Quote from: OkieRick on April 05, 2009, 11:00:54 PM
What you have is probably two locomotives 'piggy-backed' or running 'front-to-rear.' I call them A/B units also no matter the shape of the 2nd unit. 

Rick

to a railroader, the term b unit mean a complete locomotive, not equipped with a cab. the proper term for the following unit in a consist is "trailing unit".......oone can avoid much confusion by keeping this distinction.

training units can be pointed in either direction, a switch inside each unit tells it which direction to go in response to commands from the lead unit. which idrection it is pointed varies from railroad to railroad. some prefer the last trailing unit in consist to be pointed the opposite direction from the leader to minimize turning the consist at the end of the run. others, like amtrak, prefer to keep the trailers pointed in the same direction as the leader, so that they can add or subtract units from the consist as needed.

thanks bob for the link. i had been thinking of building something like this. it doesn't look TOO hard. having seen the issues my father went through with a heljan kit 30 years ago, the one i believe the walthers turntable is based on, using the altas table as a base seems like the way to go.

btw, dad eventually gave up on a turntable, sidelines his steam power, and primarily runs gp7s, which are in theory bidirectional......

regardless of what the nmra standard is, 2 5/16" seems a little excessive on such wide radius curves. my own experiments with 24" and 26" radius curves showed that 86 foot cars could pass on adjacent tracks with as little as 2 1/8" centers......

as with the nmra vertical clearances,  the numbers they give are on the generous side, and you can experimant to see how much you can cut things down......

if you are using dcc, you should be able to stop  the train and switch to another locomotive address. only the locomotive(s) currently addressed should move.

here is an alternate way that may work with the atlas software.
1. lay out a curve with 24" radius snap track.
2. add a curve of flex track on a 2" center outside the 24" curve. this would be your 26" radius curve.
3. add another flex track curve outside of the previous one, also on a 2" center. this is your 28" radius curve.
4. delete the 24" snap track curve.

note that the atlas software, while a very good program, has a tendency to shift things around. you may have to rotate things back into the alignment you want.....

i have a somewhat different take on the local hobby shop. i have friends who have tried to keep afloat running a local shop......

first of all, regarding prices. the big boys, trainworld, mb kleins and their ilk, are selling their stuff for less than the wholesale price my friend can get that item for. how do you compete with that?

another thing to consider. most people will buy their major purchases online, yet when they need locomotive parts or screws or some other thing the big boys refuse to stock they turn to the local dealer they snubbed for the big stuff. you can't make a living selling spare parts. also, if you ever want to install signals on your layout, just try mail ordering them. any dealer who sells them online is probebly not going to discount them enough to cover shipping.....

i try to support those dealers who will have what i need, or order it for me.....

oh, one thing nobody has mentioned but is ALWAYS a good idea. make sure your track power is turned off, especially with dcc, which has power on the rails at all times. water & electricity don't play well together.....

the tight radius issue with flex track can be easily resolved with track guages from ribbonrail. these are metal and designed to fit between the rails of your track. they come in a variety of radii, you don't need a whole set just the radii you intend to use. by using these you can be sure that your 18" radius curves are in fact 18" with no kinks.

i have never been able to have any luck with the dish detergent method either. i use the same 50-50 white glue-water mix as most people, but i presoak the ballast with rubbing alcohol  applied with an eyedropper. the glue is then applied from a glue bottle. the alcohol causes the glue to spread the way it should, and i flood the ballast until i can actually see the glue between the grains of ballast.

an alternate method, which works well for handlaid track, and will work for other track if you work quickly, is to paint the white glue and water mix directly onto the roadbed BEFORE you lay the track. once the track is down, you ballast before the glue dries. any touch up work can be done later by the first method i mentioned.

Quote from: pdlethbridge on March 25, 2009, 01:54:42 AM
Have you ever seen the yard he made? Bronx terminal. If you go down the page, you'll see a next section marker. All pictures can be enlarged. Great site, details and ideas. For instance, Using easy off oven cleaner to remove paint from models, safe for plastic.
http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?p=5

that is incredible. i wouldn't have the patience to custom build something that intricate. would like to see how he intends to gap all those rails, and where he is going to put his power feeders.

transfer tables are usually in heavy repair shop facilities where space is at a premium.
turntable were used in many servicing facilities, and still are in many of the larger facilities.

since you know what size of tree you want, just buy that size. trees vary in size in different areas, and they vary in shape as well. i know for a fact woodland scenics makes tree kits in a variety of sizes.......

if you are in the area of the east broad top, there are 3 places relatively close you should check out.

1. altoona. railroaders museum AND horseshoe curve. nuff said.

2 cumberland, md. home of the western maryland scenic railroad. uses a 2-8-0 steamer and 2 western maryland gp30s.

3. romney, wv the potomac eagle runs excursions through a spectacular mountain gorge using a c&o fp7.


altoona and cumberland are also home to large locomotive shops and cumberland also has a hump yard.

gene,
ya got me.
http://www.handlaidtrack.com

roscoe snyder & pacific
pacific great eastern
atlantic & pacific (an erie predecessor)
ohio southern (not jim hediger's layout, this os is a part of ohio central.)
west virginia southern
grand trunk pacific (a CN predecessor)
missouri pacific
texas & pacific
border pacific