Really, I'd like to know. Half done, almost done. Talk about it, or post a pic. I'd like to read about it.
What's On Your Workbench?
My little On30 Diesel critter still rests on my workbench, although I thought to have it finished by now.
Next step is to give it a coat of self-etching primer and to paint it, but I need to wait for better weather to do this. There is no way I can do this inside - the smell would drive us out of our apartment.
I guess I will have to wait for a couple of more months
My last project was just finished a few weeks ago. It was a diesel fueling pad for the loco facilities at our clubs N scale layout. (I'm not doing as much modeling as I would like right now because we are building a house so I don't have another project going yet.)
I had a hard time finding any detailed information about loco fueling facilities, but found that no two were alike. So I just imangineered one. I started with a large signal house and painted it silver. On one side I made a hose reel for fuel buy putting two HO wheels back to back (flanges out) and glued it to the right side, then used some solder for the hose. I added a stand for the end of the reel that wasn't connected to the house to hold the axle. I painted the reel yellow and the hose black.
On the left side of the signal house I made another smaller reel for air. I used two back to back N scale wheels glued together (flanges out) and glued to the house. The reel was painted bright red and the hose (smaller solder) was painted a dull red.
For water, I build a small stand from brass channel and added a larger N scale wheel cut in half and glued to the stand with the flange out. Sort of like a hose holder for a garden hose you put on your house. Added some small diameter solder for the hose. Painted the reel and stand silver and blue and the hose black.
I made two of everything and mounted them to a concrete pad between the tracks. The theory is that the signal house, or fueling shed as it is now, holds all the other lubricants and tools plus the valves for the fuel and air. The fueling operator just pulls the hose from the reel and fills the loco tanks, then winds up the hose. If he needs air or water, those are accessible right there too. Sorry that I don't have any photos yet.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I've been working on reconstituting my Santa Fe F7 consist. I picked this loco up at a local train show this past weekend. Its a old Athearn with zinc or steel flywheels and cast metal trucks. A very smooth runner i installed a Digitrax DH123 decoder and matched it to the rest of the consist.
I'm still working on it. It needs grab irons, numbers, glass and a little touch up but its going to work okay as the fourth loco in the lash-up.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
Joe Staten Island West
What's on me workbench?? EVERYTHING.
Between unfinished work, underway projects, tools, parts, etc my 3' x 6' table has shrunk to a 1'x1' workspace that never seems to get any bigger no matter how many projects I complete. There must be a Murphry's Law that covers this.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Just finished these three lumber loads on my detailed Tyco flat cars.
As of now SCR #110(a P2K SW8)..I'm replacing the single "blat" horn with a Nathan P3s.I may add a beacon as well.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
G Paine What's on me workbench?? EVERYTHING. Between unfinished work, underway projects, tools, parts, etc my 3' x 6' table has shrunk to a 1'x1' workspace that never seems to get any bigger no matter how many projects I complete. There must be a Murphry's Law that covers this.
Amen to that George, mine looks that way also. I recently started on some ExactRail 4780 CF Covered Hopper Kits, but stopped when I got two B ends and no A ends in some of the kits, I have received the correct ends now but have not gone back to building them, here are some in process pictures:
Also working on a NH C425, NKP RS36, IMRC 4750CF Covered Hopper, IMRC 40' PS1 Boxcar, Front Range Double Door 40' Boxcar, and an Athearn 20,000 Gal Tank Car.
Rick J
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
I am in the process of converting two HO Atlas turntables to On30 usage and making them look a bit more realistic. These turntables have been around a very long time and while they don't look very realistic without work, they are flawless and precise in operation. Perfect for the backwoodsie settings where I will place them. My Climax, Forney and Porter easily fit the smallish 9" diameter table. I'll scratch build small structures (or hide in scenery) to hide the crank or (most likely) motor unit. "Planking" is card stock printed from Clever Models. The balance will use bass wood and popsicle stick type stock. Once adjoining scenery and details are added I hope to create nice scenes, if not totally proto.
I have a PFM Brass Northern Pacific Y-1 Consolidation on the bench. It has a drive problem (Binding of the U-joints) that I'm attempting to remedy. Then I will install a decoder in it and make it usable with my Digitrax Zephyr DCC system. The problem right now is that the temerature overnight was 25 below and now is only 10 outside. So, the basement is not very comfortable today!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
1 C&O H-8 with two 1.57 speakers in the tender (Yes you can fit those in there with some shoe horning) This is my second conversion of this.
