GROUND THROWS I went shopping today and purchased pierced earing posts and locks for my ground throws. I spent all of maybe six bucks on those pieces at micheals crafts. I have enough material for 60 ground throws. I have already tested them and am very pleased with how they function. Compared to caboose ground throws at 4-5 bucks each I'm pretty pleased right now. ROADS I found foam sheets for roads there as well they were only .79 cents. GRASS I also discovered a felt material with sort of a flocking on one side at the fabric store. It looks to be a good material for N scale grassy fields. I'll try to post photos when I try to use it. Anyone else doing things on the cheap, and or exploring places other than the train shop?
I was puzzled. Please enlighten me. My brain is like a Cello sponge in Death Valley waiting for some rain.
IIRC, the back acts as a switchstand baseow, the post acts as the upright, and a scrapbox styrene target or lamp added completes the deal. How to make it function is beyond me...
I've seen something on this in the last month or so with a picture...couldn't find it just now...perhaps an older posting I stumbled across??? The description indicated the ear ring backing provides enough lift under the throwbar that the tension caused is sufficient to hold the points against the rails. The picture was pretty neat...If you carefully twist the throw so that you position the target to show green or red for the turnout being closed or thrown, you could make it function just like the real ground throws.
Found this link about earing posts that might help http://www3.telus.net/public/crowley/ground_throws.htm
Yes. That's Dan Crowley's website. He has some good things there. If your turnouts are already in place, this would not seem to work. It is a good idea, though, and it looks like Atlas or Micro Engineering turnouts.
Ah yes the crowley ground throw it is. His tutorial caught my eye years ago and I've been waiting to get some pieces for it. They work like a charm. Even unpainted they are small enough to not stick out too much. I haven't powered my frogs and all my diesels and steamers roll the c55 switches just fine. I don't even do multiple units yet. FYI, my switches were already in place and I just pried up the throw bar and slid the post under it with no adverse effects. I am doing the crowley website roads too.
I do not buy trees. Ooops, that's not true. I do buy lichen from floral supply warehouses. A huge bag is about $6.00 and probably has 100x the amount of lichen as Woodland Scenics. It is also better quality and fresher. Most of my trees are made from weeds. I don't have a ready supply of ragweed, but sedum, yarrow and oregano flowers work just fine.
How are they turning out? I'm trying concrete patch. I used to use joint compound, but someone pointed out to me that the concrete patch had a more realistic texture. Just don't plan on sanding it after it dries!
Pete that's a great idea. I was planning on using Lichen on my layout guardrail as a disguise and when I went to price it out at the train store it was way too much. I would have spent about 50.00 on it at those prices. Yipes. I'll have to look for a floral supply place.
Ok my previous post was one of those "famous last words" comments. I did bend a thorw bar a wee bit too much last night. But thats one out of about 13 switches.
CHEAP STUFF for the layout. Right up my alley. Wife says that I'm FRUGAL! That's funny, I always thought CHEAP begines with a C!! LOL Find old tape cassetes and break them open. Toss the tape, and outside plastic case. The little plastic wheels/rollers make good flatcar/gondola loads. A little paint and weathering helps. Now look for a little brass pressure pad holder. I'm not sure how to describe what it looks like, maybe 2 "T's" top to top? Has one small arm on each side with a small pad glued to the arm. Remove the pad from the arm, I use a lttle lacquer thinner to cause the glue to release. Now in the very center of the piece drill/punch a small hole big enough for a small screw, used for mounting trucks on a bolster, to push through the hole. Use this screw to mount a metal wheeled truck with the pad arms resting on the truck axles. You now have electrical pickup on any truck on any car. For a metal framed car you will have to insulate where one of the truck mounting screws pass through the frame.
Geeky, They'll probably sell to you if you ask really nicely and bring cash. They'll still sell to Jeanne because she onced owned the largest flower shop/greenhouse in the area and the suppliers adored her for doing things like paying bills on time. Otherwise, make friends with a florist and ask him/her to buy you a bag or two.
I guess that my scratchbuild houses are the "cheaper options", at least compared with the available Kits: Total cost for the "American Plumbing and Steam Supply" were about 6 Dollar for the windows. The rest was leftover styrene strips and structure sheets, cardboard walls and a DPM chimney. Model without paint: Painted (sorry for the bad picture quality): Signs needs to be added: And a picture of the original, courtesy of the "Tacoma Public Library" Another way to save money is using manual groundthrows instead of switch machines, see my tread at http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=80011 Cheers Dirk
Pete: I use yarrow and sedum but not oregano. I also use flower heads (fat, round and low for low shrubs and a patch of weeds and long, narrow for pine trees). Please post some photos of your trees. I'd like to study them. Thanks.
Nice hidden trackage barrier. I can't wait to see the finished work with all your other strucures in place.
I purchased a 4x8 sheet of styrene a while back- cost about $30. Five minutes ago I bought a photo printer off of eBay: a SONY DPP-EX50. It prints on 4x6 cards... my hope is to put a 4x6 sheet of styere in and print my walls. Don't know if it will work, but if it does, photoshop is going to give me all the custom walls I could desire!
