Visiting Frank Battaglia's layout

On the way to the Great British Train Show in Toronto I passed through Buffalo, and I stopped to visit my friend Frank Battaglia. He has been fortunate to have three of his layouts featured in OGR Magazine, and another article about his current layout in Classic Toy Trains. He is an overall great guy and I count myself lucky to have him as a friend. The first time we visited, he invited my wife and I along with our golden retriever (!) to visit. While the dog played outside for a bit, she also came downstairs to the basement to see what was going on and Frank had no problem with it.

I had hoped Harrison could come with me this time but it didn't work out. He would have loved Frank's layout. 

My skill in taking pictures is limited, and I didn't bring lots of extra lights (and didn't adjust my camera settings to work best with his ceiling track lights) so many of the pictures are washed out. Still, we had fun running trains (and troubleshooting electrical gremlins that pop up when opening up layouts to visitors!). 

I also got lots of ideas for my own layout. While I took dozens of pictures, I focused mainly on his farm areas and rural scenes as they will feature heavily on my layout.

I loved his trees. I need a bunch for my layout. When I asked him where he got a certain variety that I liked, he said he bought them from a friend who made them. Rats... my search continues.

Thanks Frank!

Back from The Great British Train Show

Well, I made it back from Toronto in one piece though it was a bit dicey. I managed to pick up some strange stomach virus that made Saturday night and the long drive home Sunday awful. My family then got it too, which made this week a real struggle for all of us. On the plus side, the paper map (remember those?) I had purchased of the Brampton area really came in handy as my GPS wasn't working.

On the way there I stopped at my friend Frank's house, and I will likely post some pictures of that visit in the future. 

But all in all, the train show itself was a lot of fun. While there was lots to see in all of the major scales (4.75" gauge), I will only focus on the O scale stuff here.

The first layout that jumped out at me was an extensively scratchbuilt model of the Portsea Island Gas Light Company. Like most British layouts, it had a full display board with information pertaining to the prototype industry which it was based off of. The trackwork and points were all handlaid, and it appeared that most of the rolling stock was either scratchbuilt or constructed from brass kits. It was lovely even in its raw form. I didn't see any trains operating on it though.

It featured an operating open goods van (hopper) unloading machine, though it was static whilst I was there. It looked like he was using popcorn kernels in place of coal for the demonstration, which seemed a good choice as they were cheap and clean.

Some engines under construction showed the amount of work that went into this layout. I am not sure if this was "O scale", proto 1:48, 7mm, or some other designation (in Britain they seem to have a lot of very similar scale/gauge combinations depending on the amount prototype fidelity they aspire for). 

The next O scale layout I ran into was "Roweham", which I have seen previously on Trevor Marshall's excellent blog. Sadly, Trevor wasn't here this year (it was through his blog that I first found out about this show in 2018) but I still enjoyed viewing the layout. 

It operated well despite using prototypical 3-link couplers to connect the cars. Tiny hooks and flashlights were necessary for the shunting operations. Some even call this sort of thing fun!

The layout was studded with lots of details and cameo scenes.

The back scene and tree line helped disguise the narrow depth of the actual layout. They captured the eye but reflected it back towards the layout, instead of drawing it in to focus on backdrop.

It wasn't a complicated track arrangement, but operating at scale speeds (and coupling with all the inherent difficulties it presented) slowed everything down. It didn't feel rushed. It just felt natural. 

One end seemed to focus more on the passenger station, and it captured the rural nature of the lonely station in the middle of the British countryside.

The other end of the layout had a couple of areas for goods wagons to be loaded and unloaded. All in all, this layout was a pleasure to watch in operation.

However, what really caught my eye at the show was the display of nominally O scale wind-up trains. They were set up in a square track and the tables were covered with various engines and pieces of rolling stock. 

The owner would wind up an engine or two and it wound go round the track for perhaps 1-2 loops before requiring another recharge. They went fast, and speed was generally regulated by tying on more cars to add weight. On a typical loop of track under a Christmas tree, I would imagine that it woudl likely either fly off the track or only run for about 30 seconds.

