Model Forum / General / Railroads / December 2006

A while back, I happen to see a very cute Doodle Bug produced in N
scale by some asian manufacturer. It consisted of a two parts
doodlebug, a very short engine coupled to a car. The car was sharing
one of the truck of the engine, if I remember correctly. The engine had

Has anyone made their own O Gauge flexible diaphrams between passenger
cars? Some diesel A-A engines have them too. Can they be bought? How
can the diaphrams be created from scratch?

What is the purpose of the "Unloading Rack" component of Walther's Diesel
Fueling Facility (kit 933-2908) and -- more importantly -- where should it
be located?
The Walther's box and instructions show vague and differing locations.

I am putting together an N gauge layout (first venture into model railways
since I was in my teens 50 odd years ago).   So far I have the Farish SW
Trains 3 car DMU and the Farish GWR Railcar (the era of my set is "what I
like").   I am curious about DCC and was wondering if ...

I have a questions for those of you that are familiar with those President's
Choice Railroad kits they sell, usually arount Christmas time. (Loblaws and
Atlantic Superstore)
I know they are 18in radius turns in the kit, but are they 10 or 30 degree?

In Oct., 1997 Model Railroader started an article about scratchbuilding a
4-6-0 loco.  I have all the magazines that are in that series except for the
first atticle in the Oct. 1997 magazine. If someone has that magazine, could
you please copy it and send it to me by snail mail. ...

This is a good 3D CAD program from Google. Naturally, they want you
to buy the Pro version eventually but for most modeling purposes,
this is quite good. Woodworking, modeling, layout design, home
planning and landscaping are all a snap.

I have been looking for information, or diagrams, photos, etc. of the
Southern Pacific passenger station in Bakersfield. I have been there,
and have taken pictures, but I can't seem to find any information on
the building itself. I have tried the Bakersfield Library, and they

I have been lurking here for quite a while and have been quite
impressed with the expertise that you all seem to have.  I finally
have a question that I'd like to ask: What is everyone's opinion of
the latest incarnation of the Mantua 0-6-0- goat switcher as now

I just added an excellent Lionel Rio Grande Standard O Gauge caboose
for my SD40. I am wondering how authentic it is though. I never see a
caboose on consists in the real world!

I've been looking at track plans, etc. and with the N scale being
1:160, it comes out at about 33 feet per mile. What is the most common
method of "reducing" that to a manageable factor? Or is it pretty much
up to the discretion of the person doing the track design?

i've been able to get their catalogue and saw that they produce a lot
of interesting things; however, they're horribly priced here in italy
and extremely hard to find, with months to wait for anything.
do you know of any online shops --in usa or europe will make no

Might be investing in some 47's shortly - I've read the review in AMRM which
I think is very biased given that the mag ran a prototype summary article
directly before the model review. 8-)
Anyway for those of you who actually have the models already, what do you

I bought an old ZW off ebay and have cleaned it up.  It works nicely
except for the whistle on the left hand side.  I cleaned the contacts
and re did a couple of flaky looking solder joints but the whistle
still doesn't work on the left hand side.