Hey guys,
while railfanning I was walking along the tracks of a local shortline whose tracks date to 1910 and are ex-ATSF... I stumbled upon an old 'Cable' steel placard painted silver, in the roadbed. I've seen others of these, too...

Any information on this?

Quote from: JerryB on December 25, 2008, 10:10:57 PM

Quote from: adari on December 25, 2008, 12:44:17 PMWhere can I get real Pennsylvania rr train track or any other railroad of real train track. <snip>

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Quote from: Paul M. on December 25, 2008, 07:05:52 PM<snip> . . . rail generally weighs up to 150 lbs per foot . . . <snip>

Paul M:
You are correct about track being very large and heavy, but the heaviest U.S. mainline rail is actually ~152# / yard (or ~51# / foot), not 150# / foot.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

Ok, I had forgotten it was weighed by the yard, not by the foot...

If you still don't get it,
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=e-z+command+default+direction&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=

oo000o
( 4-6-2)

o00000oo
(2-10-4)

etc.

Quote from: az2rail on December 25, 2008, 02:56:47 PM
It would be very heavy, but if that is what you want, go for it. Try a railroad yard, or maybe a scrap metal place. Any industry along side a track may have a peice they will let you have. And talk to the guys that lay track. They would more than likely give you some.

Bruce

It's almost 5 feet from rail to rail, making it much too large for a shelf. Also, rail generally weighs up to 150 lbs per foot, x 2 rails, x however many feet of "shelf" you want", PLUS the weight of the solid wood ties....

You really don't want a shelf made of of real train track.

Eh, don't listen to them. Do whatever you want with it. BTW, the attic isn't the best place to store those model trains...

Has anyone used the Dec. 2008 method of uncoupling yet? i'm building a layout, and it seems that that these would be pretty useful if they worked as advertised.....

has the track been cleaned recently? Is the track a different type than another? (ie, brass, nickel silver, steel...)

I'm using both the black and the gray E-Z track for my layout, which is a 5x9. The nickel silver rail does stay cleaner longer, because its oxidation conducts electricity, while the steel alloy track's oxidation does not. I have a short tunnel for the layout that I'm building, not longer than 5 feet, and it only has nickel silver track because of this. The differences in roadbed colors does stand out in a temporary layout, but you'll get used to that, and besides, if you have a permanent layout with ballast, weathered, ballasted E-Z track looks identical, no matter what type you're using.

-Paul

And of course, the larger the radius, the better it will look, especially with this behemoth....

For any who haven't searched for Hunt's method, here it is:

READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING.

The following is suggested for HO, N and On30 scales.

(all following text by Hunt, and not myself)
** Lubrication **
Use only plastic compatible lubricants and cleaners. Keep Isopropyl Alcohol and electronic cleaner off all painted surfaces and decals. Sound equipped --- Prevent lubricant and cleaner from getting on the speaker.

* Locomotive *
Any locomotive that has been in storage should be properly cleaned and lubricated before it is run. Start by using a quick drying formula electronic cleaner in spray can or Isopropyl Alcohol to cleanse the gears, trucks and all the other lube points (parts that rub together). Next use proper lubricants and apply an amount (drop) the size of the head of a standard straight pin at each lube point. Do not place any lubricant on a belt.
  1)   White Grease with PTFE or Teflon on all plastic to plastic or plastic to metal gears -- However, on metal to metal gears use heavy gear oil instead of white grease
  2)   Heavy oil on the axles and gearbox bearings
  3)   Light oil on motor bearings, side rods and any place else parts rub together

Operating the locomotive will distribute the lubricant. More lubricant is NOT better. Too much lubricant on or around motor may damage it. Proper lubricant examples: E-Z Lube, Labelle, Hob-E-Lube and Aero-Car.

For locomotives not removed from storage, you can skip the electronic cleaner and lubricate about every 15-hours of run time or as performance indicates lubrication is needed.

* Rolling stock *
It is uncommon the trucks on a Tender, any freight or passenger car will need lubrication. If a need does occur, then use only a dry graphite lubricant -- no oils or grease. If needed, use the dry graphite lubricant in the coupler box.


** Cleaning **
There are different schools of thought about cleaning wheels. The following is one of them.

* Locomotive wheels *
Cut a Handi Wipes® reusable disposable cloth or the like in four inch strips, do not use kitchen paper towel. Place one strip across the track and soak the cloth part over each rail with Isopropyl Alcohol. Place one truck of a diesel locomotive on the wet cloth and the other truck on the track. Hold the locomotive with one hand and slowly turn up the power pack throttle to spin the wheels. When these wheels are clean, turn the locomotive around and do the other truck. Spin as many wheels as you can at a time for steam locomotive. If wheels very dirty use Goo Gone (not recommended for use on rubber traction tires) all-purpose cleaner in place of the alcohol and gauze pad in place of the cloth. After wheels are clean then spin wheels on dry clean cloth to remove the cleaner residue. If you are using DCC make an extra effort to remove the cleaner residue. Finish with very, very small amount of conductive contact lube on each metal driving wheel tread and electric pick-up rub points.

* Tender electrical pickup wheels *
See Locomotive wheels above but use Q-tip in place of Handi Wipes®and hand turn each wheel.

But remember, reliability isn't always a good thing....

Is your Bachmann F9 constructed the same way as the more abundant primitive Lifelike F7's? Does one truck pick up power and the other one have a motor directly attached to it? If so, are the power truck's wheels plastic?

What manufacturer made these, and in what product  line? How old are they? The quality varies greatly...

Quote from: Santa Fe buff on December 13, 2008, 02:47:14 PM
Stunning job Paul!
That GP9, well, remarkable! Keep up the good work, you'll have yourself a master fleet in no time. Created by a master himself. Were did you get those decals? I'm looking for some myself, and if you can provide information, I would be much obliged. 

On a second notice,
That trolley is a work of art itself. Are you adding some diaphragms to the top to connect to a possible wire? Or is it going to be third-rail electric?

I'm unsure if I spelt diaphragms correctly...

Josh

Thanks, everyone. The decals are Microscale's. ( www.microscale.com )  The trolley had pantographs, but I clipped them off to model an old electric trolley converted to a gas engine in its last years in service.

I've added wax paper over the windows, which really looks nice. It doesn't show the motor or inner workings or the trolley, and looks more realistic than the plastic people silhouettes provided.