The B&O Railroad museum has possible the largest collection of original or replica pre-Civil War American steam locomotives, with a smattering of other "Era 1" engines scattered at other museums around the country. The earliest date, btw, is more 1830s than 1820s in the US. The first locomotives here tended to be 0-4-0 with a 4-wheel "tender" for fuel and water. A 2-4-0 was the improved design for better tracking. I'm fairly certain that we had a 2-2-2, but I want to say that we're talking about single-digits for examples, and probably only one or two railroads. There were also 4-2-0 and 6-2-0 designs.

A 2-4-0 or 2-4-2 might be your best option for scratchbuilding, as you could use an HO 0-4-0 as a starting point. The search term "antebellum steam locomotives" might be helpful. There are a half-dozen or so books on early American steam locomotives, or early American railroads, that show up on eBay now and then. There are also several railroad museums with extensive archives where you might find photos, diagrams, or even preserved engines.

You are largely working outside of the normal range of modeling eras, but the upside to that is this was an era of unique designs, so let your imagination go wild. Also, don't be afraid to think outside the box. That era had 5' and 6' gauge railroads, so you could use a G-scale mechanism & track with an O-scale body for a wide-gauge railroad.

I hope some of this is of use to you. 

Check the documentation that came with your turnout / turnout motor to see if there are auxiliary contacts for wiring control panel lights. Alternatively, the accessory decoder can probably be wired to operate a relay at the same time as the switch motor, the relay would simply switch between illuminating a red or green LED signal or on your control panel.

Quote from: [email protected] on February 08, 2024, 10:28:29 PMYour problem is easy, but expensive.   North west short line (NWSL) will sell you a power truck..  Measure the wheel base for the size.  If you buy from NWSL cosst $95.00, IF EBAY has the correct wheel base $75.00.  I currently getting power truck for Halmark M-190, NWSL is makeing me one, shipping time one week!!

Y'all now have me concerned over the state of my doodlebugs. Can the gear issue be fixed ala the Proto-2000 issue by using Athearn parts, or are they unique to the Doodlebug?

Quote from: Len on February 08, 2024, 02:44:55 PM

QuotePoint 5 - Model electric trains, even Thomas & Friends, carry age 14+ recommendations.

This is a direct result of law suits brought in years gone past when young kids hurt themsselves, or others, through misuse of the product.

Len

Tide pods. Spoonful of cinnamon, dry. Drinking and driving. All proof that age is not a guarantee of maturity. 

Quote from: RedMt Dave on February 06, 2024, 03:32:03 PMWith the increase of online shopping, it gets more difficult for brick and mortar stores to stay open. I went to the ONE hobby store that we have in our area and he is no longer carrying any model train stock. He has paints and some scenery, but that's it.

You need to ask them WHY? they stopped carrying them. It might be because of lack of customers, but it could also be because they cannot afford to meet the distribution companies' minimum order. Meeting that minimum in the last 15 to 20 years has become more difficult because of the big mail-order companies.

Without naming names and finger pointing, if company X gives hobby shops a 40% markdown from MSRP, hobby shop Y, a mail-order business, can get by on a 15% markup, but brick store business Shop Zed needs 30% markup to cover business expenses (a storefront is pricier than a warehouse in the middle of nowhere, an employee knowledgeable in model train sales commands a high pay rate than an unskilled puller and packer in a warehouse, etc.), then the hobbyist might walk into the store, browse the offerings, and then go home - or look it up on their cellphone, see that Shop Y has it cheaper, and places the order with them. While it's not generally legal to price fix, this sort of thing could be fixed to bolster the brick store by reducing the wholesale markdown. The less the mail-order house can undercut other companies, the more the limited potential sales get spread around.

And yes, I am aware that that reads like a communist manifesto. Oops.

The future of the hobby requires several things:

• Quality, affordable entry level sets
• Availability of train items in the widest number of stores
• Availability of hobby press in the widest number of stores
• An openness on our part to helping the beginners to the hobby, regardless of their ages
• A reclassification of the 'suggested age' on model railroad products

On the second and third items, it puzzles me as to why Walmart doesn't carry model trains or hobby magazines (they occasionally have carried magazines, but I've not seen them now in over a year). Hobby Lobby carries some trains, but they are so minimal that it puzzles me as to why there isn't more of a push by the manufacturers / distributors to enlarge their shelf allotment.

