Tyler: Glad to hear that your ops session went (mostly) well.
I was going to ask my parents if we could stop at a hobby shop on the way home tomorrow, but I spent all the money I had on sunglasses, and I went to Wawa (best place ever!) for lunch. But I went job hunting today, so hopefully I'll make some money this summer (if I get a job, and I already "w**k" at a place on Saturday nights [it's a kind of "if they need you and if you can come" job]).
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
Here's a link to the operating session report thread.
Results - My first operating session
ns3010Now it looks like a railroad-not a random assembly of various locomotives!
Now it looks like a railroad-not a random assembly of various locomotives!
Actually, now it looks like a war zone... I've still got Alex's sand spill in Mascoma (formerly New Poland), pulpwood in the river in Canaan (formerly W. Formanek), and a 36 car train strung over the pass.
The only thing I have to say in my railroad's defense is that, the only derailments caused by bad track were the one in Mascoma, and the few in Canaan.
The rest were caused by a 36 car train with three locos on the front and three pushers behind the caboose, and enough 22" radius curves to make one and a half full circles! Even with the locomotive speeds perfectly matched (which they weren't), the friction of that many cars going around the 4/3 circle curve at the summit, plus the 4% grade, is enough to stringline the cars closer to the head end, and shove the ones closer to the rear off the tracks on the outside of the curve.
And Alex completely rejected my idea of a midtrain helper, until I added one about 10 cars back from the head end, and it worked fine until we split the train, and both tried to rejoin it... The head end backed up, the rear end went forward, and we dumped some cars off the tracks. If I hadn't planted trees at the edge of the layout, I'd have several cars on the floor right now!
We finally cut off the rear end helpers and added some mid-train helpers, and made it over the pass (almost) without incident.
I've now limited train length to 15 cars, long enough to require helpers, but short enough to make it over the hill if both the head end and helpers are working together.
EDIT: Alex, I think you had too much fun causing train wrecks...
I wasn't looking forward to redecalling numberboards, so I used the stock ones which happened to be red.
The only derailments at the session were the ones at LeBlanc Cement, and De Lery Pulpwood. The switch to the De Lery and the switch to LeBlanc are both faulty and need to be worked on. Wrestling 30+ heavy/light cars over a 4% grade, around S curves, and with locomotives pushing, and pulling, and stalling causing slack to run in and out, usually stringlines cars, or shoves them off the edge.
Jordan... No idea?
Alex
Alex, In the MR club I was a member of, that was an hour's worth of derailments. Almost always the tracks fault.
GG, WRS units look good.
Tyler, since GG stole your thunder on posting the pics, how do explain the red numberboards on the GP30? Taking a page from protoypes could yeild it as a rebuild or experimental loco.
BN had a few units with Red and few with Yellow numberboards. The Reds were used on C33-7s and C36-7s (rebuilt C30-7s; rather rare), IIRC,both Reds and Yellows were used on other engines when they were used as experments to try different fuels or oils; red for Texaco, yellow for Shell. I saw the latter a while back, bbut I lost the link.
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.
Guilford Guy
Who's this geek here? Great going Alex! Way to fail! lol, just kidding. I like the WRS units.
My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JR7582 My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcfan/
Grrrr. I was almost done with a post, and my internet closed itself-again.
GG-Excelent work on the WRS units! Now it looks like a railroad-not a random assembly of various locomotives!
Sawyer- Great job on the boxcar and the layout!
I have an old boxcar that I recently retired, that I was going to use as a shed in the yard. Since it will be repainted anyway (it's currently in Conrail paint with a crapload of graffiti), maybe I'll try that Dullcote/Alcohol weathering thing.
I ordered 2201 this afternoon. Since it's the holiday weekend, it'll probably be here towards the end of the week.
To make a long story short, I have to make a change in my plans. Instead of getting a second SW1500 and making it into 1302, I'll make it into 1301.
In the two and a half years that I've been a member of my club, I've never seen so many derailments! How can you guys have all that in one day?
And at the club, the only way we managed to flip cars on their side is when there were head on/rear end collisions!
All kidding aside now, the paint looks nice on the WRS units. Close up pictures please!
I think that might happen if you have chalks underneath it. Try it on a clean car, it should work better.
