Recent content by Raton Bob

Speaking for myself, I'd be more interested in smaller layouts, one-man operations, home layouts, and unknown layouts. The 'famous' layouts can already be seen anywhere - in person, online, and in magazines. And I'd certainly be more interested in free downloadable episodes than...

I'd be very interested in watching videos, especially downloadable high-quality high-def clips (streaming video is a no-go). Topics I'd be most interested in are theories of layout design, overcoming layout obstacles, and multiple-train operations.

Compared to modern freight trains, those historic mountain railroads has sharper curves, steeper grades, and shorter trains. Most of the mountain trains I've seen in books were very short, 4 or 5 cars. You might check out this book from the library if you can: Colorado Railroads...

Not sure how to explain, but I'm not thinking of a winding switchback. A series of switched sidings - short straight sections with "Y"s on each end. The train runs forward up one section, backward up the next. Here's a photo I found online:

There's on idea you might consider, how about a series of switchbacks to work up the moutain? I don't know how common they were in real-life railroad operations, but they did exist and were used to access mines in some steep mountain areas.

I assume you mean 4x8 plywood? I've been working on layout designs of that size also. I've never built an HO layout, but I'm very interested in creating a model railroad when The Boy gets a bit older. Something that might be of assistance to you, so you understand from the start whether or...

A fish tank car? Never heard of fish being transported by train... But the Shedd Aquarium used to transport salt water from Florida to Chicago via their own train car. There used to be a photo at their website, but I don't see it now.

When I worked at a coal mine, most of the customers were concrete block factories.

I think it's an interesting idea, and quite unique. But is it plausable that railroads will be operational after a nuclear war? Trains and train tracks are very maintenence-oriented. A few years without regular service and the entire system would be unusable. Still, it's an idea that...

Since Wife is just starting out and it's not clear if/how much she'll actually use the camera, I'd go with something very basic like the Nikon D40. Plus, you'll need to budget for a durable case, extra lenses, and accessories. Outdated in a year? Nonsense. Of course there will always be...

I'm not entirely clear on your framing method, but it appears that the plywood top is not flush with the edge of the 2x4 framing? Do you have something in mind for an edge, to keep items from falling/rolling off the table? Maybe this is not helpful, but here's an attachment showing how I'd...

Nah. It's not a very realistic train to begin with. ;) And I think when it's time for a more advanced train (Boy is not even 2), we'll be looking at HO. I'm just happy to have it my childhood toy repaired so it can run around the christmas tree next year. And I'm to a point with storage...

Never mind, found the problem and didn't even need a multi-tester. On these Marx trains there's a bent copper piece that rubs on the axle to make the electrical connection. The piece had worn a groove in the axle, leaving a gap so it was no longer making a solid connection. I bent the...

I'm new to layout design also, mostly using RTS 7.0. I wonder if some historic steam engine type models would make a 15" turn? Otherwise I think it would be mostly limited to trolleys and switching engines.

Here is a railroad stock certificate. Actual size is 8-1/2 x 12-1/4 and it's printed on some sort of fancy paper - similar texture as a dollar bill but thicker and more stiff. I think you could make one these easily in Word using similar fonts and borders.