Weekend Update - April 27, 2008

[3rdrail]

Whatcha do this week on yer trains? Photos if ya got 'em welcome.

I actually worked on some cars this week. Picked up an early Crazy Water Crystals Kadee reefer, ART 419, to go with ART 417. The old car did not have end reporting marks nor blackened door hardware, so added same.  Got it from Dan's Depot in central Florida cheap as there was some signs of use on the wheels.

Also photographed some of my recent acquisitions:

Walthers 0-8-0 and Yesteryear Tom Cat reefer (my first non-prototype roadname):
[img width= height=]http://lh5.ggpht.com/Gregg.Mahlkov/SBNoJ9nuZBI/AAAAAAAACoo/69IO2lrc5JY/s800/NKP207-d.jpg[/img]
[img width= height=]http://lh5.ggpht.com/Gregg.Mahlkov/SBNoI9nuY_I/AAAAAAAACoY/J-eCtVnyGx0/s800/NKP207-e.jpg[/img]

And here's my bargain H8sa. Got this like new Key brass model for $412.80 on eBay. Beautiful model, but I will eventually weather it:
[img width= height=]http://lh6.ggpht.com/Gregg.Mahlkov/SBNoKNnuZCI/AAAAAAAACow/wv7gFlukYww/s800/PRR8014-b.jpg[/img]

I guess my roster is like the PRR's in that I now have 5 Consolidations, 2 H3b's, an H8sa, an H10s, and a RDG I10sa.

[bobcat]

There's been no time for trains lately with house projects and my son's baseball games, but at my club's open house a few weeks ago, there was a young man taking video. Never even thought he would post it. Did a nice job of editing too.

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=long+island+model+railroad+engineers&search_type=

[wm3798]

Gregg, that H8sa is gorgeous.  How does it run?  That's a lot of clams if it's got a sketchy drive...

Ed and Brian stopped over to run some trains yesterday.  Ed will have more pics I'm sure.  The usual suspects were on the rails... Brian's Rock Island power:


and Ed's Conrail stuff...


I also had the opportunity to run the latest addition to my fleet, GP-35 3579.


Next on the agenda is to extend the siding at Ohiopyle to remove a bottleneck...  I've got all the pieces, just need some time!

Lee

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ask and ye shall receive.

Lee was breaking my stones because I only shoot my own stuff... and he's about 50% right...

Anyway, here's the east end yard power lounging around after tacking the last block of hoppers onto an eastbound coal extra. The east end yard job got hosed with the "junk power" that came in overnight.


Lee's servicing tracks. Lost a locomotive? It may be in there:



The east end yard job here shoves back against a PC N5 cabin off off the "PC Turn". Names in that part of the world die hard.


A couple of RS3s were sitting on the servicing tracks doing nothing.



9624, a CR MP15 was working Hagerstown around the PC interchange


To be joined by a pair of recently serviced GP38-2s





Later in the day, the 38-2s took a break from being the west end yard job and replenished the local crew working the Westvaco plant.





And the last shot of the day was after a pair of WM SD40s tied onto that eastbound coal extra and were pumping up their air and waiting for railroad to the east.

[wcfn100]

I was able to get the artwork done for my CGW 'cement' hoppers.  Since I was already doing one, I figured I'd do a couple different styles.



The first two can be represented by the Kato model and the last two by the Atlas if you don't mind a couple discrepancies.  I was only able to get started on the Atlas model (which is actually now finished on one side).



Jason

edit: better exposed picture

[TrainCat2]

I completed all of the caboose that I can until my castings come in. So, I started on another of the Chlorine Cars.

[3rdrail]

Gregg, that H8sa is gorgeous.  How does it run?  That's a lot of clams if it's got a sketchy drive...

Very smooth runner, but some contact problems. The tender is very light, so it will get some lead added. Lots of room for weight in the coal pile! I may contemplate replacing the brass floor with a plastic one and adding Kato Mikado tender trucks for eight wheel pickup.

