Weekend Update - 12-20-2009

[eric220]

It's a micro-video projector sold as a toy, and thus is far more affordable than its professional, grown-up counterparts. Of course, it's performance is in keeping with its price, but for the project in mind, this doesn't matter one bit. More here: http://1-160.blogspot.com/2009/12/toy-story.html

David - I'm hanging onto an old iPod for the same purpose.  My plan is to put in in the town of Morrow, OH which will be on a fairly narrow shelf.  Push a button on the facia, and it will play the Muppets' "Train to Morrow."  I know, bad pun.

One of these days, I will get back to N Scale railroading...  For now, with my busy schedule, the only railroading I'm doing is of the On30 variety under the Christmas Tree.



Resolution for the new year: Get that house extension built and have some REAL progress to show next year!

[Wlal13again]

Scott that is fantastic...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Add another project to the list for me.

While checking out my bay window situation I realized that my other Walthers N21 needed a black roof and some couplers to get put into service. So I did that.

Now it just needs some white paint on the handrails and she's ready to ply the rails at the B&O museum next weekend.

[RDG_Rich]

waiting for fiber optics and LEDs to arrive for the breaker, so I worked on the freight house.

Walthers Modular, and my own additions.



I didn't notice it until I took the photos, but some of the porch supports are out of square. I think it won't be as noticeable once their painted.

[TrainCat2]

Computer time for me, and very productive. I completed the final artwork for the N-Scale 2 & 4 track versions of the NYC Signal Bridge and the 2 & 4 track versions of the Pennsy Lines West Signal Bridge. Final artwork was completed for the G22 and the Bulldozer Flat Car. I also snuck in 2 new versions of the Security Fences in Stainless. These will be Jan 2010 releases along with previously mentioned items.

On the personal modeling side, I got a two HCDs to begin a small l-shape layout. I am developing the plan now, but will be a switching layout based in an industrial section of a city with street running and a dockside.

[sizemore]

The S.

[atsf_arizona]

Hi, all,

For this week's contribution.....

I updated my web site this week - added some more links to 'Modeling Lessons Learned'
(i.e. the Kato F unit 'toothpick technique' and Short Shank Unimate Installation
for close coupling... and the Bachmann N scale Big Dome easy enhancements):





http://home.comcast.net/~j.sing/#Modeling_Tips

========

And also provide links to two clinics that I was asked to do by the local NMRA in 2009:



Presentation - "John Sing's Worldwide Model Railroad Tour" - given at NMRA Pacific Coast
Region convention April 2009 (Acrobat Reader, 3.2 MB):

http://home.comcast.net/~atsf_arizona/John_Sings_Worldwide_Proto_Model_RR_Tour_v80.pdf

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Presentation - "John Sing's Photographing Railroad Models" - given at NMRA Coast Division
Meet in December 2009 (Acrobat Reader, 1.3 MB)

http://home.comcast.net/~atsf_arizona/John_Sings_Photographing_Railroad_Models_John_Sing_v23.pdf

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===============

Happy Holidays to all.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Thats some great looking work!

I never really liked how this dirt crossing turned out. I've always meant to replace it..


I made a template so I could get the size right, cut the strips from a sheet of northeastern scale lumber sheet, and applied them to double sided tape.  Then after scraping away the original ballast and applying a dark wash.


After some more ballast and grass applied, I dusted the crossing a bit with some colored grout.

[SkipGear]

David - I'm hanging onto an old iPod for the same purpose.  My plan is to put in in the town of Morrow, OH which will be on a fairly narrow shelf.  Push a button on the facia, and it will play the Muppets' "Train to Morrow."  I know, bad pun.

Eric - Morrow Ohio huh?



And a foobie PRR caboose that sets out front.



When it arrived, it had C&EI paint showing through but the trucks are N&W.

[GaryHinshaw]

It looks like the conductor is taking a picture of you.

It was a great day to be outside!

[wcfn100]

O got my EXR 4000 ps-2cd cars on Saturday.  My photo rig is put away 'til after Christmas, but I don't know that I could show much more than what is on the site.


What I can say is that the models looks really nice.  If etched brake platforms are important to you, then skip this car.  It's just flat plastic with no tread and it just stares at you mockingly.

As for the ride height, there's little doubt it rides high with truck mounted couplers.  I didn't bother looking up what the height should be because I wasn't in the mood to try and figure out if it's supposed to be to the top of the walkway or the grabs on the corner or whatever.  I will be very interested in how it compares to the BLMA car.  There is some room to lower this car but at some point you sacrifice turning due to the flange hitting the slopes.  Another small issue is that lowering this car will require a little extra work because part of the bolster goes into the truck.  So if you want to just file across, you'll have to adapt the car to a pin type or make another bolster pin to accept the screw (or just use a larger screw I guess, if you have the right tap).

There a a couple things with assembly and fit.  The hatch doors aren't all straight and the hopper gates aren't always level. But neither are real bad.

One thing I noticed was that one of the supports that is part of the brake gear doesn't fit right.




In the photo above you can see that the angle bar(?) above the valve is warped.  On three of the four I got, it actually bowed the end out a bit instead.

And like most cars, the coupling distance is horrid.  :-[

I don't know if I can take one of these apart because I'm seeing some pretty delicate parts glued together.  I may try to just remove the lettering and paint the whole thing.

I can take a macro setting pic real quick if anyone would like to see anything in particular.

Jason

[wm3798]

Still whipping up decoders in a frenzy to get everything out this week.  That and the MARC train project for Chris Dunphy.

Lee

[BCRail_FSJ]

No new pictures, but here is what I was working on:

Received my eight .. yes eight....Central Valley Pratt Truss bridge kits, to kitbash (2 per span) into the 5 Span Peace River bridge on my lower deck.  It is going to take many weeks to have all the spans completed, although the second span is proceeding a lot faster than the first one did.

Also continued adding details to the backdrop.

[sizemore]

It looks like the conductor is taking a picture of you.

It was a great day to be outside!

Actually he gave me two thumbs up for being out in the weather grabbing pictures. I don't know him but maybe they know me? I am pretty much at every grade crossing or access to the tracks between Covington through Denis almost every -or every other Saturday. It could happen. Maybe. It was fun to be out there and hear the whistle but not see a train, then this faint inkling triad of lights off in the not so far distance that grows brighter, and loader as it gets closer.

...then some dude giving me double thumbs up from the cab.

The S.

[eric220]

David - I'm hanging onto an old iPod for the same purpose.  My plan is to put in in the town of Morrow, OH which will be on a fairly narrow shelf.  Push a button on the facia, and it will play the Muppets' "Train to Morrow."  I know, bad pun.

Eric - Morrow Ohio huh?



And a foobie PRR caboose that sets out front.

That's awesome!  It never even occurred to me that it might be a real place; I though it was just a bad Muppets pun!  Thanks for the photos.