Len-

Zamac comes in a large array of recipes so it can look like many different metals. All of them, however, have similar
electrical and physical properties.
                                                    -- D

Pretty much ay plastic-safe adhesive will work. I 've found that most caulks or materials like Plastic Nails for
Projects are excellent. The issue isn't so much getting things to stick/ it's being able to removed without damaging them.
So ... focus on light adhesives not the strongest thing you can buy.
                                                                                                      -- D

The old white metal disease is what brought Central Valley to its
knees. Many trucks just fell apart. However those which have managed
to survive 'til now seem to be solid.
                                                       -- D

Sid-

Nice work, and a ton of it, too. It's hard to know where to begin the accolades. For me it would be the Queen Anne for
the mine president or its contrast with the row of much less remarkable workers' houses. And the kicked out / rusted
out tipple is pretty neat, too.
                                            -- D

Quote from: Jerrys HO on January 08, 2015, 06:40:22 PM
Seems Big D is loosing his touch as everything caught his attention except that when going through the turnouts it seems your wheels are picking the points.

Jerry-

Well, someone sure seems to be loosing [sic] his touch but
it isn't me. I clearly showed how the wheels would pick the
points though I admittedly didn't use the correct
terminology.
                     -- D

Quote from: jbrock27 on January 08, 2015, 06:47:04 PM
I have 2 AHM trestles I have put together that form the "bridge" and to either side of the bridge, the piers go progessively down until they reach table level.  I have curves (mostly 18"R, a couple of 22"R) in this.

jim-

The appearance of those crossties floating free in the ether has always bothered me, too.

                                                                                                                          -- D

UP4014-

There are several places I would NEVER store model trains: attics, garden sheds regardless of their condition, mobile homes or campers, garages, or any other place with potentially uncontrolled heat or humidity. In my experience, cold temperatures are much less destructive as long as excessive moisture is controlled during warm up. This is usually as easy as sealing cold items in plastic until they warm up.

I have a wine room which stores that commodity safely and effectively. I would never use it for trains because wine
needs so much more humidity. However, the wine room does serve to demonstrate the importance of appropriate storage
for various kinds of goods.
                                          -- D

Quote from: dwbum on January 08, 2015, 08:34:13 AM
A solution I use is to purchase unlettered locos and apply decals.

Don-

This will give you a locomotive with B&M markings but you won't necessarily have a model of a B&M locomotive. This
has been an issue for mass produced model train products since before I got into the hobby in the 1950s.                                                                                                                                                                                               -- D

Ron-

Several things caught my attention. First was the tight screw on what I must assume was the pony truck on the loco. Those can't be clamped down as doing so will inhibit the motion the truck needs to stay on the track. If your pony truck is clamped down so the wheels are pointed straight ahead they should negotiate the through or straight option for your turnout. However, the rigid pony truck should force a derailment if your loco is trying to take a diverging (curving) route.

Second, the holes for connecting the loco and tender. Those allow you to vary the distance between the loco and tender to
account for very tight curvatures. They shouldn't be a problem for you now.
                                                                                                                  -- D

Justin-

I'm at a bit of a loss as to how you got this connected in the first place. 110v plugs use flat blade connectors but
220v plugs are round to prevent just such a mishap. And was it the power supply or the EZCommand which was
smoking and possibly damaged?

I suspect it's difficult to find a 110v to 220v converter in South Africa but you might be able to reverse engineer one
from a 220v to 110v converter.

Your power supply and/or EZC may not be fried if you got it/them disconnected quickly enough. It's unlikely that your
loco was damaged, for whatever good that may be.
                                                                              -- D

Moosie-

The center terminal on the remote turnout is the neutral or common. One of the others is for the straight track; the
other is for the diverging track. If you get the directions wrong, just exchange them.
                                                                                                                              -- D

Quote from: jimbob261 on January 06, 2015, 07:27:25 PM
Can anybody tell me if you can get replacement parts for an ez track crossing? I need the piece that lays between the rails that as the train rolls over activates the crossing gates. Thanks for your help.

jimbob-

This should be a fairly easy piece to repair or reproduce.

                                                                           -- D

Quote from: ACY on January 05, 2015, 02:43:04 PM
Don, colds are from being in close quarters with large groups of people such as the scout troop. Being outside or exposed to the cold can cause things like hypothermia but will not cause you to catch a cold. You may have known this but most people seem to think being outside on a really cold day will give them a cold when it is not the case at all.

ACY-

Of course I know that. But it's a better story if I don't.

                                                                        -- D

Quote from: jbrock27 on January 05, 2015, 06:32:10 AM
I went on a 'Valley Forge' camp out once with the Boy Scouts as a scout.  It was the most miserable camping experience I ever had.  The scouts were outside in canvass tents while the Scoutmasters, assistants and any other adults got to stay in a lodge with a fireplace  

Jim-

I did a winter scout camp out similar to this in Minnesota. The adults (I was a Cubmaster) were supposed to sleep in a lodge but it was so cold the kids came into the lodge with the adults. We also put the kids on the bunks so most of the adults, including me, were on the floor. That wasn't too bad except that one kid or another went out or came back from the john about twice per minute all night, and I was about five feet from the door which only got fully closed about half the time. Man! That was one miserable night. I got a cold which didn't go away until my Cub Scout completed his Eagle.
                                                                                                                                         -- D

Quote from: ACY on January 04, 2015, 05:50:55 PM
A common ebay trick is to reseal a used or defective item in cellophane (clear plastic wrapping).

ACY-

I think this is unfair. There is no evidence that Bachmann has ever put
bad merchandise back on the market with new cellophane.
                                                                                       -- D