[Puddington]

Jim Stillman's package arrive so without as much as a "by your leave" I bolted to the train cave; donned the mask and cape and began the process of creating the "Gaspe'"



"Flashy eh"?......... oh come on, you would have used it too.....

Gaspe' was one of the ex-Milwaukee Road skytop Creek series lounge sleepers that CN purchased and ran as "Skyview" cars into the 1970's. As I have something that slightly resembles the Super Continental circa 1970 a Skyview car was a must......

About six hours of dedicated labour will get you this............... ready for some fun stuff....



The CN SIG has scalecoat paints matched so colour is easy. A couple of light coats of the grey and 48 for complete drying and we were masking for the black and off we went !



A few touch up's and painting the inside of the rear window frames and then we decaled it... and like that took 10 minutes..... clearly CN's "minimalist period".....

With temp trucks; no glass yet ( man, is it hard to find Testor's Window stuff in the Greater Toronto Area....) and not weathered we present the "Gaspe'"..........



She's riding too high right now but we'll fix that later. The insides have been detailed; she's got a lounge full of Labatt and Molson drinkers just awaiting a trip..... so, unable to resist, we gave her one.....



A couple of F's took a spin with the new car and some friends...... these are "stand in's" as I didn't have such a critical eye for exact matches when I painted thse about 6 years ago.... but they "are what they are"....





The "Fraiser" is a Bachmann dome.... not really very close at all....



But, thanks to Jim we're about to fix that little issue too.....



Can you say "Flash wagon".....?



The Con Cor coaches are the closest match... I want to add a University Club series car; a Daynighter and a few better sleepers...



The Gaspe' rounding out the consist is a nice touch......



I'm looking forward to finishing her.... weather, drumhead, glass..... trucks !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chris333]

More progress

[tom mann]

Nice Chris.  I really would like to learn how to etch: no limit in sight then.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

My dad has had one of those H8s for a LONG time, and he's been fighting with it trying to get it to run well the entire time.

It sure is a looker though!

[wm3798]

Ed, thanks for those great shots of my layout...You'll have to photoshop the highway overpass back into alignment, though... ;D

Puddleton, that tail car just keeps looking better and better.

Chris, stop it.  Just stop it.  You make the rest of us look bad!
Lee

[DKS]

More progress

Chris, truly masterful! That engine isn't going to wind up too heavy for the bearings, now, is it...?

[tom mann]

More progress

Chris, truly masterful! That engine isn't going to wind up too heavy for the bearings, now, is it...?

Let's start a 1000 page thread on Atlas to find out! ;D

[atsf_arizona]

SNFF 2008 04 28

Hi, all, here's my contribution for this week.

I do the NMRA Pacific Coast Region, Coast Division Model Contest,
Show and Tell, and web-mastering.

Every quarter, I put up a web page documenting the Coast Division's
quarterly Meet.  We always have great models and photos to look at.
I've included my N scale photo down below, before I get to that,
the other models at the meet are really great as well, so let's see
those first.

Here's the March 2008 Meet page:

http://www.pcrnmra.org/coast/contest/Contest_Mar_2008.shtml

And here's a sample photo of the lucky winner in the Caboose category:



I really suggest you check out Bob Booth's "Dollar Cars" - i.e. former junk -
bought at auctions, poorly constructed, missing parts.... etc.  With a few nights
work and some loving care -Bob has turned them into the stellar models that you
see below.  Bob recommends for us all to search our junkbox - start a little "project" and restore one at a time.  The

satisfaction of turning junk into treasure is immeasurable!   So much so, that over one-half of Bob Booth's rolling stock

consists of these kind of restorations.


http://www.pcrnmra.org/coast/contest/Contest_Mar_2008.shtml#Bob_Booth




Finally, I do participate as well, always in the Show and Tell, so here are
my Show and Tell for that meet, and the as-promised N scale photo:



Hope you enjoy!  Have a good week.