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Display until April 30th

Celebrating 

the art of 

1:48 modeling 

Issue #19 

Mar/Apr 2005 

Vol. 4, No. 2 

Publisher 

Joe Giannovario 

jag@oscalemag.com 

Art Director 

Jaini Giannovario 

jaini@oscalemag.com 

Editor 

Brian Scace 

brian@oscalemag.com 

Advertising Manager 

Jeb Kriigel 

jeb@oscalemag.com 

Contributors 

Ted Byrne 

Gene Deimling 

Bobber Gibbs 

Carey Hinch 

Hobo D. Hirailer 

Jace Kahn 

Neville Rossiter 

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O Scale Trains ISSN 1536-9528 

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Published bimonthly (6 times a year) by 

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© 2005 OST All Rights Reserved 

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Cover: A scene from Mike Culham’s former Great Central 

Railway O Scale layout. Follow as Mike rebuilds the GCR in 

its new home. 

Centerspread: “Winter Solstice” - OST Subscriber Don 

Latham commissioned Reed Artim (of O Scale Realty) to 

build Latham Mill Works for his layout. K. Jeb Kriigel created 

this diorama especially for the mill and photographed this 

moody wintry scene. 

Features 

4 The Texas Midland Railway – Dallas Division 

Brady McGuire and the boys show us how they do a club Texas-style. 

18 Building a Small O Scale Layout – Part 2 

A multi-part series on building a small O Scale layout to fit an apartment. 

Watch as Mike Culham rebuilds his Great Central Railway. 

28 O Scale Influences – Glen Davis 

An on-going series about people who have made a difference in other 

O Scaler’s lives. Stanley Harper contributed this article about Mr. Davis. 

42 Scratchbuilding a Simple Steam Service Site 

Tom Houle is back with another of his excellent scratchbuilding articles. 

This one focuses on easy to build service facilities for small steam. 

Departments 

10 Easements for the Learning Curve – Brian Scace 

12 The Modern Image - Carey Hinch 

23 The Workshop – Neville Rossiter 

24 Narrow Minded – Bobber Gibbs 

40 Reader Feedback – Letters to the Editor 

34 Product News & Reviews 

53 Fine Scale Modeling – Gene Deimling 

56 Confessions of a HiRailer – Hobo D. Hirailer 

58 Buy-Sell-Trade Ads 

58 Modeler’s Shelf 

59 Advertiser Index 

60 Events Listing 

62 Observations – Joe Giannovario 

OST is a proud Member of the 

Model Railroad Industry Association 

Mar/April ’05 - O Scale Trains •

H. R. “Hot Rod” Warren squeaks to a stop as he backs away from the boxcar. This is the last heavy load. TMRwy #523, in LCL service, is almost 

unloaded. Reloading for destinations East won’t start until the third shift. The five-door, four-story Texas Midland Railway Freight House is 

scratchbuilt using brick paper and basswood columns and beams. 

• O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’05 

The Dallas Fort Worth O Scale Model Railroad Club has 

been in existence since 1985. Currently the club owns and 

operates three distinct layouts. Our largest layout of the three 

is The Texas Midland Railway, Sherman Division, located in 

Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles north of Dallas. This doubletrack 

22’ by 28’ layout was originally built in 1986, utilizing 3’ 

x 6’ modules. This layout was initially designed for display running 

at train shows, but now incorporates two additional yards, 

an eleven-track westbound yard and an eight-track eastbound 

yard. These two staging yards are utilized for off-line staging of 

through trains. Both yards have handlaid track using code 125 

rail spiked directly on to hollow-core Luan doors. The 1 3/8” 

thick doors are supported every 40 inches. Train lengths are 18 

to 20 cars on freights and six to seven cars on passenger trains. 

The layout’s on-line four-track yard is used to make up wayfreights 

to switch the eleven local industries. More industries 

are planned including a 21-car icing facility. We operate this 

division one Saturday a month. 

The second TMRwy layout is a portable 10' x 30' “U” shaped 

modular layout built primarily for traction operation. The Texas 

Midland Railway Traction Division was built in 1993 and operates 

at two to four train shows a year. The operation includes 

both passenger and freight traffic using trolleys, interurbans and 

box motors. Our traction layout is a big hit at train shows, since 

visitors do not see two-rail O Scale that often. It is especially 

a surprise when viewers discover the layout uses an overhead 

“hot” wire for powering the trolley poles. The layout features 

return loops and sidings with spring switches permitting operation 

of three trolley cars simultaneously. This layout is stored at 

members’ homes between shows, as different members own the 

different parts of the layout. 

Our third layout, The Texas Midland Railway, Dallas Division, 

is the subject of this article. In 1997 an opportunity arose for 

our club to lease a 14' x 29' room on the mezzanine level of 

the restored historic Dallas Union Station in downtown Dallas, 

Texas. Dallas Union Station is a stop on the DART (Dallas Area 

Rapid Transit) line and is also the eastern terminus for the Trinity 

Railway Express from Fort Worth. This feature allows for convenient 

travel for our members. This location also has many railfan 

opportunities as Amtrak trains and several Union Pacific and 

Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight trains are often seen. In this 

new space we decided to build a large urban industrial district 

with lots of switching and large buildings. After seven years we 

have built a working layout and we are at the point of actually 

having operating sessions. We work two Saturdays a month finishing 

the wiring, scenery, industrial tracks and structures. 

History 

The Texas Midland Railway is a fictitious regional railroad 

(not to be confused with another similarly named railroad, the 

Texas Midland Railroad in east Texas, which was absorbed into 

the Southern Pacific in the 1930’s). The Texas Midland Railway 

was conceived in the 1880’s as a major trunk line serving 

east, north and west Texas. Its stated purpose was to service 

Texarkana, Greenville, Dallas, Fort Worth and El Paso. Unfortunately 

tracks were never laid from Fort Worth to El Paso. The 

management once even dreamed of extending the tracks east

TEXAS MIDLAND RAILWAY, DALLAS DIV. 

DALLAS FT. WORTH 

O SCALE MODEL RR CLUB 

DALLAS UNION STATION, DALLAS, TEXAS 

29' X 14' OVERALL 

Structures Legend 

1. Mobilgas- kitbashed Walthers Phoenix Oil kit 

2. Runzo Bros. Produce- scratchbuilt 1/8 inch Masonite, rough side out, and 

basswood beams and columns 

3. Farmers Union Creamery- kitbashed Walthers kit 

4. Engine house- scratchbuilt (future) 

5. Water tower- scratchbuilt using computer disc storage cylinder 

6. Blue’s Icehouse and Cold Storage- kitbashed Berkshire Valley kit 

7. Independent Pneumatic Tool Co. - Masonite flat with printed paper building 

applied 

8. Willsie Tool Supply- scratchbuilt (future) 

9. Unnamed Factory building- kitbashed from 1 ⁄4" Masonite walls with reworked 

Pioneer Valley Apartment Building Kit # 081 cardstock sides, new factory-style 

windows added 

10. Roberts Printing Co.- kitbashed Walthers HO for distance perspective 

11. Steel fabrication plant- scratchbuilt 1 ⁄4" Masonite flat with reworked Pioneer 

Valley Machine Shop #086 cardstock sides 

12. Factory- scratchbuilt 1 ⁄4" Masonite flat with Westport Models #12 Sprag Electric 

Co. cardstock sides 

13. Factory- scratchbuilt 1 ⁄4" Masonite flat with Westport Models #18 Norwalk Tire 

Co. cardstock sides 

14. TMRw. tool shed- scratchbuilt (future) 

15. TMRwy Freight House- scratchbuilt 1" foam, basswood beams and columns 

with Pioneer Valley brick paper. Windows drawn on computer, then printed on 

“overhead” clear material 

16. Dallas Union Grain- scratchbuilt using 4" PVC pipe silos and basswood head 

house and elevator 

17. Smithton Texas Traction Station- scratchbuilt 1 ⁄4" Masonite flat with A.G. Smith 

HO Bank cardstock printed side enlarged to O Scale with new station sign‐ 

18. Smithton Main Street- 1" foam with printed A. G. Smith HO cardstock sides 

enlarged to O Scale. Smithton is named in honor of Mr. A. G. Smith. Main Street 

contains Epstein’s Dept. Store, Bijou Theater, a bakery, Barrett’s Drug Store, an 

office building and Riley’s Grocery 

19. Cook’s Electrical Supply Co.- scratchbuilt (future) 

20. Texas Power and Light Co.- scratchbuilt flats (future) 

21. Farmer’s Co-op Grain- scratchbuilt with corrugated siding made from heavy 

duty aluminum foil embossed over a pattern 

22. J. W. Holding Co. stock chute and pens- scratchbuilt 

23. Cottonwood Station- scratchbuilt 

24. Store side- scratchbuilt 1 ⁄4" Masonite flat and printed cardstock side, 

using HO Scale A. G. Smith bldg. enlarged to O scale 

25. House- kitbashed Model Power Jordan’s House, garage and wood fence 

26. House- kitbashed from Model Power Jordan’s House 

Layout Particulars 

Name: Texas Midland Railway and Texas Traction (future overhead) 

Location: Historic Dallas Union Station, Dallas, Texas 

Scale: O Scale (1:48) 

Size: 14' x 29' 

Theme: Regional railroading, urban switching with 17 industries (11 on the 

Rwy., 6 on the traction line) 

Locale: East of Dallas, Texas 

Era: Late 1950s- early 1960s, steam and Diesel 

Style: Walk-around 

Height: 52 inches from floor with no grades 

Benchwork: L-girders with 2" foam on lightweight grid 

Roadbed: 1 ⁄2" Homasote mainline and yards, industrial spurs on 0.060" 

illustration board 

Track: Combination of Micro Engineering code 125 and handlaid track and 

turnouts. Industrial spurs handlaid code 100 on low-profile ties. 

Mainline: Approx. 70' 

Turnouts: No. 5 on Rwy. No. 4 on traction - total 27. Most laid with Right-O’- 

Way points & frogs. All turnouts controlled with Caboose Industries 

manual ground throws. 

Min Radius: Mainline 60", spurs and yard 48" 

Scenery: Styrofoam painted with latex paint with Woodland Scenic ground 

cover 

Backdrop: Painted sheet rock with hand painted horizon, clouds and trees 

Structures: 26 mostly scratchbuilt with some kitbashed 

Control: Conventional DC with block control using Aristo-Craft radio throttles 

Operation. Card Order, Set Out and Pick Up only, no Hold position 


from Texarkana to Memphis, but 

that never materialized either. 

The Texas Midland Railway has 

always had fierce competition 

from the Texas and Pacific which 

serves the same corridor. The 

TMRwy is a single track railroad 

with few passing sidings and 

has always had difficulty maintaining 

schedules. The meager 

profits have never allowed 

the luxury of new equipment, so 

most of the locomotives and rolling 

stock are hand-me-downs. 

Some say the equipment is old 

and worn out, but expert shop 

forces keep them running reasonably 

well. The only new locomotives 

to ever grace the rails 

are the beautiful pair of EMD 

F-9s and a GP-9. They were purchased 

with Uncle Sam’s money 

when several major government 

flood control projects in east 

Texas forced the re-routing of 

miles of track. Since the outcome 

was many more route miles, part 

of the compensation was the two 

new F-9s and GP-9, increasing 

train speeds to keep competitive 

with the Texas and Pacific. 

The fact that the TMRwy even 

exists today (late '50s through 

the early '60s) is through shear 

determination and luck, not 

profits. The Texas Traction line 

was acquired in 1923 to service 

additional industry with a slight 

increase in revenue. The TMRwy 

has never been a suitable merger 

partner or candidate for takeover 

because no one covets its 

route. In Texarkana the TMRwy 

interchanges with the Missouri 

Pacific and the Kansas 

City Southern. The TMRwy also 

interchanges with the Katy and 

Santa Fe in east Texas at Greenville 

but, of course, they both 

also directly serve the industrial 

districts of east Dallas, the location 

we model. On the west 

end, the TMRwy interchanges 

with the Frisco, Rock Island, and 

Ft. Worth & Denver (Burlington) 

in Fort Worth. Cooperation and 

interchange with the Texas and 

Pacific has always been meager, 

awkward and downright contentious 

at times. The TMRwy crews 

spend their time switching the 

many industries on its route and 

running transfers to the yards 

of the bigger roads in the Dallas 

and Fort Worth area. Today 

• O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’05 

Cattleman J. W. Holding waits anxiously for a TMRwy stock car to be spotted at the loading chute. J. W. 

wants this shipment of steers loaded and on their way tonight. The stock pens and loading chute are 

scratchbuilt. TMR 17056 stock car was built from an old Mainline kit. 

Extra 162 heads west with F-9 # 162 and # 160. This transfer run has cars for both the Rock Island and 

Burlington yards in Fort Worth. The units' paint schemes were designed and applied by Steve Holding. 

Later in the day, Extra 160 East, with F-9 # 160 and GP-9 #1502, departs Moore Yard for Greenville and 

Texarkana. There are few through freights remaining for the struggling Texas Midland Rwy. The massive 

structures in the background are over six feet in viewing height.

It’s still 15 minutes before the departure of Texas Midland Traction # 45 for 

Cottonwood. The Smithton passengers leisurely take their time boarding. It is cooler 

waiting on the benches than sitting in the motionless car. The midday freight run 

has a few wooden seats for hardy travelers. Smithton was created by enlarging A. G. 

Smith HO building cutouts to O Scale. 

Railway Express reefer R.E.X. 124, loaded with strawberries, is already spotted on the 

siding for pickup. A Texas Traction crew delivered # 124 just ten minutes ago. Texas 

Midland Railway eastward Mail and Express #6 is due in just 22 minutes. Cottonwood 

passengers prepare to board the single coach and sleeper that round out the consist. 

R.E.X. 124 was downsized from a Mainline wood kit. The 36-foot wood reefer was 

narrowed one foot and height reduced one foot to better negotiate the tight trackage 

and clearances of the Texas Traction line. 

Final inspection with hatches closed. Heavily weathered F.G.E.X. 59605 is iced and 

cooled, ready for pickup. A TMRwy crew is due any minute to move the reefer across 

town to Runzo Bros. Produce Co. There it will be quickly loaded with a shipment of Texas 

grapefruit for eastern markets. Blue’s Ice is kitbashed from the Berkshire Valley kit. 

the Texas Midland Railway functions more as a terminal 

railroad than a bridge route, because little through traffic 

remains. 

Construction 

Our industrial district layout is built around the walls, 

with depths varying from 16 to 24 inches. The sections 

are constructed of lightweight 1" x 2" framing supporting 

a 1 ⁄4" OSB (oriented strand board) base topped by two layers 

of 3 ⁄4" high-density blue foam board, a Dow product. 

After we glued the two 3 ⁄4" foam layers together with Latex 

Liquid Nails (blue label), we located a supplier in Dallas 

that has 2" thick high-density blue foam in stock. In the 

future we will use 2" thick pieces. The roadbed on top of 

the blue foam is 1 ⁄2" Homasote for the mainline and yards. 

The industrial spurs use 0.060" illustration board for subroadbed. 

The spurs are constructed on low-profile wood 

ties and handlaid code 100 rail. The mainline trackage is a 

combination of handlaid and Micro Engineering code 125 

flextrack. All the turnouts (27 total) were handlaid by Richard 

Moore with most using Right-O’-Way frogs and points. 

We are using #5 turnouts on the mainline and #4 turnouts 

on the traction line. All turnouts are hand thrown using 

Caboose Industries ground throws. The height of the layout 

is 52 inches. 

Wiring and Control 

The layout is built with conventional block control. We 

use Aristo-Craft radio control throttles and have separate 

controls for the mainline and yard. Number 12 bus wires 

circumnavigate the bench work and each piece of rail has 

an electrical drop to the bus. 

Operation 

There are 17 possible locations to spot cars during 

switching operations, with 11 located on the railway and 

six on the traction line. We are currently using a card-order 

system, but some members are thinking about changing to 

a Rail-Op switch list. We use the card-order Set Out and 

Pickup operations only. We do not use the Hold position. 

In a typical session both eastbound and westbound wayfreights 

are assembled in Moore Yard with train lengths typically 

six to eight cars. The eastbound local works industries 

along its way while the westbound is being assembled back 

at Moore Yard. During a normal operating session all industries 

are switched. The Texas Midland Railway interchanges 

a few cars for the Texas Traction. The Texas Traction runs 

between Smithton and Cottonwood. The traction line has 

no access to Moore Yard or the outside world. 

Locomotives and Rolling Stock 

The club itself owns only one locomotive and five freight 

cars lettered for the Texas Midland Railway. The club’s loco 

is an Atlas SW-9 (recently leased from the Erie Lackawanna). 

All other motive power and rolling stock are member 

owned. Because of our members’ diverse interests at any 

given time, many railroads are represented, such as Southern 

Pacific, Santa Fe, Burlington, Katy, and Frisco with occasional 

visits from the Wabash, Pennsylvania, Union Pacific, 

Norfolk & Western and others. 

Standards 

Our club standards for rolling stock are metal Kadee 

couplers and metalwheel sets in Delrin sideframes. Our 

weight standard is 9-11 ounces for a forty-foot car. We 

have found that it is not necessary to weight cars to a full 

16 ounces (per the NMRA Standards) to achieve good reliable 

operations. This is true of both our switching layouts, 

the Dallas Division, and our larger Sherman Division layout 

where we routinely back 18-car trains through hand- 


laid #5 turnouts into the staging yards. 

Scenery 

The terrain is relatively flat. The blue foam was slightly 

contoured with a Stanley “Surform” curved rasp shaver and 

then painted with latex paint. Woodland Scenic ground foam 

was sprinkled on while the paint is wet. The backdrop is 

sheetrock with sky, clouds, horizon and trees handpainted in. 

At the location of the streams, the blue foam was removed 

down to the OSB. The streambeds were made by using drywall 

compound. When the compound was dry, it was then 

painted with several blends of acrylic paint colors. All four of 

the bridges are scratchbuilt. The two mainline bridges use HO 

Scale Chooch stone abutments and Atlas steel girder sides. 

The two wooden pile trestles on the spur tracks are made of 

basswood we cut to size using a Micro-Mark table saw. Mirrors 

are used at the end of Moore Yard and Smithton’s main 

street to achieve the illusion of distance. Another example of 

simulating distance is an HO model of Roberts Printing, kitbashed 

and set back near the window a few feet from the 

layout. HO vehicles complete this scene. 

Structures. 

There are 26 structures currently built or planned. The 

majority are scratchbuilt, while others are kitbashed. Most 

are as large as we could make them; for example, the 

TMRwy Freight House is a four-story structure, 38 inches 

long and 20 inches high. The Dallas Union Grain silos are 

made from four-inch diameter PVC pipe, and are 22 inches 

high. The building is 33 inches long overall. This puts the 

top of these structures over six feet high for viewing. 

The town of Smithton is named in honor of A. G. Smith. 

Brady McGuire used Mr. Smith’s Main Street (a Dover Publication 

product) HO cardstock building fronts for our main 

street. He took the building fronts to Kinko’s and enlarged 

them to O Scale, increasing the print size by 181%. He then 

mounted the heavy paper enlargements to 1” foam backing. 

Brady had Kinko’s print the enlargements on light grey 

paper, not white, for a more toned down weathered coloring. 

Future Plans 

We plan to add overhead trolley wire to the traction portion 

of the layout from Cottonwood to Smithton. Also, a 

three track staging yard under Cottonwood is planned, looping 

two thirds of the way around the layout to minimize the 

grade. By adding an angled peninsula into the center of the 

room, we can build a new industrial switching district adding 

five or six new industries. The resulting switching fees 

will be greatly appreciated by the shareholders of the Texas 

Midland Railway. 

Credits 

Most of the work has been done by all members, but 

some were put in charge of things in which they excel. Dick 

Kuelbs designed the track plan, wiring and control panels. 

Richard Moore, our switch building expert, built all of 

the turnouts (hence Moore Yard). Steve Holding and David 

Jeter laid most of the track and installed the electrical feeder 

drops. Brady McGuire planned the scenery and buildings. 

Brady built cardboard mockups for each of the structures, 

then a member constructed the actual building needed. 

Steve, David, Richard and Brady built up the permanent 

structures. Bob Brown took the photos and Bob Robertson 

drew the scale drawing of the layout. 

Charley completes the unloading of the tank car as Mr. DeMarco drives by 

with a few barrels of roofing tar. Ted, the slacker, steals some naptime in 

the shade of Tank #4. The Mobilgas facility is kitbashed from the Walthers 

kit. The office/warehouse is an old Revell HO building up-sized for O Scale. 

The Mobilgas tank car, GATX 6324, is a K-Line product with scale couplers, 

bolsters, trucks and corner frame wire grabs added. 

TMRwy carmen study the problem. It appears the brakes are stuck on 

TMRwy covered hopper # 336. The model is a Williams (KMT) car, with scale 

couplers, bolsters, trucks and wire grabs. Decals are Champ's data and 

custom made road name. The slightly undersized car operates well on the 

traction trackage. The bridges are scratchbuilt. The stone abutments are 

modified Chooch HO product. 

We normally meet three times a month, two Saturdays at Dallas 

Union Station and one Saturday in Sherman. New members and 

visitors are always welcome. Contacts for information (such as times 

the layouts are available for visits) are. Richard Kuelbs, 17432 Marianne 

Cir, Dallas, TX, 75252, 972-248-6262; David Jeter, Denison, 

TX, 903-465-6276; Richard Moore, Richardson, TX, 972-234-2726; 

Brady McGuire, Sherman, TX, 903-868-2726. ◆ 

• O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’05

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You’ll have to pardon me a bit, this 

issue, because I’m going to be a little more 

serious than usual. You see, I’ve a bit of a 

cob up about some trends in the O Scale 

world. Let’s look at a couple of points. 

First, although we are experiencing 

a pretty healthy growth in O Scale, the 

model railroading hobby as a whole is 

slowly shrinking. If the latest TCA member 

numbers are indicative, the toy train 

hobby is also in decay, important only 

because this is an important source of new 

blood for us. Although we are currently 

experiencing good times in O Scale, the 

long-term ramifications look a little less 

optimistic. 

Second, within our world, there are 

those who complain of the “dumbing 

down” of O Scale, what with all the 

ready-to-run stuff coming out. I hear of, 

and read about, concerns that no-one 

wants to build anymore. There are no real 

craftsmen left, fidelity is taking a hit, and 

the people who want to operate (the “car 

shifters” is a term I’ve read), rather than 

painstakingly scratchbuild museum quality 

models, are to blame for the death of 

the kit, the loss of the art of scratchbuilding, 

and the defeat of the Greeks at Thermopylae. 

Third, a couple of issues ago, we introduced 

a feature we call O Scale Influences. 

These are stories about the folks who 

took us under their wing and spent the 

time and effort to educate and inspire us. 

We all had ‘em, whether it was the likes 

of Joe Fischer, Bill Lenoir, Wash Loveland, 

Ted Stepek, or the old guy who lived in 

the house up the street with the Icken outside-third 

stuff who gave us our first crack 

at one of the old card-sided kits he had 

mouldering away in his basement. 

These three points are related, strangely 

enough. While the previous generation 

was so generous to us, we aren’t doing so 

hot in doing the same for the next generation. 

Maybe we think our stuff is too 

valuable for the next generation to see 

and feel; maybe we jealously guard our 

skill-sets and time so closely that we don’t 

have the patience to teach the next generation. 

But I ask you, can you remember 

the one-on-one tutelage you got from that 

mentor you remember so fondly Can you 

say you’ve done the same for someone 

10 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’05 

else a generation down If you can answer 

the second question with as emphatic a 

“yes” as you did the first one, you are rare 

indeed. As a generation, this is where we 

are failing miserably. 

While I’m not saying that our taking up 

the mantle where it was dropped will bring 

kids flocking to model railroading in general, 

and O Scale in particular, I am saying 

that it will help reverse the first point. 

