Living the dream.
Hello everyone, and welcome to a new weekend!
This week my share is a recent eBay bargain find. I shared this a couple of times afer I bought it, but it finally showed up in the mail this week.
I am now a member of the CMX Clean Machine track cleaning car owner's group.
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
I have wanted one of these for a while, and when it popped up at this price, I just had to jump on it.
This thing is HEAVY, and the springs on the cleaning pad make it very hard to push. What do you guys use to pull this thing? I have a pair of Athearn SD40-2s that I was going to use, but I have my doubts.
OK, that does it for me.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone's photographs this weekend. This thread can always be counted on to be the best of the week.
-Kevin
I'll post my pix in a few minutes, but I'll have you know that you STOLE that!!!
I plan to pull my CMX with a heavy 60 year old Hobbytown PA-1
By the way, nice opener, Kevin!
The nearest thing to interesting I did this week was build the office wing on to the ready mix plant WIP.
Before:
After:
A composite pic of the real building I'm replicating:
That's my visible progress.
Bring it! Dan
Good morning from Northeast Ohio!
Kevin, thanks for starting us out, I have one of the centerline track cleaning cars which I like to use, take it to the club to help clean track on occasion.
Dan, that is an impressive structure, both the prototype and your model, good work.
This weeks completed cars!
First up is the Accurail car where I changed the door and grabs on a painted model and patched the paint saving the original lettering. Also added Moloco End of Car Cushioning Pockets and A-Line Sill steps to the Underframe along with an ACI label. Car was one of 200 used in Auto Parts service on the DT&I.
Next, an Athearn 65' Mill Gon kit, painted with Scalecoat II Boxcar Red #2 and lettered with Mask Island Decals (Now Available from Highball Graphics). Also added a Duha pipe load to the car. Used in general service.
For an extra bonus this week, a Tangent 86' Double Door Hi-Cube kit, painted with Floquil GTW Blue, Scalecoat II Silver and White paints and lettered with CMR Decals. Car was one of 4 of this class on the Detroit and Toledo Shoreline Railroad participating in one of the Auto Parts pools as there were no Auto Parts or Assembley plants on the D&TSL.
A pair of Athearn GP40-2's with some coil steel cars and auto parts boxcars running on the Strongsville Railroad Club layout, which will be open this weekend during the Historical Society's Christmas Festival.
Thanks for looking!
Rick Jesionoski
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!
A great start to another fine WPF! Wow did it get to be DECEMBER already?
Thanks for the sendoff, Kevin. I'm sure you'll get good use out of your CMX car. The resistance is a little lower when the pad is wet. I use mineral spirits in mine and usually follow it with a Centerline car for sopping up the loosened oxide and gunk. Well worth the investment.
Thanks for showing your progress, Dan! Quite an undertaking
Excellent work on your rolling stock, Rick. Fine additions to your roster.
I've had this Broadway Limited USRA Mike on my "to-do" list for a while. It finally got a little TLC this week with a new WOWsound decoder and SSS speaker plus I added a backup light, slope sheet ladder and painted the cistern deck in oxide red:
GTW_3734_inbound by Edmund, on Flickr
GTW_3734_under-wharf by Edmund, on Flickr
GTW_3734_pit by Edmund, on Flickr
GTW_3734_onTT-broad by Edmund, on Flickr
Today, this engine resides in Cleveland. It was renumbered to 4070 around 1957 or so.
Exactrail twisted my arm to take another pair of Milwaukee Road rib-side box cars off their inventory. I already had one but it seemed to be lonely:
MILW_XM-1 by Edmund, on Flickr
I like any freight car that carries advertizing for passenger trains...
MILW_XM-2 by Edmund, on Flickr
Off to a great start, folks!
Cheers, Ed
Good morning
Thanks for another WPF starter Kevin. Nice score on the brass track cleaning unit.
Beautiful scratch build your doing on the Ready Mix Plant Dan. Looking forward to following your progress as it's looking rather impressive.
Like that cascade green Rick. Great job on the new recruits as I've always liked those long Auto Parts cars. How many feet long are those things anyway? The Detroit Toledo & Ironton SD40's looking Sweet on your club layout.
I'm sure you were glad to get that upgraded decoder installed in 3734 added to the others you've been working on Ed. She's a Beauty! Good to see the rib side car got an added friend. Two Old Milwaukee's is always better than one
Found some time to continue fiddling around with the piers and abutments this week.
Did some research on masonry plank formed piers and found Monroe Models as a good example.
Also found an abutment scaled out to reference board width. Determined that only 2x12's were used, so got rid of the random board idea.
Before
Last week's random experiment fell short.
After
Much better. Changed out the sled teeth with .08 width styrene and .010 spacers. Definitely need a light 600 grit sand on the overpronounced joints before paint.
Thanks for looking.
Looking forward to seeing much more pics this weekend, so post-em if you got em please
TF
POST HOG!!! POST HOG!!!
