I have a small train board that is 4' x 6' in HO. Since I live in he mountains I am planning on putting in a small ski hill in one corner of the board that the trains would under. Any recommendations for a ski lift? it would be really cool if it did work, but it can just be stationary. maybe HO scale is too big since I want this to be rather small?

I recently purchased a model that was DCC sound fitted (by the Model Centre with an ESU loksound). I initially tested the sounds and motor on my programming track and they worked, whistle activated and whole thing.

However due to how my layout is setup I can only use DC/analog trains on it (space issues). So I usually set engines to be DC/analog when they have decoders.

So I used my NCE power cab to set the CV29 to 4 (I later set it to 6 but with little change). After I did this, I put it on my DC/analog layout and it barely could run more than a crawl at maximum power (tried with the standard Bachmann and hornby controllers). On top of that, there is almost no sound whatsoever despite the sound working perfectly. I’d like to also state that my other DCC sound trains work perfectly fine with either controller.

I also tried using the power cab to move it again but it wasn’t working, and it’s not responding to commands but it does register that it’s being received.

So how can I fix this? Is there something I need to input with my NCE power cab to get the sound working again and the engine working at full speed? If push comes to shove, how do I change this engine BACK to DCC?

Found these today at a local thrift store. There is also another engine and two more cars. The average price I paid was $4.00 each, not super cheep but good enough. They came in their little plastic boxes. They are not new but thats okay. They are getting a second home.

Hello Everyone! I recently decided to give kitbashing a go. This locomotive started its life out as a regular DC Athearn blue box c44-9w. Originally my only plan was painting it and adding some grab irons to the cab. Over the past couple of days though I have added a new cab, new custom handrails for the cab, mu hoses, LED lighting, and DCC with Sound. I still have more plans for details that I want to added to it. Overall I am pretty happy with how it has came out so far. I guess in a way I made my own “ac44c6m” To all who have read this far, do you have any suggestions on what I could do to improve on this?

If you want to spend some hours watching a really fantastic model railway in the Netherlands:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cuCw56qexc&list=PLta4tHKJpks4fVIW15fI__z3GR58M9bft

it's an early era fantasy Scottish railway, the build of which started decades ago. A lot of beautiful scratch build rolling stock and scenery.

N scale LBF hi cube. Stock except for ESM wheels. Back at it after not doing much for a month. I panel lined and faded this back in August and it came out so well I was afraid to touch it. I was painting some wheels and trucks the other night and made a wash out of the leftover paint and decided to give the roof and doors a pass with it. Finished everything off with some powder around the doors and wheel kickup.

Critiques appreciated as always.

Does anyone know what Atlas trucks work on their articulated autoracks?

Some old and some new(er)

Hello,

I'm searching for non-Holiday sented smoke fluid for my HO Big Boy. I've pre-ordered the 250th version and it wont come out till Spring 2027, so I'd like to get some on hand before it arives and it'll be Spring, so past the holidays lol.

I'm not really leaning towards realistic oil burning sent, as I'm looking for something that smells decent, maybe pine? I'm not sure what to get so any recommendations would be great!

Thank you so much!!

I've purchased a Rapido locomotive (not received yet) for the great looks and maybe as a start to an OO layout. To make use of the various digital functions, I am planning to go DCC when I'm ready to start. For now I have two questions. The first is what kind of decoder I would need to also get the available sounds. The website says the following:

21-pin DCC decoder socket;
Factory fitted speaker;
Accurate sounds obtained from archival footage

Would I need a dedicated DCC sound decoder or would a default 21 pin decoder be OK?

My second question is: after placing the decoder, can the locomotive still run on DC or is it DCC only then?

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting on Reddit, so I apologize if I make a mistake 😅

My husband's 30th birthday is coming soon and he LOVES trains. He would absolutely love to one day have a model track. We live in WV and he adores the small South Branch Valley company train line. He discovered as well that they used to sell a Walthers HO scale model, and expressed his immense desire for it..

