RC garden trains and other Statler bullshit

[ericbarbour]

Baby light my fire, a old locomotive needs a coal fire, isn't it, but how to create this?.
Take two of these "tea lights" and cut a series of colored Christmas tree lights in pieces and take a old piece of circuit board.
And a few resisters and a mini drill.
Real looking fire with real flames.

[Graaf Statler]

The best thinks in life are for free or almost for free, my friends.



Ready. Sorry, I can't turn it in the right position. More than 30 years old, it was not running anymore and the light didn't function and was beyond repair for normal use, and now it is a as good as new high quality battery radio controlled loc out of junk. Old Neurenberger stuff what you can't compare with the Chinese stuff what is sold nowadays. And first it was only to use as decoration.

[Dysklyver]

Dunno if this is the right thread, because it's not really a train or made by Graff, but a kid on IRC is building a "Huggle Keyboard".

https://i.ibb.co/yPJLLkx/alxa.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/KsNYDPV/rbui.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/bPnF9b3/yqwn.jpg


It is a programmable keyboard specifically to be used with the Huggle anti-vandalism program.

The mount was made with a laser cutter, then cherry mechanical keyboard switches added, wired up to a digital microcontroller, and programed to match the keyboard mapping of the Huggle program.

[Graaf Statler]

Not any problem, Arthur, it is a bullshit topic as you can read. Post whatever you like.
There are many, many people who makes very nice things. But I am still in the stone-analoge age.

[ericbarbour]

Dunno if this is the right thread, because it's not really a train or made by Graff, but a kid on IRC is building a "Huggle Keyboard".
It is a programmable keyboard specifically to be used with the Huggle anti-vandalism program.

Oh christ this is hilarious.....

[Graaf Statler]

Rails, much rails........
I bought 30 meter strait track. 45 meter benches, and 14 switches for 150 euro from Ebay-DE. look, now I get my investment in battery traction back.



And this one of the wagons of my Christmas train you see. (the last one) Build up out of old CD players of MacBooks. Because they have fantastic mini engines inside.
The rest was old rubbish.



Some more details:



The battery and RC technic is hidden under the "present"



In Holland we have two day's Christmas, but you poor American's have to work again today. As long as you aren't a public worker, because in that case you have a very long holiday this year....
Or find a WMF job, than you have always a paid holiday!

[ericbarbour]

don't remind me....

[Graaf Statler]

Madam gender is of course complete right, lady's have to pee from time to time, and we have to close that gender gap. Let's bridge that gelndergap! Het roer moet om!
This wagon has a toilet, even with light. Very good, that will make madam very happy.



But this one not.



Wait, all that wagons are build up out of demolition parts and I still have a lot of left overs.
And look, a toilet, left downsite in the corner. HA, that will make madam happy!



Mhhhhh.... If I see that waiting lady lying there I doubt if one toilet is enough. But I have no room for two toilets.



This is of course no solution, a peeing lady in the middle of a train.



Well, lets close that gender bridge! it will cost me three seats, a commercial lose, but madam gender will get what she wants! A decent toilet in this train too, so the lady's but also the gentleman can pee! A unisex toilet! Let's beat that gender gap!



To be continued.

[ericbarbour]

Hah, people peeing on trains (not in the toilet) is still a commonplace thing.

Just out of general interest, Union Pacific is one of those few American railroads still operating vintage steam locomotives for publicity. It must be a very expensive form of advertising, but you know what railfans are like. They recently bought back the "Big Boy" 4014 from a museum and are restoring it to run again. The 4014 is probably the biggest and heaviest steam locomotive ever built, it literally weighs more than a fully loaded 747. I have the impression that it would not happen without UP oldtimers volunteering their labor.

https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/4014/index.htm

Moving the damn thing was a major operation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ji2aGJJAx8

Regular updates are being posted on YouTube. NOT a trivial job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1MG_jTSek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyHEfxY7-d0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voXW9Ll6nls

[CrowsNest]

We've got steam trains everywhere, in hundreds of heritage railways, and a bunch regularly running charters on the main line. Even a few running what are essentially timetabled services, at least one, if not more, contracted by the actual normal train operators. Although yes, most of it wouldn't happen at all if not for volunteering.

Wikipedia is, of course, shit at documenting it. I tried to look up a very basic fact the other day, the type of a locomotive that had been used in the 80s as the first steam service on what is now one of the most famous steam routes on the modern day passenger network. It is not mentioned in the route article at all.

As usual, I wasn't attempting to use Wikipedia for knowledge, I only looked to see how badly they were doing at this encyclopedia job. I had no information other than the line and the decade, more than enough to get me what I wanted, but that was basically it, as far as Wikipedia could help me. It took five seconds on Google, courtesy of the good old BBC (whose documentary was what promoted my query in the first place).