I'm looking for DM&IR, HO scale Ore Cars, the smaller (26 foot?) version, with the traditional maroon and yellow coloring.  Walthers makes some and I've seen some Roundhouse as well.

I've been scouring the internet, which I know is usually the best way to find things, but I thought I would throw up a flare on this forum as well.

New or used, RTR or kits, I don't really care.  What I am most interested in is finding out what my options are and then making a decision on where to spend my money.  Like I said, I am aware of the current Walthers offereing and have seen a Roundhouse version.  But those are the only two.

Anyone got a bead on these things or interested in selling ones you own?

Parker

Just wanted to say that I finally attempted and finished my first 'Talgo Upgrade' project on an old car I bought on ebay a while ago for my son.  I didn't do it exactly the way that Bob laid out in his excellent post on the subject, I elected to purchase new trucks rather than fool around with the modified talgo (which ended up being a good plan since I broke one talgo while removing it from the car), but the idea was essentially the same.

The trucks are much better (they roll so much smoother than the old ones) and the new Kadee couplers are now compatible with the locomotives we own.  It wasn't as hard as I was expecting it to be, but Bob's instruction was critical to motivating me to even try it.  Thanks, Bob!

One down, eleven more to go!

First Attempt

Here are some pics of my first model building attempt.  It’s a Branchline Blueprint Series.  Some thoughts about the experience that I am sure most of you already know but that might be pf some value to a novice like myself that is thinking about trying one.

1)   It took me longer than I thought it would.  I tried to go slowly, follow the directions and be as careful as I could.  Over the course of three nights I think I spent a total of 6 hours on this.  I have nothing to compare that to, but it seems like a long time to me.  That being said, I enjoyed the time I spent on it; the frustrations were more than equaled out by the satisfaction when something went well.
2)   In just this one effort, I’ve gathered all kinds of knowledge that I can apply to the next one that I fully believe will not only increase the quality of the finished product (there’s lots of room for that) but also cut the time it takes way down.
3)   Sometimes we forget that what seem like the most basic tips are so basic because they are undeniably true and essential, they aren’t just throw away one-liners.  ‘Treat others as you would want to be treated.  Use the right tool for the job.  Never start a land war in China.”  We’ve all heard them a thousand times, but they’re all important to remember.  I bought a minimum of equipment to put my model together, but I’ll be buying more for the second one.  Examples:  A) I did not have a precision ‘hobby knife’ for removing pieces from the sprue or trimming little excess pieces of plastic.  I will get one as well as some sort of file.  Instead, I was using a standard issue utility knife.  It was too big and difficult to use.  I broke a couple of pieces because of it and lost time through it’s inefficiency.  B) I was using an old pair of needle nose pliers to help with the very, very small pieces.  Way too big.  I switched to a tweezer the last night and that helped immensely, but my wife wasn’t very happy about it.  I will buy some sort of tweezer or other apparatus to assist.
4)   The glue issue went much better once I pulled my head out of my butt and started dipping the pieces into the glue rather then trying to put the glue in the hole.  My initial approach is so asinine I’m embarrassed to mention it, but maybe someone else will avoid my mistake.
5)   Using a very small drill bit in a pin vice to bore out the very small holes was a very good idea.  I’m glad I thought of it.
6)   The most frustrating moment actually came at the end.  The last instruction on the directions, after all the details are applied, is to attach the completed car to the base.  This was a bad idea.  Having no other techniques to employ, I had to pretty much man-handle the thing to get it together.  In the process, one coupler came off , 4 of the six little iron step thingies got popped off and the brake wheel got all messed up.  I reattached them, but the second gluing didn’t do them any favors.  Next time I will assemble before I put on all the details.
7)   In addition to losing some detailing during final assembly, one of the nuts that were included with the kit and glued to the base for additional weight came undone.  So at the moment I have a completed car with a large nut floating around inside of it.  I’m afraid to try to take the car apart for fear of further damage, so I think I am just going to live with it for at least a little while until it becomes too annoying, which I am certain it will.  The moral of he story is as above, use the right tool.  I used the plastic cement to attach the metal nut to the plastic.  That was sort of dumb I guess.  I will use some kind of super glue next time.  Or, if there are better ways to weight the car, I will try that.  Gluing nuts to the bottom doesn’t feel like the best way to do that.  I’ll research.
   So here it is.  There are some glue issues in places.  There are a couple of pieces that are not 100% straight.  Both break irons(?) broke, one of them was broken when I got it, one I broke with my giant utility knife.  Oh, and there’s a large nut floating free inside of it.  Other than that, I’m pretty pleased with the way it turned out for a first try.

