This may be of little value to you, but I'll offer it in case it helps. Looking for diaphragms back in the late '90s, I came across an article in Railway Modeller (UK) in which a gent was making convincing-looking diaphragms by folding and cutting black paper (kinda like cutting out paper dolls). I altered his construction somewhat and wrote an article for the MAR-APR99 N-Scale. Since these are narrow, they're suitable for old heavyweights and diesel units, but not that realistic for modern (full-width diaphragm) lightweights. I was particularly pleased that - in spite of being paper - they slide and return nicely on my fairly sharp curves, and they've held up nicely for 10 years. Scott
Hey, I saw that article about 10yrs ago and made some of them. They were great! Cheap to make and worked great. Sorry for my temporary theft of thread!
I have purchased the N Scale magazine DVDs through 1999 and I highly recommend them. (They are PDF files.) The method for constructing tissue paper diaphragms is on page 40 of the March-April, 1999 issue. [edit] There seems to be an interest in this topic. I moved two posts here from another thread.
Thanks for the heads up Flash. I didn't realize the second volume was out already so I picked it up. Hope the third volume follows suit shortly. Brian N-Scale Magazine back issues now on CD
I went through the diaphragm article last night. It didn't seem easy to me. Maybe if I try it a little the methods will become obvious. I did discern that there is no opening at the end of the diaphragm. It has to be smooth so it will slide across the face of the adjoining diaphragm. I do like those N Scale Magazine CDs! :thumbs_up: