Good morning from mostly cloudy and rainy Northeast Ohio!
This is the weekly thread where modelers can show their completed projects, projects in progress and new or old layout pictures.
Finished another Intermountain PS1 40' Boxcar Kit, painted with Scalecoat II ATSF Red and lettered with decals from the Ann Arbor Historical Society. Car was in paper service from Wisconsin to points all over the map. Many of these cars went east on the car ferry to the Ann Arbor in Frankfort, MI. Car was built in 1950 with the standard boxcar red and black paint, then repainted in 1962 with the bright red paint scheme along with the Packers Football (three part decal).
The 5th Athearn ACF 4600CF Covered Hopper kit I have completed, painted with Scalecoat II UP Covered Hopper Gray and lettered with Herald King Decals. Car was in use on the system hauling grain products mostly on the southern end of the system. Car was built new in 1973 for the DT&I replacing older lower capacity cars that were on lease.
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Brought out an old picture I took on the Strongsville Club layout, PRR N1s 2-10-2 with a coal drag going up the hill with a string of coal hoppers, its normal life on the the PRR with the return trip hauling ore to the steel mills.
A large thanks to all that commented on my pictures from last week, sorry I did not reply earlier on that thread.
Thanks for looking!
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!
Rick ... Thanks for starting Weekend Photo Fun. Your GB&W boxcar and DT&I covered hopper look great. Nice to see the 2-10-2.
....
Below is some activity at the county park for Memorial Day Weekend.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Rick: Thank you for starting us out for the Memorial Day Weekend. Your red PS-1 boxcar is fantastic. It love bold paint schemes. That was one of my favorite things about modelling 1968 before I backdated the railroad to 1954. The scene on the club layout is beautiful. That steam locomotive sure is pulling a lot. My maximum train length will be 12 cars on my layout.
Garry: The park scenes on your layout sure look happy. I have a city park at the end of my road, and there is no happiness there at all right now. It is still all blocked of with barricades. What is the truck in the last picture? Is it an ice cream vendor? I have not seen a model like that one.
I have two new freight cars to share this week, both painted for the CANYON RIVER LINES. This was a custom set of decals printed by Rail Graphics. I have enough to do two more boxcars in this same roadname in an older style scheme... someday.
Keep the photos coming. I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Rick - Thanks for starting off WPF. Great cars as usual. The GB&W box car is really red! The coal drag is magnificent.
Gary - Great stuff as usual. love the park scene.
Kevin - Good looking cars.
I worked for a bit on my new lighting buss. I'm using speaker wire for buss itself. It will have two legs, right and left through push-button switches.
The buss wires:
The rat's nest under part of the layout. Once the new buss is in place, I'll replace all of the patch work wiring for the structure and landscape lighting.
Here is one from the archives: NYC Mikado #9519 appears from behind some track side pine trees near the Black River Tower.
Keep the photos and ideas coming guys. Thanks to you WPF is always the best thread of the week.
Everyone have a safe and healthy Memorial Day Weekend.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
May 16, 2020 marked the completion of track and wiring on my new model railroad, a 6' x 1' shelf switching layout based on Scot Osterweil's "Highland Terminal". It's my first model railroad, actually. Track is Atlas code 100 flextrack and sectional pieces and Peco small and medium radius turnouts. Structures seen in the photo below were kitbashed by a friend who was a model builder at an architecture office we worked in many years ago.
2020-05-16_08_Operations-ready by Bill Wilcox, on Flickr
Here is the only known photo of the driving of the last spike (yet to be painted gold) at 5:50 pm CDT, 15 May 2020. Railroad officials of questionable scale observe the momentous event and then head off to have a beer. No social distancing required when you are a plastic based life form!
2020-05-15_TheLastSpike_SidingB by Bill Wilcox, on Flickr
The first test ops session with all track in operation took place on 17 May. The layout was designed for small locomotives and 40' cars. Here's a small locomotive (Bath & Hammondsport S1 #4, an Atlas model) shoving large cars around as the engineering department looks on.