One excuse I’ve heard over and over is, 

“Kids don’t see trains like we did, so they 

aren’t interested.” Well, I didn’t see them 

regularly when I was a kid, either. It took 

someone like Wash Loveland to make the 

time to take me to them before I saw trains 

on a regular basis, especially with someone 

who could explain what was going 

on. Before then, they were a noisy novelty 

of staying at my grandparent’s house out 

by the B&A. 

Here’s another one. “Kids just sit in 

front of the computer playing computer 

games.” In my youth, it was the television 

and that hellish rock-and-roll noise, 

but the same lame excuse. 

Who taught us about kits, 

scratchbuilding, and (as a 

result) patience Why don’t 

we I guess you could call 

me both a “car-shifter” and 

a craftsman, but it took a 

couple of older guys to 

pry me away from the TV 

and inspire me to learn it. 

All you guys who are worried 

about the “dumbingdown 

of O Scale” could 

take a lesson from that 

one, because that’s what 

happened to you, too. You 

weren’t born with it. Someone 

took the time and 

interest in you. 

So, at OST, we reserve 

some space for these 

heroes who saved our butts 

from the clutches of Japanese 

monster movies, Elvis, 

Milton Berle, slot-cars, 

and other diseases. We do 

this so they can inspire us 

again, to invest some time 

in the new blood as they 

did in us (What they saw in 

us that made ‘em do it, though, is beyond 

me!). 

There are a couple things to consider 

here. First is the fact that the significant 

investment is time. Wash, Ted Stepek, John 

Armstrong, they all took time away from 

something and invested it in my continued 

model railroading education. When 

they could have been working on their 

own stuff, they were working on me. We 

need to get past this one, as we tend to 

guard time more jealously than treasure. 

It will take time to show someone the 

nuances of even a simple kit, but it is an 

investment that pays off big when that kid 

reminds you of it as an adult. 

Second, especially if you are dealing 

with your own offspring, is that the kid 

may just not be interested. You can’t force 

craftsmanship or a love for the game on 

anyone. Don’t give up, though. There are 

“30-somethings”, “Gen-X-ers”, and other 

folks out there who are very interested, 

but can’t find anyone who can inspire. 

They may be found at a club (another 

environment that’s in trouble!) or at the 

hobby shop. 

Third, again especially important while 

dealing with offspring, interests change. 

Your protege may love train watching at 

age three, simple kits at age eight, joining 

your friends for an operating session and

seriously defending the Pennsy against all 

comers as a teenager. He very well may 

then lose interest for college, women, 

or R/C boats, instead of railroads. Good 

for him! The time you spent together 

will never be forgotten, and the lessons 

learned (patience, saving money for a big 

purchase, craftsmanship, creative cussing) 

will be your gifts carried forever. 

Think about the old O Scale Influences 

from your past, and try your hand at it 

with the next generation. I think you’ll be 

surprised and, if we assume that responsibility 

from our previous generation, it will 

help improve the prospects of a healthy 

future for our hobby and our scale. Meanwhile, 

I’m going down to my shop and 

mix myself a drink, put on a little Glenn 

Miller, put my kid up on my shoulders and 

run my railroad. I already have a bunch of 

kits ready for him, and the brat across the 

street has been showing a hint of tolerable 

behavior as of late… 

Let’s go Exploring! 

◆ 

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Mar/April ’05 - O Scale Trains • 11

1 

Modern Engine Facilities: Turntables 

Once they were a necessity to the operation of a railroad. 

They could be found everywhere back in the steam era. Most 

were at the end of a division, at a major junction, or at the heart 

of a classification facility. Every railroad, regardless of size, used 

them. They were turntables. A railroad could barely function 

without some method to turn their steam locomotives. When 

a steam locomotive arrived at its destination, a usual course of 

action was for the hostler to fuel, sand, and “turn” the engine so 

it faced forward on its return. Quite often the steam locomotive 

was simply backed into a roundhouse track until “called-up” for 

a train. If you think about the purpose of a turntable then, you 

and oil spills, and sand spills around the pit. 

The accompanying photos show an example of a 

modernized, but not new, BNSF turntable. It was originally 

built in 1923 during the early Frisco Railroad 

days. The table is 80' in length, and can handle SD75 

and DASH 9 locomotives with care. It has undergone 

updating, repairs, and lots of use. The green paint is 

a Burlington Northern remnant. Notice the bridge 

decking around the tracks in Photo 2. If your turntable 

bridge decking has wooden walkways, consider covering 

this with thin styrene to represent the installation 

of a metal deck. This table still uses the overhead electrical 

connection for motor power. 

The details around the BNSF table also tell the story of modernization. 

Notice in the photos how a concrete curb now encircles 

the pit. No tracks other than the through route are present. 

The table now has the one purpose of turning engines, instead of 

the multiple duties associated with a roundhouse. Look closely 

at Photo 3, shot from several yards back, and you’ll see remnants 

of abandoned roundhouse tracks. Most obvious here is the total 

lack of a roundhouse. Perhaps the concrete pads visible in Photo 

3 were once support pads for the roundhouse. The hint that a 

building once stood here shows how progress reclaims valuable 

space. 

You don’t have to rip out your roundhouse to modernize 

the turntable. Many railroads still use a roundhouse 

for Diesel storage and maintenance. Don’t 

overlook the obvious details though. Change the steam 

era details for Diesel. A lot can carry over, but stored 

72" drivers aren’t modern. If your turntable and yards 

are representing a major Class 1 railroad, then the 

area around the turntable and roundhouse might be 

junk-free. Think like a railroad here. If you are going 

for modern from the start and space permits, consider 

3 

can see why they are still in service today. 

Cosmetically a modern turntable would resemble a steam era 

turntable in most ways, including size, construction, and operation. 

Originally, turntables were built big enough to hold the 

largest steam power used on a particular section of the railroad, 

for example long enough to accommodate the massive Union 

Pacific 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy” locomotives. A modern version would 

not need the length these steamers required. No more than a 90' 

bridge (24" in O Scale terms) would hold most current Diesel 

locomotives. 

Here are few modernizing considerations. A wooden or brick 

pit wall might be remodeled in concrete or possibly steel. The 

bridge house may be removed, as well as any power lines to the 

bridge, as many modernized turntables have underground power 

cables. Consider placing a small pre-fab metal shed nearby to 

house the new turntable controls, and don’t forget a transformer 

box connecting to an adjacent power line. Lastly, don’t forget 

the weathering, including thinned black paint to represent fuel 


2 

an add-on pre-fab metal enginehouse. This would be a 

stark contrast to a large brick and steel roundhouse. A 

metal enginehouse would certainly be a unique addition 

to any scene. 

If you originally designed your railroad to include a 

turntable, you might have been thinking only of steam 

engine requirements, but a turntable in Diesel years 

would be no more out of place than a semaphore 

signal. Modernizing your engine facilities adds credibility 

to the era being modeled. Many model railroaders 

now focus on operation for their layouts. Adding 

a turntable to handle your Diesel locomotives could 

keep the hostler very busy during an operating session. Next time, 

we’ll look at the Diesel details that bring those 1960’s locomotives 

into the 21st Century. 

◆

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1 

Building a Small O Scale Layout 

Welcome to Part Two of Building a Small O Scale Layout. In 

Part One, I talked about building the benchwork for my industrial 

switching layout (The corrected track plan is included in this issue 

- Ed). In this issue we will be covering the laying out of the track 

plan on the table-top, and gluing down the ties to get everything 

ready for hand-laying the track and turnouts. We’ll actually lay 

the trackage in Parts Three and Four. 

I decided that, on this layout, I would handlay my track as I 

did on my old layout but I would use 48-inch radius curves and 

#5 turnouts. This would give the look of industrial trackwork, with 

its tight curves and short turnouts, made to fit into the small areas 

between buildings. Once I had decided this, there was no question 

about using the turnout and track components from Right-O- 

Way as they would give me the detailed track work that I wanted 

on my layout. I know there have been articles over the years on 

handlaying track and turnouts, but I thought I would show you 

the techniques that I use, and how to use Right-O-Way track and 

turnout components. With this in mind, it is time to get started 

putting down tracks. 

Laying Out the Track Plan 

With the benchwork in place and the 1 ⁄2 inch foam glued 

down, I was ready to draw out the track plan. I found that drawing 

the plan in full scale helps to work out any problems that may 

arise, such as clearances and turnout locations near the joints in 

the bench work. When marking out the plan, I have three tools 

that I use, a curve template, a metal ruler and a turnout template. 

A friend of mine who moved to Canada from the U.K. is also 

modeling in O Scale. He loaned me some metal curve templates 

in the radii of 48 inches and 60 inches, purchased in the U.K. 

These are designed to be placed between the rails of flextrack 

when laying out curves. I also found them useable to mark out 

my curves on the tabletop, so I made some copies of these out 

of 0.040" styrene (see Photo 1). These work well in that you can 

mark out the alignment of both rails. 

For the straight sections, I used a steel ruler that measures 1 1 ⁄4 

inches wide, the same as the gauge for O Scale track. 

I also needed a template to lay out the turnouts. Here is how I 

made the #5 turnout template out of styrene. First, on a piece of 

0.040” styrene sheet at least 14 inches long and four inches wide, 

I marked out the straight section of the turnout (I used my steel 

ruler for this). Next, I marked the start of the points and measured 

a distance of 10 1 ⁄2 inches back along the straight section. 

This gave me the location of the frog. I then placed one of the 

ROW # 5 frogs on the styrene and marked the angle of the frog. 

With this done, I took the 48-inch curve template and marked 

out the curved section of the turnout. Then, I cut out the styrene 

along the outside of the stock rails and the “V” at the back of the 

frog (see Photo 2). I used the resulting template to trace out the 

turnouts on the tabletop. One template can be used for both the 

left or right turnouts; just flip it over as needed. 


Part Two 

Michael Culham 

2 

With these tools in hand and a fine tipped marker pen we are 

ready to draw out the track plan (see Photos 3 & 4). Now is when 

3 

4 

you’ll want to mark out the location and the footprint of your 

buildings, as this will help in locating where the track will go. 

Have a freight car handy to check the clearances as well. 

When you are done, you will have a full-scale plan of the layout, 

showing the path of both rails instead of just the centerline. 

I find this is handy when gluing down the ties, as they can be 

equally positioned on either side of the lines. Also, when you 

start spiking, it will show you the location of each rail. 

Installing the Ties 

Once you have the track plan marked out, you are ready to 

glue down the ties. I have read about making fancy jigs for spacing 

the ties. You can do this if you want (and have the time), or 

you can do as I did. Take a piece of flextrack (in my case Micro 

Engineering) and turn it upside down. Instant tie jig. 

The ties that I decided to use are 4" x 9", with a length of 8 1 ⁄2 

feet (part # TT 8-6). For the turnouts, you will need ties 16 1 ⁄2 feet 

long (part # TT 16-6). I purchased these from Right-O-Way. Put 

the ties along the flextrack in the spaces between the cast plastic 

ties. As these tie strips are being made up for an industrial railroad, 

they do not have to be neat; a few ties slightly out of alignment 

is fine. I usually make each strip of ties a foot long, as I find 

it a lot easier to handle. 

Next, put a strip of 1 ⁄2-inch masking tape along the center of 

the ties and make sure all the wood ties are stuck to it (see Photos 

5-7). Lift the masking tape and ties off of the flextrack. Make sev-

5 

eral of these tie strips at a time, so you can do a large area during 

a work session. You can make tie strips for turnouts the same way, 

as you can see in Photo 8. 

The turnout ties will have to be cut to different lengths, also 

visible in Photo 8. Using a North West Short Line “Chopper”, set 

the cutting guide so it is the length of one regular tie (8' 6") plus 

7 

6 

the width of a tie (9".). Cut three ties. Now, reset the guide using 

the last tie you cut and add the width of a tie and cut three more. 

Keep doing this until you get to the 16 1 ⁄2’ length (see Fig.1 for the 

position of the ties). 

With the tie strips all ready to glue down, you will need to 

get a bottle of white glue (it does not matter what brand). I use 

8 

a small scrap piece 

of styrene sheet to 

spread the glue. As 

you see in Photos 9- 

11, put down a bead 

of glue along the center 

of the track lines. 

Then spread it out 

in a thin layer with 

the scrap of styrene 

so that it covers in 

between the lines and 

out to about 1 ⁄4-inch 

outside of the lines. 

Then place the tie 

strips along the track 

location lines and 

push them down into 

the glue. I use a piece 

of wood for this. 

Once the glue is 

set, peel off the masking 

tape. It took a total of about eight hours to make all the tie 

strips and glue them all down on the whole layout following the 

track plan. Let the glue dry fully for a couple of days, then paint 

the ties using Polly Scale Rail Tie Brown paint. Next, drybrush on 

some gray and tan colors to give a weathered look to the ties. Let 

the paint dry for a few days. Now you are ready to start spiking 

rail. 

In Photo12, you can see the tools that I use to lay track. These 


12 

9 

10 

11 

Oops! The layout diagram used in Part 1 (OST#18) was incorrect. This is the correct layout plan. Also, in the text in Part 

1 it stated the benchwork was made from 1/4" plywood with 1/4" foam on top. That was incorrect; both are 1/2". The 

drawings with Part 1 were correct, however. 

are a must, so make sure you have them 

before we start laying the track in Part 

Three. Here is a list of what you will need: 

Needlenose pliers 

Heavy-duty rail cutters 

Small files 

Three point gage for code 125 rail, two 

required (Precision Scale) 

NMRA gage 

Modeling knife with sharp # 11 blades 

Tweezers 

A truck with metal wheelsets that are in 

gauge. 

Map pins (These are straight pins with little 

colored balls on the end of them) 

You will also need the rail and the turnout 

parts, plus all the detailing components 

as well. I have made the following 


From Right-O’-Way 

Description Part # Qty 

1- Frogs FB25-5 9 

2- Points P25-16 9 

3- Guard rail GR25 9 

4- Throw rod TR 18 

5- Rail braces RB25 9 

6- Gauge plates GP25 9 

7- Switch tie plates TPF4 3 

8- Insulated joiners IJ25 4 

9- Tie plates TPF2 (125) 9 

10- Rail joiners (metal) NJ25 3 

11- Joiners (cement on) CJ25 3 

12- Spikes 10 oz. 1 

13- 4x9 Ties, 8 1 ⁄2' long TT 8-6 2 

14- 4x9 Ties16 1 ⁄2'’ long TT 16-6 3 

Right-O’-Way, 23682 Road 15-3/4 Chowchilla, CA 

93610 

From Micro Engineering (or House of Duddy) 

Code 125 nickel silver rail – 99 feet (one bundle) 

All the above supplies will cost about $700.00 

US, not a bad price for good-looking track work. 

House of Duddy, 5B Tealwood Dr., Creve Coeur, 

MO 63141, www.houseofduddy.com 

list of what I purchased: 

Progress is being made on the new layout. 

With all the ties in place, I could start 

to visualize what the overall layout would 

look like, and know that it would work. I 

was confident that, yes, an O Scale layout 

could work in this small area. In Part 

Three, I will show you how to handlay 

track and add details to make it look like 

the real thing. 

So until next time, Happy Modeling! ◆

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Log Trains of Southern Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39.00 

Mason Steam Locomotives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48.00 

Milwaukee Road 261 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23.25 

Milwaukee Road Pass Service -Hiawatha to Amtrak–Dorin .27.25 

Missouri Pacific in Color Vol 1Era of the Eagles . . . . . . . . . . . .48.00 

Monongahela Railway: History & Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36.00 

Narrow Gauge-Sheepscot Valley WW&F Vol 4 s/c . . . . . . . .31.50 

Narrow Gauge-Sheepscot Valley WW&F Vol 4 h/c . . . . . . . .55.00 

New Haven in Color Vol. 1 Battle for Profits 1945-61/ 

Vol 2 Struggle for Survival - each . . . . . .48.00 

New York Subway- An Illustrated History – Sansone . . . . . . .45.00 

New York, Westchester & Boston –1906-1946 Bang h/c . . .31.50 

Next Stop Honolulu! – Oahu Railway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55.00 

North Platte East – A Railfan’s Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33.50 

Off the Beaten Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53.00 

Omaha Road – Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha . .45.00 

P & LE Berkshires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40.50 

Passenger Cars 1930’s -1960’s - Wayner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22.25 

Passenger Trains of Northern New England 1933-1966 . . . .27.25 

Penn Central Railroad Color History – Lynch . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31.50 

Pennsylvania Railroad Color Pictorial Vol 4 – Sweetland . . . .55.00 

Pennsylvania Railroad – The Eastern Lines – Color . . . . . . . .29.00 

Pennsylvania Railroad in Cincinnati . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47.50 

Pennsylvania Railroad Pass. Trains, Consists& Cars Vol 1 . .36.00 

Pennsylvania Trolleys in Color Vol 4 – The 40’s . . . . . . . . . . .48.00 

Pittsburgh & Lake Erie in Color Vol 2 1956-1976 . . . . . . . . . . .48.00 

Plant System of Railroads, Steamships & Hotels . . . . . . . . . .45.00 

PRR Lines West: Pittsburgh to St. Louis 1960-1999 . . . . . . . .55.00 

PRR Triumph Vol. V11 Harrisburg to the Lakes . . . . . . . . . . .68.00 

Pullmans to St. Louis – Missouri Pacific Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . .27.25 

Railroad Logging in Klamath Country-Bowden . . . . . . . . . . . .45.00 

Railroad Signaling – Solomon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31.50 

Rails Along the Oriskany (NYO&W)s/c 23.25 h/c . . . . . . . . . .60.00 

Rails of Dreams –Youngstown & Southern,Pittsburg Lisbon & Western 38.00 

Rio Grande to the Pacific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55.00 

Santa Fe Dining Car Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27.25 

Santa Fe Facilities in Color Vol 1 Chicago to LA . . . . . . . . . . .48.00 

Santa Fe Railway Passenger Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30.25 

Santa Fe Railway Streamlined Observation Cars . . . . . . . . . .19.25 

South Buffalo Railway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23.25 

The South Park Line – Ferrell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82.00 

Southern Pacific Daylight Locomotives – Church . . . . . . . . . .65.00 

Southern Pacific Diesel Compendium Vol 1 Strapac . . . . . . .52.00 

Southern Pacific’s Scenic Coast Line –Color Pictorial – Dill . .55.00 

Southern Pacific’s Western Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65.00 

Southern States Trolleys in Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48.00 

Steam Echoes - Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53.00 

Steam to the Niagara Frontier – Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50.00 

Streetcar Lines to the Hub – 1940’s – Clarke . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50.00 

The Subway & the City – Fischler & Henderson . . . . . . . . . . .36.00 

Texas & New Orleans Color Pictorial – Goen . . . . . . . . . . . . .55.00 

The Sleeping Car – A General Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23.25 

Those Amazing Railway Patents - Vol 1 – Trostle . . . . . . . . . .27.25 

Thunder of Their Passing-D&RG & Cumbres &Toltec H/C 50.00 S/C40.50 

Trackside Along the Boston & Maine 1945-1975 . . . . . . . . . .48.00 

Trackside Around Cleveland 1965-1979 (due 4/04) . . . . . . . .48.00 

Trackside Around Detroit Downriver 1946-1976 . . . . . . . . . . .48.00 

Trackside with EMD Field Rep. Casey Cavenaugh 1960-62 .48.00 

Virginian Railway in Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48.00 

Visalia Electric Railroad – SP’s Orange Grove Route . . . . . .50.00 

Vista Dome – North Coast Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68.00 

Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railroad – Worley . . . . . . . . . . .21.00 

Warbonnets & Bluebonnets – Mc Millan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58.50 

When the RR Leaves Town V1 or 2 –each s/c 23.25 h/c . .36.00 

Willamette Iron & Steel Catalog – Reprint of 1925 edition . . .23.25 

*$18.00 MINIMUM order for free shipping in the USA. Send $3.00 for latest 

list. All orders must be paid in U.S. funds. NY residents please add correct 

sales tax. Print your name, address and phone number. Credit card 

users add card number and expiration date. Allow 4 weeks for delivery. For delivery 

outside of USA please add $8.00 for the first book and $3.00 for each additional 

book. Make checks payable to Ron’s Books. Only inquiries which include a 

SASE will be answered. Prices subject to change. WE BUY COLLECTIONS 

The Public Delivery Track 

Locomotives - 2 rail 

Atlas..GP-9's..B&O, Erie, WM, SP, ATSF..$339-$379 

New..C424/C425..EL, D&H, NW, CP, Rdg..$219-$425 

RS-1..LIRR, Rut, CNJ, NH, RI, SF, WT, M&E..$325-$359 

SALE..SD-35, Dash 8, GP-35..selected ones..$299 

SW's..RRiv, LV, Rdg, Susq, CNJ, DMIR, NYC..$225-$329 

MTH..New PRR H-3..$669; CNJ P-47 Pacific...$749 

0-8-0, 4-4-0, Hudson, 2-10-4, H-9, EP-3 electric..call 

Weaver....K-4, L-1, GG-1, C-630, NKP Berk...call 

Little Joe Electric..$735. USRA Light Pacific..$649 

VO-1000..B&O, CNJ, GN, LV, MILW, PRR, UP, WM..$259 

SALE..RS-11..CN, CV, CNW, MEC, PRR, SOU..$219 

RS-3's, U25's, GP-38's..B&M, BN, C&O, CP, CSX, D&H, 

EL, ICG, LV, L&N, MEC, MILW, NH, NKP. NYC, PRR, 

Rdg, Rutland, Susq, more..Pwr..$219-$249; Dum..$159 

Shaft drive RS-3's, GP-38's, FA/FB's..$99-$150 

Passenger Sets 

Weaver..SALE Pullman-Bradleys..4/ $349; 2/ $189 

New..Troop sleeper, kitchen car, Express, bunk car..$62-$80 

K-line..80' cars..Amtk, DRGW, PRR, NYC, more..call 

Box Cars - 2 rail 

Pecos River..NYC, SOU, SP, SF, CBQ, WAB...$35 

..C&O, B&O, WM, PM, Erie, NKP; UP, SF end door..$45 

Atlas..40' Wood..P&R, B&O, C&O, CBQ, CNJ, CNW, EJE 

NYC, N&W, PRR, Rdg, SP, SSW, WM, B&M, WAG..$47-$55 

40' Steel..Erie, NH, SP, PRR, NYC, CNW, GN, Susq..$48-$52 

40' 1960's..Erie, L&N, MEC, PRR, NYC, MILW, B&M..$30 

50'..NH, RG, BAR, DH, NYC, MILW, MKT, SAL, SF..$55-$57 

53'..Aloha, Purina, B&M, BN, CNW, FEC, MP, UP..$35-$50 

60'..MKT, NS, CSX, B&O, EL, RG, Sou, NW..$39-$49 

Weaver..ACL, ACY, ATSF, BAR, B&O, B&M, CBQ, CGW, 

CIM, CNJ, CN, C&O, CP, CV, CR, D&H, DTSL,EL,GN, IC, 

MEC, LV, L&N, MP, NYC, NW, NH, NP, PC, PLE, PRR, Rut, 

Sou, SP, TPW, UP, WP, R&N, Rbox, MRL, more..$25-$32 

Refrigerator Cars - 2 rail 

Wvr/Crown..B&M, CV, CN, NYC, NP, BAR, REA, Hoods, 

Whitehse, Dubuque, Nrn Refrig, Beers, more..$25-$32 

57'..BAR, MEC, PA Produce, NW, MILW ..15 roads..$30-$50 

Atlas..36' & 40'..Custom ptd CNJ..20+ others..$45 and up 

40' steel..IC, DLW, NP, ATSF, PFE, BAR, MDT, ART..$51 

Covered Hoppers - 2 rail 

Weaver PS-2..BN, CBQ, CNJ, CNW, CP, CR, CSX, DLW 

C&O, DTI, EL, LV, NH, NYC, PRR, SLSF, WAB, UP..$27-$32 

AC-2..DLW, PRR, WM, N&W, UP, SP, C&O, B&M..$32 

Wvr C'flow or Grain..CR, CP, LV, NYC, PRR, WC, 

MRL, BN, UP, SP, RI, CNW, MNS, 20+ roads..$25-$29 

Atlas..ACF 34'..Erie, NKP, Borax, NH, UP, SSW...$55 

Cyl..DLW, BN, Trona, NYC, WGrace, GN, PRR..$35-$45 

Airslide..CNJ, LV, D&H, CSX, PRR, UP, Jfrost..$35-$49 

PS-4427..RG, SF, MILW, LV, SOO, Wayne Fd, PRR...$55 

Hopper Cars - 2 rail 

Atlas..SALE..Wartime Composite hoppers..$40 

Fishbelly and USRA 2 bay..15 roads..$40-$47 

Ore..BLE, CN, DMIR, UP..$27. H21..PRR, NW, PC..$55-$64 

Weaver..2, 3, 4-bay and Comp..B&A, BAR, B&M, CBQ 

CP, CR, CNJ, C&O, D&H, DLW, Erie, EL, IC, GT, NH, NS 

NYC, NKP, NW, PRR, Rdg, SAL, SF, WAB, WM..$25-$32 

Tank Cars - 2 rail 

Weaver..Jfrost, GULF, BN, Trusweet, Allied, ADM, Army 

Ethyl, Diamond, Hooker, DuPont, Sun,Bakers..$30 -$35 

Atlas..60'..Propane, CNTX, GLNX, ACFX, more..$37-$52 

40'..SHPX, UTLX, Hooker, Staley, Gulf..17 roads..$55 

50'..ACFX, Olin, Diamond, Hooker, Stauffer..$59 

Flat Cars, Stock Cars, MofW 

Atlas..89' flats..$50-$65. Trailers..$25. Auto Carriers..$85 

Pulpwood flats..ACL, ATSF, BN, D&H, IC, L&N..$47-$50 

Front runners......no trailer..$45; With trailer........$67 

Wvr Flats..DH, Rdg, CN, Erie, LV, BN, TTX, Army..$25-$30 

Stock..CNW, Armour, RG, PRR, Rdg, Erie, UP..$27-$32 

MTH..Plows, Cranes, Schnabel, dump cars, etc..call 

Scale signals..1 and 2 head color, PRR, B&O, dwarf, 

semaphore, cantilever, highway flashers, 20+ types..$20-$50 

Gondolas - 2 rail 

Atlas..CBQ, CNJ, GN, MP, NW, NYC, PRR, Rdg..$32 

Wvr..CNJ, PRR, LV, RI, SF, Rdg, UP, NKP, BM, MEC..$27 

Cabeese - 2 rail, 3 rail scale 

Wvr.. BM, NH, NYC, Erie, LHR, LV, DH, more..$25-$45 

K-line, MTH..N-8, N5c, NE'rn, Bay w..15 roads..$35-$60 

Atlas..BN, CR, NKP, RFP, Rut, GN, Chessie, RG..$50-$75 

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How to Build Fencing 

Have you ever needed some 

fencing for that industry or along the right-of-way Maybe you 

want to build a cattle pen Well, here are two simple ways you 

can build as much wooden fencing as you need, all in one 

night. The secret is in the jigs; once made you can churn out 

fence after fence. 

