1. Turn Signals - They don't use them or put them on at the last second. I want to know why you are suddenly braking! They use them after they enter a turn lane. Duh! I know what you are doing now!
2. Left Turns - On a four lane highway, they turn into the far right lane. Turn into the left lane first. Look, and then change lanes. This especially troubling when two lanes are turning left. Thanks for pushing me into the ditch! And they don't know why you are blowing your horn.
3. Yield or Merge - They don't know the difference. Merge means you have to let me in! Yield means don't shove me out of the way!
4. Changing Lanes - They see a car indicating it wants to change lanes and speeds up to stop them. If you see my turn signal, you have to let me change lanes!
5. Passing a Merging Car - They are behind a car signaling a lane change and when a gap appears, they take it and cut off the merging car. Thanks a bunch you inconsiderate b******! They even do this when following a car down an entrance ramp!
6. Two or More Motorcycles at a Stop Sign - When it is the lead motorcycle's turn to go, the whole group goes. Hey, it's my turn now. One motorcycle equals one car.
7. Passing - After following a slow car on a two lane highway, you start to pass and the car speeds up so you can't pass. Moron!
8. Divided Highway Driving - They drive in the left lane even if they are the slowest driver. Please pull over. It's dangerous passing on the right. They drive side by side for miles. Hey! I would like to pass this year! They love that left lane so much, they reach the end of the entrance ramp and change multiple lanes at once to get there. Change one lane at a time, please.
9. Pass Then Turn - They pass you, pull in front, then immediately brake to turn. What the f***. You looking to have me in your back seat?
10. Last Minute Turns - Back to the left lane huggers, they suddenly cross multiple lanes of traffic to make that exit. Can't think that far ahead, huh? Daydreaming, huh? More important then everyone else, huh?
There are more. Speeders, tailgaters, high beam no-dimmers, semi trucks hogging left lanes. Drivers know the mechanics; steering, accelerating, braking. But they don't seem to know the fine points. The things that are supposed to make it easy on the rest of us to SHARE the road. Manners are gone. Same goes for pedestrians and office workers and shoppers, etc. I don't know when parents stopped teaching their kids manners. But, it seems to late now. How can you teach what you don't know. Anyway, those are my top 10. What are yours?
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Model Railroad Notes
1. Avoid high walls on layouts. - A set of tracks at the base of a high wall with tracks on top does not appear in real life very often. It is a model railroaders trick to cram more track on different levels in a small space and does not look very realistic. If over done, looks toy like.
2. Too many layouts look deserted. - Woodland Scenics and Preiser make so many fine figures that populating your layouts is easy.
3. More trash please. - Railroad yards, manufacturing sites or city building backs are not neat, especially not pristine. These places need junk, trash, crap, litter, etc.
4. Weather your trains. - A great looking model railroad is ruined by brand new looking engines and rolling stock. RR cars are outdoors 24/7 and need to look like it.
5. Paint your track. - Either before or after gluing/nailing down your track, weather it by painting it. Try Roof Brown or Rail Brown or any mixture you want. Spray or brush. If you spray, use Roof Brown only. Ties don't look good painted Rail Brown. I spray paint all of my track Roof Brown first, making sure I get the sides of the rail. I then take the track or turnouts outdoors, and spray a small cloud of Testors 1233 Flat Light Aircraft Gray toward the top of the ties only while holding the track at arms length. Some times I just quickley pass the track through the cloud to get just a touch of gray. The amount of gray determines how old the ties look. Do NOT overdo it or your ties may look like concrete. You want the brown to show through. There are even rail weathering pens out now. Avoid points of turnouts, especially power routing turnouts. Bare nickle rail sticks out like a sore thumb.
6. Vary your ballast. - Arizona Rock & Mineral Co., Woodland Scenics and others make excellent ballasts. But, don't use just one color. Mix in a little of a darker or lighter shade or both. Also, railroads don't always use the same ballast for all of their track. Change the color at intermediate yards, tunnels or pass-through backdrops.
