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I believe the best way to approach this (and I am doing the same thing -- building a bridge and a trestle) is to look for prototypes, either in the field or in photographs. Study the prototype closely, and comprehend what is inherent to the bridge, and what is not. I see lots of bridges that do...

The WP&YR also has some old distinctive rolling stock. I poked around their yard in Skagway last summer and took a lot of prototype photos, if anyone is interested. I also took the train up to the Yukon border -- quite a fun trip!

On my new layout, I've been using exclusively code 83 nickel-silver Walthers Shinohara.

Not to be pedantic, but some definitions are in order. The "turnout" is the trackwork that directs the train to one or the other track. I think in the prototype these are also called switches, but we avoid that terminology in the modeling world, since we have something else that we use the term...

Hey, Gus. The bridge itself is nice, but you're missing something on the ground. A bridge would be mounted on concrete abutments, not just on the bare ground or bare rock. At one end would be a rigid connection, and at the other a roller support to handle expansion and contraction.

Even if I liked NASCAR (I don't) I think this sort of thing is silly. Just get a poster to stick on the wall.

I am employing the Tortoise switch machines not because they work slowly (I feature I actually do not care about) but because the operation is completely concealed from the surface of the layout (just a wire sticking up to move the frog points), and they happen to mount very well in my foam...

Well, it just so happens that I'll be in Edison, NJ on business, Wed and Thu. But it looks like I'll just miss the show! Darn! Are there any good model train shops in/near Edison?

Ooh - that's lovely. Living in northern New Mexico, I can really appreciate the architecture. Sorry - no help on assembly or anything. Send us a pic once you've got it all installed!

Yeah. Because I just got one of the three. Thanks for the tip! :thumb:

I believe that the machine shown above can pick up containers, be they on train cars or on truck trailers, but cannot pick up the truck trailers themselves. It would key into the lift points on top of the container, but would have no way to lift a trailer. For that, you need a very large...

Or simply get what you want to show on your computer screen, and snap a screen shot. (PrintScreen on a PC gets the whole screen Alt+PrintScreen gets just the current window). Open some bitmap editor like Paint, and paste the image in. You can crop it to eliminate all the surrounding junk. Save...

Grades aside, you have a major problem with the curves throughthe mountain. With only 4 ft of width, it's all you can do to have a single curve, like what you have drawn on the outside loop. You cannot have another loop go inside the mountain and double back. Try working with a compass and some...

I ran David's test. Both controllers tested OK for common rail Whew! :thumb:

You got it, David. That's exactly it. Your test suggestion sounds good. I'll try it out tomorrow. Thanks. - John

I read in Andy Speradeo's book that if you intend to wire your layout with common rail (as I do) then one must exercise caution when using a dual power pack. Specifically, if the dual controls are run from the same transformer, then connecting them via common rail would short it out. Only if the...

Hey, Shane - Well, the switch machines are held quite firmly, and they don't exert a lot of torque on the board. I think that if held in with a bit of glue (RTV, perhaps?) they should last as long as the layout. - John

Um, guys - this is about installing Tortoise switch machines, and they have almost no expression on the layout surface. So, there is no landscaping needed! They are all hidden, which is cool. So go start your own thread. :P - John

Eureka! I've figured out a very neat way to install switch machines under multilayered foam board. I just got lucky on this one, since I had not planeed it this way, but it worked perfectly. Here's a quick pic: For full details, visit the web site in the sig! - John (very happy with how this...

I struggled a lot with the yard ideas, too. In my layout (link in the sig) I had these goals, which have a bearing on how the yard turned out: Make it reasonably portable. I did not want a permanent installation that I would have to abandon with the house some day. And, unlike many here, I...