Winter vacation is too short, school starts back up in a week.
Sad thing is I didn't finish any of my projects because of work and car repairs.
However I ordered the shells for my C424s. After a month of pinesol and several weeks in alcohol, I gave up on getting the paint off. Probably should have gotten the shells all along since I could have gotten them with the money I used on pinesol and alcohol.
I spent a few hours weathering 7 cars today. I still have to do 30 more.....
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
Well happy new year guys! We’ll see what 2009 brings; what new members to come, new projects, new locomotives, ect. I hope you guys have a great new year! The WIN wishes you all a Happy New Year too!
My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JR7582 My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcfan/
Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a great 08 and 09 will be even better.
Got some work done last night, so here's those pictures.
More to come later.
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
Happy New Year guys!
I like that new sig Jordan!
Joe, the trees look awesome.
Alex
Jordan: What did you do to your avatar? It used to be well lit, now the left side of the nose is in shadow... I like the new sig though!
I got some quick photos of the new scenery in WRJ. The ballast needs a bit of touch-up in some areas, and a few details remain to be added. I'm going to put a chain link fence by the tracks near that blue steel autobody shop and the building being torn down. Also I need to add wires on those power poles...
Those cheap Bachmann crossing lights at the railroad crossing are just stand-ins - I'm going to replace them with operating Walthers or NJ International lights, depending on which I can find for cheaper. Also, that pipe bridge by the green building over the tracks (disguising where the tracks go through the backdrop) is just leaning on the green building right now; it will eventually be a pipe connecting to the wall. This whole scene is still a work in progress...
TrainManTy Jordan: What did you do to your avatar? It used to be well lit, now the left side of the nose is in shadow... I like the new sig though!
Alright, Jordan has come to save the day! (Old one is back)
Thanks for the compliments of my new sig, I think it turned out alright. Although JEPG compression kinda killed it...
Tyler layout looks great!
Joe, you layout is really starting to come along.
Grrrr, because of MRs lack of detail on there SDL39 article, I must start over on my Conductors side long hood. I used the wrong thickness of styrene. Most of the hood doors where salvaged, along with the blower cover, and filter screen. There goes two months of work out the window!
As promised here's the rest of the pix:
NS GP50 6558 (will be renumbered to 7058)
Main plant and office of Magic Pan Bakeries
Switching MPB
My geep and F40
Last night, I also finished the silos and transfer building for the bakery. I only built three silos (I lost half of the first one) but it actually makes switching easier. I still have to paint and attach some details, and decal and weather the buildings, but main construction is done.
I think I'm going to add some freight traffic from the Morristown & Erie. There are no painted models, so I'll probably get an Atlas C424 and repaint it as M&E 18. It will only run part of the line, which is three or four laps.
I need a decoder for my F40PH, which I'll probably (eventually) rebuild into a F40PH-2CAT (no rear platform, to make room for caterpillar engine). I'm still waiting to order my PL42. Also trying to figure out what I'll need for it. green elite cab, what drive did you/are you using for yours?
Also need to replace some couplers, probably all of them with Kadee #5s, because the "whisker" couplers are a PITA.
Need more freight cars. And passenger cars, probably mostly CVs, with some CIIIS and IVs thrown in.
Need to finish road. More scenery. As of now, I have no cars or people or anything, so I need some. And more structures. Miss Bettie's Diner is supposed to be there but of course its not, so we'll just pretend.
Now that I have a list of things to do, I realize how much it is. Ugh... Maybe I'll have half of it done before I graduate... in 2012!
Tyler, your layout is looking good.
Love the sig., Jordan!
Happy 2009 ya'll. For SBRail (and consequently the AAT), there should be more locomotives painted for SBRail's 5 roads (latter in the post), the branch will be more scenicked, and the industries should start to get buildings. Also, the paint jobs will increase in quality when there is an airbrush (will get one next chance i get), and also, there will be DCC at the end of the year.