For my wooden fencing, I go to the local hobby shop that 

stocks all that cheap wood used for boat building. It’s not cut 

as precise as your normal scale wood, but it’s ideal for fencing 

and very cheap compared to the price of scale wood. 

The jigs are made up using lengths of full-size 2" x 3" lumber 

as a base. Then, all you have to do is glue off-cuts spaced 

out to suit the type of fence you require. The size of my wooden 

fence is six scale feet high using scale six-inch wide planking. 

The dimensions for the cattle pen fence are, again, six feet 

high with six-inch wide rails spaced nine inches apart. The 

posts are a scale 6" x 6" square. The photos show the method 

of construction using the jigs. 

◆ 


Narrow 

Minded 

Bobber Gibbs 

Dream Layout or Nightmare 

In 2005, I hope to celebrate my 65th birthday and 44th wedding 

anniversary. Like many older model railroaders, I have often thought 

about downsizing from our large empty nest and having a new home 

designed and built around my dream layout. Since my last column in 

OST #18, Karen and I decided the time was right and our new home 

is now well under way. In this column, I’ll tell you about our plans 

and some of the construction features I insisted on for my Northway 

Railroad. The Northway Railroad is a modern switching layout featuring 

around- and through-the-wall construction, standard-gauge Diesel 

power, three yards, industrial spurs, narrow-gauge trains, some 

dual-gauge tracks and a railroad museum. 

In Wasaga Beach, on Georgian Bay in Canada, the water table 

is high and, if you want a high basement, the usual choice is a 

raised bungalow where you go up a few steps to the main floor or 

down a few steps to the lower level. After having both knee joints 

replaced, Karen’s demands were simple: “Put all our living space 

on the upper level and you can have the garage and basement! I 

want all the electrical outlets 24 inches from the floor. Make sure 

the house is completely finished and maintenance-free.” 

After a long search, we found a friendly, local builder who had 

completed the shell of a home that fully met our requirements, and 

he was waiting for a buyer to determine how it would be finished. 

Following a few meetings and lots of discussions and drawings, we 

agreed on a deal. The home is to be completed by May 15. 

The Lot 

Our present home is on a half-acre lot in a good neighborhood on 

the Nottawasaga River, and our new home is just two blocks away on 

a quiet street on high ground. The new lot is smaller, and that means 

less grasscutting, less snowplowing and a smaller tax bill. 

The Garage 

The double garage has a single 16’ overhead door and a direct 

stairway into the basement. It will be insulated and paneled with its 

own heating system and raised storage cupboards, making it the perfect 

Bobbershop. 

The Main Level 

Upstairs, we agreed on an open concept sitting room/dining 

room/kitchen, a generous master bedroom with en suite 

bathroom, an office/computer room/guest bedroom, a guest 

bathroom, laundry room and extra storage closets. A freestanding 

gas stove provides emergency heat, and a 43’ x 10’ 

deck runs across the back of the home, accessible from the 

eating area and the master bedroom. All rooms are wired for 

security, phone, television and computer systems. 

The Trains Level 

When you descend to the Trains Level from the garage, you pass 

a large visitors’ coat closet and, in the center hallway, you face the 

door to the Northway Railroad’s Head Office, Executive Washroom, 

Meditation Center and President’s Jacuzzi Tub. 

If you descend by the main stairway, you arrive at the same hallway 

and face the door to the Dispatcher’s Office, Control Center and 

Maintenance Shop. It is a large utility room and houses the gas furnace, 

water heater, sump, extra laundry tub and paint spraybooth. 

Northway, the 28’ x 12’ room to the left off the hallway, is connected 

to Rockwood, the 31’ x 15’ room to the right, via special 

openings through the walls into the Dispatcher’s Office. Although 

the general trackplan is settled, several industrial spurs will be added 

when construction begins. 

This is the scenario: In the booming Rockwood District, small 

industrial switchers work several quarry, mining and timber spurs, 

preparing loads for transportation south to a connection with the CN 

railroad at Beague City. Ore cars are actually loaded at the quarries 

and mines, and timber and lumber is loaded at other sites. Twice 

each day, a pair of back-to-back 1800hp road switchers from Northway 

delivers more empties to the Rockwood Yard, and removes loaded 

cars for the nine mile trip back to Northway. Southbound trains 

are often limited to half-loads and severe speed restrictions. 

Once a day, and more often as necessary, a pair of heavier GP38’s 

arrives at Northway from Beague City with strings of empties and 

loads of supplies, and departs with up to 16 loaded ore cars for the 

11-mile trip back to Beague Yard. Later, the Beague switcher moves 

loaded ore cars to the quad rotary dumper for unloading before the 

next return trip to Northway. 

As this column is being completed on the final day of 2004, 

a new pair of Sunset RDC-1’s is expected shortly, and they are 

expected to handle commuter, tourist and excursion passenger 

service between Beague City, Northway Station and Rockwood 

Station. 

An On30 narrow-gauge industrial railway services several 

industries, and one test section of track is to be built to Proto48 

standards. 

The layout is designed to be operated by one person, or a crew of 

operators. A dispatcher can work from his control board and monitor 

operations through the closed circuit video system, keeping in touch 

with all operators with wireless radio sets. The dispatcher, or another 

operator, can operate the Beague Yard from the Control Center and, 

although the yard does extend into both main rooms, it is hidden 

behind a divider and only visible to the Beague operator. 

The separate mainline track through the Control Center simulates 

the nine miles between Northway and Rockwood, and the passing 

siding at Midway allows for meets with the passenger train. It also 

provides a suitable time delay after a train leaves one room, and 

before it arrives at the other. I prefer slow and challenging switching 

operations to repeated loops around a room, and the hidden passing 

24 • O Scale Trains - Mar/Apr ’05

track simulates a long run 

nicely. 

In my next column, I 

will describe some other 

features of the Northway 

Railroad, including the narrow-gauge 

lines and the 

operating railroad museum. 

Although this is intended to 

be my dream layout, I know 

how things can go wrong, 

so we’ll see if the dream 

comes true or turns into a 

nightmare. 

If you care to follow 

the design and 

construction of the Northway‐Railroad,‐check‐out: 

[http://groups.yahoo.com/ 

group/Northway/] on the 

Internet. 

Happy rails to you. 

bobber@sympatico.ca 

◆ 

1-877-531-5275 TOLL FREE 

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The Ultimate Series of Laser-Cut Kits from 

The McCabe Lumber Company 

in O Scale! 

Slatyfork Sawmill is a double bandsaw mill that can handle the load! This Master Creations kit consists of 

laser-cut basswood, plywood, and lots of detail castings. Interior walls, stairs and floors are included as are 

removable roofs. And the standard features of B.T.S. kits are there... peel & stick window sashes, positionable 

doors and window sashes, slot and tab construction, brass door knobs, and well-engineered construction 

providing fast and easy assembly. 

Most modelers want interior machinery components. The machinery is not included in the sawmill kit, but will 

be offered as a separate package with lost-wax brass bandsaws, edgers, rollers, etc., combined with urethane, 

white-metal and laser-cut components to complete the mill. The footprint of the mill building over the loading 

docks is about 118' x 85' with the jackslip extending out into the mill pond another 60' – it stands about 54' 

above the mill pond. More photos are on our web site along with information about the other kits in the series. 

This is a very Limited Edition kit available direct only from B.T.S. The mill is due to start shipping in March 

2005 with the interior coming later. 

#18300 O Scale Slatyfork Sawmill $ 850.00 

#18301 O Scale Sawmill Interior $ TBA 

Shipping: $5.00 in the U.S. $6.00 in Canada Actual Cost elsewhere 

Call in your order today! 

Shown above is the HO version of the sawmill. All McCabe kits are sold direct only from B.T.S. 

P O Box 856 

Elkins, WV 26241 

Web: www.btsrr.com 

E-Mail: bill@btsrr.com 

Full Catalog - $5.00 

Phone: 304-637-4510 

Fax: 304-637-4506 Celebrating over 25 Years of Service since 1979

Several months back, I was talking to Brian Scace on the 

phone. We were talking about a great friend of ours who passed 

away back in 2003. Somehow in the conversation, obituaries 

came into play. I thought it sad that so many people I knew 

in O Scale had passed on, but were never mentioned in the 

train magazines. Maybe they weren’t the most famous of modelers, 

but they left their mark with people in the hobby. Brian 

stated that he really didn’t like the idea of obituaries, per se, 

in the magazine (too depressing), and I suggested that I would 

rather write an article about a person who influenced me in O 

Scale. Brian thought the idea was great, so I’m submitting my 

first influential person to the readers of this magazine. There are 

many kind people who took interest in my modeling development, 

but I want to start with this gentleman first. 

Glenn Earl Davis was born on April 11, 1923, in Putney, 

Vermont. His parents owned a general store across the street 

from their house, and the mainline of the Boston and Maine 

circa 1957 

and Central Vermont was less than a mile away. Glenn spent his 

childhood in Putney, and became fascinated with railroading 

and photography at an early age. 

Although money spent on his hobbies was limited by the 

Depression, he used to travel down to Brattleboro to visit an 

elderly gent who had a model railroad in his basement. At the 

time, the models fascinated him but, as he admitted to me over 

the years, they were very crude by today’s standards. Glenn 

tried his hand at a few cars as a teenager, and in 1937 his parents 

had saved enough to present him with a Lionel 700E Hudson 

for Christmas. Glenn kept his modeling and photography 

interests all through high school, graduating in 1942. 

Around this time (I’m unsure of the date), Glenn spent a summer 

up in Maine on one of the two-foot gauge railroads. I’m not 

sure which one, but I believe it was the B&H Railway, in Brighton, 

Maine. He actually spent the summer living in one of their 

boxcars. 

Glenn joined the Navy after a brief stint with a machine tool 

manufacturer back in Vermont, and shipped out to the Pacific 

Theater aboard the USS Miami. The Miami, a light cruiser, saw 

action in six major sea battles, and Glenn told me many stories 

of Kamikaze attacks on the fleet. One story that stands out is 


Glenn Davis 

By Stanley Harper II 

how the Miami had just rotated duty with her sister ship, the 

Santa Fe, before the aircraft carrier Franklin was hit. 

In 1946, Glenn left the Navy and returned home to Vermont, 

taking a job as an inspector for the Vermont State Motor 

Vehicle Department. A year later, he transferred to the newly 

created Vermont State Police. He rose through the ranks, retiring 

as Major in 1978 (promoted to Lt. Colonel after retirement). 

Immediately after retirement, Glenn was appointed President, 

General Manager, and CEO of the Green Mountain Railway 

Corporation, retiring in 1991. 

While working for the State Police and for the Green Mountain, 

Glenn would take his vacations in Florida, often visiting 

Bill Lenoir and other modelers he knew in the Tampa area to 

swap trains and stories. Often, he would bring his mother along 

to see friends of hers in the Deland area, while he visited Lefty 

Gateman and other O Scalers in that part of the state. When 

I met Glenn, he and his wife, Beverly, had bought a mobile 

home in the Deland area as a place to hang their hats when 

they came down on vacation, usually in the spring and fall of 

the year. 

I got into O Scale after just one trip to Lefty’s house. He was 

finishing up some Southern Crescent cars that impressed me 

so much I knew I was hooked. Lefty hosted Tuesday night gettogethers 

that included Lefty, myself, Dewayne Roberson, and 

Chuck Jakobsen. One night in October of 1980, there was a new 

face (to me) in the crowd. Glenn and I hit it off pretty well. I 

found him to be very knowledgeable, and an excellent modeler. 

Over the years, we became great friends. He found my first 

brass steam locomotive on his travels back and forth to Vermont. 

When Glenn was up north, we kept in touch by calling each 

other on every Sunday, and when he was in town we planned 

lots of trips to area train shows and to visit other modelers. He 

was always very helpful with my questions about railroading, O 

Scale or prototype. 

Our friendship went beyond the hobby. In 1992, I went 

through a nasty divorce and a job loss. I’ll always be grateful for 

Glenn and Beverly, who stood by me during that really rough 

time, and helped me get back on my feet again. In 1995, my 

present wife and I, with Glenn and Beverly’s help, were mar-

ied at a bed-and-breakfast in Glenn’s 

hometown of Putney. It was a wonderful 

trip, and I got to go to my first O Scale 

National at Teaneck, N.J. 

Also in 1995, Glenn and Beverly 

sold their properties in Vermont and in 

Deland, and bought a house only three 

miles away from me in Glenwood, Florida. 

We were in touch all the time; Glenn 

would come over and do modeling 

projects in my shop, or we would grab 

breakfast before heading out to a show 

or on a hobby shop run. We traveled 

together to Pennsylvania to a fall Eastern 

O Scale meet, and took in the 1999 

and 2000 Nationals. It was at the New 

Orleans National in 2000 that I started 

noticing Glenn’s health starting to slip 

a little. Meanwhile, Glenn and Beverly 

would spend summers at a friend’s cabin 

in Vermont, and we stayed in touch by 

phone. 

Glenn had a nice two-car garage that 

was fully air-conditioned. I encouraged 

him to build a railroad in the garage, and 

a couple of fellow O Scalers from the 

Jacksonville area even drew up plans for 

it. Unfortunately, he never got the chance 

to build it. The last time Glenn was over 

at my place for a modeling session, he 

had just gotten two Atlas RS-1s painted 

up for the Rutland. He was very pleased 

with them, and we tested them out on my 

test track. Glenn was 80 when he passed 

away. 

It’s a good thing that there is such 

a nice group of modeler down here in 

Florida, because, after Glenn’s passing, I 

found myself losing interest in the hobby. 

Luckily, that was short lived. Glenn was 

a good modeler, straight shooter, and a 

great friend. He had a way of motivating 

you with wit, wisdom, and a dry sense 

of humor always showing through. Of 

his great lessons in life passed on to me, 

probably the most important was to get in 

there and do it, and enjoy yourself doing 

it. Enjoy your hobby; after all, model railroading 

is fun. 

(Ed. - Although Stan and I really 

don’t go back too far, it feels like we do 

because of a common friendship with 

Glenn. Glenn really typifies the idea of 

the O Scale Influence, a quiet steady kind 

of guy who pointed out a lot of potential 

pitfalls and solutions to me. Although we 

originally met in Bellows Falls, back when 

Glenn was still with the Vermont State 

Police (I think he was the acting Colonel 

at the time), our friendship really flourished 

in the '80s. 

My house was one of Glenn’s obligatory 

stops to and from Florida, where we 

would run both my stuff and his, and talk 

about what was new in O Scale and railroading 

in New England. We weren’t limited 

to railroading and modeling, though. 

A couple of times, he visited on board 

ship if we were in port somewhere and I 

couldn’t get away. 

When I would visit family in the Berkshires, 

Glenn, my father, and I would 

meet in North Adams for lunch. Then, it 

was off to some point of interest, whether 

it was the Hoosac Tunnel or following the 

roadbed of B&A’s North Adams Branch 

or a look-see at the old Yankee-Rowe 

Nuclear Power Plant as it was being decommissioned. 

Of course, there was the 

obligatory swapping of O Scale loot from 

trunk to trunk, delivery of model projects 

to each other, and the discussion of some 

new undertaking. Ah, they were good 

days! -BRS) 

◆ 

Errata for #17 & #18 

We did not properly credit the photos 

that appeared in the Granville Island Museum 

article in issue #17. The Cover; Page 28: 

top and left images; Page 29: bottom; and 

Pages 32-33: double spread were photographed 

by Tony Hurley. 

The layout diagram used in Mike Culham’s 

article in issue #18 was incorrect. 

The corrected layout plan is included in this 

issue’s article. 

Nickel Plate Models 

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It is Fall 1942. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal rages. The U.S. Loses 9 ships. 

Coal Goes to War ! 

The Pennsylvania Railroad H21a steel hopper car. Manufactured by Atlas O, L.L.C. exclusively for the Middle Division. 

26 car numbers in 4 different PRR paint schemes. Available now in 3 rail and 2 rail direct or through your favorite Atlas O retailer. 

www.middledivision.com Middle Division P.O. Box 332 New Cumberland, PA 17070 phone 1.866.643.3481 

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NEWS: Kit – Universal Supply Co. 

Brennan’s Model Railroading Products, PO Box 520174 

Independence MO 64052 

816-252-4605 • www.brennansmodelrr.com 

Universal Supply, Inc. is a limited edition plaster craftsman kit. 

This three story factory kit is the fourth in Brennan’s Model Railroading 

Products ultra-realistic kit series. In addition to Grandt 

Line windows, doors and stairs, the kit features Tichy lamp reflectors 

and nut bolt washer castings, Evergreen styrene detail parts, 

Berkshire Valley roof vents and full signage. The complete, illustrated, 

step-by-step instructions are an excellent introduction to 

plaster kitbuilding and a primer in kitbuilding techniques for the 

beginner. It sells for $129.95 plus $5.95 shipping. 

NEWS: Kit – Soo Line Boxcar #669 

Chooch Enterprises, Inc., PO Box 1200 

Maple Valley, WA 98038 

425-788-8680 • www.choochenterprises.com 

MSRP: $100/kit, $10 for #669A decals 

Chooch Ultra Scale II has announced a new Soo Line boxcar, 

a flat kit because of the extreme detail and delicacy of this model. 

The Soo Line cars were essentially unmodified throughout their 

entire lives, the only changes being to the brakes, trucks, and lettering 

scheme. The cars were built with K brakes, upgraded to AB 

sometime around WWII. The only thing that differentiates the 1913 built car (with wood buffer blocks) from the others is the 

striker casting. While originally equipped with “T” section Bettendorf trucks, such as the old Chooch offering now available from 

Proto-craft or the plastic truck available from San Juan Car Co., these boxcars received a variety of newer design cast steel trucks 

after WWII. By the end of their service lives many of the cars lost their A end lumber doors, the end being sheathed solid, same as 

the B end. More about this car is mentioned in the decal instructions. 

Special thanks go to Bill Yancey for creating the patterns for this kit and to Dennis Storzek and Ken Soroos of the Soo Line Historical 

and Technical Society for their hard work on making this project possible. 

REVIEW: Deck Girder Bridge 

AtlasO, 378 Florence Avenue 

Hillside, NJ 07205 

www.atlaso.com 

MSRP $99.95 

reviewed by Brian Scace 

Here’s a nice addition to AtlasO’s line of trackage. It’s a simple 

girder deck bridge, something that’s been a little lacking in 

our world of truss bridges. Admittedly, a through-truss has more 

sex appeal, but deck bridges are cheaper for spans that don’t have 

clearance constraints underneath. Railroads like ‘em for that reason, 

and so should we. 

This bridge is 20" long and comes with a nicely detailed deck 

with track already laid. Tie spacing is appropriate, and the track 

gauge checks out using my handy-dandy NMRA gage. All you have 

to do is attach the deck to the structure, using the clips provided or 

gluing it in place, and weather ‘er up a bit. 

The deck is designed so that you can clip the railings off one 

side, place it next to another one similarly modified, and you have 

a double track span. This bridge is also just screaming to be used as an approach span for a through-truss bridge. All you have to 

do is mount it on an abutment on one end, and mate it to your truss bridge on the other, using a stepped pier. 

So, who’s gonna be first to leave the deck off and make a street overpass out of one of these Better hurry up if you’re going to 

beat me! 


REVIEW: Signal System 




MSRP $269.95 four-pack, $69.95 single 


In the world of electronics morons, 

I’m leading the parade. Simple DC circuits 

are fine, but throw in a couple 

of circuit boards with those bizarre 

little black boxes (the knowledgeable 

apparently call them “chips” for some 

unknown reason), and things get rapidly 

non-intuitive to me. 

AtlasO and Custom Signals have 

joined forces to bring us a two-rail signal 

system for the electron challenged among 

us, marketed by AtlasO as the “21st Century 

Signal System”. The first offering is a 

single head G-type signal, most familiar 

to me as a New York Central standard on 

the lines west of Buffalo during the transition-era. 

Because the prototype had no 

moving parts to maintain, this style of 

signal head became popular nationwide, 

so chances are pretty good that this head 

saw service on your favorite railroad 

(Okay, you Pennsy guys don’t know what 

I’m talking about!) sometime from the 

’40s to today. They’re still pervasive. 

The mettle of the product is, of course, 

best tested by putting it in the hands of 

the ignorant. Being the natural choice, 

the folks at Atlas sent me a box. Included 

in the kit were enough signals, detector 

boards, control boards, and those little 

tin sheds for four complete installations. 

Most important was the little instruction 

book. By turning off my brain and having 

blind faith in this little sheaf of wisdom, I 

was able to complete installation of one 

signal in about an hour. The only thing I 

messed up on was the placement of the 

signal itself. I originally put it in the middle 

of the detection block, and it needs 

to go at the beginning of the detection 

block to properly drop to red as the locomotive 

goes by. Of course it does. 

Here are some of the nifty things here. 

