Tinkering with N Scale Mini Machines

Link to the Pro Scale Models Toy or Not discussion:
• Are They Toys? Are Mod...
Today we discuss keeping a model railroad running - the ability to tinker to make repairs and understand your tiny machines that keep our railroads railroading.
Disclaimers for the Irresponsible:
The contents of the videos on this channel are not designed nor intended for children or in any way marketed towards them. While there is no content restriction, the video may contain adult language and adult jokes. Those easily offended by anything and everything or not of a mature and rational mind should not view the content because we have no patience for nonsense. If you're offended by this statement, it's directed towards you. If not and you laughed, welcome to the channel.
All footage contained in this video was shot by the members of this channel and are copyright protected. Sharing of the video and the video link are encouraged to help spread the hobby, please provide proper credit when sharing.
Technical Stuff:
Footage is captured with an iPhone 11 and narrated in real-time during the recording through a headset mic.
Video is assembled/edited with Microsoft's Clipchamp video editing software.
Music is provided royalty-free from www.bensound.com

[@irrationaltimer4901]

I love tinkering. I tinker with anything. I've taken clocks, watches even alarm clocks apart and back together again. Bicycles are another passion. There is nothing I can't do to a bike. Redo hubs, rebuild wheels, headsets...you get the idea. I think tinkering is a hobby in itself. Plus it gives you an education on how things work. But yeah, tinkering is a major part of keeping a model RR running like a Swiss watch (which I do not take apart...a man has to know his limitations)

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

indeed, a man needs to know his limitations! but i'm the same - i'll work on anything because a lot of the tools i've collected for modeling, double as something else for work around the house. but that feeling of victory making a repair, only someone who tinkers really understands the rewards!

[@deborahweber7166]

Would like to see how you apply the Bull Frog Snot on N scale engines

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

I can do that for you. Stay tuned.

[@CashSly]

I know some folks say it’s just semantics, tinkering/playing. I look at it like balsa gliders vs $30,000 mini-jets. Both have to be put together, both fly, and you could say either were tinkered together or that you are playing with either. I don’t think it really matters though one way or the other. I think if you are a little embarrassed by the word play, it’s going to bother you whether you spent $2 on your balsa flyer or $30000 on your rivet counter F15 eagle. Me I’m proud of what I created, and if someone says “Awe you like playing with trains “. I say yes. If they say “ you have really tinkered yourself quite the little world here “, again I have to say yes. Just like people enjoy hunting, knitting, video games, RC anything, I enjoy this, tinkering/playing with my trains. Everyone does something, this is for me.

[@CashSly]

Also glad you are getting some of your track gremlins under control. I have just started on mine. Even though I have a climate controlled room, the track that is least accessible is what keeps twisting out of shape. Going to try expansion gaps. Thanks for the video!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

i can settle for 'playing with trains'. i've even used the phrase myself. although the argument could be made, well, you play with the trains and things played with are toys, i still go to their complexity; i think that is the distinction between our models and a toy. i have display cases filled with diecast model construction equipment. they're rarely handled, some are fragile, wouldn't consider them 'toys' since they're detailed replicas and not played with - occasionally reposed. so, our trains, being model replicas that move and we operate still seem a misnomer to call them toys because they're more. they have a toy quality about them from the enjoyment side but they're operated more than played. much like i wouldn't consider an RC car or plane a toy - because a plane for instance, take a skill to fly. there are toy versions of them, like you state, but that difference alone makes separate categories for me.

[@memiepinaforcolin1081]

I couldn't agree more

[@xfiles-thetruthisoutthere8038]

Hi, I've noticed you haven't any Atlas Dash 8-40CW's in 'NS' on your layout. Hiawatha hobby shop has them for $90.00 and running out fast. Keep the videos coming and enjoy !

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

thanks for the heads up. i'd never heard of them but checking them out they have a really nice selection and some decent pricing!

[@NitroStarGT]

I would like to see your video on a basic locomtive service like cleaning, oiling, greasing etc.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

That seems to be a poplar theme. Coming up.

[@robertrivera9162]

What lighting do you use? It looks so good. Also, what cuplers do you recomend for N scale Lifelike FA locomotives?

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Thanks. Lights are 50' LED strip lights from Home Depot. I bought them from the same line so the remotes are programmable - one remote turns them all on and changes the intensity and color. They're made by Commercial Electric.

[@SFCRambo60]

Toys would be like the Adam's Family where they crashed their trains or blew them up. LOL

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

LOL!

[@NitroStarGT]

Good vid👌. Sure like to tinker with the layout and trains

[@pjm329]

I am not embarrassed to call them toys. I consider all of it, the locos, the rolling stock, tracks, scenery, structures, tools and supplies, and even the workbench to be toys. I am a big old kid and I love playing with toys. If I didn't think of it as playing, it would seem like work and I might not enjoy it as much. I've never really cared what other people think about it.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

interesting to see people commenting on an embarrassment factor. i really never considered it as embarrassing - most people who know i have model trains usually expect to visit the train room when they come over and i love showing off my work. i don't know that it's playing - it's definitely a lot of work to build the benchwork and the wiring which are probably my least favorite parts. i still see a difference from a basic toy and what we go into to make our 'toys' work.

[@seanspennywisemiserrr]

The minute you say play, to me, that indicates with toys. To say, I am going to operate my layout, or trains, indicates something more engaging, having more value and care in handling. Take care. Sean.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

i think operate is a better term for what we do. could it be consider 'playing' since we don't actually produce a good or service in the end - maybe. but we operate our railroads. we host operating sessions - not train play dates. although i'm sure wives and girlfriends would say "no, he's out playing trains with his buddies again." that's ok, we know what we're doing - most of the time.

