Model railroad layouts plans

Dave has been in touch with some thoughts on model train coupler types. Clearly some are better than others.

I have to say, over the years, there is one brand that always comes up as best in the comments: Kadee.

Dave is also now in this camp as you’ll read, and best of all, he is now derailment free!

“Hi Al,

Well after the great response and comments for the advice wanted re my derailments with the Pullman coaches ( and a lot also said having same problem ) with various couplings , I have found the solution.

I followed most of the suggestions and came up with the best answer, most suggested that I change to a different type of coupling mainly to Kadees which are very popular world wide.

I tried out the Bachmann pipe connection and this proved very good, but not the best for uncoupling after, so I ordered some Kadee large size 19 with NEM pocket fittings, and near perfect, just caused the one derailment at speed in reverse, as shown in the video.

Looking closely as shown in the video the buffers where just catching due to needing longer fitting couplings, causing the derailment, and now I have ordered some of the extra long size 20 which should solve the problem completely, but running forward with these as they are on size 19 not a problem…

Thank you all again for your suggestions in helping me solve this.

Here is my video showing fitting the new couplings and the results.

Regards

Dave”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

A huge thanks to Dave for sharing his thughts on model train coupler types. If you missed his original post, it’s here.

Another post you may find useful if derailments are haunting you, is Mal’s:

How to stop derailments.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming though, it’s very quiet 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.

Kaustav’s been in touch with a wonderful ‘how to’ on N scale weathering.

“Hi Al,

Few weeks back you found and posted the part 1 of my barge making video and the response was very positive from your subscribers.

I just realised that I haven’t followed up on it and sent the part 2 and 3 of the build series, so here it goes.

Once the barge was built, it was time for painting and weathering. I used my airbrush for the base coat and top coat which was pretty easy and I did it pretty fast since I couldn’t wait to get to the next step – weathering!

Weathering an old sea vessel is like the holy grail of weathering in miniature. There are so many elements – dried algae, fading due to salt water, different types of chipping, dust, rust, heavy corrosion – whatever you can think of when you think of weathering can be found in an old vessel.

Moreover, unlike larger models, I had a very tight space to work with and had to hit that fine balance of the size vs. the right amount of weathering. You need to keep the scale in mind during weathering too.

So, this project is really a one stop shop of weathering techniques!

This was not the last part thought, after this one I had to add a ton of details to the barge to bring out the best in the model (which also includes a little bit of weathering on wood). But let’s keep that for my next entry.

Cheers!

Kaustav”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Stunning stuff from Kaustav. His last few posts are here if you missed them:

Kaustav’s port layout.

Kaustav’s video.

A big thanks to Kaustav for his N scale weathering ‘how to’.

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.

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

I’m ofter mailed about HO scale coupler types.

But to be honest, it doesn’t matter what scale you model in, couplers can cause all sorts of problems, particularly derailments.

Have a look at the comments at the bottom of the page and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

In fact, reading the comment below could save you hours and hours of blood, sweat and tears. Especially the tears.

It doesn’t matter what type of HO scale coupler types you decide on – or any scale for that matter – as you’ll read.

“Hi Al,

Just posted this video showing a good running session, and also a problem I am having with couplings causing derailments, tried new couplings but this does not seem to work so far, maybe some members will have a few suggestions?

Regards

Dave”

Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

Well, Dave has given us all a lot of pleasure over the years, so it would be wonderful if we could do something for him. Can anyone help with his couplings?

If you can, please do leave a comment at the bottom of the page.

Now on to Tom:

“I thought I would pass this photo along to remind everyone that things get messy before they get good.

Tom”

Wise words from Tom, and it’s certainly something I’m always banging on about, so I thought it worth posting.

That’s all for today folks. Short and sweet today, but sometimes that’s the way it is: HO scale coupler types or any scale, they can be troublesome.

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.