Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads
A hobby adventure
I’ve been working through a few Wheeling Freight Terminal track issues. One of the rails zippered out of the tieplates and spikes during the move or set up. You can kind of see it in the image above. That obviously needed to be fixed before anything rolls across the rails.
Continue reading “Setting up again – part 3”
With all the layout sections back on their legs and bolted together, it was time to connect the wiring. Two wires connect one section to another via a Euro-style nylon barrier strip. The lead photo shows how wires from an adjacent section are about to be connected to the barrier strip.
Continue reading “Setting up again – part 2”
I found the bolts! This was an important step for the HO scale Wheeling Freight Terminal layout. A couple sections use legs that are attached with bolts, washers, and nuts. All the section joints are bolted together. The proper hardware is an important component to set up the layout again.
Continue reading “Setting up again”
As we settle into our new home and undertake a few upgrades, I’ve been able to push progress on the hobby space. I recently built a frame for my workbench. As seen in the opening image, it is doubling as a computer work station area at the moment.
Continue reading “Basement progress”
Good lighting is a key to enjoying our hobby. We create scenes, add details, and expect crew members to read car numbers. Without decent lighting our efforts suffer. The El Paso layout room had a ceiling fan with five light fixtures as a central light source. This was augmented with a couple of clamp-type shop lamps on temporary poles for operating. The light was just above average. The new Tennessee hobby room has poor lighting in comparison. I’ve set out to improve the situation in this rental home. Click on any image here to review a larger size.