2020-05-17_01_Ops-panorama by Bill Wilcox, on Flickr
Bill
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig"
Hello, everyone —
Presently there's a light rain passing through NE Ohio, good modeling weather
Thanks for starting us off this weekend, Rick. Excellent modeling, painting and decal work as usual from your shop, Rick!
Garry, that would be the perfect picnic spot for me! Looks sharp, great details!
Kevin, nice work on your rolling stock, too!
I need to go back and "tidy-up" some of the early wiring on my layout, Allan. Someday
I made some progress on my New York Central H-10 Mikado this week. A few more details, cab figures, class-light lenses and some weathering are in order, plus straighten out those foot boards:
NYC_H-10_painted by Edmund, on Flickr
NYC_H-10_painted2 by Edmund, on Flickr
I managed to get a WOW sound decoder and keep alive along with two sugar cube speakers into the beast. It runs and sounds wonderful!
Speaking of covered hoppers, I just added this Intermountain, patched-out former NYC Lot 138H car to my roster.
P-C_hopper by Edmund, on Flickr
Shown as still in the car shop where the repainting was done.
Great stuff, folks! On to more WPF!
Cheers, Ed
Ed .... I like the husky looking NYC 2-8-2. Nicely painted. It looks real.
Allan.... thanks for commenting on my photos. NYC 9519 looks good.
Bill ... Good to see you here . That looks like a fun layout for switching operations.
Kevin ..... The custom freight cars look great. .... You asked about the ice cream truck. It is a Good Humor Ice Cream truck. They were very common in summers when I was a kid in the Chicago area. I think Good Humor trucks were in other cities back then, too.
Everybody ...... Keep on posting good stuff.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Rick: We appreciate the kickoff. I like how your new cars turned out.
Garry: Your shots show off some very well done, imaginative scenery.
Kevin: I'm a sucker for gondolas. I like the decal scheme. May have to look into that.
Allan: Your underneath wiring looks fine to me. I was down under this week hooking up a new building light. I don't bend as well as I would like!
Bill: Your shelf layout looks great. I'm impressed that you added the keyboard. You will not need loco sounds.
Ed: The mikado details are just awesome. So cool.
After recently completing my scenery, I went through the train closet to sort things out. I came across a Grandt Line feed store that I had started, but was insure where it might go. I decided to build the kit just for fun and then consider whether to squeeze it in. I like the store enough that I shoe-horned it in. Definitely (I think) the last structure.
IMG_7303 (2) by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
IMG_7297 (2) by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
Wow there are some AWESOME looking modeling this Memorial weekend.
Paul Ahrens that is an outstanding looking scene! Well done sir...
I just got a new Camera, its on Canon Powershot SX620, just trying to get familiar with all the settings.
Here is a Walthers BNSF SD60M.
And finally made some time to install some switches, this is the left side where the Excel power plant will be.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
MotleyI just got a new Camera, its on Canon Powershot SX620, just trying to get familiar with all the settings. I'm having a bit of trouble trying to get everything in focus. The distant box cars are blurry, I read the manual and have it in Program AE mode with "infinity" for distant objects.
Michael, I'm trying to get the focus issue refined myself, and have limited success so far. Perhaps others can chime in who do well routinely. I downloaded the manual for your camera to understand your options:
http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/2/0300023632/01/pssx620hs-cu-en.pdf
I think you may want to try something other than the "infinity" setting. That is meant to have the back of the scene in focus (such as distant mountains outdoors) at the expense of the middle and front features. I can't explain why the back of the train is not in focus (but the loco is).
You might experiment with a couple of things. First, note on pg. 61 how "center" focus can be set, but you can use that to center on what you want focused, press the shutter 1/2 way to freeze the settings (focus, exposure), then recompose the picture and shoot. That should hold the focus on the main part you want focused. Try that with focus on the middle of the train and see how the loco and end of the train come out.
