Another fine installment of the Weekend Photo Fun is here!
July 24, 25 and 26, 2020
Featuring photos, projects, model scenes both present and past are all welcome here.
In between summer chores and the usual activities I still find some time for my favorite hobby
Years ago I remember seeing a watercolor print made by the great Howard Fogg of a scene along the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad that featured a big building with a neon sign on the roof: MESTA.
In the mid '80s I went to Homestead, Pennsylvania to visit the site, right next door to the great Homestead Works of US Steel. It was an impressive sight and I grew fond of seeing the huge steel making machines that Mesta was famous for.
MESTA_forge2 by Edmund, on Flickr
Recently while doing a bit of an internet search I found some 3D printed castings that represent some of these machines. I had to have some
Mesta_Mill_F33 by Edmund, on Flickr
This is one side of a rolling mill stand. They are set up in pairs and both sheets and plates are rolled in tandem on these huge mills:
Mesta_Mill by Edmund, on Flickr
Another huge casting is the crosshead for the "Big Fifty" and I'll need a bigger flat car for this!
Mesta_big50oh by Edmund, on Flickr
Mesta_big50el by Edmund, on Flickr
These make for some interesting flat car loads. One installation of the 50,000 ton press is located not far from me here in Cleveland, Ohio. Another smaller one resides in Massachusetts. It is only 18,000 tons.
Hulett_PM53_0004 by Edmund, on Flickr
Mesta_big50 by Edmund, on Flickr
For good measure I picked up a pair of venerable, old Kewanee boilers for yet another flat car load. I've seen several photos of these being moved on the railroad.
Boiler by Edmund, on Flickr
This is the Kewanee "Smokeless" portable boiler.
https://kewanee-history.com/photo-galleries/gallery-4/
On to more great contributions, folks!
Cheers, Ed
Good morning
Thanks for starting WPF Ed.
Those heavy machinery parts sure do make for some interesting flat car loads. That is a cool thing to incorporate into your modeling. Looking really good Ed Heavy weight depressed center flat cars are some of my favorite Rolling Stock. Hopefully I can find some loads like that one day for my roster.
I haven't been working on anything for my layout as I was busy with other things this week but I will definitely be following along.
Looking forward to seeing all the projects here.
TF
Thanks for the WPF kickoff, Ed. I like the depressed center flat with the well. What brand is that? I'm also a flat (and gondola) fan that can show off loads.
This week I built a watertower that goes nicely in a spot by the icehouse. The cylinder is paper wrapped around cardboard, and you get to add the numerous rivets by marking and poking the back of the paper!
20200722_142259 by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
I also built this Blue Box 200T crane, a fun build. I have a mating caboose boom car on the way.
20200721_132023 by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
And I received the larger transformer shown (one shown by Michael last week) and added it to a Walthers depressed center flat that was on hand. Note that the local factory (not on the layout) makes small, medium and large transformers and color codes them green, gray and blue, respectively, so the shipping crew does not pick the wrong one to ship out on an order.
20200723_171256 by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
Looking forward to a good WPF weekend.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
Good morning from sunny and hot Northeast Ohio!
Ed, thanks for starting us out, good looking loads, will need to be adding loads like those to my flats. My son while attending Kettering University (Old GMI) got to use an old 50 Ton press while taking the materials class, he said it was quite an experience, we have the result at home.
Paul, same on the loads, also good work on that 200 Ton Crane and the other layout scenes.
Got a couple of more cars done this week.
Tangent PS 4750CF Covered Hopper kit, painted with Scalecoat II UP Covered Hopper Gray paint and lettered with Oddballs Decals. Car was built in 1980 for use in export grain service out of Iowa, many elevator companies went together to acquire their own cars so as to ensure they had a car supply during the car shortages of the 1970's.
Athearn 60' Berwick Hi-Cube Boxcar kit, painted with Scalecoat II White, Silver, Black and Boxcar Red Paints then lettered with Oddballs Decals. Car was used in the Auto Parts supply to the assembly plants and was assigned to Ford's Melvindale Parts Depot on the N&W.
Like Kevin, I just got this Westside Brass C&O T-1 2-10-4 recently. I don't think it was ever run since it was made in the 70's. I did a quick test run and the noise was horrendus, I took it all apart and lubed and oiled all the pertinet parts have been taking it to the club to break it in. The first brass dealer I ever bought from always suggested breaking in a steam loco by running it 1 hour for each powered axle, I have been doing that and those engines run great. By the way 1/2 hour forward and 1/2 hour backwards (you do run in reverse!).
Took my recently completed Wabash U25b along with the GP35 that I did last year to the club with a train of mostly Wabash freight cars. Really ran well, we had no derailments at the club while running trains, hopefully restrictions will go away so we can go back to operating sessions.