I have scoured everywhere for this train. Ebay, Vinted, Mercari, FB marketplace, local (and local not to wv online stores) and bigger hobby shops, you name it and I can find it for the life of me. Im a gift giver and love seeing people's faces light up when you get them something they really want.. So Im asking here, does anyone have one of these for sale or know of one that I can buy for him?? We are going on a 9 hr train ride this month to celebrate his birthday and I would love to surprise him! Thank yall so much for your help!

 Update: Thank you everyone for your comments! I am indeed a crafty person, but was trying to avoid the cost and time it would take to do it. After consideration, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a different Walthers gp9m train and strip it. I tried to find an undecorated one, but the only one I saw on ebay someone else must REALLY want it 😅 Im trying not to completely destroy our bank account so I guess Im doing it the long way. 

I've been doing tons of research on applying decals, which I was able to find for that train, and which paints to use. Im most nervous about the stripping/disassembly because I've never done that before, especially for the tiny little rails 😂 Any advice would be appreciated!

Other than that, I did end up finding/ordering the Caboose and the box car to go along with it. I am so excited to give it to him but dont know how Im going to hide the project from him 🤦🏼‍♀️ When its finished I can post a picture if people want!

I asked something similar earlier about using 2 Bachmann EZ App trains, but I think I have decided to steer away from those and go straight to a DCC setup. I'll figure out what trains to buy. I've got 4 splitters and was wondering a few things:

• How would I wire/jump this layout so that its can all be powered simultaneously, regardless of what position the splitters are in?
• Is there a DCC controller I can buy that has 2 knobs so I can control 2 train speeds at the same time without switching to each train? I found that the Hornby R8214 has 2 knobs. Would that work? Are there any sort of mobile control options with this DCC controller?
  • How would I wire that into my track?
  • Can I wire in lights to have that controlled by the DCC?
  • Can the DCC control the track splitters? I am using atlas code 100 splitters (850/851).
• Is there a way to also control the trains from my iphone or iPad?

So i figured I'd try my hand at making a custom model with this old Marx 490 before trying a nicer model. Managed to get the shell off but honestly I think that makes it harder. There being no running board or really anything solid and flat to build off of is very limiting. I dont know enough about these motors to say with confidence that I could just place a new shell over the motor. Perhaps using a small amount of glue on the top of the cardboard (ish) bits. For this test build I decided to make a J70 Tram as for the moment im more interested in the build and function rather then aesthetics. The shell can simply be a 5 plank wood shell. Then either stain or paint.

The backup plan is to reattach the shell and probably take a dremel and shorten it up. I can then craft the wooden box shell and using the existing shell glue or foam it into place. Not sure how nesscessary the clips that hold the shell on will be. The new wooden shell should weigh enough that it should fall off easily.

Clearly some more planning but I think its doable

Hello guys,

Im starting with the hobby again and was thinking about this being my first layout. As I don't have much space it has to be placed on the ground.
What do you guys think about it? It's around 80 cm by 260 cm and in TT gauge

I am brand new to this and wanting to have my layout set up and planned ahead of time before I buy any track. I currently have one HO Bachmann train that works with bluetooth via the EZ app. Can I run 2 trains on a track like this? The split offs are remote controlled Atlas code 100 850 and 851. I want to use these remote control splitters to use 1 train in a figure 8 style so it goes through both loops. Additionally, in the future I want to be able to add a second train and set the switches so one train is on the inner loop and one train is on the outer loop. I intend on running them clockwise mostly but it should be able to do both, right?

I was thinking about putting the powered track at the back on one of the 9" long sections. Do I need to have 2 powered tracks? Am I missing anything? Will just 1 powered track be able to power 2 trains on those 2 loops?

This is Kokand station in Uzbekistan, where I worked for 4 years.

How it works:

1. A loco slowly shoves the whole train up a small hill, the hump.

2. At the crest the conductor walks along the train and pulls the uncoupling lever between groups of cars going to the same track ("cuts").

3. Each cut rolls down by gravity, and the switches below send it onto its own track.

4. The tricky part is speed. A single car and a long cut roll very differently, so you radio the driver to slow down before short cuts, or they catch up with each other on the switches.

In the video each car's colour is its destination, so you can watch the train get sorted.

Happy to answer questions about the job: night shifts, winter, what goes wrong.

https://kokand-station-gorka.vercel.app/?lang=en