Now more on SBRail:
(As I was thinking of what to do with the rest of the line that AAT didn't get, I thought up the SBRail inc., and a good way to run it, and here's what I got now):
When the SRR went under, the owner of the DDWH, sawyer berry, decided to return to his roots in SC and help the SRR out. The SRR went under b/c many long debts finally caught up with them in 1992. SBRail came in and divided the lines of the SRR up into 5 railroads; 4 meet in Aiken and one branches off another in Columbia. they are as follows:
The Aiken-Augusta Terminal (AAT): created to handle the high traffic density of that stretch of line, the AAT also operates 4 branch lines. This line sees CSX interchange traffic and their own traffic with its own trains, and hosts many Norfolk southern Freights bound for Charlotte and Latta.
The South Carolina Upstate Railroad (SCUP): created to operate the portion of line from Aiken to Anderson, the SCUP hauls bridge traffic and loads from Aiken (which comes from all other points on the railroad) to the Pickens Rwy at Anderson, which then handles transporting that traffic either to their customers or NS and CSX. They also have several branch lines.
The South Carolina Midstate Railroad (SCMS): created to handle the midstate route ofd the SRR from Aiken to Charlotte, north carolina, the SCMS handles CSX bridge traffic and hsots Norfolk Souhtern freights. Alos, the Columbia Easten, which runs from Columbia to Latta, branches off in Columbia. This line has some online switching, but it's main industrial areas are columbia and charlotte.
Columbia Eastern (CE): Created to handle the line from Columbia to Latta, SC (In my world, latta chose to become a railroad hub, instead of remain a small town). This line sees no through frieghts, but plenty of rail cars from the Pee Dee River rwy. and NS (or CSX, whichever is in Latta). Plenty of online customers to keep crews busy.
Aiken Southern (AS): Created to handle the line from Aiken to Charleston, this is also a bridge route, handling traffic, etc.
map:
They all have different paint schemes, but the schemes share some common characteristics. SBRail also owns the DDWH, and the Indiana southern (operates ex-Monon, L&N, and Conrail line in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky). Schemes so far [all images posted w/ permission of author and MR (7/17/08)]:
AAT:
SCMS:
SCUP:
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
Love the M&E...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymdMMUNZnlY
Sawyer: You mean the DDWH created the AAT and all it's sister lines? Or just the owner? Remember that the DDWH is a tiny (less than 10 miles) one-locomotive short line created to operate an unwanted branch line. I don't think they could afford to just operate ONE branch line in SC, much less purchase and start up operations on 5 lines from a bankrupt company. Starting up a railroad from a bankrupt company takes a lot of cash. The track would almost definetely be in horrible shape at start up, as the predecessor road would've cut most or all track maintanance to stave off bankruptcy, and then you have to get locomotives, servicing facilities, crews, MOW employees, lease or buy maintanance equipment, and start to get the online industries to start shipping by rail again.
For a one-loco shortline, coming up with the cash and the confidence to invest that much is near impossible. The DDWH is probably near bankruptcy itself; they're only interchanging a few cars a day with their only connection, the WRS and have a very limited industry base that can be easily taken by trucks. They're just barely hanging on to life like many small shortlines. They really shouldn't still be around at all. Look at the hoardes of New England shortlines (most the same size or larger than the DDWH) that went bankrupt and were abandoned.
I was reading a book on New England shortlines, and the abandoned shortlines just went on and on... Springfield Terminal, Lamoile Valley, Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington, the Suncook Valley, the Maine Coast, the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad (dissolved in 2008), the list goes on and on...
What if they were to invest in a startup, then have their only loco have a mechanical failure or something? They wouldn't have any money left to have it fixed (and don't have the facilities to fix it themselves) and would go bankrupt.
The only way I can see it happening is if the DDWH's owner is a huge tycoon and the DDWH is only part of his portfolio of properties. Then he might have enough money to try a startup.
It's your railroad of course, I'm just trying to provide a reality check here...
