Good morning from sunny and hot Northeast Ohio!
I managed to get a couple of cars done this week!
Eastern Car Works 2600CF Airslide Covered Hopper Kit, added airlines where needed, new Plano Roofwalk, and substituted A-Line Sill Steps. Painted with Scalecoat II UP Covered Hopper Gray and then lettered with Mark Vaughn Decals. Car was built in 1959 and leased to the NYC, evertually receiving PC numbers and placed in the H40 group with the PRR Airslides.
Atlas Post 71 4650CF Covered Hopper Kit, painted with Scalecoat II UP Covered Hopper Gray Paint and lettered with Oddball's Decals. Car built in 1979 and used in grain service in the midwest.
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!
Rick ... Thank you for starting weekend photo fun with some great looking hopper cars. In particular, I like the air slide car.
Below is an older photo with F-units hauling coal. In the background you can see my Denver Zephyr dome observation car which I kit-bashed from a Con Cor dome-coach.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Here's my weekly contribution. I think I'm starting to get the hang of weatherin.
(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).
This week I received some Sylvan Scale peel & stick whitewall tires, and added them to a number of cars. Nice improvment to the looks of 50s vintage vehicles. An early 50s CMW Ford with the whitewall on the front and the back plain for comparison. (Sorry for the picture quality, my dumb phone camera is not good at closeups.)
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Nice work everyone.
Our club does not have a portable layout so I decided to build one to have a club presence at local shows. It's not quite done yet, but I made good progress these last few days. There are two 6X4 sections, that connect together to achieve a 6X8 layout.
20170917_162651 by Simon
It has two levels, one for O scale 2 rail (standard gauge), and one for On30 (higher level). Both levels are flat, but the On30 is 4'' higher. The layout was designed with the following parameters in mind:
- two loops for continuous two-train operations
- minimized risks of operation failures and derailments, so no switches
- easily storable and portable
To meet the above, I opted for scenery that is essentially made of resin (combination of fiberglass and automotive body filler), covered over two layers of screen (1 inch and 1/4 inch) for extra strength. There is a wood frame under the screen. The fiberglass is "stained" and textured using real dirt from my backyard (that has a high sand component).
This turned out out to be quite the operation. I started by installing the large screen, followed by the finer screen. After, I stapled textile over the screen, and covered that by resin. While the resin was still in liquid state, I sifted dirt and tapped it on the resin with my hand to cling/mix in on the resin (using safety gloves). A safety mask is also a must and please to not attempt this in your home... I did this in my garage. A lot of touch-ups were necessary. After that step, I painted the surface using Bill McClanahan's painting techniques (watery thin earth colors in a patchwork pattern that blend in). Finally, I sifted some ground foam and sprayed scenic cement on the entire layout to glue everything together. The result is amazingly strong... I can store the structure sideways in my garage no problem. The kids won't be able to poke holes into it either... All I need now is to add some trees.
The rail is not attached permanently, and there won't be any ballast. I just thought it would be simpler that way. I also plan to have the option of replacing the O gauge rail by an HO rail at the lower level to have a full HO layout. This will be easily done without ballast.
Anyway, it's looking good so far, I think...
Simon
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Hello Folks...
Great stuff as usual at the WPF thread! Thanks for kicking things off, Rick. I also like those airslide hoppers, especially ones with a NYC oval on 'em.
Every time I see that area of your layout, Garry, I drool over that concrete retaining wall. That is some sharp looking "old" concrete! Nice work!
Great weathering, Jimmy. I like the way the old BN lettering is showing through. That takes talent!
Nothing says 1950's like wide-white-walls, George! Remember the fake ones you could buy at Western Auto or JC Whitney. They were almost like peel-n-stick, too
Your layout has a nice look going, Simon. Great job!
Lots of stuff going on in that shot, Bear! Real eye-candy I wonder how much the Santa Fe spent on masking tape for that Zebra-stripe paint job?
So— I've got a dozen irons in the fire as usual. Here's some of the highlights...
These days you hear about "patched" locomotive paint jobs. I remember seeing them on the Broadway after the Penn Central merger but before Amtrak (a scant three years) so the tight-fisted P-C simply painted out the PENNSYLVANIA and applied the mating worms.
