I'm an amateur model building and train enthusiast. I am building a layout in my basement inspired by the Frisco railroad in the Ozarks. It has been a long-time dream of mine to build a model railroad, but have never really had the time or space. Now is the time for me to pursue that dream.
I'm not a model railroad expert. I'm really just a beginner and I expect to make plenty of mistakes and learn a lot along the way. My goal is to demonstrate all the things I'm learning and explain them in a way that other beginners will find useful. Hopefully more seasoned model railroaders will find my journey interesting and inspiring as well.
Thanks for checking out my channel and subscribe to join me in my journey!
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At a glance you need heavier servos.
Great kit bash. I've got an Atlas lumber yard to build. Cheers from eastern TN
I got a can of red oxide primer that works well for my boxcar and ore car red. It is lacquer based which really adheres to the plastic and after thinning, it flows through the airbrush nicely. I always use a sanding stick and sand off the bolsters and top of the trucks after painting so it moves freely. Cheers from eastern TN
Sheesh, ever heard of CLOSE UPS?? Need a magnifying glass to see what you're doing.
The push stick is definitely a good idea. If you see this, The New Yankee Workshop is now on KZread. It’s still the same original episodes, but good safety techniques. He talks about shop safety first in every episode, and for good reason.
Drew, I hope all is ok, we would love to know what you have been up too. Cheers Rob
Do you think that other wood than balsa can be used for spiking ? Thanks a lot. Nice work.
When I saw the political propaganda on the table, I stopped watching.
I'm having difficulty understanding why you used L-girder construction if you're laying your tracks on styrofoam. Is there a specific reason, or is it just that you saw or read something recommending L-girder construction? If I'm not wrong, the advantage of L-girder construction lies in the way it allows for an at-will placement of joists, which in turn allow for an at-will placement of risers to support a roadbed. (The roadbed might be either cookie-cutter style or spline.) If you're not using a roadbed separate from your scenery base, then I don't see the point of the L-girders. Or am I missing something?
Sure do wish there were more videos coming. I was really in to this channel. I hope everything is ok and it's not over with.
Oh man, using pan pastels is way easier than doing all the layers of brush paint, airbrushing and washes. Like less than 25% of the time investment.
Great video...i am about to install a SoundTraxx decoder into a Bachmann 2-8-0, although it will probably be a TSU-1100 (I have 3 other steam locos with the 1100). The hardwiring might take a bit more work, but seems "cleaner" in the end. Also plan to upgrade the headlight to LED with a 1k ohm resistor. Any insight into getting access to the headlight?
Curious about your screwdriver setup. Who is the manufacturer
How did you make that homemade rail bender?
I just noticed you bought the Y turnouts instead of buikding them. Any particular reason?
Have you ever had an issue with the track not holding? Lots of folks who hand lay their own track seem to use homasote or plywood for sub roadbed, but I like your foam approach.
That wet pallet is pretty handy. Im going to have to get one.
Amateur???? Please! I’m as amateur as it comes to modeling, and I’m nowhere close to your expertise!
I just finished a scratch build of lumber drying & storage shed in HO scale. The wife even liked my results. After I watched you build a Tichy Train Group flat car I had to build one too. Mine came out great and I even painted every board on the deck a different shade of brown. Cheers from eastern TN
Looking forward to seeing how things have progressed.
Man I’m glad I watched this! I was going to build myself a double slip! But I see I need to master building turn outs first!
Why do you play background music and then try to talk over it? I just don't understand that concept. The music distracts from your narration. For HO scale corrugated metal I got a piece of plastic .040 corrugated metal and use it as a mold. Put a drop or 2 of dish detergent and add a little water (to release the surface tension). Then add a generous amount of Elmer's glue (PVA) and wait for it to dry. Then add another layer on top and wait for it to dry. Then CAREFULLY peel off the glue layer and paint it as you would any corrugated metal. For O scale corrugated metal I got me one of those toothpaste squeezers from Amazon (only $9.99) and save every beer can after I drink it, cut it up with my tin snips and run it through the toothpaste squeezer. Now I've got more O scale corrugated metal than I know what to do with. I guess from now on all my scratch built O scale buildings will have corrugated siding and corrugated roofs, LOL! Cheers from eastern TN
This will be my next build. I learned from your mistake on my flatcar build since it's exactly the same. I sure would like to know the size of drill bit for the grab irons. Cheers - eastern TN
I just picked up three of these kits, the manual calls for a #80 drill bit for the grab irons. I've put together 144 scale airline models, these gondola kits will be my first RR kits. #80 from what I see translates to a 1/32 bit.
