I'm puzzled. I made a video edit of someone's Lionel Halloween O Scale train set and I got upvotes from maybe nine people - yet the Youtube video shows zero views.
I've been on a streak with the O Scale video's with changed audio. The one below features a few pictures from Scooby Doo... so.... wow!
Only one person looked at my 'Xmas Thomas Kinkade Nightmare' video....
Only two people for Polar Express? Isn't there a movie or something?
I worked some poetry into this trolley in O scale.
How do you choose the right power supply for your model trains? There
isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, so you'll need to consider what you
want to do and measure your options accordingly.
Starter Sets
Most people start with a pre-packaged train set.
Starter sets almost always include a power supply along with the track
and train. While better starter sets usually include a more robust
transformer, as a general rule the power pack supplied with your starter
set is just that—a start.
These small power supplies are designed to supply a few amps of
power. That's about enough to run a single locomotive and perhaps power a
few lighted accessories or passenger cars. As your layout grows so,
too, will its power demand.
Don't just discard your starter set pack, though. It can be a great secondary power supply for lighted buildings,
signals, and other accessories. Serving these devices with their own
dedicated supply will not only allow you to supply them with a proper
constant voltage, but it will also free your main power supply to handle
the load of the train itself.
B&M Noskowski / Getty Images
Volts, Amps, and Watts
All power supplies will be rated for volts, amps, and watts.
Understanding the difference is important in getting the right power
supply for your needs.
Here are some simple definitions for these electrical terms:
Volts determine the volume of power your train
will receive and with conventional control is adjustable. Different
scales generally run on different voltages. By varying the voltage, you
can increase or decrease the speed of the train. A common analogy is the
flow of water through a pipe.
Amps are the
amount of power. This does not change with the throttle. The more
amperage you have available, the more you can do with it. If volts are
the flow of water, amps are the force.
Watts
are simply the measure of the two combined as volts multiplied by amps.
So an 8 volt, 10 amp power supply would be rated at 80 watts.
Most power supplies will be labeled as to the scales they are meant
to handle. Within that range, it is generally recommended to go for the
most robust power supply possible. You may never use all the amps, but
it's usually cheaper to grow into a power supply than to continually
upgrade.
Casper Benson / Getty Images
AC, DC, and DCC
Model train power falls into one of three categories. Alternating
current (AC) is the preferred power for most O Gauge three-rail trains
as well as some two-rail systems in smaller scales. In three-rail
systems, the outer rails are both grounded, and the center rail is
"hot."
Most two-rail track systems use direct current (DC). One rail is
positive, the other negative. The polarities can be reversed to change
the direction of the train.
Digital command control systems
(DCC) uses digital information to control the electrical power to the
train. DCC is less common in starter sets, but some are available. Most
command systems use a constant AC power supply, and trains are
controlled by impulses sent through the rails. These systems still
require a power supply but it only needs to supply a constant voltage to
the rails.
Radio and Bluetooth Control Systems
The next evolution in model train control is radio- or
bluetooth-controlled trains. These sets use a remote control which talks
directly to a receiver in the locomotive. In some cases. Some systems
will use bluetooth technology enabling you to control the trains with
your tablet or cell phone. Like command control, these trains still
require a constant voltage to the rails. The power supply that comes
with these sets is usually a very small wall pack plug-in that cannot be
easily expanded. As your needs grow, you can employ a larger
transformer of fixed voltage. Make sure you are getting the right type
of power supply for your layout.
Extending the Reach of Your Power
It is important to remember that the real test of the power supply is
the load you'll place on it. This comes primarily from the
locomotive(s) but also from lights and other accessories. A locomotive
on a mile-long loop will draw as many amps as it does on a 4x8 platform.
The chances are that little power supply isn't going to keep the train
running over a full mile, however. You can use bus and feeder wires to
more evenly distribute the power over your track.
Likewise, if you only want to run one train at a time, you can keep
other trains on the track by wiring with blocks, and turning off trains
that are not in use. This works for command control layouts too, since
those parked trains are still drawing some current. By only supplying
power to the trains that need it, you can greatly reduce your needs.
