John’s been in touch again with how to make model bridges for HO train layout.
His first post is on the bottom half of this one if you want to get up to speed.
“Al,
Thanks for running the first part of my “bridge module.”
Seeing one’s work is an encouragement to do more.
I made time to put in another few days on the next 2 bridges, and finished painting/weathering the rest of the module’s rock cliffs and concrete features of the bridge piers.
I also put the ever-present rust on the first bridge.
I thought some folks might be interested in how the bridges are being constructed, so I have left the thin plywood “dummy track” pieces in the photos, and show how sections are temporarily wired in place.
As I set the heights of the various tracks, I ran into problems with where the bridge tower legs would land (can’t be in the water!) I had to design bridge sections long enough to get across the river.
Fitting all of them together required the plywood tracks to hold each in place until they are glued together and painted silver.
By the way, many USA railroad bridges on the east coast are black, but many out west are silver, and I think they show rust and weathering better than black.
I had the concrete piers and walls kind of gray, but when I checked my photos, I see that most concrete around railroads is a lot darker than new concrete, and the rust from rails and wheels add some reddish-iron-oxide into the mix.
I’m looking forward to doing the scenery, trees and bushes, dirt and all the vines that are always climbing up the bridge supports around here.
I also sent in the general track plan for the layout, general because I’ll be building the mountains first, and the tracks may have to be modified to fit the terrain.
My staging tracks will be housed under the mountains to the left of the drawing, accessed from another door into the room.
I’m hoping to have a mini-camera system to see what’s going on under there.
I’m also painting the backdrop in my mind (I’m sure it looks better there than what will be on the module, but one can wish!)
Regards,
John”
How to make model bridges for HO train layout:
A huge thanks to John for sharing his ‘How to make model bridges for HO train layout’ post – you all know how I like an update.
Steve’s been in touch with a helpful post on how to change model train wheels:
“Hi Al
I have started collecting old Tri-Ang “Transcontinental” locos and stock, mainly from nostalgia and to display on shelves, but I would like to see them running on my proposed layout now and again.
Given the relative crudeness of these models, plus my railway is supposed to be in Northern England, some might say “why?”, but I like them, it’s my railway, so I’ll do what I want!
The wheels fitted to these older models don’t like newer track and pointwork – and vice-versa.
I was surprised to find that some of the old locos ran OK through my Peco points and didn’t “bump” along the chairs on the Peco Streamline track, but nearly all of the old coaches and wagons with open axleboxes ran terribly.
With the help of e-Bay and some cotton buds, I have rewheeled quite a few items of stock so that they run OK on my Peco track and points.
1. The original Tri-Ang open axle boxes. The axles can be pushed right through, allowing the wheels to be removed. This is MUCH easier to do from one side than the other – see photo 3 to see why!
2. The axles are split which gives a variable “back-to-back” (the distance between the backs of the two wheels) This, together with the very deep flanges and the very wide “tyres”, means that these wheels will usually ride very roughly or even derail on more modern track such as Peco Streamline or even the more modern Hornby track.
3. The Tri-Ang axle. Note that at the right-hand end there is a small ridge which bites into the plastic of the wheel on that side.
When removing wheels, you need to push the axle out from the OTHER end. You can tell which end is which by holding both wheels, turning one of them and seeing which one makes the axle rotate with it.
4. Using a suitable metal rod (I am using one of the Tri-Ang axles here – with the ridged end away from the axle box) GENTLY tap the axle through using a small hammer and a lot of care.
Older vehicles use metal boxes, newer ones use plastic but still have the split wheel/open axlebox arrangement. Plastic is not as tough as metal, so extra care is needed.
5. If the axle is not too badly gunged-up with oil and dirt etc you should be able to finish removing it by pushing through by hand using an old jeweller’s screwdriver or similar and/or pulling with pliers on the axle.
In extreme cases I have had to break the old wheels or saw through the axles using a razor saw (careful!). Generally however, they come out OK without having to use such major surgery.
6. Here you can see the Tri-Ang axle almost completely removed. You should be able to see the ridged end of the axle towards the bottom of the picture.
As I said before, this is the direction in which the axle should be removed – if you drove it through in the opposite direction, the ridged bit would just cut into the plastic around it and make it much harder or even impossible to remove.
7. These are the new wheels I used. Most of my newer Hornby stock has been fitted with Bachmann coach or wagon wheels. It’s a good idea to stick to one wheel standard for best running, but I could not find Bachmann ones nearer to the smaller diameter wheels required for HO models.
So e-Bay to the rescue. £13.99 plus very reasonable (and fast) postage from China gives sufficient model train wheels for 9 bogie vehicles so the cost per vehicle is a couple of pounds.