Point 4 - we can be a surly lot, looking down our noses at older guys who just want to "play" with "toy trains," while younger guys (18 and under) are viewed as kids who cannot be trusted to take the hobby seriously, even if he scratchbuilt a 1:12 scale locomotive before he was old enough to drive a real one. Note I said guys - we are even less open to women and girls being involved in the hobby. That's got to change. Nobody wants to get involved in a hobby run amuck with grumpy old men.

Point 5 - Model electric trains, even Thomas & Friends, carry age 14+ recommendations. And some companies go so far as to state in the their ads that their products are not toys and are intended for adults. I've been playing with my uncle's Lionel Trains since I was 2 years old. I had my first personal Lionel set at age 3y11m (thanks Santa!). I didn't even know about the hobby until I was 10 (discovered the September 1982 MR in the news shop). Had my first HO scale set at age 12 (Bachmann Amtrak set). I'm pretty sure nobody thought I was too young to have electric trains - though some do question if I'm too old to be playing with them. 

TL;dr: The hobby isn't dying, but the public face of it is contracting due to business models and questionable gatekeeping habits.

AJK
 

Quote from: brandonbeckner on July 23, 2023, 01:36:35 PMI thank you all for your replies. Best of all. I like Brian G's phrase "prototypically stupid". That's definitely me, especially when I have an EMD F7-B Unit pulling cars around with no head.

Nope, that's prototypical, actually. There was a coal mining shortline, the Haysi Railroad, that connected to the Clinchfield that used a single B-unit as motive power from its founding in 1970 until 1977. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haysi_Railroad

Quote from: Kjfisher32 on June 15, 2023, 10:30:07 AMMy loop of the track needs to be connected because of the display. So I'm very new and have no knowledge about trains and or size of motors. Let me try the extra power source and see what happens???  I am taking the weights in each of the back cars to lighten the load a bit.
I will try to video and attach what the project is. This might give you a better idea?  Thanks for the advice

There is nothing wrong with being new to the hobby - we all were new once. We survived and learned, and some of did it long before the invention of the internet. You, too, will survive and learn, and with the help of the internet you'll be able to learn from our mistakes before repeating them yourself.

First, the weights in the cars are there for a reason. An important reason. The lighter the weight of a car, the more likely it is to frequently derail. For the moment, presume that your cars are at the minimum recommended weight for best operation, and leave the metal weights alone.

Second, layout wiring.... There are two common methods of powering a model train: directly and indirectly. Directly is when the powerpack (also called the speed controller) takes electricity from the wall, converts it to the proper current for the model, and sends it to the model's motor by varying the current in the rails: no current = stopped, 14+/- volts = racing at 100mph / 150kph. Ideally, you want it in the 1/3 to 1/2 range of the dial, as the faster it goes, the more likely it is to derail.

Indirect power is usually called DCC - short for Digital Command Control. Fancy name, but not as overly complicated as it sounds. DCC takes power from the wall, reduces it to a usable current, and sends that current to the rails, just like directly powered trains. The difference is that the current includes a signal intermixed with the electricity, and the electricity remains constantly at its maximum voltage.

Once this signal & current reaches the locomotive it first enters a decoder that reads the signal. It checks if the signal is addressed to that model - if it isn't, it ignores it, but if it is, it continues to read the message the signal contains. This message tells it how much current to allow to pass through the decoder to reach the motor. Depending on the model, the signal can also tell the model to play sounds, turn on lights, etc. For now, just focus on the message for the motor.

With both systems, you can run one or more powered locomotives at the same time, within the limits of a single powerpack / DCC system.

The difference is that directly powered trains (DC for short) all locomotives respond to the same changes in the current.

Whereas with DCC, the decoder address system allows each model to get its own speed orders, or you can group two or more powered models together with a group address to control them at the same time. To get similar independent operation on a DC powered layout, you would need to electrically isolate sections of track - called blocks - and wire it so that two (or more) powerpacks can be used at once - each powering at different block.

The easiest way to run two trains at once on a DC layout is to have two separate ovals of track, one inside the other, with no crossovers between the loops.

Bachmann does not appear to sell an introduction to the hobby book, so I am going to recommend Jeff Wilson's Getting Started in Model Railroading. It is available directly from the publisher's website https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/book/12495 - The first edition (red cover with people) and the current edition (bare plywood with trains) are available at a lower prices on Amazon and eBay.


And so..... Welcome to the hobby! There is a lot to learn, from basic wood carpentry, to advanced electronics and computer programs. You don't need to learn it all to have fun, and you don't need to learn the basics in a single day. I've been active in the hobby since 1984 (and playing with my uncle's Lionel trains since 1973), and there is still a great deal I've not learned, let alone mastered. But it's been a fun journey thus far.

