Weekend Photo Fun 9-28-2007 Thru 9-30-2007

[Wisconsin Railfan]

 

You were shown a great deal of compassion by other forum members who took it upon themselves to help you out and improve your photo equipment. 

 

Speaking of which, Jeff, how is the 64meg card I sent you?  If I find the 128meg card, I will send that out too. 

[jktrains]

Guys - this is starting to get ugly.  May I suggest you continue this disagreement out of this topic and in Private Messages (or email)?

Not a problem for me. This is going to be my last post in these weekend photo threads. No matter how good any of my photos are, somebody always has to lambast the smallest negative item. I've had enough of it.

Jeff,

 You were shown a great deal of compassion by other forum members who took it upon themselves to help you out and improve your photo equipment.  No one is lambasting your pictures.  Get over it. 

The comments, and I was not the first, had to do with the installation of the decoder and the missteps being shown.  Go back and re-read Mark's comments.  I think he was right on track.

[jktrains]

Jeff

Outstanding job !!! gives me an idea for some of my locos.

JIM

Jim,

Please pardon my thick headedness, but could you explain what you meant by "Outstanding Job"?  'Cause I don't get what you're referring to.

jktrains

[XG01X]

I will admit there was always something about those SOO bandits that caught my eye

[Driline]

Jeff

Outstanding job !!! gives me an idea for some of my locos.

JIM

If Jeffery's attempts at creative modeling have piqued your interest, then perhaps I could wet your appetite with a few of my own avant garde modeling techniques.

My latest venture..... "Weathering Engines with Crayola Crayons".

[oleirish]

Jeff

Outstanding job !!! gives me an idea for some of my locos.

JIM

[CMSTPP]

Driline- All of my models are HO... well I hope they all are.. But, I have always had a spot for the Milwaukee Road... Infact, that's all I model.. and alittle nit of the Northern Pacific.. but outside of that, it's the Milwaukee. Right at the moment I have about 23 Milwaukee Road units. Mostly consisting of U boats and electrics.

This shot is of two of the three electrics I own. I don't have my steeple cab in the photo. But the Little Joe and Bipolar are there. The U30C sits next to them.

These are the other locomotives that currently run on the layout.. You will notice the od balls at the end. Two BN locos.. One a B30-7 with sound and the other a U33C. Both for outstanding prices. The UP C30-7 I also picked up for a really good price. I have not included the Milwaukee road F9s A-B-A set from Athearn Genesis. I also have two E units. One is an E8, the other an E6. I have not included my DL109s or my Erie Builts... So there are a few locos not included. If I count them, I have a little over thirty locos.

Happy railroading

James

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeff - not to add fuel to the fire or anything, but you stated a couple of pages ago that you traded for the GP with your neighbors son?!  I have never gotten involved in anything like this, but I have to agree with others.  I normally look past your posts but you are really starting to get to me...

I'm the one who bought the GP50 for him, four months ago for $22. He decided the other day that he liked my MDC RS3 SP Black widow and we traded.

[cf-7]

Jeff - not to add fuel to the fire or anything, but you stated a couple of pages ago that you traded for the GP with your neighbors son?!  I have never gotten involved in anything like this, but I have to agree with others.  I normally look past your posts but you are really starting to get to me...

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Guys - this is starting to get ugly.  May I suggest you continue this disagreement out of this topic and in Private Messages (or email)?

Not a problem for me. This is going to be my last post in these weekend photo threads. No matter how good any of my photos are, somebody always has to lambast the smallest negative item. I've had enough of it.

Regarding the "I can't get parts with money I don't have" response.  It starting to get old.  Save it up. Over the last few weeks I've seen posts from you about burning out a motor by letting it sit on DCC, about making a retaining wall mold and plaster castings etc.  You stated that the motor was a surplus from changing out a motor. fine, but to intentionally burn it out, says there is some excess.  Making latex molds is not a cheap process.  Sure it is cheaper than buying 20 other the same thing, but the point being that you have/had the money to buy the mold making material.  Lets, consider the loco/decoder install at hand.  You said it was a temporary install with a cheap bachmann decoder.  Where did the surplus decoder come from?  You said you can replace the dynamic brake housing when you install a better decoder, which is true.  So how much is the new brake housing?  Also consider that based on your previous posts, the nearest hobby shop is a long way away, so you either have to drive there (in your gas guzzling, by your own admission, car) to pick it up, or pay postage to have it shipped.  Sure you could combine additional purchases to spread out that expense, but nonetheless, the cost of the new part is still there.  All this from someone who continually says how little disposalable funds he has.  In short it doesn't always add up.

My physical condition is quite bad. I'm disabled and for much of the year I can't work. My income at this point in time is $353 a month. Try paying all the bills and getting the groceries on that. It doesn't leave me much for gas and luxuries. In another month or two I'll be getting about twice that amount, then I'll be able to get most of what I need. With that extra money, a drive to Alexandria once a month to pick up items isn't difficult. Right now it's out of the question. The latex rubber I used for the mold I made has been sitting on the shelf here for three years, I had to add some water to it to soften it up. The plaster has been here for almost a year. I have over a dozen old Athearn and MDC motors on hand in the junk box, scavenged from junked locos 0over the last twenty-odd years. I also have a spare brake housing for the GP50. It was given to me when the loco was bought at a deep discount. The Bachmann decoder was salvaged from an old Bachmann GP40 that I bought a couple of years ago. The motor in it burned out and it didn't need the decoder any longer. If I could afford to buy another car, I would. Used car prices here are very high. A dependable six year old car costs around $6,000, average minimum.

Now do you see where I'm coming from?

[Anonymous]

Great pics everyone

James

Great weathering and pics of Milw, keep them coming please.

 

I have to agree with Mark, Some of the things posted are an example of how NOT to do things, Those "How to's are not exactly an example most of the serious modelers want to have representing them, and are uncomfortable with the display of a hacked loco shell and taped up decoder. Yes, what you do with your stuff, like burning up loco motors on DCC, is your business, but when you post it in a public forum, it is then open to public scrutiny, like it or not.

 

 

 

[MAbruce]

Guys - this is starting to get ugly.  May I suggest you continue this disagreement out of this topic and in Private Messages (or email)?

[jktrains]

Jeff - Listen to DonZ.  You've now taken a perfectly good shell/loco and ruined it.  Cannon fans would have been a good solution and improved the appearance of the loco. You solution has done the opposite.  You might as well have just drilled a bunch of holes in the roof and sides.

