Weekend Update 07/11/2010

[central.vermont]

Well it's been a while since I have posted anything. But I have
almost finished building this bridge and thought I would post
the progress so far.
The next thing I need to do is to build the abutments. I need
some info though. I remember seeing someone do some abutments
stone by stone. I found the posting done over on the A board by
Bob Knight (TrainCat) but am looking for the posting about using
floor tiles that were broken into blocks. Anyone know were I can
find this? I'm just crazy enough to do this one block at a time!   ;D

Jon

[DKS]

I built this deck plate girder bridge in T scale. It's only seven actual inches long, but that's 252 scale feet in T, and stands roughly 60 feet tall at the highest point. It has three 84-foot spans with 12 foot deep girders. And it's skewed.

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Cool.  I was looking at some of the 450 stuff and thought a Gas Electric would work on one of the chassis.  I've produced a number of 1/350 scale ship models and never thought they would get something that small to operate...now they went smaller.  What did you use for the bridge?

Joe

I built this deck plate girder bridge in T scale. It's only seven actual inches long, but that's 252 scale feet in T, and stands roughly 60 feet tall at the highest point. It has three 84-foot spans with 12 foot deep girders. And it's skewed.

[bbussey]

Finished the construction phase on both the Erie/B&M milk cars and the Pennsy G22 from the TrainCat G22b gondola kit.  Waiting for trucks on all but they will go to the paint shop in the interim.

[DKS]

Cool.  I was looking at some of the 450 stuff and thought a Gas Electric would work on one of the chassis.  I've produced a number of 1/350 scale ship models and never thought they would get something that small to operate...now they went smaller.  What did you use for the bridge?

Joe

I built this deck plate girder bridge in T scale. It's only seven actual inches long, but that's 252 scale feet in T, and stands roughly 60 feet tall at the highest point. It has three 84-foot spans with 12 foot deep girders. And it's skewed.

You won't believe it, but I started with skylight windows left over from an old N scale Model Power factory kit. Here's the full construction article:

http://1-450.blogspot.com/2010/07/bridge-runs-over-it.html

As for a T gas electric, Jason at Fannocreek Designs (http://fannocreekdesigns.com/index.htm) has you covered. He's lasered a stunning doodlebug:
 


...as well as a couple of really nice structures...
 


He did these for a project of his own, but I hope at some point he can be convinced to sell them.

[asciibaron]

not much layout progress here - did a bus trip to Harrison, NJ to watch DC United tie the Red Bulls.  today i watched some Tour de France and then the World Cup final.

[Dave Schneider]

You won't believe it, but I started with skylight windows left over from an old N scale Model Power factory kit. Here's the full construction article:

http://1-450.blogspot.com/2010/07/bridge-runs-over-it.html

This is very cool. I have no idea how you "small scale" guys are doing this. I mean I can't even install grab irons on an N scale boxcar without gluing half of them to my finger, the tweezers, the workbench...etc. What's next, a working T-scale pocket watch for the conductor?

Best wishes, Dave

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Nice work.  I had the opportunity to check out about 20 of Jason's structures a few years ago and they make you want to quit designing them.  He has some amazing stuff, wish more if it was available.

Joe

Cool.  I was looking at some of the 450 stuff and thought a Gas Electric would work on one of the chassis.  I've produced a number of 1/350 scale ship models and never thought they would get something that small to operate...now they went smaller.  What did you use for the bridge?

Joe

I built this deck plate girder bridge in T scale. It's only seven actual inches long, but that's 252 scale feet in T, and stands roughly 60 feet tall at the highest point. It has three 84-foot spans with 12 foot deep girders. And it's skewed.

You won't believe it, but I started with skylight windows left over from an old N scale Model Power factory kit. Here's the full construction article:

http://1-450.blogspot.com/2010/07/bridge-runs-over-it.html

As for a T gas electric, Jason at Fannocreek Designs (http://fannocreekdesigns.com/index.htm) has you covered. He's lasered a stunning doodlebug:
 


...as well as a couple of really nice structures...
 


