A little bird told me that the Bear is working some long hours in the run-up to the holidays. Hope he's back on a regular schedule soon after bringing home some nice fat checks with the end of the year rush.
Besides everyone hopefully getting into that holiday spirit, it's a special edition because I have something very special to post this week. In an incredibly generous gesture sparked by discussion of where the best wood for benchwork and other fine woodworking comes from these days, Bear and I were discussing logging RRs in New Zealand and he sent me this rather fine art out of the blue...
Yes, our Bear sketched this beautiful drawing of a NZ 0-6-2 logging loco, a Fa class, #250. It was reproduced in order to raise funds to restore this loco, which is a work still in progress as many such undertakings are.
I just happened to have enough leftover New Zealand-grown pine so that I could make the frame for it and an accompanying general arrangement drawing that was reproduced as part of the same restoration effort.
My art collection is modest, but Bear's kind and thoughtful gift takes it to a new level. Here you see that his sketch is in good company next to my John Coker print, "The San Juan," at Durango. John has served as a engineer on both the D&S and the Cumbres & Toltec and is an acquaintance from several National Narrow Gauge Conventions. Like Bear, in addition to being talented he's just a great guy to chat with. The last time I had the opportunity was when he was the engineer on the train our train met at the Osier lunch stop on the C&TS about ten years ago.
I will treasure this always and extend my thanks for his thoughtful gift that will serve as a reminder to everyone who visits my layout of the fine comradeship that extends globally in our hobby.
This is a two-parter, so will be back with my more usual fare shortly. Seasons greetings to everyone from the management and crews of the Four Corners Division of the D&RGW and the Silverton Union RR.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
It's kind of hard to top that example of why this hobby is so rewarding in so many ways, whether it's what we create or who we are blessed to meet, even if only virtually. Some pics of the Animas Fork extra this week...
Struggling up the grade from Eureka, the #456 is just rounding the curve before the big snowshed.
There's plenty of work to do up at the tree line, for instance here at the big Gold Prince Mill.
On the other side of the gulch, the SURR serves the Haymarket Tram.
In other news, after some trackwork the Cascade Branch has improved enough so six-axle diesels can operate on it.
And this is the wave of the future, JMRI in a case just bigger than a pack of ciggies. Once it's configured, this Raspberry Pi replaces the big ol' laptop on the shelf behind it.
Hope this week brings everyone lots of love and friendship as people get together with family and friends. See you next week for the Christmas Eve edition of WPF.
That is such a cool story Mike. This hobby really is wonderful for things like that, and a really wonderful sketch Bear.
Here's my modest project- Wheeling and Lake Erie's business/theater/track inspection car 1990
All those windows and doors were carved out of .30'' styrene with an exacto knife, a straight edge, and a whole lot of paitence. The paint was airbrushed on, and I used regular tape to create the two tone paint job you see. I have a feeling this will be a wonderful WPF again.
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
Lehigh Valley R-1 pulling the anthracite special.
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/60361449@N02/
Anthracite Modeler - YouTube
Great Photos All~!
I finished the last of my 3 Uboats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX9AzjDzo4s
TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
Good morning all from cloudy and cold Northeast Ohio, after temps in the 50's and 60's we hit the low 30's today.
Mike, thanks for the story and the great pictures.
Jimmy, you are really taking on some neat projects, keep the pictures coming.
Terry, Nice job on those U-Boats.
Casey, Really enjoy the hard work you do on those kitbashed Reading steam engines.
Managed to finish a few cars this week!
First up is a Kadee PS 2003CF Covered Hopper, painted with Scalecoat II MofW Gray and lettered with Champ Decals.
Atlas 3 Bay ACF Cylindrical Covered Hopper kit, painted with Scalecoat II MofW Gray and lettered with Islington Station Products decals. Leased and Anheiser-Busch to haul grain to their breweries.
Grand Trunk Western Rebuilt 50' Boxcar, with roofwalk removed and lowered brake gear. Started with a Front Range ACF 50' Boxcar Kit, substituted a much better looking Branchline Models Diagonal Panel Roof and a 10' Accural Youngstown Steel Door and A-Line Sill Steps. Painted car with Floquil GTW Blue paint and lettered with Microscale Decals.
See you all later!
Rick Jesionowski
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!
Mike L ........ That is a very interesting opening post about Bear and NZ logging railroads. Those are great photos of your model railroad with CO railroading
Jimmy ... Your kitbashed business car is looking good.
Casey ..... I always enoy seeing your pictures of your steam locomotive models.
Terry in TX .... Your GE locomotives look great.
Rick ... Those are great looking freight cars.
