BR60103

When I was doing N gauge, Kadee (as they were then) supplied little springs to go on the axle ends of cabooses to provide some drag.

Having tried to uncouple coaches with gangways, I'd leave the pins on and use the stick to pull them sideways.

Some of our coffee shops have the warning, "Unaccompanied children will be given an espresso and a small puppy". The Science fiction bookstore used to have a sign with a drawing of a dragon and the waning "Smokers will be eaten". The subway has the warning "Trespassers may be electrocuted".

Kadee make non-magnetic axles because of this. Don't know of any non-magnetic weights. This factor may also cause accidental uncoupling. Kadee's wheelsets, unfortunately, are 33" and 36" in HO -- 9.625 and 10,5 mm

On my just dismantled layout I had a rather severe vertical curve obtuse angle at the top of a grade. I often found that carriages would disconnect when the leading car reached the flat position while the trailer was still on the grade. I think that NMRA specs for OO should be ignored as OO has had no American presence since WW 2. I don't believe that there are any commercial products available -- certainly less than British HO.

If I remember from umpty-dump decades ago when RP25 first came out, one of the main features/requirements was a lot of curved transitions -- between the tread and flange and then on the flange itself. The idea was that the curves would let the wheel roll off some of the worst irregularities in the track, unlike the rather sharp flanges that were often provided (codename: pizza cutter) which would catch in rail joints.

How do you learn the route when the tracks aren't in yet?

Should we mention that Kadee operaation can also be affected by slop caused by undergauge wheels? (That's most of the RTR ones). The couplings may not meet up in the right place if the two vehicles are offset the wrong way.

Kadee came out with that variety of couplings because there was no standard. Interestingly, when there was the most possibility of variation - pre-1960 - they only had 6 variations -- 4/5, 6, 7, 8 and 10. 4 and 5 were the same couplinh but 5 had a box; it's noe the 4. 10 becake the 5&10 and is now 5. Either the 7 or the 8 had 2 different heights in the same package. The 4 has an odd springing arrangement that used to be common but has all but disappeared. I wonder what happened to 1, 2,and 3.

That may have been me. The height of the top of the tension lock matches the top of the NEM standard shank. This allows you to replace a screwed-on tension lock (even a sheet metal one) with an NEM shank with a hole drilled in it (if the screw comes up from below).

Part of the upgrade was to provide a train which could keep pace with the scheduled trains. I believe that there were some experimental or prototype coaches which were converted.

One feature to ease the modelling burden: the coal loads are all identical and look like cast plastic ones. My wife noticed this when we were out there last fall.

Interesting: Some goods stock have white roofs; none of the passenger stock does. Edit: Sorry, I missed the whole right side of the photo! You have to scroll it over. There seems to be one silvery-coloured coach roof there.

I read an article about sculptures (the artistic ones) where more bronzes had been cast from the original moulds/patterns after the artist (was it Ridin?) had died. There was question about the authenticity/legitimacy/legality of these statues. Would the works have cast extra nameplates for those directors honoured with a namesake?

Is there any reason that Hornby couldn't do a limited release of "what might have been" or even "what should have been" with a P2 in nationalization livery (~ies)? As long as it is carefully labelled as fanciful.

Photos taken in October.

At one ladies' tea it was reported that the Pope had raised the urinals in the Vatican. He wanted to keep the Cardinals on their toes. All the ladies laughed except one. She was asked if possibly she didn't know what a urinal was. "Oh, no, I'm not Catholic."

Another anniversary. One of the biggest railway wrecks with no injuries and minimal damage beyond the train itself.

Frank was the early shift customs officer on the American side of the bridge in Niagara Falls. Every weekday morning Mac would trundle his wheelbarrow with his shovel under a sheet over the bridge from Canada to the States. Frank would check the load for contraband and then, finding nothing, let Mac in. One day Frank says; "Mac, I know you've been smuggling something in for forty years. I'm retiring next week, but if you tell me what, I won't nick you." Mac replies, " Wheelbarrows."

well, I may not talk to you anymore. The goods shed variant has a kick back headshunt coming off the nearest platform, then going into a 2-road goods shed in front of that platform. The rest of the plan is just as before. The extra space is 8" of width. (My copy of 60 Plans for Small Railways is the second edition, 10th impression dated Nov. 1969. Minories is plan 49s, the expanded plan is 50s but they are not named.)

The bearings should be in the packet with the wheels -- little brass things. The last time I built some, I didn't notice that the bearings (top hat type) hadn't settled all the way in -- the brim on the hat was caught on the inside bracing of the axle box. The wagon has axle boxes and solebar on one side canted outwards. A bit of work with drill file or knife on the other wagon let it sit squarely. There's less problem with the brimless bearings.

Tell the modeller with the exquisite Gn15 layout (G scale on HO track) that you though a modeller of his experience would be using P4 or at least EM by now. (Fortunately, he has a bit of a sense of humour.)

The Toronto Transit Commission installed Solari signs when they opened the Bloor-Danforth Subway in 1966. This connected to the end of the previous subway with a wye and the trains were supposed to operate to alternate destinations. There was a device mounted on the front car looking like a small tennis raquet that could be dialed to the desired terminus. After 6 months the integrated operation was stopped.* The Solari signs remained for a long time and were used for trains not going the full length of the line. I don't recall if they were installed on both directions at a station. *probably a candidate for most expensive track for length of time used.

But in that one you can actually see the trains...

Produce a "London Tube" layout consisting of 2 street scenes connected with 20 feet of 2" pipe. And a small sound system.