OST Publications Blog
Places of The Heart
Why are we drawn to some places more than others? What qualities do they have? I suggest that a connection has been made that tugs at our heart. We sense a positive feeling, a warmth and familiarity that draws us back and in, again and again. You've seen these images...
Detailing Track: Letting Go Of Assumptions
More Than Meets The EyeHow we think about a subject is as important as what we see. The typical advice for modeling ties is to impart wood grain by scraping the wood with a razor saw. Why do this? My hunch is because somebody decided it was a good idea, which...
Detailing Track: Back To The Beginning
We tend to see track as a collection of parts that are treated individually. We prepare the roadbed, then lay the ties. Perhaps staining or painting the ties comes before the rail, while the process of ballasting comes at any time. The actual mechanics of laying track...
Fallow Time For Modeling
Yes, the blog has been quiet lately, because I’ve not had anything worthy to share. After returning from Texas, the yard needed serious attention. We had lovely Spring weather and it seemed a shame to waste it indoors. Both May and early June saw Susan and I weeding,...
Lone Star Adventures
Last December I received an invitation from Riley Triggs to speak at the NMRA’s Lone Star Region convention, which took place last weekend (May 5-7). On Friday I presented a morning clinic on getting started in P48 modeling and an afternoon clinic on detailing track....
Product Review: Twin Star Cars Track Spikes
These new track spikes from Twin Star Cars are stainless steel produced by a double photo chemical etching process. They are then acid dipped to give an oxide finish coating. The individual spikes are attached to a fret and have to be separated for use. Unlike other...
Haste Makes Waste
I can trace my interest in freight cars back to childhood. When the local would spot a boxcar at the grain elevator, I’d make the pilgrimage up Water Street to check it out. My curiosity and interest back then was simpler and more innocent. The subtleties of builder...
Design The Invisible
There is an invisible story around model railroading. Invisible in that we take it for granted and seldom question whether it makes sense for our needs. Widely accepted ideas such as good enough, the three-foot rule, modeling the entire run from one yard to the next;...
A Lazy Afternoon and Soft Brass
A lazy rainy Saturday afternoon presented the opportunity to practice with scraps of brass. My purpose is to develop my machining skills. To refine my set up procedures, strengthen my awareness of what the tool is doing and how the material is responding. This is...