He did these for a project of his own, but I hope at some point he can be convinced to sell them.

[SAH]

Lots of bridges this week!  I'm finally crossing the Black River between Spencer and Litchfield (Ohio).  It's still a work-in-progress but enough finished to get a feel for the scene.  Not a true replica but close enough.

[GaryHinshaw]

If the peak of the roof on that white house is ~30', that makes the model 0.8 in. in T, about the size of a nickel.  Good grief -- and wow.

[conrail98]

I played around with the shelf brackets to come up with the heights that looked right for the layout as well as experimented, asked about and researched various ways to put benchwork, subroadbed, etc., on said brackets. I think I have a plan of attack for what I want to do and might start in earnest this weekend. Now if I could only get that pesky yard design finished,

Phil

[jsoflo]

The conversion to a winter/snow themed CP D&H division continued as my former "Ft. Lauderdale intermodal yard" (the first one- not the new one) is taking shape as a combination of Taylor yard in Scranton and Binghamton yard. 99% of snow is down on one side of module and I doweled the two modules with butted track so I no longer need to use joiner tracks. I shrank some photos for the backdrop and pulled up old "pavement." I also altered the led configuation to take easy access legs in a "leg pocket" that pop in place and have a eye screw tightened to hold them. Waiting on an order from M.B. Kleins to finish the loco shops of Binghamton and a sand tower. Than it will be a bunch of trees and the yard will be done.

here is a photo taken a couple weeks ago of the north module to give you an idea:



I also broke a serious 90+ degree sweat altering the industrial area modules that will serve as a fictional area of Philadelphia. I previously had run around tracks at the rear behind the backdrop from the roundy round days but I am 100% modular now so cut them off with the reciprocating saw. I attached a new rear frame and added leg pockets as in the above module. This was complicated by my drill dieing- back to Lowes! I than had to rebuild the carrying ends for storage purposes and that was a real mess, but this area of the layout is now ready to start having work done on it, this will give you an idea of how the industrial area looked in its previous non-modular construction:



so now I am ready to put leg pockets on this:



to connect to the Binghamton/Taylor yard which will connect to the industrial module which will connect to the intermodal yard:



which will complete my point-to-point modular switching layout. Industrys will include a pipe/steel distributor, a building supply company, a scrap metal loader, a food products distributor, a cement distributor, and an LPG facility (at the front of the intermodal yard) along with the two yards to work (intermodal switching at Philadelphia and various at Taylor/Binghamton). the intermodal yard is 10', the industrial area is 8', the Taylor yard is 8', and the miscellaneous "snow module" is about 18" for about 27' of modules.

have a good one everybody!
Jan

[BCRail_FSJ]

More kitbashing in an attempt to build a prototypical BC Rail car fleet.  On the chopping block this week was an old MDC Roundhouse 50' combination door boxcar.  Major surgery was performed to lengthen it to 60' and to change the look of the door.   Overall appearance is quite pleasing despite a number of small deviations from the exact prototype design.

[GaryHinshaw]

I've been messing around with Gunderson Maxi stacks.  I finished up the N Scale Kits "short stacks" I posted a few weeks ago and played around with this Deluxe Maxi-III set:



In addition to some minor detail upgrades (not much required to be sure) and some graffiti and light weathering, I figured that since "125 SERVICE" is so prominent on the side, I better put some 125T trucks in them. (The stock trucks are 70T and look way undersize in these models.)  So I figured out a pretty easy way to use the Kato trucks from their Maxi-IV sets.  Here's a shot that shows a 125T on the left and a (correct) 70T on the right.  The 38" wheels really stand out in this context, and the 6' wheelbase really fills the space better:



-gfh

[mcjaco]

Looks great Bill (as usual). I am sure the MiNi ModUTrak layout will be well received at the NRMA convention. Thanks to you and your colleagues for showing the wider modeling community what can be done it N scale. I hope that there will be some new N scale Milwaukee Road products announced next week...

Best wishes, Dave

Mike has cracked the whip this past month.  We've got a lot of surprises up our sleaves for this show!