Bill has a point when it comes to the maintenance issues....they tend to crud up ....push up in winter if the foundation isn't drained right but if you are going to do it then consider using a rubber animal watering troth/dish....they can be had at tractor supply and home depot as "garden ponds"...at least at ours... and are thick and hold up well....place rocks around the edge to hide it and if a water fall or stream is in the plans ....a submersible pump will do good but the intake will clog quickly if leaves get in.....my grandmothers dog loves her garden pond and is a major cause of water loss and contamination....drain it for winter and take the pump inside...line your stream, if doing one, with rubber as well.....one piece if do able......an inner tube for a good size tire would work pretty good.......spray glue some small gravel to it for looks and hide the edges with rocks, sand, dirt and plants....if no fish ....bleach will slow the algae but kill plants as well....all I can do is give info and opinion....up to you in the end.....they are neat and look good if done right but can turn into a lot of work....get the wife to help and things will be easier.


    Later All.......S.B.

 

    If you get the shaft out a new bolt should do....to do that the first thing I would try(if you cant get on it at all with pliers or anything) is a left hand drill bit....smaller than the broken bolt in question of course.... these can be had at better auto parts stores and Fastenal if you have one around you....can most likely be found on line....just drill slow and in reverse.....if it doesn't turn out try an easy out....when drilling make sure you keep the bit centered...


   Hope this helps...   Later All.....    S.B.

   I have been working with water slides for years now and air bubbles mean(to me) you should adjust  your application technique a little...suggest more water on target area of car .....slowly patting dry ....and a jar of setting solution for the problem areas.....air brush for over coat is best but not required .....clear coat can be had at most stores in a spray can....Krylon has a good one.....Later All...S.B.

   When it comes right down to it...its your rail road and you can run what you like and if someone doesn't like the way it looks ....then they really don't have to look at it do they......enjoy your trains guy....Later All......S.B.

  Haven't built a it for real yet but have a dozen times or so in my head and at the local Home Depot....weather I use wood or PVC, I plan to go either side of the "post"with a 2x4....maybe a 2x2and lay 5/4 decking or 2x6 on top of that...corners will be made by cutting angles on both ends of each board and filled on the inside with long triangles cut from another piece of board and may ...depending on how it looks...trim off the out side edge as well...the 2x's will attach to the "post" with bolts and the road bed will use decking screws...as they hold up to weather better....into the 2x's......the real issue will be getting the posts perfectly plumb....other wise the road bed will be tilted and a disaster may occur...witch brings me to my next hold up.....long posts with road bed where it is easy on my back....or short ones that will make for less costly derailments...or do i just build a net around it or a perpetual trestle or something....wont be a happy camper if my Gen 3 takes a dive let alone a $300 RS-3 or a $400 GP-40(rough prices of coarse)never mind the string of custom cars the loco will take with it.
   If you have an equipment rental place near that massive Metropolis of yours ( about like mine)....look into a small tractor with an auger...will knock a couple days off your post install and the cost might be off set by the ability to move the next day...or maybe a local farmer would help you out
   by the way Bill....the rail road gods have spoken and my plow is going on an Aristo long steel....my wife wouldn't let me even touch her Bachmann 8 wheeler for mock up and the Aristo looked better than the Delto and the LGB.......and I rolled the dice on the e-place and won one so ....ya know......LET THE BASHING BEGIN !!!!!!!!!!!
                                                                          Later All.....S.B.

   Hey Bill....If you are going to use 4x4 post instead of 3 or 4 inch PVC pipe(witch can be sharpend on one end and driven in using a post driver/pounder like from Tractor supply) I would recommend using pressure treated for the posts as well as for the rest of the lumber.....the bugs will stay out of it and as long as you don't cement it in....it shouldn't rot....in cement ..it will...probably in about a year..................Later All........S.B.

  Hey guys...
          this is the thread in question with the comparison pics....http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,20825.0.html



      hope this helps.......later all......S.B.

  It has been my experience in racing R/C cars for 12 plus years that items that are sold as either 27 or 49 MHz are on what is referred to as wide band....meaning any thing on any form of its frequency will affect its operation....including a CB radio if tuned to a frec. in that range..... on a 2 channel transmitter.....steering is channel 1 and as the loco didn't have steering ....the throttle would have been channel 1 having no second channel....you could rewire the loco to run off r/c equipment but you will rewire the better part if not all of the loco and will require more than 2 channels and would most likely be cheaper to pick up a newer loco and a dcc control set up....Aristro Crafts basic train engineer is pretty cheap, can be wired into most anything and I have heard of people having pretty good luck with it. And then there is the issue with the plastic wheels on metal track...unless you have some of the plastic track.......Later All.....S.B.

Hand rails show up on the e place from time to time from several manufacturer's and Ozark Miniatures sells them in several sizes....an old brass cloths hanger would work as well, even for braising....Hope this helps.... Later All......S.B.

   Bill,
        This is the charger I and several other guys around here have...http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&P=SM&I=LXAGUG    It will charge about any thing, is pretty easy to set up and has a 10 pack memory. I have charged a li-po pack followed by a nicad, a nimh and a buddies li-fe and lead acid packs one after another at the race track one day and commonly switch between my li-po and the daughters nicad. The charger can sense the difference between the li-po and the nicad and wont start if the setting is wrong. There is also a unit that will do multiple packs at once.    Worth at least looking at.....Later All.....S.B.

I used the flickering tea lights to put fire in the stoves of some passenger cars as well as a lantern held by a brakeman....Later all....S.B.

  some hobby stores sell a de bonder for CA's and some times acetone can loosen the grip of a CA but it will most likely loosen the grip of what ever paint it touches as well. cant say for the results either way, have only used acetone to undo some super glue left behind by a previous owner.     Hope this is some help.....Later All....S.B.

  .........................sorry to hear it but go enjoy your self and your time....Later.....S.B.

NM....good catch on the polarity......hadn't thought of that as I intend to run on board battery power, but if running track power could cause a small head ache setting up to reverse the polarity.....but then I don't know......haven't looked into it....have wondered about the weight issue in the switches as well.....I would also delete the tunnel, though neat, will most likely cause more problems than its worth...Looking at the lay out picture....if you take out both switches and replace switch one with a crossing, and 2 with a piece of curve, you could run a line down along the back side of the first and dog leg it back in behind the fence, or leave switch 2 in and use it as a storage siding.....Hope this is some help..... Later All.......S.B.

  One would think that if your switches move free than a spring could be used to push or pull the switch into the straight through position and if the spring is light enough then the weight of the wheels on the train should be able to push through the switch and it will return to the straight through position after the last set of wheels have passed through. The issue will be getting a spring light enough to allow the weight of the wheels to trip the switch and strong enough to close it after. To help with this issue ...an assortment from a Harbor Freight or an auto parts will help with that.   I cant find it right now but I have seen advice along these lines on this board in the not so distant past. the only down side I can think of at the moment is wear on the closed side of the switch....Battery power and proper lube intervals should minimise this.......Hope this helps....Later All....   S.B.