Okay, now I am having trouble with the pictures.  I’ll post later if I get it figured out.

I am looking for any comments on the Spectrum Richmond 4-4-0 American Modern (items #83401 to #83409) in terms of performance, durability, and general quality.  I am not particularly interested in the historical accuracy or the fine details of the model, to my eye, she looks beautiful.  So if the tender is wrong or the stack is too big, I don't really care.

I'm looking for a steam engine that looks good to me and that will pull 8-10 cars on a flat surface or slight grade and negotiate 18 inch curves.

Does anyone own one?  Are you happy with it?  I've read that the decoder that is installed is of questionable quality.  I see that Bachmann is going to release a new version with sound included, but I also see that the price jump will be significant.  Does anyone have a recommendation of another 4-4-0 manufacturer that you would put above the Spectrum?  Or do you have recommendations of other steam loco's that will negotiate 18 inch curves without too much trouble? 

I don't have DCC yet, but am planning on it in the future and would like to set myself up for an easy conversion, so DCC ready at least is an additional consideration for me.

Thanks for the continued help/information.

Parker

I took the plunge and bought a Branchline kit the other day along with various tools and other supplies, including some Testors plastic cement that Yampa Bob had suggested (I believe it is #8872, don't have it in front of me).

The cement works just fine, but I am having trouble with the amount that I am getting.  The Testors in question comes with a precision, needle-like applicator, but even when I get what seems to me like the smallest possible drop of liquid to come out, it ends up being too much on the model.  It's fine on the big pieces, but the small ones end up swimming in plastic cement.  Does anyone have any technique tips for me?  Maybe my approach is all wrong.  I've been trying to wipe off the excess glue, but even when that works there is still too much on there, and it's extremely dificult to do given the size of the pieces I am trying to attach.  Many of the pieces are as small and thin as ant legs.  Large ant legs, but ant legs nonetheless.

Any thoughts?

Ignore for a moment historical accuracy, adherence to prototype or even personal asthetic influences.

I'm trying to figure out what type of trucks to buy for replacement on some old freight cars.  The existing trucks have non-knuckle couplers attached to them, they are plastic and are not attached to the car with a screw, but rather a piece of plastic that is larger on one end so that you can jam it through the hole in the bottom of the car but it wont come back out.  (Wow, how's that for a non-technical description!  I hope what I mean is coming through despite the terrible writing).  I've already broken on truck trying to get it off (don't ask) so now the car lies useless on my workbench.

So I am looking for suggestions on what type of truck to get.  Or maybe I am just looking for assurances that I am not looking at the wrong thing.  Let's assume I am talking about 40' box cars.

What is the difference in a Kadee Arch Bar and a Kadee Bettendorf Double Truss?  What about Roller Bearing?  Are those just different styles that have no particular performance differences?  Will just about any 33" wheel size truck do the job?

The customized cars that Engineerkyle is selling on ebay say they have Intermountain 33" wheelsets on them.  I'm inclined to go with that, since he seems to know what he is doing.

I realize that this isn't a very specific question and that many of these decisions come down to personal preference.  I'm very new to this and have always been one to get lots of information before I buy stuff.

What is the difference between 33" and 36" wheel sets.  I know, 3"!!

What does the measurement refer to?  The length?  The diameter of the wheel?  The reason I ask is that someone once recommended that I but Intermountain 36" wheels for some passenger cars I have and I am wondering if 36" wheels are appropriate for all types of cars, or if you need different sizes for different things.  Is it just preference?

Parker

I’m smitten with some of the Branchline reefer cars but have been hesitant to buy any kits due to a total lack of experience and not wanting to get in over my head.  I would classify myself as a novice in the model train field, not even fully up to speed on all the lingo.

So what I am looking for is this…
A)   A list of all the equipment I would need to buy to put one of these kits together (exacto knife, glue, tweezers, whatever) as well as suggestions on specific types (like what brand of glue or what size screwdriver comes in handy).
B)   Any comments on Branchline kits in general.  Are they particularly hard to put together, fragile, of general poor or outstanding quality?

I told myself I wasn’t going to get into the model building side of things for a while, but looking at some of engineerkyle’s work has got me inspired.

Thanks
Parker

I need some cheap rolling stock.  Right now, my 4 year old son and I are having a good time with our carpet layout, with one problem.  Although he is trying to be careful, he is 4, and some of the more detailed and (relatively) expensive pieces of rolling stock I have are getting the bad end of the bargain.  I just bought a Branchline RTR 30's era Reefer yesterday, and the ladder on it is already busted off.  It's getting frustrating for everyone.

