National N-Scale Convention

This year, The N-Scale Enthusiast hosted its annual N-scale convention in Pittsburgh, PA. That is only about a five hour drive from my house, so I talked the wife into a weekend trip and off we went. For my first time at any convention like this, I decided that I just wanted to go to the public show to see the vendors and the layout display room. It was a great experience with just these two components. At most train shows I attend, I am lucky to find a vendor with N-scale stuff every four or five tables or so. At this convention, EVERY table was N-scale! Although I might not have been interested in what everyone had to show or sell due to the locale and period of my model railroad, it was nice to see a good representation from the hobby. There were a few manufacturers there such as Athearn, Atlas, Kato, Digitrax, Fox Valley, Bar Mills, RSLASER and of course Micro-Trains showing off some of their newest offerings as well as a peek at what is coming down the road. It was also nice to be able to have a conversation with some of the representatives and let them know what you are looking for from them. I truly believe that they listen and take our input into consideration when making product decisions. Of course, I bought a few items from the vendors.

A few of the items purchased from the vendors.

The other portion of the show was the layout displays. There were three large rooms filled with N-Trak, T-Trak and individual modules. Much of the work was awe inspiring and inspirational. It ranged from a very detailed carnival scene with hundreds of lights and animation, to mountain vistas, to industrial switching. There was something to see for everyone. It was also cool to see that several clubs were joined together to make a couple of large NTrak layouts. This is what is nice about the modular standards. The T-Trak room was a great demonstration of what can be accomplished by individuals with a very limited amount of space, whether that is by choice or not. This was the first time I had seen in person the T-Trak concept executed so beautifully. My only regret, is not taking any pictures of the modules (hence no pictures on my post). But there are plenty of people that did and you can find those at sites such s YouTube.

My wife and I rounded out the weekend by visiting some of the other sites around Pittsburgh such as the incline railway, Fort Pitt, and the downtown area for dinner. I think the next time I attend this convention I just might have to make a week of it and participate in some of the workshops and even submit a model for judging.

New N-Scale Steam...WITH SOUND!

Within the past two weeks I have purchased three new N-scale steam locomotives (yes, my wallet hurts). The first was one of the Bachmann Pennsylvania K-4 Pacifics to go along with my Micro-Trains set of heavy weight passenger cars. This set of locomotive and cars is not really appropriate for my layout, but they sure do run and look good. The K4 runs exceptionally well with good slow speed control and a good range of speeds on the throttle. Electrical pickup is great, not even hesitating over the dead frogs on my code 55 Atlas turnouts. As far as the sounds go, there are the usual compliment of chuffs, whistle sounds and other steam related sounds. Although the sounds are good and quite loud, N-scale sound is still relatively new and has bit to be desired. But I am sure it will get better in the future. I just still can't get over the fact that the manufacturers can pack the DCC decoder and speakers in the tenders. Click here for a video of this locomotive and cars traveling across my layout.

A couple days after the locomotive above arrived at my house, I got an email from Pete at Brooklyn Locomotive Works that the two MRC/Model Power locomotives that I had pre-ordered early last year were now in stock and had shipped. I already have the DCC/Sound versions of the 2-8-2 and 4-6-2 MRC retooled from Model Power a year earlier, and these are fine locomotives. The new locomotives arrived after a couple days and I could not wait to get them on the rails and see (and hear) how well they run. The 4-4-0 "American" and the 2-6-0 "Mogul" type locomotives are perfect for my Deer Creek & Susquehanna Railroad. On first running, these locomotives did not disappoint, running flawlessly right out of the box. All wheels are within gauge and electrical pickup is excellent due to the re-working of the pickup wipers on the drivers and truck-mounted pickups on the tender. Knuckle couplers similar in size to Bachmann's are mounted on the tender and the front pilot, making these locomotives perfect for switching operations on my railroad. If you want to customize your version of either of these locomotives, the undecorated version comes with some alternate parts including a cab, tender trucks, front pilot, valve and cylinder and front plate with alternate headlight position. Although I have not tried to change anything yet, these parts look easy enough to swap out. After a good break-in period, it was time to see what kind of speeds I could get out of these locomotives. Both run similarly and have a maximum scale speed of about 55 smph and an impressive slow speed of about 2 smph, with a mid-throttle speed of 25 smph. This indicates that the throttle response is very consistent with the full range of speeds spread over the entire throttle range, unlike some other N-scale small steamers that get fast very quickly on the throttle. Now for the sounds, and boy are there a lot of sounds. With 10 different chuffs, 8 bells, and 17 whistles to choose from, as well as a full compliment of other steam locomotive sounds, these locomotives are ready for your pike. Although the sounds are great, the volume of these locomotives leaves a bit to be desired, with the sounds being somewhat muffled. The speaker is located in the tender under the coal load and could probably benefit from a few tiny wholes drilled for the sound to escape better. Having ordered the undecorated versions of these locomotives, it is time for me to get to work lettering them for my home railroad. I am very pleased with all three of these steamers and hope to run them for many years to come. Maybe, just maybe N-scale steam has finally come of age and the future is looking bright. See these locomotives in action here.