TrainManTyLove the M&E...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymdMMUNZnlY Sawyer: You mean the DDWH created the AAT and all it's sister lines? Or just the owner? Remember that the DDWH is a tiny (less than 10 miles) one-locomotive short line created to operate an unwanted branch line. I don't think they could afford to just operate ONE branch line in SC, much less purchase and start up operations on 5 lines from a bankrupt company. Starting up a railroad from a bankrupt company takes a lot of cash. The track would almost definetely be in horrible shape at start up, as the predecessor road would've cut most or all track maintanance to stave off bankruptcy, and then you have to get locomotives, servicing facilities, crews, MOW employees, lease or buy maintanance equipment, and start to get the online industries to start shipping by rail again. For a one-loco shortline, coming up with the cash and the confidence to invest that much is near impossible. The DDWH is probably near bankruptcy itself; they're only interchanging a few cars a day with their only connection, the WRS and have a very limited industry base that can be easily taken by trucks. They're just barely hanging on to life like many small shortlines. They really shouldn't still be around at all. Look at the hoardes of New England shortlines (most the same size or larger than the DDWH) that went bankrupt and were abandoned.
No, no, no, not at all. The owner is a great businessman and grew the DDWH to be extremely prosperous, and when the owner heard how bad the SRR was, he swooped in, re-organized it, and creted the SBRail system. Or I could say a local businessman made the SBRail system, then bought the DDWH when it was in severe trouble, providing an SBRail locomotive for it. Yeah, I'll go with that. And since the DDWH is almost bankrupt itself, say it went bankrupt in 2005, SBRail came in, bought it, and brought online a major industry (say, a rather large plastic pellet plant?) to save it.
The MnE is great. The guy that owned the old LHS worked for it. I think that was the main reason why he closed, because he was too busy.
Anyway, late Christmas is GREAT!!! I got $75 tonight! Soon, I'll have to go to the LHS in Kenvil (maybe I'll see some MnE on the Chester or High Bridge Branches!) I'll probably get the Diner, some hoppers or tank cars for the bakery, or some replacement couplers.
As I thought, my F40 is a DCC plug, so that'll be easy. According to the diagram that came with it, my geep is hard wired, so ditch lights might be hard. At least that's what it seems like, but I can't be sure until I open it for myself. That is, when I figure out how to...
I also forgot to mention, for my lake, I planned to use real sand. I took some real Jersey Shore sand while I was down there last week. That'll probably be the next scenery step.
Well, sorry for the very late post but...
Since we are talking about our freelance lines...I made some changes to the WIN.
Here's a new, simplified map. Blue is CN, Yellow is UP, Red is CP, Light Blue is ELS, Grey is DME/ICE, Green is the WIN, and Maroon is WIN trackage rights.
Long story, but I'm now saying the WIN bought the GBW from East Winona-Green Bay, this was there start up line. The line from Shawano-Agronne got abandoned in 1998. Also, in 1998 the WIN rebuilt the GBW Bridge in Winona, and connected to the DME. This had to with the DMEs plan to build into the PRB. Let's just say the WIN wanted to tp off coal traffic off the DME if they ever built the line (Now we'll see if CP builds the line). The WIN also only owns one line in Chicago, the line from Leithton-MP 0.0 on that line.
I don't really like to add my name into the WIN history, I'd rather be a railfan of the WIN, but I suppose I am the creator...
Well, how do you like this new WIN scheme? I added an OLS logo to the end. All new painted WIN locomotives will have this.
Well, the SD60s need to be painted, so why not try it on one?
WIN 6001 will get repainted in the traditional WIN scheme, the weird double lighting stripe wasn't working for me.
Also, Tyler, letter your SDP35 in "WINX", that is the WINC (Wisconsin Illinois and Northern Cooperation) subsidiary that owns and leases equipment. Again, long story, lets just say I re-did the WIN. The MW SD40s are no more, the IMW also is not in with WIN history.
Well the changes in history are interesting to say the least!
Jordan! Don't order GP38 #3802, that tiny fuel tank will proove insufficient!
Railfan Alex Well the changes in history are interesting to say the least! Jordan! Don't order GP38 #3802, that tiny fuel tank will proove insufficient!
Interesting...but proto-typical? That's the biggest thing, if you don't think it's proto-typical you can tell me.
