Modelers Guild

Making bottle brush trees

2012-02-10T16:00:00.000-05:00

In another video we link you to one more tree clinic on video.

I could not find a how to video online on how to make Bottle brush trees so Here is mine....These are very easy to make

Here is how i made the tree trucks...

Ontario Club is calling for new members

2012-02-08T09:07:00.000-05:00

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Darrell Rubletz's "labour of love" could take another decade to finish.
As president of the Campbellford Model Railroad Club, he's working on recreating in miniature the railway line between Peterborough and Belleville as it existed in the early 1920s.

It's a slow process because the club itself has shrunk in size. Mr. Rubletz and Lionel Williams are the only ones still with the club since its formation about a half dozen years ago, when it had around 10 members.

"Membership in the club has been and still is a concern," Mr. Rubletz said in a report to the Campbellford-Seymour Heritage Society during its recent annual general meeting. "We need to let the public know we exist," he said. "We have to get more members."

http://www.northumberlandnews.com/news/article/1285772--model-railroad-club-needs-help-building-campbellford-railway-line

Model Trains in the News, Sharing trains with your kids

2012-02-06T08:27:00.000-05:00

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Last year a “teachable moment” appeared to Katja Chatfield when she and her sons viewed the model railroad layout at Customs House Museum and Cultural Center.

Chatfield’s two boys, Niklas, 8, and Lukas, 5, were frequent museum visitors on Sunday afternoons, especially during the heavy winter snows. But one day Niklas noticed a flaw in the landscape.

“Look, Mom!” he said. “There’s a bank, but there’s no hotel. We definitely need a Hilton Garden Inn here.”

Chatfield, who is the Hilton Garden Inn general manager, could have let the observation pass as one more fleeting moment in a child’s life. But she seized upon it.

“It was important to show my boys that if you have a good idea, it’s important to follow up on it,” Chatfield said.

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20120127/LIFESTYLE/301270004/Train-model-brings-boys-creativity-life?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs

How to make furnace filter trees

2012-02-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

Furnace filter is a long time favourite for making tree's. Long ago a friend from Europe sent me a story for this very technique for the Guild website. This however is a video and who doesn't like video ?

History of the Trinidad & Tobago Government Railways

2012-02-02T15:38:00.000-05:00

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Here is a 3 part video of the History of the Trinidad & Tobago Government Railways. I saw this video for the first time today as it brought nostalgia of my youthful days when I rode as well as viewed these trains that passed along the tracks behind my home in St. Augustine, Trinidad.

Lex Parker's New Website

2012-01-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

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A local master model railroader Lex Parker, has used his website to show off his findings for a long while now. It is a staple of research for me and my local crew.

The new design is quite nice. I found it to be easy to navigate and obviously Lex used the time to update it to include his current activities. Lex models the D&RGW Railroad. And a visit is time gained, not wasted.

http://www.drgwrr.com/

One great website, thanks to Walter

2012-01-29T12:13:00.000-05:00

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Much of our beloved railroad history flies by without much documentation. Lost in time, sometimes never to be shared again. Today I share with you a website built and run by a local railfan, Walter Pfefferle.

Caption from the site
This page is a collection of my photos and trips chasing trains in Canada and the USA. I also traced and either walked or rode my bike on most of the abandoned railway lines in Grey and Bruce Counties. I enjoy chasing and photographing trains. I hope you find something that interest you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to use any of the material on this site.

http://railpast.com/

100 years of Winnipeg Union Station, A history in video

2012-01-27T10:25:00.000-05:00

In commemoration of the centennial of Winnipeg's Union Station, VIA Rail Canada commissioned the production of an original work exploring the historical significance of trains and train travel, from station to railway, in Winnipeg as well as in the building of Canada.

This National Film Board of Canada presentation has been compiled from more than 70 years of material archived in the NFB vaults.

