Smoothing out the Muskrat River

I managed to get a coat of wood filler onto the Muskrat River the other night. Sanding remains, but hopefully this will hide the wood grain. Nothing spoils the illusion of a water quite like wood grain. Here’s how it looks before sanding:

Limned?

So, we’ve established that the RGB strip of lights is a little too subtle as it stands. So, when Andrew was over the other night, I wondered aloud if painting the clouds a little impasto could light them up. You see, you can see the RGB colours on the ceiling, so perhaps they might show […]

Solution to Broken Headblock

Well, it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be. When the headblock tie first broke, I had visions that it could mean tearing up the turnout and re-laying it. However, once cooler heads had taken over, a good solution presented itself. I cut a length of .005 brass sheet, and bent it […]

A Problem with the Switch Rod System

Andrew came over on Wednesday to help install the Bullfrogs on the North Section. This is something that goes best with two people: one to move the turnout control around, and the other to say what is happening above. So, I was grateful for his help. We got four of five done, but on the […]

Photographing Canada Atlantic #10

I’m working on an e-book for Model Railroad Hobbyist about my construction of Canada Atlantic #10. The original photos I shot back when the model was finished were done under lights, and models always look much better outside. Since this was a beautiful weekend, I dusted off the old purple module and took the kids […]

Sunrise, Sunset

This week, Andrew and I installed the remaining lights for Pembroke. There are now five strips of LEDs pointing down: three cool white and two warm white. As anticipated, the extra strip of warm white adds a little more – well – warmth. These strips were from a second manufacturer, and I must say the […]

Refined Bullfrogs

It might not have been apparent, but that first Bullfrog posting showed pictures of a proof of concept installation. Now that I am installing them on the actual layout, here is an update on some of the refinements I’ve made.

Ambience

I’ve been on the lookout for an inexpensive stereo for the train room for some time now. Today was the lucky day! On the way home from an appointment, I stopped in at a garage sale and found a stereo. I figured they would be increasingly flexible on price as they came closer to closing, […]

Remote Turnouts Solved

Okay, I think I’ve got this problem with throwing both the switch and the switch stand for the turnouts on the window sill licked! The trick was to think about the parts that have to move the same distance and to design something that would hold them rigidly together. Then I remembered Pembroke’s Victorian or […]

Failed Bullfrog Mutation

This week I managed to get the two Bullfrogs for the remote switches installed. After an evening’s head-scratching, I actually managed to get the switches themselves to move relatively sweetly. The secret was to add sufficient screws to the near end of the sliders to keep them from lifting or twisting at all. So far […]