Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads
A hobby adventure
Dave Campbell has switched to Dead Rail for locomotive control on his HO scale Nickel Plate Road Minster Branch project. He sent the following notes.
Awhile back I promised an explanation of why I adopted a dead rail system for the new layout and how that’s working out for me. Here’s my adventure!
Continue reading “Dead rail on the Minster Branch”
Dave Campbell is back with another update on his HO scale Nickel Plate Road Minster Branch project.
Last time I said the next update would include some photos of east Saint Marys after it was finished. Unfortunately, the meaning of finished was tough for me to nail down.
Continue reading “The Minster Branch – Update 5”
I’ve had random hobby thoughts recently that seem to be related. Over the course of the last month, I’ve hosted an operating session, attended another operating session, and attended an NMRA division meeting. I intentionally altered my schedule to participate in these events. Why? I guess I would have just thrown out a simple, “Because it’s fun,” response in the past. But I’ve become keenly aware that personal participation in activities with other hobbyists directly effects my hobby enjoyment. It’s not just about listening to others talk about a specific subject but taking part in a conversational process that gives me a good feeling.
I moved to El Paso, Texas, in the summer of 2012 and began to seek out local model railroaders. I attended a local NMRA meeting and met Mike who was building an HO scale home layout in nearby Las Cruces, NM. His layout had progressed well and he hoped to begin operating soon. I offered to assist with any tasks to keep the progress rolling and ended up visiting a couple of times a month. Over the next year, the mainline was completed, a yard was installed, an industrial branch was installed, and operating sessions were set up. Mike now hosts once a month sessions on his layout and a few local model railroaders participate. Click on any image here to review a large size.
Building a model railroad involves assembling track components into a design that meets a desire to operate or follow a prototype location. In many cases, three-foot sections of flexible track are joined together, or joined to track switches, as the mainline is installed. Often a tie or two is clipped from the track ends in order to connect the pieces with rail joiners. Installation proceeds and eventually the completed track is tested with a few freight cars and a locomotive before it is deemed complete.