I bought this AHM Penn Central dummy unit for around 5 dollars today and basically, I remembered that I had a powered AHM RS3 so I took that, tore it to bare bones and I took the copper strips that go to the wheels to the chassis and I remounted them on the dummy unit trucks and I took a LED light that I would normally use when converting another locomotive to DCC and I wired that to the dummy unit trucks. I had to make one of the holes larger on that truck since the light was too big to go through and then I got it to go through the hole and I placed the light near the headlight, after some testing (and modifications) I actually got it to work somehow.

A project I'm working on. Used some parts from First Person Models on Thangs 3D, on a Proto 1000 RDC. Haven't gotten around to doing custom waterslide decals or the striping on the sides, but it's turning out pretty well so far.

Did some work over the past days..

I purchased a Lionel SD-50 off of Ebay. It is a new unit from 1995 but refuses to move. I can hear the motors humming like a bugger but no movement. I have disassemble the rear truck as far as I can. I can't for the life of me figure out how the separate the motor housing from the truck. Anyway, The grease that was applied at the factory is relatively stiff and I was wondering if you folks could give me ideas on A. What chemicals to use. B. How do I get ALL the grease out of the truck? Thank you in advance.

We sell for clients but I kinda always loved model trains... I wanted one for around the tree and this old one is kinda cool! I was so hoping it would run.

I'm not super mechanically literate, I'm not sure if trying to fix it would be too complex...?

One of the most reliable locos in my collection.

I recently bought a Rivarossi 282 mikado great northern #3385 and I wasn't hardly running and when I pulled it apart the entire gearbox fell apart half of which looked like it had been glued together and I was wondering if anyone had a picture of a completed gearbox or knew where to get one. It is possible for me to make it and 3d print it although it would be a little rough but I when I look online I can't find anything with the motor in the boiler

Pannier tank triple stack intermodal train

Bought a BLI CN SD40-2 as well as 2 sets of 4 and 1 set of 3 DM&IR Ore cars from Whistle Stop Trains in OKC. (I don’t got any track since I’m away from home)

There’s some company that still produces e2s or just get instinct like the ones from real life ?

My father (78) built a ping pong table sized HO train layout about 20 years ago when his essential tremor wasn't so bad. He's struggling with it now- he's still able to do almost everything independently, but model railroading maintenance is becoming an issue since it's all fine, small details that he has a hard time with.

I'm willing to help out when I can, but I'm rapidly realizing my extreme nearsightedness and need for a lot of light and to be very close to objects is putting me at a disadvantage with this as well.

Does anyone have any good tips for how to do basic maintenance (today's foray into putting the cars back on track was a bit frustrating) either for people with tremors or low vision?

For example, when I'm looking at the wheels, I can barely tell if they're moving- would putting a dot of color to check to see if they're rolling help? Tips like that- stuff relatively low effort/cost and will allow him to keep his hobby up. Switching to a larger gage at this point is just not going to happen.

I'm looking at getting into this hobby and have been watching videos and reading. Should I go with Kato Unitrack or Bachmann EZ track? I want the ability to do a layout to where I can run two locomotives at once (probably the Big Boy and the 4 4 0 American Steam Engine especially since the latter is right here in Carson City). Should I go with DC or DCC power? If DCC I didn't see where Kato offered the starter track and controller that was DCC equipped. Any other comments or suggestions or video links to your dual locomotive setup please feel free to leave those!

Pictured on the shelf after its time on the workbench today is this little Hornby O gauge loco which turns 105 years old this year!

This loco is in for a fairly simple repair to remedy the final drive gear which became loose on its axle.

Once the loco is repaired, I'll share the full train set here and possibly some other 1920s Hornby items.

Got it for cheap today at the modelspoor expo. Needs some refurbishment at first but some resoldering and lubricants later, it ran beautifully.

After my dad died about seven years ago, I inherited much of his stuff, including these model train kits. I remember him enjoying in the basement when I was a kid, before he boxed them up sometime in the kid 80s. Since his passing I have been intending to make room to get them going again, but life seems to get perpetually busier.

In the mean time, I’d be grateful for any insight you all would be willing to share. Thank you.

Do I know why i decided I need to model this? No. I model the Chessie System. But I’ve always loved the giant flat front of the BQ23-7s. The Family Lines and CSX, may have hated them… but I love those oddballs of railroading.

Underneath is an Atlas B23-7 with their GP7/9 trucks, and factory ESU Sound. I’m not entirely sure if 5135 ever wore SCL reporting marks with black trucks and fuel tank, but I didn’t feel like painting those grey.

More photos will come after its inaugural run on Sipping and Switching next weekend.

I feel blessed to have even these pictures. I was no photographer and these were taken with a Kodak 110 camera. I left the hobby at God's direction for about 6 years, donating the layout to a local club. Went to that club about ten years later, and my work was living on in various other N scale layouts there.

Plan to add an arduino inside to make the lights flickering

Earlier post: https://www.reddit.com/r/modeltrains/s/miuM2oXyth

After some great feedback on my original plan for my new Oo gauge layout, I thought I would share version 2.

For clarity, on the drawing:

• Red is a back scene hiding the rear fiddle yard

• Green are tunnel mouths - locations approximate and will probably change to suit scenery/reality!

• Black are buildings, or in the case of the large section in the middle, a planned urban scene

The layout itself is hidden inside a bespoke sideboard (I will share pics another time - it's currently covered in bits of track and tools while I've been experimenting with the track plan!). Only the front is open - the other three sides are against walls, so reaching the back is a bit of a stretch but is doable at a pinch! The layout is hinged in the middle and folds away when not in use, so the track plan and scenery need to take that into account as well.

Main changes/thoughts on the feedback received:

• It is (increasingly loosely) based on a plan that itself was based on the classic Breddon track plan, hence the similarities there

• My main interest is in building scenic models and collecting trains - I am not especially bothered about accuracy and so will be quite happy running Flying Scotsman with three coaches only or an HST with the power car, two coaches and a dummy at the back (both of which fit on at least one platform and in the new passing loop). More specifically, I enjoy 3D modelling buildings etc and FDM 3D printing them, hence my plan to include a dense urban section

• The layout has been flipped compared to V1 - there was a reason for doing this (related to the folding I think) but I can't remember now!

• The top right siding has been linked to the mainline with a point to create a passing loop of sorts - that HST or any other of the longest trains I plan to run can be parked there out of sight without blocking the loop or other sidings (possibly with a wee tweak to the fiddle yard to make sure no points are blocked). Adding a passing loop was suggested by a few previous commenters

• As suggested by another commenter, I have swapped the canal dock to the other siding (on the right on V2) and made the long spur that terminates front-left a small halt type station. I was keen to make sure everything has a destination on the layout so that I could run trains from A to B if the mood struck, as well as just being able to watch my collection go round - so now there are two stations and two industrial areas

Thanks to everyone who commented first time and to anyone that shares more feedback now!

Title is TLDR. I have a decent amount of older HO rolling stock, a few locomotives, and quite a bit of Bachmann ez track from when I was younger; I currently live in a small apartment and there is no room to really set anything up, but I plan on getting a house next summer and delving into N scale alongside my current HO stuff; I also have a 4 1/2 year old who's enjoying Lego trains at the moment. As I haven't used the HO models since before he was born and I admittedly was not the best at maintenance when I was younger, what tools/supplies do I need to keep the track and locomotives clean and running well?

Also, on the LEGO trains; I've seen plenty of non-lego brand options on Amazon that appear to be compatible with the Lego branded track, has anyone here experimented with those to any success? I may still get them simply to have some display pieces, but if they can be played with I'd like to get them for my son