If that helps, you may still be unsatisfied. "Depth of field" limits the distance range of what is in focus. So with focus on train middle, the loco may be unsatisfactory. The depth of field varies with lens focal length, aperature (lens f/stop used with that photo), and ISO "film" speed. You might note the ISO setting that was used with the prior photo, and f/stop and shutter speed. You can change the ISO speed from automatic to a specific setting (pg. 55) when in AE Program ("P") mode. If you double the ISO rating, the camera may choose a smaller aperature (higher f/stop number), which directionally helps the depth of field. If you quadruple the ISO number, it may choose an even smaller aperature, again helping depth of field. There is a tradeoff, however, in that as ISO number is increased, the pic will have more digital "noise". So there is a compromise. On your camera, if you double the ISO number, it may change the aperature (f/stop) AND/OR the shutter speed. You may want to try increasing ISO and noting how the camera chooses to adjust those 2 variables. Note: If you are using flash, the above gets a bit more complicated, as the camera may behave differently regarding shutter speed chosen, etc.
These things are more easily handled on a camera with more settings. On my Canon mirrorless M50, I can use "aperature priority" mode to choose an f/stop, choose an ISO and see what that does to the automatically chosen shutter speed. If it gets below 1/30 second, I use the tripod. I think I understand the theory, but am struggling to get the results that give me good depth of field and non-blurry pics. Perhaps others can clarify. There are lots of youtube videos on depth of field, but most are oriented to cameras with manual, aperature priority and shutter speed priority modes.
Great stuff so far guy's ! We have 4 day's to fill up this thread so, keep those picture's coming !
I have a terrible time keeping track of cheering on everybody at once in my post's so I will just mention a few, ( this does NOT mean I don't like everybody's work.... it just mean's I'm LAZY , and dont want to do a bunch of typing.)
DTI406: That Green Bay car is one "bright " car ! I like it !
Seeyou190 : I also have a LOVE for any gondola, and your's is a BEAUTY !
Peahrens: That's a lot of building's in a small space.... hope they all get along together. Your new store look's good ! I'm gonna have to find / build something similar.
Motley: Your BN SD60M look's "lonely" in that bleak wastland of foamboard..... hurry up and "plant" some tree's .
As for me, I am positive my wife has a few "to -do" thing's for me to acomplish over the next few day's . But , if I fake an "injury", I may be able to build some stuff for me too. So far all I did was this Tyco sound car I found in a thrift store for $4. It had been repainted.... badly.... so I took a few "liberty's" with the new paintjob.
A small setback, ... the decal's didn't like the solv-a-set, and they melted in 2 place's ..... so I will send it back into the "paint shop" for a bit of a re-do.
Everybody keep up the good work, and we will see what else I can get on and back off the workbench before tuesday.
Rust...... It's a good thing !
peahrens Motley I just got a new Camera, its on Canon Powershot SX620, just trying to get familiar with all the settings. I'm having a bit of trouble trying to get everything in focus. The distant box cars are blurry, I read the manual and have it in Program AE mode with "infinity" for distant objects. http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/2/0300023632/01/pssx620hs-cu-en.pdf I think you may want to try something other than the "infinity" setting. That is meant to have the back of the scene in focus (such as distant mountains outdoors) at the expense of the middle and front features. I can't explain why the back of the train is not in focus (but the loco is). You might experiment with a couple of things. First, note on pg. 61 how "center" focus can be set, but you can use that to center on what you want focused, press the shutter 1/2 way to freeze the settings (focus, exposure), then recompose the picture and shoot. That should hold the focus on the main part you want focused. Try that with focus on the middle of the train and see how the loco and end of the train come out. If that helps, you may still be unsatisfied. "Depth of field" limits the distance range of what is in focus. So with focus on train middle, the loco may be unsatisfactory. The depth of field varies with lens focal length, aperature (lens f/stop used with that photo), and ISO "film" speed. You might note the ISO setting that was used with the prior photo, and f/stop. You can change the ISO speed from automatic to a specific setting (pg. 55) when in AE Program ("P") mode. If you double the ISO rating, the camera will choose a smaller aperature (higher f/stop number), which directionally helps the depth of field. If you quadruple the ISO number, it will choose an even smaller aperature, again helping depth of field. There is a tradeoff, however, in that as ISO number is increased, the pic will have more digital "noise". So there is a compromise. On your camera, if you double the ISO number, it may change the aperature (f/stop) and/or the shutter speed. You may want to try that and note the camera chooses to adjust those 2 variables. On my camera, I can set 2 of the 3 variables and see how the remaining will be chosen when I depress the shutter button 1/2 way and note the settings. These things are more easily handled on a camera with more settings. On my Canon mirrorless M50, I can use "aperature priority" mode to choose an f/stop, choose an ISO and see what that does to the automatically chosen shutter speed (lens opening timing). If it gets below 1/30 second, I use the tripod. I think I understand the theory, but am struggling to get the results that give me good depth of field and non-blurry pics. Perhaps others can clarify. There are lots of youtube videos on depth of field, but most are oriented to cameras with manual or aperature priority or shutter speed priority modes.
