Recent content by Epimetheus

You mean they are going to USE them? Like, for revenue? Egads! Shock! That makes sense. They were designed for light regional commuter traffic, and nothing like them, a single self-propelled rail unit, has been built since, well, Budd RDC cars.

Today I saw an RDC Budd car riding on the tail of a freight, north through Northampton, MA. What heritage railway is getting an RDC car?

I have hour meters on all my locomotives. Every 25 running hours they get shopped which includes complete tear-down and cleaning, drive train testing, and touch-up of paint. The motor is removed and load tested to ensure proper current draw. If not, they are replaced until they can be...

Rough foam is a good thing - it gives the ground more texture. I like the way you are constructing it of stuff you had around. There is no right way to build it as long as the trains do not derail. I prefer the second layout to the first although the second has no run-around. You can use 2...

I went era-less for many years. Now I am trying to keep it in the 20s and 30s. For a change. Except - I have some 44 tonners to haul old passenger cars as a modern day tourist line. And that sig irritates me.:rolleyes:

I tried Pan Pastels at a clinic at a show and I have tried other pastels. Pan pastels are much superior. They are ground much finer. If you see a youtube video, yes, they are that easy to apply and remove. The surface needs to be flat, or matte, to better hold the pastel dust. I am not yet...

Glad to hear it. Those are two perfect steam locos for layouts, appearing in any era from 1911 to the present. If all your motive power is diesel you could add a tourist line with either locomotive.

Tom, I would experiment and go with what works for me. I have messed up several "junk" boxcars before I have a technique that satisfies me. Painters of miniature fantasy figures, like fairies and dragons, are a good source of information about Vallejo and Micro-Lux. They need fine pigment...

Roundhouse used the same boiler casting on the PRR Atlantic 4-4-2 and PRR Consolidation 2-8-0 Bowser did the same thing, using their boiler on both the 4-4-2 and 2-8-0 Although the cast boilers are not perfectly accurate for either wheel arrangement, they are a very reasonable alternative to...

IMO, this is a golden age for HO and N scale. Current manufacturers make marvelous engines and rolling stock. The detail is beyond belief. $300-$1000 brass-hybrid engines with DCC and sound operate and sound amazing. Recently in Wal-mart I saw a static "collectable" mass-produced figure...

Congrats! This should go into Recent Purchases (grin) Yep, this should definitely be cross-posted in recent purchases. Lovely child. Enjoy many of developing and programming.

Tell me your budget and I can tell you where to start. Is this level of detail available in say a Bachmann Spectrum for example or unique to brass? Both plastic and brass have various levels of detail Why are they unpainted? Some are factory painted Would I need to get inside them to update...

The pins would work. Brass wire also. Your work, your choice. Ladder - I would use extra-long pieces and trim after soldering. Tape the rails to a board, solder the rungs, clip to size. Then purchase chain to complete it. A caboose of the 60's and 70's must have crash bars by RR rules -...

Sources of wire and clear plastic handrail wire sources - I go to ebay when my local hobby shop does not have the wire size. I ordered a 50 ft roll of 0.020 brass wire, there are other diameters. Search for "Brass Wire 24 AWG" under "model railroads & trains". That is plenty to make the...

Interesting technique. I will experiment on less-liked rolling stock, then move to nicer stuff. That $1 rolling stock from shows comes in very handy for experimenting.