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/prr8310.jpg
Jimmy would like the name I chose for this 10-6! I used Microscale trim film and you can still see the Pennsylvania lettering underneath, just the way I remember them.
I added the hand rail in the aisle, also a car designation sign in the window...
I'm testing the modified lighting here before I snap the roof on. I finally got a GOOD working, flicker free lighting circuit and I'm really impressed with it!
Continuing on my PRR passenger car projects, I have a brass twin-unit diner and former 21 roomette "Inn" series car from Oriental, I just finished in glossy gray Scalecoat I and now ready for a few coats of Alclad 2 stainless steel.
My nephew has the real Van Wert Inn from the Ringling Brothers train and I'm making an HO model of the car as a gift for him. The diners will be painted in Amtrak phase I.
And if that ain't enough, I just adopted a neat looking PRR N1S that will need a sound decoder and a paint job. I just love that front end air reservoir. Reminds me of a Saint Bernard. The front ladder was loose in the box and somehow I lost it (still looking) so I'll need a replacement, maybe...
And it has a nifty Lines West tender...
Well, that's the scoop on what I've been up to! Great stuff, everybody...
Regards, Ed
Rick, Thanks for the WPF start-up, nice pair of covered hoppers.
Recently had some interior fun with a few Rusty Rails resin castings.
Thanks to all and regards, Peter
Great stuff. Hey Ed, what did you use for your lighting system? If you've mentioned it before, I must have missed it. Indeed I do like the naming of your car.
I built these for a Friend of mine for his Milwaukee Road Model Railroad They are Prototypical Power generation sub stations like the ones seen in Avery and along the electrified route
"> "> Here's the prototype at Avery CO "> ">
"> Here's the prototype at Avery CO "> ">
Here's the prototype at Avery CO
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TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
Ed ... You said "Every time I see that area of your layout, Garry, I drool over that concrete retaining wall. That is some sharp looking "old" concrete! Nice work!"
Ed ... Thank you for commenting. The retaining wall was made out of plastic strips I made by cutting plastic "For Sale" signs from the hardware store. I glued the plastic pieces together with PVC pipe solvent. .... I like the work you are doing on the former PRR car that became a PC car and the brass PRR loco.
Eveybody else .... Your photos and your work are great !
My display set up at the Reading Railroad Modeler's Meet today at the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg PA.
The museum also has a nice collection of Reading equipment.
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/60361449@N02/
Anthracite Modeler - YouTube
George,
I didn't know the whitewalls were available. They look great!
Thanks,
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
snjroy I opted for scenery that is essentially made of resin (combination of fiberglass and automotive body filler), covered over two layers of screen (1 inch and 1/4 inch) for extra strength. There is a wood frame under the screen.
Simon:
The layout looks great even if there is more work to do! Can I ask what each section weighs? Can two people lift one section easily?
Yes, I want to plant trees to cover that open ground. My guess is that each section weighs about 50 lbs right now. My wife and I can lift them no problem and stack them in an upright position in the garage.
snjroyMy guess is that each section weighs about 50 lbs right now. My wife and I can lift them no problem and stack them in an upright position in the garage.
I'd say that 50 lbs. is pretty light for a 4' x 6' section, especially if it is strong and kid proof too! Well done.
If you happen to have any pictures of how you built the layout perhaps you might share them in a separate thread. The reason that I am asking is that my club anticipates building a new portable layout once the new permanent layout is done. Anything that would make the sections light and sturdy would be of interest.
RDG!
Nice display of your excellent work.
hon30critterI didn't know the whitewalls were available. They look great!
They are listed at the bottom of this page. One package will do 8 vehicles
http://www.sylvanscalemodels.com/vehicle.htm
This is a dealers list, or you can order direct - contact them for shipping cost
http://www.sylvanscalemodels.com/dealer.htm
Jimmy_BraumHey Ed, what did you use for your lighting system? If you've mentioned it before, I must have missed it.
Hi, Jimmy
I have been looking at many circuits of "flicker-free" lighting for DCC over the years and finally decided to try one and see what it can do for me.
Because I stocked-up on a bunch of the Walthers lighting kits, many of them were the DC style that have diodes, voltage regulators and capacitors already on them, I decided to use those as a base.
