Extensively illustrated, this is a guide to building scenic landscapes for model railways. The volume covers: creating landscapes and contours; railway civil engineering; platforms, walls, bridges, etc.; natural groundwork; modelling form and texture; buildings from scratch or kits; and colouring, painting and detail.
"A full color encyclopedia that starts with a description of the model railroad hobby, ending with descriptions of full scale models. It examines the various scales, gauges, and all of the equipment and landscape that can be involved. This even involves many tips from model railroad builders currently involved in this fascinating hobby"--Amazon.
New help for new homeowners Homeowners who are ready to remodel, just moving in, or ready to tackle their first DIY repair will find Black & Decker The Complete Photo Guide for New Homeowners indispensable. Filled with easy-to-follow projects for all of the most common repairs and installations homeowners confront, this is the essential guide for readers with little to no do-it-yourself experience. This book is carefully tailored for the needs of homeowners new to the art of home repair and maintenance. Each section includes an overview of the topic; including information on common tools and materials, overall house systems, and how to evaluate different situations. Then specific projects start with a list of common terms and a photographed list of the tools and materials needed for the project at hand. Detailed, step-by-step photo instructions follow.
Moving from a train set out of a box to making your own model railway can seem a daunting proposition. Whether you go your own way, wish to follow a prototype tightly or have an inherited stock that you want to make the best of. This book covers the act of deciding on a design that will keep the interest alive. Executing it in a manner that is within your skills set, and finishing it to a quality you are satisfied by within a time and financial limit. Here learning from those who have had both successes and the occasional false start will assist you in execution of your project and maintaining its interest. The book aims to explain jargon and includes such subjects as project design and planning, alternative baseboard construction methods, track laying, basic electrics accompanied by a rich and varied imagery. The Market Deeping Model railway club rose to public notice in May 2019 following the sad overnight vandalism of their annual railway show. The breaking news story became a worldwide cause célèbre bringing a whirlwind of kind support from modelers and the general public. The rebuilding of the club's damaged layouts and new projects for replacements gave the rare opportunity of experienced modelers to photograph and document the build process and revisit the basics. The results are incorporated into this book making a positive and cathartic activity from a distinctly negative situation.
This new edition includes everything from advice on everyday maintenance to repair to new construction. It introduces new technology and new products. At every turn, the book offers expert advice on issues that confront homeowners every day. Photos & illustrations.
N gauge is the most rapidly expanding of all the model railway formats and if you want to take advantage of its huge potential, then this is the book for you. The author explains exactly what N gauge is, its history, its advantages and some of its possible disadvantages. He begins with a train set and progresses through choosing a prototype and designing a layout, to a practical demonstration of how to build a baseboard, to designs for open-topped baseboards and fiddle yards. Tells you all you need to know about the different track products that are available and the differences between sectional and flexible track. Provides detailed, yet easily understandable, descriptions of how to lay track, cut it to size, join it, and connect it between baseboards. Explains the terminology of turnouts and the different ways to operate them. Explores the differences between DC and DCC control, and how to get power to the track. Considers wiring for turnouts and isolation sections. Discusses all the types of ballasting and presents comprehensive advice on how to apply and fix loose ballast. Examines ready-to-run rolling stock available in N gauge as well as kit building and conversion of locomotives to DCC. Provides guidance on couplers, from the traditional types to the latest designs such as knuckle couplers and close coupling mechanisms. Covers modelling the railway infrastructure, such as platforms and signal boxes, how to make realistic rural and urban scenery, and how to bring your layout to life by adding details such as people, road vehicles and signs. Lavishly illustrated with 285 colour photographs and 20 diagrams.
CHOSEN BY THE ECONOMIST AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR An American linguist teaching in England explores the sibling rivalry between British and American English “English accents are the sexiest.” “Americans have ruined the English language.” Such claims about the English language are often repeated but rarely examined. Professor Lynne Murphy is on the linguistic front line. In The Prodigal Tongue she explores the fiction and reality of the special relationship between British and American English. By examining the causes and symptoms of American Verbal Inferiority Complex and its flipside, British Verbal Superiority Complex, Murphy unravels the prejudices, stereotypes and insecurities that shape our attitudes to our own language. With great humo(u)r and new insights, Lynne Murphy looks at the social, political and linguistic forces that have driven American and British English in different directions: how Americans got from centre to center, why British accents are growing away from American ones, and what different things we mean when we say estate, frown, or middle class. Is anyone winning this war of the words? Will Yanks and Brits ever really understand each other?