{"id":402,"date":"2017-01-28T04:11:02","date_gmt":"2017-01-28T04:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/?page_id=402"},"modified":"2026-07-21T18:00:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T02:00:03","slug":"ho-model-railroad","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/ho-model-railroad\/","title":{"rendered":"HO Model Railroad"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I have an L-shaped HO layout that&#8217;s about 12 feet on each side.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a European theme that&#8217;s roughy Epoch III (1945-1970), but I&#8217;m willing to cheat if it pleases me.\u00a0 It mainly consists of equipment from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fleischmann.de\/\">Fleischmann<\/a>, but I have some\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.roco.co.at\/\">Roco<\/a>\u00a0as well.\u00a0 The buildings are from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.faller.de\/\">Faller<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kibri.de\/\">Kibri<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vollmer-kit.de\/index.php?lg=ger\">,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vollmer-kit.de\/index.php?lg=ger\">Vollmer<\/a>\u00a0and other European manufactueres.\u00a0 Signals are from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.viessmann-modell.com\/\">Viessmann<\/a>.\u00a0 I also have the Faller Car System (cars that really drive around), which impresses most visitors more than the trains.<\/p>\n<p>The layout is automated and I can run up to 10 trains.\u00a0 The automation is done with a &#8220;block system&#8221; that&#8217;s similar to what the prototype railroads use.\u00a0 That is, sections of track are either occupied or free and control the signal at the entrance of the section.\u00a0 The control is done with relays and simple electronics.\u00a0 Computer control would of course be simpler, but since I write computer software for my job, I don&#8217;t want to write software for my hobby as well.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/ho-model-railroad-pictures\/\">Layout and Train Pictures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/scenery\/\">Scenery Pictures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/ho-model-railroad\/faller-car-system\/\">Faller Car System<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/ho-model-railroad\/motor-and-gear-cleaning\/\">Fleischmann motor cleaning<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/ho-model-railroad\/items-for-sale\/\">Items I have for sale<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/ho-model-railroad\/spare-parts\/\">Spare parts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Layout<\/h4>\n<p>Here is a composite view of my layout.\u00a0 This is built in Photoshop Elements to create the next two images for documenting the track and Faller Car System\u00a0sensors and servos.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_462\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-462\" style=\"width: 474px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Layout-All.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-462 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Layout-All-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"474\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Layout-All-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Layout-All-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Layout-All-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Layout-All-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-462\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photoshop composite of my layout. Click for full size.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>View of the tracks, sensors and electrical connections\/breaks.\u00a0 This image cuts the mountain away to show the tracks and controls.\u00a0 The\u00a0previous\u00a0image shows the mountain in tact.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the logic is controlled by relays,<b>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.circuitron.com\/index_files\/Tortoise.htm\">Tortoise<\/a>\u00a0<\/b>switch machines and a few dozen transistors.\u00a0 If you&#8217;re interested, I can send you the spreadsheet that describes the state machines.<\/p>\n<p>There is a &#8220;hidden station&#8221; below the layout, which is not shown.\u00a0 It is accessed via the left curved turnout by C58.<\/p>\n<p><small><b><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Train-Layout-Tracks.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-732\" src=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Train-Layout-Tracks.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/a>\u00a0Faller Car System roads, sensors, switches and &#8220;stop&#8221; controls.\u00a0 On a good day, I can run 7 vehicles.\u00a0 The\u00a0previous\u00a0image shows the mountain in tact.\u00a0 This image cuts away the mountain to shows the roads and their controls.<\/b><\/small><\/p>\n<p>The logic is controlled by several hundred transistors and several dozen relays.\u00a0\u00a0<small><b>If you&#8217;re interested, I can send you the state table spreadsheet that describes the traffic control.<\/b><\/small><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Car-System-Roads.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736\" src=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Car-System-Roads.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Track<\/h4>\n<p><small>Most of my track is code 100 to accommodate Fleischmann engines and cars from the 1960&#8217;s.