First, you don’t need to use AtlasO’s track 

system to use these signals. They work 

just fine on my standard ol’ flex-and-handlaid 

railroad, built before the Dead Sea 

was even sick. 

The system is powered up from a 

fixed voltage tap on one of your power 

supplies. Wiring is straightforward. The 

relay shed contains the control board. 

This is convenient, but you don’t need 

to use the relay shed if you don’t want 

to. Simply snap the board out and attach 

it under the railroad if you want to use 

an earlier-era relay box, such as the ones 

from Life-Like. 

The LEDs are nice and punchy, 

viewed straight-on. There’s enough of a 

diffusing effect to that you can see the 

signal aspect from the side, which is 

handy. These can be wired to operate as 

a stand-alone installation, with a timing 

circuit raising the signal to yellow, then 

green, after appropriate periods. You 

can daisy-chain them together for single-direction 

ATC-type operation. The 

timing circuit is then disabled, and each 

signal installation controls the adjacent 

ones appropriately. Instructions are also 

provided for “approach” lighting, where 

the signal remains dark until a train is 

detected. Also, you can run this system 

in a bi-directional CTC-type operation. 

Each of these installations is covered in 

the instruction book, which (thankfully) 

is written in simple language, rather 

than Geek. 

Although not mentioned, here is a 

real plus. Custom Signals stuff and AtlasO 

stuff is compatible. This is good, because 

Custom Signals makes multi-head installations 

that are prototypical for interlockings 

and permissive installations. Also, 

these guys (along with Steve Horvath 

at AtlasO) are the signal gurus who can 

tell you how to integrate this system into 

CTC panels and all that other cool stuff 

that is possible with these components. 

Currently AtlasO is working with them to 

bring out a single-target head, which 

should be out this year, in addition 

to the G-type. If you always wanted 

signals, but ran screaming into the 

night when your friend with the tape 

on his glasses started talking through 

his nose about “detection circuits” 

and “logic-cascade” this, that and 

the other thing, you can send him 

and his pocket-protector packing. I 

can do this, and so can you. 

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488 Martinsburg Coal Mine 20” x 20”....99.98 85.00 

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REVIEW: On30 Climax 

Bachmann Trains, 1400 East Erie Avenue 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19124 USA 

215-533-1600 • www.bachmanntrains.com 

MSRP: $275 

reviewed by Bobber Gibbs 

The new Bachmann On30 Climax just might prove to 

be the best locomotive that this company has produced in 

its growing line of winners in various scales. First, where 

the Bachmann Shay was a much lighter T-boiler geared 

engine at only ten tons, the Climax is a 28 ton Class B 

workhorse that just looks right hauling a string of logging, 

mining or freight cars up and down grades and around sharp 

curves. 

It is almost exactly the same length and width as the Shay, 

and they weigh about the same and run at about the same 

speeds. The Climax is about two scale feet longer than the typical 

Bachmann freight car and has directional lighting in forward 

and reverse. It is DCC ready and will probably prompt me to 

purchase the new Bachmann DCC control system in the near 

future. 

Where the Shay will negotiate my 12" radius curves while 

turning to the left only, the Climax marches around without 

hesitation in either direction whether turning to the left or right. 

While it does get around a 12" curve if the trackwork is perfect, 

the recommended minimum radius is 15 inches. 

The Climax starts to creep at about 1 volt, and although the 

top speed is a bit too fast, it looks good and runs steadily at 

about six volts. It is quite pleasing to operate at slower switching 

speeds and easily hauls everything I can put behind it on my 16 

foot oval of test track before it starts pushing its own caboose. 

A few years ago, when Bachmann Trains announced that 

they were going to produce On30 trains with Colorado Southern 

livery, I wrote a letter to them and suggested that they would 

make a lot of modelers happy if they also provided painted but 

unlettered models. Coincidently or not, after they introduced 

their first freight car line, they did start to produce unlettered 

equipment and it was very easy to put my own choice of number 

on my unlettered Climax. 

After running in the Climax for three hours, I tested it by 

hauling a string of loaded ore cars up and down some steep 

grades and did not notice any surging or bucking. It should 

work well on a typical logging or mining run. 

The Climax is available with steel cab or wooden cab, with 

different smokestacks, in a number of roadnames or unlettered. 

Three fuel loads are included so you can choose between a 

wood load, coal pile or oil tank. All the choices can be seen at 

the Bachmann web site. 

My only criticism is that the coupler pockets have three levels 

but the Bachmann knuckle coupler will only operate in the 

bottom level (or HO level) that is compatible with all the Bachmann 

equipment. For those who prefer the 26” height that was 

common for many narrow gauge railroads, including the Denver 

& Rio Grande and Colorado Southern, it will be a bit of a 

chore to adapt the higher coupler pockets for knuckle couplers 

but I know that someone has probably already figured it out. 

In summary, the Climax has now become my On30 road 

engine of choice on my logging district and the Shay has been 

relegated to yard switching duties and light operations. You will 

probably be very favorably impressed with this locomotive and 

you have to wonder what Bachmann will do for an encore after 

this one. 

REVIEW: City Building Fronts 

Elfin Models, 934 Volz Dr 

St Louis, MO 63126 

314-962-9852 • www.elfinmodels.com 

MSRP: $25 to $75 


Every now and again, you find something you can call “the Deal of the Year”. This is right 

up there. Elfin Models is relatively unknown in our world, but has been around in the 3-Rail 

world for a while. They sell built up building fronts, made mostly from the Ameri-town line 

of flats. 

What’s the difference between a “front” and a “flat”, you may ask Elfin takes these flats 

(a single wall meant to be applied to a backdrop, giving the illusion of a complete building) 

and paints them up, weathers them a little to knock the shine off, and mounts them on a 

simple three-inch deep plywood box. The box is painted black and comes with a lightbulb 

installed, so you can light up these puppies at night. 

Within three weeks after I called, I had a box of these fronts on my doorstep. Assembly 

was clean, tight, and square. The paint was nicely applied with no drizzles, weathering was 

just my style, and there was enough detail and signage applied so as to allow me just to 

plunk them down on the railroad. Voila! Instant city street scene, ready for some sidewalks, 

figures, automobiles, and other religious artifacts. Price About $30-35 per three-story building. 

That’s a deal! 

You can also get the flats, painted up and ready to go, without the lightbox for less than 

$26 each. 


REVIEW: GP60 




DC/DCC-ready MSRP: $419.95, TMCC MSRP: $449.95 

reviewed by Carey Hinch and Brian Scace 

The AtlasO Electro-Motive Division GP60 with standard cab 

represents the initial release in a series to include the wide-cab 

“M” version and cab-less “B” version. O Scale Trains Magazine 

was fortunate to have on hand a 2-Rail Train-Master Command 

Control equipped locomotive (Carey Hinch) and the 2-Rail DC 

version (Brian Scace) for this review. 

The EMD GP60 was introduced in October 1985. This locomotive 

produced 3800 horsepower and superceded the 3500 

horsepower GP50. The Santa Fe Railroad received an order of 

20 GP60 locomotives in 1988. These high-output engines were 

initially assigned to the hot “Q” trains of the late 1980s and early 

1990s. At the time of merger with Burlington Northern the Santa 

Fe had 39 standard-cab GP60s on the roster. 

Carey’s input: I was able to acquire a 2-Rail TMCC engine 

for my personal railroad in the initial shipment from Atlas. My 

locomotive represents a GP60 as purchased by the Santa Fe in 

1988. The cab number is 4823, which indicates a locomotive 

from a later second order. The original 4700-series numbers 

changed to the 8700-series with the BN and AT&SF merger. My 

GP60 came equipped with details that could be associated with 

later production GP60s. 

Some early details that were applied to Santa Fe GP60s, as 

delivered, are not present on the Atlas model. The rotary beacon 

which should be forward of the air conditioner on the cab 

is missing, but the ditch lights indicate this locomotive could 

have been updated in the early 1990s and therefore the beacon 

would have been removed. The blower side of the long hood 

has a safety-plate applied over the blower housing walk area. 

This detail was not present on early Santa Fe locomotives. This 

could again represent some upgrading by Santa Fe. The dynamic 

brake housing is squared on both sides of the flare ends. This 

would represent a later model like the Southern Pacific GP60s 

delivered by EMD. Atlas has tried to produce a model that can 

be painted for several railroads and still carry the same basic 

details. A noticeable detail change compared to earlier AtlasO 

diesels was the reduced size of the ditch lights. Atlas has shrunk 

the housings to a more acceptable size. 

Using Train-Master Command Control for my 2-Rail layout 

has been a good choice. I eagerly wanted to hear the GP60 

come to life and pull a 12-car Coalveyor train around my 2.3% 

grades. I was surprised to find that Atlas has used the same 

generic EMD sounds as in their GP35 locomotives. The sound 

is good at all throttle inputs with little or no distortion from high 

volume settings, however, I can close my eyes and it’s a GP35 

pulling the coal train. This was disappointing for such a great 

looking modern diesel. 

Atlas has equipped this TMCC locomotive with the Engineer- 

On-Board electronics. The EOB is a speed control technology 

with selectable 32 or 128 speed steps. When in EOB mode, one 

360˚ turn of the Cab-1 remote throttle equals four speed steps 

for the locomotive. It takes a few turns to get the locomotive 

moving at a reasonable speed (One note about my GP60; it had 

been “broke-in” and run for over three hours before I performed 

this review). Slow performance is very good for a TMCC locomotive, 

while in EOB mode. While in standard TMCC mode, 

slow performance is not as controllable and the locomotive can 

be jerky. 

A somewhat noticeable “whine” emanates from the locomotive 

during slow EOB settings. This was discovered to be the 

EOB high-frequency pulses being sent to the DC motors. The 

whine diminishes as speed increases. The overall EOB performance 

is exceptional. I ran my GP60 in both EOB modes to see 

if it would pull 12 Atlas Coalveyor gondolas smoothly up and 

down my 2.3% grades. It performed this with ease. This locomotive 

is heavy and tractive effort is exceptional. 

Brian’s input: Our DC version was also in the same paint 

scheme and details. In straight DC operation, the throttle 

response was smooth. The starting speed was acceptable, and 

although the high end was a bit frisky, there was an acceptable 

range for prototypical speed control. This is a common circumstance 

for modern cross-over (engineered for both 3- and 

2-Rail) drives with two nose-mount can motors and spur-gear 

drives. It’s the price paid for all the room needed for electronics, 

speakers, and the like. For those folks who want slower speed 

ranges, AtlasO makes unpowered units, ready for the drive of 

your choice. Most of you will find the stock drive to be useable, 

however. 

The ditch lights came on, steady, at higher speeds. If you are 

a DCC type, I would imagine that you can wire them into an 

output on your favorite decoder to control them. By the way, 

the straight DC version is actually touted as DCC-ready; certainly 

there’s room in the carbody for whatever decoder you 

prefer. 

The fit and finish are what we expect from AtlasO, and the 

detail level and finesse are quite impressive. Check one out. 

With the choice of TMCC, DC/DCC-ready, or unpowered versions, 

you folks who model the Modern Image should find a lot 

to like here. 


REVIEW: Two-truck Shay 

K-Line , 6909 Dodson’s Crossroads 

Hillsborough, NC 27278 

www.k-linetrains.com 

MSRP $799.95 


Review: Diesel Drive Conversions 

Accurate O Scale, 38623 Orchard St 

Cherry Valley CA 92223 

951-845-5237 • www.accurateoscale.com 

Cost: varies by project 


I’ve been known to roster some relatively bizarre motive 

power. One of my locomotives is an old GE Ingersol-Rand boxcab 

that was built up by Fred Icken. For it’s time, it was a nicely 

detailed and accurate model, and still holds up surprisingly 

well. Since it was an outside-third-rail model, it lived over at 

John Armstrong’s for years and was somewhat famous for actually 

being louder than his old All-Nation EL NW2. 

Meanwhile, there seems to be a lively interest in Diesel drive 

conversions out there as of late. Folks want to convert over some 

of the better 3-Rail stuff, slow down the now-common “powertruck” 

designs (You know, the frisky ones with spur gears and 

can motors on their noses over each truck.), or replace some 

of the older brass drives that loosen your fillings when you run 

’em. Also, there is the growing interest in converting drives from 

NMRA standards to Proto48. 

Jerry Snow, of Accurate O Scale, has been advertising his 

K-Line is well known for their three-rail offerings, ranging 

from some of the old KMT stuff up to scale-sized Hi-Rail gear. 

They have offered two-rail conversion trucks for their full-sized 

freight equipment and generic passenger cars for some years. 

This is their first locomotive offered in 2-Rail, a model of a pretty 

off-the-shelf standard gauge 50-60 ton two-truck Lima Shay, and 

here is what I saw. 

The model is of die-cast construction, with no visible seams or 

flaws. The paint, lettering, and finish on our sample were smoothly 

applied. There are quite a few details added on, and the model 

is robust and handle-able. 

The model was initially offered in Hi-Rail, so there are a 

couple of compromises to be aware of. There is a lot of empty 

space between the end steps, which was originally engineered 

in to accommodate the huge Hi-Rail couplers. When Kadees are 

applied, they do look a little lost in all that air. Also, the steps 

are very thick in cross-section, again a nod to the robustness valued 

in the 3-Rail world. Although I didn’t take the model apart 

(I had to return it after the review!), it appears that the casting 

that comprises the end beam and steps can be simply unscrewed 

and replaced with a new assembly to fill in that void and lighten 

up the treatment of the steps. Otherwise, 

this model eyeballs pretty well, to this 

novice in the Wonderful World of Shays. 

Browsing through Eric Hirsimaki’s Lima 

book, I found several pictures of likely 

candidate prototypes. The proportions 

are nice; it looks like a Shay. 

In operation, I thought the upper 

end of the speed range a bit fast. There 

is plenty of room at the lower end of 

the range for controllability, however, 

and the low-end performance is quite 

smooth. Our sample had no fancy control 

systems installed, just good ol’ conventional DC operation, 

and there appears to be plenty of room in the bunker area for a 

decoder or other electronic gadgetry to suit. By the way, a positive 

aspect of the three-to-two rail heritage is the fact that the 

coal load lifts off elegantly to expose an area designed for slide 

switches and the like. There’s plenty of potential for the electronics 

noodlers among us to exploit, without having to perform circuit-boardectomies, 

first. 

I had no contact issues on my less-than-stellar switchwork. 

Coupler pads are provided to mount Kadees; pad height gaged 

out fine, with no additional work needed. I spent some time batting 

cars about, using a Controlmaster 20 and a variety of brass 

and plastic freight equipment. This engine has no bad habits I 

could find, and the pistons, gears, and crankshafts exhibited all 

the sex and violence that makes us like Shays. 

I am impressed with this as a first shot at 2-Rail from a longtime 

Hi-Rail manufacturer. The model is good out of the box, and 

can be made excellent without a lot of rewinding, first. Operation 

is solid and capable, though I’d like to see all the crossover 

manufacturers bring their top speeds down a bit. I like the 

approach; mechanically well thought out, simple and robust, 

and proportions worth detailing up to ones level of neurosis. The 

price is reasonable, paying for a model rather than for wizardry. 

K-line has announced a personal favorite as their next offering in 

our world, a Boston and Albany Berkshire. Oh, I can hardly wait 

to get my lunch hooks in one of those, and see what I can make 

with it! 

drives (“Due to Extreme Whining!”) for quite a while, here at 

OST, so I figured it was time to check him out. Accurate O Scale 

makes a line of trucks, drive components, and maintains a brass 

list. Their Diesel drives can be had in both NMRA O Scale and 

in Proto48. Pricing varies from project to project, but you’re not 

going in this blind. Component prices and conversion rates are 

spelled out on the webpage. 

Being somewhat merciless, my evil mind decided that the 

afore-mentioned boxcab was about as painful a conversion as 

any. Although there is plenty of room in the carbody, the short 

truck spacing creates a bit of a challenge in laying out the joints 

in the drive. Here’s what came back. 

Jerry used an end-tower layout that transfers power through a 

ball-bearing cog/belt tower mounted on one truck. The second 

truck is powered by a propshaft under the frame. All the universal 

joints are a Delrin-like industrial plastic. The gearboxes 

are all closed-type, so there is no risk of picking up stray ballast 

or other stuff and jamming up the gear train, something that 

always worries me about exposed gearing (Sometime, I’ll tell 

you the story of the PA-1 and the Arttista casting of a cat. The 

cat won). 

A can motor is mounted in a brass cradle, secured with a 

screw-tightened strap, allowing replacement if ever required. A 


machined flywheel occupies the opposite end of the motor shaft 

from the driveshafts. Pickups are mounted in the trucks such 

that current flows through all eight wheels, making this a surefooted 

little monster over insulated frogs. Everything used in 

this drive is of nice quality, and installation is straight, true, and 

solid. The drive has a nice speed range, and is very controllable 

for those switching tasks you would expect from a 1930s-era 

boxcab. Also, the drive is flexible enough to get around in all 

my tight industrial trackage, using those old #2.5 Atlas switches 

from the 1970s. No binds, stalls or other anti-social behavior 

here. When all is said and done, the result is a nice smooth 

drive that is a pleasure to bat cars with. The only thing left is for 

me to hook up the headlights. Very cool. 

Navigational Hazard 

Thank you for the incredibly good coverage you gave Mr. 

John Armstrong in OST #17. None of the other train hobby magazines 

were half as informative or instructive (which I’m sure he 

would have liked) in their coverage of his life and layout. He 

was truly the dean of “O” Gauge, and his well-thought-out concepts 

were an inspiration to all gauges and scales in the hobby. 

He was more than a hobbyist; he was an artist who happened to 

use model trains as his medium of expression. I’ll always regret 

missing a last chance to see his Canandaigua Southern at the O 

Scale National in Washington this year. 

Each of your issues gets better and better. If I ever lose the 

thrill of getting myself down to The Whistle Stop Hobby Shop in 

Pasadena to get my current issue, I’ll subscribe. By the way, as 

long as we’re on the subject of the magazine, please feel free to 

add as many advertisements to your magazine as will fit. Jaini 

does a superb job of integrating content with advertising. The 

ads are informative and convey much current information that 

can be immensely important to the modeler. Unlike some magazines, 

yours has a professional cast to it that makes it stand 

out in what seems to be a more crowded arena. Even the front 

cover of #17 is outstanding. Rather than cluttering it up with 

really unnecessary copy, you allow it to achieve artistic excellence 

on it’s own merit. Less is more. Despite having said that, 

how about publishing more often 

Jeb Kriigel said in his article about the Granville Island 

Museum (OST #17) that John Keith-King is almost obsessive in 

his attention to detail. If this is so, then please forward to John 

my suggestion that one of his details is not only incorrect, it’s 

potentially downright dangerous. The centerfold photograph 

is beautiful, but it reveals this potential hazard clearly. Imagine 

one morning or evening, a thick fog enshrouding the area. 

The only aid to navigation to be seen in the mist to keep those 

fishing boats from foundering on the surrounding rocks is a 

marker buoy placed on those same rocks. Unfortunately, that 

single visible marker is either the wrong color, or it’s placed on 

the wrong side of the channel. When a vessel is returning to a 

port, or shoreline, it keeps the red light markers to it’s starboard 

side (right side-for you landlubbers). All is not lost however. 

Mr. Keith-King only needs to paint the top of this marker green; 

replace it’s bulb with a green one, and his fleet will enjoy safe 

sailing in all weathers. 

I’m not nit-picking. My own railroad (directly influenced 

by Mr. Armstrong) is a Hi-Rail one, so you can imagine my 

tolerances are quite broad on the topic of scale fidelity. But 

endangering one’s fishing fleet, well that’s another matter. 

Best regards, Thomas Meleck, Calif. 

Sign the Fall of Civilization Is Nigh 

It all started innocently enough. After 10 or so issues of 

delicious 2-Rail O Scale modeling, news, pictures, layouts, 

information, ads, et al., the dreadful embryonic organism 

silently began its remorseless existance. Oh, it sprouted 

forth, weakly, quietly, in Issue #12. Turning to page 40, my 

eyes riveted upon the words “Confessions of a Hirailer”. 

How charming. Someone is going to tell us how they got 

the 2-Rail religion and cast off that middle (third) rail, never 

to be stained nor tainted again with track high enough to 

reach the waist of an O Scale railworker. But wait, this is 

not a guest columnist, this is not a confession at all! He is 

enthusiastically telling his story that he doesn’t “play” with 

his trains, he “runs” them! At the end of this narrative, my 

stomach stiffens and turns, as he tells us to “stay tuned”, 

because “...a lot of information is headed your way”. This 

is NOT a guest column at all! This guy is gonna take up 

a full page of my (our) 2-Rail “bible” every issue with O 

GAUGE information I check the cover to make sure I’m 

not reading [that other O gauge magazine]... but I’m NOT! 

I’m reading O Scale Trains! I urgently swallow a mouthful 

of tummy regurgitation and drop the magazine to mop my 

now transudating brow. After an adult beverage, I resumed 

reading the publisher’s “Observations”. In the first paragraph, 

he pulls a “McGreevy”, outing himself as a card 

carrying TCA member! I replenish my adult beverage (no 

need for new ice, it’s still new!). He (the publisher) goes 

on to say that the 3-Rail community is part of us. I sleep 

poorly, despite the Dewars. Issue #16 arrives with a 3-Rail 

layout as the main story! Issue #17 comes with a 3-Rail 

layout ON THE COVER!! Remember a magazine named 

O Scale Railroading How long will it take for this journal 

to become “O Gauge Trains” It’s impossible to wring my 

hands and guzzle scotch simultaneously. Next, you’ll be 

telling me that major league baseball players inject them- 


selves with steroids! 

Pete Trunk, East Brunswick, N.J. 

Joe G. responds: Ah Pete, there’s nothing 

quite like a reformed 3-Railer. I said 

from the beginning that OST would feature 

3-Rail trains if they met our standards. 

It’s about the quality of the modeling, not 

the number of rails. I believe that Gary 

Patterson’s Cherel Valley RR fit that bill. 

And while the cover shot on #17 showed 

some (gasp!) Gargraves track, you have 

to admit the Museum’s layout is spectacular. 

As for Hobo, he’s writing about his 

transition from Hi-Rail to 2-Rail scale, one 

step at a time, providing a guide for those 

who might follow. Finally, try drinking a 

better class of scotch (I prefer Black Label 

myself. Scace likes Desmond & Duff); 

you’ll sleep better at night. 

More Modern Stuff, Please 

In the “Givens and Druthers” department, 

the construction and small-tomedium 

layout articles are my favorites. 

O Scale history has been covered completely 

in Railroad Model Crafstman 

and, as a younger O Scaler (54 yrs old), I 

really don’t have all that much interest. I 

am an operator and a builder so you can 

guess my interests. My layout is set in the 

late '60s, so the new column The Modern 

Image should be right up my branch 

line. I do like all of Neville’s stuff. 

Brian Scace mentioned in Jan ’05 

Learning Curve that he can save precious 

time by not installing DCC decoders right 

away. Yes, installation does take time but 

don’t let this scare people away from 

DCC. The only programming that needs 

to be done is the address, which can be 

just two digits. Later on, you can do the 

fancy stuff. I have yet to use the speed 

curves. My Weaver and Red Caboose 

Diesels start moving on step 7 of 128. 

Enough rambling for now. 

Richard Cooke, Marquette MI 

Brian replies: Thanks for the feedback. 

Regarding DCC and “Givens-and- 

Druthers”, the list given in #18 Learning 

Curve is my own. The point, here, is to 

think about “G&D” in a temporary layout 

situation differently from in a more permanent 

one. It is presented only to get 

folks to think about their own list, which 

I hope will be different than mine! The 

point of the column was not to discuss 

the merits of control systems, but to motivate 

folks to think about building, even if 

life’s circumstances aren’t presently ideal, 

rather than armchairing it until circumstances 

are ideal (they never will be; suddenly 

it’s too late!). Now that you bring it 

up, though (the price to pay!), I’ve found 

that DCC really didn’t work for me; what 


with my heavy steam era stuff it wasn’t 

robust enough. I also really didn’t want to 

learn all the nuances, as it’s a pretty open 

architecture. I was spending too much 

time trying to un-nut the system after I 

jabbed the wrong button, and found it 

pretty non-intuitive for my mechanical 

mind. I used Locolink, which is a simple 

and highly bomb-proof radio command 

control system, on my previous railroad. 

