Advice for someone thinking of starting modelling American

[Jerry1975]

Hi.

 

Thanks everyone for the information regarding magnets.

 

Ray: I will certainly do that.

 

As you may have guessed I have never used automatic uncoupling before so this is all new to me, I'm looking forward to trying it out for myself.

 

Jerry.

[long island jack]

some light reading Jerry

 

https://kadee.com/html/delay.pdf

[steve1]

I don't use magnets with Kadees on any of my layouts on which I use those couplers. With a small layout, I've found it difficult to find suitable locations to add them that make them really usable. A pointed wooden barbecue skewer does the trick effectively and that means I can uncouple anywhere.

 

I can give you a demo at York.

 

steve

[Zomboid]

Agree on the skewer. I guess it depends on what exactly you're doing, but I've found the magnets are more of a hindrance than a help.

[Jerry1975]

The barbecue skewer technique sounds interesting, I will look forward to a demo thanks Steve of this technique.

 

Jerry.

[shortliner]

Jerry FWIW when you have got a reasonable point on the BBQ skewer, paint a little ACC glue (or Evostick) on it to give it a bit of "tooth" - it makes the uncoupling easier - also I find it worth adding some heat-shrink tube to the middle which makes it easier to "twiddle" to uncouple - never managed to get the torch idea to work

Edited March 30, 2018 by shortliner

[Jerry1975]

Thanks Jack.

 

I will certainly look into this technique.

 

Jerry.

[298]

I've found the RailCrew uncouplers to be excellent, if a little expensive (I had one spare so started a new layout project just to be able to use it).

 

Also available for twenty golden nuggets, you could buy six reasonable HO freight cars from Anoraks Anonymous. They tend to group together ones from similar eras and geographical areas (or have a load from an estate sale), and if you're lucky they'll have good couplers and wheels, and sometimes Kadee trucks.

[Regularity]

I use a small (“jeweller’s”) philips screwdriver.

[Alcanman]

I gave up using magnets a few years ago and uncouple manually. I use either a barbeque skewer or Kadee do a special tool which are cheap to buy.

 

 

https://kadee.com/htmbord/page241.htm

[Jerry1975]

Thanks for your replies everyone.

 

I'm definitely going to try the BBQ skewer technique, I have been browsing the web to get an idea of how a small American town would look like in the 50's - 60's.

 

Logging is another traffic that interest's me so I'm going to look into that too.

 

Jerry.

[2996 Victor]

Hi Jerry,

 

I've been following your thread with interest, as I'm also new to the world of American model railroading.

 

I'm in the early stages of a West Virginia logging road project http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/126410-greenbrier-elk-river-rail-road-wv . I'm not too far along with things as yet, but I've been lucky to get some great advice from forum members, so it might worth a quick look.

 

Coupling-wise, FWIW I've settled on the Kadee #158 whisker coupling, which is scale sized and self-centring, and I'd suggest a height gauge is essential.

 

Best of luck!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

Edited March 31, 2018 by 2996 Victor

[BR60103]

Jerry:

If you want the look of small towns, dig out some old Andy Hardy movies. They may be a bit more ideal than real towns.

 

I usually use the skewer to pull the uncoupling pin sideways. But then I do much of my uncoupling under corridor connectins.

 

Kadee make their couplings in lots of varieties because the staunchly individualistic Americans won't adhere to a standard mounting. The working ends should all be compatible. 

[shortliner]

, I have been browsing the web to get an idea of how a small American town would look like in the 50's - 60's.

 

Jerry.

For small-town America in 50s/60s, a little known film called "Suddenly", starring Frank Sinatra as a hit man hired to kill the President who is on a whistle-stop train tour (recently shown on TV), is possibly what you want - though whether it is possible to get a copy on DVD I don't know

 

EDIT Amazon has 1 copy in stock at £4.99

Edited April 1, 2018 by shortliner

[Regularity]

Kadee make their couplings in lots of varieties because the staunchly individualistic Americans won't adhere to a standard mounting.

 

And yet they create organisations like the NMRA, and adopt their recommendations, often without any challenge.

What a contrary lot!

[Zomboid]

I've got locos and freight cars from several manufacturers and various ages, and so far I've never had to use anything other than a #5 or the whisker equivalent (#148?). Not a huge collection, but I wouldn't bother to keep any of the others in stock on the basis of that experience.

[Jerry1975]

Thanks for your replies everyone.

 

I have acquired some American rolling stock for a good price so I can finally start planning/building my first American layout, I also got quite a bit of literature to read too so the next few nights will be sorted then.

 

I'm going to keep it simple and small as its a first layout just to get a feel for everything.

 

Jerry.

[BR60103]

For small-town America in 50s/60s, a little known film called "Suddenly", starring Frank Sinatra as a hit man hired to kill the President who is on a whistle-stop train tour (recently shown on TV), is possibly what you want - though whether it is possible to get a copy on DVD I don't know

 

EDIT Amazon has 1 copy in stock at £4.99

I saw Suddenly when it first came out. It was on a double bill with, IIRC, Union Pacific.  Suddenly had more trains.

[shortliner]

So did I, one Sunday afternoon at (I think) the Regal Cinema in Cambridge! Until it appeared on TV, recently I'd never seen it since, and after seeing it, I'd always thought that Frank Sinatra was a better actor(gangster) than a singer.

Edited April 2, 2018 by shortliner

[newbryford]

I saw Suddenly when it first came out. It was on a double bill with, IIRC, Union Pacific.  Suddenly had more trains.

 

I started to think about a US HO layout a couple of moths ago.

Suddenly I have more trains..................

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

[kevo]

hi jerry . like you i have been  think ing of have ing a go at some think american  but on a small scale micro type in ho . i did build a a small layout sone years ago which got sold on . this was a small switching  layout based round a grain elevator. but this time  I will stick to small stock 40ft box freight cars and small wheel based grain hoppers . I think you did see my cement micro layout I have been building this is for british  & irish stock but I may use the same type track plan  but change the buildings  for a grain elevator and silo as well as keeping to smaller  freight stock . I will with switchers two . the ones in the pics are Bachmann  yellow one is a GE70 ton  and the red one is a GE SIDE ROD 45 toner . there is also a GE center cab  44 toner which I will later get . even as small as this layout would be it still has scope for some switching and would not take long to get up and running . hope this is of some help jerry  . kevin

[Jerry1975]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

Very nice little layout Kevin, I did see your cement layout too.

 

Good luck on your new American project and I look forward to your progress once you start.

 

I will look into the film too, it won't be my cup of tea but the wife will probably like it, I look out for the trains.

 

Jerry.

[Jerry1975]

Hi Everyone.

 

Now that I have bought some rolling stock and kindly been given some books etc I am going to embark on a simple layout.

 

Would it be prototypical to have a siding for boxcars, one for tankers and one for gondolas?

 

Also does anyone know any small tuning fork type layouts other than those on carls micro layout site.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Jerry.

[shortliner]

Gerry, any track with a single point forming a junction leading to a siding is a "tuning fork", and will allow you to re-arrange a group of wagons eg Kevo's track plan above has a single track and a tuning fork on the same baseboard.

[Jerry1975]

Thanks Jack,

 

I was wondering if anyone knew of any small tuning fork layouts, I'm even thinking of a boxfile layout as a bit of fun.

 

First thoughts are of a warehouse of some sort capable of having two boxcars and a other track as a team track also capable of holding two cars, just an idea.

 

Jerry.