\u00a0 The relatively large flanges on their wheels won&#8217;t run over Atlas code 83 track.\u00a0 However, I have some code 83 track from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.reynaulds.com\/tillig\/tillig1.html\">Tillig<\/a>\u00a0and Roco which works fine.\u00a0 I started with a lot of brass Fleischmann track that I had from the 1960&#8217;s, but it&#8217;s a real nuisance to keep clean.\u00a0 The nickle-silver track stays much cleaner.\u00a0 To help keep the track clean, I have both an engine and a freight car with rotating track cleaners (<small>Fleischmann 4938 and 5568)<\/small>.<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Also, most of the American-made rolling stock will derail on the frogs of the older Fleischmann turnouts.\u00a0 When I carefully compare a European wheel with an American one, the spacing on the American wheel flanges are about 1\/64th inch closer together!\u00a0 I thought there were standards for this sort of thing!<\/p>\n<p>Over time, I&#8217;ve replaced most of the track with Peco Streamline Code 100 turnouts and crossings.\u00a0 These are absolutely derail proof!\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/atlasrr.com\/\">Atlas<\/a>\u00a0curves and flex track work great for the rest.\u00a0 The Tortoise &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/us.st11.yimg.com\/store1.yimg.com\/I\/ehobbyland_1872_168197\">Slow Motion Switch Machine<\/a>&#8221; from Circuitron (P\/N 800-6000) work really well for controlling the turnouts. They are reliable and have a DPDT switch which can be used to control track and the frog power. The Electrofrog on the Peco turnouts requires strategically spaced insulators.\u00a0 The Roco turnouts have the insulator built in, which I think is very clever.\u00a0 The curved turnouts from Tillig are a bit flexible, which is a terrific feature when adding to an existing layout.<\/p>\n<p><small>I don&#8217;t recommend Atlas turnouts.\u00a0 These require some filing and cursing to get older Fleischmann engines to negotiate them.\u00a0 It&#8217;s mainly the wheel spacing issue I mentioned above.\u00a0 I also can&#8217;t recommend Shinohara turnouts.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve got one of these, but it occasionally needs to get mechanically wiggled before the Tortoise motor will move it (not the\u00a0Tortoise&#8217;s\u00a0fault).Motors<\/small><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Motors<\/h4>\n<p>The modern Fleischmann and Roco engines behave extremely well.\u00a0 Some of the Fleischmann models from the 1960&#8217;s with the round-magnet motor also work well, but others run too slowly for the first few minutes (while they are cold).\u00a0 The round-motor engines which have extra gears behave well both hot and cold (e.g. Fleischmann 1364).\u00a0 Even the square magnet motor in my Fleischmann 1367 Union Pacific Engine runs well because it is geared low.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve tried three approaches to get the older Fleischmann engines to behave:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><small>Replace the armature with a newer one, which has a flywheel.\u00a0 Fleischmann replacement part #504607 (Anker mit Schwungmasse).\u00a0 The new ones are slightly thicker and I&#8217;ve needed to add three thin washers between the armature electrical plate and the magnet.\u00a0 But, the result works very well.<\/small><\/li>\n<li><small>Buy a new motor from Fleischmann.\u00a0 This works for steam engines (like the 1350) by buying a tender for a similar model (i.e. 4141).\u00a0 It contains a new motor, gears and flywheel.\u00a0 The result is a new running engine for $75 &#8211; $100.<\/small><\/li>\n<li><small>Add an extra gear.\u00a0 This is the hardest because you&#8217;ll have to find room to mount it and get it positioned correctly.\u00a0 But, the end result works very well because the older engines &#8212; especially the entry level models &#8212; generally run a bit too fast.\u00a0<\/small><\/li>\n<li><small>Replace the motor and gears with ones from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nwsl.com\/\">NWSL<\/a>.\u00a0 I converted a Fleischmann 1350 steam engine.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a lot of work, but it ran very quietly and smoothly afterwards.<br \/>\n<\/small><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div>I added an extra gear to this Fleischmann 1379:<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/IMG_4960.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-547 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/IMG_4960-150x150.jpg\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/IMG_4959.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-546\" src=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/IMG_4959-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<figure style=\"width: 318px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" title=\"Fleischmann 1379 with extra gear\" src=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/Train\/Train-Images\/IMG_1470.jpg\" alt=\"Fleischmann 1379\" width=\"318\" height=\"138\" align=\"top\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fleischmann 1379 from 1963. If you look closely, you can see the extra gear sticking out of the front window.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Fleischmann 1350 from 1963 with new 4141 tender\" src=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/Train\/Train-Images\/IMG_1463.jpg\" alt=\"Fleischmann 1350\" width=\"320\" height=\"112\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fleischmann 1350 from 1961 with new 4141 tender. Runs like a modern engine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Once a year or so, the motors and gears need to be cleaned.