Model Railroading > Model Railroaders: Save Your Junk

Having just dis-assembled a Proto-2000 SD-7 to lubricate it (much easier said than done) I thought about how many times have we heard non-model railroaders say “I could never do that”. I believe that many of us do not throw away all kinds of bits and parts of things, tiny screws and other stuff. For that reason, much is possible. As example, I inadvertently used a coupler mounting screw on the printed circuit board inside the locomotive and by the time I had everything back together I needed that same screw to finish the job. Rather than start the dis-assembly process again I opened my tiny parts bins (see photo), probed around in that little mess of junk and found the little screw I needed. I hope all of you are saving your junk too.

I suspect we modelers perform a lot of jobs at home that may simply never get done in the homes of non-modelers. For example, I installed an exhaust fan between the 1st and 2nd stories of my home, where none had ever been.

What projects have you guys and gals done that your non-model railroader friends have never or would never attempt in modelling or in your home?

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Although I don't do any modelling or kit-bashing anymore,I understand what your talking about. I'm always saving extra hardware from projects just in case I might need them for something in the future. Whenever I find an odd screw,bolt,or bracket,I put it into my collection of "Strange and Unusual Hardware". It has saved many trips to the hardware store. I'd like to think my "Macgyvering" skills always benefitted in part from model rairoading.

I see some bolsters in your parts box that somebody here on T.O. was looking for a few days ago (LOL)

One of the first things my friends told me after growing up in the city and then moving to the country was save all your spare parts such as bolts, screws, tractor parts,etc... As an avid model railroader it made perfect since I seldom threw away spare train parts.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/17 19:14 by Cupolau.

Those plastic bolsters came from old Penn Line or Mantua metal "shorty" passenger car kits. They have been setting there for many years and are free to someone who will use them.

boejoe Wrote:
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> I see some bolsters in your parts box that
> somebody here on T.O. was looking for a few days
> ago (LOL)

I've been saving parts, sprues, and other snippets of junk for years, converting many of them into gondola loads of faux scrap metal.

Art House

I just extended a gas log lighter key to 2 feet long, because my wife bought a new bookcase that sits beside the fireplace. I build live steamers, this was easy.

In finishing my basement, I've laid out locations for compressed air drops (compressor in the garage someday). Also cut in fresh air return/exhaust for a future paint booth. The rest of the basement is pretty "normal". Actually nearly every aspect of planning the basement has the model railroad in mind - lots of lessons learned from other peoples layouts.

Jeff Eggert

I've repaired my own eyeglasses more than once...Arm came off, so redrilled and tapped the hole, found a screw and back in business!

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Darren Boes
Lethbridge, AB
Southern Alberta Railfan