Landscaping with common items from the kitchen and garage

These are dioramas, not model railroads, but they show an inventive approach to creating scenery without spending a fortune at the hobby store.

Article

Flickr set

The world's best ground foam

They're not as big or well known as Woodland Scenics or the European brands, but AMSI has been making the world's best ground foam for many years. If you're making trees, there's nothing better than this super-fine foam that is available in many colors and blends. Forgive their amateurish Web site.

A treasure trove of vintage ads

This site recently went up, and it's big. Enjoy.

Bergensbanen - Breathtaking 7-hour cab-view HD video of the NSB from Bergen to Oslo

Anyone interested in an amazing Norwegian prototype for modeling, or just enjoyment? Click here.

Do note that this is a huge download, with some technical restrictions. A BitTorrent client is required.

Quick Review: AnyRail free layout design software

Great free software for designing your layout.

Pros: very easy to use, fast learning curve; built-in template libraries for just about every track manufacturer and scale; free!

Cons: built-in templates for structures and scenery are very limited; drawing/graphics limited to polygons or compound curves filled with solid colors

Fantastic resource for printing out custom wood, masonry, and other tileable textures

Spiral Graphics is offering two free programs that generate seamless tileable textures. If you model with card or paper, or want to print your own texture sheets to cover other materials, you must have these.

The first program is the Genetica Viewer, which has a built-in library of textures, including many of interest for structures, floors, roads, etc. Though the free viewer version of Genetica does not allow you to create new textures from scratch (a rather complicated process involving defining and connecting algorithmic units together), you can alter quite a few parameters of the inbuilt textures including the density, hue, contrast, and the random seed which varies the patterns. Your customized texture can then be output to a .jpg or .bmp file, in many different pixel resolutions, for use in drawing, word processing, or illustration software. You'll want to make sure that the file's pixel resolution, once scaled, yields around 300 dots per inch. For example, if the printed texture will have tiles that are each around two inches square, your resolution should not be less than 512X512 pixels. Finally, note that many more free textures can be downloaded one by one from their user forums. If you use BitTorrent, many of these additional textures have been put together in this torrent file.

The second program is their Wood Workshop, which works similarly to the Genetica Viewer but which focuses exclusively on wood textures, with many more customizable parameters. Clapboard and board-and-batten are only the beginning.

The primary users of these programs are those designing 3D objects for computers games or art, but the possibilities for card modeling and texture sheets are truly extraordinary.

Blindingly Obvious Car Routing

I've been doing this for years, and now it has a name. No interest in car cards and waybills, but want to operate? Read all about BOCR over at Carl Arendt's fabulous micro layout site.

Better sound for model railroads

I like sound a lot. Sound is a big part of the railfanning experience, and it can also be an important part of model railroading, but there are problems.

Not that I’m opinionated or anything, but the sound on DCC decoders is just awful. David K. Smith wrote an eloquent piece on this a couple of years back, and I’m going to second and third his motion. There are basically two problems with onboard loco sound: the earbud-sized speakers on the boards aren’t capable of reproducing sound with any kind of fidelity, and even if they could (or even if you piped the sound output of a decoder through a separate amp and speakers), the 8-bit sound digitization on the board is akin to the sound in a plastic child’s toy.

I think it’s easy to get hung up on the idea that a loco’s sound must originate from exactly the same place as the loco, and I’d like to refute this notion. As modelers, we don’t duplicate reality exactly, but rather we design and build heightened and augmented versions of it, with certain things emphasized and other things de-emphasized. Next time you watch a movie, note how the synced sound consists mainly of dialogue and Foley (footsteps, explosions, etc), with much of the sonic environment being “wild” or unsynchronized.

So, what to do if you’re interested in a realistic, high quality, immersive sonic atmosphere for your pike? You can make (if you’re handy with digital audio software and have access to a sound library) or buy a basic environmental sound mix containing country, city, and industrial noises, have these on audio CDs or other playback hardware, and reproduce them through a decent amp, with decent speakers behind or below your layout.

But what about the loco sounds? Time to think outside the box:

1. If your layout (or one part of a large layout) is a yard or industrial switching area, augment your environmental sound mix with occasional and random slow-speed loco movements, brake, coupler, bell, and horn sounds, so that the loco you’re controlling becomes just part of a larger sphere of activity. This can be amazingly effective, even though there is no loco “sync sound.”
2. If you must have specific sync sound for the loco you’re operating, you could compile a collection of around a dozen key loco sound sequences (station halt, comin’ ‘round the bend, distant and close horn blows, etc) as audio files on a computer. Then use software to trigger these sounds; do this concurrently while you operate the loco. Combine the computer’s sound output with the basic environmental mix, and route this to two good speakers in a stereo pair under the layout, or above it. Again, the overall psychological effect of good, balanced, immersive sound far outweighs being able to have the sound come from a precise location of the layout.
3. Don’t use loco sounds, make do with the natural clickety-clack on your model rails.

