This is the animated and lighted O-Scale Firestone sign next to Lefty’s Lightning Fast Service Mobil station on the layout.

This is an overview of how this sign was made from off-the-shelf products for about $20.00 

Parts:

1. Bowtie – Used Acrylic (clear plastic) sign holder (~$1.50 Amazon).
2. Tire – InkJet print on 60# Photo Paper mounted on 1/4″ foam core
3. Motor – Micro 300 Gear Motor 29RPM Slow Speed Mini 32 mm Turbo Worm Gearbox Gear Reduction Motor ($2.31 Ali-Express)
4. Connector – 2-Channel 2A Hollow Shaft Slip Ring ($5.72 Ali-Express).
5. Power – LM2596 DC-DC Step Down Buck Power Convert Module ($3.60 Amazon).
6. Sign Pole – 3/16″ brass tube ($4.91 Amazon) Note: This is enough for 4 signs.

Craft Supplies:

1. Pole Connect – 4-40 Helical Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve Insert ($7.39 Amazon)
2. Pole Connect – 1.25″ 4-40 machine bolt and nut ($1.50 Lowe’s/Home Depot) 
3. Lamp – 3mm LED (30pc $6.99 Amazon)
4. Power – 12V Power Supply ($11.99 Amazon)
5. On/Off Switch – Toggle Switch ON Off SPST (8pc. $8.49 Amazon)
6. Bowtie Logo – Sheets White Inkjet Waterslide Decal Paper (20 sheets Amazon $11.99)
7. Spray Paint – Rust-Oleum Silver Spray Paint ($5.98 Amazon)
8. Rubber o-ring. 

Assembly:

1. Connect the Motor to the Slip Ring and Pole
   1. To connect the pole to the motor I tapped the step motor for a 4-40 machine screw (it was a metric thread and I just re-tapped it for my 4-40).
   2. Apply Blue Loc-tite to the 4-40 bolt and screw into the step motor. 
   3. Cut the screw leaving 1/4″ exposed. File the rough end.
   4. Super-Glue CA the Helical Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve into the 5mm Brass Tube.
   5. Cut a 1/2″ piece of plywood approximately 2″x2″ and drill a 3/4″ hole in the middle of the plywood with a forester bit.
   6. Use 3 small screws to screw the slip ring into the top of the plywood base.
   7. Attach the stepper motor to the bottom of the plywood with a couple of #6 screws.
   8. Insert The brass tube through the slip ring and screw into the 4-40 attached to the stepper motor.
   9. Mark the brass tube just above the Step ring.
   10. Unscrew the Brass Tube.
2. Paint the Pole – Spray paint the pole silver.
3. Install the LED
   1. Drill a 1/8 hole in the side of the brass tube just above the slip ring.
   2. Feed the 2 wires from the slip ring into and out of the top of the tube.
   3. Cut the LED leads to no more than 1-2″ long. 
   4. Solder the Positive side of the LED (Pay attention to the polarity) to the Resistor and solder the other end of the resistor to the red wire. Shrink-wrap the positive lead, resistor and positive wire connection.  
   5. Solder the Negative lead.
   6. There is no need to shrink-wrap the Negative wire. Test to verify your LED is working.
   7. Fold the wires into an S and push the wires connected to the LED back into the tube. With the s-bend you are stuffing 4 wires into the tube. 
      
4. Assemble the Sign
   1. Cut two pieces of acrylic to match the Firestone Bowtie shape.
   2. Sandwich 3/16 square balsa with Glue to the two pieces of Acrylic, leaving a 3/16″ gap at the bottom to allow the LED light to pass into the sign
   3. Paint the edges red to match the color of the waterslide transfers.
      
   4. Inkjet print the Firestone bowtie graphic on waterslide decal paper, seal with flat clear, and attach to both sides of the sign.  
   5. Clearcoat the Waterslide to seal the ink.
   6. Inkjet print the Tire graphic 2X and glue the graphics to 1/4″ foam board.
   7. Cut the foam board to the round tire shape.
   8. Fill the edges of the foam board with lightweight spackle. After the spackle dries, sand and paint the edges black.
      
