Rogertra:

Does this tie in with the turntable that you were working on earlier?

Tyke

Rich G:

Thanks for posting these videos of Steamtown...a great place!

Tyke

Served 34 years in the Navy:
Aircraft carriers
Destroyers
Submarines
Staff duty in Pearl Harbor
CO, Naval Oceans System Center, San Diego

Retired. retired, retired...started MR just last year.

Tyke

Roger T:

Thank you for your prompt reply to my query.

Tyke

Rogertra:

I'm in the process of installing a 130' turntable...slowly, because of slow bench work!
In looking at your photos and the instructions that came with the turntable, I can see where the locomotive is powered while it is on the tt, but it is not clear to me how the loco gets its power when it leaves the tt and is in the repair shop. There appears to be a small gap between the track on the tt and the track to the shop. Is the loco pushed by hand?

Tyke

For those of you interested in the history of railroading in Marin County, California, check out:

http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_7400528

Tyke

"How many inches is it from the lip of the pit to the front of the roundhouse?   I have a really tight clearance!
Gene"

I'm trying to do a rough layout, and I need to see how much space I need to allow for the roundhouse, so I' m looking for the distance from the lip of the turntable to the rear of the roundhouse. I'm new to this hobby, so I'm not sure what I'm doing!

Tyke

Rogertra:

I'm planning to install a 130' turntable with Walthers' Modern Roundhouse (933-2900). What is the distance from the lip of the pit to the rear of your roundhouse?

Tyke

I'm also  new to model railroading and live in Sumerduck, VA, halfway between Fredericksburg, VA and Warrenton, VA just off US-17.

Tyke

The character Strelnikov in "Doctor Zhivago" roars through one scene in a two-car train pulled by a red locomotive. Was that a real train, or one with fake plywood sides?

Tyke

My step father worked for the Santa Fe during '39-'40 from Albuquerque to Los Angeles. He worked first on an "Extra Gang" on the long stretches of track in the desert. The Extra Gang travelled with a MOW train with bunk cars, and commissary cars. However, since my Stepfather had my mother and me in tow, he was not eligible to live in the MOW train-that was for bachelors only; as we followed the train around from repair site to repair site, we lived wherever we could scrounge around to find places to live (mostly in our car). When he worked on a "Yard Gang", we lived in houses grouped in a small "village" of ATSF duplexes. "Section Gangs", assigned responsibility for track maintenance between yards had small ATSF villages along their assigned sections of track.

Tyke

All:

Thanks for the good suggestions.

Derek, I like your setup!

Tyke

I have an E-Z track layout with the slide/press switches that came with the Bachmann track pack. These slide switches join together in series and provide power to the right and left track switches. In my opinion, they are pretty cheesy and tend to come unjoined at the slightest provocation.

Is there a more substantial set of E-Z track switches on the market?
I've checked my local hobby and numerous catalogs without finding any. I did see some nice Atlas switches, but I don't think I can use them with E-Z tack.