I use a Sharper Image Ionic Pro unit in my train room with great results. This unit, coupled with our HVAC's static percipitator keeps the room dust-free at all times. Approximately once a year the room requires some light dusting. Unfortunately even rebuilt Image Pro units are expensive (~$200+)...but are well worth the expense.

If you are anticipating working with plaster, or drywall compound, do not sand. Use a wet sponge instead for dust-free leveling. [Incidentally most household dust is a mixture - the majority of which is human skin cells.]

Regards,
Ray

Hi again everyone...it has been awhile. I was interested in the 'look' that Trainman203 is trying to achieve. I, too, would like to make the ROA of the Monks Island Railway a bit more 'un-kept'. I especially liked your photos (...and my 'weathering hand' is quivering as well RogerTRA).

Regarding the New Haven RR, I still am annoyed that the 'powers to be' of the New Haven chose to eliminate all rail lines north of Hopewell Junction, NY. After their subsidiary (the Central New England Railway) absorbed my beloved Newburgh, Dutchess & Connecticut RR in the 1920s, it was finally torn up on 1938. All scrap steel was then sent to Japan (and you know the rest).

The New Haven went through several periods of, what I call, 'railroad financial intrigue'. I highly recommend reading the book The New Haven Railroad: Its Rise and Fall by John L. Weller [Hastings House Publishers, 1969]. The author navigates the reader through this complicated (and often illegal) series of events.

All in all an interesting set of topics. I look forward to my next visit to the forum.

Regards,
Ray

You have asked a very complex question - one that has no definitive answer. When I was in the Lionel collecting phase of the hobby, I routinely ran locomotives that dated back to Lionel's standard gauge era (1920s). While some of these 'toys' had been cared for, or restored, most were 'finds' at numerous train shows and garage sales. With a little 'tweaking' all of them ran just fine.

All of the aforementioned posts are germane to the answer to your original question. Of all of these conditions, I would have to put lubrication at the head of the list. Model railroad locomotives (no matter the scale) are rather complex machines. Machines, by their very nature, have parts that will come into contact with each other...said contact will result in wear. Keeping your locomotive fleet properly lubricated (notice the word "properly") will go a long way in extending their longevity. [In physics input work never equals output work because of friction (which is always present). For that reason there has never been - nor will there ever be - a 'perpetual motion' machine as friction is an unescapable contradictory (or opposing) force in nature.]

The best thing you can do with your locomotives (in additiion to lubrication) is to run them. No machine will react well to inactivity. I have a Tyco/AHM/Rivarossi HO American 4-4-0 from the late 1950s/early 1960s that still performs...even with the motor in tender, AND that ridiculous drive shaft arrangement. How? By lubricating, cleaning and running the locomotive on a regular basis. [Now for the truth: I haven't run it, nor my meager brass collection in years. The Tyco is still capable of 'turning a wheel' whilst the brass will not...they have all succumbed to the 'siren call' of DCC.]

Unless you spent an inordinate amount of money on a particular locomotive, getting 8 or 9 years of good running out of one is excellent performance. One needs to keep in mind that these models are toys; and are not expected to last for eons.

Regards,
Ray

I make it a habit to never thow out any of those 'wall wart' transformers. As the years have gone by, I have accumulated (my wife would say 'horded') quite a number of these. On the side of each, I indicate the output voltage and amperage (use white correction fluid on the black ones for visibility).

The main thing to remember is that the voltage requirement of the accessory must match the 'wall wart's' voltage output. The current requirement of the accessory (amperage) must be be equal to, or less than, the output amperage of the 'wall wart' (I always opt for "less than"). If that is so, the accessory will work just fine. As an example: I have a single Tortoise turnout controller on my layout. The Tortoise machine requires a voltage of 9 - 12 volts (the less the voltage, the slower and quieter the Tortoise runs). The controller's current requirements are 15 - 16 ma. This means that any 'wall wart', with an output rating of 9 - 12v  and ~ 20 ma or greater will operate one Tortoise controller. [I run my Tortoise from a 'wall wart' of 9 volts/500 ma.] Remember, the voltage must match the accessories' requirement...but the amperage can be anything greater than the accessories maximum requirement. Carrying that a bit further, a 9 - 12 volt/500 ma 'wall wart' will safely power 30 Tortoise turnout controllers.

