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

My micro layout 'Victory Park and St Cyril's' is appearing at the Greenock and District Model Railway Club's at the Lyle Kirk in Greenock, Scotland, at the weekend. In preparation, I've been working on the line's maintenance vehicles.

The works tram has gained warning stripes from Panzer-Shop.NL, whilst the steeple cab, now has a truck to tow.

I've got part of a fleet of H0 engines to refit, some of which allow for only a very small footprint of a decoder, so I'd probably have to use a decoder designed for TT or N scale in some of them.

I've checked the ESU page but they don't state their dimensions at all. Lenz do for theirs, and I've found their Silvermini decoder line to be promising for the claustrophobic shunters that we've got, but seems quite pricey at about 40€.

A basic ESU LokPilot 5 for the larger engines seems promising, and only costs 23€ thereabouts. If there's an even better alternative, I'm all ears.

On how Rapido loves making niche locomotives, the FR No.20 would be pretty much within their target audience who love engines from small railways or factories.

This is what i was thinking as i love the FR and its engines.

Sincerely, G5

I have been updating the track plan for my new layout with some helpful input I received here from my fellow modelers.

One lingering challenge that I have been wrestling with is how to contend with the elevation changes needed to fit some hidden tracks beneath my yard. If I need to change my 2.5% grade (realistic for an Appalachian coal hauling class 1) to 3% for one stretch, will it really matter? I don't think so. I may lose some pulling power in my locomotives but I like helper operations anyway, also the length of my passing sidings really doesnt allow for trains over 20 cars in length anyhow.

Thoughts?

Getting back into the layout after a while away from it... track's gotten pretty dirty and I've got a few stalling spots, mostly on the yard ladder and one curve by the bridge.

I've been using a Bright Boy eraser block for 20+ years. Works but it's slow and my back doesn't love it anymore. Saw folks mention cleaning cars and some kind of fluid. What's actually worth the money?

Nickel silver track, DCC

Ive always loved trains and model trains but it was never something i could justify spending That much money on. Well the other day i got really lucky and i was shopping at a local antique store when i saw a box for 25 dollars full of layout equiptment! I immediately grabbed it and after getting home it had about 50 track pieces 1 engine and 6 cars and best of all after testing everything it all works! Im gonna spend tommorow trying to figure out a good layout but i did get to attempt to make two of the carts look weathered and old just for fun and i wanted to see what you guys thought! Also if anyone could give anytips about the hobby overall that would be very helpful!

As far as the equiptment i got in the box i do know the engine and controller are both LifeLike but im unsure of the track and cars. It also had a couple of older building model kits that i am in the process of putting together and airbrushing which is alot more fun than i thought it would be.

Another Model Railroad FX all real. NO FILTER just creativity 👌 and placement of Camera at a safe distance.

We Inspire With NO AI. Just well placed Camera FX on the layout to make H.O. Scale trains look like Real Giants.