Weekend Update - 5/18/2008

[bradb]

A bit late, but here is my first "from undecorated" paint job:

W&P's 1801, a very clean GP9 in "Black Widow" paint as seen at http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=113053

Fresh from the first dullcoat, I'm short the glass, and it still needs a bit of touch up but I'm off to the big city for beer and Microscale "radio equipped" decals... (but mostly beer)

[Hyperion]

Worked on modifying the track plan to fit the few extra feet I secured.  Last one didn't have a continuous running opportunity.  Now this one has a 3% grade which I'm not thrilled by, so I'll probably end up reworking it some more...

Also started work on the Stampede Pass -- a BN Power Car.  It's not meant to be an exact model, I don't feel like scratchbuilding a complete passenger car in the name of getting exact window placement down to the inch.  So I'm starting with a Kato Empire Builder Smoothside Sleeper which is pretty close to the prototype GN Sleeper and filling in a bunch of the windows.  I think I've settled on doing the large exhaust grill with DI Venetian Blinds.  They're roughly twice the scale size, but the closest reasonable and practical approximation I could find.

Prototype:
**SNIP**

Before you get too far, did you notice which end the vestibule is on in comparison to the grillwork?  Did the windows just work out better this way?

Heh.  Yeah, I noticed.  And, yeah, the window spacing just worked out better this way.  I weighed the options and decided I preferred the car being "backwards" than having all the windows being WAY off.

[Puddington]

An "off" week with the baggage car project slowed as I look for a door solution and the Skyview lounge car stalled awaiting window maker.... I dug out an old Atlas GP 35 that I did years ago and attempted to 'save" her by trying some new techniques to achieve a "lightened" paint look, al la sun bleaching of the Action Red.....



Action Red bleaches over time with sun and heat - the colour almost goes orange......

Here she is with another GP 35 and a GP 9 in the rear.... it does look lighter, but still not exactly what I want - oh well, back to the train cave.....

[train1]

Action Red bleaches over time with sun and heat - the colour almost goes orange......

 Perhaps you could remove the mechanism and put the shell on a window sill for the summer - authentic weathering.

 PS - how about an overall shot of your layout - looks great. (Where are ya located ?)

[Puddington]

Hmmmmm sun bleaching n scale locomotives.... might have somethin there mate...... ;D

Right now I have "pieces" of a layout - the Samuel Ridge Sub" is but a 3.5 x 5 foot rig I built for my 4 year old son and I to play with; it's virtually complete and many of my pictures are from it.....Here's a "snapshot"....



There are mnay more shots of all my layout (s) at my website http://mikemcgrattan.fotopic.net

The Northhill Sub is a door sized rig I bought and am modifying... the shot you refered to was taken on that.....

The original Puddington Valley got destroyed in the 2004 Peterborough, Ontario flood... it was in one half of our garage but got flooded and damaged beyond repair when half our household goods got tossed on it...


The valley corner area.........


The Containerboard mill. sniff, sniff. I miss my mill - I still have all the parts.......



The rail barge.... the water was painted on and the center of the barge slipped out to remove cars - I saved this too.....



Part of the town - staging under the town.... the corner was a huge hockey arena that gace access to staging..



Cool bands for the mid 1970's....

I have sections left and one day it will all become one layout.....until then I work on the Northhill section, run trains on both with the "foot and hand" method of interchange and try and figure out how to squeeze a layout into the space I "dont" have......