New York Central Train Layout

Monday, February 13, 2012

The Next 8 Feet is Complete

The next eight feet of the layout is complete and an additional six feet have been completed as well. While it took longer than I expected to photo and post the results the work went fairly quickly. The delays were caused by the need for auto repairs and the replacement of our water heater all of which I did myself. Without further ado here are pictures of the progress

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Next 8 Feet

As things have gotten back to normal after the Holidays I have turned my attention to the next 8 feet of railroad needing completion. After months of toying with so many different building placements and ideas for this 8 foot by 1 foot area along the back wall just beyond the highway overpass I have finally moved forward. Scenery is being installed and buildings are now dedicated to their sites. A second highway overpass that will be about eight feet from the one above is being built and some other scenery elements are being worked in as well. Work began yesterday, January 16th 2012, and progress has been slow but steady. Updates and pictures will be posted to show improvements to this area.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Drawbar equipped Athearn F7s

Here are some photos of an easy to project that swapped out traditional couplers for a draw bar between Athearn F7 A units. Start by removing the old coupler assembly. Locate the mounting hole on coupler mounting ad and drill this hole all the way through. A note of caution here is that you should either remove the motor and trucks or at least cover them well so the metal shavings do not get into the gears. Using a piece of plastic from my scrap box I attached one side to #210 with a 2-56 screw. On #215 I installed a 2-56 screw with just enough protruding from the bottom of the coupler pad to hook the draw bar. When assembled the units are close coupled and the plastic draw bar insulates the units to eliminate any potential electrical shorts.