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/ho-model-railroad\/motor-and-gear-cleaning\/\">Here&#8217;s<\/a>\u00a0how I do it.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><big><big>Couplers<\/big><\/big><\/p>\n<p>Reliable couplers are a real problem.\u00a0 Fleischmann couples are good for the close coupling mechanism on all the newer European engines and cars.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a solid connection that lets the engine pull or push. But, they occasionally uncouple when they are not supposed to, especially on longer passenger cars.\u00a0 The best solution is to use the Roco 40271 couplers, whch don&#8217;t unintentionally uncouple.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kadee.com\/\">Kadee<\/a>\u00a0couplers have worked the best for me on\u00a0old Fleischmann engines and dual axle cars &#8212; without NEM coupler sockets.\u00a0\u00a0They look good and don&#8217;t uncouple when they are not supposed to.\u00a0 Kadee couplers are uncoupled by mounting an electromagnet under the track.\u00a0 For a while I thought the Kadee couplers would work well everywhere.\u00a0 But, they don&#8217;t allow an engine to reliably\u00a0push\u00a0a long train around a curve.\u00a0 Also, the buffers can get tangled up on long 4-axle passenger coaches if a train slows down or stops in a curve.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how I install Kadee #39 couplers in a 2-axle freight car (Fleischmnn 1460).\u00a0 I know this is different from what\u00a0 Kadee recommends, but it puts the coupler at the correct height.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_549\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-549\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/IMG_0492jpg.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-549 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/IMG_0492jpg.jpg\" alt=\"Kadee #39 coupler on Fleischmann 1460\" width=\"640\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/IMG_0492jpg.jpg 640w, http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/IMG_0492jpg-300x234.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-549\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kadee #39 coupler on Fleischmann 1460<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><small>Suppliers<\/small><\/h4>\n<p>I&#8217;ve had the best luck ordering from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.euromodellbahn.com\/\">Euro-Modellbahn<\/a>\u00a0in Germany.\u00a0 They&#8217;ve got just about everything in stock and can get unusual items like spare parts quickly.\u00a0 The orders arrive in a single shipment and are correct.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some independent suppliers that I&#8217;ve enjoyed buying used Fleischmann and Roco from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tri-angman.co.uk\/\">Tri-angman<br \/>\n<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.modellbahn-seyfried.de\/\">Modellbahn Seyfried<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ladormilona.com\/\">La Dormilona Models<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I can&#8217;t recommend\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.reynaulds.com\/\">Reynauld&#8217;s Euto-Imports<\/a>\u00a0because I can&#8217;t tell what&#8217;s in stock and what&#8217;s not.\u00a0 Two times I&#8217;ve been told via e-mail that an item is in stock and it magically is no longer available when I order it.\u00a0 I tried them again last spring and the Roco engine that they told me was in stock is still on backorder nine months later!\u00a0 Ordering 5 items will add 3-4 shipping charges to the order.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.internettrains.com\/\">Internet Model Trains<\/a>\u00a0is a great place to buy Peco, Atlas and\u00a0Circuitron Tortoise Switch Machines.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.walthers.com\/\">Walthers<\/a>\u00a0has a great web site which shows what&#8217;s in stock, but they have very high prices.<\/p>\n<p>Fleischmann spare part numbers can be found at the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fleischmann.de\/\">Fleischmann<\/a>\u00a0home page.<\/p>\n<pre><small><i>Updated: July 2026<\/i><\/small>\n<small><i>Contact: GerdHoeren at Gmail dot com<\/i><\/small><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have an L-shaped HO layout that&#8217;s about 12 feet on each side.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a European theme that&#8217;s roughy Epoch III (1945-1970), but I&#8217;m willing to cheat if it pleases me.\u00a0 It mainly consists of equipment from Fleischmann, but I have some\u00a0Roco\u00a0as well.\u00a0 The buildings are from\u00a0Faller,\u00a0Kibri,\u00a0Vollmer\u00a0and other European manufactueres.\u00a0 Signals are from\u00a0Viessmann.\u00a0 I also &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/ho-model-railroad\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">HO Model Railroad<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":455,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-402","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":790,"href":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/402\/revisions\/790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gerdhoeren.me\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}