How To Videos From A to Z

Building a control panel by Mike Fifer.

[video=youtube;HdjpUyc9w6s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdjpUyc9w6s[/video]

 

Thanks Rick for the video. Always wanting to learn new techniques. Really enjoyed it.

 

Mike, thanks for the come back.
You caught my attention with your Tonopah, Goldfield & Bullfrog RR. Have you ever been out to Death Valley Junction, Ca, or Betty and Rhyolite, NV. ?

On to something I wanted to add in here earlier. I finally found a list of books I'd highly recommend reading. I cut my model railroading teeth on Mr. Linn Wescott's written tutorials.

You might remember I said something about reading. Read, read and read some more. Here you go.

Books by Linn H. Wescott include: HO Railroad That Grows, How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork, HO Primer - Model Railroading For All, 101 Track Plans for Model Railroaders, Track Plans For Sectional Track, and How To Wire Your Model Railroad.

Wiring Analog DC: My early layouts never did satisfy me. Running one train at a time wasn't going to cut it. I tried the Atlas version of Common Wire and that was a disaster. I wouldn't recommend that wiring technique...period. I learned from Mr. Harry Hunter, who delivered a copy of Mr. Wescott's book "How To Wire Your Model Railroad" to wire in Cab A and Cab B via DPDT electrical toggle switches. All the "A" slider switches, most of them, found the bottom side of a trash can. Mr. Wescott's dual cab wiring procedure is a must read. For that matter any of his tutorial books are as applicable today, as they were yesterday.

Here is a loose look at his plot plans: http://www.trainplayer.com/Site3/FeaturePages/101_gallery.html

 

Hi Rick,

Been to Beatty, Death Valley Junction and Rhyolite more times than I can count. I was born and raised in Tonopah and am an avid fan of the Central Nevada Railroads. My great grandfather was the Chief Auditor and later Traffic Manager for the T and G. He was mentioned in Myrick as having passed away in Hawthorne. His name was R. S. Titlow. Also, my Dad's first cousins, John and Charlie Cavanaugh tried to purchase the T and G upon abandonment. They are also mentioned in Myrick. I am an N scaler, but always look for ways to improve my skills. Have the Linn Westcott books also. I do dabble in HO as I build models for the HO members of our model railroad club in Texas City. Did you see the Groberg Gold Mine photos I posted today? Right now I'm working on a home layout based on the area around Tonopah. I'm wiring analog first then moving on to DCC. I am also redoing some of my N Scale Modules at the model railroad club. Oh, forgot to mention I'm a member of the Galveston County Model Railroad Club.

My favorite part of the hobby is scratchbuilding and scenery. I do a decent job on laying track and wiring, however, always looking to improving my skills.

Through my research I discovered that there was an electric tram from the Victor Mine to the Extension Mine and Mill. So, when I go to Tonopah next month to visit my sister, I will see if I can find some remnants. Not much left though.

I am also a member of the Central Nevada Historical Society, Goldfield Historical Society, Tonopah Mining Park and the Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Historical Society. My favorite group is the SPNGHS. They are fun and very enthusiastic. Went to the convention in Tonopah last year and had a great time, however, wasn't able to go this year due to prior commitments. Next year the convention is in Carson City along with the V and T Historical Society and the Nevada Railroad Museum. I will be going.

Thanks again for posting the videos. I can't wait to try some of the techniques.

Mike

 

Mike,

I'm impressed and you have my attention. This is as close to anyone who was associated with the T&T as I've ever been. Other then my family of rails that worked for the Santa Fe out of Barstow, Ca.

It's sad to see a railroad close down and abandon the ROW. The T&T had potential if only they could of managed to get to Rhyolite. From what I've studied about the SP narrow gauge and the other short lines in the area. I think it's safe to conclude they over saturated the area with track and when the mines were shut down, that pretty much killed them. What was it, three rail lines eventually went into Rhyolite?

On the modeling side of things. A friend of mine painted and lettered a N scale train set, a locomotive, caboose and two passenger cars for the T&T. Trying to figure out how to lay down a short main to run them on.

From the sounds of things we should be getting a How To video from you and or club members, in the near future. Emphasis on the narrow gauge railroads that crisscrossed the desert. Or better said, I'm suggesting you make one or two.

Thanks again for your participation here. Good to have you on board.

 

Hi Rick,

Thanks for your reply. Small world. I see you live in Big Bear Lake. My wife, Linda, was raised in Bakersfield. Her father, Harry Ward, was an assistant superintendent in the Kern County High School District in the 1970s. Met my wife at UNR in the 1970s. I agree with you about the abandonment. The winds of making a fast buck and not looking for the long term. There was so much potential and too bad it wasn't realized. The Las Vegas and Tonopah, Tonopah and Tidewater and the Bullfrog and Goldfield were the three railroads and for a number of years, the T & T leased the B & G and ran trains to Goldfield.

