Weekend Update 1/6/13

[Dave V]

For what it's worth, the Bullfrog Snot made a huge difference for my L1s...  It used to slip a little on the 13.5" radius curve with more than a dozen or so loaded hoppers (I use a lot of plaster loads that are heavy).  Now I'm running 19 loads and a cabin car with no slippage.  Protip: Make sure you apply it in a flat layer.  I had a lump which caused the loco to lurch; once I cleaned that up everything was fine.

[CodyO]

For what it's worth, the Bullfrog Snot made a huge difference for my L1s...  It used to slip a little on the 13.5" radius curve with more than a dozen or so loaded hoppers (I use a lot of plaster loads that are heavy).  Now I'm running 19 loads and a cabin car with no slippage.  Protip: Make sure you apply it in a flat layer.  I had a lump which caused the loco to lurch; once I cleaned that up everything was fine.

Recently put 2 snoted wheels in the #2 and #4 positions and it will pull 49 hoppers with plastic loads and a cabin car gota love the pewter shells 

[Ntrainz1]

Installed first submini switch for turnout control/frog power


I used miniatronics 38-200-05 and guitar wire.

Bob.

[Puddington]

That parlor is outstanding !

[central.vermont]

Managed to finish a little laser kit. This was a station kit handed out to the members of the RailRun Ops that is put on every year. I've only had this one 2 years so that is a record build for me!!  I also just got started on custom painting a Kato U30C into DE colors that ended up on the B&M and was their BM 640 for a short while before ending up as the 663 in Guilford gray. Still have a long way to go on it though.

Jon

[chicken45]

For what it's worth, the Bullfrog Snot made a huge difference for my L1s...  It used to slip a little on the 13.5" radius curve with more than a dozen or so loaded hoppers (I use a lot of plaster loads that are heavy).  Now I'm running 19 loads and a cabin car with no slippage.  Protip: Make sure you apply it in a flat layer.  I had a lump which caused the loco to lurch; once I cleaned that up everything was fine.

Do you have a Kato traction tire on it? I heard it makes an absurd difference.

[Dave V]

Do you have a Kato traction tire on it? I heard it makes an absurd difference.

I do, actually, and yes, the traction tire makes a big difference even absent the snot.  The snot makes it even better.  You sacrifice more electrical conductivity, though.  A pewter boiler with what is now essentially two traction tires gives me a stump-puller that can haul anything that will fit on the layout.  I love it!

[GonzoCRFan]

An extremely rare convergence of spare time, appropriate materials and motivation happened yesterday, allowing me to finally make some real progress down on the Philly Waterfront.

I had decided a while ago that using an entire door-width on what will someday be the former North Penn line on American Street would waste a lot of real estate...and that is unacceptable, especially since I needed more real estate for the eventual Canal St. Branch. Time to buy some shelf brackets and fresh jigsaw blades...

Out with the old: 


In with the new:


New tracklaying consisted of a short extension up Delaware Ave and Penn Street...as well as the switch arrangement to serve the Terminal Warehouses:


The cardboard cutouts are the footprints of the Terminal Warehouses, which are the three large concrete structures just to the left of center of this gem of a photo:
http://cdm16038.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p268001uw/id/4329/rec/1049

[NARmike]

Managed to finish a little laser kit. This was a station kit handed out to the members of the RailRun Ops that is put on every year. I've only had this one 2 years so that is a record build for me!!  I also just got started on custom painting a Kato U30C into DE colors that ended up on the B&M and was their BM 640 for a short while before ending up as the 663 in Guilford gray. Still have a long way to go on it though.

Jon

Wow!!! Love the detail... right down to the scuff marks infront of the doorway. Excellent work!

Mike

[conrail98]

I took my daughter to the open house of the GATMSE Model Railroad Club, http://www.gatsme.org/. They've only got 2 more weekend open houses until they have to start to dismantle due to being evicted from their location,

Phil

[CSXDixieLine]

Not a whole lot of progress to report, but considering I have not touched the layout since late 2011, I'll take what I can get. I am surprised at how hard it is to get motivated after such a long break. Getting back on these forums and seeing everyone else's great work certainly helps.

I managed to start cutting the .060" sheet styrene that will be used to build molds for casting bridge piers for my Etowah River bridge:



While I say I am going to cast bridge piers, I am also considering building them out of styrene in case the castings don't live up to expectations. I hope to get the molds finished and at least one pier cast this week.

Jamie

[chicken45]

So today I learned that not only does acetone dissolve rosin, it also likes CA!
The great news is that it got my overflowed CA off the faceplate. The bad news is that all my grab irons fell out.

Got 'er reglued, painted, and glossed.





All I gots is my phone camera. And you can tell, I like to use what ever is on my desk to prop this stuff up.

[tom mann]

Sean,

That is the first modeling of yours that I've seen since your lease units back in '05 or so.  Nice!

[GonzoCRFan]

Sean,

That is the first modeling of yours that I've seen since your lease units back in '05 or so.  Nice!

Thanks. I had my first post on this layout back in March:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=25803.15

I've thought about doing an engineering report on the layout, but I'm doing so much guess-and-testing that it's more like I'm winging it instead of engineering it.

[nkalanaga]

Routed helix: I've never tried it (no helix, no router) but one reason I could see is that flextrak laid in a groove will almost gave to follow a perfect curve.  If it's out of sight anyway it's a good way to eliminate kinks.  Someone MANY years ago made wood roadbed in HO using the same idea.