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Thanks for the tips, guys. I'll be back to let you know how it goes. (Railfair is this weekend!) ...jim

Thanks Wayne, that's the kind of tip I'm looking for. Now for some more questions. Brush size? Paint type? Paint colour? :-) Thanks, ...jim

Next step will be the addition of some scenery as well as track ballast. This will be new territory for me, and I'm not sure how to proceed. I did up a little thing in 3rd Planit to give me an idea of what I might do. Comments are welcome. Thanks! ...jim

Now to lay some rail. I'm using code 70 rail here (left over from my old switching layout) along with some ME small spikes. During the summer, I purchased the Micro Mark track laying tool set that includes three sets of specialty pliers. A spiker, a spike remover, and a rail nipper. The spiker...

After marking a center line on the road bed and spreading some wood glue around, the strip of ties are placed and left to dry. A nicely done set of ties, all glued down. I then spray painted a coat of grey primer, then began to sand the tops of the ties with a sanding block...

Hi guys! Sorry for the long delay! The RC Plane season got started shortly after I started this project, and it was a busy one. The flying has pretty much finished now, so I'm getting back to this. (I've also got some airplane repairing and building to do, so further updates may be a bit...

PMFJI, but here's a trick I used to use when I was on dial up. If I opened a thread that had a lot of pictures, I would hit the "back" button to get out of it. I would then right click on the link and select "open in a new window". While the thread was loading all the pics in the new window...

So, since the RC flying season is not quite here yet, and I'm not yet ready to start my new layout, I thought I'd build a display track. A little something to use for photos and such. I figure something about four feet long would do nice. Today I dropped in to the local lumber store and had a...

Steamhead: No, sorry, I did not mean 1:1 flying. My other hobby is RC flying (giant scale aerobatic and turbine jets.) Although, for the money I sink into that hobby, I could get a private pilots license. :eek: I've thought about it, and I've gone flying with friends that have their license...

5 feet over 28 feet? Ummm... That would be a 17.86% grade! :eek: Or was that a slip of the fingers and you meant 5 inches over 28 feet, which would be a very nice 1.49% grade. :thumb: Regards, ...jim

And I've certainly found some good friends here at The Gauge! :wave: I also keep an eye on a couple of other forums, but The Gauge seems to be where I spend most of my time. :thumb: Thanks, ...jim

Squidbait: I just couldn't work in a curved turnout that looked ok. I do believe I'm going to go with the original plan. As I mentioned, this is a starter layout to gain experience, and will not be my permanent layout. As such, it does have the features I wish to use at this time. Now to get...

Russ: Thank you! Regards, ...jim

Gary, have you seen this video on the FastTracks site? http://www.handlaidtrack.com/nmra-online.php (Download the large version if you can, much easier to see.) It explains a lot. Do your frogs have a filler between the rails? It's possible the flanges on your wheels are too deep and are...

Squidbait: The radii in the curved turnout are 18" and 20". The yard space is minimal as it is for the amount of industrial spurs, I really don't want to loose one of the yard tracks. But, I'll take another look at it and see if I can work in something different. Berraf: I haven't given too...

Hi guys, Squidbait: I will eventually be laying some turnouts without the Fasttrack jigs where they are one offs that have unique diminsions. But I kinda didn't want to get into that with this particular layout. Adding a curved turnout in the lower left won't work, as that curve is already at...

I've only ever used magnets in my somewhat limited attempts to actually do any switching operations. For the most part, they have done their job as designed. However, I'm gearing up for some larger layouts with more switching capabilities, and I don't really want to be putting magnets all...

I've always been kinda partial to switchers. Here's some pics of my collection so far: This last one was the first one I puchased when I got back into the hobby a few months ago. :D Regards, ...jim

Squidbait: You are correct that I'm not locked into fixed-angle turnouts. However, I have placed a couple of restrictions on myself for this layout. It is a learning tool for a future large layout. I will be using FastTracks assembly jigs (#5 and #6 on the future layout, #5 on this one.) While...

Thank you for the suggestion, Russ. I'm not sure I can fit another run around in the area you mention. The curves are already at the 18" minimum, so I can't add a curved switch with a smaller radius turning inside. I also do not want to loose any space in the yards. I'll have a good look at...