Save those 'wall warts' as you never know when they will come in handy.

Regards,
Ray

I, also, have used the RIX rerailer for years...a godsend for those of us with mini-layouts (lots of car swapping). It helps to have a couple of these devices hanging at vairous points on the fascia (with a 12' layout, you don't need more than two).

Someone mentioned the rerailing of locomotives? I have found the Peco Loco-Lift to be an excellent choice for this purpose. [As a bonus, the Loco-Lift can be used as a cassette, by itself, or by permanently attaching more than one Loco-Lift together for longer applications. Some years ago I cut a Loco-Lift in half to turn my BWL Trackmobile easily.]

Regards,
Ray

Jonathan - The Dullcote seems to have turned out fine...I'll put that one into the 'files' as it beats using translucent tape (...only on smaller windows). For more realistic lighting, you may want to consider LEDs. With the Christmas holidays upon us, many stores have warm-white LED Christmas lights available...at attractive prices (I got mine from Big Lots). I have procurred several strings of both warm white, and blue (to be used for nighttime running) for use on my Monks Island Railway. Just a thought Jon.

Happy Holidays everyone,
Ray

In this day and age, I don't know how anyone can have a layout without a multimeter...especially at the regular price of the less expensive Harbor Freight model. I have one of the better quality Harbor Freight multimeters in our motor home (ALWAYS check those campground power stanchions before plugging in...don't ask) and one of these freebies in the train room. I don't know what a model railroader needs with a $200 multimeter.

Thanks for taking the time to alert us to the Harbor Freight giveaway.

Ray

Gig - I see you are looking for simple HO layouts? Have you considered small or mini layouts? Please check out Carl Arendt's website at http://www.carendt.com/ for some truly interesting plans. I wouldn't have a layout today if it weren't for the guidance, and inspiration, I derived from Carl's site. [FYI: Carl Arendt died some time ago - however the website is ably maintained by a chap from the Netherlands.]

Jbrock mentioned AnyRail and I certainly concur. AnyRail is a great layout-planning tool that has a shallow learning curve. You can try it for free - or opt to purchase the expanded version (...well worth the outlay). Another good source of small layouts is Railway Modeller magazine. This is a Peco, UK publication that has a wealth of small layouts featured each month. [Railway Modelling is very expensive in the U.S. @ $11/issue. You can subscribe to the digital edition for much less and can access back issues via your Kindle or IPad.] Other UK publications I have found useful are: The Hornby Magazine and Model Railway. You have to hand it to the Brits as they really produce some awesome model railroads...most of which are sensible in size.

Good luck in your search. Keep in mind that no layout is 100% perfect.

Regards,
Ray

What seems like a million years ago, I (and my good friend at the time) used to hang out at the Hopewell Junction, NY yards [New Haven owned] while my dad earned a couple of bucks unloading lumber from rail cars. We became very familiar with those old kerosene-burning signal lamps as we used to follow the guy refilling them. He was a really nice fellow - and would often let us refill the reservoirs...while he took a smoke break (this guy was no dummy). Anyway, the glass inserts (bulls eyes) were made of very thick glass in a Fresnel lens type of pattern ('could be wrong, but I remember green and yellow lenses).

One day our railroad 'buddy' was accompanied by several other workmen - who were in the process of replacing those old lanterns with reflecting indicators. Knowing how we loved to 'help' fill those old lanterns, he took us to their truck and gave us one! I had that lantern hanging in my bedroom for years...I wonder what ever happened to it?