Motley
I just got a new Camera, its on Canon Powershot SX620, just trying to get familiar with all the settings. I'm having a bit of trouble trying to get everything in focus. The distant box cars are blurry, I read the manual and have it in Program AE mode with "infinity" for distant objects.
If that helps, you may still be unsatisfied. "Depth of field" limits the distance range of what is in focus. So with focus on train middle, the loco may be unsatisfactory. The depth of field varies with lens focal length, aperature (lens f/stop used with that photo), and ISO "film" speed. You might note the ISO setting that was used with the prior photo, and f/stop. You can change the ISO speed from automatic to a specific setting (pg. 55) when in AE Program ("P") mode. If you double the ISO rating, the camera will choose a smaller aperature (higher f/stop number), which directionally helps the depth of field. If you quadruple the ISO number, it will choose an even smaller aperature, again helping depth of field. There is a tradeoff, however, in that as ISO number is increased, the pic will have more digital "noise". So there is a compromise. On your camera, if you double the ISO number, it may change the aperature (f/stop) and/or the shutter speed. You may want to try that and note the camera chooses to adjust those 2 variables. On my camera, I can set 2 of the 3 variables and see how the remaining will be chosen when I depress the shutter button 1/2 way and note the settings.
These things are more easily handled on a camera with more settings. On my Canon mirrorless M50, I can use "aperature priority" mode to choose an f/stop, choose an ISO and see what that does to the automatically chosen shutter speed (lens opening timing). If it gets below 1/30 second, I use the tripod. I think I understand the theory, but am struggling to get the results that give me good depth of field and non-blurry pics. Perhaps others can clarify. There are lots of youtube videos on depth of field, but most are oriented to cameras with manual or aperature priority or shutter speed priority modes.
Depth of field. The pros use photo stacking software. Ken Patterson discusses how to do it and how it works at 13:30 into the vid.
I think Adobe photoshop also has photo stacking, probably worthy of starting a separate thread.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Allan: I think neatness in wiring is important, but not asd important as building it rugged from the onset. Mine has never been completely neat, but problems have been extremely rare.
Bill: It is great to see a new face in Weekend Photo Fun. Your switching layout looks like it will be a lot of fun.
Ed: Now THAT is a Mikado! It looks great. That thing looks like it is a true workhorse.
Garry: Thank you for the Good Humor explanation. I have never seen an ice cream truck made from a truck. All the ones when I was a kid were made from vans.
Bear: You "tooned" the new guy... what an honor. The way you lighten up Weekend Photo Fun is awesome. Thanks for the chuckle!
Paul: The little feed store really finishes off your scene nicely. You did a great job fitting it in.
Michael: Your new Canon Camera sure looks to be taking good pictures.
Timmy: The TURTLE CREEK CENTRAL is a true modern classic. All Model Railroaders should have at least one on their layout.
Here is my TCC 50 foot boxcar:
And also... since we both love gondola cars:
The weekend is just beginning... and Weekend Photo Fun is going great... plenty of time for more people to join in.
