Hobbyline HO scale Fairbanks Morse H-10-44 in Lehigh Valley colors...

...a gift from an online modeler friend. I've wanted one of these for awhile, in any form, from any manufacturer. The look is pure brute and the car body was designed by the same guy who did the Pennsy GG1.






Made in a time when the hobby was less refined...come on, can you imagine the caterwauling from the peanut gallery if Atlas stamped their logo on the SIDE of any of their models. And check out the screw on the top of the hood...shameless, I tell you, shameless...thinking some goob could actually enjoy the hobby with such a blatant display of non-scale hardware. That boxing glove for a coupler actually mates with most knuckle couplers today and was only used by HObbyline on their equipment. It just gets cooler with each inspection...


This torpedo tube is actually a device to eliminate light bleed thru the shell and concentrate it towards the headlight, a rather forward thinking detail that sees little use still today.


Then there's these giant spur gears in the cab, just waiting to puree some hapless HO scale crew that manages to fall into their clutches.

A great piece of modeling history, it appears to have been offered as part of several sets in 1955 -- in Lehigh Valley, C&O and AT&SF paint as a passenger train and in C&O and AT&SF paint in two freight sets. Pennsylvania paint eventually was offered but it wasn't long afterwards that HObbyline became Bowser and the diesel models stopped, most likely before 1960.

Many thanks buddy...it will be a cherished beastie in my fleet...

Mister Roger's 'Trolley" in HO scale...

...using two Bachmann San Francisco cable cars and some well placed razor saw cuts. Prototype fidelity was not as important to me as capturing the overall look of his famous trolley...five vertical posts, the overall light and airy look (very hard to handle for awhile there as it was exceptionally fragile).

I've found at least three different variants used over the years, the original having a black body with gold trim, green seats and red roof--even poles. My inherent orneriness would have me paint it that scheme, but most would remember the later one so I'll stick with that. I'm happy with where I'm at at this point...



















The project is at this point waiting for seats and final paint, but will have to sit on a back burner for now as we concentrate on our new home...

UPDATE: I was truly surprised to find out that there were those who did not know of Fred Rogers or of his television program--a medium he despised by the way, feeling it was a greatly wasted resource--. His was one of a very few...and I mean very few...children's programs where I could put down the remote, knowing that there were no untoward surprises awaiting my child that I did not want them to see. A truly remarkable man whose presence is sorely missed today...

Atlas N scale turntable modification...

Freebies are good, but sometimes they come with bugs that have to be surmounted. This one was working fine actually, the bug being built into it by Atlas.

The table's wiring is very simple, each rail has a spring loaded brush that contacts a plate underneath that is divided for track polarity. As the table spins, the polarity is corrected automatically for the roundhouse leads, so that locomotives travel on and off the table without have to worry about direction of travel. A simple and effective device, its one flaw being the location of the dividing point. In this case, the location placed two of my five roundhouse leads with polarity opposed to the track on the table...


Undaunted, I fearlessly drilled the rivets, thinking I will just rotate it 90 degrees and all would be right in the world...thinking being the key word here...sigh...


Alas, those rivets carry current to the contacts, so another plan was devised...by replacing the strip contacts underneath with wires, reattaching one and relocating the other (noted in green), I was able to remount the contact plate...


I then soldered jumpers to the original breaks (in yellow) in the plate, and cut new breaks (in green) in by scoring the metal with a knife. This placed the circuit in a way that powered all my roundhouse leads properly, so that the locomotives could roll onto and off the table with the necessary polarity issues straightened out. I made sure that none of these new connections interfered with the path of the sprung brushes...


Speaking of those brushes...


...the best way I've found to reinstall them was to put them in their respective holes...


...and...while holding them in place with a piece of paper, carefully flip the table right side up, place it into the pit circle and, while pushing down firmly but carefully on the table, slowly slide the paper out. This ensures that the brushes remain assembled and in place when you secure the table to the pit ring...

Busch HO scale State Police cars...

...my birthday present from where I work (actually the check they gave covered them), my grand slam set from every state I've ever called home.

The Maryland car was the hardest to find...I actually convinced myself that they simply weren't made. Had to come all the way over from Germany...


The Louisiana one was next hardest, I knew they were available, they'd simply slip out of my grasp like one of Troy Landry's gators whenever I got close. This one came all the way over from Austria...


The Delaware and Florida ones were easy table pickin's at swap meets, hardy any effort at all and picked up years ago...they were the ones that drove my quest...taunting me like two recalcitrant kids helping their siblings to hide from Dad...

Krick Model 2 two cylinder marine steam engine...

...picked up at a local model train swap meet (isn't that where everybody goes for model steam engines?).

Krick engines were made years ago, using parts manufactured by Wilesco, and designed to go with their boat kits. This particular model engine was known in the past to come with their kit "The Patricia". The kit is still manufactured but their engines come from Regner now.

