Does anyone know, if I solder two sections of sectional track together, the traditional kind w/o the roadbed, if the solder will provide enough support at the rail joiners, to alleviate the need to put a trestle pier under where the two sections meet at that point?

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

Mr. Bach-Man:

I do not see HO FT diesel models listed in the on line catalog, unless I am totally missing them.  Have you stopped offering them?  If so, when did you stop?

Thanks much for your help.

I recently purchased a 2nd hand motor that came from a '90s "blue box" model.  It has 2 brass flywheels and I was able to remove one, but not the other.  I suspect, but cannot confirm, that it has been glued to the motor shaft.  I saw a post from back in 2009 that provided a method of removing a flywheel, but there was no mention in that thread of glue being involved.  Because of its 2nd hand nature, I also cannot confirm what type (if any) glue was used.  I know there are pullers out there to purchase, but I believe this is a one time issue, since I have been able to remove both flywheels in order to disassemble and clean the motor on these types of motors I have previously purchased.

Thank you in advance for the time and assistance.

Hello All

I am looking for suggestions on what material to use for roadbed under sectional "snap track".  I know there is cork and there is the synthetic material that Woodland Scenics puts out.  I do plan on ballasting the roadbed.  Are there other materials I am overlooking?
I do plan on putting something between the plywood base and the roadbed, so any suggestions on that material would be helpful as well.  I see that in past posts, foam board has been recommended.
And not to deviate from the topic, but I don't know where some of you have been able to find 5 x 8 sheets of plywood bc I certainly could not at Lowe's, H.D. or local lumber yards.
Thank you in advance for the assistance.

I am looking to replace my Radio Shack 40W soldering pencil that I have had some time now.  I find the tips don't hold up for very long, even with "tinning" them.  Seems the tip, before long loses material from the very end of it.
I was considering replacing it with a Weller 40W pencil.  Anyone have any thoughts, experiences, recommendations?
Thanks all.

Jward, you obviously know your electrical stuff and I hope you can help me with this project.  I did search on previous topics on this and found Desertdweller's post of 11/3/12 but found I still had some questions.

    What I want to do is install directional lighting on an Athearn Blue Box GP60 using a piece of brass "c" channel that I solder to the top copper clip of the motor.  I want to use 2 led light bulbs and know I need to get 2 diodes, one for each light that will get attached to one leg of each light.
     One of my questions is: do I need to be concerned with whether I attach the diodes to the + leg of each bulb?  Another question: do you have a suggestion about what voltage leds I should get?  A third question: would I also need resistors?

I was hoping to tap into that vast knowledge of yours and that you are willing to share it.
Thanks for your help.   And of course, if anyone else wants to lend their advice, I would be happy for it.

Does anyone know where I can find brass "C" channel strips, 1/4" wide or even a little less and 6" or more long?
Thanks for the help.

Anyone have recommendations of a quality HO 4 axle diesel? (from hands on experience)
Thanks for sharing.

The faster the speed, the more a "buzz" noise is produced by my loco.  It is lubed and oiled, so it is not a dry problem.  I have also put black electrical tape where ever I can between the shell and frame in a effort to buffer vibration between the frame and shell, but to little avail.  I have run it repeatedly with the the shell off to watch the mechanics and everything looks fine-no wobble, no binding, etc.  Whatever is causing the noise, certainly appears to be resonating through the shell.

Thanks for the help.

Good Morning All

Does anyone know if I can replace the existing motor in the above referenced unit with the one sold on this site that is listed for the F7 model, that has the brass flywheels?  I ask bc I bought my son the above for Christmas and it runs great except for having a lot of trouble going up an AHM standard trestle  grade with more than 2 cars attached.  This is the only loco in our fleet that has this problem and in looking at the motor, I see it is just a can motor with no flywheels.  I have added all the extra weight I can and my thought was a flywheel motor would have more torque than the standard issued motor thay is in this loco.
Thank you for the help.

-Jim