Bill’s been back in touch with a step by step for making a HO scale culvert.
“Hi Al,
Short update on my layout. Been raining a lot in Virginia lately and I got tired of looking at all pink foam base on my layout.
I took out some scenery supplies I’ve had in storage since the early 90’s and had got rid of the pink in at least a small area of the layout.
It’s been fun to weather track, lay a little ballast and start to model the world around the track.
Best
Bill in Virginia”
Now on to Jim:
“Hi Al.
Jim from CB back again with Part #6 of my model railroad layout.
In my last posting, there was a comment that it was lucky that the door to the layout room opened outwards instead of the usual inwards.
Well, it wasn’t really lucky, because, even before I started the layout, I realized that I would have to re-hang the door so it would open outwardly & afford me the extra space that would be required for the layout.
Also, if one checks out the video from 2:11 to 2:33, in the middle you will notice a searchlight tower near the transfer table pit.
Years ago, I traded in a box of my old, badly abused childhood Marx 0-27 scale train cars on some new HO scale train cars.
Then a few years later, in my basement, I found the searchlight housing for the old Marx searchlight work car.
So rather than toss it, I scratch built a tower & mounted the searchlight housing on top of it with a grain-of-rice bulb inside for lighting.
Although it’s not the correct scale, I believe it doesn’t look too out of place & besides, I therefore, still have a connection, albeit a small one, to my childhood trains.
That’s it for now train buddies & keep on trackin.’
Jim from CB”
That’s all for today folks, a huge thanks to Jim and to Bill for sharing his HO scale culvert.
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 HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.
Jim…Great layout. I especially like the A&P store.
Ed in Kentucky
Well Bill Keep at it you appear to have the knack of making the trackside look real. Well Done
Colin Scotland
Jim & Bill NICE work! Keep up the GREAT work! ~Hemi
Hi
Great layouts – well done gentlemen!
I have one question/comment. In Jim’s video there appears to be a horizontal slide ‘turntable’. Is that what it is? If so what is a model of and how was it done?
Great Scenery
what type of ho track is that it looks like real wood then the track you buy in the stores.
p.s. all your stuff is just great thanks a lot.
Jim I think you have a fantastic layout. A nice variety of equipment and a lot of railroad action going on. Nice work!
Bill in Virginia
To the gentleman asking about track, for my layout I use shinohara code 70 layouts and flex track. I hand paint the ties and rail using Model Master railroad tie brown. After I lay ballast I use a mix of brown, black and a little red and orange chalk dust to weather ties and rails. It gives it a nice look and dulls everything to make it look more realistic
Very nicely done and love the scenery!!
Nice job!
Great train action and beautiful scenery, buildings etc.
Very nice job on both Jim & Bill. On Jim’s old flat car did you have to put new trucks for the flat car to ride the rails right? And Bills scenery looks very real, I liked how you used some of the pink for rocks, very nicely done. I can’t wait to get to the scenery on mine.
Keep on trucking and keep them on the rails.
SDG St.Petersburg Fl USA
Very beautiful layout with great photos. I especially like the ambiguity of the photo showing the track leading to a 90 degree crossing, or not. Was it at one time a crossing but no longer, or is it a possible crossing in the future? Ah, the mystery!
Great
i especially liked seeing the 4-6-6-4 running around the track. I know for that engine it takes a lot more track tweaking to ensure no derailments. Good for you.
Nicely done. The culverts are excellent. Thanks for the video.
An enjoyable video without a narrator mumbling along with it … how absolutely refreshing to my ears! Great job!
Great job . Love that there’s no graffiti on your freight cars. Enjoyed the video.
The Critic
There is a company that makes a hand held hotwire cutter set that is great for working with styrafoam. It has different tips for different shape cuts and gouges.
To answer Robert Morton’s question, it’s called a “locomotive transfer table.” It’s kinda like a modern turntable with an across movement instead of circular. It’s made by “Cornerstone” as a kit & the locomotive workhouse is also made by Cornerstone & sold separately.
To answer Stephen D. Gispanski’s question, I only used the light housing cover from my old Marx searchlight car for the top of the scratch built light tower since that was all that was left of the old Marx searchlight car. Thanks everyone for your interest & nice comments & to you Al for creating & continuing such a fine & informative site for us model train enthusiasts.
Regarding the ballast. Did each railroad have there own type of ballast that you can tell its from that railroad? Like CNW, I thought was on the pinkish side, but was curious if each railroad had its own signature blend and color?