   9. Cut the top and bottom of the tire to fit above and below the bow-tie.
   10. Drill a 3/16″ in the foam core out of the bottom tire to allow the LED light to pass into the sign.
   11. Glue the tire pieces to the top and bottom of the bowtie.
   12. Drill a hole for the LED light to pass into the sign.
       
   13. Glue a rubber grommet to the bottom of the sign. The Inside Diameter should be small enough to grip the pole.
       
   14. Place the sign over the LED.
5. Connect the Power
   1. Connect the LED to a switched 12V DC power circuit
   2. Connect the 3V DC Step Down Buck power converter to a switched 12V DC power circuit
   3. Connect the stepper motor to the 3V output of the power converter 

For our layout, the slip ring and motor assembly was glued to the 1/4″ masonite base that acts as the gas station parking lot. A 2″x2″ hole was cut in the deck of the layout so the parking lot would sit flush on the deck of the layout. Flip the switch and the sign lights up and spins.

This is the animated and lighted O-Scale A&W Root Beer sign on the layout.

This is an overview of how this sign was made from off-the-shelf products for about $20.00 I was gifted the mug by my neighbor and had everything after item #5 below in my craft supplies.

Parts:

1. Mug – Used small plastic beer mug keychain (~$4.00 eBay). Used is better as the resin in the mug tends to darken with age. I found new ones on Ali-Express for $2 but they were yellow.
2. Motor – Micro 300 Gear Motor 29RPM Slow Speed Mini 32 mm Turbo Worm Gearbox Gear Reduction Motor ($2.31 Ali-Express)
3. Connector – 2-Channel 2A Hollow Shaft Slip Ring ($5.72 Ali-Express).
4. Power – LM2596 DC-DC Step Down Buck Power Convert Module ($3.60 Amazon).
5. Sign Pole – 3/16″ brass tube ($4.91 Amazon) Note: This is enough for 4 signs.

Craft Supplies:

1. Pole Connect – 4-40 Helical Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve Insert ($7.39 Amazon)
2. Pole Connect – 1.25″ 4-40 machine bolt and nut ($1.50 Lowe’s/Home Depot) 
3. Lamp – 5mm LED (30pc $6.99 Amazon)
4. Power – 12V Power Supply ($11.99 Amazon)
5. On/Off Switch – Toggle Switch ON Off SPST (8pc. $8.49 Amazon)
6. Logo – Sheets White Inkjet Waterslide Decal Paper (20 sheets Amazon $11.99)
7. Spray Paint – Rust-Oleum Silver Spray Paint ($5.98 Amazon)

Assembly:

1. Connect the Motor to the Slip Ring and Pole
   1. To connect the pole to the motor I tapped the step motor for a 4-40 machine screw (it was a metric thread and I just re-tapped it for my 4-40).
   2. Screw a 1″ or longer 4-40 bolt into a Helical Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve Insert a
   3. Take a 1″ or longer 4-40 bolt, thread three nuts onto the bolt and fix the thread insert on the end of the screw making the 4pc a single unit then screw the threaded insert into the post. Cut the screw leaving 1/4″ exposed. File the rough end, and remove the nuts.
      NOTE: I did not have the Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve Insert so I drove a 1″ long bamboo skewer into the bottom of a 6″ piece of the brass tube. I drilled a pilot hole in the bamboo skewer and threaded the machine screw into the skewer. This resulted in a slightly angled post which is visible when the post is turning, this is why I recommend using a Sleeve Insert.
   4. Cut a 1/2″ piece of plywood approximately 2″x3″ and drill a 3/4″ hole in the middle of the plywood with a forester bit.
   5. Press fit and glue the slip ring into the top of the plywood base.
   6. Insert The brass tube through the slip ring and screw the 4-40 into the stepper motor.
   7. Attach the stepper motor to the bottom of the plywood with a couple of #6 screws.
2. Install the LED
   1. Drill a 1/8 hole in the side of the brass tube just above the slip ring
   2. Cut the Slip Ring leads to 1″ and Solder and shrink wrap two 6″ long 30 gauge (super-fine) wires to the Slip Ring leads.
   3. Feed the 2 wires from the slip ring into and out of the top of the tube.
   4. Cut the LED Leads with a resistor installer to 1-2″. Solder the LED to the 30 gauge wires connected. Pay attention to the polarity. This is a good time to verify your LED is working.
   5. Push the LED back into the tube.
      NOTE: I used the slip ring wires soldered directly to a prewired LED. So to push the LED back into the tube I had to pull ~1″ of wire back out of the small drilled hole at the base. The excess wire was wrapped around the bottom of the brass tube and hidden with a water bottle cap painted silver to match the pole. This is why I recommend using a 30 gauge (superfine) wire so you can push the extra wire back into the tube without pulling the excess out of the bottom.
3. Paint the Pole – Mask the LED and spray paint the pole and base silver. 
4. Mount the Root Beer Mug
   1. Print the waterslide decals and attache to the mug
   2. Drill a 7/32″ hole in the base of the beer mug
   3. Get a rubber washer that will fit into the base of the beer mug. Mine was 3/4″ OD.
   4. Punch a 5/32″ center-diameter hole in the rubber washer. Note: I drilled mine with a 3/16 drill but left the excess rubber that was left after drilling. In other words I did not “clean” the hole. The extra rubber allowed the washer to compress on the brass pole.
   5. Cut a slit in the washer and wrap it around the pole 
   6. Slide the washer up and press fit it into the base of the mug. The goal is to have the washer grip both the pole and the mug so no glue is needed at the top.
5. Connect the Power
   1. Connect the LED to a switched 12V DC power circuit
   2. Connect the 3V DC Step Down Buck power converter to a switched 12V DC power circuit
   3. Connect the stepper motor to the 3V output of the power converter 