Awww, 3802 was my favorite, Ex MILW....
My question is, why would someone go and buy a tiny little bankrupt shortline in the middle of New Hampshire? I can see a larger road that could make back the investment and become a profitable enterprise, but a bankrupt TEN MILE SHORTLINE? It would take YEARS to get your investment back, if you even succeded.
The DDWH was formed when the old mainline washed out. That was the final straw for the B&M's Northern Division, which is now the WRS mainline. Service on the line would be really bad prior to the washout, as the line was nearing abandonment as it is. After the state funded a new line around the washout (present day WRS) they contracted the DDWH to operate the remainder of the washed out line. Industries would be untrustful of rail service.
The DDWH shouldn't be around at all... I'm stretching it as it is...
Well, SBRail is attempting to save the DDWH. That plastic pellet plant should bring plenty of traffic (tankers of chemicals in, hoppers of finished product out). Of course, I'll say we built a line to another RR, to save the WRS (aka Tyler) from having to accomodate unit trains of this hauled by two SD40s (1 in SCUP colors, the other in AS colors). Hey tyler, if you ever get to where you'd like the trains, I'll re-write the history, but for right now, I'll just go with laying track to another RR with access to a port.
EDIT: hey, that's what SBRail does; invest in small shortlines (or in the case of it's SC system, a regional whose debts caught up with it) and tries to make them profitable.
Yeah, uh, that doesn't work ;) WRS has connections with NECR/CN and PCRR/GRS. GRS and NECR are your only other options. Just let DDWH die, and the nimby's have their precious rail trail.
The dust has ruined my shiny Arrow IIIs.... I used Alclad Chrome, and most of these photos don't do it justice. If it were outside in the sun, it would look just like the real thing.
Its hard to tell in the above photos, but the paint finish is like a mirror-
Modeling Conrail, Amtrak and NJ DOT under the wires in New Jersey, July 1979.
Alex is right. No matter how big the plastics factory, it's really not worth it to build a new line over the mountains to connect to a line something like 50 miles away...
Maybe that's no biggie in SC, but you've never seen the White Mountains... Think vertical granite cliffs several hundred feet high... Compare it to building a bridge to Hawaii because you want to serve the industries there...
EDIT: Look at the background hills in this photo of that area. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1306538
I'd abandon the DDWH from your scheme if I were you...it just doesn't make sense...
I actually have a pretty similar story to yours that I'd like to share:
My previous railroad was called the Springfield Central Railroad. It was actually the same layout as the WRS is, but a different prototype. It consisted of a freelanced bridge line over the Berkshires that was built on a new route via Pittsfield, MA, and a few freelanced cities. Then I discovered that CSX and GRS each had an almost identical route, so I abandoned that plan...
Alex and several others came up with the B&M's Northern Division as a route to model, from Nashua, NH, to White River Junction, VT. Alex came up with a whole bunch of names for the new railroad, but I ended up picking White River Southern because all his were too hard to remember...
Later, I was able to persuade a friend to pick a locale for his layout. I suggested Nashua, NH, to Manchester, NH, and he went with that, calling his road the Pennichuck Railroad (reporting marks PCRR). Now the WRS was from Manchester to White River Junction, connecting with the PCRR at Manchester and Alex's old Midland New England (MNER) and a few other roads (CN and/or NECR, I don't remember which one MNER ran over) at WRJ.
Later the PCRR expanded North to Concord, NH. That actually made more sense, because Concord had a larger yard and was a junction point between the WRS to the Northwest, PCRR to the South, and some railroad North to the tourist-hauling Hobo Railroad.
The WRS and the PCRR work closely together, hauling run-through trains from Nashua to WRJ. I'm not exactly clear what happens South of Nashua. So far, no locomotives run through, but that may change if we trade some WRS and PCRR locos.
In reality, the line from Nashua to Concord is owned by Guilford Rail System (GRS), while the WRS mainline to White River Junction is abandoned. The line up to the Hobo Railroad is largely unknown to me. I know the Hobo Railroad operates it near Franconia Notch. I think GRS owns the line up to there now. I've seen a New England Southern GP10 (NEGS is no more, Guilford killed their lease of the line and took it over again) up by the Hobo Railroad in Lincoln, NH.