The founders of the Central Nevada Historical Society/Museum, Bill, Phillip and Allen Metscher, are also avid railroad buffs. In the 1970s, they traveled the roadbed from Ludlow to Goldfield. Of course, that was before the feds closed large portions of the roadbed. The B & G from Beatty to Goldfield. I have two excellent photos that they took of the roadbed and are of magazine quality. I'll post them when I get home from work. Do you know about the T & T Railroad Museum in Death Valley Junction? It was started a few years ago by a retired couple. Here's the link on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnWREIDdUSk Also, a friend of mine, Nevin Wilson, is currently working on an HO layout of the T & T. He lives in Las Vegas and is a professor at UNLV. He's not a member here, however, his layout is on Railroad Forums and doing a great job. There is one fellow, Harry Rosenbug, who grew up around the T & T and his father was a conductor for the T & T . Don't remember where though. He is a volunteer at the Death Valley Museum in Furnace Creek. I think he lives in Armagosa.

Our club web site, www.gcmrrc.org has a how to video on it and I'll see if you can post it here. It would be very cool. Good advertisement for the club too. The SPNGHS also videos their conventions and presentations. They usually make them available for the membership and I'm sure they'd allow some of them to be posted here also. The SPNGHS is based out of Lakeport. Thier web site is www.spnghs.org

I have a lot of deadtime at work. I work as a contractor for an oil company major and monitor crude oil and chemical transfers on ships in the Houston and Beaumont areas. It's hard to believe they pay me to do what I do.

Mike

 

Research, Research and continue digging.

Mike and of course everyone else tuned in here.

Feel free to post any type of How To, for model railroading here on this thread. I don't own the thread, I don't remember buying it from Charlie. You can hi-jack an airplane but you can't hi-jack a thread. To you and others feel free to post your how to videos.

I have such an avid interest in the T&T and other railroads in the general vicinity. I have literature that hinted at the T&T reaching Goldfield with emphasis on Rhyolite and the train station that was built there. No mention as to how that was accomplished. Thanks for sharing that.

I will post the informative video with regard to the T&T Museum. As they are in the middle of building an office and stocking their museum with model diorama's. In the video you will most likely pick-up ideas for a model railroad. It starts out a little slow but digs in and shares some historical info. This is the kind of research you want to do, when planning a realistic and prototype model railroad.

Pretty sure I've met the lady being interviewed. She was at the W.A.R.M. in Barstow, Ca.. And yes it get's warm in Barstow. Downright hot!

[video=youtube;cnWREIDdUSk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnWREIDdUSk[/video]

I did visit your club websites and checked out the HO and N scale train layouts. You guys and gals have some awesome stuff going on there. Thanks for sharing both links.

Continuing your research you can find videos like this:

[video=youtube;kDzFSrz7uuU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDzFSrz7uuU[/video]

Research, all a part of planning your model railroad.

 

Trian...uhh...err...Train Yards

Here is a informative video, done simply but correctly. Yard Tracks, there purpose and tips on how to work them.

[video=youtube;HkpyGz3bnC4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkpyGz3bnC4[/video]

You may want to turn the volume up.

Any questions? None? Then we will continue. Jump in anytime.

 

Ok, you have a plan and you started on your layout and it looks like....heck. But wait, who said you can't start having fun with it. It's your layout, you make the rules and you set the standards. Let's have some fun.

Operations night. I happen to like operating my layout realistically. Using railroad lingo (not model railroad lingo) modified hand signals and switching moves. Now, I know I will have to duck and run.

Check these guys out:

[video=youtube;jlzyXUJot_A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlzyXUJot_A[/video]

Did I hear you say you aren't quite ready for that? On my own model railroad It would be difficult to have that kind of operation. Room, floor space is at a premium. None the less, we can both operate trains and share in the fun. I don't care what size of layout any of us has.

Going to take a break here and let everyone get caught up. Off to meet with the BVMR's.

 

Thanks Rick for the video. There is so much out there now and you've given me a mission to hit YouTube for some more good videos. I was thinking of another web site with photos of the Tonopah and Tidewater. Have you run across the Western Digital Library? It's managed by the University of Utah and accesses several university digital collections. Just typing in Goldfield or Tonopah and Tidewater in the search engine and you get pages of images.

Looking forward to your how to videos and very happy that you've visited the museum in Death Valley Junction. Nice folks there.