Circuit Protection
Like all electronic products, you want to make sure your power
supplies are rated by the appropriate body for your country (UL for
example). Also, you must have a built-in circuit breaker to prevent a
short circuit from causing permanent damage to the power supply or the
trains. With the ever-increasing amount of small electronics in today's
sophisticated models, this protection is more important than ever.
Most power supplies will perform very well for years if used within
their limits. It is not uncommon to see 50-year-old transformers still
going strong on a model railroad.
You should take care, however, to replace worn cords and wires. Keep
the power supplies in an area where they get plenty of air circulation
to prevent overheating.
And if the power supply does fail, it is best not to repair it on
your own. Many manufacturers assemble cases with special screws to
prevent access to the inside and accidental shock. Take the hint.
Federal
authorities on Thursday reportedly arrested a male suspect they say was
the “ringleader” of an effort to destroy a statue of Andrew Jackson
near the White House.
Jason Carter, whom authorities said is
connected to the loose knit anarchist group Antifa, was arrested
Thursday morning at his home and charged with destruction of federal
property, Fox News first reported.
Carter allegedly led the June 22 effort to topple the statue
in Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Square near the White House, which
protesters said they attacked because Jackson owned slaves and because
of his treatment of Native Americans.
“They were very organized,” an unidentified federal law enforcement official told Fox News. “Carter was on top of the statue and directing people.”
“They had acid, chisels, straps and a human chain preventing police from getting to the statue,” the official said.
The
Justice Department on Saturday announced that four other men face
felony destruction of federal property charges for their roles in
attacking the statue. According to the department, the four were
caught in video footage attempting to pull the statue to the ground.
At least a dozen other monuments
to historical figures have also been targeted, including several
Christopher Columbus statues. Statues of Columbus were attacked in
recent weeks in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Minnesota as protests
continue against racism and police brutality.
Vermont State Police are investigating what they call an incident of "hate group" graffiti in Waterbury.
According
to police, the side of the Waterbury Dam was vandalized by the Patriot
Front, which they charaterized as ''a white supremacist hate group."
The
graffiti was applied by stencil which probably allowed the vandal to
leave the area quickly. There are no known witnesses or suspects at this
time.
The
graffiti was discovered by a dam worker on the east side of the dam —
an area with low visibility to the public or from the water.
It
was reported to state police barracks in Middlesex on Wednesday, July
1. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources removed the graffiti that
afternoon.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Vermont State Police in Middlesex at 802-229-9191.
Contact April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on Twitter @aprildbarton.
The
naturalistas and curly heads of the world are well versed in the many
tools that help them take their hairstyles to new heights.
The
two most common amongst these nifty gadgets are the afro pik and the
wide tooth comb; however, the most notable and most historic is the afro
pik. Contrary to belief, the afro pik is not a signifier of the current
revitalization of the natural hair movement. According to The Guardian,
the legacy of the afro pik dates back thousands of years to colorful
culture represented in mother Africa. To fully understand the complex
lifespan of the afro pik, we need to look to the past to understand its
current representation.
Ancient Africa
Back in the times of Ancient Africa,
within the Northern and Western regions, the afro pik (comb) carried a
different meaning and purpose than it currently does today. In Northern
Egypt, when women held the title of pharaoh, the afro comb was used as a
decorative hair dress made of gold. The
significance of the comb was to show nobility; its markings depicted
familial history. Because many Northern African women around Egypt and
Morocco wore sleek styles, braids, or wigs over braids (protective
styles) the afro combs were status accessories.
In Northern Egypt, when women held the title of pharaoh, the afro comb was used as a decorative hair dress made of gold.
Moving
down to Western Africa, the afro comb remained a symbol of decoration
amongst the tribes. The Northern and Western regions were different in
that afro combs were not a specialty to the nobility; the young girls
and women in the western tribes made their own handcrafted afro combs
and regularly exchanged them as gifts. The combs of the western regions
were done with various creative handles, shapes, and structures; these
combs represented uniqueness and vibrancy of the culture and the tribes.