From acclaimed Director/Editor Yves Chaput

Electronics Pt 2

2012-01-24T20:39:00.000-05:00

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Model railroading electronics that stand the test of time. Available for purchase but all

schematics are here for any wishing to build their own!

http://www3.sympatico.ca/kstapleton3/Index.html

Arduino is a prototyping electronics system I'm playing with now. These use the Arduino Sketches to run these puzzles.

http://dawson-station.blogspot.com/2010/04/virtual-scale.html

http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/

http://www.precisionlabels.com/shunt/jpage330.html

Miller Model Sound Modules Selloff

2012-01-22T20:42:00.000-05:00

Miller Models is shutting down, disposing of all the sound modules and will not be restocking. Should you be considering purchasing any in the future, do it now or they'll be gone.

http://www.millermodels.com/

MR Electronics projects Pt1 Pc Powersupply

2012-01-20T13:47:00.000-05:00

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If you find building your own desktop powersupply from a recycled PSU and a few parts from the local electronics store appealing, then grab some tools, pour yourself a cup of coffee (or personal preference) and let's get started. The LED (light emitting diode) was also salvaged from an old PC. If you want to add a power on indicator, LED's add a nice touch and can easily be wired into the +5v rail. I do strongly encourge you to read the contents of this site and associated links before beginning your conversion -- there are a number of hints included in the associated pages.

Power supply from a PC http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.batts/ps/POWERSUPPLY.HTM

A new model railroad podcast

2012-01-18T10:38:00.000-05:00

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The gang from the old ScottyMason show are back again. No not Scotty, but the rest of the show is there. Yes that's right Dave Frary, Jimmy Deignan and that foss guy have reunited with a new show without Scott. The Observation Car Podcast (yes 'tis a mouthful), but they're back.

For those of us who have enjoyed this type of entertainment over the years, the renewal of Frary's tips and hints are definitely welcome and refreshing. However it doesn't come without a few annoying old boys club announcements. The very fact that these opinionated individuals have drawn a line in the sand against Mr Mason tells me their announcements (as usual) are going to be more biased then ever.

Don't get me wrong, I like the show, but they are still basically three businessmen flogging their own products (as well as a few choice friends and anyone who sends in free products). Now many readers will say isn't that the point ? I am of the opinion that being forcefed info on just a few of the thousands of products available over and over again, not only gets old, but misses the point of quality entertainment. No need for lessons or true subject matter.

As an amateur builder, I find it very entertaining to hear a first hand account from Mr Frary on the history of model railroading. And even though I have a long standing grudge against Fooscale for charging me through the nose for shipping some glue and small details parts (of which I sent back), his creative zeal is something many producers lack in full. Jimmy, the financier is again the tech behind the show. Each put more effort then a market newsboy into promoting their products, and again it is my hope they don't run out of topics of interest. As listening to constant ads and self promotion could be considered more then just spam, but a waste of a great form of entertainment for me and hundreds of other modelers.

I say Good Luck to the guys. Hopefully they'll recognize what listeners want and balance that with their goals of the show. Cause promoting yourself isn't so bad as long as listeners walk away with some info they can use. Are you listening Doug and Jim ?

2012-01-16T07:09:00.000-05:00

Brian Switzer has kindly added a series of steam photos. The photog looks to be Randy Masales - Canadian Pacific Steam

http://picasaweb.google.com/herkamur42/RandyMasalesCanadianPacificSteam#

Tall timber RR

2012-01-13T12:25:00.000-05:00

This is an On30 logging layout slideshow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fogRN7NxtLI

A roughcut of life

2012-01-11T12:18:00.000-05:00

Steam-locomotive enginemen tell anecdotes of their experiences in the woods, which are intercut with 16mm archival films dating back to 1903.

Wrecks, run-aways, humorous incidents in camp, and double-headed snow-plowing with geared engines are among the subjects covered in this personal look at a long-vanished life-style.

As I have been neglecting to do so, I apologize for the lack of links lately. As a note, the title "ModelersGuild" will take you to the post too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzKnDZSP1mo

2012-01-09T16:14:00.000-05:00

Norman Stenzel's HO layout is located in Atlanta GA. The layout fills a 2000 square foot basement and is based on a fictional railroad, the Brandywine & Benedictine.