I found these on Tyler's Photobucket... >_<
The ops session went well, with only two derailments. The Post Ops Session screwing around was disastrous. 31 Car freights don't work well on 4% grades, and 22" radius curves, with 5 locomotives thrown in various places on the train.
Ops session derail caused by a car picking the switch
Ops session derail caused by bad track
Post Ops derailments...
Lastly, All the painted WRS units. Sorry to steal your wind Tyler, but those pictures needed to be seen!
On the alcohol thing, it worked ok, but it looks more like salt build-up than anything. however, now I can scrape all that off, and the powder as wll, and start anew. Which I think I'm going to do w/ those hoppers (screw up ONCE on a coat of semi-gloss, and the car is wrecked).
I ordered my track and rail joiners from my LHS today. should ahve it next weekend. Also got some stuff to paly around w/ creating a river.
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
Alex, didn't know about the rubbing alcohol and dullcote fading bit. I'll have to try that out on some of the cars I have. It's kind of important since the BN had some holdings in deserts, and I have a lot of UP, SP, and SF equipment. (roads with a lot of desert trackage)
I finally got word on the C30-7, according to UPS it'll be here Tuesday. Two weeks after I placed the order. Going to Tallahasee tommorrow, hopefully I can get something.
Guilford GuyRegarding your weathering... Work from real railcar pix. A car with undistinguishable reporting marks is a prime candidate for a repaint, and most cars don't get that dirty. You might want to try a technique for fading wiht Dullcote and Alcohol, and then add some rust spots with model glue, fine brush, and chalks.Spray the car with dullcote, and when this is dry use a brush to apply a thin layer of rubbing all over the car. The car will fade to a sunbleached look before your eyes. Another coat of dullcote reverses this. For rust spots, add a bit of model glue with a toothpick, the add a bit of rust colored chalks with the other end. Use the brush in vertical strokes to bleed the rust down the car side, keeping it out of the glue. You can take more liberty on the roof. I've seen some cars with nice car sides, but a completely rust covered roof.PeaceAlex
Regarding your weathering... Work from real railcar pix. A car with undistinguishable reporting marks is a prime candidate for a repaint, and most cars don't get that dirty.
You might want to try a technique for fading wiht Dullcote and Alcohol, and then add some rust spots with model glue, fine brush, and chalks.
Spray the car with dullcote, and when this is dry use a brush to apply a thin layer of rubbing all over the car. The car will fade to a sunbleached look before your eyes. Another coat of dullcote reverses this.
For rust spots, add a bit of model glue with a toothpick, the add a bit of rust colored chalks with the other end. Use the brush in vertical strokes to bleed the rust down the car side, keeping it out of the glue. You can take more liberty on the roof. I've seen some cars with nice car sides, but a completely rust covered roof.
Peace
Surprisingly, for once, I have everything to do that. I'll try the alcohol alter today. As to the weathering on it, I wanted to just slap a bunch of powder on this one way back, lol. I think it looks terrible, and it's my own weathering, lol!
Somewhat.
The new paint on it doesn't look great, but not as bad, and the decals are much better. All 4 units and the boxcar are packed for transport tomorrow.
Guilford Guy Murphy hates me... Long Story Short, I'm completely redoing 2306, and it had the best paint (it was the decals I was unhappy with) and hoping I can finish it tonight. Right now I'm waiting for it to dry, then shooting it with the black primer, and red atop that. Pretty much the entire left side looked horrible after removing the decals, so I semi-stripped it back to Chessie Paint, and now am going to hit it again...
Murphy hates me... Long Story Short, I'm completely redoing 2306, and it had the best paint (it was the decals I was unhappy with) and hoping I can finish it tonight. Right now I'm waiting for it to dry, then shooting it with the black primer, and red atop that. Pretty much the entire left side looked horrible after removing the decals, so I semi-stripped it back to Chessie Paint, and now am going to hit it again...
That sucks man. hope you get it worked out.
Joe, looking good man!
ok, my news: I have finished weathering my Family lines boxcar, and also have soldered up all the dioramas for my small layout. Also, the hoppers have the second coat sealed. I need to do several more coats of powders on those though, but they will hopefully look excellent when done! My next project will not be that bachmann hopper, rathr improving on another boxcar I weathered a long time ago. here's the pic of what it looked like when I finished it last, will add more rust etc. to even it out:
Wow, haven't been in here for a while. Where do I start....
