Call in the crane train! (1979)

In November 1979, the D&H had to call for the wreck train. This shot shows the train in Rotterdam heading South. No idea what the need was based on, but I thought it made a nice shot. I plan to model the MOW train in the future, but by then nearly everything was just blue instead of this snazzy blue/gray/yellow scheme.

New Toys (and disappointments) - Dremel accessories!

Though I haven't touched it in several weeks, my excuse for the lack of progress on my D&H bobber caboose has been that I have to drill some holes for marker light brackets. Those holes have to be small, and they have to be accurate. I recently bought a new pin vice, but I wanted to try my hand at using a Dremel 200 series motor tool to drill small holes. This requires two things: a #4486 keyless chuck (to hold the drill bits) and a speed controller (to slow down the RPMs so that you actually drill the plastic before the bit snaps and flies off to wherever. I purchased the chuck on EBay. BE WARNED: there are many Chinese knockoffs also on EBay under the same listing. I assume the Dremel plastic clam shell packaging means mine is authentic. I looked at foot switches, but then at a recent train show I found this.

Unfortunately, I then contacted Dremel to confirm that they were safe to use together and they responded that they were not compatible. Since both the Dremel and the speed control contain rheostats, they will "work against each other and burn out the motors." To use the speed control, I need to purchase a 100-series Dremel tool. LAME!

So, I might just try the chuck and the slow setting on my Dremel 200-series and see what happens. If anyone is interested in the speed control, I will give you a good deal on it!