I have been putting some thought to illuminating an HO switch stand lamp (when you are retired there is a lot of time for thinkin'). [For the purposes of this discussion, I am referring to a 'low boy' lamp and not the high ones.] I think I would opt to hollow out the lamp base and attach it to some fine brass tubing (very small diameter). Using magnet wire, I would run a wire to a bi-colored LED. Yes, all faces of the lamp would show green or red (or whatever), but that is about as close to protypical as one can get. Of course Lionel solved the problem years ago with their #022 illuminated switches. Do you remember how hot those little signal lamps became?

Ray

PS: How do you northern retired guys afford the taxes? We own a 2,400 sq. fit home (birck) on ~ 1 acre with full city services. Our total tax bill is $460/year. Y'all must know something I don't.

Les, when I was a young college student I worked for the Dutchess County (NY) Highway Department each summer. [Of course that was 'way before I retired to Alabama and became a 'recovering yankee'.] Anyway, a rainy day job (better known as busy work) was to go out to the Lamp House and fill the seemingly endless number of warning lamps...or 'pots' as we called them. One had to check the condition (and length) of the wick as well as filling up the reservoir. We had a large, rotary hand-pumped tank filled with kerosene...which was dispensed into spouted cans (much like the oil cans one sees used for lubricating steam locomotives). I can tell you, from personal experience, this was a very dirty (soot) and very smelly job.

JBrock, My father was an apple farmer during the late 1940s through the early 1960s. We used 'smudge pots' on those early spring nights when the temperatures would get low enough to possibly damage the apple blossoms. Smudge pots (or at least agricultural ones) were much larger than the highway warning 'pots' - and held more kerosene as the flame was much larger. It was beautiful (to a kid) to see all those twinkling lights in the orchards at night. My father watched his meager profit go up in smoke (and flame).

Jon - I turn 70 this coming February and I feel your pain. I am having more and more trouble seeing those tiny screws and detail pieces. That is one reason why the rebuilt Monks Island Railway (or as I like to put it: M.I.Ry 2.0) will be my last layout. I want this edition to be a defining moment in my 55+ year involvement in the hobby...it has been a great run though.

Cheers,
Ray

This thread continues to hold my interest and is extremely helpful for some future projects.

Regarding small wires: Many of the smaller light fixtures, intended for HO structures, use magnet wire. This is extremely thin wire that probably could be threaded into those switch stand lamps. If it had to be exposed, it is (as already mentioned) very thin and could be painted to blend into the stand. Rather than having to deal with dual colored LEDs, I think I would follow J3a's idea of keeping the colored gels/gems already installed in the lamp and illuminate it with a mini LED...while not purely prototypical it does align with the K.I.S.S. Principle.

The 90-degree arc that the lamp turns would not cause a problem with the wire as it actually moves very little. If it is of concern, one could use 2 washers, separated by a fiber washer, such that one washer was + and the other -. Phosphor-bronze power pick ups (from Tomar) could be used to transfer electrical current from the washers to the LED. I do feel that such complexity would be unnecessary.

Bi-colored LEDs work by reversing the polarity of the incoming circuit. To change the color of the LED, I would use turnouts with 'live' frogs. In that way when the turnout controller is activated (controllers contain a DPDT internal switch...think Blue Point or Tortoise), the polarity of the frog is changed and thus the polarity of the feed wire current to the lamp. Just a suggestion.

Good thread and some clever ideas.

Ray

Thanks for the return Don. Yes, I am aware of the fact that many cheaper Xmas lights are mini incandescents (as are most rope lights). I definitely do not want to use incandescent bulbs on my layout (relatively short lifespan and too much heat). LEDs are the way to go (extremely long lived, and virtually no heat production).