This particular engine came out of the original owner's model of "The African Queen", then spent the last few years as a flat car load in a garden railway. It was purring like a kitten when I came upon it, the owner running it off of a small air compressor. My plans are to clean it up and mount it, then pass it on to another modeler. Until then, I'll enjoy the privilege of being able to tinker with it...








Germany - Manufacture date: pre 1984
Bore = 1/4", Stroke 3/4", Flywheel diameter = 2"
Style: Double Acting, Dual Vertical Cylinder, Marine

Marklin 3 rail HO/OO turnout...

...a junk box freebie, a pair were given to me because they were missing parts. Eager to get them working again, I'd give them an occasional stern look or two for the next 5 years.


Overcome with a mechanical epiphany two nights ago, I immediately assaulted a variety of wires and springs in my parts bins. After flaying the entrails of several paperclips closing in on a working cure, I came up with this...


Once installed, it looked like this...


Don't ask for measurements...if you want one, I'll bend it out for you and you can play from there.

Alco Models HO scale Union Pacific ALCO C-855...

...well...the drive train anyway, part of a recent box load of ancient HO history...


Included were these two Lindsay "Teaspoon of Power" drives, the L-140 HO gauge 4 wheel power unit with flywheel and the L-142 single end motor. The little boogers are rated for 1.5 amps, enough to fry three of anything offered today. The L-140 has an ingenious design that allows it to extend its wheelbase .170" to fit a variety of models. The gear box simply slides along the long end where the flywheel is, then locks in place with a set screw. The flywheel can also be flipped to make for more room as needed.

IHC HO scale Fairbanks Morse C-Liner...

The best improvement one can make to low end motive power is to increase power pickup, thus sending pure, unobstructed juice to the already handicapped motors they come with. Fortunately, IHC made it easy to do...they simply were too chintzy to put an extra set of wipers and wire in. They did however, put in all the necessary details to add a set yourself...

Note the bracket holding the stock wiper...


...is present on the sides with no wipers...


...making it simply a matter of fabricating another pair, mounting them like the stock ones, and wiring them in...


...just make sure to clean the excess flux of the soldered joints...


...and that your wiring is properly oriented.



The results are fantastic, it crawls through plastic turnout frogs without stalling and has much better low speed control. Because it now has eight wheel pickup, it is also not as easily affected by dirty track.

Mantua HO scale 0-4-0 "Shifter"...

...a gift from an online friend. They came with the simple drive rods of most toy trains but, for a couple dollars, one could buy the optional full valve gear kit...




Before...


...after.
Sadly, when they were first offered, the slide gear was made with zinc castings that were prone to becoming brittle with age from crystallization or "Zinc-mites", the bane of all model train collectors and enthusiasts. This set was no different, obtained in the usual box lot of goodies I'm always looking for...


However...I found that the later plastic ones were a fairly easy retrofit. The peened rivet that held the original to the slide rod keeps a good grip when carefully pinched into the plastic one and the hole is already predrilled...

A full set of valve gear makes for a much more complete looking steamer, and would please the original giver of the model who, like me, is a tinkerer of the first order and an old school modeler as well...



Yes...this old girl now sports one plastic, and one cast slide rod but, since you can only see one side at a time, I figured no one would notice that the other is of a different material. I do have a plastic south paw rod should this one decide to go south on me in the future.

Ken McMillan's West Hades & Beelzebub S scale 4-6-2 Pacific...

...an unbelievable chance find in an Edmonton, Alberta pawn shop, a piece of model railroading history that is one of the scratchbuilt masterpieces of yesteryear...

From the PNR NMRA Region 6 Highball, Summer 2010, page 6...

Ken McMillan Passes

Ken McMillan passed away on May 31, 2010 at the age of 86.

Ken built and operated the West Hades & Beelzebub - a mostly scratch-built S scale layout.

His prize-winning brass steam engines were controlled with a home-built CTC-16 system.

The entire layout operated flawlessly.

Who can forget dumping live ore loads in his automatic rotary dumper, complete with a working kickback track?

The craftsmanship on the layout was surpassed only by Ken's hospitality to guest operators.

Several of us were honoured to take part in operating sessions late into the evening, the first exposure to operations for many.

Many of us also remember Ken's voice - he was known in some circles as "Edmonton's Frank Sinatra" - and was a frequent singer at Edmonton-area karaoke bars.

One of the treats of the 6th Division spring meet in 1978 was Ken's after-banquet singing.

Ken will be remembered fondly by all who had the good fortune to know him

---Mark Johnson






---owner photos

Athearn HO scale Hustler diesel, Yellow #60...

...and then there were three in my stable. This one, a recent online purchase, shows what NOT to do when re-wiring an Athearn locomotive. Like most Athearn owners, the modifier replaced the metal clip contacts with more direct wiring to the motor from the frame...


Unlike most modifiers though, they left the brush clip on the plastic motor frames, essentially melting them into the motor...sigh...


It runs, but maintenance will be a kick...

UPDATE: New upper clip, new wire and terminal, a soldering job that would make my 8th grade shop teacher proud...much better.