Everyone else - don't listen to Jeff!  This is NOT what you should do to your loco if heat is an issue.

Look, it's my equipment and I'll do with it as I please. You don't want me chopping on it, then buy it. I'm not going to waste time wishing for detail parts that I can't get with money I don't have. Some like to dress their locos up, others, such as myself, take a more utilitarian approach. The only visible damage is to the dynamic brake housing, which is easily replaceable. And yes, the cheap Bachmann decoders run hot and will burn up if the heat is not vented away. I can easily replace the brake housing once I get a cooler running decoder. I cannot however fix a bunch of holes in the body. I am not an idiot so quit trying to make me look like one with your remarks. I didn't tell anybody that my approach to the heat problem I was having is the one they should use, I simply said it's the one that I used in this case. If they want to do the same, that's up to them, not you. You have no right to tell me what I can and can't do with my equipment. You don't like what I'm doing to it? That's fine. I know what I'm doing, that's why the only visible area that's damaged is a small easily replaceable part.

Jeff,

I'll agree with you on one thing - it's you're equipment and you can do what you want with it.  If you want to mutilate it with a Dremel - go ahead; if you want to paint with a 1" wide brush, obscure all the details and use paper decals - fine go ahead.  If you want to run it off the end of the track and onto the floor, fine go ahead.

But your approach is to present things as if they are a viable, reasonable solution as to how to do things or solve a problem.  Add to the equation the fact that your post count is very high so that unknowing readers could easily conclude that you must know a great deal and should therefore follow your example.  I have a problem when someone presents a method to do something, anything, that is contrary to acceptable modeling practices or common sense.  People come here for advice and information.  To present things the way you have is wrong and it needs to be pointed out that it is not the way things should be done.

Regarding trying to make you look like an idiot.  Unfortunately my friend, your own comments and pictures do a far better job than I could ever do.  Someone who would install a decoder using masking tape, take a dremel and remove pieces of a model to solve a heat problem, all while saying it was a temporary install, and then posts pictures of it is doing more than I can do.

Regarding the "I can't get parts with money I don't have" response.  It starting to get old.  Save it up. Over the last few weeks I've seen posts from you about burning out a motor by letting it sit on DCC, about making a retaining wall mold and plaster castings etc.  You stated that the motor was a surplus from changing out a motor. fine, but to intentionally burn it out, says there is some excess.  Making latex molds is not a cheap process.  Sure it is cheaper than buying 20 other the same thing, but the point being that you have/had the money to buy the mold making material.  Lets, consider the loco/decoder install at hand.  You said it was a temporary install with a cheap bachmann decoder.  Where did the surplus decoder come from?  You said you can replace the dynamic brake housing when you install a better decoder, which is true.  So how much is the new brake housing?  Also consider that based on your previous posts, the nearest hobby shop is a long way away, so you either have to drive there (in your gas guzzling, by your own admission, car) to pick it up, or pay postage to have it shipped.  Sure you could combine additional purchases to spread out that expense, but nonetheless, the cost of the new part is still there.  All this from someone who continually says how little disposalable funds he has.  In short it doesn't always add up.

Again, yea, I have no right to tell you want to do with your equipment, but if I see somone posting bad advice I have an right to say that the advice is bad and tell others not to follow it.  Also, re-read my comments.  I didn't tell you what to do or not do.  I did agreed with DonZ's suggestion about using Cannon parts.  I did tell everyone else not to do what you've done.

[Driline]

Well, it seems that things are looking good here. I am enjoying looking over the last few pics here..

Anyway, I have been busy weathering up my locomotives.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a276/cmstpp/rail/Model%20RR/random080.jpg

U25B #5058 gets the treatment. This is nowhere compared to how the real thing looked and believe me, I will not be going there. I just need to finish the trucks and then it will be dine. Just enough to give the idea.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a276/cmstpp/rail/Model%20RR/random078.jpg

U28B #132 also gets the treatments. This locomotive looks pretty good. Actually looks like it has been working and rightfully so. These locomotives deal with some pretty serious grades and heavy trains.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a276/cmstpp/rail/Model%20RR/random079.jpgThis is my new GP40. I picked this one up for my B-day a couple of days ago. I am going to give it some treatment but not as much. It's a "newer" locomotive in the Milwaukee Roads eyes.

Sorry if the pics are a little blurry. I took them tonight and was a getting a little tired.

Happy railroading

James

James those are some great looking locomotives you have there. I've always had a soft spot for the Milwaukee Road Orange and Black scheme. I used to watch the trains run here locally until they stopped in 1978? (Eastern Iowa, Western Illinois area). Here's a pic of my unit. Is that N scale or HO you are using?

And here's the real deal, albeit a GP38-2 instead of an SD40, but what the heck....

[Mark R.]

Jeff - Allow me to offer a little constructive critism. You, my friend, are you own worst enemy. Take a moment before you post your pictures and ask yourself - "would folks really like to see this ?"  Sure, your method of creating an "exhaust" for your heating problem probably does help somewhat, but you admit yourself it wasn't the best approach. Same goes for your masking tape installation. Instead of posting pictures of everything you do, hold off until the project is done properly and worthy of sharing, otherwise it's nothing more than an invitation to comments like you've been getting.

Remember as well how much trouble you had taking pictures with your $10 special. We understand your financial situation and that everyone likes to share their work here and we accepted your poor quality pics for what they were. The problem wasn't the bad pictures - everyone is entitled to participate - but even the high quality posters don't post every picture they take. The endless strings of bad pics were just an invitation to critism for a while there.

I won't post any pics unless the project is complete and worthy of sharing. Take a good look at what you're about to post and judge your own reaction on what others might think .... don't like the negative comments ? - don't provide reason for them.

Mark. 

[cf-7]

That's what I like about this thread every week; there is something for everyone.  Always great photos and also a little humor too.  Great stuff!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeff - Listen to DonZ.  You've now taken a perfectly good shell/loco and ruined it.  Cannon fans would have been a good solution and improved the appearance of the loco. You solution has done the opposite.  You might as well have just drilled a bunch of holes in the roof and sides.

Everyone else - don't listen to Jeff!  This is NOT what you should do to your loco if heat is an issue.