Since last time, I changed the theme of my layout (most of you guys probably know about this already). Still the same layout, just not the Watchinson Secondary anymore. Now it's the Watchinson Line, part of my freelanced regional, the Tri-State Railway. The layout is still the same, just not the same RR. For pix, see my flickr page (link is in my sig).
Since last time, I aquired an Athearn BB (dummy) SW1500, painted in NJT colors. It is now 1300 on the TSRy. I just need a powered chassis for it (I'll buy a powered model, and paint the shell as 1302. Then, I'll just swap the shells back and forth on the powered frame). I'm also gonna get a GP9m this weekend, and it will become TSRy 2201.
I think that's just about it. I have a few pix to upload, but that's it. I'm down the shore (It's the first day of summer!), which means no layout for the weekend. Once school ends, it'll be no layout for two months. But if I get an airbrush, more locos, and whatever else, I'll find something to do. And there's the NJCL in Bay Head and Pt. Pleasant within biking distance (and a LHS in PPB that I've never been to (next to the NJT station), so I'll have to check it out), so I plan on doing some railfanning. And of course go to the beach.
I don't think Sidd is which is too bad.
Right now 2306, 1402, and 2257 are sitting on the table awaiting dullcote. I had some extra time and decalled the 3. I'll get to 5817 tomorrow. When I get there Saturday morning, we'll have to resolder the motor lead, as it came unattached from the board.
Sorry about that, Alex... I feel guilty now... Good news about the op. session though! 9:36 into Littleton will work (we'll figure out the return trip when you're here, making sure to use the Saturday schedule, and I've got two other operators coming! Should be a good session!
FINALLY! progress! although no pictures yet, I have layed track on the 4 "dioramas" that will make up my modular layout. I have sodlered two of them, and planning to solder a third tonight. Also, I will hopefully get a boxcar back into service (been down because i ran out of semi-gloss halfway through spraying it), and also might get a second layer of powder down on my plastic pellet hoppers. Pictures this weekend, hopefully!
All 4 are painted and assembled. Tomorrow I'll do the decalling. I've been working on the units for the past 4 hours- yuck.
That's good! I had gone as far to develop an operating plan with just two WRS units plus two that an operator is bringing! One loco per each manifest (there are two), one unit as helper for helping under-powered trains over the pass, and 9423 works both the yard job and local.
Hopefully all four will be done for Saturday...
29oC or 84oF! Pretty warm for Spring.
I got lucky. Upon arriving at home there was the Walthers Box on the doorstep. After I shower (It is 88ยบ) I'll start in on the 4 units.
Its not that they won't fit... It just took awhile to install all the parts. Disassembling it was much more difficult...
Anyways, the orange line was completely screwed up with ATO problems, and after we made it one stop in 12 minutes, we got off and abandoned the efforts. We walked around "Slummerville" looking at MBTA work equipment and the Sperry Doodlebug. After half an hour I found a grassy slope up to the MBTA's lowell line, and when I get to the top, Guilford's idling with a dozen cars. We then walked a block Northwards to a large iron truss bridge over the tracks, and found GP40 319 sitting there with a dozing crew. After catching a few commuter trains we gave up the chase (he had to be home by 7, and it was quarter of 6) and walked to MBTA's greenline station where he caught a trolley home, and I a bus.
Tomorrow I'm going to try another attempt on Charles Ro, this time via Bus.
Wouldn't the USRA ban a loco if it's frame was bent?
Is the C&O geep is from the older run where the shell is held on by clips like the GP18's instead of screws? Does the PRR geep's shell bow up near the middle when on the C&O frame? If both are the case, the problem is that the post for the screws on the PRR geep is hitting the frame, since the C&O geeps frame won't have a hole for it. If not, take it apart and bend the frame back.
I sent internet hobbies an e-mail regarding the C30-7. Almost immediately, I got a UPS tracking information e-mail. So it should be here this weekend. Now to find some SD40-2s.
I put 8569's shell on the C&O geep's frame, since 8569's frame is completely dissasembled and without a decoder. I'll reassemble it sometime in the future once the shell is painted and I get a decoder for it.
