Teen Model Railroader Place July 2009

Aha! I found this place again! I keep losing it!

Whoever makes the last post at the end of the month should remind people we are starting a new thread.

Well it's a little too late right now, but I'll take some photos of the CP C424 I have almost finished tomorrow.

All I need to do is wire, light and install the ditchlights and the castings, then maybe just a bit of paint touch-up here and there. It was a pretty easy detailing job, I'll post the parts and materials used tomorrow too if anyone is interested. It's the same model that I started back in December, but with school out, I've actually had time to redo and finish what I wanted!

I'll leave you with a prototype photo:

http://www.cprdieselroster.com/Roster%20Archive/CP%204200/CP%204239-2.jpg

Enjoy!

 I splurged on an Atlas 17.6k gallon corn syrup car. Someone pay me to do something so I can have money for track!

Guilford Guy

 I splurged on an Atlas 17.6k gallon corn syrup car. Someone pay me to do something so I can have money for track!

Alex, welcome back!!! I'd have to agree with your comment about shipping across the border being expensive.

GG, I'm way ahead of you.

I haven't updated on here for ages but here is some photo's of what i have have at the moment.

the sawmill is about 90% complete but as with any model railroad its never finished so there are always small details that makes the scene more realistic.

the town on the other hand is giving me the absoulte shits, im wanting a detailed layout (not super detailed where you can read the pakages of the cereal box in the general store) so doing the work consumes so much time but i am glad on the way its turning out, especially considering its the most complete layout i have made ever.

the thing im itching to get is the circuits for the grade crossing and boom gates from logic rail technologies can't wait cause the mechanics are all set up

 PS sorry for the blurry pics, first time trying night shots  

 Animal, nice layout.

Alex, looking forward to the Alco man!

GG, I would, but I need money for my own track, lol.

Well, my ultimate plan to get a mainline layout around the walls has been shot down. I could go double deck, which I might, to get the mainline run I want, but what will end up happening is I will end up downsizing and compromising with myself and creating something right now that will be able to be expanded in the future (like an industrial district at the end of a line that I could build upon later on). I'll eventually come up with something. Good lord, why does it have to be so dern frustrating!

This morning went great painting. Got everything painted that I wanted too. I still need to do the walkways and order decals, but here's the photos (please forgive the scratches, I only wanted to strip the locos and paint them):

 

 

 

 



 

 



Also, I bought these saturday:

 

If I had money, I'd pay you to install ditch lights on 9423! The TCS T1 decoder that's in it right now is capable of having ditch lights attached to the green and purple wires (with blue as common) so it would work as-is.

Nice painting Sawyer! They turned out really nice. Did you use an airbrush?

TrainManTy

If I had money, I'd pay you to install ditch lights on 9423! The TCS T1 decoder that's in it right now is capable of having ditch lights attached to the green and purple wires (with blue as common) so it would work as-is.

LOL, shipping shipping...

I'll take photos when I wire and install the ditch lights. I use mini LED's, you'll see later on...

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So here's the work so far:

I added various DW, MBE, DA and Railflyer parts. All that’s left is to add the ditch light castings and light them, and maybe change some of the louvers to better represent the CP modifications. A little bit of weathering it’ll be done!

The 4 filters on each side are oversize I know, and some are a little crooked. Also I found out the doors on the model are all wrong for the 1990’s. CP must have changed the doors with handles over to the knuckle buster style sometime in the 80’s. I might fix that in the future.

For now, the work I have done represents the prototype well. Overall I am happy with this project. It is my first “complete” detailing project, all the others that I have done are still on the shelf, waiting for parts or money…

More photos to follow as she comes closer to completion.

Railfan Alex

Nice painting Sawyer! They turned out really nice. Did you use an airbrush?

Thanks man! Yeah, I used a Badger model 250. Let me tell you, all that sucker might be able to do is lay down a nice even coat, but it sure does it well!

That C424 is looking AWESOME!

TrainManTy

If I had money, I'd pay you to install ditch lights on 9423! The TCS T1 decoder that's in it right now is capable of having ditch lights attached to the green and purple wires (with blue as common) so it would work as-is.

You know, alternating ditch lights are not mandated by the FRA. None of Pan Am's locomotives have alternating ditch lights. Wire the Green and Blue to the forward ones, and the Purple and Blue to the rear. I already have ditch light castings too, they just need to be drilled out and have bulbs installed.

Sawyer: Nice job with the painting!

Alex: C424=Amazing!!!

Guilford Guy

You know, alternating ditch lights are not mandated by the FRA. None of Pan Am's locomotives have alternating ditch lights. Wire the Green and Blue to the forward ones, and the Purple and Blue to the rear. I already have ditch light castings too, they just need to be drilled out and have bulbs installed.

So one ditch light would come on with the front headlight, and the other would come on with the rear headlight?

Well, I redid the plan (again), so here's a link to the thread: EDIT: Whoops, forgot the link... http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/156642.aspx?PageIndex=2 (scroll to the second post on that page).

Well since the weather wasn't so nice this evening, I sat down at the workbench for a few hours and fiddled around with the ditch lights.

So first we have a size comparison: That's a Kadee coupler, the ditch light castings w/lenses and of course the LED's.

Here is one of the ditch lights wired up: It isn't my best soldering work, but remember, these things are small and pretty darn difficult to handle!