Good Grief!
Do I have to regress to my old ways and become Post Hog here on Weekend Photo Fun?
Where's the enthusiasm anymore? I realize I've only posted a bunch of boring rectangular plaster blocks for the past two weekends but at least it's something. Along with much better posts here!
It's called Weekend Photo Fun because were supposed to post lots of photos to look at on the weekend, cuz it's fun... It can be any photo that has anything to do with model railroding. Remember, any one photo is better than none
Here's a nice set of Green Machine SD40-2's
Didn't need any new inspiration to get those or to post em. Got enough of that as a Kid.
Here's a pair of Milwaukee Road SD40-2's
Aren't they a great looking pair side by side, looking eager to join their roster. Fun to look at too
I got some inspiration from a photo that made me purchase those though
Here's that photo, one of the Forum members here posted. It looks like everyone's having a party in celebration of those two SD's. This photo really did make me buy em. I zoomed in on the Loco's and cropped it. I think there used to be a classic, cool looking, blue Chevy Van in the pic
Come on people! Contribute with a little enthusiasm and some more participation here Make WPF, Funner on the weekend by posting more photo's Or I may just go on two month sabbatical in quest of finding more good pics somewhere
OK, Cracked the whip, Pep Rally is over
They are here! after 14 monthsa. and these are beasts
This is the box. that claim shell box is sandwiched in a substantial box. the sleave cover is on top.
Beautifully done detail. crisp paint. and it is very heavy for its size. The cab is plastic. the engine cowlings are good thick metal. very little plastic actually. the metal work detail is crisp too. It has. adetail pack so once i add those we she see it again.
Shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Good stuff everyoneBut Mr TF wants MORE!
OK. I can expand a bit on my ready mix. Built in Bend OR in the mid 40s, I was fortunate enough to get some film pix, I think in '99. They're fuzzy, and I didn't get near enough, but at least I got a few that I could work off. I can't remember when they tore it down, Oh I'd have been there that day to get more info!
I didn't get any measurements, so I had to do painstaking work to figure out the size of the building, using what things in the pix gave any indication of size.
Then I made 1/87 scale elevation drawings of all 4 sides, and a footprint to work off.
Here are a few more pix of the real thing and the model, trying to get close to the same angle on each.
South close up towards the rear:
Front (east side) of bldg.
The model, so far. There's a lot of clutter to be added yet, on the roof and everywhere, really. This relatively small building is by far the most challenging structure build I have taken on. That red 5 foot long crane shed was simple in comparison!
I intend to build the model as I imagine it may have looked in the mid '60s, not as delapidated as it was when I took the pix, in it's final days. It will still be cluttery though.
This picture was almost pivotal to the build:
Because it was taken from a distance, it was least distorted. Note the Fuel tanks to the right. I google mapped those (still there) to get their diameter. that gave me a scale to work with in finding the proportions of the structure. But other details, like a wall made of 4 sheets of 4x8 plywood reinforced my calculations.
I'll post more as progress is made, but I do tend to jump around from project to project on the layout. Dan
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Just a quick visit as I see TF is a 'little upset'.
Wyndham Farm
IMG_2465 (2) by David Harrison, on Flickr
Space is a premium in the City.
IMG_1932 by David Harrison, on Flickr
Back tomorrow.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Nice score Shane. Always loved those switchers that you can't tell which way they're going... They are one of my favorites as they don't have a forward or reverse unless they're coupled to something.
Enjoy following along the prototypical ready mix plant references with your modeling progress Dan. Excellent scratch building replication.
Neat train puzzle along with the story Bear. Are you sure you didn't have a part of that with "Her Indoors"? Judy does quite a few of those as I've been lured into them on occasion. Winter nights can get awfully boring sometimes.
Always love looking at your scenes as they hold plenty of Interest David. Modeling scenes with your signature
NorthBrit Just a quick visit as I see TF is a 'little upset'.
Not at all David, just stirred the pot a bit...
Keep em coming please
Southgate 2I'll have you know that you STOLE that!
I know.
When I saw it, I could not click BUY IT NOW fast enough!
Finaly was able to get back into the shop after a long summer/fall with too much to get done around the house..
A couple more beer cars to pick up where I left off last spring
Kevin, Thanks for opening the WPF, like the patina on your cleaning car.
TF, Your concrete bridge piers look great.
Thanks to all the contributors and viewers. Happy Holidays, Peter
Kevin,
Nice price! You did steal it.
Put my maximum bid in on several before a successful bid.
Pull mine with 2 Atlas RS-1's.
Have fun,
Richard
Howdy
Always enjoy seeing more great additions to your beer roster Pike. A couple more beautiful reefers!
Thanks Peter. Sweet bike Marathon scene. Would imagine it's quite tedious painting all those bikes and cyclists Where you get some of your figurines, ...I've not a clue?
Nothing new on deck at this end. Over 25 hours since the last photo, so might as well dig something up here. A before and after of some old bones.