Mike Lee

 

How To Lay Track

Thanks Mike, I'm glad you like the videos. Feel free to submit any of those videos with regard to Tonopah, Goldfield and the numerous railroads in the Nevada and California Deserts, on Railfanning Anywhere West, http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?158186-Railfanning-Anywhere-West&highlight=
I'll be looking forward to viewing them.

What we need to talk about next is how to lay track. Here is an example, I submitted on another thread: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine...anning-Just-For-The-Sake-Of-Railfanning/page8 Or see it here:
[video=youtube;DSUXSRsXsI8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSUXSRsXsI8[/video]
Some very realistic track work. Gosh, I like it. Tricky to do and I would advise waiting to try something like this until you get some experience under your belt.

When it comes to building a model railroad it is trackwork, trackwork and preferrably quality trackwork. Scenery, real estate, industries, railroad stations, out houses, round houses, automobiles, trucks, figures and miscellaneous detailing is all an added bonus. But trains that look terrible (especially when negotiating tight radius curves), that operate with constant derailments and jack knife when making a reverse move is not fun.
One must know the limitations of the layout they plan to build.
I've set for my self certain standards for laying track and I'm hoping to find a video where someone else has done the same thing. hboy:

Doing a search and I will get back to you in a bit.

 

Laying track isn't all that tricky.

Here is Cody from Model Railroader to demonstrate how to install rail joiners.

[video=youtube;wwrc4gLaLQU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwrc4gLaLQU[/video]

Cody shows us how to lay the track. He makes it look simple but wait until you get to a curve and now what do you do?

[video=youtube;vDzI_QhclUQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDzI_QhclUQ[/video]

Curving flex track and installing it. Here's some tips. Off set all your joints by at least 2 1/2 inches. Place the sliding rail to the outside of the curve. Tack your track into place but don't glue it down until you are satisfied you have it where you want it. And the all important soldering the railjoiners when the track is in place.
More tips coming up. Perhaps I can share some pictures of my track work and how it turned out. I just hope it doesn't come across as bragging.:uhoh: Stay tuned.

Found what I was looking for. How to install flex track on your curves...with a bonus.

[video=youtube;GKPB_-eFLEw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKPB_-eFLEw[/video]

You've seen an example but not How To. Allow me to use a verbal picture. You have two pieces of flex track and you want to join them together on the curve. I place the sliding rail to the outside of the curve. I then slide one rail forward about 2 1/2 inches, cut away three sets of spike heads, install a rail joiner and then take the second piece of flex track cut away the spike heads on the non-moveable side and install a rail joiner. Now the tricky part. I move the extended piece of sliding rail into the spike heads until it reaches the rail joiner. Slide the rail in and solder the joint. Locate the rail on the non-moveable side and slide it into the rail joiner. When you are done you have a joint as illustrated in the video. I know we really need a video showing how someone actually accomplishes this. Still looking.

 

But wait a minute Rick. What if I want to use sectional track? Ok, let's take a look at it.

[video=youtube;aySq0F15Mr0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aySq0F15Mr0[/video]

There are a number of providers who sell sectional track. Of those my favorite is Kato Unitrack. Other's are Atlas, Peco, and Bachmann (as illustrated in the video). Not a comprehensive list and I didn't mean to leave anyone out but a Bing, Oogle Google, and/or Yahoo Search can help you find the others.

Gosh, did I really post something with Thomas The Tank locomotive in the video?
I knew he was having way to much influence on model railroaders. LOL

How about DCC for the beginner? Since we are looking at Bachmann's sectional track how about a introduction to their DCC program? No! Yes! Yes's win. We can graduate to other more complicated products later. As illustrated in the introduction video presented earlier.

[video=youtube;JAin_nEMHlY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAin_nEMHlY[/video]

One of the big problems with sectional track is all the rail joiiners and joints you need to make. You can experience power drops, derailments from rails that didn't slide into the rail joiner and you can get some serious kinks that will cause derailments.

 

What next? Let's see, we've covered some of the more advanced procedures in scenery, track laying, DCC components and some wiring (not much). What about Benchwork? Maybe you'd like to build a Cookie Cutter layout. A what? In one of Linn Wescott's How To books he illustrates a interesting way to build a layout. Instead of foam (it hadn't been thought of) he utilizes plywood and shows how to make risers to elevate the track. I think I saw a video on this, allow me some time to find it. Be right back.

Here we go. This provides some valuable tips even I learned something from it.