Look, it's my equipment and I'll do with it as I please. You don't want me chopping on it, then buy it. I'm not going to waste time wishing for detail parts that I can't get with money I don't have. Some like to dress their locos up, others, such as myself, take a more utilitarian approach. The only visible damage is to the dynamic brake housing, which is easily replaceable. And yes, the cheap Bachmann decoders run hot and will burn up if the heat is not vented away. I can easily replace the brake housing once I get a cooler running decoder. I cannot however fix a bunch of holes in the body. I am not an idiot so quit trying to make me look like one with your remarks. I didn't tell anybody that my approach to the heat problem I was having is the one they should use, I simply said it's the one that I used in this case. If they want to do the same, that's up to them, not you. You have no right to tell me what I can and can't do with my equipment. You don't like what I'm doing to it? That's fine. I know what I'm doing, that's why the only visible area that's damaged is a small easily replaceable part.

[spectratone]

Wouldn,t upswept Zoomies work better than downswept headers? And a large scoop instead of velocity stacks? I think We,re almost there. I like the chrome.

Naw - THIS oughta make her breathe better !!! ....

Mark.

[jktrains]

I devised a way to get rid of the heat developed by the motor and decoder. I took the dynamic brake housing off the shell and used my Dremel tool to open up the top of the shell. I then cut the grills out of the sides of the dynamic brake housing. Now the top of the shell doesn't heat up after the loco has been running for a while.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/forum-1/P1010001-4.jpg[/IMG]

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/forum-1/P1010002-2.jpg[/IMG]

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/forum-1/P1010005-2.jpg[/IMG]

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/forum-1/P1010003-4.jpg[/IMG]

Jeff - Listen to DonZ.  You've now taken a perfectly good shell/loco and ruined it.  Cannon fans would have been a good solution and improved the appearance of the loco. You solution has done the opposite.  You might as well have just drilled a bunch of holes in the roof and sides.

Everyone else - don't listen to Jeff!  This is NOT what you should do to your loco if heat is an issue.

There should not be that much heat being generated from either the loco or the decoder.  If there is, then your done something wrong.  If it is from a resistor used for lights, then you've used the wrong watt resistor.  If the motor gets that hot then there is probably something binding or rubbing.  Decoders are designed to handle a certain load and generate a minimum of heat.  It should never be enough to melt plastic or require surgery to a shell to dissipate it.

 

[Southwest Chief]

I was really busy this weekend working on my Santa Fe #3482 dorm kitbash:

For more information see this thread (page 3 has more photos of this kitbash):

3482 Kitbash

[UP2CSX]

Mark,

Now that's funny. Kind of a drag racing SD45. Jeff, if you need to do something like this again, use your Dremel tool to drill a series of holes in the fan grilles and then use an exacto knoife to open them up. You'll get more cooling and it won't even be noticeable if you do it right.

[CMSTPP]

Well, it seems that things are looking good here. I am enjoying looking over the last few pics here..

Anyway, I have been busy weathering up my locomotives.

U25B #5058 gets the treatment. This is nowhere compared to how the real thing looked and believe me, I will not be going there. I just need to finish the trucks and then it will be dine. Just enough to give the idea.

U28B #132 also gets the treatments. This locomotive looks pretty good. Actually looks like it has been working and rightfully so. These locomotives deal with some pretty serious grades and heavy trains.

This is my new GP40. I picked this one up for my B-day a couple of days ago. I am going to give it some treatment but not as much. It's a "newer" locomotive in the Milwaukee Roads eyes.

Sorry if the pics are a little blurry. I took them tonight and was a getting a little tired.

Happy railroading

James

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Sheesh, why didn't I think of that.

[Mark R.]

Naw - THIS oughta make her breathe better !!! ....

Mark.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I can't use what I don't have.

[Don Z]

I devised a way to get rid of the heat developed by the motor and decoder. I took the dynamic brake housing off the shell and used my Dremel tool to open up the top of the shell. I then cut the grills out of the sides of the dynamic brake housing. Now the top of the shell doesn't heat up after the loco has been running for a while.

Wouldn't it look much better if you cut out the dynamic brake fan and replaced it with a Cannon & Co. fan ( http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/191-1851 ) with the see through grid that would allow the heat to rise out of the hood instead of ripping a hole in the side of the hood?

Don Z.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I devised a way to get rid of the heat developed by the motor and decoder. I took the dynamic brake housing off the shell and used my Dremel tool to open up the top of the shell. I then cut the grills out of the sides of the dynamic brake housing. Now the top of the shell doesn't heat up after the loco has been running for a while.

 

[Anonymous]

Lookin' good!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Now it's redone.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I'll be getting some electrical tape tonight.

[cf-7]

Jeff - I am familiar with that decoder.   The wires are normally waayyyy too long and will need to be shortened to make a nice installation.  I really believe that you just need to redo the install on the one you have and be done with it.

[jktrains]

OMG!!!! THAT LOOKS AWSOME!!!!!

I need to make a diarama so I can do that; any suggestions for size? 

Ty,

All my pics are taken on modules that I built.  For the most part they are only 2'x4'.  I have some that are a trapezoid so they are a little longer than 4', but not much.  Use the diorama as a testbed for all kinds of various modeling techniques from tracklaying, ballasting to scenery.  Mine are built using 2" foam insulation for the tops.  This makes them lightweight so they are easy to carry outside for photography purposes.  They can be positioned on some sawhorses or on a folding table so that you can get the right lighting and background.

jktrains

[Don Z]

I've been slowly developing plans for my 'downtown business district' on my layout. In an attempt to understand where each building should be installed and allow me to refine the look of the area, I have started by making mockups of some of the different buildings so I could place them and move them around as needed....a photo of the area -

Don Z.

[steemtrayn]

I guess it's a monolith.

I thought I heard the 2001 theme in the background. 

To all concerned, you all lose. It's a screwdriver handle.

C'mon, Jeff...We know that pic was taken from a parked car, and the side-view mirror just got in the way.

[jktrains]

I gotta agree with Chuck, seems like a waste of time and decoder.  Plus the masking tape is completely wrong, even if it is only a temporary install.  Masking tape will dry out over time, especially when exposed to the heat that a motor can generate.  Using masking tape is NOT a recommend practice.  PVC electrical tape is a much better choice.  It is less likely to tear, rip or be poked through by some sharp object like the end of a wire that's been soldered.  This could ultimately end up with a short and a fried decoder.  Then you have an even bigger waste of money.

As the saying goes, do it right the first time, do it one time.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Jeff - I am curious about this.  If you took photos and even a video of the loco, why would you say this is only a temporary thing.  To me, that seems like a waste of time.  You made it sound like the new decoder was good enough (and I'm sure it probably is!).  What is a better decoder in your opinion?  I want to know....

