Hello once again to all my fellow forum members, and welcome to our weekly photographic model railroad celebration.
This week I receved a wonderful and thoughtful gift from our friend Track Fiddler in Minnesota. He knew I liked wagon top freight cars, and found an undecorated round top boxcar for me.
I was surprised and quite happy when I opened the box
Weekend Photo Fun is now off to its scheduled start! I am looking forward to another great weekend to follow up the amazing weekend we just had.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Thanks for starting up the first WPF of April, Kevin! What a neat surprise to find in the mail from Mr. TF! Great Stuff!
This week seems to have found me dabbling in electronics. I continued on the signal bridge shown last week and decided to add another mast for the eastbound main.
Signal_LED by Edmund, on Flickr
I started off by making a wood jig to hold the LEDs in the same alignment as the Oregon signal heads. I decided to use an NKP-style three-color target.
Signal_3-color-2-arm by Edmund, on Flickr
Here it is temporarily set in place before final fixing to the bridge. Soon I'll have to connect eighteen wires to the appropriate Logic Rail signal Animators. What Fun!
Inspired by one of Larry Puckett's videos where he demonstrated route control using stationary decoders I decided to take that route. This shows the temporary test setup that was formerly a toggle control of fiive track yard.
Digitrax_ds64_tryout by Edmund, on Flickr
Once I get the route programming figured out I'll simply press any one of the five buttons on what was once the old panel and the tuurnouts will align as needed to set that route.
There was a time that I believed I would never use DCC turnout control but I'm about to eat my hat on that one. Once you get used to it there are some great advantages to it.
On to more great stuff!
Cheers, Ed
Kevin: nice find there for sure.
Ed: nice project. Thankfully(mercifully?) My railroad operates in Dark territory, so no signals for me.
Here's what I've been working on:
Due to the cost of Peco switches, and the NMRA AP program, Ive started trying to build switches from raw material. This is my first, and I've taken notes for the next one. Among them is, improve my soldering skills!
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
Good morning from partly cloudy and cold Northeast Ohio, after the snow yesterday it will warm up a little today with much better temperatures by Sunday.
Kevin, thanks for starting us out, nice gift from TF.
Ed, glad you are doing that, I really don't want to do that kind of work.
Jimmy, nice job on that turnout, our club in Anchorage had all hand laid turnouts, once you get the frog soldered together it is really quite simple to lay the turnout.
Got a couple of cars completed this week.
Athearn FMC 5347CF Boxcar Kit, painted with a combination of Scalecoat II Reefer Orange and ATSF Red Paint, White, Silver, and Grimy Black also, then lettered with Herald King Decals. Another of the IPD Boxcar of the late 70's era.
IMRC Canadian Grain hopper kit, painted with a Mixture of Scalecoat IIReefer Yellow and Boxcar Red, with a Black Underframe Paints then lettered with Herald King Decals. Government paid for covered hoppers to replace worn out 40' boxcars for grain traffic brought about by the Crows Nest aggreement with rates that did not cover the cost of shipping grain and the railroads buying new cars.
B end of the hopper car with all the grabs and other detail parts applied.
[UR]
A end of the hopper car with all the grabs applied, now on to the underframe.
Last week I took my Rapido New Haven FL9's to the club with a passenger train made up of various Rapido New Haven Passenger cars.
Thanks for looking!
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Great looking projects everyone. I should have some benchwork progress to share by the end of the weekend. Tonight I have a layout tour video premiering at 7:45 Eastern.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77qeGID_xX8
I'd love to see you there!
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
Nice work so far, everybody.
Kevin ... Thanks for starting Photo Fun. Have fun with the boxcar.
Ed ... Your work with signals and electronics is remarkable.
Jimmy ... Your soldering looks great to me. Keep up the good work.
Rick ... Your freight cars this week look outstanding. You are very precise with details and your painting and lettering look perfect. The NH passenger train with FL9's looks very nice.
Harrison. .... That sounds like an interesting video.
Here are some older photos.
FT ABBA with a freight train. These were undecorated Stewart Models which I painted and lettered :
E7 AA with a passenger train. These are BLI models.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Kevin - Thanks for the start to WPF. Nice gift.
Ed - Quite a project. Way beyond me.!
Jimmy - the turnout looks good.
Rick - Good looking pair of cars, as usual. I enjoyed the photo of the NH passenger train.
Harrison - Looking forward to the video.
Garry - Loved the Burlington trains.
