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    Probably not as many lone model railroads out there; but if there are some

    I purchased a second DT400 throttle from Digitrax when I purchased the system, the old klunk...Super Empire Builder. Still works like a charm BTW, now 21 years in. I wanted a spare throttle rather than to have to purchase and wait for delivery if one went on the Fritz.
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    Layout heights

    I have had four layouts, all but one near 45", but with grades the mains sometimes get higher, closer to 51". My third layout was very low, and I loved looking down on it. It was about 27" high. It was in a loft under a hipped roof in an outbuilding on our property, and since I like...
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    Hardboard backdrop swelling with mud (Completed, maybe solved?)

    Yes, priming it first, or a urethane coat, would help. You'd want to lightly sand whatever you leave there as a sealant so that the plaster adheres better....or add some wood glue to the plaster, very well mixed in.
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    Pro tips welcome

    I think you have done a good job. I am a sucker for double-slip switches, which are costly if purchased commercially, but I haven't had a layout without at least one. If you are interested, you can create a 'run-around' facility in that upper industrial track by placing a DS at the second...
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    Safely handling newer model railroading's "finer scale" equipment

    Tom, it may come down to these three: a. a realistic, if regrettable, and lamentable, assessment of your true new limitations and just accepting them as part of your journey; b. getting your eyes checked for cataracts, new corneal defects, macular degeneration, or other visual impairments that...
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    How much time….?

    Unfortunately, my main hobby is spending time on line seated at a PC. With some health issues, with enjoying hobbies on fora, and doing general comments and news/philosophy/politics/science reading. I spend the odd evening with telescopes when the Moon isn't blazing overhead or the winds and...
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    NOS BLI Paragon Locomotive stopped working on DCC after changing the address, still works fine on DC

    Use a CV calculator, like this one. Add to favorites: https://www.digitrax.com/support/cv/calculators/
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    What the heck is this?

    A matrix of 'double-slip' turnouts designed to allow a consist access to any number of terminal or through tracks. I can't have a layout without at least one double-slip in place. I made one years ago, still works like a hot damn, and purchased two more which also work well.
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    I'm going to be purchasing my first DCC diesel locomotive with sound, recommendations?

    Perhaps Bachmann or BLI, but I haven't been keeping up. There is also Bowser, Intermountain, Athearn Genesis, and Walthers. Atlas has a solid reputation as well. Really, you have to identify a specific locomotive, which railroads operated them, and then go from there. All are warranted, so...
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    Mineral oil in a pinch?

    What have you to lose? Put three drops in, fire it up, wait-two-three-four-five, and if there's nothing like smoke in about seven or eight seconds, cut power and cut your loss.
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    HO Code 100 cross over for parallel tracks

    It is the spacing between parallels that affords you a nice geometric meet in the middle of any kind of crossover, providing you're using two identical turnouts. There's no reason not to use whichever code of rails you need, to (due to cash flow or availability). You just have to make two...
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    Steam loco general question

    The term for the 90 degree offset of the driver main crank is 'quartered'. 90 deg is one quarter of a revolution. That way, one of the valves is always in a position to allow steam into the cylinder that will allow the choice of direction of movement. Suppose an engine abuts a stop at a...
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    HO- inexplicable derailings

    Wheel gauge for sure, but also run one of those loooonng, thin, needle files on edge through the frog routes. scrub, scrub....not hard, and not for an hour. Just two/three swipes in each direction, change the route and repeat. Sometimes flashing is in there from the mold extraction if it's...
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    Are N Scale Couplers Actually HO?

    The NMRA guidelines about such things are there for a reason, and after much debate and engineering. They just work. Scale modelers, those actually seeking to mimic an item in scale on rails, would want something more realistic. You almost couldn't see scale HO flanges.
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    I’ve been busy…

    Nice job. You have an eye and the skills, clearly.
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    recommendations for Peco ho turnouts- manual or switch motor?

    I enjoy operating my layout manually. I actually enjoy planning the route intended, lining all the turnouts' points, and then watching the train make its way down that intended path. Next train, different route, maybe in reverse, maybe doing a drop-off and pick-up at a siding....all requiring...
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    spline roadbed

    When I was researching this 20 years ago, images showed it both ways. I can see that you might get more track length if blocks are used, although my calculation showed me that I could 'laminate fully with the proceeds from one 4X8 sheet of 1/4" MDF ripped long and 11/16" wide. I ended up with...
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    Ken Patterson HO fire

    IT is my practice as well....I double check that my power bar is off before I leave the room for any reason. I have forgotten, admittedly, but at least I stop all trains and turn off track power via the throttle, and then confirm that the red LED is not lit on the face of the DB150.
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    Ken Patterson HO fire

    My DB150 from Digitrax senses the fault, beeps repeatedly, and will cut track power. It keeps sensing, but it will not attempt to return power until it no longer detects the short. This has taken place faultlessly on my layout since I purchased the system back in 2005. I also use an auto tail...
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    Realistic Water Too Dark

    I have used Envirotex and Swing Paints' Nu-Lustre 55, both of which are 'finish quality' two-part epoxies. Neither seems to yellow over time, but I tint mine so it's hard to tell, plus that painted dark bottom. I don't know if resin will yellow, but the two parts of those two epoxies comprise...




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