What's better than a NCE BACH-DSL? Why, a Digitrax DH123AT of course. It's small, fits neatly into cramped spaces and just clips onto the motor and pickups.

http://www.digitrax.com/prd_mobdec_dh123at.php

 

[cf-7]

And what is that "RED" locomotive?

That a P2K PA1. The masking tape is only a temporary measure. I intend to install a better decoder when I get one.

 Jeff - I am curious about this.  If you took photos and even a video of the loco, why would you say this is only a temporary thing.  To me, that seems like a waste of time.  You made it sound like the new decoder was good enough (and I'm sure it probably is!).  What is a better decoder in your opinion?  I want to know....

 

 

[tomkat-13]

Here is some action near the loading docks.

[lvanhen]

Nice work jwar. If you're considering a change on that retaining wall,you might consider those big prepoured concrete blocks they get from ready mix plants. Just a thought.

The last few years, at least in the northeast, they have been putting natural rocks in steel mesh squares, and stacking them up for retaining walls along the interstates - another possibility - just my

[tstage]

I guess it's a monolith.

I thought I heard the 2001 theme in the background. 

To all concerned, you all lose. It's a screwdriver handle.

Was Steve McQueen in that movie, too?  

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I guess it's a monolith.

I thought I heard the 2001 theme in the background. 

To all concerned, you all lose. It's a screwdriver handle.

[Driline]

I guess it's a monolith.

I thought I heard the 2001 theme in the background. 

JK, What digital camera are you currently using for your train photo's?

[jwar]

reklein..Thanks for the idea about the blocks. That could be an interesting concept, a crew installing it and making it at a future concreat plant near my quarry. Will give this some serious thought, Thanks again...John

[reklein]

Nice work jwar. If you're considering a change on that retaining wall,you might consider those big prepoured concrete blocks they get from ready mix plants. Just a thought.

[jktrains]

I guess it's a monolith.

I thought I heard the 2001 theme in the background. 

[Hoople]

I guess it's a monolith.

[AltoonaRailroader]

Jeff,

What's that big black thing on the left??

Let's play..................What's on Jef's layout!!!!

I'm guessing it's a eye glasses case. Did I win?

 Besides that it looks pretty good Jeff. And are there teenagers making out in that car or railfans?

[tstage]

Maybe it's that scene from "The Blob". I thought I saw Steve McQueen in the background somewhere...

Tom 

[C&O Fan]

Jeff,

What's that big black thing on the left??

I'm guessing he left the phone laying on the layout

[jktrains]

Jeff,

What's that big black thing on the left??

[MAbruce]

Nice work everyone!  Yet another weekend of great inspiration.  Now if I could only get the house painting done, the leaves to fall faster, and stop the decline of daylight each day, then I could finish my fall projects and get back inside to do some modeling.

Bruce, 

Step on toes?  Didn't you start it last week, too?  I don't think I heard any complaints.

You're right; I did it last week too but didn't know if certain member(s) was being nice by not saying anything.  Now that it's settled, I'll try to start it Friday afternoons if I see that it has not been started, but also won't be offended in the least if anyone else starts it.     

Looking great already!  Bruce, I thought you were starting us off with railfan pictures from a trip out West.  Nice work.

Thanks!  The track scene is at the edge of my layout, so entire area I filled in with a digital backdrop (left and sky) is actually my basement wall and hot water heater.  BTW - Excellent progress on that scene

[jeffrey-wimberly]

[jwar]

This weekend I removed the rock quarry and added a few feet of track to the yard in its place, ballasted yard, finnished the Mi Jack kit and added this intermodule yard. Note the retaining wall, the jury is out, may rock it to look more like the other rock embankment on the outside track,This will be the new gravel pit The hopper cars will come out of the plant and sit on a wood trestle, the rock trucks will drive under them (two tracks) there will be three conveyers and my kit bashed truck crane will have some type of lifting job to do, perhaps holding a conveyer section , the three door shop will be heavy equip repair. I probley will leave this set for a month or so to, may pull it out or condense it???? The mountain in the back needs some serious work on it too....Oh well huh...John

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Is that a work in progress or what? Its all RED. I mean everything except the trucks.

It's in the process of being repainted for the MKT.

[howmus]

I haven't had much time this week to do anything on the layout, but I did manage to do a couple of repaints of some old bobbers I have had for 20+ years and got one old Roundhouse caboose kit more or less finished.  I have forgotten how frustrating those 25 year old kits were.  I bought 4 of these kits around 23 years ago and only assembled one.  Another one of the kits that I had started got to close to a soldering iron and sat on the workbench for almost 20 years until I finally threw it out a couple years ago.  That left 2 more of them to assemble.  Here are the Roundhouse Kit and the two Bobbers freshly painted and decaled for the Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western.



The last one is being assembled now and I have decided to scratch build details for the interior.  I downloaded some plans for 1913 Erie Cabooses that can give me an idea of the proper layout for the inside.  I will see how it comes out......

[SpaceMouse]

Well another inspiring weekend guys. It even got me into the basement to work on a scratch-bash station--it's been a couple months. I hope to finish it and post pictures next week.

 Thanks for getting me going.

[Driline]

And what is that "RED" locomotive?

That a P2K PA1. The masking tape is only a temporary measure. I intend to install a better decoder when I get one.

Is that a work in progress or what? Its all RED. I mean everything except the trucks.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

And what is that "RED" locomotive?

That a P2K PA1. The masking tape is only a temporary measure. I intend to install a better decoder when I get one.

[ngartshore350]

That's a pretty good picture for being taken by a cell phone.  What kind of phone do you have?  My RAZR takes lousy pics, it's a good thing I have the Kodak 6.1 MP around.

Hi jasperofzeal,

It is a RAZR V3x with 2megapixel camera. I recently installed the software again on the PC and it downloaded about 6 - 70M of updates and the pictures seem much bigger?! But I thought it wasn't a bad photo for a cell phone.

[Driline]

I took advantage of the excellent weather to do a little shooting outside.

 

JK your pictures look awesome as usual. What brand/make of camera are you using? I just bought a Canon G7 and hope to take better pictures soon.

[Driline]

I now have a DCC equipped Athearn GP50 running on my layout. My neighbors son traded me his GP50 for my RS3 SP Black Widow. I wasted no time sticking a NCE Silent Running decoder in the GP50. Here's some pics taken during the conversion and a video showing the testing being done afterwards.

And here's the link for the test video.
http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/forum-1/?action=view&current=P1010006-3.flv

 

Masking tape is not a good idea to attach your decoder to the locomotive. Use the two sided foam tape or at least electrical tape.