So I'm looking for 6 or 8 or 12 pieces of rolling stock that is in runnable condition, but is otherwise nothing special.  It doesn't matter what it is at all, flat car, box car, tanker, whatever.

So the question is, does anyone know of a decent place to find such an animal (I've been doing the ebay thing, but buying things people are selling cheap on ebay always seems dangerous) or does anyone have some pieces they are looking to get rid of for a reasonable price?

Thanks
Parker

I'm interested to know, if people are willing to share, how much money you think (or know) you've spent on this hobby?  Or endeavor.  Or quest.  Or whatever you consider it.

A brief inclusion of where the money went would be interesting as well, so that there is some sense of scale.  Those running part time carpet layouts are likely to have spent significantly less than the ones with basements dedicated to the craft.

I'm interested because I am just getting started and have roughly calculated that even my fairly modest ideas of what I would like to see will probably run me $2,500, which isn't chump change.

I know money can be a sensitive subject, so I hope I am not stepping out of bounds by bringing it up.  Obviously no one is compelled to answer, or even publicly not answer, so I think I am on safe ground.

Parker

This is again in regards to a set of 5 Athearn heavyweight passenger cars that I purchased.

I've installed the couplers that came with the models and I am fairly certain that I did it correctly.  The problem is that the couplers wont seem to connect with the couplers on my engines.  I have a Broadway Limited Blueline Alco RSD-15 and the basic diesel engine that came with 'The American' set I got a few years ago.  I realize that neither of those should probably be pulling old school passenger trains, but that's hardly the point.

So is it common for different coupling systems to not be compatible?  The last bit of advice I got from Sheldon and others suggested that changing the trucks that came with the Athearn cars was not a great idea, which still sounds like good advice.

Any ideas?  What should I be looking at to try to fix this?

I just bought 5 heavyweight passenger cars (Athearn) and do not really like the trucks that came with them, so I am looking to switch.  The wheels are plastic and they just look kind of cheap.

I'm a novice, so I am looking for some advice on a brand or specific item that I could switch them out for.  The couplers are attached to the trucks, if that makes a difference.

Any thoughts?

I'm trying to learn some of this stuff before I jump in.  I have no experience with DCC and very, very little experience with model trains at all.

I do not have a DCC system yet but am looking at the Digitraxx Zephyr.  I am also looking at a diesel loco to start off with.  Specifically, I have my eye on the HO BLI Blueline RSD-15 Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range diesel with sound and DCC ready (product number BLI-5094).  I assume the DCC ready means I will need to buy and install a decoder.

My preference would be to have the loco DCC equipped, but I can not seem to find a DM&IR model that is DCC equipped without a huge increase in price (the Blueline lists for $170 and I have found it for $130).

So the questions I have are...

1) I know for that price the sound is probably not that great, I am fine with that.  Will the sound work without a decoder?  How would that happen?

2) I assume when a loco is listed as DCC Ready it means I won't have to fiddle with wires and such, I will be able to just sort of plug something in?  Is that too simplistic?  I also assume I will need a decoder that can control sound.  How much will that cost (generally) and will I be able to install myself with my novice status?

I intend to post many other questions here.  I have been reading the forums and am very impressed with the quick and excellent responses.  Thanks in advance.

Can someone tell me the physical difference between code 100 and code 83 track?  Further, could you give me a quick rundown of why someone might use one over the other?

Thanks

I'm a novice at this, I got a Bachmann set a couple of years ago as a Christmas present to run around the tree.  I have a couple young kids and thought it would be fun.  It is.  This year I got a few freight cars as gifts and my interest is officially sparked.  One piece in particular has me interested.

I got a Branchline brand freight car, part of their Blueprint ACF Wood Reefer series.  I really like the 1920's Era Billboard URTX Cars (http://www.branchline-trains.com/blueprint/reefers/urtx_reefers.htm).

So what I would like to do is get a bunch of these billboard freight cars to eventually run in some kind of layout.  I'm not usually a stickler for historical accuracy, but in this case I would like to get a locomotive that might have actually pulled these types of freight cars in the late 20's, early 30's.

I've been looking on the web but seem to be running in circles.  I'm finding it difficult to match up rail lines that utilized these cars and then find out what type of locomotives they used at the same time.  It certainly isn't helping that I don't really speak the language at all (again, I am a novice).

Can anyone point me in the right direction or just throw out a suggestion of a locomotive that might be accurate for that time period and these cars?

Thanks in advance.