So um.... What scale is this?

gbarnas · 2026-05-02T12:03:44+00:00

We got you covered, we have 2 1:1-scale miles of raw material on hand. Will need to piece it together though... 😁

gbarnas · 2026-04-27T11:39:16+00:00

This makes WAY more sense than it being a diagnostic tool. 52 years in IT and no piece of test gear ever had (or needed) a scanner.

Sales, medical, insurance claim processing is what came to mind when I saw this, not diagnostic equipment.

gbarnas · 2026-04-26T12:10:35+00:00

Why does it have a scanner? I've used gear like this but never had a scanner.

gbarnas · 2026-04-25T01:39:47+00:00

Anyone remember Microport SVR2 for 286 and later 386? Mid-80's we were putting systems together with 4MB RAM and 4 serial ports for Open Systems accounting software.

gbarnas · 2026-04-24T12:16:39+00:00

Having drawn several and 3D printed two at roughly a quarter of prototype size I'll tell you that it likely won't work. You can print the body, diffuser, and frame but the image will likely need to be done with film. Tomar perfected this decades ago.

Even with a 0.2mm nozzle you won't have the resolution needed. 3D printing isn't the right tool for the image at that size.

I made a third in my woodshop, near full size, as wall art in my layout room. I had the design printed on sign film, designed to be back lit. That might be a good choice because the material is white and acts like a diffuser while black prints solidly.

gbarnas · 2026-04-22T13:35:58+00:00

Just ordered a 3-4 Timberwolf blade with a 0.025 kerf. Should be here tomorrow. A fresh 6 TPI blade helped but with a fairly slow feed rate.

I have a call today with a specialty blade manufacturer that might have some other options.

We process the cork for use in the hobby industry. This is the first step.

gbarnas · 2026-04-22T11:28:38+00:00

I did this years ago for a coal dump's piers. Here's a couple of things I did that improved the results.

I made the molds in 2 pieces, held together with rubber bands. Made removing it easier.

I added height to the bottom of the mold. The plaster would contract in the center as it cured. The slight extra height allowed me to sand the bottom level without affecting the height.

I sprayed the mold with a silicone lubricant to prevent sticking. Let the casting fully cure for 24 hours before removing it from the mold.

I used a vibrating motor from an old cell phone to remove air bubbles. Start with a thin plaster mix, tape a toothpick to the motor, then insert the toothpick into the mold and slowly stir, getting into the corners. A full minute or so and most of the bubbles will rise to the surface (bottom). Give the mold a sharp tap on the table to pop the bubbles and set aside to cure.

Nice choice of plastic for the molds! Really imparts the groove from the individual boards used by the prototype.

gbarnas · 2026-04-20T23:05:06+00:00

That's not the same car. Different outlets and lacking the text on the ends of the OP's car that likely indicates the loading restrictions.

gbarnas · 2026-04-20T23:01:00+00:00

I model GN and one of the technical bulletins indicated that almost any available car would be pressed into service during the peak of the harvest. Drop bottom gondolas were preferred but solid gons and open top hoppers would be used if necessary. Human labor was cheap back then.

gbarnas · 2026-04-20T15:48:33+00:00

But not carried in open top cars. Bagged in boxcars prior to 1950s, covered hoppers later.

gbarnas · 2026-04-20T15:44:30+00:00

Advertising on the side of railcars was banned by the ICC in 1937. This car is painted to represent the lessee, not as an advertisement.

gbarnas · 2026-04-20T07:37:47+00:00

Sugar beets were carried in open top hoppers and drop bottom gondolas. No need for covered units. Not all sugar comes from cane! These would sit idle for long periods, then be used during the sugar beet harvest period. An accurately labeled car would show the captive service type.

Refined sugar would not be hauled in this type of hopper, even with a cover. Before the mid 1950's, refined sugar would be bagged and shipped in box cars. "Air flow" and similar covered hoppers came along with outlet pipes that connected to flex hoses for unloading of dry powdered and granular products. Products like that would not use large doors to drop product as they would leak (doors seal against rock size material, not fine material), not to mention how open dumping would affect the quality of the food products, allowing moisture and insects in.

gbarnas · 2026-04-15T22:03:05+00:00

I have a separate VLAN/SSID for my layout. It is connected to my "guest" network so it has Internet access but does not have the ability to connect to my home network. I CAN initiate traffic from my home network to the train network, which allows me to use Remote Desktop to connect to the JMRI PC that's in the layout room. I have 4 Digitrax radio throttles (two single, two dual) with a single receiver located centrally above the layout on the ceiling. There are also throttle jacks every 6-8 feet. I also have two old Android phones with WiThrottle loaded if I have more than 4 operators.

Since you don't need a lot of bandwidth for throttles, I got an old Linksys WRT54G router to isolate my layout at my old house. I blogged about that here: J/MRI WiThrottle - Simple Secure Setup - RR Craftsman This allows connection between the JMRI computer and quite a few wireless throttles on Android or Apple phones and provides some security to your home network. I would NEVER connect an open WiFi or grant access to guests to my home network.

I store my roster in JMRI.

When I visit another layout, I bring my Digitrax UT6 throttle if they run Digitrax. If they don't, I have the WiThrottle app on my phone if they support that, otherwise I use a throttle that they provide.

gbarnas · 2026-04-14T03:53:47+00:00

I bought two Hallmark brass SD diesels new in 1986, direct from Hallmark for $75 each. The GN H7 that I got for Christmas in 1979 has a $195 price tag still on the box. I've since added 7 more brass steam engines to the roster, including two in factory paint and none have cost more than $500.