And what is that "RED" locomotive?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I now have a DCC equipped Athearn GP50 running on my layout. My neighbors son traded me his GP50 for my RS3 SP Black Widow. I wasted no time sticking a NCE Silent Running decoder in the GP50. Here's some pics taken during the conversion and a video showing the testing being done afterwards.

And here's the link for the test video.
http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/forum-1/?action=view&current=P1010006-3.flv

 

[GTX765]

Here is one, mine is very new setup so I do not have much. This is one my New J type Post also.

 

[AggroJones]

WHOOOOOOOSHHHHH!!!! 

[Anonymous]

OMG!!!! THAT LOOKS AWSOME!!!!!

I need to make a diarama so I can do that; any suggestions for size? 

[jktrains]

Time to finish out the day railfanning

[gear-jammer]

I just stopped in for quick peek.  Great photos this weekend.  

Sue

[Anonymous]

Jim,

The pond-oops-lake looks great, the lilly pads are a great touch.  Your modelling skills have never failed to impress me. 

I also like the puddle.....er....lake!

JK; That's one of the most realistic shots I have seen! Great work!

[johnnyx]

Well I think this is the first time i have done WPF.  Heres my 2 M&E ALco's 18 & 19 shot outdoors. 

 

 

 

 

 

[jktrains]

I took advantage of the excellent weather to do a little shooting outside.

 

[mls1621]

Jim,

The pond-oops-lake looks great, the lilly pads are a great touch.  Your modelling skills have never failed to impress me. 

[jblackwelljr]

about to test the cow catcher..

JaRRell

JaRRell,

I always wondered why they called that a cow catcher instead of a cow tosser.. mystery of life I guess.  

Nice shot, beautiful loco - and not a bad looking bovine.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I was just in time this morning to catch this sunrise shot on the layout.

 

[jasperofzeal]

Hi Guys,

Top work by all! Here is an image I took with my cell phone as the camera was on another mission at the time. Just mounted the station today, I am going to add more platforms when time permits. It is an old HO/OO scale Hornby/Dublo station from around the 60s that my dad bought.

You'll notice the sheets of styrene under it to give it some height, when I had it in place to test it, one of my double deck container wagons hit it and dragged it along, so I had to give it a little more height.

Regards,

Nige.

That's a pretty good picture for being taken by a cell phone.  What kind of phone do you have?  My RAZR takes lousy pics, it's a good thing I have the Kodak 6.1 MP around.

[ngartshore350]

Hi Guys,

Top work by all! Here is an image I took with my cell phone as the camera was on another mission at the time. Just mounted the station today, I am going to add more platforms when time permits. It is an old HO/OO scale Hornby/Dublo station from around the 60s that my dad bought.

You'll notice the sheets of styrene under it to give it some height, when I had it in place to test it, one of my double deck container wagons hit it and dragged it along, so I had to give it a little more height.

 

Regards,

Nige.

[UP2CSX]

UP2CSX-That pond looks great! You really nailed the 3D depth effect on it!

Thank you, Loathar, but I must always tell the truth. I bought the pond on e-bay. Yes, my modeling skills consisted merely of placing it on the layout, although I did have to do some excavation and ground cover work to get it all to blend in. I've added about 10 coats of Enviorotex to it also, which I think does help the overall look. I haven't checked lately but I think he still makes ponds of various sizes and sells them on e-bay. He's really good at getting that deep look with less than 2 inches of depth. For anyone who has the same skills at water as me (practically none), it's really a very good deal.  

[loathar]

UP2CSX-That pond looks great! You really nailed the 3D depth effect on it!

[dragenrider]

Dragen Rider, who makes that bridge? It looks awesome!

I wish I knew!  A friend of mine had one too many for his layout and gave it to me.  He says he won them off of Ebay.  It's stout and very well assembled.

[jalajoie]

This is a reproduction of a paper mill in town, it is HO and is on our club's permanent layout.

Jack W.

[UP2CSX]

So many great pictures this weekend. Stebby, if you didn't know that second picture was a model I would have thought it was the prototype after the tourists left.

MSL, that is one heck of a bridge. When do you find the time to do all this?

DR, that is a nice job of roughing things out. I usually just tear things up and start making scenery and it shows.

Mr. B, you are making me dizzy now. Plus, I'm afraid the plane might crash

George, that's a very interesting concept locomotive. Makes you wonder what would have happened if the BN had gotten the Milwaukee Road before it was deelectrified and abandoned.

Ryan, that roundhouse and turntable are coming along. I'm so jealous of people that have that kind of room. My four track yard will have to do for me.

Wolfgang, your pictures are always simple but really convey a feeling of railroading.

This my non-railroad contribution. A happy father and son return to mom and the dog after a successful fishing trip on Lake Layla. Yes, it's a small lake but it's also a very small town.

[Hoople]

Dragen Rider, who makes that bridge? It looks awesome!

[dragenrider]

Here's my contribution to the weekend.  I've been roughing out the next six feet of scenery on the Cedar Branch & Western. 

[selector]

What I want to know is where you got all those super realistic HO figures.  Wow!  

Come to think of it, how did you manage to get the proto shot with nobody around?

[Dustin]

  I hope it's not necessary to point out which shot is the prototype, and which is the model.

 

 

You almost have to!

[stebbycentral]

This my fist attempt at posting pictures, through Photobucket, so we will see what happens.

Assuming that this works as advertised you will #1)Know where we went on summer vacation.  #2) See what I have been up to since we returned. 

I have just completed the 1/4 scale structure, which is intended to be the centerpiece of a set of 18" x 36" modules that will display my On30 collection.  Now that I get a first look at it I do note that I have some blemishes to attend to.  I hope it's not necessary to point out which shot is the prototype, and which is the model.

 

 

[wedudler]

Switching, what else???

Wolfgang 

[mls1621]

Mike in SL, that is one impressive steel mill layout. How long did it take to build? I like the garage door being digitally added. I'm ony good enough to add cement block walls.

Jim,

I like your idea of a concrete block sky.  The thought helps ease my apprehension,  brought on by countless dooms day predictions on Discovery and History channels, about the impending asteroid strike on our planet.  It might also block the tsunami that's expected to engulf the planet at any moment.

This is the final picture in my steel mill series for the weekend.

In the background, you can see the Atlas bridging we modified to join the steel mill module to the rest of the layout.  We used Plastruc trusses and widened the bridge for a single track feeding the mill and a two lane road.