Remember that, like everything visual on your layout, sound also needs to be to scale. This means using very low volume levels: imagine that as you peer down at your layout, how loud would the sounds be if this was the real world and you were floating in the sky looking down?

Finally, note that our ears are much less sensitive to bass and treble at lower volume levels. Your amp (or CD player) may have a “loudness” function, which compensates for this by boosting bass and treble. This keeps the sound fuller without making it louder. Use it if you have it.

My favorite electronics vendors

Here is a short list of electronics vendors that sell items of interest for hobbyists. If nothing else, the sites are fun to browse. Note that I am not financially affiliated with any of these vendors.

• Deal Extreme
• Hobby Engineering
• Gizmo's Zone
• All Electronics
• Futurlec
• SparkFun
  

Cheap alternative to Silflor

I just love learning about cheap and creative approaches to scenery. I recently heard about craft store pot toppers as a much-cheaper-than-Silflor material for vegetation. Neat!

LED "rosettes" to light structures

I wrote earlier about using yellow LEDs to light structures internally. Having just started construction on a new module, I've decided to apply this technique, and have sorted out some better specifications than the ones I previously posted.

The advantage of LEDs is that they are dim enough that, with proper positioning, they won't make the structure walls "glow" in the dark, even if you don't paint the insides of the structures black (a chore I despise, and one which presents many opportunities for accidentally painting over places that need to be glued). Their dimness also means you pretty much need one LED per window, sometimes two for a big window.

So, because even a simple structure usually requires several LEDs, I've been constructing circuits of 6 LEDs. I bend the leads of 6 LEDs, solder them positive-to-negative in series, then solder a 220-ohm resistor to the positive end (a value that will give the right current to the LEDs using most transformer accessory power), and two wires to the opposite ends, making a kind of circle I call a "rosette." This rosette/array of LEDs can then be arranged inside the structure, so the LEDs are a millimeter or two behind each window, pointing right at it ... of course it's a good idea to diffuse the light by backing the window with vellum, frosted mylar, paper, etc.

Each of these circuits will consume 20-25ma, depending on transformer voltage. I use a single full-wave bridge rectifier to feed the circuits (since the LEDs only conduct in one direction). As you can surmise, you can power a large number of LEDs using only a fraction of the power from one transformer.

Sharing 16-20V AC accessory power between turnouts and lights

It's often said that incandescent lights on a layout, be they inside your structures or the streetlamp variety, look better and last longer if they are run below their rated voltage, for example running a 12V lamp at 9V. To do that, though, you can't just wire up all the lamps to your accessory power, you generally have to run them off the variable DC output of an extra transformer.

I have a nifty solution for this problem, which also reduces flicker in the lights if you use the same accessory power with remote turnouts. Using diodes, create two circuits off the accessory power with each circuit rectified in a different direction. The half-wave rectified power in one circuit is still plenty powerful for the coils in your turnouts. The other circuit goes to the lights, and since there is a lag when incandescent lights switch on or off, they appear to still be glowing continuously, albeit a bit dimmer.

Note that this doesn't work for any LED lights, the half-wave power will product a very noticeable flicker since LEDs shut on and off instantaneously.

Hi-Res Color Pictures of American Cities, Mid-20th Century

These are really something, should be very inspiring for those of you modeling transition-era American cities.

How about a layout on an ironing board?

A discussion group to which I belong recently started talking about building a small layout on an ironing board. I think this is brilliant. A typical ironing board is a bit over four feet long, about a foot wide at the fat end, tapering at the narrow end. In N scale, that's enough space for the narrow end to be a switching headshunt, with enough width at the fat end to include both an Inglenook/small yard, and a small industrial switching district.

Other thoughts:

• Most boards are covered in fabric with felt underneath, so no need for raised roadbed, which you don't usually see anyway in small yards and switching districts.
• Built-in folding legs, easy out-of-the-way storage when not in use.
• Build the headshunt track to extend just fractionally beyond the tapered end, then later build a second ironing board layout, connect them, and you've got a two-piece modular layout over eight feet long! The second layout could contain a town, passenger station, and freight house, and maybe one more large-ish industry.
  