Bring em on man
Back before the "Lock Down", our RR club was doing annual open houses during November. We (I as trainmaster) designate the type of trains for each weekend. One of the favorites has always been "Members Pride", an open house that we can show our work. I always liked to display in a train the many GN boxcar color schemes and here is a pair of boxcars that ran on my train of 16 GN, 40' boxcars.
Don; Prez, CEO or whatever of the Wishram, Oregon and Western RR
Hey Shane; it looks as though PIKO saw my RR's paint scheme, liked it, and used it.
I had developed this scheme back in '84. Tedious to apply it is, but the results are very nice!
[quote user="NVSRR"]
Daughter, SIL and Grandchildren have just arrived back from seeing Santa in Lapland, so a quick visit.
Excellent pictures by everyone. Well Done.
New Clarence Dock Goods Yard.
IMG_5943 by David Harrison, on Flickr
More Clarence Dock Yard
IMG_5954 by David Harrison, on FlickrDavid
[quote user="tankertoad135"]
NVSRR They are here! after 14 monthsa. and these are beasts
It is MAryland Midland paint scheme they just used it as thier undec ersion.
I found step vans on ebay so I got two. not overly detailed. but it is still nicely done. The gondola is a copy of a Bellefonte Central MOW gondola. Work continues on my cell phone tower. And of course my new catch. now number 12. Hasnt been programed yet. It is so slow it would loose a race to a dead snail. great switching speed. Lousy mainline speed. That is on 003. once prgrammed it might be different slightly. I have two so I have to test the other one yet. Now to find a paint scheme for it
Track fiddlerWhere you get some of your figurines
Thanks TF, Nearly all my figures are Preiser. The majority of the cycle racers are from a Preiser kit, ironically, it was while recuperating from a cycling injury that I painted them.
Some Cyclocross practice.
Regards, Peter
So as Railfans, now and then we are out and about in the wild and ofcourse if theres a train around..... its gonna get noticed.
We also know that sometimes during one of these sightings, there comes something strange or unusual that always makes you do a double take.
A car with a rare roadname, or and old diesel pulling for all shes worth amonst a trio of modern wide cabs. Maybe a caboose! A special load on a low center flat.
Well i was doing all the above when I had to double take on this......
Caught in Spencer N.C., a fair piece from Fla i might add, I about twisted my head off when this came around the corner out of a tunnel. There was something familiar about it!
I was able to catch the conductor of said train and asked about this car. He remarked "it was interchanged about 5 yrs ago. A young gentleman came by the railroad and dropped her off". And here I thought i was gonna find one on the shelves!
Hows that for a 'fun weekend photo'!!!
PMR
What a nice turnout this week, Gents.
Rick, I don't know how you can know all that proto-correct stuff on your freight cars, let alone implement it into your projects. Weekly!
Ed, the added paint and detail on the mike really sets it off. Neat boxcars too.
TF, your incredible bridges merit the extra work on the piers. you should pose an HO reception for your diesels. Don't forget the Chevy van.
I just realized you're working in N scale!!!. I thought your work was awesome for HO! N Scale! I'm blown away!
Neat work on the grain elevator, and the coal tower is a great tribute to it's builder. POST HOG!
Southgate, don't kid yourself, you know you'll never finish that ready-mix buil... Oh. thats me.
Shane, very sharp looking new loco, and it looks good on your great layout. I like slow switchers, myself.
Bear, nice atmosphere scene, that puzzle.
David, neat night scene. Always lotsa action on your road.
Pike 62: Welcome back. I go model RR dormant too in spring.
Peter, your scenes always remind me of Queen's "Bicycle Race"! You do capture the atmosphere.
Don: What a handsome paint sceme you came up with, and you're a brave soul with those stripes. Nice colorful box cars too.
PMR: Sharp Eye!
Kevin, I'm still amazed at your steal. What a score!
Dan
Thanks for your very kind words Dan. Put another smile on my face over coffee this morning
PM Railfan Well i was doing all the above when I had to double take on this...... Caught in Spencer N.C., a fair piece from Fla i might add, I about twisted my head off when this came around the corner out of a tunnel. There was something familiar about it! I was able to catch the conductor of said train and asked about this car. He remarked "it was interchanged about 5 yrs ago. A young gentleman came by the railroad and dropped her off". And here I thought i was gonna find one on the shelves! Hows that for a 'fun weekend photo'!!!
For Sure PMR! I'd have to say that musta made it Funner. Had to have been some SUPRISE!
From what I've gathered through the years is Kevin with his kind Heart and gracious generosity, has gifted those Beauty's scattered throughout the Country. I consider myself quite fortunate and remain very appreciative as He gifted me one of those TWO!!! ...
What an amazing gift. Drawer #1, front-top left. They are my favorite box cars as I show them off quite often. I had to envision them on the timber trestle to imagine the excitement of them going over the finished bridge for the first time one day.
Thanks again Kevin!