WPF, Dec 14-16, 2012

[mlehman]

Well, somehow has to kick it off. Looks like this week it's me. I'll have some more later, but will start with thse two, with 454 on the Coal Turn switching at the May Day Mine in Hesperus.

["JaBear"]

Gidday All, "Warning, Warning,  Danger, Danger. Will Robertson"

Yes I'm cheating again, and seeing that Mike has started the ball rolling,3 foot six inch gauge prototype photos to boot.

Have a Great One Folks,

Cheers, the Bear.

[gmpullman]

Here's the 3:16 PM Doodlebug leaving Fredonia, NY!

Happy Holidays!

[NP2626]

Esoteric code question, what does WPF mean?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

NP2626

Esoteric code question, what does WPF mean?

Weekend Photo Fun

[dti406]

Here are the first cars I have completed for December!

Walther's 10,000 Gal Tank Car Kit, painted with Floquil Dark Blue and lettered with Champ Decals.

Continueing on my READING RR kick, another Con-Cor ex-AHM 2929 CF Covered Hopper kit, replaced cast Sill Steps with A-Line substitutes and added an airline under the side of the car.  Painted ScaleCoat II MofW Gray and lettered with Herald King decals, car in in sugar service on the READING.

The first of 4 cars from a Microscale Decal Set, the IMRC 4650CF Covered Hopper was the easiest of the 4 cars that I have to build on this set of decals.  Car Painted with ScaleCoat II MofW Gray paint.

Thanks for looking!

Rick J

[EmpireStateJR]

Leased Power for the Christmas Rush...

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Great stuff so ar everybody.

GMPULLMAN ..... for the NYC doodlebug!

I have a couple of shots this week. .... First is to answer a post last week by Tom in CA. He posted a photo of  a nicely detailed old HO mdel of a C&S wood reefer. ...... Here are 3 very old HO models made from wood kits. Another C&S reefer, a Santa Fe reefer, and a GB&W reefer. (not nicely detailed like Tom's)  ...... The Green Bay & Westenr car must be full of WIsconsin cheese! Where are the crackers?

Next photo is to keep up with the Christmas rush theme. ... A GP7 works to keep up with switching all of the mail and express cars at Union Station.

 

[Motley]

Nice start to the weekend everybody!

John - I really like that "Grinch" paint scheme on that F unit

I've been working on my new Turntable this past week.

 

[Grampys Trains]

There's some great shots this week.

Switching a siding. DJ.

[mlehman]

Outstanding work, fellows. Time for a few more...

Built several vehicles this week. A dump truck that one of the smaller mines uses to haul ore down to the team track.

An Insley Model K Excavator:

A Holt Dozer:

A Ford Model A Woody Wagon:

#454 with the Hesperus Coal Turn:

In the great tradition of the Krauss-Maffeis, the newest power on the line, a Gemeinder D 75 BB-SE imported from Austria to power the new San Juan Zephyr luxury cruise train. It offers round the narrowgauge circle tours in comfort and luxury unmatched on any line SG or NG.

[BATMAN]

Almost have my grain elevator finished. Weathered it up and put it in place for a look see. Still needs windows installed and I can't decide whether or not to hit it with dullcoat.

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Brent

[Burlington Northern #24]

game, set, match. My layouts finished, we look as BN GP15-1 #1390 of the Mueller-axtel local examines the newly placed power lines. 

[BRVRR]

Great stuff so far guys. Keep them coming.

Here is a rather static shot of the Berea Yard.

This is always the best thread of the week guys. Keep the photos and ideas coming.

[Curt Webb]

Excellent modeling this  week. Last week I showed progress photos on my layout where I am widening the 2 mains on one side. The basic track is laid with soldering, painting, and ballasting yet to do after the first of the year. I will run trains for a couple of weeks before doing any of that. I did have power issues in the reverse loop but Dave Merrill and Richhotrain set me straight and it works great now.

 

 

 

[twhite]

Wow, wonderful models and photographs this weekend! 

Mike L:  Is that a Rio Grande standard gauge steel caboose I spy in your first group of photos?  And if so, how about some information on the model, OK?  I'd give my eyeteeth for a real Rio Grande steel caboose!

Garry:  Love those wood reefers! 

Everyone else--terrific work. 

Here's my little 2-8-0 #1159 bringing a stock extra off of Yuba Pass and onto the Deer Creek viaduct.  It's October and time to bring the cattle down from high-country summer pasturage.

Tom

[mlehman]

Hi Tom,

Thanks! I'll return the envy. I'd love to have one of those 2-8-0s. I'm hoping that might be Blackstone's first standard gauge engine. Brass one's are hard to find.

Yes, it's a PFM Rio Grande riveted steel caboose. IIRC, there's a size issue with them, like 10% difference from actual, but it looks OK to me, too, but it shows its vintage when compared to an Overland.

It's a ebay find, bought it off a fellow who said it was his dad's. I told him I'd give it a good home. It came painted, weathered, and numbered 01415. I can't remember if it came glazed or not, but it is now.

