Do you feel confident enough to try using joint compound or the like for roads? I'm thinking it might be better for modelling well used and not so well maintained surfaces.
I'd just use it straight from the tub, probably either with a piece of thicker sheet styrene or small putty knife. That way it stays thick enough to not want to run when laid down, and it'll hold the shape/surface you lay. Added benefit that it's easy to gouge potholes, score cracks or sand smooth.
The switch throws being directionally painted works very well, especially when someone new is operating. I am wondering if you happened to have some left over from your previous layout?
Luckily I have a Masters home depot two minutes down the road so I bought some filler and gave it a go, looks like a great way for building roads, will let it dry overnight then give it a sand
What a difference! It is starting to look like a model railroad How will you switch the power to the frogs to endure continuity? Microswitches?
I have always wondered about some things we do on model railroads. Point #1 being wired frogs. When I built a fairly large N scale layout with C55, I never wired my frogs. I knew I was supposed to but ended up running trains the minute I could and they ran fine. And I was using DCC. So do what you will, but I always go as simple as possible with things. My HO scale stuff, being a lot of legacy locos for the most part and running on analog, just uses C100 with plastic frogs so no problems there that I am aware of either. Has anyone else done what I did, or does everyone just follow the rule because it's what's yer sposed to do?
I always energise my frogs independently of blade contact for faultless running. OK when new, unpainted, unballasted. But paint and ballast, even dust, can make intermittent contact. Better safe than have to remedy after scenic work is done.
Another thing I do is to solder dropper wires at intervals to connect to bus wires, instead of depending on the rail joiners.
Will let you know shortly after ballasting a number of switches however they will be well maintained before i test them out
Well cleaned the track and switches and tested the loco, at first all the switches were dead lol first thing i thought about was what you said Alan however I cleaned inside the switch blades and added a little tension and solved the problem
Hopefully contact will remain consistent, but even intermittent problems can be frustrating during operating sessions, hence my 'belt and braces' approach. Learned over many years of building model railways
Well for a very long time I haven't been able to take prototypical shots, tonight I was able to take a few. http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/2485/IMG_4518.JPG[/img[/url [url=http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showphoto.php/photo/167350/title/img-4519/cat/2485][img]http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/2485/IMG_4519.JPG
Very nice Paul. Good to be able to photograph trains again. Another milestone in the layout progress.
