i have 1 f40ph, 3 h16-44, 1 gp50. 2 gp40. 2 gp35. 1 gp30, 1 sd45 all bachmann. i love the dcc on board. in this day of $200 locomotives, it's nice to get one with dcc for $50 or so......the only problems i have ever had with them is getting my digitrax to program the bachmann/lenz decoders.

those who think these are toys do not remember the crap AHM and tyco were putting out in the 70s.

Marx made toys and for a while had a line of O27 trains, kind of a poor man's lionel.

i can see a couple of things on this layout that will give you grief. most of the layouts on this site also suffer from this problem. the man who posted these layouts must be into lionel or some other tinplate because the arrangement of the switches reflect this.....

what i am talking about specificly are the wicked s curves going through some of the switches. recommended practice in any scale which uses cars with body mounted (as opposed to truck mounted) couplers is to use a straight section of track at least as long as your longest car between curves of opposite directions. the layout shown has this in two locations, at the top centre where the spur lines come off the runaround track, and bottom right where the spur line comes off the inner loop.

fortunately, a couple of minor modifications to the plan will drasticly improve these situations. at the top centre, use a right hand switch in place of the curve at the right end of the runaround track, replace the left hand switch with a straight. run the two spurs off the new switch as shown in the plan...
for the spur at the bottom, use a right hand switch instead of the left hand one shown in the plan, and run the spur line off to the left instead of the right.

your trains will operate much better using these modifications as they won't be trying to derail when you back them into these spurs.....

thanks. i need to find those pages on the british couplings as well...

I handlay my own track, so I can't use the Woodland Scenics inclines. I did use them in N scale, and i was impressed. But you can also curve your trackboards too with a jig saw. I currently lay all my track on 1x4 or wider pine board. It holds spikes better than anything else I've found, and can be cut to fit almost any situation.

Jeffery S Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA

Has anybody modified the Thomas cars and locomotives to use a standard knuckle type coupler like the other HO locomotives and cars have? if so, please tell us how you did it, and show photos if you have them.....

Jeffery S Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA

I am going to take this discussion a step further. You didn't specify whether or not you were looking for a way to translate grade percentages to actual field conditions such as building your layout. On the assumption that you are, I am going to share a little secret for setting your grades.....

ebtnut mentioned that grades can be rounded so that a 1% grade is 1" in 96" (or 1/4" in 24") , 2% as 1" in 48" (1/2" in 24") and so on. Why am I rounding thes and converting them to rise in 24"? Simple, 24" just happens to be on of the standard lengths on a level, commonly available in any hardware store and one of the "must have" tools of the experienced layout builder. After all, if your table isn't level, all other grade calculations are moot.

1/4" moulding strip is also commonly available, and cheap too. we can build a simple grade calculator out of this strip. First, take the strip and cut it into 1" 2" 3" and 4" lengths, one of each length. Next, stack and glue them together in a stairstep configuration. they should all be flush on one end, and look like stairs on the other end.

Using this device is very simple. For a 1% grade, set the calculator on ryour track board. Set one end of your 24" level on the lowest step of the calculator, then raise the track board under the other end of the level. when the bubble reads level you will be within a gnat's eyelash of a 1% slope to your track board. You should already have riser blocks fastened to the underside of your track board where it crosses your table joists, simply clamp them in the new position and screw them securely into the joist. Move the whole works another 2 feet up the line and repeat the process.....

For 2% you'd use the second step, 3% the third, and so forth.

I purposely didn't add steps for 5% and above as 4% is about the practical limit for grades on model railroads. even 4% will drasticly affect the number of cars you can run in a train as a given locomotive will pull something like 1/6 of what it can pull on the level....

i have been using these devices for 30 years to set grades, and the only thing i have ever found easier to use are the woodland scenics foam risers, available in 2% 3% and 4% inclines....


Jeffery Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA