model railroading Archives - The Silicon Underground

What a rivet counter is in model railroading

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 13:03:07 +0000

In model railroading, a rivet counter is someone who pays extremely close attention to small details in model trains and points out any deficiencies, often in an annoying manner. It is generally considered a pejorative. In this blog post, I’ll

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What a craftsman kit is in model trains

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 14:03:46 +0000

In model railroading, a craftsman kit is a model kit consisting of wood and sometimes paper, and detail parts cast from soft metal. There is usually a fair amount of measuring, cutting, and gluing involved to build the model, and

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Is OO gauge the same as HO?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 13:03:22 +0000

Is OO gauge the same as HO? Yes and no. How is that possible? Here’s how and why they can be the same and different. To clarify: HO and OO are not the same scale. But they are sometimes, dare

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What does silicone mean when wiring trains?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 13:03:53 +0000

Hobby shops sell silicone wiring with high strand counts for wiring train layouts. But what is silicone wiring? What does it mean? And what is special about silicone wire for model trains and do you need it? What is silicone

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What nickel silver track is

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 13:03:11 +0000

If you are into model trains, you’ve probably seen the words nickel silver on the packaging for track, or you’ve seen track advertised as being made of nickel silver. But what is nickel silver, and is it a good thing

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No Ox ID for model railroading

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 13:03:35 +0000

In 1965, Linn Westcott, the longtime editor of Model Railroader magazine, wrote an article about how he never cleaned the track on his layout. His secret was a product called No Ox ID A Special. Let’s talk about No Ox

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Dept 56 Village Express Electric train set

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 14:03:17 +0000

The Dept 56 Village Express electric train set was a train set made by Bachmann for Department 56. It was available from 1998 to 2006. A train is a natural fit for Dept 56, which is meant to evoke a

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How big is an N scale train?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 14:03:56 +0000

N scale is the second most popular scale for model railroading, because it’s small enough that you can fit a big layout in a reasonable space without it taking over your basement, or build a small layout in a very

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What is basswood?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 13:03:41 +0000

Basswood is a popular hobby wood, but what else is basswood used for? Where does it grow? And where do you buy it? If, like me, you’ve been buying basswood at hobby shops for years but have never seen a

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Picking a setting for your model railroad

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 13:00:11 +0000

I struggled for a couple of years trying to decide on a time and place for my train layout. I was afraid of locking myself into a specific time period. What if I chose the 1950s, then decided I wanted

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