To add to Woody's comment about the trailing truck, the idea of wrapping solder around the axle was passed on to me, also. For G1 cars, I use 1/8" dia. solid solder; 1/32" or so would be good for HO. A drop or two of CA adhesive holds the coil in place. Something very important--do not let the coil of solder contact the back of the wheels and bridge the wheel insulation, like I did once. Instant short!
Placing the weight on the axle, instead of the car body, eliminates any extra load on the truck bearings and lowers the center of gravity for better tracking, what I was able to accomplish with a string of 4-wheel dump cars

Larry

I agree with Phil. My friends in other states and I all use Kadees so there is no problem when we regularly get together to run at various tracks. Also, go th their website for specific coupler kits for specific equipment applications. Very easy to mount in almost all cases.

Larry

OK, Mr B, you can get to announce the availability of the 1:20.3 trucks as separate items. That seems fair.

Larry

Hi Mr B,

OK, now that the furor over the K delivery has quieted down, can you give us any idea when to expect the new 1:20 narrow- and frameless tank cars?

Larry

I agree that Ridge Road Station is great for service. So is Caboose Hobbies in Denver.
Larry

Hi Mr. B--about your comment "other available trucks" are you just referring to On30, or are any 1.20 trucks becoming available separately?

Pester, pester.

Larry

To Mr. B and the Philly Crew, I hope you can all take some time off for the holidays and have a relaxing break.

Product delivery dates for our toys should be the least of our concerns.

Larry

Rich,

That trackage is now operated as the Washington County RR, a division of the Vermont Rail System. Some  quarrying is still going on, but I don't believe rail is part of the process anymore.

Two good books on this are: "Vermont's Granite Railroads" by Jones/Maxfield/Gove and "Vermont Rail System" by Jones.

Larry

Paul, try the website of the Barre Granite Association and go to the "suppliers" page. There, you will find the email addresses of numerous quarry tool vendors. Perhaps they could supply info of use to you.

Larry

Mr B, this brings us back to an earlier post--TRUCKS! The main reason I'm going for the frameless tanks is to get the new style of truck, to diversify the rolling stock.

Blister-pack all the new 1:20.3 trucks for separate sale--PLEASE!

Larry

Thanks. Not being a student of Colorado NG, I learned something today.
When my unlettered frameless tanks arrive, they will go into the shop for ladders, as well as lettering.

Larry

Mr. B,

I just went back into the photo gallery to check something about the new 1:20.3 tank cars and noticed that the frameless one does not have ladders and step planks at the dome. The narrow frame version does. Are these just missing in  the pre-production photos, and will they be included on production frameless versions?

Larry

That is why I standardized on Kadees early on, and I have never regretted doing so. For me, Bachmann's Kadee-compatible draft gear is great. Five minutes, and they are installed.

Larry

The Kadee 830/930's drop right in the body mount draft gear . I double up the centering spring (put them next to each other and nest them together) to decrease the slack action. Kadee sells packs of  these spring , but I don't have the part # handy.

The Bachmann couplers appeared to work fine; I just prefer Kadees.

Larry

The guys interested in straight stacks for their Shays should look at Trackside Details  TD-160 and TD-164, made for the Bachmann Shays. They have lots of other detail parts, as well. Good stuff.