Model Railroad Podcast

  





hosted by: Ryan Andersen & Will Ayerst
Model Rail Cast #21
Sat, Jul 12, 2008
Posted by: Ryan Andersen

MRC Show # 21 Notes - Designing your MRR World

  • Crew Lounge: An update from all of us, with our guest this week - Donald Brent.
  • Roundhouse: Part 4 of Designing a Model railroad you can enjoy and be proud of.
  • Coaling Tower: Yard Office Inventory Software
  • Archives: History of the 4-4-0
  • TYRTH: 2000
  • Branch Line: The life and times of Amtrak
  • Interchange: Our 'links of the week'

Download the enhanced (better sounding) version of the show with chapters:  MRC Show 21 (AAC)

Crew Lounge
Will update: Decoder installation woes!
Ryan Update: Working on the site and the forum
Site Update: Donation area fixed and our forum hiccups
Show Update: Both of our giveaways are still running! (guess Will's age - email ryan, and the Support Posters)

Railway Post Office
Feedback and updates from all of our listeners!

Roundhouse
The fourth and final part of a 4-part (or so) series on designing your model railroad.  From a basic layout to a crafted master piece you can enjoy and be proud of.

This week we discuss structures on our layouts - types, methods of construction and the kits we chose for Ryansville, our fictional subject layout. Ryan talks more about the benefits of structure kits, and some manufacturers thereof.

Links from the RH:

This week's Round House Sponsor 
Full Steam Ahead at http://www.fullsteamahead.ca/

You can tell Joe take pride in what he creates.

Bar Mills at http://www.barmillsmodels.com/

Reasonably priced kits that are fun to build.  Their bigger kits are more challenging.

 

American Model Builders, Inc at http://www.LaserKit.com/

They have a sampler kit for $85 that contain 7 structures; great for the beginning modeler with easy assembly.

 

Rusty Stumps at http://www.rustystumps.com/ 

Rusty’s is one of my favorite online stores for craftsman structure, detail parts and jigs.

 

Other kits companies

King Mill at http://www.kingmill.com/ (small selection)

 

DPM (Design Preservation Models) at http://www.dpmkits.com/ 

DPM has plastic kits and modular kits for building large structures. They manufacture HO and N scale Kits.

 

Summit Customcuts at http://www.summit-customcuts.com/ 

Offers modern kits such as resturants, hotels, retail outlets. Their website states that they are coming out with more structures, like Gas stations, Banks, Strip Malls and more.

 

Sierra West at http://www.sierrawestscalemodels.com/

Very nice high-end kits - $150+

 

Note, this site has a list of many kit manufactures... no links, but does have name you can Google: http://www.linkandpinhobbies.com/Mrr-Str.htm#WSM

 

Coaling Tower
Yard Office Car Inventory Software - Jay gives his thoughts on the Yard Office inventory software from Carter Consulting Co. It's a freelance inventory program with a huge amount of features - exporting to Car Cards, roster notes and more - best of all it's FREE!

Archives
The history of the "American"-type of locomotive, the 4-4-0. From it's introduction by Henry Campbell in the 30's through to it's height in the 1870's and the final decline to branch line and secondary service in the early part of the 19th century. We expand upon the changes and reasoning behind it's design and development.

Branch Line
The introduction of Amtrak, it's place in American railroad history and how it fits into Today's system.

Interchange
http://www.musicmixradio.com/yardoffice/ - Yard Office

http://www.youtube.com/user/jimsmodeltrains - Youtube directory for our fan, JimsModelTrain

http://www.modeltrainsweathered.com - Weathered freight cars and locomotives.

Download the enhanced (better sounding) version of the show with chapters:  MRC Show 21 (AAC)
 
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Posted by: jimsmodeltrains on Mon, Jul 14 2008     www.stanfordhosting.net/jimsjunction
Hi guys.

Great show.

Was the volume on #21 a little lower than the previous ones? The volume seemed a little soft to me (it might have been my computer, but everything seemed OK on my computer).

That was interesting about Nixon and AMTRAK - And it turns out he did become a Railroad Engineer - He 'engineered' AMTRAK! And the common stock holdings of AMTRAK stock was an eye opener. AMTRAK seems the odd one out in many ways - a government ordained passenger carrier amongst all those privately owned freight haulers.