On this temporary one, conventional 

DC made the most sense for me. In two 

years, perhaps DCC decoders will be 

more robust. I’m sure I’ll revisit the control 

issue again then, because the technology 

will have improved quickly in just 

those few years. The lesson here is that 

the best control system really is a pretty 

personal choice. I strongly agree with 

you; don’t be afraid to try any of these 

systems. Don’t be afraid to choose what 

works best for you personally. That’s what 

the “G&D” list is all about, after all. 

Building A Market 

I believe O Scale Trains Magazine is the 

right direction for the growth of 2-Rail O 

Scale modeling. Despite any criticism from 

others, Joe Giannovario took a big step 

and was brave enough to give it a shot at a 

time when 2-Rail O Scale comes up short 

in popularity of model railroading. This 

may have helped a great company such 

as Atlas to keep their 2-Rail vision alive. 

It is people like Joe and his staff who are 

the pioneers of this hobby segment along 

with the product makers themselves who 

deserve recognition. It is also our duty (the 

consumers) to convince our local hobby 

shops and HO scale friends of the presence 

of this magazine while we have mail 

order to keep us alive. 

The one thing we must do as O Scale 

consumers and modelers is coordinate 

with O Scale Trains and let them know 

what we are in the market for, and maybe 

they can coordinate with product manufacturers 

if there is enough 

of us. Here is one very good 

example that I believe we 

are in desperate need of, 

1:48 scale vehicles. These 

are extremely rare and the 

market is flooded with 1:43 

scale vehicles. Why should 

we have to settle for something 

that insults scale size 

fidelity as we strive hard 

for realism. Do not get me 

wrong, 1:43 scale vehicle 

replicas are very authentic 

with lots detail and some 

are sold at a very reasonable 

price, but I cannot appreci- 

ate putting something near my locomotives 

and rolling stock when knowing it is 

out of [scale]. N, HO, and S all have their 

exact scale counterparts for model vehicles 

so why can’t we Companies such 

as Model Power or Boley may be good 

canidates to break the ice. 

Jack Zunino, Jr., New York 

Joe G. replies: The only way we’re 

going to get true 1:48 car models is if 

we talk to the manufacturers and importers 

and let them know that’s what we 

want. I’ve always been puzzled by the 

fact that there are 1:24 scale models but 

not 1:48. And, now I see more and more 

1:64 offerings. In the meantime, scour 

swap meets and Ebay for the old Revell 

1:48 Chevy and Ford trucks. They can be 

bashed into many different styles. 

Atlas Switch Machine Fix 

The inspiration for this letter is my 

work on six Atlas #5 switches and switch 

machines. I swear I have put in 20 hours 

of bad words and glued fingers before I 

finally solved the problem of spring tension 

at the points. The first two switches I 

got and put machines on, I wrestled with 

for many hours to get sufficient tension 

so the points would make positive contact 

and not leave a 1 ⁄64" gap from vibration. 

I frittered and fiddled because there 

is a little too much slack in the [switch 

machine] mechanism. 

On my fifth and sixth machine [installations] 

I put a small (1” x 3 ⁄32”) piece 

of heavy electrical tape on the inside 

of the throwbar where the slider makes 

contact (see sketch). It worked perfectly. 

The spring tension is just right on both 

sides and cars can still spring through the 

switch when necessary. 

Vince Morris, Canada 

Place tape here

www.overlandmodels.com 

Telephone: (765) 289-4257 

O VERLAND 

MODELS INCORPORATED 

3808 W. Kilgore Ave. · Muncie, IN 47304 · U.S.A 

info@overlandmodels.com 

Fax: (765) 289-6013 


I did this project and article not only because I needed a 

steam loco service site for my layout, but also to meet what I 

see as a need for a simple scratchbuilding beginner’s project. 

It seems like some of us are reluctant any more to try building 

things from sheet and strip stock. Here’s an opportunity to jump 

in and try your hand at some easy scratchbuilding. There’s nothing 

complicated here, and you’ll only a minimum of tools. A 

beginner should be able to complete the sand house and associated 

components in a week or two of enjoyable evenings. If a 

part is made wrong and doesn’t fit, don’t be afraid to toss it and 

make another. 

The required tool complement is minimal. A 12" cork backed 

steel straightedge, an X-Acto knife, a few #11 blades, 150-grit 

sanding block, small square, a pile of straight pins, white glue, 

CA glue, liquid plastic cement, needle nose pliers, pin vise, and 

some 0.030" drill bits are all you need. The sand house and 

coal bunker can be made of styrene or basswood. I like basswood 

because I think it suits the look of a wooden structure, 

but there are plenty of modelers doing incredible wood structures 

in styrene so take your pick. 

The project started with an article I’d filed years ago from the 

July, 1952 Model Railroader, a diminutive space-saving sandhouse 

without the usual outside sand bunker and loading tower. 

The prototype was located in Waukesha, WI in the Soo Line yard. 

There was a roundhouse, turntable, sandhouse, bucket-coaling 

structure, and cinders pit where the steamers dropped their 

ashes. Adjacent to the sandhouse was a standpipe that could be 

swung out and over the track to water a tender. I decided to omit 

the bucket coal loading structure. Instead, I used a wood-sided 

coal bunker and a coaling conveyor. 

In a discussion of coal conveyor usage at the Yahoo Soo History 

Group site, someone suggested coal conveyors were not 

typically used in the steam era because they took too long to 

coal up a tender. That said, another rail pointed out page 41 

of John Armstrong’s excellent book Track Planning for Realistic 

Operations. There, in the “Service Trackage” chapter, was a picture 

of an Erie Berkshire being coaled from a conveyor and coal 

pit on an adjacent track. If the Erie could use conveyors to coal 

their Berk behemoths, then I felt comfortable using one to coal 

my 2-8-0. The beauty of conveyor coaling is the space you save 

and, in the process, you still adhere to the prototype. 

Sandhouse 

Since there were no drawings in the July, 1952 MR article, I 

made my own from the photographs. I eyeball scaled the sandhouse 

and make no guarantee that it’s a carbon copy of the prototype. 

I “guestimated” the wall height at 14 feet and scaled 

the rest of the structure from there. The front wall and one end 

wall feature exposed studs for the sand bin walls. Though there 

was no picture of the back of the sandhouse in the article, I presume 

there were exposed studs on that wall as well. I chose to 

omit the exposed studs on the back wall as my sandhouse is so 

close to the backdrop you’d never see the exposed studs. If you 

choose to model the exposed studs on the rear wall, make the 

cut-away rear wall a mirror image of the front wall. 

If you have the room, you can run a service track behind the 

sandhouse to spot gondolas or boxcars laden with coal and sand. 

Dried sand was shoveled into the sandhouse, perhaps through 

windows in the rear wall or roof. Coal may have been dropped 

into a pit where a conveyor or arm-strong labor would have shoveled 

it into the iron buckets that fed the tenders. In those days, 

section crew labor was often cheaper than machinery. My coal 

comes in by truck and is dumped into the wooden bunker. 


In the Soo sandhouse, compressed air 

blew the sand from inside the house up 

through a pipe emerging from the roof of 

the sandhouse and into the locomotive 

sand dome or box. It’s a unique delivery 

system that negated the need for a sanding 

tower. Compressed air was obtained 

from the loco being sanded. An air line 

ran from the sand house to the loco’s air 

supply. When not in use, the air line was 

draped on hooks attached to the exposed 

front wall studs. Now that we know how 

everything works, let’s get started. 

I began construction with the exposed 

stud wall portion of the front wall. It’s 

built separately, and then attached to 

the inside front wall. See the drawing 

for dimensions. I cut my scale 3" x 6" 

studs on a Northwest Short Line Chopper. 

(Handy darn thing. I didn’t have one 

until recently, and now I wonder how I 

ever got along without it.) I glued the precut 

studs and a matching bottom sill onto 

1 

⁄8" scribed 1 ⁄16" thick Northeastern scale 

lumber to make the front wall and one 

end wall. Note these exposed studs are 

notched 1 ⁄32" x 1 ⁄4" at their tops to inlay the 

siding into the studs and make the front 

wall siding look thinner than it really is. 

I cut the main walls from 1 ⁄16" thick 1 ⁄8" 

scribed Northeastern basswood sheet. 

Buy this stuff in six-inch wide sheets so 

you won’t have to butt-glue the sheets to 

get the wall height you need. 

When cutting basswood and scoring 

styrene, I always use a cork backed 

steel straightedge ruler and a sharp #11 

X-Acto blade. Mark your outlines with a 

well-sharpened pencil and then make the 

cuts with a series of light strokes. Let the 

straight edge guide your blade. Keep the 

knife blade vertical while you’re cutting. 

Lightly block-sand and square up the cut 

edges. 

The scale six inch wide corner trim 

boards are replicated with 1 ⁄16" x 1 ⁄8" basswood 

strips, which are built up into complete 

corners before they are attached to 

the walls. These built-up corners reinforce 

the walls and provide nice clean corners. 

See the corner drawings for details. I use 

gap-filling CA glue throughout the basswood 

part of construction. A bottle of 

CA kicker spray makes quick work of the 

glue joints. I cut window openings in the 

end walls to accommodate Grandt Line 

#33722 windows. Since the prototype 

structure wasn’t heated, I thought windows 

would be nice in the summertime 

when it must have been pretty warm 

inside. In the wintertime it made no difference 

and at least let in some wintry 

light. 

Before the walls went up, I cut a floor 

from 1 ⁄8" thick basswood. You could also 

use Midwest birch aircraft ply. Note the 

corner post and stud wall notching. It’s a 

good idea to dry fit the walls to ensure 

your measurements and cuts are correct. 

Errors are better found here than when 

you’ve got the walls and floor coated 

with glue. Satisfied that everything fit, I 

glued the built-up corner trim posts to the 

end walls and then glued one end wall to 

the floor using a small square to ensure 

the wall was glued square to the floor. 

The back wall went up next, followed 

by the opposite end wall, and finally the 

front wall. It was beginning to look pretty 

neat. Inside the front door, I glued scrap 

interior walls of 1 ⁄8" scribed basswood. 

The roof panels were cut from 1 ⁄32" 

basswood sheet. Again, you could also 

use Midwest birch aircraft ply. I installed 

interior bracing and a ridgepole before 

I attached the roof panels. In the photos 

you can see the beam I installed 

between the front wall and the ridgepole. 

This beam anchors the sand pipe, which 

comes through the roof. When all the 

parts were lightly sanded and fair, I glued 

the two roof panels to the structure. 

I masked off the roof surfaces, then 

sprayed the walls with Testors Gray primer. 

I followed the primer with a coat of 

Ace Hardware’s Red Iron Oxide primer. 

That’s right, folks, Ace spray paint from 

an aerosol spray can. It has a nice railroad 

looking color and you cannot beat 

the price. Practice on an old newspaper 

and don’t get too close with the nozzle. 

I applied my paint in several passes. I 

know guys who spray their rolling stock 

with this stuff. Ace’s black and gray primers 

work well, too. 

I couldn’t tell if the Soo sandhouse 

had corrugated or asphalt shingles. I’d 

been wanting to try Plastruct’s #91519 

corrugated siding, so I bought a pack at 

Walthers’ Terminal Hobby and was not 

disappointed. It comes in very thin sheets, 

nicely done with very small corrugations 

perhaps three scale inches across. 

The sheets look great on my sandhouse. 

I used Walthers Goo cement to attach 

these plastic panels. The panels can be 

butt-joined or overlapped. I butt-joined 

mine and had virtually invisible seams. 

The sand delivery pipe was installed 

at this time. I used 1 ⁄16" brass rod for the 

pipe coming out of the roof. It extends 

two inches above the roof where it bends 

into an arc and mates to a length of 3 ⁄32" 

O. D. (~16 gauge) solid copper electrical 

wire. The insulation slips over the brass 

rod and is held in place with a drop of 

CA glue. The other end of the wire was 

stripped back about 3 ⁄4" and filed to a 

taper to simulate the sand delivery nozzle. 

The whole thing is painted flat back 

except for the delivery nozzle, which I 

painted silver. 

I brush-coated the roof’s corrugated 

sheets with Floquil’s Old Silver solvent 

paint to simulate faded galvanized 

sheeting. To simulate rust buildup, I 

dry-brushed the corrugations with Delta 

Ceramcoat Terra Cotta acrylic paint. I 

followed this with a light smudging of 

Floquil Grimy Black. The roof was then 

over-sprayed with a heavy dusting of 

Badger Model Flex Rail Brown and then 

a dusting of Floquil Grime. I wanted a 

roof that had seen many years of service. 

All that was left to do now was drape the 

air supply hose onto hooks set into the 

front wall studs. 

I simulated the air hose with solid 

copper insulated wire (gauge unknown 

- but it has a 1 ⁄32" O. D). Hooks were bent 

up from 0.020" brass wire and CA glued 

into 0.020" holes drilled into the studs. I 

bent the wire from hook to hook to simulate 

the drape of the hose. The hose is 

painted flat black. The hooks are Floquil 

Old Silver. 

I sprayed the entire structure with a 

coat of Model Master Lusterless (flat) to 

flatten the sheen of the Ace Red Oxide 

primer and then an overall dusting with 

Floquil Grime. That done, I glazed and 

installed the two windows and the sandhouse 

was complete. 

Coal Bunker 

I built my coal bunker much like I 

imagined a section crew might have. It’s 

a three-sided structure with staggered 

lengths of 1 ⁄16" x 1 ⁄4" basswood strip to simulate 

heavily creosoted 3" x 12" boards. 

It doesn’t make the section crew happy, 

having to shovel coal into a conveyor to 

coal the tenders, but it makes me (the 

brass hat) happy because I don’t have to 

build a coaling tower. 

I cut the bin boards to length, laid 

them out on the bin drawing, and 

attached the posts to the pinned down 

boards. A little variation in post height 

makes things more interesting. I didn’t 

edge glue the boards. Rather, I let the 1 ⁄8" 

square posts hold the boards in line just 

like the real thing. With an X-Acto knife 

I cut away some of the board edges and 

made random cuts into the boards and 

the posts. 

After assembly into a three-sided structure, 

I painted the bare basswood with an 

alcohol thinned wash of Delta Ceramcoat’s 

acrylic black paint. The thinned 

paint soaked in and highlighted the cuts 

I’d made in the wood, giving the timbers 

a weather beaten look. When the acrylic 

paint had dried, I dry-brushed streaks of 

Floquil Grimy Black to simulate paint 

nearly weathered away. 


A chunk of pink insulating foam was 

carved into the shape of a sloping coal 

pile and glued it into the bin. The pink 

foam was painted with acrylic gray. 

When the paint had dried, I coated the 

foam with a thick layer of white glue onto 

which I sprinkled Highball Products HO 

Scale six-inch sized coal. Highball Products 

coal is neat stuff and the HO coal 

looks right to my eye. It has a nice coallike 

glint to it. I set the bunker aside and 

turned my attention to the water standpipe. 

Water Standpipe 

In the MR article photos, there was no 

evidence of a water tower. Perhaps the 

Soo yard standpipe used Waukesha city 

water, or the water tower was simply out 

of sight. The prototype standpipe stood 

hard against the bucket coaling structure 

adjoining the sandhouse. The fireman 

would swing the standpipe out and 

over the track to water his tenders. When 

not in use, the spout was swung back 

against the coaling structure wall. In that 

photo I spotted something I hadn't seen 

before, a pipe extension right above the 

shut-off valve that allowed the fireman 

to swing the delivery pipe over the tender. 

I’d never thought of that, but without 

that pipe handle, how would the fireman 

have been able to rotate the standpipe 

Needless to say, the pipe handle is on my 

standpipe. 

I built the standpipe from 1 ⁄16" brass 

rod, a balsa base, and some wire insulation 

to replicate the elbows and valve 

housing. Short lengths of styrene tubing 

were used at the threaded elbow ends. 

For the shut off valve, I used an Intermountain 

brake wheel. 

There are ready-to use standpipe castings 

available. But, in the spirit of this 

scratchbuilding project and the fact that 

none matched the Soo standpipe, I made 

my own in a matter of a few hours. See 

the drawing for assembly notes. 

Coaling Conveyor 

After deciding to use a coal conveyor, 

I must confess I did check the Internet 

to see what was commercially available. 

To my surprise, I found only one O 

Scale coal conveyor kit. Manufactured by 

K & P Brick & Building Co., this kit is a 

nice looking vintage loader and, at $22 

for two conveyor kits, the price is right 

enough. But it was too small to reach the 

bunker of my tender. It would be great 

for loading trucks and gons but not suitable 

for my coaling conveyor. I needed 

an overall conveyor height of at least 20 

feet. What to do 

It turns out, after more research, that 

Walthers has an HO conveyor kit available 

as part of their Cornerstone kit series. 


This kit builds up into a pair of conveyors, 

one large and one small. I purchased 

a kit at Walthers’ Terminal Hobby Shop. 

After studying the parts, I made up drawings, 

which are included in this article. 

I built several versions in styrene and 

basswood. The article drawings depict 

what I think are the most prototypical. 

I used basswood for the conveyor belt 

(board-and-batten siding with 3 ⁄8" batten 

spacing). The rest of the model is styrene. 

However, you could build the entire conveyor 

with basswood or styrene stock 

sheet and strip. 

There are two conveyors shown in the 

drawing. The shorter conveyor is suitable 

for truck and gon loading. The longer, 

higher, conveyor is what you’ll need to 

coal those tenders. There’s nothing critical 

about belt width or conveyor length. 

Walthers’ belts scaled out to 12" wide. I 

made both 12" and 18" scale widths. You 

could go to 24" width, depending on the 

material you’re loading. 

After cutting all the Frame A and B 

parts for each conveyor from styrene strip 

stock, I pinned the parts to a copy of my 

drawing. For this purpose, I used a small 

sheet of ceiling tile—just like we did back 

in the old stick-and-tissue model airplane 

days. You don’t have to use any protection 

over the plan. The plastic glue won’t 

stick to the paper. When the parts were 

all pinned down and aligned, I dabbed 

each joint with a drop of Plastruct Plastic 

Weld glue. Let these glued up parts sit for 

an hour or two and the assembled frames 

should pop right off the paper. 

While the frames were curing, I cut a 

couple of conveyor belts from Northeastern 

Scale Lumber 3 ⁄8" spaced board-andbatten 

stock. You’ll have to butt-glue the 

ends. I backed up the underside of the 

belt with a lengthwise strip of 1 ⁄32" x 3 ⁄8" 

basswood. Being cross-grain to the belt 

stiffens it quite a bit. The battens simulate 

the conveyor belt cleats. The ends of the 

conveyor belt should be radiused. 

The conveyor sides are cut from 

0.030" thick 1 ⁄4" wide styrene, or 1 ⁄32" x 1 ⁄4" 

basswood. I added a top flange of 0.030” 

x 0.060" styrene and then vertical 0.030" 

square stiffeners at 15 ⁄16" intervals. That 

done, the bottom flange is then added. 

The motor chain belt housing is added 

next. I cut mine from a sheet of 0.060" 

styrene sheet. It stands off the conveyor 

side with a small hidden piece of 0.030" 

styrene. 

The sides are glued to the conveyor 

belt using slow setting CA glue. Make 

sure the sides are flush with the bottom 

of the belt and the sides are square to 

the belt. It’s easy to develop an inward 

cant to the sides. The Plastruct motor 

is then attached to the underside of the 

belt. Align the motor shaft to the chain 

belt housing. I added pillow block bearing 

covers at both ends of the conveyor. 

These covers are cut from 3 ⁄64" styrene rod 

and set into the lower sides where the 

conveyor end bearings would be located. 

The pins should project about 1 ⁄32" 

from the conveyor side. I added a pair of 

0.030" square styrene strips crosswise on 

the underside of the belt where the conveyor 

rests in Frame B. Location of this 

pivot point varies depending on the conveyor 

length you’re building. 

Now’s the time to remove Frames A 

and B from the building board and glue 

Frame A to Frame B as shown on the 

drawing. This joint should be a 90° corner. 

When the joint had cured, I drilled 

0.045" axle holes into Frame B and glued 

in 3 ⁄64" styrene rod axles. Cut the axle 

lengths to suit the wheels you use. I used 

Grandt Line #32 popcorn wagon rear 

wheels on my conveyors. These scale out 

to 36" diameter. Don’t mount the wheels 

yet, unless you’re going to airbrush them 

the same color as the conveyor. Jerry 

Roy, O Scale buddy and modeling mentor, 

cranked up his Badger airbrush and 

painted the four conveyors I’d built. In 

exchange for a great painting weathering 

job, Jerry earned himself two conveyors 

for his layout (A fair price indeed considering 

the quality of Jerry’s air brushing). 

The Grandt wheel rims were brushpainted 

with Model Master’s Steel paint. 

This added a nice touch to the finished 

conveyors. The belts were painted Floquil 

Black. Weathering was done with 

Model Flex Steel and Rail Brown paints, 

followed by a dusting of Floquil Grime. 

These conveyors are simple to build and 

look very nice. Why not give them a try 

I got to where I could build a pair in six 

hours or so, and it took Jerry three or four 

hours to paint and weather all four units. 

They do look nice on the layout. I use the 

smaller conveyor at my feed mill for loading 

bulk grain into trucks. The taller unit 

is just getting dirty in the service yard. 

(NB: All drawings are ©2004-2005 by 

Tom Houle and may not be used commercially 

without the expressed written 

permission of the author.) 

◆

Resources: 

Grandt Line, 1040 B Shary Court, Concord, 

CA 94518, 925-671-0143, www.grandtline.com 

Northeastern Scale Lumber Company, 99 

Cross Street, Methuen, MA 01844 

978-688-6019, www.northeasternscalelumber. 

com 

Bill of Materials 

Northeastern Scale Models Basswood 

- 1/16" x 3" plain sheet 

- 1/16" x 6" 1/8" scribed sheet 

- 1/16" thick board-and-batten siding 

(3/8" batten spacing) 

- 1/16" x 1/8" strip 

- 1/8" square strip 

- 1/16" square strip 

Evergreen styrene 

- 0.060" plain sheet. 

- 0.030" plain sheet 

- 0.060" x 0.125" strip 

- 0.060" square strip 

- 0.030" x 0.060" strip 

- 0.080" x 0.125" strip 

- 0.030" square strip 

- 0.030" x 0.250" strip 

- 3/64" rod 

Plastruct 

- Corrugated siding #91519 

- Motor #M-2 

Grandt Line 

- Popcorn wagon wheels #32 

- Attic windows #3722 

Highball Products 

- Coal #132 

Intermountain 

- Brake wheel 

K & S Brass 

- 0.060" brass rod 

- 0.020" brass wire 

Paints 

- Ace Hardware Red Oxide Primer spray 

- Floquil solvent Grimy Black 

- Floquil solvent Old Silver 

- Floquil solvent Dark Green 

- Floquil solvent Santa Fe Yellow 

- Floquil solvent Grime 

- Badger Model Flex Rail Brown 

- Floquil Polly Scale Pacemaker Red 

- Model Master Steel 

- Model Master Clear Lusterless 

- Delta Ceramcoat acrylic Terra Cotta 

Finished side and end sandhouse walls and roof panels. 

Assembled sandhouse walls. Be sure the walls are square when assembling. 

Rear view of assembled sandhouse. 

Photos continued on page 52 







Two roof panels in 

place. You can use 

1 

⁄32" basswood or ply 

sheet. 

Sandhouse walls 

sprayed with Ace 

Hardware Red Oxide 

primer. Neat color. 

Coal 

bunker 

walls. 

Water standpipe. 

A unique 

easy-to-build 

model and not 

commercially 

available. 