Model train wheels:
8. The coarse-scale Tri-Ang bogie frames are over-sized for the length of the new axles, so you need some kind of bearing to take up the slack as well as allowing the wheels to rotate freely but without slopping about. You could use Peco brass bearings, but these would need careful fitting and some means of packing them out to make them fit on the new axle ends.
Enter the cotton bud.
9. Take two cotton buds and trim off one end of each to remove the cottony bit from that end. You will see that the stem of the cotton bud is hollow and the diameter is either a force fit or just a tiny bit larger than the holes in the axle box.
If necessary, open up the hole a little until the stem of the cotton buds can be pushed through the holes opposite one another while still being a tight fit. A round needle file would be a good choice – I found that a suitable size of jeweller’s screwdriver did the job but don’t tell any real engineers!
This allows you to ease the cotton buds in and out so you can first trap and then centralise the new wheelset. This one has been trapped but needs to be centralised towards the left by twiddling the left cotton bud out a bit and the right one in a bit.
10. Once you have finally adjusted the buds on either side so the wheels rotate freely (and they are more or less centrally positioned between the side frames), trim them off with a sharp blade. You should be able to re-use the same stem a few times until it is too short to handle.
11. You could just paint the new bearings black and leave the axle boxes open, if they don’t bother you. I filled the open ends with tiny blobs of “Protastic”, which is like black Blu-Tack, making sure to avoid the ends of the axles . I guess you could use ordinary Blu-Tack or any other suitable gunge/filler and then paint it black!
Using a non-setting substance allows for future maintenance and easy bearing replacement if required.
Regards
Steve”
Big thanks to Steve for sharing his way of changing model train wheels.
I know so many of you are attached to your old stock – so hopefully Steve’s how-to will help a fair few of you out.
That’s all for today, folks. Please do keep ’em coming.
Julian has been in touch with his model railroad bench work – he’s made one module lower than the others for river and viaduct:
“Hi Alistair,
As promised, a progress report.
A friend of mine has made the various sections and modules to complete the base boards for the finished layout – well, if any train layout is ever ‘finished’ !!
The end boards (01 & 03) are at different levels for the river and viaduct (02), with a river wharf and ware houses climbing a hill towards the castle (on 01).
On the end boards on the right, will be the farm & dairy on the right far end (03), and front right, the brewery/factory (05) These structures will be on hills, with tunnels and cuttings for scenic changes.
An incline will take the branch line from the end of 06 up and along the back of the complete layout to board 01, where it circles and descends to join the main line again. There will be a small station here. The existing station on 06 will be complemented with a high-level station at the back of the village / shop area (05), and branches to the dairy and brewery.
The hills will be layered fibre board off cuts glued and shaped, then covered in a filler impregnated cloth for the base before painting and flocking. Some buildings will be set into the structure to reduce their height and create interest.
The tops of the hills can be removed to access the lines just in case a train decides to shed carriages or derail! Its a technique I read about many years ago and was very effective on a narrow gauge layout I built. If there is enough interest, I can send you pictures of this layout. The dairy and brewery are built on removable bases, ready just to be dropped into place.
Just in case readers are wondering why, the legs are angled and fitted to the garage floor/wall join, so it is near impossible to kick them and collapse the structure!
On the right side of the garage, the complete side folds down (05), just in case my wife decides to get a smaller car that fits into the garage!! Her Ford Eco-Sport does not, so I am safe for the time being!!
Regards,
Julian”
“Dear Al,
In common with many of your readers, I too started a model railway in retirement and with the added incentive of grandchildren.
I had a Hornby Dublo 3 rail set when I was a child in the 1950’s to which additions had been made over many years including the introduction of Hornby 2 rail. The track and locomotives were packed in a trunk in the mid 1960’s and remained there until 2014.
I had the largest shed I could built in our garden (7ft X 12ft – 2.1 Mts X 3.6mts Approx) and used timber scrounged for building sites to make the table. Impatient to ‘play’ with the trains ASAP the track layout evolved by trial and error and what I could fit into the space.
Almost three years later I have enjoyed countless hours of fun working a layout with its many faults but still giving me hours of pleasure.
It’s not finished (Are they ever?) and now I am tempted to stop and start again to iron out some of the wrinkles I have found.
True scale does not look realistic, it needs a visual perspective
Grandchildren need a continuous loop to see non-stop action. Point to point is too slow for them
Young grandchildren are distracted by vehicles and scenery.
I attach a track layout and some photos that I hope you might find of interest.
Best wishes
Andrew,
Cooroy, Queensland, Australia”
Now on to Rob:
“Hi Al, this is a progress report on the new Farland that I thought might interest you.
I have two areas to the point of semi completed states now. The layout is starting to show its true colors a bit.
The video is best through good speakers otherwise one will miss the low tones.
