Division of Labor

Originally Posted on May 11, 2012

We all build models here and trade various jobs outside our specialties. Of course, we all take turns working the register, taking tickets and selling trains sets and engines. I scratch built the Western Town buildings and our two barns, and many others. Our materials for scratch building include: foamboard for larger, modern buildings; clear plastic, and even scale lumber provided by companies that reduce common contruction materials to scale sizes.

Our Buildings

Originally Posted May 11, 2012

Our ceramic buildings add a lot to our display; if you are a fan of Department 56 or Lemax buildings, see if you can find your favorites. You will notice that ours have often been repainted: we call this “de-Christmas”-ing. It involves painting over the snow with an appropriate substitute and often covering the roof with new material. Often, even when the building has no snow, we like to tighten up the details or mute over-bright colors. No hostility here to the Christmas season, just a desire to keep our main layout in the sunnier months. We have a very nice winter layout in the gift shop, just the thing to see when the thermometer hits 100F!
Between the scratch built items and the ready-to-go ceramic pieces, we have the building kits. Various companies sell kits in laser-cut wood, the most precise and delicately detailed of our models. The large refinery is also a kit, made of plastic and designed by a real-life chemical engineer who works in the industry.

Our Wiring

Originally Posted May 4, 2012

My name is David, and I’m the electrical/electronics guy here at Roads and Rails.

I do not have any formal training in these areas, but I’ve been playing around with model train power and accessories for years, and with a little help from the guys at O-Gauge forums, we have been able to build a reliable, expandable,  and (most importantly) repairable power framework to run trains, animations and lights.

The wiring is color coded and tagged, indicating the origin, voltage and use of every power line. While some of the animations and lights are advertised to work across a range of voltages (even indifferent to whether AC or DC current is used!), we have experimented and found the ideal voltage for each and supply only that voltage to the device.

Under the floor between the layout and the control platform is quite a mass of colored wire, bound into one large umbilical linking controls and trains.

Relaunching Our RnR Blog

We've decided to migrate our blog here, to Blogger, after totally reworking our website:

www.roadsnrails.com

We're doing more videos and less blogging now. Here's our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/roadsandrailsmuseum

Here's the original intro to our blog, our first post:

"A blog introduction is usually short, as the prospective blogger has no specific idea what his blog will be about.

That will not be a problem for this blog, which will be focused on toy train railroading and museum development here at the Roads and Rails Museum.

I will also be showing readers my home HO scale layout, to show what can be done in a smaller space and at a lower cost."

I think it still holds. Watch this space!