Cabooses are the single most important thing, other then a distinctive locomotive, that tells someone what railroad they're looking at -- at least if you're modeling before the 1980s. I pity those poor kids who never enjoyed waiting for the caboose to come along, rather than just the end-of-the-train.

[twhite]

mlehman

Hi Tom,

Thanks! I'll return the envy. I'd love to have one of those 2-8-0s. I'm hoping that might be Blackstone's first standard gauge engine. Brass one's are hard to find.

 

 

Mike:  That stubby little 2-8-0 is a Trains, Inc. brass model of a Rio Grande C-48.  I got it at Caboose Hobbies about 10 years ago.  I see that there's a couple on Caboose Hobbie's consignment page, running between $250 and $300, which is about what I paid for mine.  I remotored mine with an NWSL can, and it's a smooth little runner and a very decent hauler.  I'm very fond of it.  I love its chunky lines.

Tom

[mlehman]

Tom,

It's good to know there are some of those C-48s out there. Sounds like a reasonable price, but throw in a can motor, a Tsunami, lights, paint, pretty soon you're talking real money...

I pretty much blew my holiday budget on my little Gemeinder diesel. Right now it's just faking everyone out with the new paint job. Still needs, couplers, maybe will get that tonight. I've got a Silver Lenz 21-pin decoder ordered, but I'm waiting for my special order HOm (12 mm gauge) conversion kit to arrive. I'll squeeze those wheelsets together to get HOn3 -- hopefully without complications. So for about $220, I'll have a modern decodered HOn3 diesel.

Of course, I could get impatient and try widening the HOn30 wheelsets that are under it right now, slap a NCE decoder in there, and call it good.

[jon grant]

Hello all

Great start to the weekend

Nothing new from me but I did upload a new video recently showing some steam at Sweethome Alabama, shot with my newest camera

watch?v=xGR36HHxuPc&feature=share&list=UUWcUDYjLYQxh278xZA0gCtA

plus a couple of photos of my British outline 'double O' layout Hudson Road.

The first was taken by Andy York last month and used on the cover of January 2013 issue of British Railway Modelling

The second was taken the same day as the photo shoot

Happy modelling

Jon

[selector]

Dang, Jon, that's calendar or postcard material! 

Archival shot from me, still.

Crandell

[cudaken]

 Crandell, that picture is my desk top! I never tire of looking at it!

 Ken

[jeffrey-wimberly]

A short video of a Lehigh Valley C628 I was working on today.

[rclanger]

Amazing modeling and photography. Here is my humble contribution.

[jacon12]

An NS freight ...

Jarrell

 

[LNEFAN]

I decided to experiment with making furnace filter type trees for my PC & KC RR, an On30 logging and quarry themed railroad. I'm pleased with the test results and now I can improve on the technique to create the bazillion or more trees needed! The railroad is based on real local industries of 100 yrs ago so my source for ideas on coloration is to just look out of my windows! My land in the background is what I'm re-creating so it seems I've gotten a fairly accurate match with the experimental trees made today.

[selector]

Thanks, Ken.  I am very pleased that you have kept that image for your desktop image.  With a little luck, I may be back in production of some decent imagery before the summer arrives.

Crandell

[HHPATH56]

Hi LNEFAN Glad that you are going into making furnace filter trees. I just completed making some 400 trees for my HO layout. May I suggest that you separate the furnace filter into three layers and then cut various size irregular circles from each of the layers. I push on 5-6 circles on the stained trunks made from olive skewers, and then push a wad of scrap filter material onto the top of the tree armature. Then, dunk the trees into a bucket of 4:1 dilute Matte Medium. I then,spray them with spray adhesive (over the box of trees, to prevent waste and to finish the adhesion of Medium Blended Turf that I sprinkle (with my fingers),onto the adhesive sprayed armatures. I do the sprinkling over a bag of turf (to prevent waste). For close-up trees, I use Scenic Express Super Trees (which I purchase in their crate size box, that has enough material for 350 trees. The fine branches of Super Trees are very realistic. Another idea that you may find useful is to layer cut-out of conifer trees on narrow background ridges. I slice the black sponge packing material from a loco package, into 1/8" sheets and cut a zig-zag pattern of a row of varied green colored material into conifer shapes. I then layer the rows onto the 1 inch wide ridge, to appear like a vast canopy of conifers, in very limited space. Bob Hahn

[ChadLRyan]

Hey GREAT Photos & diverse subjects, Excellent work everyone!!!!    Thank you all!!!!

Going to try making some led lighting for a couple projects..
I am rarely in the 'spirit' to tackle this aspect very often.
A buddy at work says he doesn't understand how I can 'solder grains of sand to hair...' & make them actually work.
Truth is, I don't either... ha hah...

 

[kbkchooch]

Great stuff this week gang!

504 & 35 passing the station , tank & coaling tower. Wondering when they are going to get rid of these antiques. After all, steam is dead isn't it??