The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

I just spent over an hour ballasting a whopping 18” of double track.  Ugh, I hate ballasting.  Maybe it will go quicker as I do more and more.  I am out of practice, since it’s been a couple of years since I did any ballasting and decades since I last ballasted HO track.



DFF

[Bendtracker1]

Looks good Dave, you'll soon get back into the rhythm of it.
But remember, you're now ballasting twice as much as before...

[davefoxx]

Looks good Dave, you'll soon get back into the rhythm of it.
But remember, you're now ballasting twice as much as before...

@Bendtracker1, tell me about it!  By the way, I just emailed you about the Super Trees.

DFF

[CodyO]

Since I had already standardized on ESU decoders and use the LokProgrammer, this purchase didn't require much arm-twisting.  Thanks for the discussion, @CodyO, that led to the purchase.  It seems to be worth every penny.  Anybody want to buy a gently-used NCE DCC system?

@davefoxx Happy I was able to twist your arm a little and thanks for doubling checking I wasn`t about to buy it!
I have to say only having a few ESU engines the Railcom feature is pretty awesome.

I`m showing this system off to everyone I can now really makes running trains a breeze.

[davefoxx]

@davefoxx Happy I was able to twist your arm a little and thanks for doubling checking I wasn`t about to buy it!
I have to say only having a few ESU engines the Railcom feature is pretty awesome.

I`m showing this system off to everyone I can now really makes running trains a breeze.

@CodyO,

Railcom is really cool.  I have put all of my locomotives into the roster by merely placing them individually on the track!  I have also gone in through my LokProgrammer and updated the icons of each function for each locomotive to show on the handheld controller correctly. For example, I remapped Run8 to F3, Coast to F7, and Drive Hold to F9.  You can also "hide" functions you're not using, so to minimize clutter on the screen.  For example, I have locomotives with no class lights.  I can hide the appropriate function key on the controller.  Pretty friggin' sweet.

One bonus is the easy access to functions above F9 that I did not have on my NCE system.  Also, the NCE system did not even show whether any functions above F6 were active.  That was really inconvenient.  Now, I can easily access the Theme Song from The Greatest American Hero on F16 on my Rapido HO Scale F40PH.  Those Rapido guys are hilarious.

Out of curiosity, what functions did you activate for the four buttons on the side of the handheld controller?  I've changed it a couple of times, but, for now, I have Drive Hold (F9) as the top left button, Independent Brake (F11) as the bottom left button, Bell (F1) as the top right button, and Horn (F2) as the bottom right button.

DFF

[Lemosteam]

suggestion to both @CodyO and @davefoxx if you really want to "sell" this system.

Start a thread for all of the cool stuff you can do with it and all of the beefs too.

[davefoxx]

suggestion to both @CodyO and @davefoxx if you really want to "sell" this system.

Start a thread for all of the cool stuff you can do with it and all of the beefs too.

I was just thinking about doing that, except I need to sell my NCE system first. 

DFF

[VonRyan]

I was just thinking about doing that, except I need to sell my NCE system first. 

DFF

And don't forget to tell them where you bought said ESU system 
And who the best salesman is at said establishment   

[davefoxx]

That's right!  I did run into our very own @VonRyan at the Timonium show, where I bought the ESU CabControl from Yankee Dabbler.  I also saw him at the Wilmington, Delaware show.

If you're around the store this Saturday, Cody, I might see you, because I need some cork roadbed and that Woodland Scenics paint marker.

DFF

[CodyO]

Out of curiosity, what functions did you activate for the four buttons on the side of the handheld controller?  I've changed it a couple of times, but, for now, I have Drive Hold (F9) as the top left button, Independent Brake (F11) as the bottom left button, Bell (F1) as the top right button, and Horn (F2) as the bottom right button.

DFF

Dave, I did Layout power top right, Horn on bottom right and direction on top left, Bell bottom left

Drive hold and Brake I`ll have to play with once I get my GPs and Trainmasters sound installed.

[davefoxx]

I've been staring at the color of the small section of ballast that I did last week.  I don't like it, because it's too monochromatic.  So, I had another jug of ballast that's a little darker, but with much more variety in the ballast grains.  This afternoon, I went back over the area with a thin layer of the darker ballast.

BEFORE:



AFTER:



I'm not sure that I'm satisfied, but let's wait until the ballast dries.  It's soaking wet in the "AFTER" picture.

DFF

[DKS]

Put a small fan nearby that blows over the ballast. It'll dry many times faster.

[davefoxx]

Put a small fan nearby that blows over the ballast. It'll dry many times faster.

Good idea.  That 70% isopropyl alcohol that I used evaporates quickly, too.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Here's the inspiration for the ballasting I did above.  I'm not really worried about matching it precisely, because pictures of the SBD in the early to mid-1980s show all sorts of ballast colors.  As stated in a previous post, I just wanted more variation in the ballast grains like this:



DFF

[LIRR]

I painted the ties and used weathering powder on the rails......it certainly eliminates the uniform look of the track...