I would like to support the show in a more concrete way, and I would be willing to provide some content to you free of charge to put on a future MRC DVD, or into future MRC episodes if you are interested (just a thought). *OR* if you have any other ideas on how I could be more supportive of the show let me know (money is pretty tight for me at the moment with the move, and all, but I am happy to give of my spare time!)
Posted by: Ryman on Mon, Jul 14 2008     www.modelrailcast.com/
Yeah, I must have had the gains incorrectly set during recording, because no matter what I tried to do in post editing, I could not get it to sound good. I was pissed. So sorry guys for the lower quality this week.
Posted by: Ironsiderodger on Mon, Jul 14 2008    
Sound quality aside (and that was limited to volume only- otherwise the production value was just fine). Ryan I would love it if the fourth part stretched out to at least one more show- as I'm trying to get more of a plan and strategy going for my layout, I feel like this has been of great help. Will great breakdown of the 4-4-0's- I especially enjoyed the prehistory coverage and the UK cross-references (I'd be curious to know how the Stirling 4-2-2 fit in the evelotiuon on the UK side).
Jay- loved the info on the branch line, it filled in the corners of my understanding of that era quite nicely; can't wait to hear about the F-40!

Guys the great ride continues!
Posted by: dbrent on Mon, Jul 14 2008    
I just want to say thanks again for allowing me to be a part of the show. It was alot of fun to see what goes into the show on the "raw" end! Sorry I had to duck out before it was over.

Echoing Tim's desire for 1 additional segment on the layout planning series...maybe something tying it all together.

Jay - Nice job on the Amtrak piece. I really learned alot.
Posted by: jamesk3142 on Mon, Jul 14 2008    
Love the discussion of structures my vote is for N-scale Architect great N-scale kits. I have put some of these together they are excellent. JimK
Posted by: Mike_Arnold_1993 on Mon, Jul 14 2008     michael.arnold.1993.googlepages.com/home
Hey there, Ryan, Will, Thanks for including my call! The talk about kits was fantastic, I thought Styrene was a sort of foam? Maybe when I get home I can set up Skype on my laptop, I wouldn't mind chiming in every once in a while. As many have said, quality aside, great job!

Best Regards,
Mike
Posted by: MILWJKD on Mon, Jul 14 2008    
The show get's better with each installment.

I've really been enjoying the series on designing a model railroad. The Amtrak history was great info.

The most helpful part of the show this time was the review of The Yard Office software. I'd love to see some reviews of operation software done in the future (and there are a few out there).

On This Random Year - 1879
In 1879, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company (later known as The Milwaukee Road) acquired the Western Union rail­road and gained access to the Mis­sissippi River by a route that went from Racine through Beloit to Savanna, Ill
Posted by: Mike_Arnold_1993 on Mon, Jul 14 2008     michael.arnold.1993.googlepages.com/home
"The fall of the Tay Bridge was a terrible blow to the self-confidence of Scottish engineering. Calculations for the bridge had failed to take into account the fierce wind speeds which could be reached in the Firth of Tay. sub-standard materials had also been used in key parts of the construction. On the night of 28 December 1879, the bridge came down in a storm. All on board the Dundee-bound train on the bridge at the time were killed - a total of 75 persons, not 300, which was the erroneous total telegraphed out of Dundee in the first hours of the disaster. One of the first with the news in Edinburgh was the Courant. Its information came down the wire from Dundee via Perth."
Posted by: jamesk3142 on Mon, Jul 14 2008    
Will ,I would like to know your opinion of n-scale Peco vs Atlas track ? Just general overview. JimK
Posted by: Preston Marx on Tue, Jul 15 2008    
Dr. Ernst Werner Siemens (1816 - 1892) is credited with inventing the first electric train. It was presented at the 1879 industrial show in Berlin (Berlin Trades Exposition) on May 31, 1879. The "train" was more of an amusement park ride really. Nonetheless, the small locomotive generated 3 HP, and carried "passengers" 300 meters. A picture of the train can be found at: http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/history/siemens.html

Two years later Dr. Siemens opened the first commercial electric train system. He retired in 1890. Today, Siemens AG, is one of the world's largest electrical engineering and electronics companies.

Across the pond (Hi Will), on November 1, 1879, the first British dining car left Leeds for London King's Cross (over 200 miles one way). Service was provided by the Pullman Car 'Princess of Wales' which held 10 first-class passengers only. The car included a gentlemen's smoking room and a ladies dressing room. Its 125th anniversary was celebrated on November 1, 2004 on a Leeds to Londan restaurant-car with staff dressed in period uniforms and with a Victorian-style menu --- you'll need to rent Albert Finney's Scrooge, or consult Dickens directly for a image of that cuisine!
Posted by: wildchild on Tue, Jul 15 2008    
Great show guys! The quiet one did extremely well, awesome peice on Amtrak Jay! Looking forward to the FP45 segment. How about one on the ugly duckling CHOOCH too? Keep up the good work.
Karl.
Posted by: don on Tue, Jul 15 2008     www.passingloop.com
I appreciate the big list of various kit manufacturers u mentioned on this show. Definitely bookmark this show for the links.