The New Era: 1960-1980s
Moving
forward into the era of the Black Panther Party and the Civil Rights
Movement, the afro comb (pik) took on a very different representation
and voice from its ancient origins. The 1960s-1980s was an era of
rejecting European standards of beauty and reclaiming African roots; a
time of saying no to the creamy crack and yes to berries and juices…yes,
that was a corny Coming to America pun.
During the early 1970s, the afro pik
was patented with the addition of 13 different styles that were sold
throughout the country. The new era of the afro pik represented
revolution; to African
Americans it was a change of positivity and
acceptance of African origins and traditions. The
afro pik that once was a continuous flowing piece of work was now a
dual piece with metal prongs for combs and plastic for the handle.
The
traditional creative sculpting of the afro pik became the symbol Black
Power fist that signified the conscious change in the social and
political atmosphere.
Among
many of the moving pieces of the time that represented the shift in
identity, the symbolism of the black power fist on the afro pik never
disappeared throughout the later decades.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ZACH YONIS
The Present: 1980’s-Today
As the natural hair movement continued to grow
the afro pik survived the transformation from an ancient gift to a
signifier of socio-political change and currently to a tool for
sculpting frotastic perfection. Many naturalistas, women and men alike,
use the afro pik to take their hair to new heights; bring more dimension
and zeal to their hair style of choice.
It
is a piece of all black culture that has never been denied, rejected,
nor dismissed amongst its people throughout its Diasporas.
The
afro pik is a fragment of the global black culture that, in a way
elevates and unifies the spirit of the ancient and current culture.
In today’s society the afro pik is an
everlasting artifact, a global icon, and cultural treasure. An artifact
in its charted existence of the ancient African society; a global icon
because it is known that many combs and figures similar to the afro
pik/comb are derived from ancient Africa.
In
years to come the afro pik will transform into a fixture that elevates
the creativity and femininity into one like the young girls of the
ancient African tribal
Virginia’s Crown Act goes into effect on Wednesday – and other southern states could follow
Kenya Evelyn in Richmond and photographs by Dee Dwyer Jonts
Marwa Eltaib stands in front of the Robert E Lee statue in Richmond,
Virginia. The Crown Act was passed unanimously and was signed into law
in 2019.
Carmen
Davis went natural in 2004, motivated by her mother to do the “big
chop”, a phrase commonly used to describe cutting off chemically
straightened Black hair in favor of naturally textured kinks, coils or
curls.
“My roommate in college stopped talking me,” she said, noting how even in college at the time, being natural was rare. “She told me it was embarrassing to be seen with me and that I’d regret it.”
Today, Davis is a natural hairstylist, helping women in the Richmond
area transition from chemical processing. Her former roommate eventually
became one of her many clients.
Business is growing for Davis, but she admits change is slow in the
“conservative, southern” state where, in many places, wearing natural
hair could mean being denied a job or socially ostracized.
“Society overall frowns upon Black hair, but here it can still be
uncommon for people to embrace it because of judgment or just the every
day exhaustion of having to explain your Blackness,” she said.
Now they won’t have to. Virginiabecame the fourthUS state, and the first in the south,to
pass legislation banning hair discrimination based on racial
identifiers including hair texture and hair type, as well as “protective
hairstyles such as braids, [locs] and twists”. The law, known as the
Crown Act, goes into effect on Wednesday.
“A
person’s hair is a core part of their identity. Nobody deserves to be
discriminated against simply due to the hair type they were born with,
or the way in which they choose to wear it,” Delores McQuinn, a state
delegate and the bill’s lead sponsor, said as the bill passed.
At its signing, the Virginia
governor, Ralph Northam, said disciplining kids and adults in schools
and workforces for wearing natural hair was “not only unacceptable and
wrong” but “not what [they] stand for in Virginia”. Advocates say the
law will put an end to those punitive actions, which the governor
insisted are examples of “discrimination”.
At the Lee monument, hundreds have been gathering daily since protesters first attempted to tear down the statue earlier this month
as part of mass anti-racism demonstrations across the US sparked by the
killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died at the hands of a white
Minneapolis police officer in May.