I have been working on one of the cars for my George Bush funeral train. Most of the cars I have collected are Riverossi 'smooth sided' models, which present a problem for installing interiors. For me at least.
I first installed new 36" scale metal wheels and rigged up electrical pickup with copper wire wound around the axles. I soldered thin wire threaded through the chassis to the copper wires.
There are just three subassemblies. The car top and bottom, the car interior and the lighting. I chose to use white LEDs but painted the face of them with Testors yellow to reduce the glare. I spaced LEDs with wire connectors to even out the light.
The interior floor was constructed with .030 styrene and seats from Palace Car Company. Because of the clearances necessary for the Riverossi window glazing the seats are too close together. Unnoticeable when the car is assembled.
I painted the interior assembly with Testors 'Light Aircraft Gray', brown and Floquil ATSF Red. I then installed passengers and crew figures purchased in bulk on Amazon.
UP 4056 fully assembled. My painted LED give of a little too orange a glow. I'll have to sand off a little of the yellow paint to see if that will fix the problem.
All in all not too bad. And I've worked out a procedure for the rest of the cars in the consist.
Keep the photos and ideas coming guys. Thanks to you WPF is always the best thread of the week.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
The Dunfudgeon Furniture Factory was scratchbuilt.
It roughly duplicates an old factory not far from where I live. Not an exact duplicate, just something to capture the feel of the old building. The original is long gone now.
I started building the Granite Line shortly after my wife and I moved into our townhouse/condo in 1992. The basement is mine, my shop is in one half, the railroad takes up the other half of the basement. I made up the name Granite Line many, many years ago and used it in a couple of layouts in a few different homes. I live near Boston, and the name Granite Line could be easily plopped down anywhere in New England because there is so much granite in the ground everywhere. I had custom decals made up many years ago.
The GL represents a mythical fully owned subdivision of the Boston & Maine at the time the B&M owned the Maine Central. As such, B&M and MEC first generation diesels are seen on it all the time. Obviously the era is the early 1950s, when steam was transitioning to the early diesels. No modern cars anywhere on the Granite Line, most of the rolling stock is 40' long. I do allow myself a little leeway in steam locomotives, many of mine would never have been seen around here.
The railroad was designed with 2D AutoCAD back in the 1990s. I built up 'blocks' that represented switches, so they could be plopped in anywhere on the layout. Blocks for cars and locomotives too, so track capacities could be calculated. I don't have AutoCad anymore, nor do I have any of the CAD files so I cannot update the layout with modern CAD. I only have some hard copies. As can be seen, last updated in 1999.
Construction started with the section along the wall near the door to the other side of the basement. All the benchwork had been completed and track layed within a couple of years, including the liftout secton at the bottom of the stairs. Code 70 Shinohara flex track except in the hidden storage area between tunnel entrances C and C. Mostly #4 switches to save space. The SH#4 on the plan refers to Shinohara #4 switch blocks.
Construction stagnated on the Granite Line for many years. I only returned to it about a year ago. Much work remains, plaster scenery needs to be planted, rock castings and rock walls need to be painted, water poured into Fogarty's Cove. I made up 'place holder' buildings from cardboard and paper, with windows and doors printed up from AutoCad. I had a whole bunch of ACAD blocks for Grant Line doors and windows. Hopefully I will get around to scratchbuilding the structures at some point.
The view from the bottom of the stairs, looking past the liftout section, with the small freight yard at Norumbega and the city of Merrimack on the upper level. Please excuse the mess.
The view the other direction from the bottom of the stairs, looking past the steel trestle to the small seaport of Fogarty's Cove and the station at Melville (my dad's name). The cannery on the dock and the car float 'Machias Maru'. The carfloat is still made of homasote, another future project. It will provide an interchange point with off layout locations.
The mill town of Merrimack. This section of the layout is a reversing loop for out and back traffic from and to Norumbega, which can be seen in the distance, even though they are theoretically many miles apart. The structures at Merrimack are mostly kit bashed or built from wall sections by DPM. I live quite near an old mill town and visit often to see what mill buildings should look like.
Kevin, Thanks for opening the WPF, happy to see your gifted vintage kit, what a fine gesture.
Thanks to all the contributors and viewers, have a good Good Friday and a Happy Easter, regards, Peter
Great pic's,everyone!
Planning a move in the near future,so...
480 makes a final stop at Little Dry Creek:
487 and caboose head out to gather up cars:
and the layout is coming down:
Have a good weekend,and a Happy Easter,all.