I am not sure how old these trains were but I think they were built around the time of WWII, and their vintage charm and colorful graphics really were quite pleasing. I purchased a few pieces in 2024 when I was last at the show, and I hoped to find some more to add to my collection.

Here was a really cute steamer and some freight cars.

The British love their railway signals, and this layout had a couple too.

From what I understand, Hornby made 3-rail electric trains (similar to Lionel) and I know very little about them. The owner had this book on display and I thumbed through it, but I need to find a copy for myself. There are currently several on Ebay.

I found one vendor with a wind-up train that belonged to his father, but he had no key to wind it up. So, I approached the guy with the clockwork train display and we worked out an arrangement to test the engine on his layout. After finding the right key... which took many attempts as he had about a dozen different sized wind-up keys... it took off! It ran beautifully though it was much too fast for the track without a train behind it so I had to resort to holding it while the wheels spun like crazy.

Satisfied that it worked, and upon being told the price was $25 Canadian ($18 American), I quickly bought it with its tender. Four more coaches cost $20 Canadian each. 

A different seller had an Esso tank wagon and I got that for $30 Canadian. So, a nice train that currently won't run as I need to source a proper wind-up key. But, they are good souvenirs of my trip. 

All in all, I had a great time at the show which was overshadowed by being sick for the rest of the weekend. But, I can't wait to get back in 2028!

Off to the Great British Train Show

I'm off to the Great British Train Show in Toronto, Canada. Sponsored by The Platelayers Society, it is a train show featuring only UK-themed layouts, vendors, and displays. As someone who loves British Railways, this is right up my alley. When I went in 2024 I had a fantastic time, and my only regret was that I didn't spend enough time at the show itself. Now, I am going by myself and plan to spend most of Saturday and the show taking it all in.

The last time I was there I picked up three old Hornby O gauge tinplate cars that I was told would run on Lionel O gauge track (they do). Perhaps this year I will add a few more such items to my collection. 

On the way there, I am stopping in Buffalo to see my friend Frank Battaglia who has had three different layouts featured in OGR magazine! (Run 109, Run 144, and Run 214). The story behind that is sad, but the latest layout is fantastic and he is a great guy in general. I can't wait to see him.

I just hope I don't get lost in Canada, as my GPS doesn't work there. 

Cheers!

Building a culvert

I have several inches between the front of the layout and the track which I want to fill with interesting scenery. One scene I wanted to model was a culvert running under the tracks. This would allow me to model water, perhaps a shallow stream, and it would give the illusion that the railroad had proper civil engineering and drainage. 

Since I had a maximum height of 2" of foam to work with, my culvert had to be small. Though there are some commercial castings available, and likely even more through 3D modeling websites, I decided to make one myself out of styrene because it looked like a fun project. I drew up a sketch on graph paper based on an HO scale casting from Woodland Scenics. Once I settled on a hole size of 3/4", everything fell into place. You can see from the date on the drawing that I started it awhile ago, and then put it on hold.

I used some scraps of 0.060" thick styrene to build the main wall and two wing walls. Then, I drilled the hole out on my drill press. I was fortunate that I had a 3/4" forstner bit lying around from building benchwork and it made quick work. The graph paper was used to align the wing walls to the main wall, first tacking them with small dabs of super glue gel along the joints to hold them temporarily and then later by applying MEK.

I then built up a "log cabin" series of interconnected braces on the back along the joints to further secure them. Next, some 1/4" square styrene was glued along all five edges (everything but the bottom). They were left oversize and grossly extended beyond the edges in places. I let everything cure overnight.

The next day I used a razor saw to cut along the edges, leaving nice clean lines. Then, I took some filler putty and applied it to some of the joints. I wanted to create the illusion of casting marks from when the concrete was poured into wooden molds so I used a toothpick to randomly apply putty to various areas, and then slid the toothpick in horizontal motions to impart striation lines. Everything was again left to cure.

I sprayed everything with flat gray paint. I followed this up with various black ink and alcohol washes to look like old, weathered concrete. I wasn't happy with it because it was too dark so I then added drybrushing of light gray horizontally to the faces. This was followed up with a lighter brown oil wash.