The two LED's now wired and painted: I paint the metal parts with a few layers of paint to help avoid any shorting in the brass ditch light casting, which could potentially burn the decoder. The inside of the ditch light castings are also painted.

Now they are installed in the castings:

Here's what they look like on the locomotive. It's all assembled again now:

Another: The protoype sits in the background.

Here they are lit: Not the greatest shot, but you get the idea.

What's left to do:

• Tint the LED's with clear yellow paint so they look more like a headlight.
• Install Cab Deflectors/Mirrors
• Install Windshield Wipers.
• Weather it like the prototype.

I broke my last #80 drill bit, so I need to go over to the LHS to get a few before I can drill holes to install the last detail parts.

I'll take some nice outdoor photos once she's all done.

ns3010

Sawyer: Nice job with the painting!

Well, I redid the plan (again), so here's a link to the thread: EDIT: Whoops, forgot the link... http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/156642.aspx?PageIndex=2 (scroll to the second post on that page).

thanks man! your plan looks good, though it's a small picture. I might add an industry inside the loop though, looks like a lot of open space.

Alex, jsut be glad you weren't installing ditch lights on that C424 in N scale!

Alex: I have to hand it to you; that is some seriously impressive work! You don't meet many modelers that have the skill and patience to solder to such small LEDs! Outstanding work!

One suggestion: You noted that you are going to tint the LEDs with clear yellow paint. That should work fine and make them look yellow enough, but you may want to replace the regular headlights with the same blue-white colored LEDs and tint those too. That would be much easier than trying to match the colors on the head and ditch lights just by tinting the blue-white LEDs.

I've created a new website for the WRS... The blog is still up, and I may still update it occasionally, but a real website has been in the making for a while now, and it provides a much easier way to introduce people to the railroad.

http://sites.google.com/a/trahans.net/wrs/

Enjoy!

Nice Ty. I like the website.

I especially enjoy the way you have set it up, like a real railroad's website. The media page was a good idea, and I always enjoy looking at people's rosters.

I like the new layout, and all my painted locomotives!

Now you just need to go buy the domain!

 Nice website Tyler, I've got one for my model railroading (the one under contact me) and one for SCRail: http://scrail.webs.com/

I use webs (aka freewebs) for my websites though, not google. And yes, I know that my site ain't anything like yours!

Thanks for the kind words all!

The setup like a real railroad was intentional, and was closely patterned off of the website for a local shortline, the Providence & Worcester Railroad.

I had thought about purchasing the domain name, and Google Sites provides an easy way to use their interface and map to a domain name, but the money will be better spent on the railroad itself.

Sawyer: You might want to consider a change to Google Sites. The interface is great, and most importantly, there's no ads!

Today I went to my LHS and picked up some pieces of rolling stock.

I got a WC boxcar, and a CRIP 3 bay covered hopper.

I'm going to patch this one day for the CNW. It will look like this http://www.railcarphotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=50775 but the the "R" logo and "The Rock" will be intact. I'll also replace the brake wheel and paint the wheels a rust brown color.

Tyler, might swap, I'm, not sure.

Sweet project Jordan!

Hey guys, finally got my new room painted. Here's a couple pics.

My future layout space. I'll be moving the weight bench and chair. might move the blue crates, I'm not sure.

Here's my workbench, storage area, and study desk. I still need to hang those Titanic prints up.

Finally, a shot of my rs1 on the test track:

Also, shot this video of a train running on the layout with our digital camera. Yes, it's crappy quality. I'm not sure if it sped the train up any though.:

Jordan: That's the Athearn RTR car, right? I have one exactly like that (an orange D&RGW) that's among my favorite pieces of rolling stock. They roll really well...

TrainManTy

Jordan: That's the Athearn RTR car, right? I have one exactly like that (an orange D&RGW) that's among my favorite pieces of rolling stock. They roll really well...

 Yep, the WC boxcar was an Athearn RTR too...

Ty and Jordan, is it me or is there not much of a detail difference between the RTR and BB versions? I have 3 of the BBs, a MILW, a SOO, and an NP. Unfortunetaley the bottoms on the BB PS hoppers were never painted. The Soo was easy to correct since I had a silver that was dead on. The NP I brush-painted the bottom BN green (BN green is pretty close to NP green). The MILW was a different story. I tried yellow, but it was too bright, so I tried spraying a light coat of brown over it to get it closer. It looks okay, except for one spot that is actually brown. I might run to a store and see if they have a spray bomb that is closer, or weather it and try to hide it.

I did the aforementioned hoppers and built 3 E&C PS-1 boxcars (MP, ACL, CRIP) I had laying around. The PS-1s are the modern version with short ladders and no roofwalks. Someday this week I'm going to run downtown and pick up some dullcote (and maybe a spray bomb for the MILW hopper)

A lot of the earlier RTR stuff are BB kits that have new trucks and metal wheels, along with McHenry's. Most of the newer stuff are retooled BB and MDC kits, and now they are releasing Genesis cars in RTR.

I finished weathering the C424 this evening, pictures tomorrow. There are pros and cons to the work, you'll see sooner than later what I mean. I expect to hear your honest opinions on the weathering. I want to improve!

It could be a retooled version of the BB car, and I've had it for quite a few years now, so it's likely. But it has really nice rolling trucks, (had) McHenry couplers, and feels pretty heavy. So it's hard to tell...