WORKBENCH WEDNESDAY - - Finishing up the rolling mill interior for our club steel mill. A few more pieces to assemble; some fine tuning; and some final "touch up" painting and we'll be ready for the club Open House Tour this Saturday from noon till 5 pm in Mechanicsburg, PA. Come join us!

I am helping my brother with his N Scale railroad and need some practical and photo advice on building a control panel. Basically, the "table" is a door covered with a foam insulation sheet at a 47 inch height. We've laid out the track centerlines and will begin installation which will include Atlas switches with the machine attached to the side of the rail versus underneath. 

I have been toying with the idea of converting portions of my layout to include "static grass." Pros and cons using it? Do I have to scrape off the old surface (combination of Woodland Scenics and tinted sawdust) to make it work? Can I use a spray of diluted glue to lay down the "grass?"

Would appreciate hearing your points of viw. Thanks.

I have recently been converting all my rolling stock to metal wheels. However, I've run into a problem with older cars that are Varney or early Blue Box in that the truck frames are all metal with the obligatory "pain-in-the-butt" little bolster springs. These trucks obviously cause shorts on my DCC system conducting the current from one side to the other. 

Just a thought this Christmas; wonder when manufacturers will begin offering beautifully "weathered" locomotives and cars. . . . . would you buy one?

This is from a recent ops session where, as part of the 18 man crew, I got to operate one of the two yard engines at the "Enola" yard. Thanks to Steve Mallory for inviting me to join their monthly session. Enjoy!

When filming last night for our club's Ft. Hunter display (to be posted in a few days), I ran into a problem with a 15 car, weighted train. My Bachmann Berkshire was unable to pull the string with Digitrak power set as high as 80 percent. Wheels barely moved while the sound gave the indication that we were running at speed.

The reason we don't allow beer at the Keystone Model Railroad Club. . . . .LOL!