This Kalmbach Publishing Company web site link might be of interest to you if you are trying to
figure out what
some of the railroad terminology means. Contains a glossary of "Model Railroad Terms",
"Toy Train Terms", "Garden Railroad Terms" and "Common Railroad Terms".
Since many of us in the club run trains at shows, it is preferable to use
hand signals as it is not necessary to talk to another engineer far away
from you. We have radios and have used them with good results. The only
drawback seems to be a dead battery occasionally. Sometimes another group
may use the same frequency and cause interference, but this is rare. One
solution to this is the use of hand signals to control the train operation
when necessary. Of course the big disadvantage is that one has to see the
other engineer in the distance.
All of us have heard locomotives blow their horns as they are traveling down
the rails.
There are different combinations of short and long sounds that the engineer
makes when
he 'toots' his horn. All these combinations are used for safety reasons to warn others
about the intended movement of the train. When we drive our cars and trucks down
the road
we use turn signals to indicate our intentions in much the same way the
engineer does with
his train horns or whistles. Learn what the signals mean by clicking on
this item.
Have you ever run into a problem, such as laying track and you have put in a left handed turnout because
you didn't have a right handed turnout. You connected all the track together, even though it looks strange.
You find out after
you've finished and just before a group of the guys are coming over to run that every single train that
runs over that switch uncouples at least two cars. Or maybe, you've decided to surprise your wife and
fix the loose throttle on her sewing machine. It breaks off when you disassemble it. Or any other similar
situation. This flowchart for problem resolution can help you.
For a more realistic operation of your trains, slow down and run your trains at scale speeds.
Use this table to determine your scale speed. Count the number of seconds that your train
travels along a 36 inch section of track.
Check out this time line chart on the development of steam locomotives, what they were
designed for, and to help you stay accurate when modeling a certain time period.
If you are wiring your layout and are not sure what size wire to use, this chart
should help you to determine the correct size of wire to maintain the voltage you need.
