Turnout control Mark II

Now that I almost have a functioning locomotive again, I’m eager to get back to operations. As I had to get the 3D printer out to create a new steam dome after the first got chipped after its tungsten weight propelled it at the floor, I decided to try out a plan for an improved […]

Quite a few parts

When you lay them all out, ready for painting, 622 incorporates quite a few subassemblies! Thirty-seven, in this photo, but I’ve left out the cab windows, so that’s another seven. Forty-four subassemblies in total. While I had all the subassemblies in one place, I also took a few minutes to count all the parts. 513. […]

Evicting the anchor tenants

What’s on my workbench? Absolutely nothing for the first time in months! I finally banished those items that had been harbouring the mess. The pieces for 622 have been taped to some foamcore in preparation for painting, while the left-over etches have found a new home in the drawer with other model projects. The big […]

The Mary Street bridge disaster

For years, foamcore mockup buildings have helped tell the story of Pembroke; even though they’re plain white, lay visitors can immediately understand that this is a model of a town, and begin to appreciate what I’m aiming for. I’ve used them to understand and modify massing and composition, which should help to avoid waste down […]

A tiny switch boosts enjoyment

#622 and I have been working bugs out of the layout. After correcting a gauge issue with one of the engine truck axles, all the faults have been with the layout, and have been easily identified with a track gauge — a track gauge that Ed McCamey had EDM-cut from highly-conductive 18-gauge steel because he […]

Minding the gaps

The common wisdom says that you should put something insulating into the electrical gaps between rails. According to model railroad folklore, without insulators, those gaps will eventually close up with all the humidity and heat-induced rail cavorting, and the resulting short will be remarkably difficult to find. Now, Pembroke’s Presbyterian rails have never been inclined […]

The Pembroke Milling Company spur

The Pembroke Milling Company was situated at the other end of the Pembroke Street bridge. Indeed, the mill was the reason for the dam that meets our side of the Muskrat behind the depot. One of the Pembroke Southern’s founders, William Moffat owned the mill, and he preferentially built a warehouse on his railway. It […]

622 makes it to sea trials

622 is finally back together again. I managed to keep the same electrical scheme albeit with a little less elegance than originally planned. Where svelte insulating layers were incorporated into the frame, I now have beefy sandwiches of nickel silver and epoxy on plastic. Where the frame originally conducted electricity covertly, there are now obvious […]

Wall thickness experiments

I have optimistically put the 3D printer away so I could convert the heavy shop into a paint booth. It’s time to write up my findings as I’ve been exploring the boundaries of this new tool. In particular, I want to figure out how I can make thin-walled boxes like hopper cars. Starting with the […]

When the therapy runs out

On my way home from the recycling depot this Sunday, I turned on CBC radio, as I often do when I’m out, and was surprised to hear Jason Shron of Rapido fame talking to Mary Hynes on the weekly exploration of all things spiritual, Tapestry. Jason’s enthusiasm for active hobbies and model railroading in particular […]