Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Bear,
Love that Mountain RR. Looks like the Hornby fellows like their speed.
PS Got your package, what a wonderful surprise! Then within a hour I'd managed to hack a big gash in my left index finger finishing up the cat walk project. So that's been putting a crimp in my fun. Very much appreciated! Gotta get some frames figured out in order to take some pics hanging on the wall. Will update that ASAP, but have a little of that sweet pine left, so will probably make permanent frames from that.
Some railfan pics from me this week of a meet between a eastbound coal drag and the local passenger accomodation at Durango.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Good Morning everyone from cloudy and cool Northeast Ohio!
Bear, nice videos and I know the time zone business, especially after living in Alaska which at one time had 4 time zones for the entire state.
Mike, I guess we have to take away the sharp tools! Good thing it did not get in the way of taking great pictures.
Got a few things done this week!
Anderson's car #7 done, still have 5 to go as I picked up another one cheap! Tichy Kit painted with green tinted Model Master Aluminum paint and lettered with kit supplied decals.
When the 45' Trailers were introduced in the late 70's the railroads did not want to put up with only 1 trailer on a 89' Flatcar. So the Southern Railroad, scrapped some old boxcars and made them into 50' Intermodel Flats to handle 45' and 48' Trailers. Since most trailers were now loaded by crane there are no bridge plates and the light weight of the car was lowered by omitting sections of the flooring. This is an old Front Range kit that was molded after an article of kitbashing these cars in Model Railroad Craftsman Magazine. Car was painted with Scalecoat II Boxcar Red and lettered with Oddballs Decals. Trailer was also supplied by Front Range, painted with Floquil Platinum Mist and lettered with Microscale Decals. (This is a two for one special!)
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!
Bear ... I'm sure everyone likes 3-day weekends ... Videos are impressive. Thanks for sharing.
Mike L .... I always enjoy your photos because I was in CO in the 1960's and saw many DRGW trains then.
Rick ... I like the Anders hopper. The piggyback flat is unique. Well done.
Below you can see the 1950 Fruehauf livestock trailer I made from a Sylvan kit a few days ago. Frank (The Truck Guy) has suggested an appropriate tractor to haul it which I will purchase soon. It will also be a Sylvan kit.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
A few Pictures from my open house
I set my security camera to take a photo every 20 min
Maybe if i sat up straight my back would hurt less
"> Everyone enjoyed the layout "> "> "> But no one found Mr Fox Maybe i should paint him red ">
Everyone enjoyed the layout
"> "> "> But no one found Mr Fox Maybe i should paint him red ">
"> "> But no one found Mr Fox Maybe i should paint him red ">
"> But no one found Mr Fox Maybe i should paint him red ">
But no one found Mr Fox
Maybe i should paint him red
">
TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
Really good stuff from everyone, this week. Well, it's getting to be that time of year to start looking for a Christmas tree.
dti406Mike, I guess we have to take away the sharp tools! Good thing it did not get in the way of taking great pictures.
Rick,
Yeah, I gotta know my limitations AND observe them. I have a bad shoulder and used to be able to compensate. In this case, I even looked beforehand and said "Better move your off-hand, as it's in a dangerous position..." which I did and then when I slipped I still managed to carve it neatly. Fortunately, it could've been worse and I think I can still get things done mostly until it heals.
Thanks to you, Garry (so fortunately to have seen the action I depict from pictures in person), Terry (looks like the open house was a great success!), and Grampy (very nice scene of the season) for all your kind comments.
Mike Lehman twisted my arm in another thread that I should post some pictures of my TT scale logging module that I'm building. For the newbies that don't know what TT scale is here's the Readers Digest version. TT stands for table top. The ratio is 1:120 or one thenth of an inch equals a foot. For those interested in the history just Google H.P. Products. Here's a link to Wiki for a better explination. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TT_scale It's a great scale to get into if N scale is to small to see and if you don't have enough room in HO. Also it's a scratchbuilders scale since not very much is available in North American prototype ready to run equipment. Ok enough about that.
I got into TT scale about 3 years ago when I found the TTnut forum. Loving the fact that I'm a DYIer and TT scale is more of a scratchbuilders scale it was a perfect fit for me. And what an empire one could build in a 2800square foot basement. So to test the waters I figured I would build a module to be able to take to the local train shows.
The module is based on Chuck Yungkurth's Gum Stump & Snowshoe Railroad. The article was in the April 1966 issue of MR.
I built the module using foam and box construction using 3/16" underlayment.
After I had assembled it all I realized I couldn't get underneath for wiring. So I made some cutouts in the bottom.