Hey, I use the floor gloss too! Works great. I just painted my flatcar underside rail brown & was done with it. I found a paint that exactly matches your Valejo rust pigments. It's Craftsman Coffee and Milk (Espresso y latte) and looks great on wheels. Cheers from eastern TN
I always use an A-proxo knife for cutting parts off the sprue. Never use an X-acto knife because nothing is ever exact, only approximate, LOL! It looks like you're using Tamiya cement. I did not use Mr. Cement, Plastruct or any other styrene cement. I got a Precision applicator with a metal tip and it really worked well. I think I would modify that kit if I ever build it and not use the big nuts but cut off the little sides that hold the nuts and use regular tire weights I get from Harbor Freight. The brake detail on that build looks just as fiddly as it was on my flatcar build. What size bit for the grab irons? Cheers from eastern TN
After much swearing & cussing I finally finished the assembly of a Tichy Train Group flatcar. I watched another modeler build one in a video & I really liked the brake detail on the underside of the chassis (which no one will ever see). I followed the directions to a tee and wished I hadn't. In a previous step I installed the stirrups and when trying to install the extra added bronze phosphor wire grab irons I broke off every stirrup. If you ever build this kit install the stirrups as the LAST step. I did make some replacement stirrups out of some staples from a desktop stapler which were the right size. I think I spent as much time chasing small parts across the floor as I did building the model, LOL! Upon completion of the build I painted each board on the deck a different shade of brown mixing my acrylic paint in a plastic communion cup as I went along. It came out very realistic. Now on to a load for my flatcar. Cheers from eastern TN
I'm confused - why are you using both an Arduino AND a Raspberry Pi? Can't everything be run thru one or the other?
I am total newbie and have decided on this Merchant's row kit as my first attempt, I have probably watched this video and #2 at least 5 times, and each time I learned something new, thank you for making these two videos available to us novices, it's always a good idea to learn from the best.
Great video and excellent work. Where do you purchase the Vallejo paints?
What type of primer do you use?
Right in the middle of building one of these. In N scale. With just one jig. Absolute nightmare! Enjoying it though, and hopefully it will work good when it's done. You make it look really easy - I can assure everyone that it isn't! Great video as usual
Seems like we lost Drew in the way ! As I wasn't a subscriber to your channel, I simply forgot (what a shame) the name of it. Hopefully, I found you out of all these videos on model railroading. I wanted to tell you that it was a pleasure to exchange with you then and only hope you're doing fine and that you're not sick or something. I also hope that you'll be back someday and I understand that putting videos on line is never easy. It's time consuming and you never know if some stupid viewer will leave a stupid comment. Wish you well Drew. Your Kansas City Chiefs are still alive !!!
Drew, I hope this channel is not dead. I have enjoyed your videos. I hope you will post more.
Same. About the only channel I found that focuses on this time period.
How do you figure out the size of the photos of the interior spaces? I need to do this and can't wrap my brain around it, lol. 🤔
I can't speak for him but i'm just making some assumptions here in Photoshop you can set the size of the canvas and work around that, I also assume he used a bit of Trial and Error
Saw your video using servos and one suggestion. I don't use servos with fixed (programmed) positions. I use pots to control the position of the servo for straight and one for divergent. You use the map command: position = analogRead (potS); position = map(position, 0, 1023, 0, 90);. also I use a small relay to control the frog. Ditch the UNO and check into the ATTINY chips. You can use the 85 chip or if more pins are needed use the 24. $1.50 each.
Good luck man. Looks good.
Thanks for sharing your modelling techniques as well as your thought processes. Very helpful.
I can’t wait to see the next episode and see an update on the layout
Great Video! I hope to do something very similar soon. The only thing I plan to do differently is to use the "Diverging Route LED" output on the Arduino to energize a SPDT relay instead of using mechanical limit switches to control frog polarity. I think a relay will simplify the mounting bracket and allows for much easier tuning of the straight and diverging route positions.
What primary do you use?
4:41 Actually, getting the DCC-EX automated installer to run on MacOS isn’t that difficult - it‘s just a bit awkward that they made it an application to run in the Terminal and not one you can simply double-click. To run it after downloading (assuming that „Downloads“ in your home directory is your download folder; if not, you‘ll have to modify the path for the „cd“ command in the following example), just open the „Terminal“ application (or an equivalent; I prefer iTerm) and then at the command line type or copy-paste from here (without the quotes!): „cd Downloads; chmod +x EX-Installer-macOS; ./EX-Installer-macOS“ and the installer window should pop up.
Beautiful How-To! I loved watching this. One question though.. Is your mainline roadbed height taller than the 1/8" used in your yard? If so, how did you accomplish the vertical transition between the yard and mainline roadbed heights?