 

[SilverSpike]

Another great start to the WPF thread!

Here are my contributions:

Testing roundhouse track alignments with styrene (concrete floor) in place

Another view of testing car with the inspection pit in the foreground

Turntable and roundhouse after painting the guard rails with caution yellow

[MisterBeasley]

I took this for another thread about turntables, but I liked it because it reminds me of the currently in-vogue proliferation of satellite imagery on the Web:

It's my turntable and roundhouse, with extra outside stalls, currently occupied by GP-9's.  I stood on a chair and stuck my arm over the layout, taking one shot after another until I got it right and didn't shake too much.

[Chuck Geiger]

SPidge - It's the CON COR with new trucks, detailed and painted. I can't find SP cabooses in N scale anywhere, it seems to be the only one and I think it's not made anymore. Tom's Trains in Fresno has 5 of them in stock.

[PA&ERR]

The Port Able and Pacific is in the process of getting new power!

I tried to kitbash these two following prototypical thinking. They are based (very heavily I might add) on the Pennsy's experimental E2b and E3b locomotives. I used "old" Athearn F-7s (I feel better about cutting up a $20 locomotive than a $150 dollar loco) reasoning that the non-prototypical oversized windows and slightly different nose contours would have been modifications requested by the PA&PR.

The rear loco is about half way through the conversion process and the front unit just needs to be sanded and painted. The pilots are from an old lifelike BL-2 and the pans were donated by a Rivorosssi GG-1 that had a corn field meet with a concrete floor a few years back.

George

[jeffrey-wimberly]

For a while now, some of you have read in some of my posts that I have a very quiet Athearn BB F7. Here's a video to prove it. Two locomotives will run by. The first is a Proto 2000 PA1. Anybody who has one knows they're quiet as a whisper. The second loco is an Athearn F7 Blue Box that I converted to DCC last year. It's very quiet for an Athearn.

Here's the video link:

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/forum-1/?action=view&current=Mpg_0005.flv

 

The reason they are so quiet is there is no audio present LOL. Or at least none my computer can pick up

Yeah, the only thing I could hear on it is some track and gear noise. That's all I hear from the loco when I'm running it around the layout.

[spidge]

Chuck, I always enjoy your layout pics. Where did you get that caboose?

[UP2CSX]

Jim i really like the small town square scene !

You've managed to capture the flavor of alot of the small southern towns

but shouldn't there be a statue of guy on a horse in there some where ?

The E-7 in the video is by BLI with QSI sound

Terry,

Yeah, there should at least be a statue of a Confederate soldier somewhere. I just didn't have room for that and the benches and decided the people lounging around on benches at the courthouse was at least as southern as the statue. Maybe I'll try rearranging the courthouse landscaping and see if I can fit one in.

I've been looking with envy at the BLI E-7 and that QSI decoder sounds awful good. I'll have to keep checking with Trains Direct and see if they ever come out with a Southern or GM&O unit

[mls1621]

Jim,

There's alot going on that layout, the steel mill is just one of the more prominent items.  Bob has a paper mill, a small intermodal yard, a flour mill, metal cabinet fabricator, saw mill, grain elevator and a modular furniture company.

The real draw for me to N scale was that you could get so much in a given space without it seeming to be crowded.

I'll try to get some pictures to share in next weeks WPF.

 

[mls1621]

Another note, the refrigerator in the background is 1:1 scale.  It has since been moved for another module in that corner.

Is there 12"=1'-0" beer in that 'fridge?  It better not be a digitally enhanced illusion......

No digital enhancement there, sir, but the correct scale for the Amber Bach in the 1:1 frig is 12 oz.= a full bottle.

Bob's N scale layout takes up his whole two car garage.  An operating session takes about two and a half to three hours, with six operators.  Much fun is had by all and the liquids flow in moderation, but they do flow.

I hope some of the purists aren't too shocked.

Is Amber Bock a fine Anheiser Busch product?  If not, you may be in violation of the St. Louis Regional Brewed Beverage Act of 1927 which states that all model railroad activities shall be lubricated with locally produced liquid sustinance.

Otherwise, sounds like fun.  Rule G only applies in 1:1 scale, not 12 oz. to the beer belly.

It is that, sir, Michelob Amber Bock to be exact.

[UP2CSX]

LOL, alfadawg, digital concrete block is one my few specialties. After 25 years on the street as as a cop, you get an idea of how things should look...or not look.

Mike, I take it back. Installing spotlights on a police car is a piece of cake compared to the work you've done. It only took you eight hours to fabricate those stairs? I would have been at that for six months alone. That must be some layout to see in person. I wish I lived closer to St. Louis.

[C&O Fan]

Jim i really like the small town square scene !

You've managed to capture the flavor of alot of the small southern towns

but shouldn't there be a statue of guy on a horse in there some where ?

The E-7 in the video is by BLI with QSI sound

 

[Driline]

For a while now, some of you have read in some of my posts that I have a very quiet Athearn BB F7. Here's a video to prove it. Two locomotives will run by. The first is a Proto 2000 PA1. Anybody who has one knows they're quiet as a whisper. The second loco is an Athearn F7 Blue Box that I converted to DCC last year. It's very quiet for an Athearn.

Here's the video link:

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/forum-1/?action=view&current=Mpg_0005.flv

 

The reason they are so quiet is there is no audio present LOL. Or at least none my computer can pick up

[alfadawg01]

Nice work, UP2CSX....you have a good eye for street life.  And digital concrete block seems to be all the rage this week.....

[mls1621]

Mike in SL, that is one impressive steel mill layout. How long did it take to build? I like the garage door being digitally added. I'm ony good enough to add cement block walls.

Jim, it took us about six months, start to finish, on the module.  Most of that time was taken up by scratch building most of the structures.  There are only four kit structures on the module.  The blast furnace, two brick buildings and the casting house made from two Walther's rolling mill buildings.  Everything else is from scratch.  The star of the module is the coke oven.  Bob took over a month to complete it.  There are thirty doors on each side of the coke oven.  Each door has two latches and each latch is three separate pieces.  I learned some colorful new words and phrases while Bob was building it.

One side is in the back ground of one of the pictures in my first post this weekend.  Here's the other side and a few other views of the module.

The Walther's blast furnace has no way of getting to the top of the structure, even the HO version is missing this feature.  I spent eight hours building these stairs from Evergreen and Plastruc parts.

Here you can see coal off loading in the dump building.