Railroad modeling for me is scratch building structures (HO scale) and I mainly use cardstock. Laser kits seem to be expensive. However I was impressed with barmills and
Fullsteamahead’s smaller kits. Might give it a try to see how easy or difficult is it from making cardstock models. Thanks
Posted by: Engine72 on Tue, Jul 15 2008    
Another Great Show Guys! In fact I listen to it while on the road and actually could not wait to get back in the van to hear the next segment in between my stops.

On your topic of kits don't forget the brass kits also. I've seen them built in model railroader video a year ago and in there magazine a few years ago.

A great place to get tools and adhesives to build these kits is Micro Mark catalog. They carry a wide veriaty of tools and adhesives also has some N, HO and O gauge equipment, decoders and buildings. There prices sometimes are not to bad.

Also on structures I've seen a lot of reused railroad equipment for structures to. Not far from my house is a Farm Supply Co. that uses an old short grain hopper to store seed and other things in it. They raised it and knocked the trucks off and an instant silo. Also seen boxcars for warehouses and office space, and flat cars made into bridges and ramps. Oh and don't forget the diners. Just another view to look at.

1879 Chicago & Alton Railroad
Finished an extension to Kansas City, Missouri was laid in 1879, completing the railroad's famous "Triangle" of service between the Midwest's three great cities Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City.

Cheers,
Todd Siddle
Posted by: dbrent on Wed, Jul 16 2008    
This random year in railroad history - 1879:

February 10, 1879 – The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railway begins freight operations.
March 6, 1879 – Patrick H. Joyce, future president of Chicago Great Western Railway 1931-1946, is born (died in 1946).
April 24, 1879 – Oris Paxton Van Sweringen, American financier who, with his brother Mantis, controlled the Nickel Plate Road and other eastern railroads (died in 1936).
May ??, 1879 – James J. Hill forms the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway from the assets of the bankrupt St. Paul and Pacific. Later in 1890 the MMR would become part of the Great Northern Railway.
May 17, 1879 – The Texas and St. Louis Railway, a predecessor of St. Louis Southwestern Railway, is organized as a way to ship cotton south to Texas.
May 31, 1879 – The first electric railway opens at the Berlin Trades Exposition. (already mentioned by Preston Marx above)
July 4, 1879 – The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, building southwestward from Kansas, reaches Las Vegas, New Mexico.
August 20, 1879 - Ralph Budd, future president of the Great Northern Railway 1919-1932 and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 1932-1949 is born (died 1962). Note: no relation to Edward G. Budd, who formed the Budd Company in 1912.
October 18, 1879 – Charles Eugene Denney, future president of Erie Railroad 1929-1939, Northern Pacific Railway 1939-1950, is born.
November 1, 1879 – The first British dining car service leaves Leeds for London King's Cross. This was provided by the Pullman car Princess of Wales which accommodated only 10 first-class passengers. (already mentioned by Preston Marx above)
November 22,1879 – The North Pennsylvania Railroad begins operating the Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania Railroad.
December 28 – The North British Railway's Tay Bridge across the Firth of Tay in Scotland collapses in a violent storm while a passenger train is crossing it. 75 lives are lost and William Topaz McGonagall produces his epic poem The Tay Bridge Disaster to commemorate the event. (already mentioned by Mike Arnold above)
Unknown date - Southern Pacific Railroad engineers experiment with the first oil-fired steam locomotives.
Posted by: ironsidejackson on Thu, Jul 17 2008     Youtube.com/Milwaukeeroad261
Hey guys. Another great show. The Archives section was great. The Branch line was every bit as good.
Posted by: Ryman on Fri, Jul 18 2008     www.modelrailcast.com/
Thanks guys for all the great feedback! It is really improtant to us, as it let us know that we are reaching you and you are listening to the show.

Thanks
-=Ryan
Posted by: Douglas on Fri, Jul 18 2008    
Another great show guys. I'm enjoying the roundhouse on designing your model railroad. Tips and techniques are important to me. There is always a new and 'sometimes' better way to do something.
I would love a show about scratch building structures.
And thank you for mentioning my grandfather. Well done!

Douglas
Posted by: Douglas on Fri, Jul 18 2008    
BTW. I think you are correct with the railroad making a comeback. Hopefully! The past couple of months I've noticed a lot more advertising for passenger train rides in the Baltimore Sun. Including a half page ad from Amtrak and a quarter page ad from the Csx Corporation saying "Lean, clean and green".

Douglas
Posted by: jimmyjack on Sun, Jul 20 2008    
Thanks for the great show guys. Looking forward to the next one.

Jimmyjack
 
 
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