For another review of these locomotives (and many others), check out all of the reviews at spookshow.net.

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First Open House - Success!

Earlier this year I decided to participate in the local open house schedule for Maryland and Delaware (modelrailroadopenhouse.com).  Once the schedule was finalized and published, I realized that I was the only N-scale layout on the schedule, and was not sure how that would effect my turnout. Before the big day arrived, there were several projects I wanted to complete on the layout before opening to visitors. This included finishing up some electrical work, replacing some sections of facia, and most importantly installing some skirting that my wife and daughter made to hide some of the storage under the layout. The day before the open house, my daughter even baked some cookies for the event. With my RR Crossing sign out front, it was time to open up to the public. A friend and fellow model railroader came over to help me run the layout while I talked to guests. Just about from the start, there was a steady stream of guests from the Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey areas coming through the house to observe and ask questions. Many were interested in the historical background of my railroad, how I played track, electrical work, structures on my layout, and operations. I received a lot of compliments on how well the trains ran and the over all concept of the layout. I even let a couple of the kids that visited run a train for a while (that is how we grow the hobby). Most indicated they would like to come back next year to see what updates have been made, which at this point should be mostly scenery. Overall, this was a positive experience and one I would recommend to others. This is a nice hobby, but is even better when you have the opportunity to share it with others. 

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New Electronics

Digitrax PM42s mounted

About a year and half ago, I converted my N-scale layout to Digitrax DCC, but left my DC bus in place as well so that I could switch between the two. I have not found myself using the DC, so out it went recently. Along with this change I installed some short circuit protection for the various sections (electrical blocks) in the form of a pair of Digitrax PM42s. Included in this modification to the electrical system was the addition of a couple of automatic reversing controllers and an additional Booster in the form of a slightly used DB150. This should really make a big difference during operating sessions, since a short in one block will not shut down the whole railroad. The original Zephyr DCS51 now controls the lower reversing loop, interchange yard, and Stafford yard, while the DB150 booster powers the towns of Darlington, Noble Mill, Thomas Run, and the reversing loop at Bel air and Hickory. It took a little work to get the crossover from one booster to the other to work, but it has been well worth the efforts. Lastly, all of the electrical components were cleaned up and mounted neatly under the layout. Now to get to work on a bit more scenery. 

New Small Switcher

Earlier this month I received two of the new Hornby/Arnold N-scale SW-1 locomotives. These came from Brooklyn Locomotive Works on a reserve that I had placed about a year ago. First impressions were quite good, placing the locomotive on my test track and running it on straight DC. It ran almost completely silent and had great slow speed control, essential for a switcher. Detailing on the cab and body were excellent and paint was crisp. Before moving it to my layout, it needed to be converted to DCC. With just a few wiggles, the body shell came loose from the frame, revealing the motor and control board with a smaller board plugged into a 6-pin plug. This smaller board was easily removed and replaced with a TCS EUN651 decoder; one of the simplest conversions I have done to date. Now the locomotive was ready for the layout. At first, the locomotive ran fine on straight track, but then had trouble navigating some of the turnouts. On a closer inspection, it seemed as though every one of the wheel sets was slightly out of gauge on the narrow side. This was not too difficult to remedy, but should not have needed to be done. Once completed, the SW-1 ran like a champ and pulled at least 12 cars on a straight level grade. The only other complaint is that the couplers don't mate perfectly with micro-trains and need a little fidgeting to get them to hold. Other than the couple of minor problems, this engine will make a fine addition to my fleet with some relettering and a little weathering.