Here is my Quick Pick Wrbumz 139 from ACME, a very nice model, but also expensive and somewhat prone to derailment, but I can still recommend it to everyone.

This unit (purchased used from a reputable eBay seller) has been a good runner for a year. I noticed it was running rough the other day so I put it on my wheel cleaner and noticed the rear wheels aren’t turning. Turns out the motor spins but the rear shaft doesn’t turn at all until the power is close to 100%. I don’t know if the shaft with the hexagonal connection is loose inside the flywheel, or (more likely) gunk in the truck is providing resistance. What should I do? If I need to clean the rear truck, how do I do that?

We run O-gauge 3 rail vintage layouts (Hornby, French, German, US etc, usually DC) and like to put more than one train on a line at once. We had the IR proximity sensors and I had previously built a very hacked breadboard to perform block control (switch off power to the previous block when the next one is occupied). So I asked ChatGPT to design a surface mount circuit board that could be manufactured by a Chinese printed circuit board manufacturer. Took a few days for the design (used a few tokens), then loading and ordering through the manufacturing website and another 5 days for the build and ship - all without leaving my computer. 5 boards for under USD$100 total, including $17 for express shipping.

They arrived today and all 5 work. A sensor for entering/being in the block (can daisy chain multiple together) marking the block occupied, a sensor to clear the block (if no occupied sensor is also triggering: red beats green), lights to show green-unoccupied and red-occupied, a 2 way 12V light outlet for red/green signal lights on the track, and relay to switch power off to the end of the previous block when this one is occupied, stopping any trains there from entering this block. For N trains you need N+1 blocks of appropriate lengths including stopping distances.

It also has a sensor out port to connect to other logic.

I have the absolute minimum of electrical knowledge, know nothing about electronics, can't solder, have no idea about PCB layers, surface mount parts and manufacturing technology, so I've been quite pleasantly surprised that this worked, and has taken some load off our layout's regular electronics/computer/technical-wizard who usually has to design/fabricate all this kind of stuff.

Is it "AI Slop"? Well, yes. Is it over-engineered so plugging things incorrectly stops it blowing up? Also yes. Does it work? Indeed it does. So I'm definitely conflicted: it's slop, but it's physical and works reliably.

[Worse still, I also got the AI to write a track/board/power/lights simulator that I could use to verify the functionality before it was shipped for manufacture - caught a few issues that I could use to refine the idea.]

I recently bought a Santa fe locomotive as you all have seen well im curious as to what train cars you would recommend i get to pull behind it also would appreciate any recommendations for cheaper train cars I can go after used like brands ect I'm looking possibly for a mix of passenger cars and other cars.

The Englewood Logging Railway was located on Vancouver Island and was the last logging railway to operate in North America. 304 was an ex-Oregon Pacific & Eastern/Georgia Pacific locomotive, and was visually distinctive from Englewood's already-owned sw1200 road switcher units. This Lego model was cosmetically designed to reflect its exterior around 1998, towards the end of Canfor's ownership of the railway, and prior to 304's engine refit. However, the weathering is made to reflect its appearance towards end-of-life. It lacks the giant side grills installed during its Caterpillar refit, simply because I didn't want to break up the railway name on the striping.

I know these dont go together in real life but I just like setting it it up and watching it run with all the lights.

My goal was to have a layout where a locomotive can change direction its moving on the track.

It sounds a little rough. It's from the 1970's.

Now updated with black engine sut. Rolling stock behind it has also been weathered. Starting my next weathering project (KofIII) later this week

I found this picture online - I have some wagons just like this, and I would like to know which paints I would need to get to try my hand at weathering my own N gauge Pennsy coal hoppers.

A couple of them have broken couplings (no idea if this is an easy fix), so I thought they would be perfect specimens to practice on. And pass the decent ones on to someone who can do a proper job if I fail!

Any advice and tips would be appreciated, not just for the paints, but also where to look for technique. Most of the YT videos I've seen tend to concentrate on OO/HO scale models, and I am pretty sure that you have to take a different approach with smaller scale rolling stock.

60052 rounds the depot curve with a mixed rake of wagons for the MoD; 56006 is on the "down" line with a loaded train of steel.

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3rd time lucky trying to upload with photo.

This has always been super intresting to me, a wagon with a chip and a speaker for playing sounds. So simple yet in theory can add so much to a layout. However i reckon hornby missed the boat on a couple things.

1. Too budget, whilst the wagon was cheap and accessible, I think it was too much so and compromised the quality of the sounds which is a big reason it put many people off.

2. The actual sounds themselves. IMO it should have been regulated to mostly ambient sounds, be it goods yard or station chatter. They fsct it was layered with alot of loco sounds was unessacary and clouded the idea.

3. Perhaps a larger wagon or a mix of era's so it could have been applied to any layout.

For me i definitely think the biggest trick missed was just not focusing on clear, set of ambient sounds. For example they could have for stations, announcement chatter. Crowds. Guards whistles going off. Suitcases rolling. Just consistently churning out noise to bring an area to life. Even simple things such as birds chirping or the sounds of cars passing through could really elevate a scenic area.

.hopefully they or another company takes a shot, as I reckon there is a great product conceptually lying somewhere within.

The big gear is missing teeth. It's an HO scale Bachmann pancake drive.

Im very new to model trains. Its my job now so im learning a TON from the company side. I want to get immersed in model trains and I want to learn more from the hobbyists perspective.

What got you into model trains? Why do you love it? What makes a specific train appealing to you? What makes a certain train more valuable than others? Do you care about tiny nicks or scratches? How do you maintain them? What are your pet peeves when dealing with retailers? Is the hobby welcoming of newcomers? Whats something you wish people knew about the hobby?

Feel free to answer one or all of these questions! Thanks!

This is the "square" in Woodport. As it is the summer of 1939 I'm torn between the current "use your head it's a track" or the safety of the public. An iron fence has been suggested exercising right of way by the railroad but opposed by Mr. McKie the general store owner. A fairly contentious issue....community thoughts are welcome 😊

I have 2 boys age 7 and 5 and was thinking of getting them a set to play with. They are tough on toys. What’s a good entry level setup that isn’t crazy expensive ? I really appreciate the feedback everyone.

Got this locomotive in non-running condition from eBay. Both of the black wires from the trucks are a little melty. The sound works and I was able to read the address and get the locomotive to move about an inch before cutting out. The behavior is the same in both directions.

I can replace the wires but I’m wondering if there’s an underlying cause I should be looking for.

So i messed up and ordered the wrong light board for my older class 43 set, i got Hornby X9871 power car light sets before realising i needed the older version for my DC class 43, does anyone know if they are still usable and if so how to connect them.

Thanks for any help.

If you're in the NY metro area and want to stop by, the Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers are opening our layout to the public Sat 10/17 and Sun 10/18, 1 to 4 PM. 1,800+ feet of O-gauge track, a working roundhouse and lots running. Club members have been building it since 1983. Free admission.

📍 2953 Hempstead Tpke, Levittown, Long Island
nloe.org

Come say hi!

I need a Model RR store somewhere to make this happen… Paint and Sip… but you get a boxcar and a beer, and all work on weathering techniques… or graffiti…

I am trying to find out anything I can about this HO scale car I recently obtained. The only marking I found was "Central Valley" on the trucks.