Post #2- How to: Make an HO Scale EOT Flag for Your Trailing Car

  

Picture Credit: Autoorb.com/Google Images

EOT Devices, or End-of-Train Devices, are used throughout the United States to signal the end of a train. These can vary from simple flags to FREDs (Flashing Rear End Devices). Today I will show you how to create a simple flag for the end of your consist.

First, You will need the following materials:

                                             -A piece of blank paper (preferably white)

                                             -Scissors

                                             -Glue (I used Gorilla Glue for clarity, but Elmers should work fine)

                                             -A Toothpick, or the end of a skewer

                                             -An orange marker or Sharpie

                                             -A car with knuckle couplers to test the finished product

Start out by marking the toothpick at 3/4 of an inch, and cut.

 

Next, color in a rectangular portion of your paper, about 3/4"x1/4". Then cut it out. Try to make the edges you cut as straight as possible.

Now  glue the flag to the toothpick. Once the flag is glued, don't let gravity pull the flag down; hold it up in the air for a minute or so, but hold it horizontally so it is not pulled down vertically.

After holding it up to dry, put it down and let it dry for a additional few minutes. Now you are ready to test the finished product! Put the flag in the coupler on the designated testing car and run it around the track a few times.

 

Also, make sure your couplers are in the closed position before you insert the flag, as shown above.(Sorry for the bad picture quality!) If the flag falls off a few times after you start using it, just adjust the flag position or the coupler; if this persists, then you should probably use another car at the end of your consist. Thank you for reading.

Post #1- New Cars

Yesterday I received 3 cars as birthday presents. One is a Maine Central Flatcar with a crated and strapped down load. Another is an Accurail 36FT. Panel-Sided Hopper for the New Haven Old Colony Division. This is an exclusive club car availible from the Old Colony Model Railroad Club. You can find their website here: http://oldcolonymodelrailroad.tripod.com/index.html . Finally, the last car was bought at a train show. It is a used Bev Bel passenger car for the Boston & Maine. I also received a 10-pack of Kadee No. 5 couplers, which I will eventually use to replace the horn-hook couplers on some of my older cars.

                                    The MEC Flatcar with load, road number 7504.

                            Exclusive Old Colony Model RR Club Hopper, with reporting mark      "OCMRRC" and road number 770768.

  It's blurry, but here it is: the Boston & Maine Passenger Car No. 4625.