Vendors sell masks and water at the makeshift tourist attraction.
People gather to perform, pose for photos or add to the colorful
graffiti. Proclamations of “Black Lives Matter” as well as “Murderer”
and other profanities now cover the statue’s base.
The crowd at times included many Black men and women sporting natural
and protective styles like braids, Afros, dreadlocks and twists. The
Guardian interviewed more than a dozen Black Virginians who wear their
hair naturally, and were told personal stories of social isolation,
professional microaggressions and racist bullyingthey have faced.
Bimi, a musical artist locally known as Bimi The Fairy Queen, was
seven when her hair was first chemically straightened, calling it “a
coming-of-age practice that all the women in [her] family did”.
“By the time I went natural at 18, I didn’t even know what my real
texture looked like,” she said. “I didn’t know how to describe that
feeling at the time. I just knew it wasn’t right.”
Now a popular artist, Bimi makes jewelry for dreadlocks and braids.
With dark brown, waist-length locs of her own, she recalled her own
experiences with discrimination. She once pre-qualified for a role
teaching Spanish, only to show up for her interview and be told there
were no vacancies.
She said Virginia’s Crown Act “could pave the way for more southern
states to jump on the bandwagon and be on the right side of history”.
First crafted and sponsored by the California state senator Holly
Mitchell, the Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair – or
Crown – Act passed unanimously and was signed into law in 2019, followed
by similar versions in New Jersey and New York soon after.
Friday will mark National Crown Day, on the first anniversary of California’s adoption of the Crown Act, which campaigners
have created to celebrate Black people, their right to wear their
natural hair without fear of discrimination, and to help push for other
states to take up the legislation.
The legislation has gained momentum after several incidents that have sparked outrage
in recent years, in which children were disciplined at school, or
employees were fired, simply for wearing dreadlocks, braids or afros.
Support jumped following the release of the 2019 film Hair Love, about a Black father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time.
During his Oscar speech, director Matthew A Cherry called on “all 50 states”
to pass the Crown Act, vowing “to normalize Black hair”. He was joined
by Deandre Arnold, a Black high school student from Texas who, in
January, was suspended over his refusal to cut his dreadlocks, and barred from participating in the school’s graduation.
For Black men, the social stigmas that make wearing long hair taboo
can be even worse, with hair that grows out and textured, not down and
straight.
“You’re judged as a threat, a hoodlum or a thug,” said Marcos
Johnson, an entrepreneur who wore dreadlocks for eight years before
opting for braids. “Whether we have to get a job, go to court, submit
documents, it doesn’t matter. One of the first things men here will do
when they go is cut their hair.”
Johnson noted that wearing natural hair can still be dangerous or unsafe in some rural places, calling it “disgusting” for any anti-hair discrimination law to be necessary in 2020.
Black hair has a complicated history
in the US. Many descendants of Africans, brought from cultures in which
hairstyles could indicate a person’s family background, tribe or social
status, were forced to adopt protective styles to prevent their hair
from being damaged by the elements as they endured centuries of slavery.
In Louisiana in the 1700s, Tignon Laws even forced Black women to wear head wraps. Their natural hairstyles were considered a threat
to the beauty of White women. Many adopted elaborate scarf and head
wrapping techniques in a defiant effort to reclaim their beauty and
image.
Today, federal regulations on Black hairstyles are inconsistent. A federal court ruled in 2016
that employers can legally fire employees or deny applicants for
wearing dreadlocks and other hairstyles commonly associated with African
Americans.
But many activists point to the US military as a source of hope.
Known for enforcing some of the strictest appearance and grooming
regulations, its five branches formally revoked bans on natural hairstyles, including dreadlocks, in 2017 after a years-long legal battle.
Whennah Andrews of the US national guard led that fight, beginning with a 2014 challenge to revised army restrictions that would have banned the dreadlocks she had worn for severalyears,
as well as styles like braids and twists. She has now transitioned to
the civilian world, educating corporations on how to better accommodate
Black cultural expressions in the workforce.
Today,
most states don’t have laws that explicitly ban discrimination based on
a person’s natural hairstyle or texture. But that is changing.
