with a leg, and...
Lets see if I fully understand, you have an area 12' X 10'6" that has to remain "open" on one of the 12' sides, right? My thoughts.... You don't...
Use grain of wheat bulbs, and drop the voltage as needed to adjust the lighting. The nice thing about a bulb running on reduced voltage is that...
Latest e-mail from Athearn...... Mark, Thank-you for your patience in this matter. Please note that we did receive a small production run of the...
Laid the first track on the new layout! Got about 15' laid on Monday. I laid the last of the cork on the elevated section on Saturday, and...
Common modeling mistakes: 1. Building curved bridges. It simply isn't done for trains. If a curve is needed, then build the bridge wide enough...
I sent them an e-mail about getting my replacement set a day ago. I started talking to them about getting a drive set almost 2 years ago as...
I've got a duck-under on my layout that I'm building right now. I've got about 6' of width clear, and 48" of clearance. There's plenty of room...
What kind of a voltmeter do you have? True RMS reading? The DCC voltage is a screwy mess, and can easily mess up a meter. The voltage on the...