My story hasn't changed since the PCRR expanded North. I don't expect it to for a long time either. I've learned to stick with one railroad and story.
I don't know if everybody is talking prototypical lines, or freelanced, but I'll take a shot at my freelanced line:
The Beginning
Back in 1987, a wealthy group of investors created a line based out of Henderson North Carolina called Henderson Valley Lines. They bought 12 miles of low quality trackage off of CSX, which equalled up to code 55 in HO scale. Clichfield closed down four years before this, and Henderson Valley Lines bought their prime mover, a Family Lines, GP38-2, with Clinchfield reporting marks. Henderson Valley Lines was born.
Trackage
With the equivilent of Code 55 rail in HO, Henderson Valley Lines could not run high speeds. At the highest of 15mph. As of now, Henderson Valley Lines has a total of 12 miles of trackage, with a 5 mile branch that leads to an interchange with CSX. Henderson Valley Lines has a 4 track yard 2 miles from there headquaters in Henderson, NC.
Industries
Like other shortlines, Henderson Valley Lines keeps in close contact with it's customers. With a total of 15 industries. (I model two of them, Quality Investment Casting, and Tricon Timber Inc. with the exeption of a team track.) Henderson Valley Lines picks up the cars at the interchange with CSX, then drops the loaded cars off the industries.
Operations
Henderson Valley Lines runs on a regular basis, every day starting at 7:00am, till whenever all the industries are switched. The local usually returns, "light" meaning without any cars to the yard. Whenever service is highly in demand, Henderson Valley Lines usually runs with it's other GP38-2, a Conrail Quality HVL bought off of CSX back in 2004. Henderson Valley Lines runs excursion trains anually, usally on a Saturday in August, with their Erie F3 A-B units.
So that's about all you need to know about prototypicaly. Tell me if this is 100% accurate when it comes to location.
Well I had been think of getting a Kato SD40 and an Atlas SDP35 shell to kitbash into an SDP40, namely 1976 which pulled the American Freedom Train at one point.
As it turns out, the rear section of the SDP35 and SDP40 are different, which is what the SDP35 was for. What complicates the build even more is that the SDP40 has would have to have a longer frame, and an a water tank put in. So going the Kato/Atlas route won't work.
I'm looking around for another way to go at this, and so far, all I'm coming up with is using an RPP SD40 shell, and athearn F45/SDP40 frame, and kitbashing the steam generator section. I can't find a photograph of the rear part of the athearn SDP40 (which was a fattie) to see if it might be possible to cut it in half down the hood and pilot are to bring the steam generator section to scale. If that actually (doubt it since it's a one piece casting) works, the bash would be easier.
More than likely, modeling the entire BN bicentanial fleet (everything but the SDP40 is available in plastic) will have to wait a while.
OK, so Tyler, just do what you want with the DDWH.
Man, soldering is so easy once you get the hang of it. I almost got the yard's rail joints soldered. Almost train running time!
Demonwolf: I like your freelanced history! Very beliveable, as CSX (and predecessor Conrail) are well known for selling and/or leasing unprofitable branch lines.
Vincent: I have an Atlas SDP35 (which is currently sidelined with a freak electrical bug) and am very satisfied with it. I'd personally use the Atlas drive and a Rail Power or other manufacturer shell. The Atlas drive is top-notch. If you're having trouble finding an SDP35 shell, I'd be willing to trade mine for a standard SD35 shell.
Green Elite Cab, your Arrow IIIs are looking good. Just wondering, what do you plan on doing with the windows? Also, I'm getting ready to buy my PL42, and I was wondering what drive you did/will use to power yours?
Well, since we're all sharing our railroad's history, I guess I'll tell mine.
