Free-moN: At Home & On The Road

[packers#1]

Dude, love the video, and that is a sick-awesome bridge!

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Now what I want to see is a vid of Nils packing, transporting and unpacking that bridge module. What a monster! Heavy, bulky AND super-fragile!

It's actually very light (for an 8' module) and slim (about 12").
After he puts fascia on it, Nils is building a box-top to protect the bridge (which hasn't been attached to the scenery yet: heck, we just install & wired the track before the show Saturday!)
Nils also has a big-a$$ truck in which his module fits very nicely 

Now as long as he doen't buy a Mini... 

Oh... something that flashed in my mind while watching, a missing detail on the shoo-fly module - yellow boards. Mandatory in construction zones for speed restriction demarcation.

I got the yellow & green flags at each end of the Shoofly:



Funny though, not many engineers pay attention to them 

[C855B]

...
Nils also has a big-a$$ truck in which his module fits very nicely 
...

Good for him. But it's a mixed blessing... I'm the one with the big-a$$ truck in our group. So I get to schlep all the modules. 

I got the yellow & green flags at each end of the Shoofly:
...
Funny though, not many engineers pay attention to them 

Ah... indeed you do. My bad. Now knowing where to look, the yellows went by too fast during a pan, and were out-of-frame in the stationary shots.

What you need is a scene with the trainmaster waiting at the terminal waiting to scold the engineer as he dismounts, with demerits paperwork in hand!

[mcjaco]

CCT units are pretty.  I've poked around the ones up in Willits years back.

Is that a custom painted unit?

[M.C. Fujiwara]

CCT units are pretty.  I've poked around the ones up in Willits years back.

Is that a custom painted unit?

Andy Peterson of Portland, Oregon had Atlas do a custom run a while back.
http://www.petersensupply.com/merchant.ihtml?id=114&step=2
Both #60 (now Sierra Northern #47) and #70 (now up in Willits, I believe).

I just ordered some detail parts as this will be my first foray into diesel detailing 





Look for a new thread soon asking for advice and loads of help!

[WP_Railfan]

M.C. let me know if you want a caboose & #70 w/DCC 

[M.C. Fujiwara]

M.C. let me know if you want a caboose & #70 w/DCC 

Very tempting!  Very tempting!
Especially as the more I look at the CCT area the more I want to make a Free-moN module out of it!

Look at all that modelable goodness!
http://goo.gl/maps/MlK6I

If I butcher my #60, and if you still have it, I might take you up on the offer 

[WP_Railfan]

If you mess it up I'll have # 60 and 70 for you.


Nick Lorusso

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Thought I'd throw in a shot someone (Steve?) took from the overhead crane walkway at Craneway Pavilion (it was part of the old Ford plant) showing our "whole" layout:



Like I said, 1/2 our members and modules didn't make it to this show, so the layout will probably be twice the size for WGH in March!
Woot!

[M.C. Fujiwara]

After a show I have little desire to work on the modules more, so I've decided to finally get around to building the 6-7 kits of turn-of-the-century and pre-1900 cars I've had stashed in my drawers (that's cabinets, lads).
In typical O. Henry fashion, I've already thrown away my turn-of-the-century Mt. Coffin & Columbia River layout ["D'oh!"].
No problem, my boxcab or Climax can tootle around with them on the Free-moN layout next to the big diesels.

Almost done with the first two: a Mark Watson / CG N Scale Ventilated Boxcar and a Fine-N-Scale 36' boxcar lettered for the now-departed Mt. Coffin Cannery Co.



The boxcar was the first time I made (& applied  ) my own decals, make on an inkjet.
The first couple were not so pretty, as I dunked 'em before sliding them off so the ink ran.
But dabbing the back of the paper (a trick I learned here, though I'm sorry I can't remember from whom) it worked out.
Just wondering how to get rid of the decal "border" which I thought weathering would blend in (oops).
More micro sol?
Dulcote?
That clear "frame" around the decals kind bugs.