[alfadawg01]

Another note, the refrigerator in the background is 1:1 scale.  It has since been moved for another module in that corner.

Is there 12"=1'-0" beer in that 'fridge?  It better not be a digitally enhanced illusion......

No digital enhancement there, sir, but the correct scale for the Amber Bach in the 1:1 frig is 12 oz.= a full bottle.

Bob's N scale layout takes up his whole two car garage.  An operating session takes about two and a half to three hours, with six operators.  Much fun is had by all and the liquids flow in moderation, but they do flow.

I hope some of the purists aren't too shocked.

Is Amber Bock a fine Anheiser Busch product?  If not, you may be in violation of the St. Louis Regional Brewed Beverage Act of 1927 which states that all model railroad activities shall be lubricated with locally produced liquid sustinance.

Otherwise, sounds like fun.  Rule G only applies in 1:1 scale, not 12 oz. to the beer belly.

[UP2CSX]

Here's my contribution to this week's WPF. First, we have Officer Mike keeping an eye on the voters during the county elections. I decaled the PD unit this week and added spotlights, which are devilishly difficult in 1/87 scale. The decals and spotlights came from policecarmodels.com if there's anyone else foolish enough to be working on these little things:

Here's the GM&O local pulling into Hillside station for some interchange work with the P&N:

After cleaning up the interchange track, the local heads out of town. The GM&O GP38-2 is an Athearn RTR that I detailed. It runs really well and doesn't look bad with the extra details:

A view of the GM&O caboose crossing First Avenue. There will be crossing signals there soon if I can get the signal department off their butts. You can see the boys are still at work on that pipe break. The locals are starting to get mad now.

[mls1621]

Another note, the refrigerator in the background is 1:1 scale.  It has since been moved for another module in that corner.

Is there 12"=1'-0" beer in that 'fridge?  It better not be a digitally enhanced illusion......

No digital enhancement there, sir, but the correct scale for the Amber Bach in the 1:1 frig is 12 oz.= a full bottle.

Bob's N scale layout takes up his whole two car garage.  An operating session takes about two and a half to three hours, with six operators.  Much fun is had by all and the liquids flow in moderation, but they do flow.

I hope some of the purists aren't too shocked.

[jacon12]

about to test the cow catcher..

JaRRell

[UP2CSX]

Terry, nice video and sound. Who made the E-7 and what kind of sound decodor are you using?

Perry, I see that dinosaur is still waiting for her eggs to hatch.

Mr. B., very nice night shots. What did we do in the days before constant lighting? 

Mike in SL, that is one impressive steel mill layout. How long did it take to build? I like the garage door being digitally added. I'm ony good enough to add cement block walls.

Jerry, that is some view - looks like Google Earth. Everything fits together nice. Your roads really look good.

Tom, I don't think I've ever seen an RR diner cut 90 degrees but what the heck, I'll bet it would look sweet. Who was that with all the rail cars...on, yeah Victoria Station. You can start another chain with all their discards.

[alfadawg01]

This is my "concept" diner:

Cool isometric drawing.  And a good start towards a name:  "The Concept Diner---Where Your Next Meal is Still On the Drawing Board".   Or perhaps steal from an old Don Henly song:  "Down at the Sunset Grille". 

[alfadawg01]

Another note, the refrigerator in the background is 1:1 scale.  It has since been moved for another module in that corner.

Is there 12"=1'-0" beer in that 'fridge?  It better not be a digitally enhanced illusion......

[tstage]

Tom, I could see your diner almost as art-deco sytle the way you show it.  I like it, but I am also intrigued by your mastery of whichever programme you have used to create the image.  Nicely done!  I do like the concept, apart from your creativity.

-Crandell

Thanks, Crandell.   Yes, an art-deco flavor is sorta what I had in mind with this.

The program I used to create the drawing is called SolidWorks.  It's primarily used for 3D designing and checking proof of concepts, as well as creating working drawings.  It's quite a powerful program and about 1/4 the cost of Pro E(ngineering).

I really like that you can make parts in "degrees of transparency", so that you can see hidden details inside.  The vestibule is 75% transparent, while the dining area is only 25% transparent.  I'm not entirely sure if a regular passenger car will be wide enough.  I'll have to play around with it a little more to determine that.

Crandell, the Niagara emerging from the portal is very picturesque.   The line pole to the left only makes it more so.  Suggestion: You should think about adding a telltale, just before the portal entrance.

Tom

[selector]

I was pleased with the positive response to my J1 emerging from the natural tunnel portal, so I have continued that theme this week.  I hope you don't mind my lack of creativity.

[selector]

Tom, I could see your diner almost as art-deco sytle the way you show it.  I like it, but I am also intrigued by your mastery of whichever programme you have used to create the image.  Nicely done!  I do like the concept, apart from your creativity.

-Crandell

[GAPPLEG]

Here's my best attempt to give everyone vertigo. HO. Tom nice art work.

 

[tstage]

This is my "concept" diner:

Click picture to enlarge

I'd like to kitbash a diner for my small 4 x 8 layout.  This is a 70-foot passenger car that has been split in half and the cut sections set at right angles to one another.  I would need to create or scratch-build the vestibule and kitchen areas.  The car halves are at right angles to one another so that the diner can sit on a corner lot.

I'm not entirely sure whether or not I'd actually build this concept.  Even so, I thought it would be fun just to draw it and see what it would look like.

Tom

[selector]

Mr. B., you do really good work.  I like your lighting effects. 

-Crandell

[Guilford Guy]

Who can resist taking pix of my trains

[jeffrey-wimberly]

For a while now, some of you have read in some of my posts that I have a very quiet Athearn BB F7. Here's a video to prove it. Two locomotives will run by. The first is a Proto 2000 PA1. Anybody who has one knows they're quiet as a whisper. The second loco is an Athearn F7 Blue Box that I converted to DCC last year. It's very quiet for an Athearn.

Here's the video link: http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/forum-1/?action=view&current=Mpg_0006.flv

 

[selector]

Bruce, not the one in the Peg, but the one in MA, I think that is a superior photo, altered or not.

Perry, you are in a class of your own....

Mike, nice looking industrial complex you have there.  Maybe some closeups when you feel ready to do it?

Tyler and Chuck, nice imagery.  Believable settings and composition.

[perry1060]

Nice pictures so far everyone!

 

 

Here's a few water shots....