Your post also helped me with one important item: the length of those LED strip lights. I know they come in varying lengths, but Amazon didn't mention the length of theirs in any part of the ad (just that they had X amount of LEDs). The ones you found, on eBay, at 5 meters, are exactly the length I need for each module. Let me express my sincere thanks for the information. I was about to mention that, as an Amazon Prime member, we usually don't pay shipping costs...then you mentioned that the eBay items are shipped free. This sounds like an excellent deal.

When I get around to building the 'light boxes' (structures that are composed of 2-side walls, a back and a top - all out of Styrofoam that sit on top of the train board), I will be ordering said strip lights. Funny, I rarely visit the Bachmann forum anymore...yet I received some extremely valuable (and time-saving) information.

Jon, if your layout photographs better than it looks in real life; I am inviting you to the Heart of Dixie to photograph mine.

All the best,
Ray

Irv, thanks for the 'heads up' on those LED lights. The only thing I have seen (and that was around the holidays) was LED rope lights...not LED strip lights [Confused?..check out Micro Mark's range online or in one of their [weekly] catalogs.]. At this point, I would settle for either. I will be sure to check out Target in the near future  - and keep a watchful eye during the holiday season. I just know that someone must sell LED strip lights and need to do a more thorough Internet check (heck, if they are available in the UK, they should be available here...as they all come from China).

Hold the 'phone...I just found the product at Amazon (is there anything that Amazon doesn't sell?). They can be seen at


Weirdly, the ad doesn't tall how long each 'tape' is (at ~$7.95/roll I will order a couple rolls when the time comes). Additionally there is no indication of the 'temperature' of the light produced. I quess I'd use a couple warm white strips (for daylight viewing) and one blue (for nighttime). You can even get a dimmer for these strips AND they can be cut every 3 LEDs. Like I said: Very affordable.

I spent the afternoon installing some Blue Point turnout controllers on the new Monks Island Railway. For most of the time I was working, I was thinking about Jonathan's night scene. There is still a lot of work to be done on the layout; but I am definitely planning on installing a plethora of LED lighting. [Am I becoming a Jonathan wanna-be?]

Take care everyone,
Ray

I just had to comment on your lighting project Jonathan. When I opened your thread my mouth fell open...wow!!! Lighting takes a layout to the next level - and adds untold interest to the scene. Don's input on 'weathering with lighting' was amazing as well...never thought of it that way Don.

As part of the building of the [new] Monks Island Railway 2.0, I intend to add a lighting component. Basic layout ambient lighting will be done with blue LED strip lighting for nighttime scenes and daylight/warm LED strips for daytime (I am still trying to find this stuff...yes, Micro Mark sells a similar product that is a bit too rich for my pocketbook. One of my UK pen pals procures his at a local English box store during the holidays for a low price...haven't found any in the States as of yet). All structures will have lighting (internal or extrenal...or both); but lacking your patience Jon I will buy wall lighting kits from N-gineering...not that they are a 'walk in the park' to build.

On several of the scrapbook pages on Carl Arendt's website there was an Australian chap who built a layout called "Brooklyn 3:00 AM"  that was absolutely amazing (he even had sound effects). [Note: I tried to give a link to his article. It is featured in several scrapbook pages (#74 as one); but the original embedded video segment has been removed.] In the June 2013 issue of the Hornby Magazine is an article on a layout called the Stratton St. George. The lead photograph is of a nighttime view that looks amazingly read. [BTW: I subscribe to Railway Modelling, and occasionally purchase the Hornby Magazine to garner ideas from our English comrades...these folks can really do model railroading!] Again, being able to 'move' your layout into the night hours puts a very different 'spin' on your work.

It is indeed odd that there is so little 'exposure', in the hobby press, on nighttime model railroad operations. Even in the 19th century, railroads did not stop at sunset...something to think about. Thanks to Jon and Don ('sounds like a singing group) for their input.

Regards,
Ray

Ah, automobiles. Do you remember the day when you could open the hood (bonnet for our UK friends) and actually see the ground?

Ray