The early 20th century was a prosperous time for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. With their Lackawanna Cut-Off having been a great success, they decided to build a second rail line to Scranton. Construction started in 1923 and was completed in 1925. The line separated from the Morristown Line in Morristown, NJ. The line hooked north through to northern Sussex County and became known as the Watchinson Line. It continued through the towns of Franklin, Hamburg, and Sussex. The line then continued through the outer edge of the Township of Watchinson before crossing the Delaware River and going to Scranton. The line was used mostly for express train service between Scranton and New York City. In 1955, the track was damaged by Hurricane Diane, and the Lackawanna was in such bad shape that it was not worth replacing. Following the years after, the right of way was neglected by the Erie-Lackawanna, and later by Conrail. In 2007, Conrail successor Norfolk Southern decided to rehabilitate the line. It was renamed the Watchinson Secondary. The line received new and improved track. In 2008, NS constructed several sidings along the line and sold them to industries. The largest of these, located in Watchinson, NJ, was sold to Magic Pan Bakeries, which built their new plant at the site. Few trains travel the line every day, and service is expected to grow. New Jersey Transit is also preparing to add passenger service from Morristown to Watchinson.
And that's about it. I'm still planning a lot for the layout, which will add more, but that's later.
Tyler, The only part I'd really need from the atlas SDP35 would be the sill and maybe the fuel tank, just to get at the rear pilot. I've been looking around on an way to do this, and I think I may have found something.
I could get a Kato SD45 and get rid of the long hood. Then replace the long hood of the SD45 with the one from the SD40. That just leaves the rear pilot of the SD45 which would have to be sawed and replaced with the rear pilot section of an Atlas SDP35. That just leaves the steam generator section and water/fuel tank to question....
I think that Cannon makes the steam generator section for an SDP40 (the one on an SDP35 looks reversed compared to the one on an SDP40), the fuel/water tank I haven't quite figured out. Maybe part of the atlas SDP35 fuel tank (the smaller half), and part of the Kato SD45/SD40 fuel tank (depends if it's a seperate pice)
Here's a BN SDP40:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=253172&nseq=5
An SD40:
http://espee.railfan.net/nonindex/sd40_photos/8479_sp-sd40-bob_dengler.jpg
an SD45:
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/9504/sp8990victoriatxsag1.jpg
(I know the last 2 are SP, but the angle of the shots on the units is really close)
Joe and demonwolf, great histories! as for mine, I compeltely changed it again (the result of an imagination and no work on my layout), so now I have to re-write most of it.
Here's the area rail map. Please bear with me as it is a rough (very, very rough) sketch. Not to scale
Black lines are state boundaries and red are counties. Green dots are cities and towns. Blue line is Morristown Line. Yellow is Lackawanna Cutoff. Purple is Watchinson Secondary. Oh, and by the way, the NJ/PA border is the Delaware River, in case you didn't know.
Everything on map is the same as in real life, only the WS is fictional.
And in case anyone was wondering, I had absolutely not trouble creating my history, because there were no ifs, ands, or buts. That, and the fact that I know the area considering that I live five minutes away from the Lackawanna Cutoff and 30 from Morristown. But anyway, when creating your history, don't make it complicated.
ns3010 Green Elite Cab, your Arrow IIIs are looking good. Just wondering, what do you plan on doing with the windows? Also, I'm getting ready to buy my PL42, and I was wondering what drive you did/will use to power yours?
As a general modeling policy, i add windows only after the last coat of paint and most of the decal work is done. windows are to easily damaged by everything, and i don't feel like having to pay for new windows from IHP. The kit comes with flush window inserts. I just haven't cut the windows out yet (in hindsight, i probably should now that i'm painting it). the plastic over the windows is paper thin, though, so all i need to do is *** a hole and start slicing, and most of the time you can easly cut the windows out. they you just need to sand and file, no problem.
I expect to use an old AMD 103 drive train, but because they say they have their own powere chassis coming out soon, i'm going to wait and see.
I was wondering if somebody could help me with weathering with an airbrush, here's the prototypical picture, http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=219828&nseq=0. I think the closest color is Floquil Dust, if not, please correct me. I would like to know, the paint to thinner ratio and psi rate. Thanks everybody for the kind comments!