[@judyrush3219]

I try to save as much Vintage N-scale when it shows up.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

some of the old stuff isn't as detailed or smooth running but there's still something about those older models that has appeal.

[@dakotaziegler4]

Honestly I think a great video would be general locomotive maintenance etc I have not done anything to my own locos since I got them and have no clue what to do or where to start I believe that would be cool like greasing oiling cleaning etc (great video)

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Got it.

[@tommynorwood5184]

Hi C Mastracci , that is a good word for what we’re doing ( tinkering) . The only difference between little boys and big boys is the price of their toys. When I’m talking to someone about my trains I address it as the layout. I would like to see a video on oiling and greasing a locomotive. How much problems did you have when you were speed matching your Scale Trains locomotives your any at all. Haven’t took mine out of the box yet. Still working on the track I mean tinkering. I plan on putting MTL 1016 medium shank couplers on brown. All ways look forward to your videos. Thanks for sharing. Have a good week. 😎😎 👍

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

So no issues speed matching the two most recent ST locos (The SD40s and The Dash 9s); all ran consistently enough to run together without any CV tinkering. However, if you're trying to match them to non-LokSound locos, there's a TON of problems trying to get them to match because the ESU decoders have a lot of functionality the older Digitrax and NCE decoders don't have. It's related to how the locos responds to the sound files.

[@tommynorwood5184]

Thanks . I’m going to be running them together. Not with any other brands. 😎😎 👍@@AlleghenyNorthern

[@davebnsfnscale4433]

I love tinkering with my older rolling stock, body mounting couplers, correcting ride height and so on,make them work well,I have cut couplers off of hundreds of MT trucks

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

It's rewarding to get a piece of rolling stock back on the rails, isn't it?!

[@CM-ARM]

You know my first train I consider a toy. But soon after it became a hobby and I graduated to being a model railroader. Not so much today. Now I consider myself a miniaturest. I'm building, creating and duplicating real world scenes. And yes I really injoy tinkering

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

usually, the first train either is or becomes a toy because we get it when we're young. chances are, it has a low probability of making it to our mature modeling phase. but now, as an up-in-coming professional or a professional in the hobby... well, now it's about precision and toys don't have the level of precision we desire.

[@BumbleBee-kg5ig]

Can you help me please? I am adding high voltage towers to my layout and can not find anything about n scale spacing. Btw I am a huge fan of this channel and I always have your channel playing in the background while I am building the layout.

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

so in the real world, we'd space them about 150 yards away depending on terrain, changes in direction, etc. That would be about 34" apart in N-scale. I wouldn't put them that far apart because while accurate - it would look funny because that probably spans three towns on most layouts. you're better off eyeballing those and making them look good as opposed to prototypical placement.

[@BumbleBee-kg5ig]

@@AlleghenyNorthern thank you sir.

[@mustachemike802]

It really isn't functional to compare a child's toy to an adult toy. A toy is defined by how you play with it. The keyword that really defines a model RR as a toy (and you said it yourself) is that it's fun! It's just as adults, our definition of fun can be more complex than what a child might enjoy. Yes, there are technical aspects to the hobby, there are also artistic aspects. They take a higher skill level to put together and operate, but that doesn't detract from the joy it brings us. In fact, it's a bonus, and isn't that the function of a toy? To bring entertainment and joy to its user regardless of their age? Just because someone calls an adult thing a toy doesn't negate the fact that we went through puberty... It's just another way of saying they're FUN!

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

Somehow - and maybe it's just me - but when I think 'adult toy' - model trains is not the first place my mind goes. BUT it's hard not to use the word toy with our trains since they're not a practical machine otherwise. Still, you don't see them on the shelves of major box stores in the toy isle, nor on the shelves in the bygone era of toy r us. so, if we are to agree our trains are toys, then i suppose these our the graduate level of toys as opposed to the underclass toys of our childhood.

[@othmarbrunner9639]

nice layout however kato track even when ballsted looks unrealistic regarding spacing of track , curves etc

[@AlleghenyNorthern]

some people don't like it. i like it's ease and reliability. there are ways to improve it's appearance, but i haven't wasted time with it yet because i have other more pressing tasks and i'll work on that when i've done everything else.

[@the3drailroad100]

The difference between men and boys is the price of the toys… And the World is our playground… Anything that isn’t a necessity is a toy to me, including but not limited to cars, video games, tv’s, etc… Doesn’t matter how you spin it, adults buy things for entertainment, amusement, curiosity, to learn something such as a skill or knowledge, or to occupy time how they see fit. No different than why you give a kid a toy. How a person defines an object or activity is completely subjective and dependent upon perspective. To each their own 😊

[@wilzdart]

toys huh? Well almost any hobby can be called toys. I just bought a drone so I can rail fan and get pictures of the tops of rolling stock and locos, you could say a drone is a toy 400.00 toy. You can say the same for having a muscle car is playing with a toy, 40,000 dollar toy. Who cares if it is part of your passion. Model trains to run right you have to ( tinker) with so many elements which you brought up. Kato track is easy but not a fan of the turn outs #4's slurp, double cross overs can be a pain, on my spurs i have replaced the Kato ones for Peco with a ground throw. Main line #6 kato no issue. Me I like to scratch build and air brush, what ever trips your trigger.