I think you've just shown me the best solution for building a long turn with flexible track along a shelf layout in the corner of my room. My layout will be On30 & the railroad will be the Salem Winona & Southern. Google that & you'll see we have something in common. West Eminence will be my centerpiece on a peninsula in the middle of my 11x11 train room. I've tried turning the corner with Micro Engineering flex track but the ties keep popping off the rails & they are impossible to reattach.
Anyone watching this live in long island NY and are willing to wire up a large scale train set? For Hire ofcourse - please reply here
The attention to detail was great to watch 😊
What is the version of your raspberry PI
Why did you attach the layout to the wall rather than just have legs to the floor?
Never, never use tap water to make a wash. Always use distilled water so you won't get any impurities in the paint. Those plastic wheels just don't do your model the justice it requires. Cheers - TN
I model the Central of Georgia railroad since I used to live in Jonesboro, GA. I bought a couple of Atlas GP-7s from another modeler in the Central of Georgia livery and he had never run them. When I got them they looked brand new and absolutely no wheel wear. I got them for $75.00 each. I've never paid more than $120.00 for an engine. I started collecting HO gauge back in the middle 80's but never really thought about modeling any certain railroad. Now things have changed and I'm getting an Atlas RS-3 in the Central of Georgia livery for Christmas along with a Kadee boxcar in the CofG livery. I also just got my very first brass diesel, a Fairbanks-Morse H-12-44 in the CofG livery. Back in the 80's I mostly bought Athearn engines and I hope the Atlas engines will perform as well as the Athearn ones as they are quite robust and keep on rolling. I recently started collecting Lionel 027 as I got the very same Lionel train set I had when I was a kid from my cousin. My train set got left behind in the attic when we moved from Hephzibah, GA. I couldn't believe my cousin had the exact same one and I sure was happy to get that set. I've now collected enough to make a 027 layout with 4 steam engines and 1 Texas Special diesel F-3. I think I have a couple dozen rolling stock to go with what I have. Oh yeah, I'm a DC guy only as I hate the sound of HO gauge DCC. I will probably end up weathering my brand new engines. I just don't like seeing pristine engines/rolling stock on the layout. Yeah, I have a section of track (about 1 ft. or 14 in.) on top of roadbed with a Kadee coupler height tool mounted on it so I can check coupler height on all my rolling stock & engines. Did you know that the back of the height tool can be used to see if your car body is at the right height? You have to check the body height with no coupler in place or it will hit the back of the tool. I just found about this the other day. If the car body will just slip over the end it is at the correct height. Then all ya gotta do is add a coupler & draft box. Instead of using the Kadee magnets, neodymium (rare earth) magnets can be used much more reliably. Since I'm a DC only guy I changed out all the magnets on my open frame (Pittman) motors with rare earth magnets (neodymium) and it made a HUGE difference in current draw and now my old Mantua Pacific's will "creep" around the tracks. I also changed all couplers to body mounted Kadee couplers and changed out all plastic wheels with Walthers Proto 2000 metal wheel sets. Cost a good chunk of $$ to do nearly 100 pieces of rolling stock. Another trick I learned is after mounting the coupler draft box and Kadee coupler, put an itsy bit of super glue next to one side of the draft box and chassis and a little itsy drop of super glue on part of the screw and draft box. That will ensure that the draft box will not move nor will the screw move. Another trick is if you glue two pieces of plastic together, make sure you use an X-acto knife (I use A-proxo knife) and scribe hash marks on both pieces to ensure a good bond. I try to never glue on draft boxes and use my Kadee drill and tap for a 256 screw. I've even drilled through the metal weights to add a screw to the draft box. Guarantee they will never come off. I've also had a some screws come through (like on a flat car) and used the Dremel to cut off the protruding screw and then paint it black or same color of the body. I've got an old Revel MOW (Maintenance of Way) grey car that I picked up a long time ago when I bought a friend's layout and just recently I found and purchased a True-Scale triple set of MOW cars, a kitchen car, maintenance car and caboose. Now I've just about got a whole set of MOW cars. All I need to finish the set is the crane car and crane. Real railroads never ran plastic wheels. I hate talgo trucks (couplers mounted to trucks). All 100 pieces of my rolling stock including coaches have body mounted Kadee couplers and Walthers Proto 2000 metal wheel sets. I'm in the process of making sure each piece is up to the NMRA weight standards. I get my weights from Harbor Freight - 1/4 & 1/2 oz. tire weights. And I paint all of 'em black. Be sure to save any plastic knuckle couplers and plastic wheel sets as they make great loads for gondolas. Cheers from an ex-Georgian in eastern TN & Merry Christmas