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The railroading scenery tips just keep coming

“Hi Al

Just want to pass on my grateful thanks for the link to the fantastic web pages for DCC operation and tips on DCC. I’ve learn more from reading these pages in the last couple of days than over the past year from proprietary sites. He uses plan English even listing the parts you need and where to get them from and best methods for installing decoders on some of the oldest trains in a logical order. The diagrams are easy to follow and think even a novice to DCC will find these pages of great help. So cheers Al for passing this on to us.

Pete”

Your welcome, Pete. If you missed it, it’s here.

“I attached some pics of o scale layout, which have been about 1 1/2 years in progress. I actually have made turn and now decending, from 15 inch above table, and the tracks goes over itself 3 times. My upward grade is 1% and final downhill will be 2%, due to lenght of 11 feet.

Thanks

Todd”

“Alastair:

As I age, my enjoyment for searching for small parts on the floor has dimmed.
I just started using this gerbil container to enclose the flying parts.

– Graeme.”

“Horse hair engine part packing material makes great trees as well.

Small round wood dowel paint , cut horse hair , slide on dowel affix with rubber cement, Hairspray , green stuff instant tree.

Kevin”

“make the table high enough so you dont get tired.then just enjoy your train. jim”

“Hey Alister I am wondering what you consider to be the best way to clean nickel silver track. I recently used a single edge razor to scrape it clean and had marvelous results my Bachmann Shay now runs at incredibly slow speeds smoothly. I was wondering if the Nickel silver track is plated or solid as I wondered if this was a good Idea? I asked Google and got no answer. I Love your Model Railroad tips. Have an awesome day!

Sincerely Robert”

Hi Al.Hope your doing well and family too.I been working on this apartment building.2 floor job.Its half done but have made up some plans on paper for it.Same goes for those two homes.When done i will scan the plans and send it.

Thanks Kim – appreciate that (Kim is the modeller who sent in the ‘how to’ on the telegraph poles).

And don’t forget the print out scenery here.

Course, I’m biased, but if you like these tips, I suspect you’ll like these.

Best

Sofa railroad!

I just loved these pictures Steve sent in.

Just goes to show, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

I’m short on space but my beloved would strangle me if she came home to the below.

Steve, I think you need have a look at Ted’s woodwork plans and build a cabinet for that sofa!

Many thanks for sharing!

Best

Latest ‘ebay cheat sheet is here’.

More railroad tips from readers

“Hi Al,

I have really enjoyed the great tips you send out.

I’m building a 12′ by 4′ N scale layout on foam insulation board. The board is held together by lengths of aluminum “L” bars. BTW I got the boards by asking a local home store if they would discount boards that were less than perfect. As I left the worker told me to always ask whenever I saw something that I might want. So next time I went to the cutting section and saw a bunch of ply wood scraps, 2 x 3 etc. Just what I needed for elevated track section. I got my pick for $0.51.

I recently saw mention of a foam cutter and unpacked one I had purchased 5 years ago sold by Avalon or Tippi. They are really a time saver. They come in many different configurations most under $25. I got a battery operated one for $14 and change at AC Moore

Instant Road Bed:
The product has returned to the market under a new name. It is a black two adhesive sides. I found some of the very old stuff that had been sitting out in the garage for years. I was able to rejuvenate it by placing it in the microwave for five minutes. It was in almost a molten state. But worked well after it cooled down a bit. The time in the microwave can vary with the age and loss of adhesiveness.

Wire:
I had lots of odd lengths of telephone 4 wire wrapped in a shield left over from the rewiring of our home. It is a very inexpensive source of wire even if you have to buy it new from a home improvement store. The shielding also comes in handy.

Curves:
This is for those of you like me who use the hit or miss approach without a well worked out master plan. We lay out track to fit the space. Drawing the curves can be a challenge. You can get an aid called Mars flexible curve. It is like a snake that takes and keeps the curve you want. So even the most ad hoc one of a kind curve comes out smooth. It has a 18″ ruler on one side and a 45.7 cm on the other. It is great for calculating the needed length of flex track.

Best

Del”

“Best tip I ever had was to use leftover ceiling tile for roadbed on my O gauge layout as well as scenery.

Carl”

“I make ceader trees using different sizes of pine cones and golden rod plants I find in fields. I first paint the golden rod green using cheap spray cans, then glue the small branches to the pine cones. They look just like those in the southeast and look great planted on bluffs and cut throughs.

Carrol”

“Instead of buying prewired power connectors I solder short small wires to track connectors and install them as I initially put down track,after I’m happy with the way I want it I drill small holes between the ties and thread the wires through,I can then make the connections under the table.

Joseph”

“Hey Al! I do love the pic’s! I will send in my pic’s soon, my layout is under construction at the moment, its not as big as the one’s you send me and I’m not doing it the traditional way, my layout has the tyco us1 trucking set incorporated into it ( to keep my 5 year old entertained) these r the pic’s so far!

Mike”