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  1. ikallio1

    Brown Sand?

    I second Crandell's suggestion about the garden soil. I have used water fractioning to extract really fine material. You need 2 large buckets for this method. Put a spadeful of soil in on bucket, then add water. Let the bucket overflow to get rid of light floating bits - keep vigorously...
  2. ikallio1

    Please give comments on this proposed layout

    Hi Craig, You have a nice big room for the layout! I am also a newbie but I can tell you that your plan is really large for a starter layout. If you're like me you're going to find out soon that your initial plan might not be what you want in the long run. It is a good idea to start building...
  3. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Scratchbuilding a turntable: Correcting vane positions Disclaimer This is a construction journal, not a plan to be followed! If you are inspired to build something after reading these articles, do so at your own risk. Take the necessary precautions for safety. Working with powertools and...
  4. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Thanks for the information. I went out and photographed some actual bridges locally which I guess are from about the same era as the turntable I'm modelling. It seems the bridges are using some square profile cross ties (maybe 8" x 8") and some rectangular profile ones (maybe 8 x 12). I will...
  5. ikallio1

    Weekly Photo Fun 13 - 19 May

    EFRX 109 undergoing field surgery Since we're posting prototype photos: Local short line needed to swap out the rear motor from their switcher. Had a heavy crane to lift the engine up (see photo 1), drove the rear truck from under the engine using a "portable power pack" (i.e. a...
  6. ikallio1

    Weekly Photo Fun 30 Apr-04 May '10

    Hehe, yes. That is my scratch built HO scale turntable in progress. Details for the project can be found in this thread: http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17679 The Z-scale train is from a train set I bought in 1986 in Germany.I was intending to build a good layout...
  7. ikallio1

    Coal loads from foam

    Looks very good to me, just like real oil-drenched coal! Must be the specular reflections from the cell walls of the foam. Does it look as good live (as opposed to in a photograph)? -ik
  8. ikallio1

    Weekly Photo Fun 30 Apr-04 May '10

    My new Z-scale layout Check out the progress on my new Z-scale layout :-) -ik
  9. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Scratchbuilding a turntable: Indexing, part 3 Disclaimer This is a construction journal, not a plan to be followed! If you are inspired to build something after reading these articles, do so at your own risk. Take the necessary precautions for safety. Working with powertools and electricity is...
  10. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Scratchbuilding a turntable: Indexing, part 2 Disclaimer This is a construction journal, not a plan to be followed! If you are inspired to build something after reading these articles, do so at your own risk. Take the necessary precautions for safety. Working with powertools and electricity is...
  11. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Scratchbuilding a turntable: Indexing, part 1 Disclaimer This is a construction journal, not a plan to be followed! If you are inspired to build something after reading these articles, do so at your own risk. Take the necessary precautions for safety. Working with powertools and electricity is...
  12. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Scratchbuilding a turntable: single board computer Disclaimer This is a construction journal, not a plan to be followed! If you are inspired to build something after reading these articles, do so at your own risk. Take the necessary precautions for safety. Working with powertools and...
  13. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Scratchbuilding a turntable: rollers and motor Disclaimer This is a construction journal, not a plan to be followed! If you are inspired to build something after reading these articles, do so at your own risk. Take the necessary precautions for safety. Working with powertools and electricity...
  14. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    You're being too modest Jim, I've seen your pictures. But thanks for the kind encouragement. When I was at the LHS I was comparing those two concrete colors, the aged concrete looked very yellow to me. But it's hard to tell how the painted object would look from just looking at the paint...
  15. ikallio1

    How high is your layout?

    I'm 5'8" and the rail tops are at 28". Remember that my layout is supposed to be for my kids (3 and 5 years old :-) This level will eventually just become a staging area below the actual layout or will be scavenged for a larger, more mature layout. -ik
  16. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Scratchbuilding a turntable: woodworking pt2 Here are pictures 5 and 6. Oh and by the way: the ring was cut from 2 scrap pieces of 5/8" MDF, glued together and allowed to properly dry before routing. -ik
  17. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Scratchbuilding a turntable: woodworking Disclaimer This is a construction journal, not a plan to be followed! If you are inspired to build something after reading these articles, do so at your own risk. Take the necessary precautions for safety. Working with powertools and electricity is...
  18. ikallio1

    How much time?

    I get between 5 and 10 hours of fun per week on the layout. Most of it is building but a little bit of playing :-) Layout was started just over one year ago; got phases 1 and 2 of tracklaying done (main line and yard); now working on engine servicing terminal (including the turntable!). Will...
  19. ikallio1

    My kids weathering job!

    Wow, that BN box car looks amazing. I can't believe how realistic that rust looks! -ik
  20. ikallio1

    Scratchbuilding a turntable

    Scratchbuilding a turntable: bridge base Disclaimer This is a construction journal, not a plan to be followed! If you are inspired to build something after reading these articles, do so at your own risk. Take the necessary precautions for safety. Working with powertools and electricity is...




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