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N scale waterfront structures

Sheldon has been back in touch – he’s added some N scale waterfront structures to his layout.

If you missed his earlier post and want to get up to speed, it’s here: Kato F3 engines n scale.

“Hi Alastair

How about a little up date.

The flag issue was corrected immediately…

New waterfront was a fun project. Of interest please note the two story out house at the beach.

Please keep up your good work…

Sheldon”

A big thanks to Sheldon for sharing his n scale waterfront structures. I’m always reminded of Brian’s layout whenever there is a water on a layout: HO scale water dock.

Now on to Steve:

“Hi Al,

You recently posted an idea I sent called “Night Light”. It contained a small circuit. Somehow, a connection in the diagram was lost in transit, and some text was misplaced. My apologies for that.

Here is the corrected post.

Here is a little circuit that some folk may want to use to automatically illuminate LED’s when the room lights are turned off ( ie night running).

NIGHT LIGHTS

The circuit is a simple transistor, which is held OFF in normal light. If the light goes dark, the transistor bias changes, so that the transistor turns ON. This is achieved by a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR).

By adjusting the output to 1.5volts, there is no need for any series resistor to the LED’s. If a higher output voltage is required (eg 12volts), then something like a 1000 ohm resistor would be required between the bank of LED’s, and the Neg.

I tested the circuit with two common transistors, attempting to achieve an output of 1.5 volts, to illuminate a bank of 5 x leds. I would expect that many more led’s could be connected (be aware that each led takes 10-20mA from the power supply). The table below shows the values discovered:

Transistor Pos R1 output

2N3055 5v 15000 ohms (15k) 1.5v

2N3055 12v 33000 ohms (33k) 1.5v

BC547 5v 10000 ohms (10k) 1.5v

BC547 12v 47000 ohms (47k) 1.5v

The values shown for R1 are approximate. R1 should be a potentiometer (or trimpot), so that the output can be adjusted more accurately (simply use a trimpot at least 2 times the values above). All parts are readily available from ebay etc, or electronics retailers. The 2N3055 is a power transistor, and the bc547 is a small typical size (500 mA). Both are around $AU 1.50.

Hoping this version is clearer.

Regards

Steve (Sydney)”

A big thanks to Sheldon and Steve.

That’s all for today folks.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you join in the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

PS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.

Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the Silly Discount bundle.

3 light model train signal

Rob’s been back in touch – this time he improves his 3 light model train signal:

“Hi Al,

I decided to try to improve from some of the work I did a few years ago on cantilevered signal gantries. My styrene-building skills have improved since I was into this in the past.

The original pieces I kit bashed were starting to seem rather toy-like to me, and I wanted to see if I could make something closer to reality or look closer to the prototypes.

In my research, I discovered that there seem to be an almost infinite number of different designs for these around the UK. I mostly watched cab ride videos and took screenshots when an interesting signal support structure was on the screen.

Styrene is quite strong when solvent it is welded into a stable structure. It can be fabricated into anything that can be built in steel.

I built the plate girders so they were hollow in the middle and, consequently, I could route the wires through the void. I find I very much enjoy building just about anything these days. Maybe I always did.

I weathered one of the new units and will lightly weather the other two.

For lightly weathering painted steel plate structures like this, I find using the Tamiya panel lining solution to be just about perfect. It leaves a very light residue in the corners, and anywhere else you want it to. Just take the applicator in the bottle and touch the areas where you want to add dirt, grime, and character. It couldn’t be easier.

Thank you, Al. I know I look forward to reading your blogs every day, and I know others do, too.

Rob”

3 light model train signal:

A huge big thank you to Ron for sharing his 3 light model train signal ‘how to’.

Rob’s last post on the signals is here: Signal gantry.

And of course, you can see more of him in the Hall of Fame too.

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

PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.

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

Got a model train question?

HO scale water ponds

Dan’s been back in touch again, this time with how to make HO scale water ponds:

“Here is a pond that is on the Christmas modules I set up at our local KeyBank. I posted that setup previously.

I call it the “Ole Swimming Hole.” There may be some useful hints for the readers. Especially if you want the water near the edge.

The finished look

The base is ceiling tile. The base for the pond is hollowed out. On the right side is the inlet and in the upper center is the outlet of the pond. If you look closely, you can see the drain pipe going out to the outlet. (A short piece of copper tubing.)

Be sure to seal all of the possible cracks. I used a product called “Magic Water” for this project. It is similar to Envirotex. But, it has a slower and cooler setting time. These water products will find the tiniest ways to escape.

The plaster base is in.

I like to have the water come and go from the layout edge if I can. It adds to the drama of flowing water. NOTE: Look closely at the barrier. I used a piece of sheet plastic and caulk as the barrier. When everything is set just peel off the plastic. The caulk is then removed.

The inlet and outlet dams.

The base colors have been added.

The kitty litter rocks are in place and the pond bottom is panted. You can see the lighter colors for the shallower edges of the pond.

The FIRST pour of “Magic Water” is in place. I let it set up for a day. (Be sure to put a covering over the water so dust and bugs cant mess up the water.) The reason for two pours is the next step.

You need kids swimming! The first pour did not fill the pond. The second pour holds the raft in place and then is just enough to fill the inlet and through the pipe at the outlet and down the creek. In a natural flow.

I like the smooth look so folks can see how “deep” the water looks. I get lots of questions as to how deep is the water? They are amazed that it is about 1/8 inch deep. It is the subtle change in color around the pond edge that gives the depth look.