Conveyor Frame A and B assembly with old 

fashioned straight pins and ceiling tile. 

Conveyor components ready for assembly. Can 

be basswood or styrene. 

Two 

conveyors, 

one suitable 

for loading 

truck/gons 

and the 

other 

tenders. 


With news and information on Proto48 

Making Grab Irons 

We have talked about making ladders, 

so now we should touch upon another 

basic detail. Making your own grab irons 

is one of the easiest ways to improve the 

realism of your models. Most commercial 

models are made with oversized wire or 

plastic grab irons. Some even have caston 

blobs that are supposed to be grab 

irons. 

What is a scale grab iron If you were 

to measure a steam-era grab iron on a 

freight car, you would likely find that they 

are 3 ⁄4" in diameter. That reduces down 

to 0.0156" in diameter. You can readily 

find 0.015" brass, phosphor-bronze 

and steel wire available from suppliers 

like Details Associates, Tichy and others. 

While 0.015" wire may seem too delicate 

to some, it is quite durable. You can use 

phosphor-bronze or stainless steel if you 

want a more robust wire grab while not 

giving up scale size. I have used these 

harder wire types for Diesel handrails. 

They don’t bend as easily, so they can 

stand up to harsher handling, but it does 

require more effort to fabricate. Prototype 

grab irons come in various shapes. 

The most common are the straight and 

the drop. You can find more exotic, such 

as drop-style on one end and straight on 

another. Try to find a good photo of the 

car you are modeling. Look closely at the 

grab irons. 

Railroad trade organizations like the 

American Association of Railroads (AAR) 

established standards for interchange 

cars. The length and exact position of 

grab irons vary somewhat, but generally 

you will find two grab irons on the left 

side of house cars (reefers, boxcars and 

stock cars). Early in the 20th century, only 

one grab iron was required. If you look at 

car photos or drawings from the 1920s or 

earlier, you will find a single grab iron on 

the side. Early house cars and gondolas 

often used ladders made from grab irons 

rather than the more traditional-style ladder. 

If you model in the post-Depression 

era, cars should reflect the change in 

AAR standards. You only need a few simple 

tools to form grab irons. I use a couple 

of small pliers, small machinist’s vise 

and a wire cutter. You will need a good 

measuring device to accurately scale the 

grab irons. I like to start the fabrication 

with some fine sandpaper to clean the 

insert the partially formed grab iron into 

one of the holes. Mark the location of the 

second mounting hole on the wire using 

a pencil or marker. Grasp the wire with 

the needle-nose just inside the mark. 

You’ll have to account for the wire diameter 

and bend radius when you bend. I 

allow about 0.010" for bending. Bend the 

wire by pushing down with your finger. 

Be mindful of the orientation so you don’t 

end up with the ends going in different 

angles. Test fit the grab. It may take a try 

or two to get the hang of it. You can buy 

a bending tool, for example from Micro 

Mark (part number #83139), that allows 

you to make repetitive bends to the same 

length. The tool is really handy but a bit 

pricey. I find that, with practice, I can 

bend a bunch of grab irons to a same 

length very quickly. 

The drop-style requires one more 

step to the forming process. I use a 

small machinist’s vise to hold a straight 

grab iron. I insert a small strip of styrene 

brass wire. I like to blacken my grab irons 

before painting, to act as a primer. Measure 

the length of the required grab iron. 

Make your first bend using needle-nose 

pliers. Form a sharp right angle. I like to 

underneath the wire as a gage to position 

it uniformly above the vise face. Using a 

hard flat object, like a blank cutting tool 

or a file, I push the wire over forming the 

“drop”. The styrene gage will ensure that 

the drop portion is parallel. 

I like to install the grab irons before I 

close up the body on boxcars or reefers. 

Secure the grab in place with a dot of CA 

adhesive. I like to blacken the wire using 

a “Q-Tip” as an applicator. The finishing 

touch to grab iron installation is to simulate 

the tab and bolt-head, used on the 

prototype to mount them to the carbody. 

I have used two different part sources for 


these details. The hopper photo shows an injection molded part 

made by MacLeod Western (http://www.macleodwestern.com). 

The part numbers are N-46 and N-47. They come on a sprue 

with a mounting pin on 

the back of the individual 

part. I cut the mounting 

pin off using a sharp 

single-edge razor blade. 

Glue the part to the body 

with the elongated end 

of the part touching the 

wire. Another source is P- 

B-L. They sell a part made 

for S Scale that will work 

as well. It comes without 

a mounting pin, so it is 

easier to use. They can be 

found at http://www.p-bl.com/PBL2002/main-wsltm.html. 

The part number 

is PBL-111. Both sites allow you to order via the Internet, so 

give them a try. 

Proto48 News 

There are a few new developments that are worth mentioning 

in this issue. San Juan Car Company is making good progress 

on their new Southern Pacific drop-bottom gondola. The car 

will set new standards for finely detailed and accurate models 

in 1 ⁄4" Scale. The ends and sides have detail inside and out. The 

Improved Dreadnaught ends are beautiful, with full rib details 

on both sides and only a 0.018" wall thickness. The car will be 

offered with two different ends. That allow accurate modeling 

of the B-50-20 and B-50-23 classes. They are planning to do a 

steel-sided version at a later date. The kits will be sold in both 

traditional O Scale and Proto48. 

San Juan will be releasing a new pair of trucks along with the 

B-50-20 version. It is the much needed American Steel Foundries 

A-3 Ride Control truck. The truck is being made with a twopiece 

sideframe, so that the correct “C” channel shape can be 

replicated. This design feature is a first in model railroading. 

They are going to use an engineering plastic bearing insert, so 

the truck should be smooth rolling and long-lasting. San Juan 

Decals is doing a very accurate lettering set for the kits, based 

upon artwork developed by Charles Givens, recognized Southern 

Pacific expert. Look for the kit to be released in the late- 

Spring timeframe. 

Chooch Enterprises has several new projects in the works. 

First up will be an AAR War Emergency 53' 6" flat car used by 

19 different railroads. This will be followed by a NP 42' wood 

reefer and NP 4700-series single sheathed 50' auto boxcar. 

Smokey Mountain Model Works is working on a urethane 

model of the B&O wagontop boxcar (class M-53), planned for 

release this year. The kit will feature a single-piece body with 

custom injection molded hardware and decals. The kit is scheduled 

for release in 2005. This is a classic car that ran all over the 

country, well into the 1960s. 

◆ 

Buy⁄Sell⁄Trade 

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SS PRR I1 2-10-0, long tender, N/P OB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,150.00 

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Layaway Available 


Jim Hackworth 

MODEL TRAINS 

(and Subsidiary JH Consulting) 

2631 Edgevale Road, Columbus OH 43221-1113 

Phone:614-4514517 Fax:6144514557 

Email: jhmtrains@msn.com • Web: www.jhmtrains.com 

LSASE for Complete List 

Shipping 6% - $6.00 Min., $12.00 Max 

Ohio Residents Add 6.75% Sales Tax 

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Weaver PRR M1a, 4-8-2, f/P, OB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $695.00 

MG SP GS5, 4-8-4, C/P, Lites, Nice, NOB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,595.00 

OM #0277 GP38 w/0 dynamic brake, new, OB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $895.00 

OM CSX GE AC4400, Just Out, F/P new . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,795.00 

USH B&O 0-4-0, N/P, NOB, w/tender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $525.00 

SS N&W J 4-8-4 Rebuilt w/Sound, C/P, OB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,500.00 

WSM PRR M1/K4 Tender Only, C/P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $295.00 

PRB GP15, F/P Chessie, LN, OB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $675.00 

GEM PRR A5, 0-4-0, N/P, OB, Ex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $525.00 

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OM CSX SD70M #700, F/P, OB, LN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,775.00 

Custom Built PRR GG1, Ptd Green, 5-Stripe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $575.00 

OL GN 2-D-2 #5001/5002 Set, C/P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,495.00 

KTM #705 Panel Hopper C/P NYC, NOB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $179.00 

OM #0011 UP Ca-11 Caboose, N/P, LN, OB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $295.00 

CB PRR P70 Coach, C/P, NOB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $395.00 

PL#300 PRR R-7 Reefer, C/P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $295.00 

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MG #120 TT Flats, C/P PRR w/USH RB Tks(25 available) . . . . . . . .each $129.00 

MG PRR N8 Caboose, N/P, NOB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $250.00 

Alco PRR N6a, C/P or N/P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .each $225.00 

CB PRR N8 Caboose, N/P, OB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $295.00 

Lionel 13 car NYC Smithsonian set, F/P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CALL 

Sunset 14 car Congressional set, C/P, Lites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CALL 

Custom built 5 car Kettle Valley set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CALL 

Estates⁄Liquidations 

Collection Reductions

How To: 

Get Started in 2-Rail 


Realistic • Accurate • Affordable 

Come Discover Modern O-Scale Models at These 2-Rail O-Scale Meets 

February 24 - 26, 2005, San Francisco, CA area 

15th Annual O Scale West Meet 

LSSAE for information to: 

O Scale West, Dept. OSK 

876 Boyce Avenue 

Palo Alto, CA 94301-3003 

June, 2006, Teaneck, NJ area 

2006 O Scale National Convention 


Robert Lavezzi C/O New York Society of Model Engineers 

341 Hoboken 

Carlstadt, NJ 07072 

September 23 - 24, 2005, Indianapolis, IN area 

Indianapolis Midwest "O" Scale Fall Meet 


James Canter, Dept. OSK 

1203 Rotherham Lane 

Beech Grove, IN 46107-3323 

Sept 30 - Oct 1, 2005, Oklahoma City, OK area 

Southwest O Scale Meet 


George B. Wallace, Dept. OSK 

11937 Stratford Drive 

Oklahoma City, OK 73120 

June 15- 18, 2005, St. Louis area 



2005 O Scale National, Dept. OSK 

P.O. Box 4357 

St. Louis MO 63123 

Look for 2-rail O scale at 

your local train shows 

2-rail O scale modelers exhibit, and at many shows, 

set up operating 2-rail O scale layouts. 

Visit www.oscalekings.org for links to many 2-rail O-scale sites. 

This ad runs twice a year, so check it in 6 months for meets that have been added or changed dates. 

For an illustrated brochure please send an LSSAE #12 envelope to: O Scale Kings, 304 Christopher Place, Union, MO 63084-2931. 

Ad sponsored by O Scale Kings and the above listed 2-rail O scale meets. 

P.O. Box 1848 

Rogue River, OR 97537 

* Visit our website at http:// 

www.keyimportsinc.com 

The Original EMD “E” Passenger Units 

The EA, E-1, E-3, E-4, E-5 & E-6 

Next to the PA’s the Classic EMD “E” 

has the prettiest nose in town and 

that’s the way Key Imports 

will build them big and 

beautiful in “O” 

scale. All units 

are painted and 

lettered starting 

with the original 

EA on the B&O 

#51 (A/B) and the 

Santa Fe E-1 #2 (A/B), the E-3, - 

4, -5 and the E-6 beginning with the AT&SF 

down to the Union Pacific and a dozen roads in between. 

Most are A/B combinations with a few exceptions.* 


Back in 1785, Robert Burns wrote these 

lines from his poem, To A Louse, “O wad 

some Power the giftie gie us, To see oursels 

as ithers see us!”. Now, this column is not a 

poetry lesson, but, to this old hobo, the concept 

of seeing ourselves as others see us is a 

real eye opener. Take our model railroading 

for example. 

When was the last time you invited someone 

to look at your models and critique your 

modeling Sure, you have guests over, and 

they give you lots of compliments. We have 

just completed the busy holiday season and 

everyone knows the part the trains play, with 

lots of open houses, train-laden mantles, and 

the circular layouts with that one large tree 

in the middle. Hi-Railers traditionally like to 

show-and-tell and are more open about sharing 

their modeling ideas. 

But what about the serious scale modelers 

This question is for both 3-Rail and 2-Rail hobbyists. 

Would your layout stand the real test 

Try taking some photos of your layout. Look 

at the photos. You will be amazed at what the 

camera lens actually records. You may even 

see some things and details that you missed, 

simply because you were working too close to 

the subject. You may need to tweak or adjust 

some things, because the camera doesn’t lie. 

Share those photos with people who are not 

model railroaders; they are the most objective. 

Try it. Share them with your wife, girlfriend, 

or significant other. Get some feedback. You 

might be surprised at their reaction and comments. 

Just think about it for a moment. 

Consider some guidelines to help you 

become a better modeler. Think of your layout 

as a story. Each scene around the layout 

should be an active part of the story. Certainly 

the trains are the main characters. All of the 

signs, structures, vehicles, and people should 

convey a certain time period. It should all 

make sense. For example, if you are modeling 

1944 and have a freight train stopped at the 

station, a 1955 Corvette in the scene will not 

be appropriate. A scene of the 1930s would 

not have a Pacific loco pulling a consist of 

piggy-backs and double-stack containers. 

Sometimes this requires research to find out 

what would be correct for the specific time. 

Certainly, details are important and they 

do make the difference. But more importantly, 

they need to be the right details to convey the 

overall story. Spruce trees belong in a logging 

scene with a Shay locomotive; they would be 

very much out of place in a scene from the 

deep South. Amtrak passenger trains do not fit 

in with steam coal drags of the ’30s and ’40s. 

Nor do bikini-clad sunbathers belong in a 

beach scene with a coastal Daylight of 1940 

in the background (Even though the Daylights 

ran well into the '50s, the bikini didn’t hit the 

beaches until 1963). 

Look closely. Examine what you do. Stop 

and think, “Does this fit Does this convey the 

look and feel of the era that I am modeling” 

Many of us model things that we have seen 

in our lifetime. These are things we know and 

can identify with. That is the easiest. Modeling 

what we have not seen with our own eyes 

is the real challenge. A few of us remember 

steam. Most of us, though, have to rely on 

photos, documents, and books to get it right. 

And it is a matter of getting it right. Modeling 

correctly is not a matter of nit-picking or rivetcounting. 

It is a responsibility that we have as 

serious scale modelers. It is an opportunity to 

become better at modeling. We have come to 

realize that Scale Modeling is an art. 

Check out the ties and rails on your rail- 

road. Are they all clean and shiny Should 

they be weathered Would rail joiners and 

tie plates be appropriate details Today, solid 

ribbon rail is a modern aspect of railroading. 

Before 1960, most railroads used sectional rail 

with staggered joints. Track manufacturers do 

not make sectional track that is prototypical; 

all the joints are flush at the end. This leaves 

an opportunity to assemble your track in a 

more prototypically correct manner. Proper 

planning will prevent problems and a greater 

level of detail is possible. 

Consider the ballast. Is it scale-sized Do 

your ties fit snugly into the ballast In prototype 

railroading, the ballast is a bed to hold 

the ties in place; it is not a solid foundation. 

The next time you see a train at a crossing, 

stop and watch the ties and rail under the 

weight of the wheels. You will be surprised at 

the allowable up-and-down movement. 

Take a look at the telephone poles, line 

poles, and telegraph poles that you have. 

Don’t settle for placing just the poles. Try 

stringing thread to simulate lines. Yes, it is a 

lot of work and effort, but you will be amazed 

at the finished result. 

In conclusion, look around for opportunities 

to add details. Shipping boxes, crates, and 

barrels will highlight any station scene. Storm 

drains and manhole covers will bring realism 

to your streets. Trashcans near buildings add 

a lot of interest. Detailing is really fine-tuning 

the scene. Go back and take some more photos 

and share them again. Look at the “before” 

and “after” scenes and you will come to realize 

that there really is an art to scale model 

railroading. Stay tuned! More great ideas are 

just ahead. ◆ 

Stevenson Preservation Lines 

O Gauge Kits and Parts from past 

Master Modelers 

Catalog 2002-1 Price: $1.00 

Baldwin Model Locomotive Works 

Lobaugh 

Adams & Sons 

Lenoir 

Kansas City Kit 

Hines Lines 

Alexander 

Pearce Tool Co. 

Bob Stevenson, 2326 230th St. Boone, IA 50036 


T-BONE MODELS 

“O” 


CUSTOM PAINTING & REPAIR 

Dealer for Pacific Limited 

Sunset & Weaver‐ 

T-Bone Models James Christensen 

32264 Cleveland 

Cottage Grove, OR 97424-9381 

email tbone@epud.net 

541-942-5237 

Send SASE for information 

Schomberg Scale Models 

PO Box 88 

Schomberg, Ontario 

Canada L0G 1T0 

905-939-0694 

O Scale Detail Parts and

Whitehall Hobbies 

Specializing in Brass Locomotives 

1431 Windrush Circle, Blacklick, Ohio 43004 

Voice: (614) 861-0018 - Fax: (614) 861-3034 

JWTrains@aol.com 

Photos are available 

on request. 

————————— 

Ask about new unlisted 

items. We carry nearly 

every imported brass 

line. 

Key NYC E7 A-A, latest run F/P, new, never run . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2595 

Key SP E7 A&B, latest run F⁄P Daylight, new, never run (pair) . . $2495 

Key PRR E7 B unit, F/P Tuscan, buff stripes, new, never run . . . $1250 

PSC SP AC-9 2-8-8-4 Coal 222 R-1 Tender F⁄P - Black Boiler New . . $3195 

OMI UP FEF-3, F⁄P, Road# 844, new, never run. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2550 

PSC C&O T1 2-10-4, C⁄P, like new condition, reduced. . . . . . . . . . $1600 

OMI UP DD40X F⁄P Road# 6931, like new w⁄Cockerham drive . . $2250 

Kohs & Co., PRR GG1, F/P #4913, 5 stripe, gold leaf and Tuscan, 

new, never run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2800 

PSC NP Z5 2-8-8-4, F/P Rd# 5006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3295 

Key UP Challenger, 4-6-6-4, FP Rd#3977, oil version, two-tone grey, 

silver stripe. New, never run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3650 

Key UP Challenger, unptd, coal version. New, never run . . . . . . $3195 

PSC NYC F12e 4-6-0, 5000 gal. tender, F/P, new, never run . . . . .$1195 

OMI N&W J 4-8-4, F/P #611, Excursion Version, new, never run .$1650 

Key PRR E8 AA, FP Brunswick Green, gold stripe. New . . . . . . . $2695 

Westside NYC J3a 4-6-4, C/P #5447, streamlined, Boxpok . . . . $2095 

Kohs NYC J3a 4-6-4 F/P #5437, builder's photo edition, 1 of 10 

with white tires and running board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3500 

Key UP FEF3 4-8-4, unptd, coal version, rare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2495 

Key D&RGW L95, 2-8-8-2, F/P #3400, grn boiler, new, never run . . $3600 

PSC D&RGW L-131, 2-8-8-2, FP Rd#3600, black boiler (one of a kind), 

boiler tube pilot and tri-color herald w/D&RGW spelled out. 

new, never run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3895 

OMI UP FEF-3, F/P #835, w/triple stacks, new, never run . . . . . . $2550 

Key PRR J1 2-10-4, F/P Rd #6170. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3250 

PSC DM&IR M4 2-8-8-4, F/P w/black jacket, Worthington FW s/n1 . . . . . $5000 

Fine Arts NYC passenger cars,‐never out of box, CALL (only 4 left) . ea $800 

Key PRR F3 A-B, latest run, F/P Brunswick Green, new never run . . . . . $2495 

Key PRR FP7 A-B, latest run, F/P Tuscan 5 stripes, new, never run. . . . . $2495 

Key C&O FP7 A-A, latest run, F/P, new, never run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2595 

Key C&O FP7 A-B, latest run, F/P, new, never run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2495 

Key C&O FP7 A-B,-A latest run, F/P, new, never run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3850 

PSC SP GS5 4-8-4, latest run, F/P Daylight Rd #4458, new, never run . . $2995 

Key B&A K3n 4-6-2, latest run, F/P Rd #506, new never run . . . . . . . . . $2550 

Trail of the Frisco Flyer 


June 15-18 • Collinsville, Illinois‐ 

Sponsored by the Big Bend Railroad Club, Inc., PO Box 4357, 

St. Louis, MO 63123 at the Gateway Center, 1 Gateway Dr., Collinsville, 

Ill., just east of St. Louis. For more info contact Paul 

Metzler, convention chair, 314-968-6847 or send email to 

[BBRC2005Oscale@swbwll.net]. Visit the convention website for 

schedule details: [http:// www.geocities.com/bbrrclub/]. 

Guest speaker for the banquet will by noted railroad 

photographer Joe Collias. 


Buy–Sell–Trade 

Buy-Sell-Trade ads are $5 for 30 words plus your address information. 

Additional words are $0.25 each. Subscribers are permitted one free ad 

per subscription cycle. All B-S-T ads are prepaid. You may send ads by 

postal service with a check or money order. Ads sent by email or called 

in must use a credit card. See our contact info on page 2. 

FOR SALE: PACIFIC LIMITED First run USRA box cars arrived in the following 

road names: Southern Pacific, Milwaukee, C&NW, Clinchfield, 

Ann Arbor, RDG, D&H, NYC, RF&P, CNJ, Maine Central. SASE Listings. 

Ph: 727-391-3135, John Clemens, 5273 97 Way N, St. Petersburg, FL 

33708-3752 

FOR SALE: O Scale brass etched C&O and N&W, round, oval and rectangular 

number plates. Ten different builder’s plates like Lima, Baldwin, 

Alco,and Rodgers. Geo Washington Cameo, cylinder stars, 2 superheater 

and B&O Capitol Dome logo and much more. Call 304-736-7765 

evenings, or go to www.candoplates.com. Wilbur Epperly, 1115 Main 

St, Barboursville, WV 25504-1504 

FOR SALE: INTERMOUNTAIN BUILT-UP CARS - Gondolas: CB&Q, C&O, 

NYC, SP, MoPac, PRR, SL&SF; Box cars, refrigerators, hoppers, tankers, 

$39 plus $10 shipping. SASE for three pages of listings. Phone: 727- 

391-3135, John Clemens, 5273 97 Way N, St. Petersburg, FL 33708- 

3752 

FOR SALE: KEYSTONE MODEL WORKS: PRR H-25 quad hoppers; PRR 

gondolas, PRR drop-bottom gondolas; PRR scrap tin gondolas. Scale 

versions only at dealer cost. Much more brass, SASE for three page list. 

Ph: 727-391-3135, John Clemens, 5273 97 Way N, St. Petersburg, FL 

33708-3752 

FOR SALE: Seven (7) brass locomotives, incl. two Erie K5s, and 135+ 

freight cars, many brass. SSAE for list. Ph: 607-547-9610, Joseph Ranker, 

408 Christian Hill Rd, Cooperstown, NY 13326-6501 

FOR SALE: PECOS RIVER BRASS painted cars... $189, tank cars, 

Clinchfield cabooses, Airslide covered hoppers, 50’ grain cars, Santa 

Fe TOFC flats, Santa Fe flat cars, Pullman-Standard covered hopper. 

Listings SASE, Ph: 727-391-3135, John Clemens, 5273 97 Way N, St. 

Petersburg, FL 33708-3752 

FOR SALE: INTERMOUNTAIN BUILT-UP gondolas: C&O, NYC, CB&Q, 

MoPac, PRR, Frisco, Espee; box cars: B&O Sentinel, B&O Timesaver, 

EJ&E, Monon, NC&StL, Western Pacific. SASE for lists. Ph: 727-3914- 

3135, John Clemens, 5273 97 Way N, St. Petersburg, FL 33708-3752 

FOR SALE: OMI #0246 E7A, $750; #0520 ATSF FT A-B freight, 

$1500; #0521 FT A-B, passenger, $1500; Key Samhongsa SP PA3- 

PB3, f/p red/grey, set #90, $2600; PRB #4706 ATSF peaked roof 

caboose, $275. Ph: 404-237-6265, D Michael Kelly, 2836 Hermance 

Dr NE #5, Atlanta, GA 30319-2700 

WANTED: Looking for O Scale SP equipment. Call Dave at 805-685- 

3527. 