A great microcontroller board for model railroaders

I wrote earlier about the myriad uses for microcontrollers on model railroad layouts, and at that time recommended the pricey but easy to use BASIC Stamp by Parallax. It's a great learning system for those who are new to microcontrollers. However, for those who are a bit more comfortable with basic electronics and simple programming, I'd recommend taking a look at the Arduino, in particular their Diecimila board which costs about US$35.

Unlike the BASIC Stamp, which runs interpreted BASIC on the board, the Arduino uses a compiled language called Wiring which is very close to C/C++, so code runs much faster; the software and development environment are freely downloadable. In addition, there is 14K of flash memory on the board for your program, 14 digital I/O pins, 6 separate analog input pins, and serial communication. There's also an on-board USB jack for easy connection to a PC; the board gets its power from the USB jack, a battery, or an external power supply.

Especially for model newbies: test and clean your track

I was recently reminded about the importance of good, clean track. I pulled out an old micro layout, one of the first I built, just to run some trains back and forth ... oops. They just kept stalling, if they ran at all. So I pulled out the trusty Bright Boy and cleaned the track thoroughly. Now they ran OK except for one spot on the layout where there was a small problem with two track ends meeting. I had this problem when I built the layout, and had filed the track down to sort-of-fix the problem at the time, but had conveniently forgotten about this since that time ... I guess cognitive dissonance took over.

Newbies note, don't make my mistake: it is vitally important that you thoroughly test trains on your track before you start scenery. The time to fix problems, or to rip out sections and start over, is before glue and dirt and foam and paint are cemented down over everything. If the trains don't run optimally at this stage, adding scenery can only make it worse.

Lots of little layouts

My thinking has been undergoing a change recently, which seems in line with where much of the hobby is going. Having spent the last couple of years designing, building and selling several smallish layouts, I'm ready to turn my attention toward a layout of my own.

So I've been knee-deep in trackplan books, scoping out where in our little apartment would be the ideal place. One thing I've been considering is the modular idea, in particular the T-Trak specification which is excellent for small spaces, but which requires expensive Kato turnouts for yards and switch districts.

Then another possibility hits me ... in lieu of small modules that connect together, what about a series of small layouts that operate independently? Maybe 2 or 3 shelf switchers? The obvious disadvantage here is very limited train sizes, but if we're primarily talking about yards or switch districts, that's not such a big deal. The advantage is that you can do quite a wide variety of times and locations without worrying if they match up.

So I'm still undecided, but very attracted to the idea of building and owning multiple independent layouts.

The instant way to take better photos of your layout

This also applies to indoor photography in general: stop using flash.

A layout with marvelous scenicing, detailing, and weathering turns to instant messy cartoon look under the harsh glare of a flash. Set your camera so the flash is forcibly turned off.

If you can, get your layout close to a window and use the natural outdoor light to illuminate it ... or if it's small and lightweight enough, just take it outside! I've actually found that bright overcast days give better results than sunshine, because there are fewer harsh shadows.

If there's no way to get natural outdoor light near your layout, the next best method is to find a powerful incandescent light and get it close. Make sure the white balance on your camera is set to incandescent. Observe the shadows and the "tone" of the light very closely and feel free to adjust the light position before you press the shutter.

Finally, either in your camera or using photo software, experiment both with increasing the contrast and decreasing the color saturation. A little of each goes a long way.

Ridiculously simple and good-looking roads, lots, and pavement

For roads, lots, and pavement, sandpaper is your friend. You can easily trim it to any size and shape you want, from narrow road to large lot. You can cut it to fit between the rails for street running or grade crossings.

Start by selecting a grade of sandpaper suitable to what you're modeling. Fine is good for sidewalks and parking lots, while coarse is better for streets and roads. The extra thickness and height of the coarse paper also looks good at grade crossings.

If you're simulating a dirt road, the sandpaper is probably already the proper color. Otherwise, you'll want to paint the sandpaper with two coats of cheap craft store acrylic paint. For pavement or asphalt try shades of gray to dark gray. For concrete, use your eyes when selecting the paint. I use a shade called Bamboo.

After your painted sandpaper has been installed (cut and glued down), get creative with weathering. A technique I like is drydabbing. Like drybrushing, your paint brush has been wiped almost totally dry, with just a tiny amount of paint left, but instead of stroking use quick stabs and dabs. Drydab with colors just a shade or two removed from your pavement/concrete color.

I also like to use Bragdon weathering powders to simulate the soft streaks left on roads by tires and spills.

Finally, use a fine-tipped permanent marker to add cracks and tar patches.

Enough already with the Flickr pools

I promise this is the last one, but I had to include it because it may be the best of the bunch:

http://flickr.com/groups/425158@N25/pool/