First, here’s an overall diagram of what the route includes. Please refer to the diagram when needed.

One thing I forgot to include in the key was that the thin pencil lines are switching tracks, and the bold ink lines are the Main Line. This is a quick diagram I sketched up.

These are the two switching engines that I always find in area A. They are always in town, somewhere in this area. Full cars are always deposited into area A and C, where they sit until another train takes them away. Empty cars are always put into area B, where they also wait to be taken away. This switching consist moves these cars to the two locations.

See empty cars from area B:

The day I went to take these pictures, there were a large number of empty cars, leading me to believe pickup was going to be the day after or the next. I had seen a few flatcars early in the week, then a gondola or two, and at the end, there were a ton (More like a few hundred tons) of hoppers waiting.

As I said, bigger trains take away the empty cars, and haul them to other cities to be filled again.

A cool (and kind of strange) thing I also discovered was a caboose, residing in area C. It was run down, and had large blocks behind its wheels to keep it from rolling. If I had to guess, I would say that one of the drivers (or the driver) of the consist resides here sometimes. (If not all the time)

I thought this might be interesting, and if you like operation, it would be a great addition to a layout, because there is only one track for the mainline. I personally have not included it, because of a lack of city space on my layout, but I would love to see this on another layout.

Thanks for reading!

Lukas

Prototype inspiration is varied, stemming from the Boston & Maine railroad in the vicinity of Boston and Cape Ann, MA,  Boston’s Union Freight Railroad, Mystic Seaport Museum’s recreated seafaring village in Mystic, CT, and New York harbor’s tugboats, carfloats, barges, and other rail-marine operations.

As of this writing (Feb. 2012), the main project is a wharf along the front edge of the layout, to carry track through a transfer bridge to a car float barge, which will provide staging and interchange tracks.

Structures will be mostly from craftsman kits, and boats (a tug or two, a schooner, a steam passenger ferry, a barge or two, etc) will eventually populate the harbor.

https://picasaweb.google.com/112317697584688550109/ShoreLineTrolleyMuseumDec292011

Also, the website will now feature future Hotbox articles. Check in to see your favorite photographs from the newsletter in glorious full color, and search through articles with Google or the “Search” bar on the right side of this page.

The Pivot Pin’s email address and “email directly” form on the contact us page of this site were both broken; the form has now been fixed. If you tried sending an email to him with these any time in the past few months, it likely did not reach him. The webmaster’s contact us form has always worked, and still does. You may email the pivot pin now, and it will likely reach him. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

On the plus side, we’ve just added President Josh Cohn to the contact list, and yes, this time we tested.

Hopefully This helps y’all out with trees, any questions, go ahead and post them

Link: http://youtu.be/FQmtoYK7bw4

Benchwork for HO Layout is Finished!

So, I’ve been trying to build a model railroad since I was four. We were just starting when we moved, and I started school, and my train was forgotten. However, ten (almost 11) years later, I have begun work on my train, starting with completing the benchwork. My next step is adding shelves for storage underneath the layout. Later, I may add a guide about shelves. I have planned out an HO scale layout, and I hope to post showcase videos later, when I have completed it.

Thanks for listening,

Lukas

TOOLS:

You will need several tools to make this possible. A pair of pliers for bending tricky sections of wire, a sharp tack with a large head for making holes in the styrene (you will need something stronger for metal and brass locomotives and rolling stock), Cutters/Nippers (Since I’d recently purchased a rail cutter, I decided to use it. It was overkill, but it worked), and some glue and a toothpick. (White glue does work, but model glue is the best) For the actual guardrails and ladders, I used .015 inch music wire.

In my case, I decided to add a guardrail around a Tyco Coco-Cola tanker, because A) I needed to add them, and B) the tank material is a softer styrene than a locomotive’s or even many boxcars’.

Your first step is drilling a hole that is more or less in the very center of the tank car’s side with the tack. This is where the guardrail ends will go. You will need one of these on both sides.

Bend the wire into a 90 degree angle, and insert the end into the hole. Then make your way around the tank car, bending it at the ends until you get to the other side. Make a bend right above the hole, and clip the wire so there is about a half inch sticking out. Insert this into the other hole. Then add a dab of glue:

You’re half finished!

Repeat on the other side:

Bend the wire, insert, wrap & bend around the car, clip, and insert the other side. Then glue both holes shut, and add a dab of glue on the ends:

And you’re finished:

On a related note, I began adding a guardrail to my UP Dash-8 which lost it’s front guardrail in a crash, and I lost it. The guardrail looks crooked now, but when the glue dries, I will straighten it out with pliers, and add another beam down to the deck, as on the left. What’s nice with replacements, is that the holes are already there, you don’t need to make them.

Hope this helps!

Lukas