Weekend Update 10/23/11

[up1950s]

 
UP 4-8-2 7869 progress
 

 

[BCR 570]

I should be laying track but those kitbashing/scratchbuilding urges have gone unfulfilled for too long.  The Maintenance Of Way Department has been hollering for some cars for a while now.  Those undecorated boxcar kits sitting on my shelf didn't stand a chance.

Car #1 is a former PGE 4100 series boxcar.  Modifications to the roof of the Micro-Trains single door boxcar kit include filling of the original running board mounting holes, a new half length etched metal running board (Plano #240), a central hatch, and vents at each end cut from .050" stainless tubing:




Car #2 is a former PGE 4000 series boxcar.  The holes in the roof of the Intermountain Modified AAR boxcar kit were enlarged slightly and filled with .080" styrene rod and sanded smooth:




Car #3 is a former GN grain boxcar.  Starting with an Intermountain 1937 AAR boxcar kit, the roof treatment was identical to car #2:




Car #4 is a former CNJ boxcar, but the modifications were so extensive that I have decided to try and scratchbuild the car using a few Intermountain parts.  I replcated the floor of the Intermountain boxcar in styrene and drilled holes for the Intermountain boxcar underframe and Micro-Trains couplers.  Here is the styrene floor pictured next to an Intermountain boxcar shell for comparison:




My attention now turns to the end modifications.

Tim

[Puddington]

I guess it's MOW week for the Canucks.....

My road foreman has been screaming for a flanger for a number of years; guess he's tired of begging one from the Kettle Valley sub... Well; someone in the "Ivory Tower" listened and look what arrived this week, just in time for the snow....



This scratch build started out life as one of those Life Like "mini boxes". The CPR had thousands of mini boxes (inside height @ 9' or so) and used them in all kinds of MOW roles after they were finished their revenue service.

I sanded the boxcar down, filled the doors in with styrene and putty, cut a hole in the top for the cupola, modified the sill. I scribed new panel welds in the carside and cut out the doors (one per side) and end windows. These were framed with 0.05 styrene. The doors are Grante Line and are not a perfect match for the prototype but close ( even notice MOW cars have weird and wonderful doors and windows...?)

The cupola was scratched from styrene and is very close to scale dimentions (off by slightly less than one scale foot in height) The inside was detailed with a platform, seats, flanger panel and blade lever and two crewmen. You can see these clearly in person, albeit not in the photo's.

The flanger blades were made from 0.10 styrene, hand bent and "butterflied", then attached to a rear plate and center pivit point. They were painted, "aged" with aluminium paint and rust powders and then attached. The chains were attached last.

MT walkways, ladders, grabs and steps were added as was a later day CPR smoke jack. The car was dry brushed with thin layers of boxcar red, light frt car red and primer to give it the weather beaten appearance I was looking for; weathering powders were used to finish it. The decals are a mixture of CDS dry transfers and old Northeast decals, plus some Microscale. I also lowered the bolster as far as I dared with the blade height - she rides very close to the rails.....

Here is 400404 on a training run......... sub's mtce guys have to qualify before the snow flys..........



A neat little addition to my ever expanding MOW fleet... I have established a gallary of MOW here:

http://s1111.photobucket.com/albums/h463/Puddingtonvalley/N%20Scale%20CPR%20Maintenance%20of%20the%20Way/

I'm happy to have a flanger to add to the maintenance fleet of the Puddington Valley Sub.

[eric220]

I got some work done on the layout this week.  Got another half mile of track down, including the first new code 55 track on the layout, the first 80-to-55 transition, and the first cork roadbed (everything has been sheets of cork up to now).



I also picked up a little something on eBay.  I need a nice, powerful locomotive to haul trains to and from the interchange in Morrow, and considering that the interchange is with the N&W, and the track goes straight into a helix, there's only one real choice.



She has definitely been sitting in storage for awhile, but I've already managed to coax some nice, smooth performance out of her.  I'm still debating on whether or not to do sound in this one.  SoundTraxx does have the appropriate whistle...

[chuck geiger]

This scene is nearing completion. El Centro, CA 1986 SP. Working on minimization of each scene.

[Ntrainz1]

a couple of cars I weathered, added new trucks and couplers.

Bob.

[Scottl]

Finally got to some modelling.   Warning, the following may be upsetting to BNSF fans... 

Three CN prototypes in the works:  SD50F (cowl) and a pair of 9-44 units, one with the original CN 4-window cab, the other with the Aussie two-window version.

Parts in hand, Kato unit successfully disassembled:




First up, 4-window 9-44:




Another view:




Sorry for the murky photos and yellow background.  This unit is pretty much ready for paint.

[wm3798]

Nice flanger, Puddleton... like the MOW gallery too.  One of these days you're going to need a bigger layout!

Played with trains all week.  Also played with a hot soldering iron and some delicate electronics.

Going up now to play with some more...

Lee

[skytop35]

Well, I rebuilt this store 3 times. I think I'm finally happy with it. At least I better be, as I already glued it down on the layout!

[pnolan48]

Very nice, Bill! Absolutely spot on.

Are you as bedeviled as I am in getting a little swayback here, and a little brokeback gutter there?

My efforts at N scale ships are bedeviling me as not one of a class is identical to the next, and every one has some off-kilter feature that, if I model it, would just look wrong to most people. Both my camera and my laptop (primary computer) are broken this weekend, so pictures will have to wait until they are fixed.

[Puddington]

Nice flanger, Puddleton... like the MOW gallery too.  One of these days you're going to need a bigger layout!

Lee

".....and that's the way it is, this Saturday October 23rd......I'm Lee Weldon, .......Good night"..........(with suitable props to the late, great Walter Cronkite)

From your lips to my fingers ears.................

[Puddington]

Well, I rebuilt this store 3 times. I think I'm finally happy with it. At least I better be, as I already glued it down on the layout!

Now that's a nifty little build Bill...... nice work.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Made some progress on my NSVA Build-A-Truck model:


I built a sand box out or strip styrene and brass parts.


The box fits snugly into the dump bed.


I painted the model to match Mass DPW/DOT orange and black used from the 1950's into the 1990's I always thought it was a sharp scheme and its a shame they moved to Safety Yellow.


The plow blade was a real pain in the a$$. I tried bending strip brass and failed. I then got special bending pliers, but the bends were not consistant. I tried styrene but that ended infailure as well. I finally started chopping up tube styrene and got this as a result. The blade is a bit too thick for my tastes but its the best I can do.


Testing the blade on the plow yoke. The blade will be in the raised position when complete. I really wish I could have done a tapered blade, but this is the best I can do.

[Catt]

I was going to,post some pics of my (in process) remodeled Z scale layout,but it says in the very first post this is for serious modelers.Nothing wrong with that of course ,but I am having way to much fun to take this hobby serious.

Scottl ,would like to know how your lowered the railing on the Dash 9.Imtried doing mine and only succeeded in messing up the railing.

[up1950s]

That truck is terrific Dan .