The ventilated boxcar is a very cool kit from Mark W (I think here's around here sometimes)
http://www.shapeways.com/model/395098/n-scale-ventilated-boxcar-2-pack.html?gid=sg88137
Lots o' good details abound:



I scratched a wood load around some lead weights as the car is verrrrry light.

On both cars are trucks from Panamint (Eric Cox).
Ventilated box has the "Allen" / California archbars (http://www.shapeways.com/model/368320/t82b-n-archbar-truck-allen-california-v-amp-t-for-ba.html?li=productBox-search)
And the Mt. Coffin Cannery Co. has the wooden beam trucks.
Both work well (though fragile!) and maybe metal wheels will help.

Got a couple more ventilated boxcars, a flat with two-stagecoach load, a flat with a steam donkey load, and a couple of RLW early boxcars in the pipeline.
Now if that Atlas 4-4-0 ever shows up... 

Groovy weekend, all.

[MichaelWinicki]

Hey M.C. is there something wrong with the rail that meets at the frog at the switch in the foreground?

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Hey M.C. is there something wrong with the rail that meets at the frog at the switch in the foreground?

Yes, it's been very cold nights and warm days, so it has a frog in it's throat 
Dab o' solder will put everything right.

Added two more ventilated boxcars to the roster:









Was about to finish them when I realized that I had run out of MT905 Z couplers 
So the cars will be fully operational next week.

The wooden grabs are rather fragile and some popped off while brushing weathing powder on, so I replaced them with some brass wire.
"Adds Character" as we call it.
There's also some lead weights over the trucks in the darker ventboxcars.
Ran out of Allen/California archbar trucks (mainly because I broke two  ) so one ventboxcar has wooden beam trucks.
More "character".

On to the stagecoach loads and the conductor car!

[M.C. Fujiwara]

We have a WGH show March 2 & 3 in San Mateo, CA so Nils and I have been working on updating and scenicing the other return loop.
Fellow Free-moNster Eric built this double wye / return loop in about 3 days before the NMRA X2011 convention in Sacramento:



And it's looked the same since.
Very cool concept: each of the 4 center sections are true Free-moN modules in themselves and so can be used individually, as two separate wyes, or a double return-loop/passing sidings o' wonder.
Given the hasty construction, there were a few bumps in the track that was giving us problems, so Nils and I volunteered to spruce it up for the show.
And by "spruce up" I mean add three industries, two towns, a couple passing sidings and all the scenery.

Nils is working on a side module with a Sierra Nevada tunnel & rock shed on the outside and a rail-served quarry scene on the inside, while I'm working on the other three modules building a long passing siding, coal tipple that can serve 32 gons, a Company town & freighthouse and the mountains they're tucked into.

Most of the butt joints are great, but I had to refurbish a couple.
Before:



After:



Also built up background mountains, installed a styrene backdrop fascia, and built & installed about 9 custom curved turnouts:



Yesterday I got all the Bullfrogs installed and track wired, so here's a video of the first train:

The mine along the Eggel River will look something like this one up in the Pacific Northwest:



After running I realized we really needed another crossover from the main to the tipple-side siding before the wye:



as otherwise trains have to go around 2-3 times the whole loop to serve some industries (not sure what I was thinking when Nils and I were planning it out).
So it's back out to the workbench to build two more turnouts, install them & wire them up.

Have to drop off the Wye Knot modules at Nils' place this Sunday, so I'll be lucky to get track painted & ballasted and some basic ground cover down before then.
Then I'll build the mine tipple, engine shed and Company Town Freighthouse over the next week and install them the morning of the show
[Note to self: take good measurements before dropping modules off!]

But it will be nice to have some more industries to work and to have some scenery on the Wye Knot.
Fortunately, I have a lot of pine trees left over from the Mt. Coffin & Columbia River layout.

Thanks for looking.

[C855B]

... by "spruce up" I mean ...

...  I have a lot of pine trees left over ...

So, what is it going to be, spruces, or pines?   

Cool idea. N scale roundabout. Where are the "YIELD" signs? 

[dnhouston]

Very cool idea.  Gives a whole new meaning to roundy round.