I used 3/16" cork and cut strips for laying out the track work. I used a large sheet of paper to get the curve needed for the switchback grade.
I traced the curved part onto a piece of styrofoam and cut it out on a band saw.
A piece of cork and some T pins were used to get the grade.
Realizing that I wound up with quite a steep grade I needed to test it out if an engine could get up that grade, which turns out to be about 9%. The Cass Senic Railway at mile 7.5 at Oats Creek water tank is on an 8% grade. So I'm pretty close to the prototype.
Now I needed some flex track to test the grade out. What to do since there is none available that I know of? Well, make my own flex track that's what. I had tested this method out over a year ago and it seems to work great. I used a CNC Sherline mill to make a master mold of a 9 inch section of track and cast my own flex track. The resin is quite flexible when hard.
As of today I'm working on a small section of scenery using a method described in MR in their April 1981 issues called "Ceiling Tile Rocks" by Jim Kelly.
I'm not to pleased how it came out. I'll revel another method I used in the next WPF in a mini-diorama I started in TT scale before I started this module.
Bernd
New York, Vermont & Northern Rwy. - Route of the Black Diamonds
protolancer(at)kingstonemodelworks(dot)com
Happy Weekend!
I skipped ahead last week,Bear,and watched those videos,but they were well worth a second look!
Great pictures,Mike,and I hope you heal quickly.
dti406: Excellent work.
Garry: Nice job on the trailer,and I like your stock pens. I need to build some of those for the new layout.
Terry: I like the overhead shot of your layout. 'Glad the open house went well. Hat's off to you for hosting.
Nostalgic scene,Grampy's Trains. Do you set that up seasonally? Most lots around here that sell trees for Christmas,also sell fireworks for the Fourth.
Bernd: Good to see you here,'looking forward to more.
What goes up...
Must come down...
...and go back up again.
'Got about a quarter of the old layout torn down.I'm scraping foam,track,etc. off the 2'x4' modules,and setting them back up.With 40" radius curves,and the way my basement is set up,around the walls is the only choice I've got,so the footprint of the On3 layout will be the same as the HO. I've decided to leave the "Yard" section of the HO up while I build the On3 along the outside walls,so I'll still be able to switch cars and service engines when I get the urge.
Mike
Bernd,
A hearty to WPF! And it's an outstanding contribution. Amazing that you're making your own flex-track
I think you'll find that there actually is flex track available that suits TT. Flex designed for HOm is also 12 mm gauge, so that may be shortcut, if you want to take it.
Bemo makes it in code 70: https://www.reynaulds.com/products/Bemo/4294027.aspx
Tillig makes this in the rather too tall code 83: https://www.reynaulds.com/products/Tillig/85627.aspx
Peco also makes it. Not sure about the others, but Bemo also makes a variety of other trackwork you may find useful, too (sorry, crazy long link): http://www.bemo-modellbahn.de/produkte/schweizer-bahnen-h0m.html?tx_userbemocatalogue_rubriclist[vehicle]=23&tx_userbemocatalogue_rubriclist[action]=show&tx_userbemocatalogue_rubriclist[controller]=Vehicle&cHash=f4e7032aebb5451e10abe08f8e026bca
Looking forward to more of your makeover of the classic Gum Stump & Snowshoe in TT.
Always a pleasure to see D&RGW F's in action. For so many years I wanted single stripe F unit's but they were some of the last to be produced - patience of Job, but Athearn Genesis and Walthers finally produced something other than the F9's!
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Mike,
That's what I call a cozy fireplace!
riogrande5761Always a pleasure to see D&RGW F's in action. For so many years I wanted single stripe F unit's but they were some of the last to be produced - patience of Job, but Athearn Genesis and Walthers finally produced something other than the F9's!
Jim,
I gotta agree. I love my 4-stripers for the historic ambiance they provide, but I like the looks of the single-stripe scheme much more. The Walthers/P2K sound units also provided the basis of sound for my whole F-unit fleet; I simply mixed them into my other consists. Not quite as robust as 4 or 5 F units throbbing at once, but spreading them out like that is a whole lot easier on the budget. It was a royal pain to speedmatch the QSI P2Ks with my NCE-equipped Genesis units, though.
For hood unit sound, except for a handful of Atlas Monon C-420s, I still rely on the "Athearn grind" for sound.
Great stuff again for the WPF as, if I could say, usual!
I have made some progress on my Nscale kitbash of an Nscale Architect Lumber Company.