7. Dirty your ballast. - Hundreds of trains pass a given area each week. And they drop lots of fluids, rust, brake dust, sand, grain, coal dust and other crap as they pass. Use old dirty thinner, chalk dust, dirt or any thing else you can think of to dirty the ballast between the rails. But don't overdo it. "Less is more." Don't use anything metallic. You don't want to short anything out. Seal your work with scenic cement to avoid crapping up your engines.
8. Not another "Erie" RR station! - Almost every model train layout I see on You Tube or in Model RR magazines has an model of the "Erie" RR station. There are so many good models of RR stations out there and so many opportunities to kitbash or scratchbuild a nice one. So, let's kill the Erie.
9. No like the Lichen. - With so many great landscape products on the market, lichen is so lichen looking. Buy some "Roundup" and kill it off. [Note: I am rethinking this item. I am going to buy some lichen, soak it in glycerin and spry paint it brown. I will then use the "hairspray" trick to add "leaves". I need something inexpensive to make lots ob bushes. Pennsylvania, the area I modeling, needs lots of trees and bushes.]
10. Avoid "One of Everything." - Nothing kills the look of a model train like a train filled with "one of everything". A YouTube video of an ore train showed ore cars from every road name imaginable. Unlikely. Ore trains were unit trains of one road name that traveled back and forth from the same source. Same goes for coal car trains, even those of past eras. You might find some cars from foreign roads mixed in, but not every road in the US. Just neighbor roads on lease or a block to be transferred to the foreign road.
11. Cities Are Dirty. - and Lawns Have Weeds. Not all lawns are pristene. Put some weeds or overgrowth in them. City streets are dirty. They need trash, dirt leaves, etc. on them. Dirty ou the sidewalks. Put some cracks in them. Patches in the streets. Worn stripeing. Put crap in the alleys. Old lumber, ladders, old signs, garbage cans, feral dogs or cats. Put junk on roofs. Lots of stuff gets left up there from repairs. Tar buckets, paint cans, roofing rolls, broken glass. Use your imagination.
12. Rocks in my Head. - Don't use real rocks on your layout, especially the smaller gauges/scales. The grain is all wrong and they do not look right. Garden railroads are the exception. Miniture railroads in full scale gardens IS the object. Yes, people make molds of real rocks or rock structures. But they are selected when the grain of the strata will look good at small scales. I have seen shale deposits that translate well to even N scale. The shale layers look like thick rock layers.
13. Don't Curve at the Points. - If at all possible, don't put curved track at the point end of turnouts. Have at least a short section af straight track leading into the points. Why? On a curve a locomotives or cars trucks are pushing against the outside of the curve. This may cause the outside wheel to pick and climb up that rails point and derail. A short section of straight track will allow the trucks to center them selves withing the rails without pressure against either rail.
14. Conserve Space. - In designing a layout with a double track or more mainline, you need to figure out track spacing. Pick your sharpest curve. Lay out a sample. Lay another curve of slightly larger radius (use flex track for adjustments) alongside. Pick your longest cars (probably a passenger car or a auto carrier). Run one of each on each curve. See how close together you can place the track without the cars touching. That is your minimum track seperation, but that may not be the minimum you will want to use. You will want to pick a seperation that is not too close that you can't get a finger in there, but not too far that it looks unreal. I have seen in many layouts, track that is too far apart and looks ridiculous. The ballast looks a mile wide. In the real world, ballast is expensive to mine and expensive to ship, place and maintain. Remember the adage, "less is more." In N scale, I use 1-1/4" between centers. 2-1/2" looks good in HO.
15. Go/No-Go. - The most important tool you can buy is an NMRA STANDARDS GUAGE for your scale. Use this tool on every turnout and crossing you buy or build. It will save you many headaches later.
16. Hey. Slow Down. - When I watch model railroad videos on the internet (mostly YouTube), the owners run thier trains too fast. Watch a real train and notice how long it takes a boxcar to pass one point. Do that on your model railroad. Most will see that they are running too fast. This is especially true on Lionel train layouts.
16. Wooden Trestles. - I love the look of high/long wooden trestles. But, beware. Modern railroads don't have any. The have long been replaced by steel or concrete bridges. They just wouldn't hold the weight of modern engines and trains. However, if you like them and want to use them, then by all means, use them. It's your railroad.