For our layout, the slip ring and motor assembly was glued to the 1/4″ masonite base that acts as our A&W parking lot. A 2″x3.5″ hole was cut in the deck of the layout so the A&W parking lot would sit flush on the deck of the layout. Flip the switch and the sign lights up and spins.

In Oasis Palms a 45-ton diesel switcher was used in the 1950s and 1960s as a tourist attraction. A single ore car with a fake gold ore load and a few open-air passenger cars were paraded through town each weekend day to promote the Oasis Palms scenic railroad tour. For $2 passengers could ride the train that rode past the Barco Gold Mine and took a lap around the scenic railroad above town.

These GE Transportation 45-Ton diesel switchers were built between 1940 and 1956 and were one of the first diesel-electric locomotives to enter service in the USA. Large numbers of “Switching” locomotives were built not only for large railroads; they were also found on smaller railroads as the sole motive power. These little switchers were found just about everywhere: large industrial sidings, on dockside tracks at seaports, quarries, mines, steel mills, lumber yards, and everywhere that required a railroad car to be moved.

To recreate the Barco Mining Company switcher, we started with a gifted Lionel 6-18930 Switcher. These little switchers came from the Lionel 6-11813 Crayola Activity O Gauge Diesel Train Set made in 1994-95. The top is bright yellow and the base is green. Our donor came from an activity set gifted to me by a friend whose children had played with the set when they were kids.

The switcher was easily disassembled by removing the two screws on the bottom (one in the front, one in the back). There are also two screws also hold the direction lock switch in place. (This switch is used to fix the direction of the motor so the track power will not put it in neutral and then reverse.) The Crayola logos were removed by wet sanding the shell with 400 grit sandpaper. The only modification I needed was to add weight to the cab by adding a 1/2 steel nut in the trunk and attaching flat steel plates where the front coupler used to be located. The added weight helps the little switcher stay grounded on the track as they a pretty light and can tend to jump around when pulling such a small load.

The shell and base were spray painted with Krylon Satin Black. I like this finish as it creates a slick/smooth surface that is good for applying water-slide decals. After reassembly, my custom waterslide decals printed by Fusion Scale Graphics were applied to the switcher. Finally, a coat of Krylon Satin Clear was added to seal the decals.

 

The finishing touch was to scratch build an Ore Cart. The cart was made from a single K-line truck attached to a 1/4 plywood base. The sides were built up from coffee stir sticks and the entire assembly was stained with a Minwax Walnut stain pen. The ore is a load of Chic Grit and is the same rock I plan on using as ballast to finish the track on the layout.

 

The single car ‘consist’ is short enough to stage on the single 10″ FasTrack spur that is in the corner of the layout back in the Barco cavern. The open-air passenger cars are in the works.