Below is an older photo. ....... Looks like a lot of mail and express cars to handle lots of Christmas presents.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Some great entires and nice modeling everybody.
Here's a NEW photo from my new layout. D&RGW F3s.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Really good stuff from everyone. Lots of merchandise at this time of year.
Thanks to everyone for your gracious and kind comments. It was a quite a surprise to find out Bear is not only the Master of Handrails, but so gifted as an artist. He's a modest, but talented fellow, so I had not made the connection that his avatar images are sketches he'd made himself. So it was quite a treat to see one in person.
Heartland Division CB&QMike L ........ That is a very interesting opening post about Bear and NZ logging railroads. Those are great photos of your model railroad with CO railroading
Garry,
Thanks! I've been trying to up my photography game, being more selective in taking and choosing shots for best quality. Your, Grampy's and other pics from regulars here in WPF are great examples to learn from.
dti406Islington Station Products decals
Now that is a name I have not heard in a long time, another good, small decal company that disappaered a long time ago.
Near the yard on the Boothbay Railway Village layout, Bob the signals man is at work. I named him for Bob Holland, one of our volunteers who is designing and installing the signals system on our layout. He will be giving a presentation on his signals design at the Seacoast Division NMRA meeting in Januray
One of our Winter projects is installing a waterfall and rapids under the two double track main lines and the HOn30 narrow gauge. We have started roughing in two to the main line bridges
A few years ago, we rescued Delabarre Tap and Die from the trash when we were dismantling a layout that was being donated to the museum. Fortunately, one of our guys recognized the model and we brought it home to Boothbay. At last we have a space to install this diorama on the layout, and one of our volunteers did some restoration work on it. The kit is the first model produced by South River Modelworks (http://www.southrivermodelworks.com/), and they provided us with a few parts that had gone missing.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Some awesome stuff this week everybody. With exams out of the way, I've been back to work on the layout.
I finished this old Alloy Forms kit:
And got these siding glued down and operational.
I've gotten some other projects done as well but wiring isn't very photogenic.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
G Paine dti406 Islington Station Products decals Now that is a name I have not heard in a long time, another good, small decal company that disappaered a long time ago.
dti406 Islington Station Products decals
George, thanks but I think ISP is still in business, but they do not have an internet presence and getting the decals is sometimes an iffy thing.
Rick J
Wow! Looks like my favorite thread is off to a fantastic start this weekend! Lots of great work being shown... Too many to list and thank each of you, but know I love to see what everyone is doing out there.
I haven't had a lot of time to do anything with the hobby this last week but I did quite a bit on the Girder Bridge done last weekend at the RIT Train Show, and this week finished some repairs (I made one major goof and got told about it by a dear friend at the show) and did manage to get the last of the decals in place. I will be putting on one more coat of solvaset on the recently installed rivets and then it will be off to the paint booth...
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Mike -
Thanks for sharing Bear's excellent artwork. He is a man of many talents.
Nice scenes from your layout.
Jimmy -
Nice job on the car sides.
RDGCasey -
Its hard to believe that locomotive is a scratch build, in styrene no less.
Terry -
Nice paint job.
Rick -
Great work as always. You must have quite a fleet of cars by now.
Garry -
Quite the variety of cars being used for the X-mas rush.
Michael -
The rock face looks good. So does the train.
Grampy -
Great scene.
George -
Bob makes the scene very interesting.
GP9_man -
I love the old kits. I just picked up a Stewart (Virnex Industries) HO two brush car washer kit. The package still had the original seal intact. Unfortunately however, the Zamac has suffered severely from rot and the delicate parts crumbled as I took them out of the box. Oh well, I can use the kit as a model to scratch build a new car washer. The brushes and splash guards are still good.
Howmus -
So what was the goof?!? You can't leave us hanging like that. I'd say you would have to have a pretty good eye to see any flaws in your work.
I have no new photos to show. I have been concentrating on working out the power supplies for the layout lighting etc., and I just spent a bunch of money replacing a Peco Insulfrog large wye and a double slip with Electrofrog models so my two axle critters can navigate them. Bought the last two turnouts needed for the plan too.
Here is a shot of my recently completed caboose fleet, just to prove that I do actually do some modelling from time to time.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critterHowmus - So what was the goof?!? You can't leave us hanging like that. I'd say you would have to have a pretty good eye to see any flaws in your work.
LOL... I put some of the... Well here are two photos of the spot. Lets see if you can see what was wrong (A dear old friend who is an MMR, took one look at it and said you gotta fix that Ray!!!)
Here it is early on...
Here it has been fixed!
