Genesis Turbine

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Tsunami Sound in the Genesis Turbine The Genesis Tsunami is a magnificent looking loco but the magic of the prototype units was the sound they produced. This page will give you two options for the install – the “quick and easy” way and the “better” way. There is also a section on the programming of … Read more

P2K 4-wheel loco trucks

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HO Proto 2000 Diesel LocomotivesDiesel with 4-wheel trucks (Clicking Noise – Split Gear) Text by Ron Solly While these locos are good value, they have a common mechanical problem. After some running & things get warm, the plastic gears on the axles tend to either split or break into a couple of parts. If they … Read more

P2K 0-8-0 Pickups

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The 0-8-0 loco from P2K runs perfectly at all speeds but does suffer from a lack of picks on all wheels. The tender trucks were designed to take pickups but these were never fitted in production. This page will show you how to add picks in less than an hour. The P2K 0-6-0 is supplied … Read more

Proto 2000 SD7/9 Pickups

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The SD7/9 locos from Proto 2000 are smooth running, quiet locos. However, after a few hours of running they can get erratic due to the pickup design. Below is the procedure I use to combat this. My locos have decoders for DCC and they are programmed for a top speed of 35 mph and do … Read more

Brass Loco Pickups

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Fitting Pickups to Brass Locos for Reliable Running Brass locos are built to be displayed on glass shelves, but, a few people like to run them on a layout. The problems start here. The locos do not normally have a flywheel fitted to the drive shaft or motor. They have minimal pickups to get the … Read more

NSW NR Class

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NR Class – Decoder Installs This is the second release of the NR class by Austrains and this time consideration has been given to installing a sound decoder and speaker as well as a good light selection. This page will show you how to install a Tsunami AT1000 GE sound decoder and a reasonable speaker. … Read more

NSW 80 Class

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80 Class – Decoder Installs With the body removed, remove all wiring and then remove the weight from the chassis by removing the 4 screws. Remove all the garbage pieces attached to the motor. It is only required if you take the loco to Europe on holiday with you. Add the two motor wires as … Read more

Using Surface Mount Devices

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LEDs have been around for over 40 years and some people are still afraid of them. LEDs come in many shapes sizes and colours. The big advantage for us modellers is that they do not generate heat (no damage to the plastic shells) and are very forgiving of voltage variations. A 1.5 volt lamp will … Read more

Lighting the SHG Brake Van

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With advancement and availability of small parts suitable for model railways, some people like night running with lights on the locos and lights in rolling stock. Here is how I installed the interior lights – this one is an NSW SHG (Australian)- first with track power for the lights then updated with a Function Decoder … Read more

Program Track Wiring

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It is always best to have your track near your programming device (Command Station, SPROG, or Computer). For greater flexibility, the track should be part of the layout trackage. The reason for this is to minimise the handling of the finely detailed locos on your layout. To prevent a running loco from accidentally shorting the … Read more

Fitting Servos and Using Accessory Decoders

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For many years we have had the twin solenoid machines (Peco, Gem, Tenshodo), then along came the motor driven screw machines (Fulgarex, MannMade), then the stall motors (Switch Master, Tortoise, Cobalt). All this time other modellers have just been using a single unit to do all the motion and animation duties on their models, model … Read more

Spray Booth for the Cedar Valley Railroad

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The move to the new location left me without some means of exhausting dangerous paint fumes (read Floquil) when using my airbrush. I considered allocating a corner of the adjoining garage but realising what dust could do to a freshly painted model if the automatic door was inadvertently opened led me back to the new … Read more

New Approach to Turnout Throws

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I switch all of the easily accessible turnouts on my Cedar Valley Short Lines with slide switches I have altered to my own design. They are robust, inexpensive, easy to construct, route power to the turnout frogs, look similar to prototype switch stands and have moveable targets which show which way the turnout is thrown. … Read more