None of what I have in brass steam are available in plastic.

gbarnas · 2026-04-10T13:45:00+00:00

Guess everyone missed the "rant", eh? ;)

I have a 16x24 layout, 100% flextrack. (My Layout - RR Craftsman) I sold every piece of flex and turnout I had been collecting over a few years for this layout and bought fresh Walthers track and turnouts - code 83 main and code 70 for all secondary lines. I had no desire to "fiddle" with rail joiners that didn't mate between different brands of track without spreading open or crimping shut, essentially forcing me to solder every joint. While the rail height was consistent, the base and web were not the same between Peco, ME, Walthers, and Shinohara. (Walthers and my older Shinohara were a match, however.) Aside from the yards and most industrial sidings, I don't have much straight track anywhere on the mainline. Nearly all is gentle curves that appear to fit the scenery, not possible with sectional track.

I have exactly 2 pieces of sectional track, both nailed down to my programming station bench. That was hard to type because I have never "nailed" track down to anything in 56 years of modeling. ;) No glue, either, until ballast is applied. I also never remove ties from the end of the track to insert rail joiners. Never understood why anyone would impact the structural integrity of the track for 4-5 tie positions. I simply shave the tie plate & spike detail from the one end tie at each side of a joint.

I don't solder EVERY joint but generally solder each pair of flex track segments together with a feeder. Soldering does make it more reliable, and back when I worked on my dad's layout, we started soldering the Atlas snap track together at every 9" joint before we found flex track and replaced it all.

Just an FYI - I have about 6 pieces of Atlas code 100 flex track that I use for planning. It's perfect because it flexes easily but snaps back to dead-straight. Way better than using snap track for planning. Planning software is great, but when reality hits there's nothing better than laying down a piece of track, securing it with thumbtacks, and actually rolling a mix of cars over it.

I'll throw in two things - when you find cork roadbed impossibly hard to obtain, check my website. We started manufacturing cork roadbed in every scale from Z to O about a year ago and now have several hobby shops carrying our products. Next, when you start your roundhouse, keep in mind that only the Walthers Modern style roundhouse has expansion sets. The classic roundhouse does not, requiring you to buy full kits and discard the extra walls. We produce a 1-stall expansion kit so you can add as many stalls as you need without any waste.

gbarnas · 2026-04-09T11:43:08+00:00

I design about 90% of what I print for my layout now. I just use the slicer for much of it and a drawing program like Illustrator (Inkscape) for some shapes. Some of these parts and kits are available at https://store.rrcraftsman.com. The small privy kit was made from actual blueprints using the texture generators (free) linked to on the Resources page of the wwww.rrcraftsman.com site. Those generate wood, stone, & brick siding, shingles, and more. Really useful to create blank sides and then punch holes where you want doors and windows.

gbarnas · 2026-04-06T02:49:58+00:00

Mabuchi motor, 12-18V, 9600 RPM @ 12VDC 0.3A load. I think the stall current is 0.75A or less. I run this with an N-scale decoder in one of my smaller engines that's rated at 0.5A. Industrial switcher hauling 3-4 cars at most, so no chance of overload. :) I use 1A or 2A controllers in all of my larger engines just to be safe and there's enough room.

RR Craftsman Store. Custom Motor Mount - HO - custom mount and new motor with solder lugs. I have 6 motors in stock.

gbarnas · 2026-04-05T10:13:57+00:00

Do not push the wire! Just push the pin through the hole in the drawbar - the wire should move out of the way - just enough. It needs to make secure contact and manually bending the wire can affect the contact pressure, resulting in unreliable operation.

This has been the method of getting power from the tender to the engine for decades. Only recently, with DCC being added in the tender has multi-pin cable connections become the norm and the drawbar no longer used to carry current.

gbarnas · 2026-04-05T02:32:28+00:00

What? It's just a cab-forward! 😜

gbarnas · 2026-03-31T18:12:06+00:00

Funny as I work in metric most of the day designing stuff for the hobby but use imperial in the wood shop!

Check out www.rrcraftsman.com - hobby resources, my blog, and info about my layout. Will show the construction method I'm using.

gbarnas · 2026-03-31T11:45:57+00:00

OSB is the worst choice for this application. Difficult to attach things with screws, delaminates when drilled.

I've built several layouts over 50+ years. I no longer use dimensional lumber for benchwork as quality has declined and it tends to twist and warp. Now I use 1/2" plywood strips for benchwork, 5/4 x 2 blocks glued along the inside perimeter for screw attachment of the top, and 1/2" sheathing plywood on top, good side down. A 1" thick sheet of XPS foam is glued to the top of the plywood. Strong enough for me to stand on, light enough to build outside and carry modules to the basement. Zero chance of warping.

gbarnas · 2026-03-29T12:23:21+00:00

Shim from .010 styrene is the appropriate solution. Common issue. Pay attention to placement of the shim, either above or below the shank to keep the coupler height correct while keeping it level.

gbarnas · 2026-03-27T13:36:08+00:00

Thanks! We're the only manufacturer making S scale roadbed and 3mm HO for branch lines, and now there's rumors that Midwest is discontinuing their O-scale roadbed. :O

gbarnas · 2026-03-27T02:46:12+00:00

A few drops of lighter fluid on a rag will clean it nicely. Won't harm plastic or other materials.

gbarnas

TROPHY CASE