A few of my older DC lightboards that I installed some years ago do not like DCC track voltage and they actually make a whining noise. I remove all that stuff from the board along with the series-wired incandescent bulbs.
For the flicker-free circuit I'm only using the two power pickups (rivets) from the Walthers board.
Here's an overall view:
You don't HAVE to use the Walthers lighting kit as a base but it does make it easy to snap into the carbody. If you want you could just stick the LEDs into the open holes where the bulbs came out and the acrylic will spread the light. That's fine for coaches and open cars. I have some sleepers where the walls glow since the lights are down the middle. You see in the photo above that the string lights can be run along the sides of the car where the aisle and the rooms can be lit.
Here's a close look at the board end:
A The power pickups from the car end, L and R rails;
B The 25V 330 µF capacitor, nested between the walls
C connection point for rail pickup L rail
D connection point for rail pickup R rail
E 100 Ω 1/4 W resistor
F Walthers board (no components on this style)
G Diode 1N4001 *
H Minus side of LED string lights (note Black Sharpie)
J Positive side of LED string lights (note Red Sharpie)
K 1000 Ω resistor for LED
* I saw somewhere that a 1N4148 diode should be used. I found them on Ebay at $2/100 from a US seller.
I put the capacitor on a short length of very flexible "decoder" wire so I can tuck it into a hidden area of the car, in this case in the aisle at the linen lockers.
I have been using "string light" LEDs for many of my model railroad projects. I get these at Amazon but there are other suppliers, especially with the Holidays coming up.
https://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-Waterproof-Decorative-Bedroom-Parties/dp/B00GUDMO78/ref=pd_sim_201_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6T869CYSE7ER3F6570EC
Don't get ones that have remote control or color changing. These have a decent color that are very close to incandescent lamps. You might find other ones that are cheaper but these work for me.
For the average passenger car I cut off seven** LEDs and remove the extra piece of copper wire (it makes handy, bendable hose material if you paint it). I also take the twist out of the wire to make it easier to work with.
**With the 330 µF cap. this gives you about four seconds of "Keep Alive" more LEDs = less time.
I apply a little heat from a butane fire stick to burn off the epoxy insulation then lightly file the wire a little to clean it.
Now, you have to identify the anode and cathode of the LED string. Easy to do with a D cell battery, or I simply use an LED tester, then mark with red and black Sharpies on each wire lead for plus and minus.
The nice thing about the soft copper wire is that it is easy to bend but it stays put.
At the vestibule end of the car I made a return-bend and have a light in the platform area. Passenger cars were well-lit in the vestibules.
In the above photo you can also see how each LED is cased in a "teardrop" shaped epoxy blob. This works to my favor since I can position the light how I want it.
Since the lights are spaced about 3.5 inches apart, I simply wrapped the excess wire around the mounting tabs on the light bar. You can twist it or tape it up with Kapton tape, too.
There are lots of different circuits out there. This is really the first one I've used, other than commercial keep-alives for DCC decoders. This is simple, cheap and it works fine for me.
Here's a thread with some flicker-free suggestions from our very own Mike Lehman!
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/251747.aspx
You can modify things, such as using a code 83 rail joiner, cut in half and slightly squeezed, to slip onto the Walthers passenger car contact strips. You can't solder that stuff.
You can use other LEDs of your choosing. In one car I used the LED tape strips with the built in resistors. They worked fine but only stayed lit for about a second with only the 330 cap. Sure you can use a bigger cap if you want to hide it. I'm going to play with some "super caps" I picked up a while back but these are only 5.5 volt and have to be wired in series. Actually MTH uses an excellent keep-alive circuit in their passenger cars. They stay lit almost a full minute! I believe there's only three LEDs in their system.
Again, all the above is what works for me, as of today. I'll probably mess around a bit more but this does everything I need it to.
As the Nike ad says... "Just Do It" Make up a few test circuits and see what results you get. The thread at MRH has lots of info if you just Google "DCC flicker free lighting" you'll find it.
Hope that helps... anyone else please feel free to jump in with their experiences or suggestions.
Hope that helps, Ed
Rick, I'll join with GARRY in my admiration for the Airslide.
And agree GARRY has convincing concrete, harder than it may seem at first.