Time for a cookout at the Fisherman's Memorial Park on the Boothbay Railway Village Layout
Getting the fire started, maybe too many cooks
Good eats and family time
Even the crows get a snack
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Hello folks,
Michael, I've been a Canon camera fan since '79. Always had good luck with their products. I'm sure you'll figure out the focus preferences pretty soon. I have several big SLRs but for most layout photos I like to grab the little Elph 340 that I got for my wife. It is compact enough to sit right into the layout without disturbing much scenery. As Paul points out, sometimes the focus points get confused and I have to put slight pressure on the shutter button and re-aim the view until I trick the focus point to "look" at something else in the scene. The camera gives two quick chirps when it thinks it is in focus.
The nice thing about digital photography is that you can shoot fifty frames and throw away 49 of them.
Timmy and Kevin have Turtle Creek covered I like your colors on the box car, Kevin. Reminds me of a Burlington express car scheme I recall seeing.
Excellent picnic scenes, George.
Thanks, all, for the compliments on the NYC Mikado. Your feedback keeps me motivated
Here's a new arrival I thought I'd share.
Bucket1 by Edmund, on Flickr
I haven't found much information on the basis of this "Dolberg" bucket crane from Artitec.
Bucket by Edmund, on Flickr
Although following more of a European design I'm going to justify having one for use in North America just because it looks so neat.
Bucket2 by Edmund, on Flickr
Good Humor...
ACF9766-Humor by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
ACF9764-Humor by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Fun Stuff!
Thanks to all for the great contributions this weekend
Spike by Bear, on Flickr Humour by Bear, on Flickr
Spike by Bear, on Flickr
Humour by Bear, on Flickr
Quote by the Bear. "Quality ice cream is no laughing matter"
No it isn't. The hardest thing was giving up my Blue Bunny pistachio almond after I lost my Nestle's Quik spoon the day I cracked my ribs jumping up leaning over the recycling bin trying to reclaim it.
I never did get that almost 50 year old spoon back, that's why It was such a bad day.
Now Judy has got me on frozen yogurt in lieu of ice cream. She says it's better for me and I don't argue. It actually tastes pretty good.
TF
My contribution: I had these Herald King decals forever and found a McKean PS boxcar in my collection and so - - - - - -
Don; Prez, CEO or whatever of the Wishram, Oregon and Western RR
It's great to see so much activity in this thread. I'll add comments to my earlier posts.
Bear ...... LOL .... Thant is funny.
Paul .... THanks for commenting. I like the village scene you posted.
Michael .... It is good to see you progress with your layout.
Little Timmy ... I liek the Turtle Creek Central boxcar.
Henry .... Thanks for sharing the video.
Kevin .... I like your TCC freight cars.
George ... The park scene in your post is terrific.
Ed .... The crane is imprssive. Thanks for the photos of some Good Humor trucks. I looked up the company's history, and they do have a picture of one like on my layout.
Tanker Toad .... The Pickens boxcar looks great.
I'm using a cell phone for most of my photos here. The picture I posted with the good humor truck was not well focused.
Below is another picture of the Good Humor Ice Cream Truck, and it is more in focus. You can also see the picnic for celebrating a child's birthday.
Dad and I get started building our layout.
Sorry, no model pics from me but there is already quite an array of excellent projects posted this Memorial Day weekend. Great work everyone!
Tim
Late to the model railroad party but playing catch-up.....
I got another one for you all.
I just got done weathering the SP SD40. (using powders)
Whoa, lots of great modeling and congrats to Tim and his dad for getting down on getting the new layout underway.
I've been away because there's been a lot of weeks where the work looked pretty much like this for too long...
Now that project's done.
Putting five idler cars in service allowing me to shift 5 6000-series flat cars back into the general freight pool, mostly hauling lumber from the mill at Rockwood. The idlers work mainly with the pole flats hauling extra length poles to the treating facility in Alamosa.