16. Landscaping. Do not go out and buy a bunch of trees, lichen, bushes, grasses, foam products or any other landscaping product and then stick them willy-nilly on your layout. Avoid the hodge-podge look. Look at each site on your layout, decide what you want to put there and then buy your product to match. Buy premium products for the foreground and low cost "stuff" for the background with a mix in-between. I take pictures as I travel and use them to plan my landscaping. I then browse model railroad landscaping supplies to find what I need. Scenic Express has a GREAT catalog that has products from many manufactures including Woodland Scenics, Noch, Heki and Silflor. Use the catalog to find what you want and either order from them or shop on the internet.
17. Wood Structure Glue. I use "INSTANT KRAZY GLUE - ADVANCED FORMULA GEL" in a green tube with a red cap and red and white printing when I am constructing wood models instead of wood glue. It dries faster and holds better. Sometimes I have to apply a first coat so it will be absorbed into the wood first, then apply a second coat for the final gluing. This happens rarely and you will know when you have to do it. The parts won't stick. Put a small drop of glue on a scrap 'something' and apply the glue with a toothpick. I gaurantee you structure will be stronger and hold together better then with wood glue. I even use it with so called "peel and stick" wood parts. I get this glue at Target stores and it is much cheaper then any you can get at your local hobby shop.
2. Too many layouts look deserted. - Woodland Scenics and Preiser make so many fine figures that populating your layouts is easy.
3. More trash please. - Railroad yards, manufacturing sites or city building backs are not neat, especially not pristine. These places need junk, trash, crap, litter, etc.
4. Weather your trains. - A great looking model railroad is ruined by brand new looking engines and rolling stock. RR cars are outdoors 24/7 and need to look like it.
5. Paint your track. - Either before or after gluing/nailing down your track, weather it by painting it. Try Roof Brown or Rail Brown or any mixture you want. Spray or brush. If you spray, use Roof Brown only. Ties don't look good painted Rail Brown. I spray paint all of my track Roof Brown first, making sure I get the sides of the rail. I then take the track or turnouts outdoors, and spray a small cloud of Testors 1233 Flat Light Aircraft Gray toward the top of the ties only while holding the track at arms length. Some times I just quickley pass the track through the cloud to get just a touch of gray. The amount of gray determines how old the ties look. Do NOT overdo it or your ties may look like concrete. You want the brown to show through. There are even rail weathering pens out now. Avoid points of turnouts, especially power routing turnouts. Bare nickle rail sticks out like a sore thumb.
6. Vary your ballast. - Arizona Rock & Mineral Co., Woodland Scenics and others make excellent ballasts. But, don't use just one color. Mix in a little of a darker or lighter shade or both. Also, railroads don't always use the same ballast for all of their track. Change the color at intermediate yards, tunnels or pass-through backdrops.
7. Dirty your ballast. - Hundreds of trains pass a given area each week. And they drop lots of fluids, rust, brake dust, sand, grain, coal dust and other crap as they pass. Use old dirty thinner, chalk dust, dirt or any thing else you can think of to dirty the ballast between the rails. But don't overdo it. "Less is more." Don't use anything metallic. You don't want to short anything out. Seal your work with scenic cement to avoid crapping up your engines.
8. Not another "Erie" RR station! - Almost every model train layout I see on You Tube or in Model RR magazines has an model of the "Erie" RR station. There are so many good models of RR stations out there and so many opportunities to kitbash or scratchbuild a nice one. So, let's kill the Erie.
9. No like the Lichen. - With so many great landscape products on the market, lichen is so lichen looking. Buy some "Roundup" and kill it off. [Note: I am rethinking this item. I am going to buy some lichen, soak it in glycerin and spry paint it brown. I will then use the "hairspray" trick to add "leaves". I need something inexpensive to make lots ob bushes. Pennsylvania, the area I modeling, needs lots of trees and bushes.]
10. Avoid "One of Everything." - Nothing kills the look of a model train like a train filled with "one of everything". A YouTube video of an ore train showed ore cars from every road name imaginable. Unlikely. Ore trains were unit trains of one road name that traveled back and forth from the same source. Same goes for coal car trains, even those of past eras. You might find some cars from foreign roads mixed in, but not every road in the US. Just neighbor roads on lease or a block to be transferred to the foreign road.
