Weekend photo fun!!!!!! 5/23/08 - 5/25/08

Brian M wrote:

Thanks for the complements.  Tom - the 2-8-0 is simply a Bachmann Spectrum product with some minor surgery to the front end, coupled to a replacement Bachmann tender, and all re-decalled for SP.  It still needs front numberboards but looks the part.  It was difficult to shoe-horn in a Loksound speaker and decoder, but the tender is just about capable. Here's another picture: The domes are not right, but I can live with it.  I plan to convert another one soon, and have also done another two consolidations (2865 and 2867) which had converted coal tenders. They needed less work, as the front steps etc were prototypical, and the tender shape just about passes muster as compared to the real thing: I'm very flattered that you thought 2760 was a brass model. Brian

Brian- Superb work. I have one of those connies, and I was thinking of lettering it for UP, but now I might have to bash it into an Espee and buy another up...

Gotta love inspiration.

Early evening freight caught passing through Slade Jct., October 15, 1941, on the Hudson Highlands RR.

CNJ831

Very nice new image from you, CNJ831.

A nice flat car load out for delivery on the local

 

 

Here's my boxcars, and a little project i'm working on because I have nothing better to do.

A direct link to my phiotobucket albulm: www.packers1.tk

 This is my newest project for my model railroad - since I managed to find space elsewhere in the house to store some stuff that otherwise would have prevented me from using the entire workshop as a train room, I now have more space, and I am working on extending my point to point shelf layout to an around-the-wall loop with a swinging gate.

  Original track plan:

 New track plan:

 

 New benchwork built so far this weekend:

 

  

 Still very far from finished,  but I am having fun.

 Smile,
 Stein

 

A little more progress on Château Oriole.

I got the foundation laid. The "stone" blocks, which I thought were wooden, are REAL BRICKS! Each one was laid individually. I still have to mortar the blocks of the foundation.

Next will be the window sills, door thresholds, and corner trim. Then the brass etched doors and windows, and the deck.

Rotor

Hi Stein:  Looks like you're off to a good start.  That also looks like a good track plan. Did you use track planning software to draw that up?  It's very impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Jeff: That is a great looking building. And what a great gift.

Grampys Trains wrote:

Hi Stein:  Looks like you're off to a good start.  That also looks like a good track plan. Did you use track planning software to draw that up?  It's very impressive.

 Thank you. Yes, I used a program called XtrakCad to draw up my plans. I have gotten a little further on the original part of the layout (se below), but still have very far to go there too.

 I am a slow builder - my default sequence of action is think-build-think, not build-think-build, so it takes quite a while. Then again - there is no particular deadline, as long as I am enjoying what I am doing.

 

 Track plan is strongly influenced by prototype track plan from Minnesota short line Progressive Rail's suburban Airlake Industrial Park in Lakeville, MN, ca 2000-2001, but I am planning to backdate the layout to the late 50s or early 60s (to run with older and smaller cars), and make it more urban looking.

 Smile,
 Stein

 

Hi Stein: Thanks for your reply.  As long as you're having fun, that's the main thing.  In my second post, I promised you a track plan.  I don't have that, yet, but in the mean time, how about a photo tour?  It's basicaly a west loop w/staging to a east double loop.  It's double track east to the yard and single track from the yard to east staging.  The branch goes from the mine east to staging.  Note:  All the trains are  west bound.

I have had this BLI Hudson for just well over three years, and I performed my first weathering job (at least, that was the idea) on it a few weeks after I got it.  So, it looks like a tired old lady, second hand from the NYC when the TH&B purchased it and it's sister-to-be, #502.  BTW, the TH&B also had Berskshires. 

I tried a more intimate, and hopefully dramatic, image this time.  There are two images, a distant shot and one much closer to the engine and ground crew.

 

Grampys Trains wrote:

Hi Stein: Thanks for your reply.  As long as you're having fun, that's the main thing.  In my second post, I promised you a track plan.  I don't have that, yet, but in the mean time, how about a photo tour?  It's basicaly a west loop w/staging to a east double loop.  It's double track east to the yard and single track from the yard to east staging.  The branch goes from the mine east to staging.  Note:  All the trains are  west bound

Great work all! You guys are KILLING me. It's work like this that almost makes me regret only being able to afford a 1 bedroom condo with NO room for even an 'N' scale layout. *** NY tri state area with it's ridiculous housing costs    Buyer's market my a.. er um, bum!  

BTW Grampy, what do you use to make your roads?

J.P.

Nice cross section of photos this weekend, everybody.

Grampy/DJ - I've spent a lot of time trackside in PA, and you certainly have captured (quite well) the look and feel of the PRR main's Harrisburg-Pittsburgh line. Niiiiice.

C & O Fan - nice pic;handsome engines.

CNJ 831 - great scene.

Grampys Trains wrote:

Hi Stein: Thanks for your reply.  As long as you're having fun, that's the main thing.  In my second post, I promised you a track plan.  I don't have that, yet, but in the mean time, how about a photo tour?  It's basicaly a west loop w/staging to a east double loop.  It's double track east to the yard and single track from the yard to east staging.  The branch goes from the mine east to staging.  Note:  All the trains are  west bound.

 Wow - that is beautiful work! Btw - what are you using to make your roads - they look very good? 

 And I have a little trouble visualizing how picture 4 and 8 fit into the layout - are they shot  looking west instead of looking east ?

 Smile,
 Stein

 

Grampy's Trains....Wow looks great!!...Like the Gas Station and Dinner....I guess you are a Pennsy Fan?.....lol....Cox 47

Grampy's that is a very impressive layout and some excellent photography as well.