Sorry everyone for the lack of a link. The video's get stripped from the emails, again I apologize.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qaMi06csrA&feature=player_embedded

2012-01-07T16:12:00.000-05:00

The Weber Canyon. The layout is set in the west end of the Evanston Subdivision which ends in Ogden, Utah. This layout represents about 4 miles of double track that travels up and down the canyon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtRG7-smGJo&feature=player_embedded

2012-01-05T16:11:00.000-05:00

This is a 1930's style model railroad called Douglassville Locomotive Works (DLW for short). This layout is located in Douglassville, PA. It took the owner, Jay Matz (and friends), 20 years to build this large layout, and it is still expanding! The rail line that runs two Shays and one Climax is "Pine Ridge Lumber" and the two main lines are "Berkshire and Allegheny" and "Neversink Railroad". The layout's website is http://www.dlw-model-rr.com

2012-01-03T16:09:00.000-05:00

Visit Tim Dickinson's HO Scale model train layout for an unusual sight - Norfolk Southern locomotives and TopGon coal cars traversing the line between Spokane and Seattle, Washington. In due time, we'll cover awesome Burlington Northern action from the mid-70's on Tim's layout.

Featured in this video are Paul Federiconi and his completely custom, Norfolk Southern Dash9's. Complete with ALL of the detail you could imagine (including some new Details West NS and Dash9 products), Paul even went as far as adding sound to the models with the correct, custom programmed, K5 horn and air compressor - not currently available on the market. Sound decoder by Loksound. Paul painted the models and used decals from ShellScale Decals (www.shellscale.com) Visit: www.detailswest.com

HO Scale Burlington Northern layout

2012-01-01T15:46:00.000-05:00

Take a look at Tim Dickinson's wonderful HO Scale Burlington Northern empire as we follow a grain train, with manned helpers, over the mountain and through numerous yards and staging tracks.

While the video shows an overall view of the layout, it's difficult to get appreciation for the quality level of this railroad without actually seeing it in person.

When steam was king

2011-12-30T09:07:00.000-05:00

Steam trains operating on the NYNH&H, NYC, C&O, PRR, NKP, Erie, L&N, GN, UP, T&P and ATSF railroads during the 1940's & 50's.

The Great Train Robbery

2011-12-27T15:18:00.000-05:00

The feature film "The Great Train Robbery," produced by the Edison Company, opens in the United States.

Railroad Competition in 1920s & 1930s

2011-12-25T19:59:00.000-05:00

Newer technology in trucks, buses, and road construction provided increased competition for railroads in the 1920s and 1930s. The beginning of passenger airline service also affected railroads. In addition, the Great Depression reduced demand more generally. The effect of both was reflected in rail labor markets in which wage cuts were negotiated. The impact of competition and demand swings is comparable to the impact of deregulation in transportation in the 1980s. In the 1930s, however, rail fares and prices were still set in a regulated framework. The authorities cut prices as noted in the video due to the changing transportation market.

Great Lakes Railroad Carferries

2011-12-23T20:06:00.000-05:00

Take a nostalgic look at the Pere Marquette/ Chesapeake &Ohio/ Chessie System Car ferries from the 1920s to 1974. Learn how a railroad carferry is loaded. See the Spartan, Badger and the PM41 City Of Midland in addition to the PM18-19 & 22. These photos were taken by my Dad at Ludington Mich in the 1930s and 1969.

Trains in the 1930's, Movie: Danger Lights

2011-12-21T15:23:00.000-05:00

Danger Lights is a 1930 movie starring Louis Wolheim, Robert Armstrong, and Jean Arthur.
The plot concerns railroading on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, and the movie was largely filmed along that railroad's lines in Montana. The railway yard in Miles City, Montana was a primary setting, while rural scenes were shot along the railway line through Sixteen Mile Canyon, Montana. Additional footage was shot in Chicago, Illinois. The film has been edited to show the train highlights including a steam loco tug of war, a 100 mph run to Chicago and some of the best train action ever filmed by Hollywood!