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!
Thanks for getting us started this week, Ed! Those castings are really impressive.
Paul, your water tower looks great! Love the crane, as well.
Made progress on my grain elevator this week. Foundations laid, roof and siding weathered, trim painted, some details added.
There's not quite enough room to model the intake side-- I modded one set of those doors to swing open instead of sliding. The other set hasn't been installed yet (they will be trickier as the building is set at an angle, so they will be right up against the backdrop and need to be cut to size.)
Close-up of the rail-side door:
Looking forward to more sharing this weekend!
Phil
Ed .... Your heavy flat car loads look great.
Paul .... I like your layout photos. The scratch built water tower is impressive.
RIck .... Excellent wokr of the covered hopper and the boxcar. The brass locomotve is beautiful. I like the Wabash units.
Phil .... Your grain elevator looks very nice.
I've been running trains including this freight train with Alco FA1-FB2-FA1. These are Proto 2000 models.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
I'm sure the Bear, when he wakes up, will say "now that's really great stuff!"
I painted my Rivarossi switcher this week.
20200723_194844 on Flickr
Simon
All of those models look great! I can't wait till I have stuff that looks that good.
Heres a walthers 90' Deck girder bridge I just finished. Still waiting for bridge track but couldn't wait to run some trains over it!
Heres ATSF 4006, a GP60
And SOO 6241, an SD39
Ed, thanks for starting off WPF. The MESTA castings are cool. Great find!
Paul - Good stuff all around. Good job on the crane.
Rick - Good looking cars as usual. I really like the blue WABASH locos.
Phil- Good progress on your elevator.
Garry - Good looking ALCO locomotives.
Simon - Your switcher looks good.
Ringo - Your bridge looks okay to me.
This Santa Fe #18 A/B F-3 set isthe latest addition to the BRVRR locomotive roster. They are Broadway Limited Imports Paragon 3 models. Now, all I have to do is figure how to program the lead engine to my liking.
A beauty shot from the side:
Another beauty shot from ahead:
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/
Ed: thank you for the starting of this week's Weekend Photo Fun. The MESTA castings look great. I have never seen a press like that one. It is huge.
Paul: Looking good. It seems that you, Ed, and myself were all motivated to buy some of those castings that Michael posted about last week. Mine have not arrived yet. I like the railroad crane.
Rick: That 2-10-4 is an amazing looking powerhouse of a locomotive model. The STRATTON AND GILLETTE will never have one of those. There is no way it could negotiate my 24" radius hidden curves.
Phil: Thank you for the update on your grain elevator project. It sure is looking nice.
Garry: I will never tire of the scenes from your beautiful layout. Those are handsome units in the lead on that train.
Simon: The paint on the Rivarossi steam switch engine looks good to me.
Ringo: Good work fitting the bridge into place on your layout. The Blue-Bonnet Santa Fe locomotive looks good too.
Allan: Those classic Santa Fe Warbonnet F units are gorgeous.
I have another completed boxcar this week. All I really had to do to this one was spray it with dullcoat and attach the couplers. The rest of the project was done months ago.
This boxcar is decorated for the WOLF ROCK railroad. I completed the gondola for this railroad a long time ago. I included the picture of the gondola also.
I am very happy with both of these freight cars.
Keep the photos coming please!
-Kevin
Living the dream.
peahrens I like the depressed center flat with the well. What brand is that? I'm also a flat (and gondola) fan that can show off loads.
Hi, Paul
I bought a pair of these way back in the late '90s. They were both kits, one GE and the other DOD.
https://www.walthers.com/gold-line-tm-81-4-truck-depressed-center-flatcar-assembled-ttx
I'm sure you can find some from the usual second-hand sources. They are pretty basic and I hope to add better details to them — someday.
Thanks for all the compliments on my preliminary flat car loads.
Excellent contributions, everyone!
Regards, Ed
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Nice work again everyone.
Kevin, i like that gondola. Did you get the order from the ebay seller that has flat loads and stuff? What did you get.
Just been laying track. Getting down the two mainlines in the yard.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
peahrens Thanks for the WPF kickoff, Ed. I like the depressed center flat with the well. What brand is that? I'm also a flat (and gondola) fan that can show off loads. And I received the larger transformer shown (one shown by Michael last week) and added it to a Walthers depressed center flat that was on hand. Note that the local factory (not on the layout) makes small, medium and large transformers and color codes them green, gray and blue, respectively, so the shipping crew does not pick the wrong one to ship out on an order. 20200723_171256 by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr Looking forward to a good WPF weekend.