[video=youtube;GoSzJVsIbfc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoSzJVsIbfc&list=PL3BE35E2ADFF15DAF[/video]

Can't believe I found a video entitled Cookie Cutter Layout. It starts off blurry but clears up in about ten seconds. Bear with the fast action of the camera man. He wants you to see it all and in a hurry. Had to go and take some motion sickness pills. Grin!

Also note it is a combination plywood and foam layout.

[video=youtube;QFHJt01lrp0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFHJt01lrp0[/video]

For gradients keep in mind 1/8 inch rise per linear foot (12 inches) is equal to a 1% grade. A 1/4 inch rise per linear foot is the equivalent of a 2% grade. There are a number of ways to accomplish this and I will see if we can find a video illustrating such. The simplest is to take a mettle straight edge, a bubble level, and place a 1/4 piece of wood or foam underneath it, on one end. I think you can figure how to use it. I wouldn't build a layout with anything steeper then a 2.5% grade.

 

Do you feel confident enough to take the plunge?

You are only limited by your lack of imagination or inability to visualize that dream layout.

At this point it's your turn. Have any questions...ask away. I'll do my best to find a video that answers your question.

Enjoy!

 

I do to Ken. I've tried to keep my own personal bias out of this discussion. Anyone that knows me knows I have, to a point. Grin!
Thanks for your kind words.

I'm still looking for some good wiring videos. It's kind of hard to capture on video and I think Mike Fifer has one. I will look for it later today.

One of the pluses model railroaders have today is this very website. I didn't have this resource when I started out. It was pretty much what you read in the model railroad wig wags (magazines) of the time. Never mind You Tube and how that has taken off. There's some bad stuff and poor advice out there but it is an evolving hobby what with today's science, and technology. I've seen welcomed improvements. Thankful for them.

For the newbie on through to the most experienced modeler. It's never to late to learn something new. Continue your research, viewing videos, reading any and all written How To Books, reading posts here and always ask questions here on TB. No such thing as a intolerant question. Repetitive, maybe.

Thanks for tuning in. I hope you found these videos interesting, informative and anything but boring.

 

Wiring Your Model Railroad

Courtesy of Mike Fifer.

I found his wiring video and he has his layout wired similarly to mine. Although his control panel is by far superior to mine. Nicely organized. My layout is wired to Analog DC, Cab A and Cab B. and with the throw of a DPDT electrical toggle switch I can change the layout via Cab B., over to DCC. This way my older locomotives, those that aren't likely to see a conversion to DCC, will continue to operate. Never mind my enjoyment seeing them run.

Mike, lead on. How did you wire your model railroad?

[video=youtube;Dl30CpYMuIE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl30CpYMuIE[/video]

WOW!
Thanks Mike.

 

Some where along here we should probably talk about terminology. The problem is Model Railroaders have created their own lingo, definitions and/or terminology. No longer does the verbiage of modelers, reflect those of the Rails (Employees of the our American Railroads). Sad to say, it's to late to change it. Like a lot of things the European influence is making it's mark on American Model Railroads. One fine Brit., a good fella and friend, implied the Rails, didn't know what they are talking about and their lingo was incorrect. No...that's not correct, it's the modelers using incorrect lingo, for replications of American Railways.

With that said this isn't the place or time to compile a list of missed opportunities and correct verbiage. I'll let you decide what's right and what's wrong as you set-up and run your model railroad. Welcome to the model railroad cult. Grin!

When and if you ever get the opportunity to visit my layout, I use the lingo and verbiage of the Rails.

Now go get started and have some fun. Rule #1...right? Rule #2, It's your railroad, you make the rules, you set the standard, you plan and make your own creation the way you want it. Rule #3, Remember, you don't build your railroad to please others, you build it, to please yourself.

Let's get started.

 

What Scale is Best?

As we get started there are choices to make. For example what gauge or scale do you want to work with. G, OOO, S, HOn3, HO, N and or Z scales. I could discuss pro's and con's for each but that subject has pretty much been beaten to death and I'm sure that horse died years ago. I've worked with almost all of them except for Z scale. Most determined by the workable space available.

Here is a HO model railroad that is very similar to one I built. Mine was a real teacher but I tired of it quickly. I soon discovered after building it that it didn't give me what I wanted and of course today, it's history. So, what do you want?

Know the limitations. For example if you are going to build with tight radius curves then research which locomotives and train cars will operate on it. By the way I can tell the owner of the following video knows the limitations of his or her layout.

[video=youtube;4DBxCAZGgcE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DBxCAZGgcE[/video]

So, how much space or square feet is available and I will add how much space is there for added growth?
May I suggest you choose a plan that allows for growth. I promise you it will.
As far as recommending some beginner layouts you can once again check out Linn Wescott's books on layout plans.