Jimmy, Oh my, that is pretty grungy!
George, Was just explaining to my wife today the cultural significance of whitewalls, you just gotta have some in the vehicle mix during the 50s and 60s.
Simon, The layout looks great! Barren, true, but once you have some ground, they start growing and houses and other structures pop up, perhaps some others will lend a hand in filling in the inspiring blank spots on this map.
Bear, If those other unpainted shacks start appearing next to your decorated ones, one by one, be sure to note that you're all out of paint - except purple polka-dotted
Ed, You're just a busy guy!
Peter, A respectfully messy shop. Like mine, the proprieter probably knows where every tool is, mostly.
Terry, Oh, those are very, very nice, but I think it's Avery, Idaho?
RDG Casey, An impressive display that incorporates a bunch of dedicated labor and skill.
My topic today is a subject, if they think about it a little, near and dear to any railroad fan or operator - infrastructure. In this case, an investment in crew comfort and layout room acoustics.
I found some "Anti-Fatigue Foam Floor" at the local big box. It's not real thick, in fact rather lightweight IMO for use under exercise machines, but plenty of cushion as general use flooring. It's EVA foam that measures 46" x 93". Eight rolls were enough to do virtually all my aisles, I found them for $10 each.
The stuff lays down well with just a little storage curl at the edges that seems to be rapidly fading. It cuts easily with knife or scissors. It doesn't shift under foot. The size of the sheet is handy for the typical layout aisle size. Our basement is pretty dry, but we get a little water in every once in awhile, so the sheet size makes it easy to handle if it needs to come up to dry underneath.
In addition to the obvious benefits under foot and in reducing noise around the layout, which reduce fatigue, there are a couple of other benefits. It's no longer a bare concrete floor, so items dropped on it are less likely to be damaged. And when you have to get down on the floor for whatever reason, the cushioning makes the process more comfortable.
So it's not very photogenic nor does it involve skillful modeling, but the ~$80 I spent on the flooring was money well spent.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
mlehmanSo it's not very photogenic nor does it involve skillful modeling
But it sure has a neat, railroady "Diamond Safety Plate" look. If I didn't know any better, it sure looks like S-P Lark grey from a "Tunnel Motor"
Ed
Hey Ed,
Yeah, that is a nice bonus. "Diamond tread" gives the impression you're operating inside a machine -- a perception that is undoubtedly reinforced by the tightness of my aisles.
The "diamond tread" is low profile stuff, though, all looks and no guts, so won't snag at your soles like the real thing nor tear up your skin if you're up close and personal with it.
I'll join in your encouragement to people to experiment with various circuits. I learned a lot that way. Most RTR train lighting is done very bright (to show nicely in bright rooms, but then far too bright for more realistic night ops), so a good first place to experiment is by adding more resistance to soften lighting. Watch the indicated polarities on those caps or things can get warmer than desireable or worse! When testing, I like to go back and touch over my installs to determine that I'm not setting up an expensive meltdown after an hour or even more often for ops on DCC, where the power is always on. Always try to leave a little ventilation in your installs for the same reason.
BTW, Ed's installs are very nicely wired and should be used a representative examples to aspire to. Mine are rather, err, scruffy, but so long as you're good at checking your work, I would not let a little sloppiness stand in my way of learning, either. It's all good.
You are correct Rick it is Avery Idaho Not Colorado
Here's a photo of the Prototype
Terry,
When I first read through it, I started to thnk, "Now where is Avery, CO, because it's so cool that Colorado could have this hidden gem..."
I so wanted that to be true. I have a taste for heavy mountain RR electrifcations from living in Europe as a teenager and always thought the Rio Grande could've really had an advantage if it had invested in such a system, making it somewhat more competitive with the UP and ATSF as a transcon route...at least in my fevered imagination. Thanks for briefly helping that fantasy vicariously come through.
Then I realized it was the MILW Road after thinking next "...and it's so cool that they had the good taste to follow known best practices..."
But only 2,000 square feet of space, $200,000 and another 20 years of life is keeping me from jumping right in on an electrified Rio Grande...Joe's on Tennessee Pass, here we go...This sort of stuff is good for the imagination so long as you know it's all good fun and does't cost anything to dream.