Building Your Model Railroad: January 2021

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Jan 26, Layout Surface: Plywood or Foam?

Q: I am planning a 4X6ft. N scale RR. I plan to use a 4X6ft. piece of plywood. I want to nail the track to a cork sub roadbed. What advantage does foam have? Thanks. A: The main reason I like to use foam pads as a layout surface is that if you want to dig out a creek, a lake or a ravine, it is much easier to do that if the surface is foam rather than plywood. It’s also helpful if you want to put a magnet under your track to use for uncoupling. A third reason is that it is easier to manage wiring. You can run wires easily through the middle of a foam pad to the side of your layout where your turnout switches or control panel might be located, or to run wires for an new light fixture that you want to put in the middle of your layout. Fourth, you can more easily embed a structure into foam so that you don’t have the foundation of your structure hovering over the surface of the layout. It’s also easier to plant trees in foam than in plywood. Foam is quieter than plywood when running trains. I also think that nailing the track down to plywood doesn’t allow for expansion and/or contraction of the track as the temperature and humidity change throughout the different seasons. So after a few years, you might find your track buckling a little. You still need the plywood under the foam pad for a good, steady layout surface, but for all the reasons above, I like foam pads on the top.
http://dlvr.it/RrPyK6

Jan 26, Layout Surface: Plywood or Foam?

Jan 26, Layout Surface: Plywood or Foam?
http://dlvr.it/RrPp92

How To Switch Rail Cars Without A Yard (and Great Cars for ANY Layout) Explained.

How To Switch Rail Cars Without A Yard (and Great Cars for ANY Layout) Explained.
http://dlvr.it/RrPDls

How To Switch Rail Cars Without A Yard (and Great Cars for ANY Layout) Explained.

http://dlvr.it/RrPDYx

Monday, January 18, 2021

Jan 11, How to Get Locomotive Sound on a DC Analog Layout

ICYMI: Question about How to Get Sound on DC Layouts: I have an analog layout... If I buy an N scale loco with onboard sound will the sound work on the track? Answer: The answer is YES, but not with a regular DC transformer. You will have to purchase a special DC transformer that has this capability. It is made by Model Rectifier Corp, called MRC Tech 6. It can operate DCC sound-decoder-equipped locomotives on analog track with all the usual DCC functions including the ability to change CVs and programming of the decoders. Here is a video explaining its capabilities. https://youtu.be/NW6ZAA02-Qc Another option would be to just switch over to DCC with a Digitrax Zephyr or NCE starter system. These can operate both DC (using “00” as the code) and DCC locomotives.
http://dlvr.it/Rqpyrk

Monday, January 11, 2021

Jan 11, How to Get Locomotive Sound on a DC Analog Layout

Jan 11, How to Get Locomotive Sound on a DC Analog Layout
http://dlvr.it/RqLBb6

Jan 11, How to Get Locomotive Sound on a DC Analog Layout

Question about How to Get Sound on DC Layouts: I have an analog layout... If I buy an N scale loco with onboard sound will the sound work on the track? Answer: The answer is YES, but not with a regular DC transformer. You will have to purchase a special DC transformer that has this capability. It is made by Model Rectifier Corp, called MRC Tech 6. It can operate DCC sound-decoder-equipped locomotives on analog track with all the usual DCC functions including the ability to change CVs and programming of the decoders. Here is a video explaining its capabilities. https://youtu.be/NW6ZAA02-Qc Another option would be to just switch over to DCC with a Digitrax Zephyr or NCE starter system. These can operate both DC (using “00” as the code) and DCC locomotives.
http://dlvr.it/RqL3Qc