Ed, Thanks for opening the WPF with lots of good ol' heavy metal, with emphasis on the heavy.
Finally got around to detailing out a Mini Metals die-cast truck in hopes of doing some justice to the 48' Ford pick-up my late father owned in the 1960s. Fun project with good memories of Pop and his suburban work horse.
Thanks to all the contributors and viewers, have a good weekend, regards, Peter
Michael: Thank you for the comment. I did not receive my items yet. I just ordered them on Thursday (I think it was Thursday, days are blurring together right now). I ordered a dual bearing block and a set of helical cut mill shafts. I don't have any big flatcars, so I opted for smaller loads.
Peter: Do you have any work-in-progress shots of that beautiful Ford work truck conversion? Your craftsmanship is amazing.
Peter: The pickup, the buildings, the street, curbs, sign are all amazing. One of the most realistic scenes I have seen. Well done!
I'll add an update re: the 200T crane. It turns out I had the corresponding boom car a bit hidden on the back track of a storage shelf (unfortunately, have another on the way). Here is how the boom sits on straight track.
20200725_120525 by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
It had not occurred to me that the boom swing would be an issue on my curves (typically 26" radius). This shot shows the boom swing. The boom is raised here so it does not tilt the boom car to one set of wheeis via the boom support verticals.
20200725_120937 by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
I decided on outpatient surgery. I cut off the boom verticals and added a piece of I-beam the width of the car.
20200725_123157 by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
Problem solved. The boom can now be down and traverse the curves. I'm wondering if I can patent this, though a fairly obvious solution. I could license the technology to UP if they decide on some really tight curves.
20200725_124812 by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
Paul: That is a clever solution. It might be more work to apply for the patent than it is worth.
I have a crane and boom car that in the past have been for photo props only. They never ran reliably in trains for various reasons.
Allan ... Thanks for comenting on my photo. I like the Santa Fe F3's.
Kevin ..... Thank you for your remakr about my photo. Wolf Rock is a nice name.
Peter. .... Wow! .... I love that pick up truck.
Everybody .... Great work so far. Keep it up .
Great photos, everyone. I love this each week, even though I usually don't have anything to show.
Here is my latest project. It's not on the layout, but will go in the layout room. A retired BNSF MOW friend gave it to me last week. Cleaning and bolting together:
Your pictures always inspire me to keep learning in this hobby!
York1 John
HO-Velo Ed, Thanks for opening the WPF with lots of good ol' heavy metal, with emphasis on the heavy. Finally got around to detailing out a Mini Metals die-cast truck in hopes of doing some justice to the 48' Ford pick-up my late father owned in the 1960s. Fun project with good memories of Pop and his suburban work horse. Thanks to all the contributors and viewers, have a good weekend, regards, Peter
You did your Father proud with that model of his truck, Peter.
Russ
Modeling the early '50s Erie in Paterson, NJ. Here's the link to my railroad postcard collection: https://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/
I have been "BEAR TOONED".
I am honored.
MotleyKevin, i like that gondola.
Thank you. The model is just an Athearn undecorated Blue Box model that received Tichy grab irons and A-Line stirrups at the corners. With the deep fishbelly sides on these models I do not add brake details because they could not be seen. So, with minimal modification I can have a presentable model.
I think I have 4 or 5 of these Athearn gondolas in my fleet.
This is another of my Athearn Blue Box gondola models:
Seeyou190: You have got to STOP posting pictures of Gondolas ...... you'r "messing me up" trying to duplicate your gons !!! ( I got enough junk on the bench, how do you expect me to get anything done !?!?!?)
i finished my "halfsi" flat/gon...
And I started on my masking for the dreded , corned beef flavored, "Buffalo Brine Ale" refeer.
Took me a few hour's to carve that out of a thick sticker I found in the birthday section of Hobby Lobby. My next step is to hand paint it on to the carside .........
( this oughtta be "fun" .....)
Rust...... It's a good thing !
Thanks for all the nice comments. Sorry, didn't take any work-in-progress photos. I really like how the hobby provides so much opportunity to revisit memorable parts of the past thru our modeling.
Thanks again to all the contributors and viewers, regards, Peter
Little Timmy My next step is to hand paint it on to the carside .........
I wasn't kidding ... I really am going to "attempt" to paint this.
I have to stop and let the paint dry for a bit. Stay tuned, when we will hear Little Timmy say.....
"Why couuldn't I have picked an easyer hobby ??? Like Bee-keeping ???
Evening
Another great WPF. I just wanted to stop in and thank everybody for posting thier projects. I always really enjoy this thread, whether I'm a part of it or just looking.
Some great-looking craftsmanship here guys
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday night.