Mike
Good evening
I'm a little late getting here but Thanks for opening WPF Kevin.
I just happened to stumble upon that kit looking through the N scale section on eBay. It was posted in the wrong scale category. No other undecorated kits existed in those and I know how you like personalizing your Stratton Gillette cars
Wow, The electronic stuff you're doing on your signals is beyond me Ed. Sweet!
Great job you're doing on the scratch built turnout Jimmy. I've heard those are quite the challenge but after the first one, the second one goes like clockwork.
Love the cars Rick. I have a few of the red and black Canadian hoppers similar to that one. I like the New Haven's at the club as well
I'll be checking out the MacKeller's Santa Fe layout Tour Harrison.
I always love the Burlington's Garry, ... and the layout of course. I was tempted to buy a couple of those E7's but they wanted too much of a pretty penny for them.
The passenger car lighting you're doing sure looks interesting Allan
Nice job on the scratch built Furniture Factory Doug. Really like your layout design and how it's coming along.
Perfect Peter! The bunny in the Box
Great looking layout Mike. I especially like the night scene. Looks like you're being careful taking it apart and good luck with your move.
Nothing currently for me to show right now but it's always fun to see what you guys are working on
TF
HO-Velo Kevin, Thanks for opening the WPF, happy to see your gifted vintage kit, what a fine gesture. Thanks to all the contributors and viewers, have a good Good Friday and a Happy Easter, regards, Peter
Peter ..... That is excellent, but I think a hopper would be more appropriate than a boxcar. ..... LOL
Everybody else...... Keep on posting great photos.
That was a good one Garry
Great photos guys! This is always such a great thread.
Alvie
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Speaking of Bunnies:
Energizer_union by Edmund, on Flickr
With Energy to Spare!
Another great set of photos everyone. Peter, love the bunny!!!!!
Ed, just saw what you posted. Got to get one of those for the layout.
My contribution this week is Train 9 on its way east.
Scott Sonntag
Mike, your layout looks terrific. Too bad you have to tear it down. I hope you are going to rebuild in your new location.
Hey Everyone! Did a little work this weekend on a project I've been working on in my spare time this semester while on my college campus - An N Scale Kaslo Shops SD50F! I may not model the CN or any of it's routes, but I've always loved Cowl units, and the B&CCS is a proto-freelanced railroad, so the rules are my own, and I say an order of 10 SD50F's to the B&CCS!!! It's been a lot of fun since this is really my first full kit build for rolling stock, so its been great to work through the construction, the creation of a paint scheme, and so on. The project is nearly done, just some detail paint, an orange pinstripe separating the blue and maroon segments of the cowl, then installation of the windows and frames! There is a little bit of wiring work that needs to be done on the chassis, (it is what it is, eBay gets you a great price, but there are drawbacks like missing pickup wipers), and I may do some work at a later date to get the lights correc with fiber optics or something, but I'm nearly done with the base project. Everyone else's projects are coming along nicely as well! Hope you all have a great Easter!
Check out the Balfour and Colucci Creek Southern Railroad, my proto-freelanced N scale model railroad, at bccsrailroad.weebly.com or on Youtube on my channel, N Scale Train Boy.
-Dennis
Ed: Your work on building signals is amazing. When I get to that point, I think I will be asking a lot of questions.
Jimmy: Building turnouts is something I have never been brave enough to learn. I hope you find it enjoyable.
Rick: Those in-process pictures of the hopper cars sure do show how much work it takes to assemble one of those kits. Your NEW HAVEN passenger train looks great with those handsome FL-9s.
Harrison: Can you poast a direct link to your benchwork video?
Garry: Your set of BURLINGTON F3s really look good! I love that red and gray paint scheme.
Allan: Thanks for showing all the in-process pictures of your passenger car project. I love seeing all the work that goes into these. The finished project looks great.
Doug: Thank you very much for the pictures and story of your layout. Your furniture factory is an amazing building. I also am impressed at how well you did with the DPM wall sections. I hope to see a lot more of this layout.
Peter: The Easter Bunny looks so happy in the boxcar!
Mike: While it is always sad when a layout comes down, it is more-so when it is one that produced such beautiful photographs as yours did. I hope you have another layout planned, I loved seeing what you had done with this one.
Pike62: Your fully loaded and operational bi-level autorack is a stunner! Beautiful job on this project. Your work painting the grilles on the trucks is vary well executed.
Bear: Nice one! I am glad to see a new Bear Toon. Thank you.