Some roof are scratchbuild, I scratch also a stair to go on a next floor on the big front wall, the small boiler house is build and modified to use on the new kitbash; most of the windows are in place and glassed, the platform roof is modified to fit his new place, again many small pieces need to be scratchbuild.
I hope to finish all the roofs this week end and may be cut the back wall.
Even in Nscale details are appeling, so I model the structure of the roof whith the use of leftover wood laser sprue; they are cut longer than necessary to manipulate them, they are glued in place and cut to the right size when the glue is dry (they measure only 1.5 millimeter) When it comes to glass all the windows, I didn't have any Micro Kristal Clear in stock, so I use Gloss Medium to replace it whith the same results
Even in Nscale details are appeling, so I model the structure of the roof whith the use of leftover wood laser sprue; they are cut longer than necessary to manipulate them, they are glued in place and cut to the right size when the glue is dry (they measure only 1.5 millimeter)
When it comes to glass all the windows, I didn't have any Micro Kristal Clear in stock, so I use Gloss Medium to replace it whith the same results
mlehman Bernd, A hearty to WPF! And it's an outstanding contribution. Amazing that you're making your own flex-track I think you'll find that there actually is flex track available that suits TT. Flex designed for HOm is also 12 mm gauge, so that may be shortcut, if you want to Looking forward to more of your makeover of the classic Gum Stump & Snowshoe in TT.
I think you'll find that there actually is flex track available that suits TT. Flex designed for HOm is also 12 mm gauge, so that may be shortcut, if you want to
This is the future home of The New Staten Island West. The layout will be an L shaped HO switching layout with 3 industries not fully determined yet. The layout will be built over the file cabinets with the short side being 5' long and the long side being 7' The depth will be 22" and I am thinking of using cassette staging.
My wife and sister in law took down the old SIW while I was in the hospital recuperating from major back surgery They saved almost everything except the track ( it was EZ track I am going wuth flex track now) and the benchwork. In front you can see some of the new track and on top you can see some of the salvaged buildings. I will start a blog once I get going full steam after the holidays.
Joe Staten Island West
Marc,
Nice work and N scale makes it all the more impressive.
BerndOne minor problem with the products available is that it doesn't come in Code55 rail size. As a matter of fact I'm looking at using Code40 as well. Code70 equates to heavy mainline rail.
I figured code 83 was too gross; not sure what Tillig was thinking with that stuff even in HO. But code 55 makes a lot of sense. Code 40 will be a challenge, but it looks like you are up to it.
Joe,
Glad to see you're making plans. Your pic reminds me of my utility room before I started the Cascade Branch. It gets better...and makes good rehab, too.
Thanks, Mike, but, no, I made that scene a couple of years ago for a photo contest.
Lot of great stuff's going on....including new face's!
Garry...trailer looks great....the White Super Power, will look good pullin' it.
I'm a little behind schedule on My project, so...no new progress pic's, just yet!
Take Care!
Frank
BTW: How about a SW rebuild????? LOL
Last night I posted an update to my In-ko-pah Railroad thread, showing progress on construction of the Dos Manos depot. Here's a nifty closeup shot of the depot temporarily in place on the layout:
One thing I will have to do pretty soon, before I get much further with the depot, is fill in the gap in the foundation around the base of the building.
Good work everyone... and sorry I'm late contributing to this weekend- price of working for a living. Anyway, I finished up my W&LE GP35 to running condition- I still need to DCC her, attach the bell, fix the headlight issue (The light bar is too short to run to the new headlight), and swap out for some alco trucks. But, here she is- Wheeling and Lake Erie GP35 104.
(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).
Did somebody say D&RGW F units?
How bout an ABB leading the cali zephyr
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Mike Middleman and Frank .... Thanks for the comments about the livestock trailer.
Everybody .... Excellent work !
All that time zone stuff addles my brain, but I appreciate you starting this wonderful thread.
Today I visited the weekend long Carquinez Model Railroad Society's holiday show. The club's multi-level HO scale layout is located in the former IOOF hall in the quaint town of Crockett, Ca. The club has done a masterful job of depicting the Southern Pacific (now UP) mainline from Oakland, Ca. to Sparks, Nev. I was especially impressed by their rendition of the historic Martinez/Benicia railroad bridge over Suisun Bay and the C&H sugar refinery that is also located in Crockett. The cordial nature of the club members made me feel quite welcome and added greatly to my pleasurable visit.
Thanks to all and regards, Peter
With the DL&W F-18 done, I took the oppertunity for a anthracite consolidation sampler.
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/60361449@N02/
Anthracite Modeler - YouTube