2 C&O T-1 (Bluelines getting retrofittede with QSI Titans)
1 C&O RS-2 Speaker and baffle (This is my second conversion)
1 C&O H-7a for some much needed maintenance work (oil & lube)
1. C&O SW9/1200 which blew out it's QSI decoder last Friday for no reason....I was NOT happy. And Walthers has yet to get back to me about getting a replacement....not a good sign
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Maybe not on the workbench, but my present project is the Prospect Park station.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Blazzin:
I have several projects on the go on my workbench. The one I am concentrating on right now is a rail truck. It started out as a Distinctive Models kit (from the 60's) which was supposed to be a Model T Ford powered reefer truck (strange combination?!?). Unfortunately the original resin castings for the hood and various other parts are pretty crude, and they are deteriorating. That has meant that the rail truck will now be built with the front half of a Jordan school bus and a scratch built cargo box on the back, somewhat similar to a gallopping goose. That way I can use a 'goose' sound decoder. So far I have the frame with motor and power pickups assembled and the cab/engine is part way there. Since I am a nut for illuminating vehicle headlights, I cored out the Jordan headlights and installed 0402 LEDs.
The other projects on the work bench include: a 4-6-0 that is undergoing a backdate; a Bachmann Spectrum baby trainmaster, a P1K RDC and an SW9 all awaiting sound decoders; a Jordan Mack 15 ton switcher which has been motorized with DCC and lighting (space is so confined inside the switcher that I have had to put that one aside for now to maintain my sanity!); 9 or 10 blue box caboose kits that are being detailed with separate grabs and working marker lights; and a Mack B transport truck cab that I am putting lights into, including flashing turn signals (the project has been very frustrating - I have replaced one signal light LED 4 times).
Too much on the go, but I am having a ball!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Just made a Bowser 40' plug door boxcar into an opening door boxcar as Iike to stage them in an unloading area....The door upper and lower rails are somewhat oversize but I got a good match on the paint with Zinc Chromate primer. I mounted the floor weight on the roof underside....the molded in details made the door closing and opening stops easy. It took forever but as it was the prototype I took my time and tried a couple of options per step. Have 4 more waiting (PRR) but they should go quicker now that I know the drill.
Having fun off in my own little world.....Bob
I just finished posting a thread about a couple of Z scale Bumping post for MTL track.
and finished making sure the MTL turnouts were up to par with my Japanese Series 485 Express (PlusUP)
Army National Guard E3MOS 91BI have multiple scales nowZ, N, HO, O, and G.
Well I was wondering if some do more than one project at a time. I myself, paint some thing, or glue something in which takes time. Drying Times kill me the most. There is only so much you can do in a day without ruining the project. At times, I even lay out a building next in the line up of projects to start. But I find myself working on 3 projects at a time.
Now one of my latest projects I started about a month ago. Right before Christmas with lousy cold weather to boot. I didn't want to fire up the Table Saw, so with pieces of wood out of a box of 'cut wood' I decided to try and build the end of the layout.
Now if any of you remember I had built a Drive In Theater for my layout, in which took a sizable amount of room. Needless to say, the rest of the layout on that end needed to be finished. The town also needed a road to and from the town. A road to no-where and somewhere in the mountain are the choices.
I had decided to build this diorama for those reasons as well as get the 'final dimensions' of the road in the town leading to the 'road into the mountain'. lol.. I hope this all makes sense. I am also in the process of making sidewalks for the town, but needed the 'road to the mountain' to line up everything.
I must admit, if there is one thing I enjoy in building of my train layout, well its the scenery. I love it, its usually a chance to escape and relax.
Now as strange as this all looks, I do have plan on making this really nice. Road signs, road guard rails, trees shrubs and the plain simple painting of the rock. I also must keep in mind that this area is a passage way to the back yard via the sliding door. I do not want things being bumped off. I do plan on many trees of various sorts.. with a certain game plan of trying to have a 'focused looked' of varying sizes to help create that sense of depth.
In the far right of this last pic is a 'lookout point' I built using plaster cloth (look for wet plaster cloth), and for the final touch I will be using my wife's technique of adding more plaster cloth and dabbing the wet cloth with 'balled up paper' towels for detail.
1 Athearn SD40-2.........
3 P2K SD45`s..........
1 LED test rig..........
1 Walthers 60' doodlebug........
1 Tichy tank car..........
1 Bowser 70 ton 2 bay covered hopper.............
Detail parts, tools, paints, glues, etc.
Dennis Blank Jr.
CEO,COO,CFO,CMO,Bossman,Slavedriver,Engineer,Trackforeman,Grunt. Birdsboro & Reading Railroad
I have been assembling some old MDC Roundhouse all metal kits. Say one thing, there is a lot of filing and fitting, and more filing. Shown here all screwed together, just the smaller details to put on. It is also quite heavy. Having a lot of fun with these old kits.
So far I'm in the process of building some Z scale Bridges, no idea on prototype but oh well if you know what it is tell me please!Also here are my bumpers that i posted about