In between getting soaked this weekend with storms I have been working on an interior for a switch tower I am building

 

Great modeling, everyone. DJ, good lord, your are on the ball. Excellent layout.

Boy, this is a weekend for great photos, everyone. 

Crandell--I like the weathering job on that Hudson.  Especially the close-up--sure brings out the detail! 

Grampy's--that is one AWESOME hunking layout there.  Great work!  You've got me drooling.

Thought I'd include another angle of the shot of Fred and the ash-pit car from a couple of weeks ago.  They just dumped the ashes from #1400 and that's a WOODEN car. 

Is Fred an Over-Achiever or WHAT??

Tom

steinjr wrote:

Grampys Trains wrote: Hi Stein: Thanks for your reply.  As long as you're having fun, that's the main thing.  In my second post, I promised you a track plan.  I don't have that, yet, but in the mean time, how about a photo tour?  It's basicaly a west loop w/staging to a east double loop.  It's double track east to the yard and single track from the yard to east staging.  The branch goes from the mine east to staging.  Note:  All the trains are  west bound.  Wow - that is beautiful work! Btw - what are you using to make your roads - they look very good?   And I have a little trouble visualizing how picture 4 and 8 fit into the layout - are they shot  looking west instead of looking east ?  Smile,  Stein

Yeah, I thought the same thing about it all... BEAUTIFUL work... and the roads...PLEASE share!  I am trying to make mine and they haven't turned out so well, yet....

 

Brian

Huron River's only GE.A tired old 70 Tonner with its newest paint  beginning to chip on the handrails and above the cab window..

Big power made a temporary appearance on the Butte Terminal Railroad this weekend on it's way to the cutter's torch.

Don Z.

Great shots this weekend everyone.

Simon, you have the weathered look on structures down to an art...nicely done!

Tom, thanks.  I really enjoy seeing your layout.  The caboose recycled into an out building is very cool.  Good job.  Great image, too.

Grampy, very nice layout, and your photography of same makes it that much more enjoyable.

Don....Huh!?  Cutter's torch?  Are you changing roads?

-Crandell

steinjr wrote:

New track plan:      Smile,  Stein

I'm concerned that your industrial leads are directly off the main line. You will be fouling the main quite a bit while working the industry tracks. Is there only going to be 1 train going at all times? IMO the industry tracks would be on a long runaround so the main stay open for other trains. Of course if there is only 1 train, then no problem. But I like the plan otherwise.

 

Don Z wrote:

Big power made a temporary appearance on the Butte Terminal Railroad this weekend on it's way to the cutter's torch. Don Z.

Uh, Don...........  Instead of cutting them up....... I, er, .... um... I've got this garbage can here....feel free to use it instead........

Everybody else....... I'm enjoying all the photos!

Happy Model Railroading! 

 

Hi Stein and everyone:Thank you all for the kind words.  This is 3 yrs. worth of steady "work". Actually, only the first shot is looking west.  Staging is on the other side of the tunnel.  No. 8 is just a close up of my farm scene in the right hand corner.  Here's a shot of a longer view down the town of Stoney Creek, east bound.  Ah, roads. I've tried 5 different materials. The first was asphalt tape, (I forget who made it) but I wouldn't recommend it. Too hard to work with. Then, I tried foam core (available at AC Moore), it's 1/4 " thick, foam with paper on both sides. About 75 % of my roads use this material.  Then, I tried .040 styrene.  All my city streets and most of the rest of my roads use this material.  I also tried a roofing shingle on one spot. My 2 favorites are styrene(plastic for sale signs are perfect and inexpensive) and foam core. Determine how wide you want your road to be.  Mine are 3" wide (HO).  Glue the material down(I use white glue). Use weights till dry. Work your scenery material (I use a mixture of Structolite and Sculptomold) up to and slightly overlapping your road material. The edges don't have to be perfectly smooth. I remember learning to ride a bike on the road if front of my house. You had to try to stay on the road, because if you got off the road, the shoulder was pretty rough and usually resulted in a wipe out.  Anyway, then I painted the road surface with my basic earth color. Any color will do, you're just sealing the surface. I tried adding texture to my early roads, (white glue with fine ballast).  But, I thought this resulted in too rough a surface. On the road through Stoney Creek, I wound up using a palm surform tool to smooth it.  After that, I only used ballast for dirt roads.  Then I painted the road grimy black.  This looks like a newly paved road.  I like a weathered road. I used sidewalk chalk for this.  I used an old surform blade and rubbed the sidewalk chalk over it. Apply this powder with a paint brush and you get a nice gray weathered road.  In my coal mine area, I needed coal black "dirt" roads.  On these, I used a surform tool to smooth the structolite-sculptomod and painted it earth color, and Joe Fugate's black powder color while the earth color was still wet, just used a paint brush to blend the colors.  Then I used a paint pen to paint the lines.  That' about it.

Selector,

Do you recall who TH&B aquired its Berkshire(s) from? ( I'm assuming they were 2nd hand). I'm planning to model a bit of the TH&B in the Fort Erie/Buffalo - Welland area in 1952-53. So far the only TH&B steam I have is the BLI Hudson like yours. I know that Bachmann and Lifelike both have released berks, but I didn't think they were used by the roads I'm modelling (CN, NYC/MC, PRR & TH&B).

Thanks for any info you can provide.

John G.

Heartland Division CBandQ wrote:

Uh, Don...........  Instead of cutting them up....... I, er, .... um... I've got this garbage can here....feel free to use it instead........

Garry,

They're not actually going to get cut up....let's just say I hope they find a new home in the next 7 days......

Don Z.