All I can see is the the gusset plates that run on an angle from the main cross members to the side walls are out of place. They don't line up with the cross members. Is that right? Do I get a prize?!?
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
GP-9_Man:
I have a suggestion about the siding which would make it a bit smoother and perhaps more prototypical. If you were to change the turnout that splits the siding in two from a left hand turnout to a right hand turnout the track would be a lot straighter. I realize that you have the track glued down, and this is really not a big deal, but perhaps keep it in mind for future siding arrangements. Here is what the siding would look like with the change. The top diagram is the way you have installed the track:
I also recognise that this means buying another turnout, and what you have done will work perfectly fine, so its just an observation on my part.
hon30critterAll I can see is the the gusset plates that run on an angle from the main cross members to the side walls are out of place. They don't line up with the cross members. Is that right? Do I get a prize?!? Dave
Bingo! We have a winner.... Dave, you get a free breakfast over in the virtual diner (Jeffrey's).
I originally did it that way because the main cross members don't line up with the angle irons on the girder. Was thinking it was the wrong way to do it when I did it and regretted it soon after. Didn't know how to easily correct it without destroying the girder and having to start over on that half. At the RIT Show the guy whose drawings of girder bridges I am using (He doesn't like to have his name mentioned) took one look and pointed out It was absolutely wrong. I asked how to correct it at this point and he reached in his box of tools and handed me a new razor blade and said, "Get to work!" Turns out it wasn't really a hard fix and I think it turned out OK or at least much better than what I had.
Mike, Thanks for getting the fun going. BTW, those are some nice frames surrounding your Bear art treasures, always amazing how model railroaders express their creativeness thru such a broad spectrum, including WPF!
Finally getting some rain here in parched California, guess that's why my Preiser seagull appears to be wearing a pair of galoshes.
Thanks to all and Happy Holidays, Peter
HO-VeloMike, Thanks for getting the fun going. BTW, those are some nice frames surrounding your Bear art treasures, always amazing how model railroaders express their creativeness thru such a broad spectrum, including WPF!
Peter,
Looks like you pelican had just ate his fill and is resting contentedly.
Every once in awhile, it is nice to pull the trigger on a new WPF. I do try to do that only after if enough time has allowed the Bear time to awake from his daily hibernation, what little he's likely getting in the run-up to the holidays. Hoping he's gonna be up again to kick us off on Christmas Eve (US time), which will already have been Christmas in NZ (I think that's how it works), family and I'm sure other obligations permiting.
Thanks for your comment on the frames. Just really simple stuff, as I wanted the attention to be on the art within. Excellent NZ pine, covered with Minwax Polyurethane. I used my table saw to cut a notch for the backing insert that's behind the art to sit in. Glued and nailed the corners. I almost got the mitered corners right this time (very close). Bear had thoughtfully laminated the sheets, so didn't need to worry over glazing, they look great and are protected just the way they are.
JaBearI wasn’t sure what I’d use for my contribution but the following photo ties in the subject highlighted by Mikes fine frame, Fa250. The 20 members of the New Zealand Government Railways Fa class 0-6-2T started their lives as the F class 0-6-0ST, a 9mm to the foot (1:34 scale) model depicted in this photo from the show archives.
Bear,
'Tis the season of surprises. May all yours be happy ones
Love that pic of the earlier version model of the Fa and doubtless makes quite an impression in person in 1:34!
After finding a possible HOn30 solution, I poked around for a 12 mm gauge (HOm/TT, as NZ railways are 3'6" gauge) 0-6-2, but only found a Swiss (2-6-0) loco that was even close so far. They're real proud of it, too, at around 650 euros. That's just about Shay territory in brass and that's not in the budget right now. I am getting the itch to eventually build at least a general outline model based on the Fa, as it is a handsome design. Maybe it's best I think HOn3 in practical terms...
Something very similar would make a good pusher, too, as I'm getting around to better utilize a pusher in my ops scheme? (Even an interlocking, too, imagine that signalled narrowgauge!)
Steady on, the holiday rush will soon be past
Got a chance to finish up all the decals and use lots of Solvaset on them. Let everythying dry and headed to the paint booth. I have a hand full of spots that will have to be touched up with a brush but the paint covered very well all told.
I also started building the "mountain" where the other end of the bridge will rest.
Very nice, Ray!
For the past few weeks I have been working on resizing (kitbashing??) the plans of a standard gauge Campbell covered bridge kit to reduce it to be used on the HOn30 line at Boothbay. The length stays the same at 105', but the width changes from 28' to 20' and the height from 39' at the roof peak to 23-1/2'.
Here is my "wood yard" of stained strip wood that has been sorted by size and length. Now to start building the trusses....