11. Cities Are Dirty. - and Lawns Have Weeds. Not all lawns are pristene. Put some weeds or overgrowth in them. City streets are dirty. They need trash, dirt leaves, etc. on them. Dirty ou the sidewalks. Put some cracks in them. Patches in the streets. Worn stripeing. Put crap in the alleys. Old lumber, ladders, old signs, garbage cans, feral dogs or cats. Put junk on roofs. Lots of stuff gets left up there from repairs. Tar buckets, paint cans, roofing rolls, broken glass. Use your imagination.
12. Rocks in my Head. - Don't use real rocks on your layout, especially the smaller gauges/scales. The grain is all wrong and they do not look right. Garden railroads are the exception. Miniture railroads in full scale gardens IS the object. Yes, people make molds of real rocks or rock structures. But they are selected when the grain of the strata will look good at small scales. I have seen shale deposits that translate well to even N scale. The shale layers look like thick rock layers.
13. Don't Curve at the Points. - If at all possible, don't put curved track at the point end of turnouts. Have at least a short section af straight track leading into the points. Why? On a curve a locomotives or cars trucks are pushing against the outside of the curve. This may cause the outside wheel to pick and climb up that rails point and derail. A short section of straight track will allow the trucks to center them selves withing the rails without pressure against either rail.
14. Conserve Space. - In designing a layout with a double track or more mainline, you need to figure out track spacing. Pick your sharpest curve. Lay out a sample. Lay another curve of slightly larger radius (use flex track for adjustments) alongside. Pick your longest cars (probably a passenger car or a auto carrier). Run one of each on each curve. See how close together you can place the track without the cars touching. That is your minimum track seperation, but that may not be the minimum you will want to use. You will want to pick a seperation that is not too close that you can't get a finger in there, but not too far that it looks unreal. I have seen in many layouts, track that is too far apart and looks ridiculous. The ballast looks a mile wide. In the real world, ballast is expensive to mine and expensive to ship, place and maintain. Remember the adage, "less is more." In N scale, I use 1-1/4" between centers. 2-1/2" looks good in HO.
15. Go/No-Go. - The most important tool you can buy is an NMRA STANDARDS GUAGE for your scale. Use this tool on every turnout and crossing you buy or build. It will save you many headaches later.
16. Hey. Slow Down. - When I watch model railroad videos on the internet (mostly YouTube), the owners run thier trains too fast. Watch a real train and notice how long it takes a boxcar to pass one point. Do that on your model railroad. Most will see that they are running too fast. This is especially true on Lionel train layouts.
16. Wooden Trestles. - I love the look of high/long wooden trestles. But, beware. Modern railroads don't have any. The have long been replaced by steel or concrete bridges. They just wouldn't hold the weight of modern engines and trains. However, if you like them and want to use them, then by all means, use them. It's your railroad.
16. Landscaping. Do not go out and buy a bunch of trees, lichen, bushes, grasses, foam products or any other landscaping product and then stick them willy-nilly on your layout. Avoid the hodge-podge look. Look at each site on your layout, decide what you want to put there and then buy your product to match. Buy premium products for the foreground and low cost "stuff" for the background with a mix in-between. I take pictures as I travel and use them to plan my landscaping. I then browse model railroad landscaping supplies to find what I need. Scenic Express has a GREAT catalog that has products from many manufactures including Woodland Scenics, Noch, Heki and Silflor. Use the catalog to find what you want and either order from them or shop on the internet.
17. Wood Structure Glue. I use "INSTANT KRAZY GLUE - ADVANCED FORMULA GEL" in a green tube with a red cap and red and white printing when I am constructing wood models instead of wood glue. It dries faster and holds better. Sometimes I have to apply a first coat so it will be absorbed into the wood first, then apply a second coat for the final gluing. This happens rarely and you will know when you have to do it. The parts won't stick. Put a small drop of glue on a scrap 'something' and apply the glue with a toothpick. I gaurantee you structure will be stronger and hold together better then with wood glue. I even use it with so called "peel and stick" wood parts. I get this glue at Target stores and it is much cheaper then any you can get at your local hobby shop.
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