Colorado, where Andrews resides, followed Virginia and became the fifth state to pass the Crown Act in March. Thirteen states are currently weighing similar legislation.
Back at the Robert E Lee Memorial, Davis was optimistic about what Wednesday’s change will mean in practice.
As protests amplify conversations about racism and discrimination,
Andrews noted the powerful symbolism for the former capital of the
Confederacy to be first in the south to adopt the Crown Act.
“It’s a leap forward not just in the south, but for change across the
nation,” Davis said, raising her fist while looking up at the statue
peering over the scene where, the day before, a half dozen people were arrested following clashes between protesters and far-right agitators.
“Just existing here with our locs, and our Afros and braids is the
resistance,” Davis said. “It sends the message: wear your crown because
change is coming.”
PORTLAND,
Ore. (AP) - The woman who died after falling 150 feet from a
tree-sitting platform while protesting the Eagle Creek timber sale has
been identified as Beth O'Brien, 22, of Portland.
She had
unhooked herself from one platform and was trying to reach another by a
rope ladder when she fell Friday night, Clackamas County Sheriff's
spokeswoman Angela Blanchard said.
In a sad twist, the timber
sale had been canceled three days earlier. The cancelation was
announced on the U.S. Senate floor by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on
Tuesday.
"This is so senseless and so incredibly sad, and I
just want to urge the young people in the strongest possible terms to
come down from those trees immediately," Wyden said Saturday.
Local rescue crews struggled up snow-clogged dirt roads to reach the
tree-sitters' camp in the Mount Hood National Forest after fellow
activists called 9-1-1 on a cell phone at about 7 p.m., Blanchard said.
The caller said the woman was unconscious but still breathing,
Blanchard said. But by the time rescue crews arrived at about 9:30 p.m.,
she was dead.
"We had problems getting up to that area
because there was snow on the ground, slushy snow on the ground, and we
couldn't get the four-wheel drive trucks up there," Blanchard said.
Sarah Wald of Cascadia Forest Alliance, which organized the protests,
said Saturday afternoon that they were preparing to take down the tree
sits when O'Brien fell.
"We were awaiting a legally binding
contract canceling the sales," she said Saturday afternoon at a somber
backyard press conference in southeast Portland.
Wald said protesters remained in the trees Saturday evening.
Ivan Maluski, a longtime Eagle Creek protester, said four people take
turns living year-round in tree platforms in the area where the
protester fell. He said they were days away from leaving the site after a
three-year vigil.
Wald was vague about Cascadia's immediate future plans in the Eagle Creek sale.
"We are a community in mourning right now,' she said.
Wyden, an opponent of the timber sale, announced Tuesday that the
U.S. Forest Service had canceled the cutting contract after an
independent review determined the deal required significant
modifications to prevent environmental harm.
At issue was the
problem of blowdown, or trees not intended for cutting being felled by
winds on the edge of clear cuts. The Forest Service said tree sitters
were not a factor in deciding to cancel the Eagle Creek sale.
The Forest Service proposed a "mutual cancellation" of the sales with
the timber company, Boring-based Vanport Manufacturing.
The
agency offered to refund roughly $1.3 million in deposits, interest and
other expenses that Vanport incurred. Vanport President Adolf Hertrich
said he would accept, and that appeared to end the contentious timber
harvest.
"As chairman of the Senate subcommittee on forestry I
want to again give my word this sale is over," Wyden said Saturday. "It
is canceled. The sale is not going forward."
At least two
other tree sitters have fallen from perches in the past year in Oregon,
requiring evacuation and medical treatment.
A protester fell
together with his dislodged platform at the Eagle Creek timber sale last
June and was taken by helicopter to a Portland hospital. The
unidentified protester at first refused medical treatment and then ran
away from the hospital without treatment.
In October,
anti-logging protester Tre Arrow tumbled 60 feet from a treetop perch in
the Tillamook State Forest and suffered multiple broken bones.
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Marwa Eltaib stands in front of the Robert E Lee statue in Richmond,
Virginia. The Crown Act was passed unanimously and was signed into law
in 2019.