Thanks to some help from Larry Puckett's Oct 2019 MR DCC column, I managed to stuff keepalives into two of my smallest locos, including hacking the decoder on one to wire it. My Shay and little GE not only run over small faults in connectivity, they run better in general. Being small and light, I added wipers on all wheels and they generally ran well with some slight hesitancy at times. Adding keepalive changed all that, taking almost all the slight jerkiness away so they just run more confidently in general.
Some investments in technology have brought containerization to the narrowgauge, helping extend the life of this system by reducing shipping times while improving convenience and loss control.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
MotleyI just got done weathering the SP SD40. (using powders)
Nice job on the SD40 ! I "LOVE" anything SP, but I tend to weather my SP stuff a bit on the dirty side. ( not as rusty / crusty as my old timer stuff.)
I have heard people say that SP locomotives look like "Cinder Block's" after a few month's on the road, and I have some pictures ... somewhere , to prove it.
SeeYou190And also... since we both love gondola cars:
Ok....... now you've done it !!!
I saw your gon and just HAD to build one just like it. So I dug this out of my "junkyard" and it will be in my paint booth in about 15 minutes.
I know , ... I have a short attention span. I have at least 8 other project's on the table right now. But, I just have to build a gon to match your's .
....... Hope your happy now ......
"Look what you MADE me do"
Rick, Thanks for starting the WPF, your GBW boxcar is extra interesting in both sight and story.
Garry and George, I really like how your swell holiday picnic scenes convey a comforting sense of fun and normalcy.
Ed, The H-10's show of massive machinery gets me to thinking about the 'heavy hitters' who maintained them.
Tim, Good to see the start of a fun journey and great memories being made.
Ol' 2002 back in service after some weathering and axle work.
Thanks to all the contributors and viewers. Have a good holiday weekend as we remember those who have fallen for our freedom. Regards, Peter
A Belfast and Moosehead Lake RR 70 tonner that I custom painted
Show me another diesel that is not EMD or GE
George: Your picnic scene really makes me yearn for the days of getting together with my in-laws for cookouts. I hope we will do it again soon.
Ed: That crane sure looks nice. I looked at the two joints closely where the boom sections fasten together, and the model is the best I have ever seen.
Tankertoad: The PICKENS boxcar sure looks like you did a good job applying the decals.
Garry: Thank you for commenting on the TURTLE CREEK CENTRAL cars. I completed these over a year ago. The I believe the TCC is the ficticious railroad that has the best prepared decal set.
Tim: It is nice to see another train layout has been started. I am literally counting the days until mine begins.
Michael: The SD40 looks like you did a fine job on the weathering.
Mike: Those flat cars are looking nice. Glad to hear that other cars will now be released for rervenue service.
Timmy: Sorry I ruined your construction schedule. My TCC gondola was built from a resin kit. It originally was going to have a different roadname, but the TCC decals were on my workbench. I measured them and saw they would fit between the side stakes perfectly. It was a moment of good luck.
Peter & George: Both of your custom painted switchers have simple and handsome paint schemes. Very nice!
I will add another two major projects completed just now. I installed 6 mileposts and 2 whistle posts, all before the live golf starts! It took extraordinary effort.
The mileposts are Tichy, and I think painting the lower ends black improves them and distracts from the tendency to focus on them being plastic. The whistle posts are CMA.
I determined that the correct spacing of the mileposts for HO is 60.7'. On my 5-1/2' x 9-1/2' layout, I'm not sure whether that means I should have only one, or none! So I added six. Only two whistle posts, due to only one road crossing area.
I just added them about a thumbnail out from the tie ends, but checked clearances with some equipment. My Genesis Big Boy cab is what I think extends the most outside of curves, and a Walthers 85' streamline car seems to define the most inside curve overhang at the middle of the car.
IMG_7375 (2) by Paul Ahrens, on Flickr
Had to help the wife in the garden today...... ( I have to . otherwise she will stop feeding me.)
Anyways, the paint is "Dry enough" that I got a little bit done on the Turtle Creek gon.
if all go's "according to plan" , I should have the side's ready for paint this evening.