 

  

 

Website:

http://home.mchsi.com/~ironmaster1961/wsb/html/view.cgi-photos.html-.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

[C&O Fan]

Love the pick ups Mike

The second picture looks great Mr B

Here's a couple of 15 sec videos

from my HO layout

http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q4/TerryinTexas/?action=view&current=MVC-001W-2.flv

http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q4/TerryinTexas/?action=view&current=MVC-001W-3.flv

 

[mls1621]

HHPATH56,

Bob and I are doing a steel mill for a friend in HO and have been looking for the kits also.

I asked the owner of a LHS and he told me that Walthers is going to re-release the blast furnace kit and the coke oven, but didn't have details as far as dates.

Here is an over view of the 11'X3' steel mill in Bob's garage.

Notice the digitally added garage door in the background(just teasing).  MAbruce, I love the affect you've created by adding the sky to your picture.

Another note, the refrigerator in the background is 1:1 scale.  It has since been moved for another module in that corner.

[jwar]

Should be a busy week, trying to finish an intermodel yard and a Mu Jack, retainer wall, hiway guard rails and if luck has it, will start to scrach build a running repair locomotive shop. Have an open house next week and things should work out. Will post a few pics later, perhaps Sunday....You guye have a great week end....John

[MisterBeasley]

Looking great already!  Bruce, I thought you were starting us off with railfan pictures from a trip out West.  Nice work.

Here's a pair of before-and-after pictures.  The first one was taken when I'd just put the lighting and LEDs into my passenger cars.  The Alco RS-3 was my newest engine at the time.  The track on my HO layout is directly above the Saint Anne Street subway station, and the mess of wires and resistors is for the station lighting.

A couple of weeks ago, I tore out all the burned up light bulbs, replaced them with 16-volt bulbs and rewired the circuit for 10 volts.  Hopefully, they'll last a while.  I used flexible wire this time, and once I had the lights working I covered the mess with scenery.  That first shot popped up on my screensaver slide show, so I dug it out and took it again.

 

[Driline]

   Thank goodness someone started this thread! I was about to go crazy waiting for it.

   I have got to do a little in the trainroom this week. I got my cedar shingles and GOW bulbs in on Monday and finished the roof on Cody"s Recovery:

 

  I also got the floor and the foundation built for the scratch build barn and am waiting on the scale lumber.

   Here a a few pics of some Chevy pick up trucks that I did some painting and weathering on

  This one I weathered it and painted the top white, you cannot see in the pic but I also made some cracks in the windshield, I am thinking I might try a crumpled fender. This truck has had a rough life.

   This one was completly disassembled and soaked in paint remover to the bare metal, primed, and painted with Dupli-Color. The interior I painted white. My hands and eyes won't let me do the chrome on the sides.  I haven't decided whether to weather it or not.

 

 I am working in HO scale.           Have a good weekend and keep the pics comming.               Mike
 

I like your new building. Your barbed wire fence looks great too. Nice cheap wally world vehicles you got there as well 

How did you make your cement or is it asphalt roads? They also look very good. I'm experimenting with colored foam with quick dry drywall spackling mixed with grey and black acrylics spread thin over the foam. So far it looks good. I'll try and get some pics in later this weekend. I'm hoping to purchase a new Canon G9 LCD 12mp camera soon so my pics will look a little better, and with JKtrains help maybe even good.

[Loco]

MLS, outstanding and in N too!  Love them two "tin men".  Took me a sec to realize why they were all silver LoL

[HHPATH56]

Great work on details on those hot metal cars, Mike.   I am in HO scale and would like to know if any manufacturer has kits for a steel mill.  Walthers has one for N scale, but no longer has one for HO scale (as far as I know)

[mls1621]

Jim,

My neighbor, Bob, and I spent many hours running back and forth across the river to Granite City, IL to get pictures of the hot metal cars used there and Granite City Steel.  these are based on that prototype, but the numbers on mine are too nice, they appear to paint theirs on with a two inch brush, and no regard for neatness. 

I used the known wheelbase of the trucks to determine the rest of the measurements for the cars.  They're 60 scale feet long and fit under the pouring floor of the blast furnace perfectly.

I agree whole heartedly with your observation about these cars in N scale and can't properly express my disappointment with the ones I've seen offered for sale.  

 

[UP2CSX]

Gee, I remember the days when you could tell it was N scale because everything looked so big and clunky. You guys are certainly doing a good job of proving that era has ended. Mike, I never thought I'd see steel mill cars that finely detailed in N gauge - great work. Now, let's see, was it Mikesmowers with the pickups? I think so. Nice job but more light! The truck stop has a nice sunset look to it though. Chuck, I always knew Fresno had a skyline - that's how I knew I was halfway between SF and LA. Nice job, too bad we'll never so those SP cabooses again. Oh, and Ty, all I see are the dreaded red "X"'s instead of pictures.

I've been detailing a police car so I'll post some pictures of that later.

[Chuck Geiger]

Who says we have a small skyline in Fresno, CA? - Here's a veiw from Serrano Creek on my N Scale SP Fresno District:

[mls1621]

These aren't new pictures, but I wanted to share them with the group.  These hot metal cars were scratch built for my neighbor's N scale steel mill module. 

I've got more pictures of his module to share later.  I didn't want to clog up the thread by posting them all at the same time.

 

[Anonymous]

Great stuff everyone!

I don't think I've posted these yet:

(Wow Alex, I like your loco don't I?)

EDIT: I'm not sure what happened before, I saw the Xs too. Should be better now. 

[mikesmowers]

   Thank goodness someone started this thread! I was about to go crazy waiting for it.

   I have got to do a little in the trainroom this week. I got my cedar shingles and GOW bulbs in on Monday and finished the roof on Cody"s Recovery:

 

  I also got the floor and the foundation built for the scratch build barn and am waiting on the scale lumber.

   Here a a few pics of some Chevy pick up trucks that I did some painting and weathering on

  This one I weathered it and painted the top white, you cannot see in the pic but I also made some cracks in the windshield, I am thinking I might try a crumpled fender. This truck has had a rough life.

   This one was completly disassembled and soaked in paint remover to the bare metal, primed, and painted with Dupli-Color. The interior I painted white. My hands and eyes won't let me do the chrome on the sides.  I haven't decided whether to weather it or not.

 

 I am working in HO scale.           Have a good weekend and keep the pics comming.               Mike
 

[tstage]

Bruce, 

Step on toes?  Didn't you start it last week, too?  I don't think I heard any complaints.

With that said, I still think we should change the name of the thread to WLPF for Weeklong Photo Fun.  It doesn't seem to want to stop on Mondays anymore.

Nice pick, BTW... 

Tom