Ask questions. If the answer isn't clear, ask more questions. This is a friendly bunch of modelers.

Yes, there is a need for dummies - not that manufacturers are listening. Dummies reduce the electrical load on a layout. Dummies provide the opportunity to model locomotives with open hood doors as part of a consist (this was a common thing on NYSW RS-1s as they were constantly overheating). In theory, dummies should be considerably cheaper as they can be made with a plastic frame, no motor, nor electronics, and lightweight units are cheaper to ship.

However, as Bachmann and others will tell you, dummy locomotives are not seen as economical - they have a low return on investment. And so we get limited run models with all the bells and whistles (often literally) instead of the constantly in-stock selections we had back in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, etc. 

Quote from: jward on March 28, 2023, 02:09:22 PMI am seeing an occasional Bachmann Gorre & Daphetid item on ebay. So far I've seen an 0-6-0 and a bobber caboose. Thees appear to be factory painted and not somebody's custom work. Are these the only G&D items Bachmann has made? If there are others, what else is out there? WHen approximately were these produced?

JWARD, I can think of the steam switcher, cabooses - short and long, NMRA boxcar, and short and long passenger cars, ore cars, stock car, ventilated boxcar, and a flat car. In addition to the HO models, some have been offered in Z and N scales. There might be an O scale NMRA boxcar, and maybe something in G scale too.

I cannot name the manufacturers, but most date to the 1970s, '80s, or so era. I don't recall if any predated John's death, and I suspect they were a tribute to him and the destruction of his layout (John's house caught fire not long after he died).

I forget when John started building the last version of the G&D, but I know it was not finished at the time of his death fifty years ago. I think we are doing the Gorre & Daphetid an injustice by comparing it to today's standards of layout design. From a punny name to a track plan that straddled the eras of spaghetti bowls and walk-around throttles, the G&D Lines was a concept ahead of its time and hampered by it. Who knows how different a layout we would be speaking of if John had lived a couple of decades longer.

Although I got into the hobby in the mid-1980s, I've actually been drawn more to Frank Ellison's Delta Lines. Not, as you might imagine for its point to point schematic, but because I am not a fan of John's mountain climbing scenery. It's too Colorado for this product of Nu Yawk City.   

Lastly, I would argue that John, and Frank, _ARE_ master model railroaders in their own right, regardless of their absence from the NMRA list. A half century plus after their deaths, there are still modelers who are inspired by them. Not many of our fellow hobbyists can / will / would be able to claim the same. 

With the electricity turned OFF (and unplugged from the wall), you can use a 9-volt battery to the rails to attempt to power the train. You can also touch the battery to the loco itself, though this is easier with HO than N or O. 

Quote from: Ty.the.railroad.guy on June 07, 2021, 09:54:34 PM
1. I would like to use a turntable with my layout but due to limited space and my lack of talent of wiring to use the walthers brand I'm considering buying the bachmann brand since all of the track I'm using is EZ track. So my question about it is: as long as I don't turn the engine a full 180 degrees, it won't cause a short in the locomotive right?

Quick answer: Yes. Or no. It depends.

Longer answer: The locomotive itself triggers the short, but it's the power in the wiring that causes the short. If the polarity in the bridge rails is opposite to the polarity in the rails the locomotive is moving to / from, BOOM! The Goddess of Electricity screams at you. How to avoid this is highly dependent on your setup and technical prowess. My personal favorite is bi-color (red / green) LEDs. Wire them across the power gap, red indicates different polarities, green equal the same polarity. You can mount it in a dwarf signal head on regular tracks, and as a signal light over the roundhouse stall for those tracks.

Gels. Filters. Lighting effects. Welcome to the world of theatre! You might find this company has tools you can use: https://us.rosco.com/en

The Foley Brothers 110-1 (100 ton, 600hp) - the sole survivor, handled coal in Montana. I would suggest that this could be the genesis for your backstory. The oil company might have bought one or two for switching the oil fields and for showing off what their oil could be used for. The unit(s) could still be working for the oil company, handling cars to and from the interchange with your main railroad. You could even do the same with geared steam locomotives on your lumber company lines. Three railroads (four with your outside connection) on one model railroad. The two industrial lines could even use your roundhouse for routine maintenance - or the diesels could have their own shop on the oil line.

Just because a steam road shortline couldn't afford early diesels doesn't mean that its oil industry customer wasn't able to - especially in the year or so before the Stock Market Crash.   

The first thing that come to mind is to check the section of the crossing between the rails. If it's a little high, it might be just enough to contact the underside of the locomotive and lift it from the rails.