Model railroad layouts plans

Gary has been in touch with a wire resistor to model train lights problem:

He had a problem with his LED’s that I post here, but…

“Gentlemen…..Please accept my apology for posting that request for help with the LEDs and Resistors.

I originally ask for help because when I set up an LED bulb with two resistors in series (combined ohm of 1.5 ohms) in order to dim the green LED for my signals it appeared to get brighter or so I thought.

BUT when I redid the test to provide the attached pictures, it worked fine and the bulb was dimmer with a combined a 1K ohm resistor with a .5K ohm resistor in SERIES.

I could not reproduce what I reported as my original problem that the LED got brighter.

I do not know what I did or what I saw that made it look brighter for me to report the original problem; so please accept my apology.

As you can see, putting the resistors in SERIES works well to reduce the voltage and dim the LED.

Everything was done with the same Battery, LED and RESISTORS.

Picture 1 – LED1 – LED just attached to 3 volt battery

Picture 2 – LED2 – LED with 1K ohm resistor

Picture 3 – LED3 – LED with attached !k & .5K ohm in SERIES

Gary”

Now on to Rich (whose last post is here).

“Hi Al.

I know its been a while since my last post. From time to time life gets in the way of our hobby.

Through what I have learned on your web site [ I read all your posts. ] I believe I have done well on my side cliff coloration blend.

Still working on many other areas of my lay out and loving every time I get the chance to work on it.

Thanks again Al for all your posts.

Hope you like the latest pics from my train room.

Happy Modeling

Rich from N.J.”

And now on to Dave. He had a problem with his couplings a short while ago if you want to pick up the thread.

“Hi Al, just a short video showing the new couplings that were recommended to me with a magnet uncoupler to be installed.

Also I have made a few changes to the layout, giving an extra siding and a bigger curve on the track helping to have smother running round these areas where problems were occurring.

Unfortunately in doing so I must have damaged some of my wiring which lead to the layout shorting out.. all part of the learning curve ? Then again , problems we could do without.

Regards

Dave”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

That’s all for today, folks. Can anyone help Gary with his wire resistor to model train lights issue?

Thanks to Rich, Dave and Gary.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Rusty has shared the model train roller test stand he built:

“I have used several test stands and have had issues with most of them.

I made this in an afternoon for under $20. It has no moving parts, no adjustments needed.

It is a stable platform and works on any size locomotive.

Kind Regards

Rusty”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Now on to Gary. He’s made a fantastic contribution to blog with his posts (his last one is here).

But now, we can help him. He’s got a question:

“Hi Alastair…… I need some help with electronics…… here’s my problem:

I am trying to lower the voltage to my LEDs to dim them in my signals.

If I attach a 1K OHM resister to the positive side of the LED and connect it to a small 3 volt battery, the LED is dimmer then a LED attached to the same battery but without a resister.

One of the model railroaders who saw my engine yard layout, responded to my query about LEDs and resistors by saying to use a higher OHM resistor.

What I tried was daisy chaining a 1K OHM and a .5K OHM together. I put it on my multimeter and it registered 1.5K OHM….. great right?

When I attached the LED with the combined resistors to the same 3 volt battery…THE LED WAS BRIGHTER!!!

I do not understand that. Can anyone out there explain this to me?

Gary”

That’s all for today folks. Who can help Gary? Please leave a comment at the bottom of the page if you can.

And thanks to Rusty too for sharing his model train roller test stand. The simple ideas are always the best ones.

And don’t forget the Beginner’s Guide if you want to get going on your very own layout.

Best

Al

Kaustav has been back in touch with his N scale port layout.

Have a look at his weathering – he’s done such a good job.

“Hi Al,

As promised, here is the last part of the barge project.

After weathering, I needed to bring the model to the finish line by adding some details. Of course detailing in N Scale is always difficult, but with a little bit of patience it is possible to achieve some interesting details in such a small scale as well.

The trick is to tie everything together in the end to tell a story, however short, so people can connect to the model and the scene.

I decide the broader story first and then add the details, and sometimes improvise on that broad story as I go. That way, I know exactly what details I want to add to the model – I think that’s important.

It not only gives you clarity of what exactly you want to achieve and show in your model, it also helps people connect to your work.

So, here you go with the 3rd and final episode of The Barge. Hope you and viewers like it.

Kaustav”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

A huge thanks to Kaustav for sharing his N scale port layout – I really do enjoy his stuff, and by the comments on his last few posts, you lot do too.

Weathering comes up a lot on the blog, it’s not usually on barges though, more locomotives and rolling stock, and a building or two.

(Kaustav’s last post is here)

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming because it’s getting a bit thin on the ground this end.

And if today is the day you get started on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

PPS More N scale layouts here if that’s your thing.