WANTED: Overland Super Liner and Super Liner II cars. Also, gear 

boxes, castings, basket case brass, etc. Phone: 619-593-0886, Albert E 

Espinosa, 316 E Camden Ave, El Cajon, CA 92020-4504 

An old P&E caboose 

passes through 

Selinsgrove on Pete 

Trunk’s Philadelphia and 

Erie layout. 

An SP TOFC train has just passed. 

The caboose is a brass model from 

Overland. The cars and trailers were 

built by Juerg Luetscher, Wallisellen, 

Switzerland, from Red Caboose and 

Berkshere Valley kits. All the models 

are weathered to represent operation 

in desert regions. The photo was 

taken on Juerg’s modular layout, the 

“Orange Empire”. 


AAA Precision Turntables 15 

Accurate O Scale 30 

Allegheny Scale Models 59 

AM Hobbies 30 

AtlasO 

IBC 

Brennan's Model Railroading 15 

BTS 27 

Central Locomotive Works 30 

Custom Signals 9 

Diecast Direct 9 

Digistar 25 

Dominion Models 16 

Eagles Nest Miniatures 26 

Ehobbytools.com 31 

Get Real Productions 13 

Gorilla Glue 21 

Great Scale Model Train Show 15 

Guide to Modern O Scale 57 

Advertisers Index 

Hackworth Model Trains 54 

House of Duddy 9 

JAK Tool & Model 22 

Just Trains 61 

Keil-Line Products 16 

Key Imports 55 

LaBelle Woodworking Co. 16 

Middle Division 31 

Model Tech Studios 11 

MTH Electric Trains 

IFC 

NCE Corp 22 

Nickel Plate Models 29 

Norm’s O Scale 13 

O Scale Kings 55 

O Scale Realty 55 

Old Pullman 31 

Overland Models 41 

P&D Hobby Shop 17 

Paper Creek Model Works 55 

PRR Brass 16 

Public Delivery Track 21 

Rail Photos Unlimited 30 

Rons Books 21 

Russian River RR Co. 30 

San Juan Car Co. 11 

Scale University 29 

Scaled World 26 

Schomberg 56 

Stevenson Preservation Lines 56 

Suncoast Models 25 

Sunset⁄3rd Rail 

14, BC 

T Bone Models 56 

Valley Model Trains 35 

Weaver 26 

Whitehall Hobbies 57 

Woodland Scenics 30 

Website: www.alleghenyscale.com • Email: oscale@alleghenyscale.com 

470 Schooley’s Mountain Road, Suite 8-117, Hackettstown, New Jersey 07840 

Voice - (908) 684-2070 • Fax - (908) 684-8911 

Steam Locomotives 

USH AT&SF Texas Type 2-10-4, UP, Late Run, L/N..........................................................$1,350 

WS C&O T1 2-10-4, UP, New..........................................................................................$2,000 

PFM GN E-6 Class 4-6-0, FP, Glacier Park, New..............................................................$1,250 

ORI GN R2 2-8-8-2, UP, Vestibule Cab, New..................................................................$2,450 

OM NP Z-8 4-6-6-4, UP, New..........................................................................................$2,650 

PSC N&W Z1b 2-6-6-2, FP, New - No. 1462 ...................................................................$1,395 

SS NYC K-5 Pacific, UP, L/N...............................................................................................$875 

WEAVER PRR A5 0-4-0, FP, New ........................................................................................$475 

WS PRR J1 2-10-4, UP, New ............................................................................................$2,000 

PSC PRR K4 4-6-2 Modernized, FP, L/N...........................................................................$1,175 

WS UP Big Boy 4-8-8-4, UP, New....................................................................................$2,750 

SS UP Early Challenger 4-6-6-4, CP, Cockerham Dual Drive...........................................$2,750 

KEY UP Challenger 4-6-6-4, FP, Gray, Silver Stripes, New...............................................$3,150 

KEY UP FEF-2 4-8-4, UP, Coal, 1 of 10 ............................................................................$2,795 

OMI WM H-9a 2-8-0, UP, New ......................................................................................$1,250 

OMI WM I-2 Decapod 2-10-0, CP, New ........................................................................$2,295 

Diesel Locomotives 

KEY AT&SF EMD F3 A-B, FP, Ph 2, New, 1st Run.............................................................$2,750 

KEY D&RGW EMD F7 A-B, FP, New, 1st Run ..................................................................$2,350 

KEY GN EMD F7 A-B, FP, New, 1st Run...........................................................................$2,250 

OMI N&W C36-7, UP, New................................................................................................$850 

KEY NYC ALCO PA-PB, FP, Lightning Stripe, New...........................................................$2,695 

KEY NYC EMD E8 A-A, FP, Lightning Stripe, New, 1st Run..............................................$2,495 

OMI NYC FM H-12-44, CP, Lightning Stripe, New..........................................................$1,245 

KEY PRR ALCO PA-PB, FP, Brunswick 5 stripe, New .......................................................$2,595 

CLS PRR ALCO RS-11, UP, New ......................................................................................$1,195 

KEY PRR EMD E8 A-A, FP, Brunswick 5 stripe, New, 1st Run ..........................................$2,595 

KEY PRR EMD F7 A-B, FP, Brunswick Freight, New, 1st Run ...........................................$2,095 

KEY SP ALCO PA-PB, FP, Daylight, New..........................................................................$2,695 

KEY SP EMD E9 A-A, FP, Black Widow, New, 1st Run .....................................................$2,495 

KEY UP EMD E9 A-B, FP, New, 1st Run ...........................................................................$2,295 

KEY UP EMD F7 A-B, FP, L/N, 1st Run.............................................................................$2,000 

KEY WP EMD F3 A-B, FP, New, 1st Run...........................................................................$2,795 

Rolling Stock 

PSC AAR 40’ 50 Ton OB Box Car, UP, L/N, Previously Painted ..........................................$175 

OMI Baldwin Scale Test Car, UP, New................................................................................$225 

PSC DM&IR Wood Caboose, UP, New ...............................................................................$350 

PSC GATX 6 Dome Wine Car, FP, New...............................................................................$350 

BCRK GN X580/X683 Wood Caboose, FP, New .................................................................$400 

PLTD GN Truss Rod Box Car, UP, New...............................................................................$395 

HILL IGA Wood Reefer, FP, Billboard Scheme, New...........................................................$375 

CNJB Jones & Laughlin Tank Car, UP, New.........................................................................$395 

OMI LV Steel Caboose, UP, New ........................................................................................$275 

PLTD MDT Composite Reefer, UP, New .............................................................................$350 

OMI NKP Wood Caboose, UP, New ...................................................................................$325 

W&R NP 24’ Wood Caboose – 1700 Series, UP, New ........................................................$355 

PSC NYC 18000 Series 30’ Wood Caboose, UP, New.........................................................$375 

CNJB NYC Pacemaker Caboose, UP, New..........................................................................$350 

CNJB NYC 19000 Series Wood Caboose, UP, New ............................................................$295 

PLTD P&LE - NYC USRA Design Steel Box Car, UP, New...................................................$375 

OMI Palace Poultry Car, UP, New ......................................................................................$395 

PSC PFE 50’ Wooden Ice Reefer, UP, New..........................................................................$325 

PSC PRR K7a Stock Car, CP, L/N.........................................................................................$285 

PLTD PRR X-23 Work Car with Panel Door, CP, Gray Scheme...........................................$295 

PCO PRR X-42 Mail Storage Car, UP, New.........................................................................$395 

PLTD Seaboard 1932 ARA Box Car, UP, New, 56” Herald .................................................$350 

PRB, SP Greenville 70’ 100 Ton Gondola, FP, New ...........................................................$275 

PSC NYC Standard 70’ Heavyweight Coach, UP, New .......................................................$425 

PSC NYC Standard 70’ Heavyweight Combine, UP, New ...................................................$425 

PSC PRR B70 Baggage, UP, New.........................................................................................$400 

PSC PRR B70 Baggage, FP, New..........................................................................................$450 

PSC Pullman HWT Dining Car, UP, New ............................................................................$425 

PSC Pullman Standard HWT Observation, UP, New...........................................................$450 

PSC Harriman Passenger Cars - Various Styles, UP, New....................................................$445 


Events 

A current list of events is now available at our website [http://www.oscalemag.com]. If you have 

an event you’d like listed, we have a submission form at the website (the preferred method), or 

you can mail the info to our office address given on page 3. 

March 2005 

4-20: Carldstadt, New Jersey 

The New York Society of Model Engineers, Inc., will be holding its 

79th Anniversary Exhibition of both its HO and O Scale railroads for 3 

weekends in March at the Society’s headquarters, 341 Hoboken Rd, in 

Carlstadt. Time: Friday evenings from 7 to 10 pm, Saturdays & Sundays 

1 PM to 6 PM. Admission: adults $5, children $1. For more info contact 

Andrew Brusgard, 908-686-4856. 

5: Wind Gap, Pennsylvania 

Eastern “O” Scalers Swap Meet at the Plainfield Fire Hall, 6480 Sullivan 

Trail – 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Adm. $5; (spouses & children 

under 14 are free), $16.00 for the first table (includes one admission) 

and $12.00 for each additional table. Dealer’s set-up Friday evening 

6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday morning 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 

Info/reservations, SASE – EOS, PO Box 1781, Bensalem PA 19020; 

(215) 639-3864. Bring an index card with your name, address etc., for 

a $1.00 off your admission. Contact eostrains@att.net 

18-20: Arlington, Illinois 

Chicago Midwest O Scale Meet sponsored by Hill’s Hobby & Collectors’s 

Shop at the Arlington Park Sheraton Conference Ctr, 3400 W 

Euclid Ave (hotel 847-394-2000). Sales, display layouts, tours, and 

model contest. Registration $15, spouse & under 18 free. Vendors 

tables $45 until 12/31/2004, $50 after that date. Info: SASE for 

dealer confirmation. March Meet, PO Box 333, Park Ridge, IL 60068; 

show message center 847-823-1719. 

20: Old Greenwich, Connecticut 

33rd Annual Spring Train Meet Westchester Model RR Club at the 

Greenwich Civic Center. Admission: $6 adults, $4 seniors, $8 family 

(kids under 12). Call Ron Rosenberg (914-967-7541) or Doug Kadow 

(607-326-7317) for more info. Operating layouts, railroad antiques, 

trains of all scales, memorabilia, gifts, books and lots more. 

April 2005 

2: Stamford, Connecticut 

Stamford Model RR Club Swap Meet and Open House O Scale swap 

meet (9:00am to 2:00pm) and open house (layout open 10:00am to 

2:00pm). Admission: $5.00, kids under 12 free. Dealer tables $12.00 

(includes 1 admission). Located at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Main 

and Grove Sts. Stamford, Ct. Exit 8 Ct. Tpke. Contact Jim Mardiguian 

718-347-3159. Contact dlwh2466@hotmail.com 

3: Hudson, Massachusetts 

Metrowest O Scale Train Show Metrowest Model RR Society’s New 

England 2-Rail and Hi-Rail O Scale trainshow at the Hudson Elks Hall, 

99 Park St, Hudson, MA, from 10 AM to 4 PM. White Elephant table, 

sales, and exhibits, operating layouts, model display area, door prizes 

and food on site. Six foot vendor tables $15 before March 1st and $20 

after (helpers must register). Setup 6:30 AM to 10 AM. Admission $4, 

5-12 $1. Contact Larry Grant at 508-337-6661. 

3: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 

Hamilton Society of Model Railroaders Open House. Operating 

O Scale 2-Rail “Algoma Eastern” model railway. Located at 131 

John Street South, Hamilton Ontario Open House Sunday 11:00am 

- 4:00pm Adults $3.00 Seniors and Youths $2.00. Steam & Diesel 

locomotives pulling freight and passenger trains of the 1950s - 60s era. 

Hand laid point to multiple loops, single track with passing sidings. Contact 

Bill, 905648-1570 or Ken, hamiltonoscale@hotmail.com 

10: St Paul, Minnesota 

Twin City Model RR Musuem/Circus Train Noon to 5 PM, $3 admission, 

under 5 yo FREE. TCMRM, 1021 Bandana Blvd. E, Ste 222, St 

Paul, MN 55108, 651-647-9628. Contact paulgruetzman@usfamily.net 

16-17: Timonium, Maryland 

The Great Scale Model Train Show & The All-American High-Rail & Collectors 

Show - Maryland State Fairgrounds, Fri: dealer setup 5 pm to 

11 pm; Sat: setup 7 to 9 am, sales & exhibits 9 am to 4 pm; Sun: setup 

8:30 to 10 am, sales & exhibits 10 am to 4 pm; $6, kids under 12 free, 


family max $12; 8’ tables $55, free electricity (bring your own cords). 

Info: ECSMRA, 5236 Thunder Hill Rd, Columbia, MD 21045; Howard 

Zane, 410-730-1036; email: hzane1@hcomcast.net; www.gsmts.com 

May 2005 

7: Merchantville, New Jersey 

Cherry Valley Model RR Club O Scale Swap Meet held at the Grace 

Episcopal Church, 7 E. Maple Ave. Merchantville, NJ. Admission $4.00 

(spouses & children under 14 are free), tables are $16.00 for the first 

table (includes one admission) and $12.00 for each additional table. 

Info/reservations, SASE – CVMRC PO Box 192, Maple Shade, NJ 

08052, Harry Hieke (856) 625-5506 between 6 & 9 pm or Dave Richter 

(215) 639-3864. Contact harrystrains@verizon.net 

13-15: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

17th National Model Trolley Meet held at the National Guard Armory, 

Rt 1 and Southampton Rd. Hours: 6 pm to 11 pm Friday, 9 am to 10 

pm Saturday, Fan Trip on Sunday. Dealers, model layouts, clinics, photos, 

books and videos. Admission: $20 per person (spouses & children 

under 18 free). Registrar, Charles Long, 17 Lanfair Rd, Cheltenham, PA 

19012. Contact webmaster@eastpenn.org 

21: St Paul, Minnesota 

Twin City Model RR Museum Model RR & Hobby Sale At the Education 

Building, Minnesota State Fairgrounds. From 9 AM to 3 PM, admission 

$4, under 8 free (includes admission to the Model RR Museum at Bandana 

Square if you get your hand stamped). Contact paulgruetzman@ 

usfamily.net 

June 2005 

15-18: Collinsville, Illinois (East of St. Louis) 

Trail of the Frisco Flyer — 2005 O Scale National Convention at the 

Gateway Center, 1 Gateway Dr. Info: Paul R. Metzler (club president, 

convention chair), Big Bend Railroad Club, Inc., PO Box 4357, St. Louis, 

MO 63123, 314-968-6847; Email: BBRC2005Oscale@swbwll.net or 

www.geocities.com/bbrrclub/. All checks should be made out to: O 

Scale National 2005 and mailed to: Forest Trent, Registrar, O Scale 

National Convention 2005, 304 Christopher Pl, Union, MO 63084. 

25-26: Timonium, Maryland 

The Great Scale Model Train Show & The All-American High-Rail & Collectors 

Show - Maryland State Fairgrounds, Fri: dealer setup 5 pm to 

11 pm; Sat: setup 7 to 9 am, sales & exhibits 9 am to 4 pm; Sun: setup 

8:30 to 10 am, sales & exhibits 10 am to 4 pm; $6, kids under 12 free, 

family max $12; 8’ tables $55, free electricity (bring your own cords). 

Info: ECSMRA, 5236 Thunder Hill Rd, Columbia, MD 21045; Howard 

Zane, 410-730-1036; email: hzane1@hcomcast.net; www.gsmts.com 

August 2005 

6: Denver, Pennsylvania 

Eastern “O” Scalers Swap meet at the Denver Fire Hall, 4th & Locust 

Sts. - 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Adm. $5; (spouses & children under 14 

are free), tables are $16.00 for the first table (includes one admission) 

and $12.00 for each additional table. Dealer’s set-up Friday evening 

6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday morning 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 

Info/reservations, SASE – EOS, PO Box 1781, Bensalem PA 19020; 

(215) 639-3864. Bring an index card with your name, address etc., for 

a $1.00 off your admission. Contact eostrains@att.net website 

September 2005 

3: Merchantville, New Jersey 

Cherry Valley Model RR Club O Scale Swap Meet held at the Grace 

Episcopal Church, 7 E. Maple Ave. Merchantville, NJ. Admission $4.00 

(spouses & children under 14 are free), tables are $16.00 for the first 

table (includes one admission) and $12.00 for each additional table. 

Info/reservations, SASE – CVMRC PO Box 192, Maple Shade, NJ 

08052, Harry Hieke (856) 625-5506 between 6 & 9 pm or Dave Richter 

(215) 639-3864. Contact harrystrains@juno.com

Jus Trains 

Orders (888) 453-9742 

Info 302 453-0465 Fax 368 6447 

* M-F 10-6 Sun 12-5* 

313 Newark Shopping Center 

Newark, DE 19711 

Free Shipping over $180 

Most orders shipped within 24 hours 

MC VISA DISC. AMEX 

Weaver Models 

Brass Little Joe 2R/3R 735 Cmd 835 

MR x 2, Sou. Shore 

DC Pacific 2R/3R 649 Cmd 779 

CN U4A 2-R/3R 939 TMCC 1039 

VO1000 w/ TMCC 319 WM, LV, BO 

Tinplate Steam Era Canopy $329 

I-5 4-6-4 TMCC 939 

Baldwin 2-8-0 3R 459 TMCC 499 

PRR , NYC, B&M, LV 

Pullman-Bradley “Am. Flyer Cars” 

2 or 3-Rail 4-Car $415 2-Car $215 

Pullman, LV, Rdg, CNJ, NH Blk, 

BAR 

Diesel Locomotive 2R 259 Cmd 309 

RS-3 or RSD4/5 CN, L&N, NKP, Army 

Alco RS-11 Sou , MEC Orange, CVT 

Rolling Stock Buy 4 get 1 Free 

Reading G1/G2 w/ cmd 675 

2-Car 80’ 149 SP, GN, PRR, CNW 

Third Rail Brass 

PRR K-4 4-6-2 cmd 729 

In-Stock 

Y-3 2-8-8-2 Virginian TMCC 1395 

UP Challenger 4-6-6-4, TMCC 1495 

PRR Q-1 4-6-4-4, non or skirted 1399 

Mercury Cars in stock 985 

K-3 4-8-2 w/QSI N&W, RG 875 

PRR T-1 Duplex 4-4-4-4, QSI 1149 

PRR N-1 2-10-2, QSI 895 

Cruise Control & RS Reserve Now 

Budd Cars Pwr 449 Dmy 299 

Amtrak, B&O, B&M, CN, LIRR, NH, 

NYC, PRSL, SP, Rdg, SF, CNW 

SP P-8 & P-10 4-6-2 899 

DMIR Yellowstone 2-8-8-4 1699 

C&O Greenbrier, 4-8-4 999 

B&M R-1, B&O T-4 4 -8-2 999 

Burlington Hudson 3 Versions 999 

SP M6 or M9 Mogul 699 

SF 2-10-2 3 Styles 1199 

N&W K-2a 4-8-2 Streamlined 1199 

PRR E44 Electric Dmy 699 TMCC 849 

Flying Scotsman A-3 (1/43) 1499 

Gargraves (USA) 

37” Flex Tinplate $4.25 Cs 50 199 

37” Flex Stainless Phantom Case 239 

42, 72, 100” Tin Switch Man 27 Rem40 

RC Uncplr #107 $20 Op. #108 24 

Circle 032/ $38 042/ $43 054/ $53 

063/ $56 072/ $ 62 080 / $75 089/ $79 

DZ-1010 Crossing Gate Set 69 

DZ-1020 Crossing Signal Set 49 

DZ-1200 Station Announcements 82 

DZ-1220 Trolley Stop & Control 69 

DZ-1260 Water Tower Animator 34 

DZ-1265 Fueling Station Animator 36 

Downtown Deco 

DD29-31 Hotel Station Importer 99 

DD25/26 Wrong/Right Side 5 kits 119 

DD202 Rainbow Beverage 5” x 36 ” 65 

DD3 Palace Hotel, DD8 Fireworks 59 

DD32 Apartment Building 59 

Background Flats 50” L x 2” D 129 

Pillow Fact ., Urban Housing, Fish 

Mkt 

DD36 2-Stall Engine House 139 

DD38 Rocky Flats Station 59 

Walthers Cornerstone 

Theatre w/Op. Marque 99 Del. 

Silver Dollar Café, Melissa’s Deli 30 

Interlocking Twr 34 

Sur-Sweet 42 

Phoenix Fuel Oil 37 Water Tank 37 

Crazy Ken Auto 42 Lumber Yard 48 

Pumping Station 49 Speeder Set 28 

Trackside Struct. Set 40 

Gold. Valley Depot 49 Xing Gate 24 

Rte 66 Motel 69 Motel Cabin 20 

Dave’s Super Service Station $40 

Atlas O Gauge 

C424/425 2R 389 TMCC 415 

EL, RDG, DH, BN, CP, NW Dmy 209 

GP60M/ B 2R 389 TMCC 425 

SF, BNSF (Warbonnet or Heritage) 

Dummy 209 Pwr & Dmy Set $625 

Erie- Built 2R 349 TMCC 389 

NYC, PRR, UP Dmy 185 P/D 555 

Hiawatha P/D 2R 559 3R 569 

GP-9 2R 339 TMCC 389 

Undec, B&O, Erie, Milw, SF, SP, WM 

Dash 8 2R 369 3-R 389 Dmy 195 

8-39B: BC, P&W, SP, GE 

8-40B: Und, UP, BNSF (patch) 

