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!
Work I got this this week!
Well, I finished my Lot 794 Boxcar this week, with a surprise painting and decal job. The Youngstown and Southern was 100% owned by the Montour Railroad, which was 50% owned each by the PRR and P&LE. This car was painted in 1977 which is after Conrail and the P&LE was independent of Conrail, so they now owned both railroads and the P&LE leased 135 of the Lot 794 boxcars to the Y&S. As this was early in the IPD period I believe the Y&S was trying to get some revenue from the IPD movement. Car was kitbashed from Accurail, Branchline, and Moloco Parts and pieces, painted with Floquil Century (Jade) Green and lettered with Mark Vaughn's Decals.
Walthers PS 2893 Covered Hopper kit, painted with Scalecoat II MOW Gray Paint and lettered with Prime Mover Decals. Car was built for the Erie to haul various products usually soda ash and many lasted into Conrail still in Erie paint and were never painted for the EL.
Kato GP35 and 2 Atlas RS-32's hauling a general freight on the Strongsville Club layout.
Thanks for looking!
Rick Jesionowski
Good morning Rick. Thanks for starting WPF.
I always enjoy looking at your beautiful work on your freight cars. I can appreciate how your Club layout has mauve and lavender colors as often seen in rock formations. I think I'll be borrowing that one.
I just started making tunnel ribs to support the upper tracks for modeling ore operations.
I'm making three removable, ultra light tunnel modules, one on each corner and one down the middle on the back of the layout. The tracks down the midsection will be viewable.
I'll be able to access the tunnel tracks for cleaning while they are in place but can bring them to the glass table where it's easier to do all the scenery. Brents tunnel innards will be installed at a later date. The ribs will be reinforced with strip wood to support the 3/8 cookie cutter plywood runs on top. After that's installed I can contour the rib faces up to the plywood for the fiber shell.
The last picture you see the four rows of cork that will be replaced with sheet cork where the ore loader will be placed. A temporary track was T-pinned for a passenger car/portal clearance test.
An ore tipple will be built on the upper horseshoe that gravity feeds down to the ore loader.
Love to see your pictures, so post em if you got em please
TF
Thanks for getting the weekend started, Rick. That jade green boxcar and Erie covered hopper are more of your great work. Each week, you have such wonderful examples of your cars. Do you know how many cars you have on your layout?
Fiddler, that's nice work. I'm amazed at your complicated track layout and plans for tunnels, bridges, etc. You should have been a civil engineer!
I have accomplished very little this week, but have done a lot of thinking. I partially finished several bridge sides, with more to work on. I really like the Plastruct and Evergreen I-beams and H-beams. They are strong and easy to work with. My time thinking is how I will build the bridge bed with track attached. I will probably try several things first to make sure of clearances, strength, etc.
I've thought about trying to add rivet marks, but with N scale, I think it would probably be a waste of my effort with bad eyesight and shaking hands.
Hope we get many more photos!
York1 John
Needed to fill in the blank wall where I built the Tropicana Juice Facility. Finally found some parts to expand it..
Before...
And After..
Still a work in progress...
Neal
York1
Wow John!
I'm really impressed with your work on that bridge Just think, soon you will have a one of a kind N scale bridge and you made it......Sweet!
I know what you mean about those little rivet strips as my friend Bruce was telling me about them. I thought the same thing as you of all the time involved placing them and then having to lean my head over the layout with my reading glasses on just to see them
Please keep us updated. You'll probably have a custom bridge painted before I do
P.S. Where's my manners, Thanks for you kind words.
The Tropicana Factory you built and kit-bashed sure turned out great Neal. You certainly put some excitement in place of that plain wall and I like all those semis as well.
Thanks. Keep-em coming please.
Thanks for setting up the last WPF of April, Rick. Excellent rolling stock, as usual I sure miss the Erie. I used to hang around the old E. 55th. St. Shops and ride the commuter train through Solon and sometimes all the way to Youngstown
TF, your new moniker can be the Tunnel Fiddler! Nice work for sure!
Your scratchbuilding of bridge trusses looks impressive, John. I hope you get more time to work on them soon!
You have an excellent scene going there Neal. Are those precast concrete wall pieces? Are those what they call "tip-up" buildings?
This week I put up a wooden fence along the tracks behind my current scenescape:
Fence_Weeds by Edmund, on Flickr
Plus started to stick a few static weeds around the area. Later I'll fill in with more brush and grasses:
Track_Weeeds by Edmund, on Flickr
I make my own "static tufts" and they are every bit as good as the commercial ones at a tenth of the cost.
Tufts_Homemade by Edmund, on Flickr
Meanwhile I played around with some enhancements to my Walthers feed mill including a new standing-seam roof:
Evergreen_Standing-seam by Edmund, on Flickr
This is the Evergreen product and my first experience with it. Very convincing I would say...
Evergreen_Standing-seam1 by Edmund, on Flickr
I made a new styrene roof for the "old" part of the mill. This will eventually get laser-cut shingles over it:
Feed_Mill-4-29-cupola by Edmund, on Flickr
— plus enhancements to the cupola and new corrugated roofing here and there. The Walthers corrugated siding is kind of a cheap imitation. I like the wavy look of the Evergreen much better.
Feed_Mill-4-29b by Edmund, on Flickr
I gave most of it a light coat of Tamiya fine primer.
Feed_Mill-4-29a by Edmund, on Flickr
Replacement loading docks look better than the stock "concrete" ones supplied in the kit. I made a "new" looking one for the addition.
Feed_Mill-4-29 by Edmund, on Flickr
On to more great STUFF, Folks!
Regards, ED
Coming in HOT with a video at the START of the weekend this time!
https://youtu.be/0wi-rCdd4zQ
An excellent local model railroad, and filming during op sessions may not be professional, but it sure is an authentic way to experience a layout.
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
Love the fence and the feed mill Ed. May take some inspiration from that fence.
Quick proof of concept. First time painting a backdrop. Obviously still a lot of landscaping to do!
- Bill Rutherford Lancaster, NH
Central Vermont Railroad
Morning
Love the weathered fence as it's quite convincing as well Ed. I remember you working on the abandoned tracks and the Mill is coming along quite impressively!
I think Bear would probably say, The lazy "Blokes" just left the rails laying there
I used simular Evergreen roofing on my grain elevator way back when. Evergreen has some great products and what they don't have, Plastruct does.
Thanks for sharing the local layout video Harrison.
I really like that building as it has so much character Bill. I could be mistaking but I may remember it in progress and it's nice to see it in its place.
More pics please
Rick, Thanks for opening the WPF with more visually and historically interesting rolling stock. The Erie PS 2893 prompted me to learn more about soda ash as plausible lading for some of my covered hoppers.
Neal, Liking your OJ set-up and those orange cab-over Freightliners.
Harrison, 'Next best thing to running trains is watching others running trains,' thanks.
Bill, Dig your structure and weathering.
Thanks to all the contributors and viewers. Wishing everyone a good May Day weekend. Regards, Peter