Ed: I hope the Energizer Bunny does not wreck your beautiful layout! He tends to just keep going and going!
Scott: That is a good photograph of a small steam locomotive. I hope to see more of your work.
Dennis: I had never heard of an SD50F. In like the Cowl units also.
I hope I did not miss anybody.
Track Fiddler,Doug,and Kevin:
Thank you for your kind words regarding my layout. I haven't picked out a house yet - only the state I want to live. I hope to find something with room to build another layout. I'm trying to save as many structures as I can,would really love to save the roundhouse,but it's a little over 4 feet across,and I don't think it's going to be practical. The rest of it is dumpster bound.
I had a great time building,playing with,and photographing this layout,sad to see it go.
Thanks again,
Good evening all. The tread of the weekend. A great selection of work by everyone. Well done.
I haven't done anything this week. (On a tour of Scotland )
Just a couple of pictures of Inverness based Class 47 47517 Andrew Carnegie on a diverted North Briton Leeds Central to Edinburgh Pullman service.
At Leeds Sovereign Street Station.
And 'heading North'
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Thanks everyone for the comments on the video. Kevin, I haven't made a video about benchwork yet, as I am waiting until I put legs on it to make a video. I recorded plenty of time-lapse and normal speed video though, so it should be done by next week.
Although it's not a layout yet, I did get a frame put together with the help of my friend. The full post can be found here.
The video will be posted on my YouTube channel, where I have a weekly "premiere" every Friday night, plus videos on my layout, other's layouts, and railfanning.
Have a happy and blessed Easter everyone!
Nice looking stuff from all as usual.
Kevin - Thanks for starting us off. Loking forward to seeing what you make out of your kit.
Ed - Nice progress on the signals.
Jimmy - Not a bad looking scratchbuilt turnout. Especially for your first!
Rick - Nice job on the freight cars. Your usual great work continues.
Harrison - Nice tour video.
Garry - That bottom pic has me wondering exactly where the layout ends and the backdrop begins. Great blending work!
Allan - Nice job on the Passenger car.
Doug - Wow... That factory is nicely done! Supurb job of miniaturization of the prototype.
Mike - While tearing down a layout is no fun, but Building the next one sure will be! Hope you can find a way to save the roundhouse.
Pike - Nice modelling job.
Bear - I will grab a 1:87th car painter for your purple one. Just have him (or her) put it on my tab.
Scott - Nice little scene there. That dry grass looks perfectly modeled!
Dennis - Interesting unit there.
David - Is that a loco scrapping facility?
Here is my contribution for the weekend:
I hurried to catch this girl yesterday, after getting notified that she was in the area. I had just enough time to grab my camera gear and drive up to catch her, with only about 5 minutes to spare. (I know, it's a prototype pic.... But just play along.)
NS 8105 Crossing Wedgie by Richard W, on Flickr" alt="8105 Crossing" />
I especially wanted pics of 8105, for one very specific reason:
8105 HO Scale Weathering Start by Richard W, on Flickr" alt="1-87 Weathering Start 8105" />
Started by giving the grills a india ink wash, and next will dirty up the trucks and fuel tank before adding a tiny bit of grime to the body.
See - I told you to just play along with the prototype pic.
It's always helpful to see in 1:1 what I need to do in 1:87.
Keep up all the great modelling guys!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Great photos and work everyone! A little late to the party, but here we go. I've about finished the three HO Walthers trucks I started work on. I used tape for the windshieds on the two Fords and Microscale Kristal Klear for all the other windows. I liked it, I'll probably use it for window and windshield material in future vehicle builds. The buildings are of course from Walthers Golden Flame Fuel Company set. I'll at some point make a diorama from these models.
Nice work everyone. A great thread, where the action is! Watching progress here inspires progress on my layout. I've been busy too, but now I'm too tired to post anything. Probably next weekend.
One specific comment re Jimmy: Looks good! I started scratchbuilding turnouts about 20 years ago. Once you get it down, it opens up possibilities like longer sidings, cuz you can make a turnout anywhere, start the siding back in a curve. I find making them enjoyable, but I gotta be in the mindframe. I hope you're using an NMRA gauge, it is indispensible. Dan
Ricky W. Yes it is a small scrap yard for breaking up old steam engines. (Maybe someone may rescue one.) I wanted something a little different on my layout.
ricktrains4824Bear - I will grab a 1:87th car painter for your purple one. Just have him (or her) put it on my tab.