SW’s 2-R 269 TMCC 329 

Rdg, BNSF, NJ, NYC, WP, Pitt/Shaw 

Custom SW B&O TMCC 299 

Alco RS-1 2R 339 TMCC 375 

C&O, CNW, NH, SF, Arbor, M&E, NP 

RS- 1 JC, MR, RI 349 A&EC 366 

GP60 2R 369 3R 389 Dmy 189 

Und, SF, RG, NS, Demo, VT 

GP-35 2R 335 TMCC 

355 

Dmy 185 3-R Pw/Dmy 525 2-R 510 

2003 Locomotive of the Year 

Rdg, BN, SP, Sav & Atl, WM, NKP 

CN, C of GA, E-L, PRR, Burlington 

SD-35 Dmy 185 TMCC 375 

CSX, PC, SP, N&W Pwr/Dmy $545 

Dash 8 3-R 349 Conrail, Susq, Amtrak 

53’ Evans Box 2-R 52 3-R 48 

Lou. Pac., Mtn Pine, Ogden, UP, BC 

50 Ton War Hopper 2R 48 3R 44 

GA, L&N Alton, Arbor, B&O, C&O 

PRR Exclusive 8# 49 4/190 8/370 

War Bonds 2 New # 2 or 3 Rail 

60’ Auto Parts Box 2R 52 3R 48 

CN, C&O, WM, RDG, UP 

50’ PS-1 Box Car 2R 55 3R 52 

GB&W, WP, DSS&A, N&W , MR +$2 

E/V Caboose 2R 59 3R 56 

Chessie Sa fety red or yel, RG, SF, Rdg 

Std Cupola Undec, NS 

40’ Re-Built Wood Rfr 2R 55 3R 52 

Berkshire Ham, Hardy, MDT, Oak, PFE 

Middle Div. PRR H21a 2R 63 3R 59 

H21a Hopper 8 # 2R 55 3R 52 

N&W, PC, Virginian 8# 399 3-R 

USRA Dbl Sheath Box 2R 46 3R 43 

B&M, FEC, M&St.L, NYC, TB&H, Rut 

40’ 1937 AAR Box 2R 50 3R 47 

Erie, NH, Pere Marquette, SP, 

C&O, GM&O, UP, WM GN +$3 

70 Ton Cov’d Hopper 2R 55 3R 52 

Erie, GN, L&NE, NPR, SP, Boraxo, 

C of GA, CB, NH, UP 

NE-6 Caboose 2R 63 3R 59 

P&LE, Shaw, M&E, NPR 

40’ Steel Reefer 2R 50 3R 47 IC, 

Lack, NP, SF, ART, BAR, MDT, PFE 

40’ Wood Reefer 2 # 2R 55 3R 52 

Atlas, Phenix , Merch.,, Nash, ART, 

Banana, College Inn, Eatmor, Williams 

36’ Wood Refrig. Car 2R 55 3R 52 

Krey’s, Nuckoll’s, Selecto, Swift, NKP, 

Cudahy, Pluto, Sou Star, Page, Pearl, 

Fox Beer, Westcott, Crown, Meyer 

Kornblum, Rath’s, Wilson 2#/Name 

8K Tank Car 2R 53 3R 49 

Navy, NE Alcohol, Shipper’s, Staley, 

Wolf’s Head, Bakelite 

33K Tank Cars 2R 53 3R 49 CNTX 

ACFX(white), Cal. Gas, GLNX, Wanda 


ACFX , Dia., Hooker, Simpson, Stauffer 


Gulf, Pyrofax, Shipper’s, Shell, Sunray, 

Fueline, CA Disp, Spencer, Col. Sou., 

Hooker, Solvay, Tank, Warren 

USRA Coal Hopper 2R 46 3R 43 

C&O, Lack, NH, NYC, P & Shaw 

BN City Trailers #3 2R 240 3R 235 

89’ Intermodal Flat 2R 63 3R 59 

Erie-West, FEC, SF, WP, TT, P&W, 

RG, Southern, Tex Mex, MEC 

45’ Pines Trailers 23.95 4/92 

BN, CC&P, FEC, RG, Seabd System 

3-Stall Roundhouse 30”L 152 

24” Motorized Turntable 125 

40” Bridge 95 Dble 125 Add-on 32 

Type G Signal 3-R 45 4-Pk 169 

www.justrains.com 

K-Line 

Fall Fair Days Product 

Steam Passenger Sets 825 

Rdg, WC Plymouth Set 109 

Merchant’s Dispatch WS Rfr 5-Pk 229 

15” Interurbans 175 18 ” Bus. Car 109 

DC Hopper 4-Pks 155 WS Reefers 44 

2004 Volume I & II 

2-Rail Axles available for all Diesels 

RS-3 Southern, CNJ, WMD 299 

F59PH NC, Metrolink, Sounder 299 

F40PH Cal Train, Tri-Rail 299 

Amtrak F40PH 2 # Our Run 279 

GP38 VRE, SF, UP, PRSL, LIRR 299 

LIRR 18” Alum 4-Pk $339 

F-7/3 AA 4 motor, TMCC, Cruise 419 

B&O, GN, MR, NYC, PRR, Rdg, SP, UP 

B-Units $109 ABA $515 

Texas Spec F-3 AA, Cruise, Cmd 425 

Tex Special 18” (4) 339 ( 2)179 (6) 509 

SF ABA F-3 Black F-7 Red/Silver 499 

Plymouth Switcher 79 PRR, UP, 

MR, Peabody, NYC, ATSF, Coke, SP, 

Sou., Hooker, Timken, Strasburg, NHV 

E-8/9 AA PRR, SP 

419 

Passenger Sets 

18” Heavyweights 

4480C PRR Broadway Lmt 6-Pk 309 

4880G PRR 15” Madison 6-Pk 229 

15” Madison 4-Pk $159 

RG, SF, MR, Reading, UP 

Aluminum 

4610 B&O 21” (4) 365 (6) 549 (8 ) 729 

4610F B&O 15” Columbian 4-Pk 309 

4630-40009 SF 21” Business Car 99 

4630A/B SF 15” 4-Pk 309 6-Pk 449 

4630J, K SF 21” Bi-Level 2-Pk 2 19 

4630L SF 18” Midnight Chief 4-Pk 329 

4630M, N SF 18” 2-Pk 179 All 8 for 669 

4630S SF 21” Bi-Level 4-Car 429 

4630P,Q ,R 21” Super Chief Streamliners 

(2) 189 (4) 365 (6) 549 (8 ) 729 

21” Alum 6-Pk 529 4-Pk 365 10/ 879 

4633B/C GN Empire Builder 

4670L/M NYC Empire State 

4688E/F Southern Pacific Daylight 

4680 PRR 21” (4) 365 (6) 549 (8) 729 

18” Alum 4-Pk 339 6-Pk 509 (8) 

669 

4643F/G/H MR 4680R/S/T PRR 

4681D/E/ F Rdg 4690E/F/G UP 

15” Aluminum Passenger Car 6-Pk 

4633A GN, 4670N NYC, 4688G SP 449 

4681 Reading (4) 309 (6) 459 (8) 599 

Bombardier Commuter Car 4-Pk 

4636A/B Cal Train 4636C/D Metrolink 

4636E/F Sounder 4636G/H Tri-Rail 

4636J/K VRE 18” 365 21” 429 

2-Rail Kits for Passengers $20/car 

EP-5 w/Cruise Horn 149 RS 249 

NH 15” 4-Pk 225 18 ” 4-Pk 250 

NH 21” 6- Pk 450 EV Caboose 40 

Berkshire whis 599 Cmd 699 

Shay whis 579 Cmd & RS 699 

2-Rail Shay Available @ $699 

W.MD Fireball Plymouth Set 129 

D&H 2-Bay Exclusive 38 4/140 Del 

B&O 4-Bay Exclusive 38 4/140 Del 

Voltmeter Car 44 Op. Milk Car 75 

Incredible Woodsides 3R 44 4 /172 

NW, PFE, 5 Heinz, McLhaney, Peacock, 

Oppenheimer, Roberts, Chateau, Nash, 

Century, Robin Hood, Merchants, 

A&P, Carnation, Columbia, Doggie, 

IGA, Kingans, Libby’s, MC, Hennery, 

Monarc, N. Refrig, Rath’s, Wilson, Miller 

Beer(2) 

Now in 2-Rail for $47 or 4/$185 Del 

Gold Line Smoking Caboose 47 

BW: SP, UP E/V: CNJ, Rdg, WM, PRSL 

Woodside: PRR, ATSF, B&M, C&O, 

IC, NYC ,B&A, RG, VA 

Off-Center: SF, Clinchfield, UP 

4-Bay DC Hoppers 38 4#/149 Del 

Sou, E-M, FM, MR, RG, SP, Hooker, 

UP 

2-Bay O/B Hopper 38 4 # 149 Del 

ATSF, B&O, C&O, PRR, Peabody, CBQ 

DC 2-Bay Hopper 38 4#/ 149 Del 

MR, Erie, C&O, Rdg, PRR, LV, NYC 

Clinchfield 2-Bay 4-Pk $139 8 # $264 

Ford DC 2-Bay $42 3-Pk $119 

Golden Gate Depot 

PRR P70 ABS Coach 4-Pk 359 

8# for $699 2 or 3-R 

Lionel 

Close-outs 

HO Challenger Ret $700 Sale $275 

HO Veranda Ret. $500 Sale $225 

Swing Bridge 175 Lighthouse 69 

Save up to 73% on Scale Buildings 

All Bungalows $11 Most Houses $11 

Bakery, Toy, Candy Store, Market 16 

Tavern, 5&10, Hardware, Estate 16 

14093 Sgl Signal Bridge 21 Double 25 

22931 Cantilever 25 22934 Walkout 25 

22944 Semaphore 21 24101 Color Sig 22 

14142 Amtrak Superliner 4-Pk 245 

14173 Drawbridge 65 SF Tugboat 89 

14199 Swing Set 29 #41 Army 115 

24511 CB&Q FT AA w/RS 189 

28218 Lehigh Valley C-420 289 

24137 Mr. Spiffs & Puddles (69.95 ) 25 

24140 Bowdish Homestead (149.95) 49 

Maiden Rescue 25 Barber Shop 75 

2004 Volume II 

31989 Overland Freight Express 669 

31736 Canadian Pac. Grain Train 

569 

Alco PA AA NH, RG 575 ABA 689 

0-8-0 Steam NP, B&A, CB&Q 529 

FA/FPA NYC, CN AA 499 ABA 

615 

Alum FEC, SF, B&O, SP, PRR 2-Pk 207 

18” Alum StationSounds Diners 207 

Railsounds Boxcar or Tender 75 

Speeder Shed 24 Op. Lumberjacks 45 

Op. Zoo, Gas Station, Firehouse 109 

Rolling Stock Convert to 2-Rail 

PS-2 Covered Hoppers 41 2-Pk 82 

Clinchfield, B&M, N&W 

Offset 2-Bay DC Hoppers 44 2-Pk 88 

GN, GB&W, B&O 

PS-1 Box B&M, IC, SF, TP&W 41 

Flats w/piggyback trailers 62 2-Pk 123 

PRR, GN, SP, C&O 

Husky Stacks 62 2-Pk 123 

BN, SP, CSX, TTX 

New Cabooses 63 E/ V BN, SF 

B/ W C &NW, PC, Sou, NYC, CP Rail 

Cylindrical Hoppers 44 2-Pk 87 

Gov. of Canada, Canadian National 

31714 Amtrak Acela Set 1649 

31720 FEC Champion Pass Set 929 

51008 Burlington Pioneer Zephyr 929 

38092 Pickering Lumber Heisler 999 

SD 40 JC 355 SD-40 T2 SPSF 355 

18” Alum. 4-Pk SF, B&O 389 

Double Door Box Car 

45 4/175Del 

PRR, UP, GM&O, Erie 

PS-4 Flat Car 37 4/145 Del 

E/V Caboose Seabd, CN, Burl 64 

Slag Car 3-Pk US Steel, Republic 119 

Hot Metal Car 3-Pk USS, Republic 132 

Log Car 3-Pk Pickering, Cass Scenic 95 

K-Line Blow-Outs 

4603A Amtrak 21” Alum 2-Pk 125 

4603B Am 21” Alum Horizon 2-Pk 125 

Both Sets $229 

4603C Amtrak 15” Horizon 2-Pk 99 

4603D Am 15” Alum 2-Pk 99 

Both Sets $179 

Making F40PH w/TMCC for $279 2# 

PRR F-7 ABA w/Horn 200 

Each unit powered B&O AB 149 

4680E PRR FOM Alum. 15” 4-Car 195 

4601A AFT 4-Car Display Set 175 

4602-20003 Alaska 16” Business Car 69 

C&NW 21” Bi-Level 

4-Pk 299 2-Pks 169 All 8 $549 

4688A SP Daylt 15” Alum 2-Car 99 

Spirit Of 76 Blow-Out 

2401-1776S RS-3 w/RS, Smoke 225 

7601A 3-Pk (DE, PA, NJ ) one 3-Pk 60 

7604A 3-Pk (GA, CT, MA ) any 2 =115 

7607A 3-Pk (MD, SC, NH) any 3 =160 

7610A 3-PK (VA, NC, RI) all 4 =195 

7601-7611 NY Box $20 Caboose $23 

Complete Set ($850) for $425 

Op. Swing Bridge, Speeder Shed 105 

Auto Showroom 115 Grist Mill 62 

MRC Transformers 

AH501 Pure Power 130W 145 

AH601 Dual Pure Power 270W 225 

AG990 Power G 10 Amp DC 169 

MRC312 Sound Station , 18 sounds 59 

MRC6200 Trainpower 6200, 3.6 Amp 79 

MRC444 Control Master 20, 5 Amp 159 

2-Rail Offerings 

K-Line Shay, DC Powered 679 

Undec, Lack Coal , Pac. Lumber 

Woodside Reefers for $47 4/$185 Del 

NW, PFE, Heinz, McLhaney, Peacock, 

Oppenheimer, Roberts, Chateau, Nash, 

Century, Robin Hood, Merchants 

*Atlas 2-Rail Track* 

US Prototype Track System, 

Code148 

7024/5 #5 Turnout (36”) 42.95 

7021/2 #7.5 Turnout (40.5”) 47.95 

Wye Switch 39.95 Switch Machine 8.75 

36" Radius Full Curve 3.70 Half 2.55 

40.5 Rad. Full Curve 4.35 1/3 2-Pk 5.15 

40” Flex Track 8.75 Case (18) $149 

10” Straight 2.60 Case (48) $119 

4 _ ” Straight 2.00 1 _” 4-Pk 5.25 

Crossings: 90 or 45 Degree 11.40 

We stock Entire Line in 2-R 

Type G Signal 2-R 52 4-Pk 195 

SD-35 Dmy 185 DC 349 

CSX, PC, SP, N&W Pwr/Dmy $525 

Erie- Builts 3R 359 Dmy 185 PD 529 

NYC, PRR, UP MR 

$559 

Atlas Engine Sale 

SW DMIR, Rdg, Susquehanna 199 

SD35 TMCC JC, ACL, WM, VMV 315 

SD35 DC 275 B&O, PRR, WC, 

N&W, Con, GA, L&N, MRL 

RS-1 TMCC PRR,LIRR, SF, 315 

RS-1 DC JC, MR, RI 299 

Dash 8 CB, UP, Susquehanna 275 

AEM/ALP MARC, Septa, NJT 159 

GP35 TMCC Und, GMO, EMD, WP 325 

GP35 DC BN, SP, N&W, Rdg, NYC, 

Demo, GM&O, WP, Undec HN 335 

GP35 Dummy N&W, SP, BN, GMO 185 

40’ Airslide Hoppers 42 4/159 

PRR, CSX, Brach’s 

PS-1 50’ Box Car 50 4/189 

2# per Road RG, B&M, WM 

Ext. Vision Caboose 50 2/95 

Burl, DM&IR, Chessie, SF 

USRA Single-Sheathed Box Cars 46 

CRR of NJ, Rdg, WM 

Sunset B&O S1a 2-10-2 1049 

Sunset NYC Mohawk 4-8-2 975 

Sunset Q- 2 4-6-4-4 Skirted 1195 

Sunset Erie 0-8- 8-0 Camelback 995 

Sunset Burl O-5 2-10-4 1049 

44 Tonner SF, SP, PRR 275 

All Weaver Rolling Stock is Available 

Weaver G1/G2a Reading 4-6-2 595 

Pullman Bradley Cars 399 2-pk 205 

CNJ, LV, Pullman, Rdg, 

1614S Hiawatha Smooth Cch/Par 245 

Atlas Track 

Remote Switch , Steel or Nickel 44.95 

O36 O45 O54 O72 Wye 

#5 Double-Slip Switch 119 

O72/O54 Curved Switch or #5 55 

7.5 (O81) High Speed Switch 58 

40” Rigid 11.00 Case (12) $1 25 

40”Flex/Concrete 12.00 CS $135 

10” or O54 2.95 Case (48) $135 

O27 Curve 3.30 3 Circles (24 ) 75 



O63 Curve 3.70 2 Circles (32) 114 


O81 Curve 5.10 1 Circle (16 ) 77 

O90 Curve 6.00 1 Circle (16 ) 102 

O99 Curve 6.90 1 Circle (16 ) 104 

Amtrak 21” Coaches 40 2/75 

Korber Models 

304 3-Stall Roundhouse, 30”D 189 

304A Xtra Stall or 304B Extender 45 

305 Sandhouse, 16 x 6 39 

315 Grain Silo, 7 x 19 x 22 H 69 

902 Jaybar Corporation 23 

903 Skyline Steel 23 

905 Blackshear Refrig . Transport 49 

908 Shanahan Freight Company 67 

912 Roller Bearing Company 79 

916 Gen. Lt & Power, 12 x 48 93 

917 Gen Lt & Power Sub Station 32 

950 American Flag Co. 14 x 9 59 

953 Joe’s Pickle Factory 14 x 9 59 

969 Gen Lt & Pwr Office 6x13x12 59 

USA Made Family Operated 


Build A Library 

For those of you who subscribe and buy only O Scale Trains Magazine, 

I thank you for your patronage, but you are missing a goldmine 

full of information to be found in other publications. To wit: 

One of my most prized possessions is a complete set of Model 

Railroader from Vol. 1 (1934) to the present. I know a lot of you 

don’t bother to buy MR or Railroad Model Craftsman because of 

the paucity of O Scale articles (and hence one impetus for the birth 

of this magazine) but that’s a short-sighted view, especially for older 

issues of MR and RMC. There is a wealth of information contained 

in those older issues and many of the articles up through the 1950s 

are O Scale specific. 

In addition to MR and RMC, I also have a collection of Mainline 

Modeler. I was a charter subscriber, but let my subscription lapse in 

the early 90s. I re-subscribed and am filling in the missing issues. If 

you are interested in narrow gauge railroading then you must subscribe 

to Bob Brown’s superb Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette. 

The Gazette is one of the finest model mags out there. 

I am a nut about old magazines, books and photos. As an N&W 

modeler, I have an extensive library about the N&W and belong to 

the N&W Historical Society. You should join the historical society 

for your favorite railroad. You will be amazed at the wealth of information 

available. Mainline Modeler and Model Railroading magazines 

list most all of the historical societies extant. 

I also collect photos of N&W steam and, both revenue and nonrevenue 

equipment. No matter how much you read about your 

favorite railroad, there is nothing quite like poring over old photos 

to see exactly how the road puts its equipment to use in daily work. 

Here’s an example. A few years ago I wanted to scratchbuild an O 

Scale model of the N&W GKd 70 ton gondola based on an article 

in a 1945 MR. The article showed the gon with unique N&W sixwheel 

trucks that were not commercially available. There was no 

way I could scratchbuild those trucks without a lot of effort. Then, 

at a swap meet I found a photo of a GKd with what appeared to 

be very early Buckeye six-wheel trucks. At the time, Quality Craft 

Model had a white metal casting of the more typical six-wheel 

Buckeye truck. Based on the newly found photo, I determined I 

could modify the QC trucks to be an almost exact match to the 

trucks in the photo. The result was the model shown in OST #14. 

In-service photos are always preferable to plans and drawings. You 

can never be sure that a locomotive or freight car was built exactly 

to plans. But, if you have a photo, then you have documented proof 

to build a model from. 

Whenever I go to a flea market I always scour the book bins 

looking for old engineering texts from the turn of the last century. 

Almost all civil engineering in the “oughts” and “teens” of 

the 1900s was railroad related. Here is but a sample of what I’ve 

uncovered on these forays: 

Structural Details or Elements of Design in Timber Framing, 

by Henry Jacoby, John Wiley & Sons, 1913. The foldouts are 

worth hundreds of times the few dollars I paid for this book. 

Included are: Roof Truss for a First Class Freight Depot of the 

Northern Pacific Railway, and Cross-Section of the Central 

Ave. Freight Depot in Cincinnati of the C.C.C & St.L. Rwy. 

Movable and Long-Span Steel Bridges, G. Hool and W. Kinne, 

Eds., McGraw-Hill, 1923. This is just about everything you 

want to know about steel bridges (and then some). Skip the 

math; the photos and drawings are priceless. I paid $2 for the 

book. What a deal! 

The Design of Walls, Bins and Grain Elevators, M. Ketchum, 

McGraw-Hill, 1919. Another $2 book that contains great 

drawings that can be adapted to models. 

The Internet as Library 

In the “good old days” before the Internet, I had to go out looking 

for these books at flea markets and swap meets. Now, with the 

Net, I can “look” for these old volumes online without leaving my 

office. Just a few years ago, I finally completed my MR collection 

finding a Kalmbach-bound Vol. 2 on Ebay. 

My library of books, magazines and photos is a real treasure 

for me. I derive satisfaction from the “hunt” for the material. When 

I look for an article in the all-time magazine index at Trains.com 

[www.trains.com], if it was in MR, I’ve got it at my fingertips. 

But, I can’t own all the books, magazines and photos I’d like 

to. I have neither the room nor the money. I do, however, have the 

next best thing: access to the Internet. 

I can find out almost anything I need to know about railroads, 

model or prototype, by judicious use of search engines. For example, 

when I reviewed the MTH ATSF 4-6-4 a few issues back, my 

paper resources led me to believe the model had some incorrect 

details. I jumped on the Net, plugged in my search terms and found 

a photo of the prototype in a public park that showed me the details 

on the MTH model were, in fact, correct. Didn’t take but 10 minutes 

to find what I needed. 

Here’s another way to use the Net as an information source. I 

needed drawings of a specific engine to do a review of a model. 

I do not have a drawing of this loco in my personal library. I posted 

a note on the Yahoo OTrains list and in less than 30 minutes I had 

the information that the drawing I needed could be found in the 

Gregg Train Shed Cyclopedia #23, a book that is now out of print. 

Not to worry! There are thousands of used booksellers on the 

Net. I started at Amazon.com and within a few minutes had located 

and purchased a copy of TSC#23. It was in my hands in two days. 

If you are a serious modeler (in any scale), I cannot stress strongly 

enough the necessity of building up your personal library. You 

will learn amazing things about this railroad hobby of ours, and, 

isn’t that one goal of a hobby – to expand our knowledge of the 

subject matter I know I enjoy reading old magazines almost as 

much as building O Scale Models... almost! 

Which reminds me. I cut my “Scratchbuild An N&W Steam Era 

Caboose” article from this issue in order to make room for Tom 

Houle’s steam service facilities article. I could have split them both 

but thought you’d appreciate them each as a whole. Lemme know 

if you agree or not. 

Meanwhile, keep high ballin’ 

◆ 


A FEW GREAT FREIGHTS FOR YOUR FLEET 

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• Undercarriage detail • Accurate painting and lettering 

• Separately applied ladders, brake wheel, end safety 

platforms and door handles 

• Die-cast sprung 70-ton roller bearing trucks with 

rotating bearing caps 

• Sliding doors 

NEW ROAD 

NAMES! 

Additional Features: 

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• Minimum diameter curve: O-45 (3-Rail) 

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(Item #7562) 

For more product information, 

visit www.atlasO.com 

VISIT YOUR 

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6554 Union Pacific† 7554 

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6562 Reading Blue Mountain & Northern 7562 

*CSX Licensed Product †Union Pacific licensed product 

Two road numbers are available per road name except for Canadian 

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For the NEW 2004/2005 Atlas O Scale Locomotive 

& Freight Car Catalog, please send $5 ($7 outside 

the US) to the address shown below. 

Atlas O, LLC. • 378 Florence Avenue • Hillside, NJ 07205 • www.atlasO.com

ATTENTION CB&Q FANS... YOUR WISHES ARE ABOUT TO COME TRUE 

BURLINGTON 

S-4, S-4A 

HUDSONS 

#4002 S-4A OIL OPEN CAB 

One month after the stock market crashed Burlington 

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Nothing could stop the “Q” (CB&Q) from obtaining these 

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were saved and remain on display around the country. 

#3007 S-4 

COAL OPEN CAB 

You too, can own this fine example of locomotive engineering and art. Sunset 

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light and train control boxes. 

CB&Q Locomotives Slated for Production: 

- #3007 Illinois Railroad Museum S-4 Coal, Elesco FWH 

- #4000 LaCrosse, WI S-4a Coal, Elesco FWH 

- #4001 S-4a Coal w/All Weather Cab, Worthington FWH 

- #4002 S-4a Oil w/ Open Cab, Elesco FWH 

#4000 S-4A 

COAL OPEN CAB 

A unique and rare model, the Sunset built CB&Q S-4 is a limited 

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Featuring: 

- Super Brass Detailing, like on models costing thousands more. 

- Ball Bearing Gearbox and "Quiet Drive" Mechanism 

- Huge 9000 Series Pittman Motor with Coasting Flywheel 

- Working Mars Light, Directional Lighting, With Lighted Markers and 

Classification Lights 

- Kadee Coupler Pre-Installed 

- Operating Hatches and Vents with Cab Apron 

- Fully Detailed Cab Interior with With Crew Figures, Painted Handles and Dials 

and window glazing. 

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THIRD RAIL DIVISION SUNSET OFMODELS SUNSETINC. 

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37 37 South Fourth Street · · Campbell, CA · 95008 ·· 408-866-1727 · fax · fax 408-866-5674 to · www.3rdrail.com 

·

US $5.95 • Can $7.95 - O Scale Trains Magazine Online

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