I needed a pipe to go on the backside to extend out at least an inch or two to create the illusion that the culvert did lead back somewhere. It had to be around 3/4" inside diameter, which matched the hole, and it hopefully would be cheap. I looked at metal and PVC but couldn't find anything suitable and/or cheap. 

I mentioned my dilemma at the local hardware store and they invited me into the back room where lots of broken things were being stored as a result of a recent remodeling. They had a metal telescoping mop handle that was broken but one of the pieces was exactly the right diameter and the price... free.. was perfect. I brought it home and cut it up on my bandsaw. Then, a piece was sprayed with gray primer inside and out and it was glued to the back.

Something still wasn't right. It looked too new. So I used a blade to chip around the edges and add some cracks. 

Then I sprayed it with Rustoleum Camouflage tan paint and that did it. All that was necessary was some light drybrushing with tan paint and it was done. 

Now it just needs to be installed on the layout.

Lionel 710 / 712 passenger coaches

As I mentioned previously, I recently acquired a set of Lionel pre-war 710/712 passenger cars. Some good information on them online can be found here. Since I likely will never own a standard gauge Blue Comet set these were the next best thing. The coaches I bought were nice, but like most things 90+ years old (they were made between 1933 and 1934) they needed some minor repair and a good cleaning. 

And that is what they received. 

My friend, who goes by the name "Train Doctor", checked the wiring and replaced with bulbs, and reworked the trucks and pick-up rollers. Then they were cleaned and the doors were fixed, and one of the couplers was replaced. The couplers are still difficult to use, but at least they are "authentic". 

Nothing major was done... I didn't want to do a full strip and repaint... but now they are exactly what I was hoping for. I just need to find a nice engine to pull them.

MTH announces Conrail "Hammerhead" RS3!

From the files of "I never thought that would happen", MTH recently announced at the January Springfield Train Show that they are producing models of Conrail "Hammerhead" Alco RS3 #9920 (with more possible "hammerhead" versions in the future). 

I was just in the middle of planning my own kitbash of one, so the news couldn't have come at a better time. I quickly pre-ordered it.

For more information on this unique Conrail engine, see this post on my other blog.

Phase II - Benchwork (plywood)

Next up was plywood, and here I ran into a problem. My vehicle won't fit an entire 4'x8' sheet. For the middle sections I had the lumber store cut them into 3'x6' pieces which would fit, but for half-circles I wasn't sure how to go about it. Further, I didn't know if I would need to buy one or two sheets to get what I needed. Thankfully, my friend owns a large truck and has a much better brain for this sort of thing.

It turns out that it is possible to fit two 5' diameter half-circles on one sheet of plywood. The first and easiest is below, but it is possible that where they touch there might be a slight overlap of wood.

The second method is this. It guarantees that there won't be any shortage of wood, but it also means that the factory straight cuts are unable to be used. 

I had a paper template to use and so I probably could have figured out the above just by pushing it around, but I am glad my friend provided me proof of concept beforehand. I went with the first arrangement. Because the plywood is being topped by foam, and eventually a fascia board will be added on the outer edge, any minimal loss of wood from overlap isn't a big deal. Being able to utilize the straight rear side is important though.

My friend dropped off the plywood on my driveway and I used my paper template to spray paint the cut lines. A pencil would have worked, but this seemed easier. I cut about 1/16" extra on the curved edges to make sure I didn't short myself. 

You can see how close they came to overlapping. But, it all worked out in the end.

That extra clearance proved to be too much of a good thing, and I had to go back and sand it all off. As a result, some of the plywood edges don't quite reach the edge of the benchwork framing but that is fine. I don't want any of the plywood sticking out over the edge, which would be problematic when installing the fascia in the future.

Then, I applied a layer of wood glue to the top of every joist and around the edges and set the plywood on top. Some 1" long panel nails were added too. My assistant was very eager to help out.

Despite knowing the answer, I tried again to see the largest curve I could fit. And 0-48 diameter curves were still the answer. But they are perfect for the type of equipment I will be running.

Unfortunately, what I didn't realize was how little space I would have inside the track for my scenery. My original plan was for a farm scene but that won't fit. So, I am going with plan B (which requires more thinking...)