On this page I post small 'how to' articles from time to time. They will consist of text and photo sequences illustrating how I did a specific project on the Black River Valley Railroad. I receive E-mail from site visitors and post photographs and answer/ask questions on several Model Railroading Forums. The E-mails and postings have resulted in questions about how I worked around a problem or accomplished a task on my layout. Whenever I think the solutions may have wide interest, I will endeavor to answer those questions here. The first of my photo essays is located in the thumbnail photogaph of the Switch Machine. The essay on the installation of my automatic crossing lights is in the thumbnail of the RR Crossing. The thumbnail of the small cars illustrates my method of converting inexpensive HO automobiles into 'respectable' models. The essay on the modification of my Athearn passenger car consist. Pushing the thumbnail of the observation car will take you to the essay. The newest essay on how I installed a sound decoder and speakers in an RS-32 locomotive is directlly below. Just push the thumbnail of NYC #8038.

Both of these cabooses (cabeese) were constructed from Athearn BB kits. I modified them a little by applying .005-inch clear styrene for window glazing and installing metal wheels. I then weathered them with washes of acrylic paint and Bragdon Enterprises weathering powders. I think I got a little carried away with #24524. Then I lightly touched the grab irons, hand rails and steps with yellow paint to add some highlights. For a larger image push the thumbnail of your choice.

Because I've always wanted to do it, I fabricated and installed interior lighting on both cars. I used a simple wound brass wire pick-up system for #24524 and a modified Kadee coupler-spring pick-up for #24534.

I filled in an empty corner of the Black River Valley layout with a Pasture scene to brighten up the layout a bit. I really hate to do scenery, but this little project wasn't too much of a chore. Sculptamold made the hard part of the job easy. Click on the thumbnail at left to view a short 'photo essay' on how I did the job.

During January of 2009, I installed a Soundtraxx DSD-101LC sound decoder and two 3/4-inch speakers in my Atlas Trainman RS-32, NYC #8038. The installation was more complex than most and took some 'engineering' to get right. If you click on the thumbnail at right, it will take you to a short 'photo essay' on how I did the installation. The basic steps are the same for virtually all locomotives not built for sound/speaker installations. Check it out. It may help you sometime in the future. Note: I modified the speaker installation a little. New photo added.

In 2006, I modified an Athearn BB streamlined baggage car so that it more closely resembled the cars used by the New York Central on its named trains. Inspired by a thread on the Model Railroader Forum and an inability to purchase suitable cars, decided to continue the modification of my streamlined passenger car consist over the last few weeks of February 2007. The thumbnail of the Observation Car at left will take you to a photo essay of the now modified cars and a brief description of what was done to achieve the desired results.

The Black River Valley Railroad has highways, streets and parking lots that need vehicles to make them appear 'real'. With detailed scale cars costing a king's ransom I decided to raise the level of detailing on several low-end, read cheap, Life-Like autos to make them more 'respectable'. My intent was not to make them rival the better scale cars, but to make them 'good enough' at a viewing distance of 3-feet. Push the thumbnail at right to see a 'photo essay' of the steps and procedures I followed in an attempt to meet my goal.

After long deliberation, I decided to install new crossing signals and automatic flashers on the double-track railroad crossing near the BRVRR COOP. I used an infra-red system because I wanted the signals to operate in the dark. I settled on Berkshire Junction Infrared Deluxe Crossbucks. They seemed to be the best bargain and the most versatile. This 'photo essay' shows most of the steps I took during the installation. I'm sure the general procedure would apply to any stand alone crossing control system currently on the market. When you 'click' on the thumbnail at right, a new window will open with a series of step-by-step photographs and text decriptions.

This 'essay' is in response to several questions I have received via E-Mail. When I expanded the BRVRR to 4' x 8' and then 4' x 10' I wanted to install Under-Table switch machines on the turnouts/switches for the cross-overs, return loop, yard and engine facility. The change over would get rid of the unsightly Atlas surface mount switch machines and allow for a more compact arrangement of track. Most of the powered turnouts were out of easy reach or had to be operated in pairs. With 12-turnouts/switches to convert I was facing a considerable expenditure. I considered Tortise machines, but they were out of reach finacially at the time. There had to be a way. The photo at right illustrates how I solved the problem. If you 'click' on the thumbnail, a new window will open with a short photo-essay an how I converted my Standard Atlas Switch Machines to Under-Table Machines.

When I installed my first Lenz Decoder in BRVRR EMD F7A #1116, I had a devil of a time programming it with my Digitrax Zephyr command station. After a dozen or more tries I looked for help. I found it on the Atlas DCC Forum. I described my problem in a post on the forum. Within an hour I had the answer. Apparently Digitrax command stations put out a very low voltage/amperage to the programming track. To fool the command station into increasing the voltage/amperage Digitrax recommends placing a 1000 Ohm resistor across the programming tracks to increase the load. I soldered an alligator clip to each side of a 1/4 watt, 1000 Ohm resistor and clipped it to my programming track. Viola! The Lenz LE1000W decoder immediately responded to my Zephyr. Ever since, I have always clipped my little resistor to the programming track when dealing with a Lenz/Atlas decoder. The thumbnail at left and the larger photograph it leads to, show the resistor in place on the programming track. It is not the clearest photograph I ever made, but it should get the point across.

I have had several questions about how I used garage door rollers to support my layout. The photo at right should illustrate the point without too many words. There is presently one roller at each corner of the layout. I used 2" x 4s" for 'rails' because that is what I had on hand. I routered a groove into the top of each one to serve as my roller track. It works quite well, but if I had it to do over again, I would use small aluminum channel for the track instead. I am thinking of adding a third, center, roller to each end for additonal support. Hope this helps!