And the frame is a bit bent, so on that unit it always takes a bit of force to fit the shell on. The problem is that the taped solder joints take up so much room inside the shell. If they weren't so tall, the shell would go on fine.
Alex, if you're having trouble getting the mounting pegs in the holes, try enlargeing the holes just a little bit with a pin vise and a bit. I've had to do this a few times when installing the details on my Atlas SD24s (dunno why atlas engines aren't fully assembled) or replacing handrails on some of my other engines.
Tyler, I though it was the C&O Geep that wasn't working right, not 8569. P2Ks are sometimes a pain to get the shell on (almost all of them are). I have a few tips for them that's made mine a lot easier to put on:1. I've found than sometimes a little bit of filling here and there usually helps a lot. On the inside of the shell and the weight, look for any burs or rough spots and file them smooth.2. Run any sort of wiring through the channels in the frame, and secure them with tape (I use electrical tape, but if you have Krepton tape that'd work better).3. When putting the shell on, sometimes it helps to lift up gently on the pilots.4. Don't force the shell on, or you'll end up bending the walways (or breaking details) on the ends of the units. If it don't fit, look to see what's causing it.
A tip keeping the soldering joints fairly smooth is to find some way to line up the ends of the 2 wires so they overlap at a 180 degree angle (okay, that's kind of hard to explain) when soldering them. If you end up with any burs, find something to cut them off with (I use a set of flush-cuting pliers) of file them down. Also use heat-shring tubing. The first engine I applied these pratices to was that Kodachrome GP30.
Anyways, my GP35 arrived yesterday when I was off at college.
It's a decent looking engine (correct horn location for ex-GN units) and runs pretty well (It's a tad noisy, but I've only and it about 9 feet or so which helped a bit from when I first started it). Not a bad deal at 35 bucks. I do want to find lightbulbs like the type that are in it since they do put out a good bit of light and I have a few other Athearn engines that would benefit from having those instead of a LED behind a crappy lense (mainly in my SW1500s).
I think some of my units are starting to get a bit arthritic in the joints since I haven't ran them in several months. Doesn't help that both of my parents decided that I'm not allowed to have a layout of any sort (loop of E-Z track included) anywhere in the house. I probaly should make a test track on a shelf or start leasing.
Still no sign of my C30-7, I'll be sending them an e-mail today to see what's up.
Thing is they've already been prepped for painting. I'm gonna take the Orange line to Malden today with a friend and go to Charles Ro, because I think they have Soo Line Red, and Engine Black.
Alex: Obviously the WRS units would be best if painted by Saturday, but if not we can run with masking tape reporting marks and/or with the other four operable units leading (two from another operator). Then you can paint them after the session and deliver them a week or two later. Don't kill yourself...
WCfanGuilford Guy Woof... P2k Undec Geeps are a female dog... My hands are glue covered after adding 3 dozen grab irons, MU hoses, handrails, grills and whatnot to two GP18s. From now on I don't care... No more P2k Undecs... I'll just have to strip paint off pre assembled models... Plastic Grabs fly far. BAH Yea from what you said Alex on the phone, those Geep seemed like a major female dog! Tyler, that's neat that you could match your towns to proto-typical towns.
Guilford Guy Woof... P2k Undec Geeps are a female dog... My hands are glue covered after adding 3 dozen grab irons, MU hoses, handrails, grills and whatnot to two GP18s. From now on I don't care... No more P2k Undecs... I'll just have to strip paint off pre assembled models... Plastic Grabs fly far. BAH
Woof... P2k Undec Geeps are a female dog... My hands are glue covered after adding 3 dozen grab irons, MU hoses, handrails, grills and whatnot to two GP18s. From now on I don't care... No more P2k Undecs... I'll just have to strip paint off pre assembled models... Plastic Grabs fly far.
BAH
Yea from what you said Alex on the phone, those Geep seemed like a major female dog!
Tyler, that's neat that you could match your towns to proto-typical towns.
Does it make any sense to glue the hoods to the cab to the sill on an UNDECORATED model... I had to tear into it to disassemble it because all my models are done with the cab painted separately. It makes no sense. Now I shall go fret about finding paint for the WRS units before Saturday.