Weekend Update 6/2/13

[up1950s]

[bbussey]

Finished milling my wax mold for New Haven heavyweight RPO resin sides to fit the MTL model.  Click on the pic for the close-up view.

[RWCJr]

Very impressive work, looking forward to seeing the finished NH varnish.
Robert

[mark dance]

I advanced the ball on the Troup Junction area just to the east of Nelson.  This area is actually the only modeled portion of the "Nelson subdivision" on the layout and is mostly traversed by trains going to and from the eastern staging yard (just past the backdrop) which originate or terminate at the Nelson yard just to the right of this scene.

As on the prototype this area comprises a very funky track arrangement that the GN (later the BN) used to turn their trains for the 5 mile trip into Nelson after descending the 4-5% grade down along the Kootenay Lake hillside.  There were many tall, curving timber trestles and pile bridges used right up to the end of service and this area of the model will also feature these bridges.  Operationally, the GN/BN trains used to perform a gravity "caboose drop" to get their caboose on the other end of their train and operators can simulate this move as well.  On this point of land that juts out into the lake, the trees are mostly deciduous giving way to the conifers that dominate the rest of the layout as the trees climb the hillside...so I have to learn to model deciduous trees effectively.  I am leaning towards ScenicExpress SuperTrees.

Here is a shot of 5 Mile creek and its bridges and the effect I am going for.



And here it the current status: plaster down, rockwork in, backdrop painted...but still a very long way off!  Let's see what I can get done for September.







I also finished my test fixture for testing the Train Order semaphore actuator and return spring.  So far so good.

Have a great weekend!

md

[craigolio1]

Nice work Mark!  That will be a very interesting part of your operation.

Craig

[DKS]

Starting to bash buildings for the Jersey City Industrial...





This is helping me gear up for the challenge of building a dual-era layout. More details in the Layout Engineering thread.

[peteski]

Finished milling my wax mold for New Haven heavyweight RPO resin sides to fit the MTL model.  Click on the pic for the close-up view.

Very nice Bryan!  Is your Sherline mill manual or CNC controlled?

[bbussey]

Very nice Bryan!  Is your Sherline mill manual or CNC controlled?

CNC-controlled.  I could never do this type of stuff if it was manual.  This took 18 hours to mill and maybe 8 hours to code.

[peteski]

CNC-controlled.  I could never do this type of stuff if it was manual.  This took 18 hours to mill and maybe 8 hours to code.

I suspected it was CNC-controller but I had to ask. I know some of TRW members are capable of come really crazy accomplishments!   
BTW, didn't I read somewhere that resin sticks like mad to that wax? 

[BCR 570]

I took a break from M-630 construction this week to apply decals to my fleet of seven slab side hopper cars - two in the original red stencil scheme, three in the map scheme, and two in the dogwood scheme.





Trucks, wheels and weathering are next.


Tim

[jsoflo]

I took a break from M-630 construction this week to apply decals to my fleet of seven slab side hopper cars - two in the original red stencil scheme, three in the map scheme, and two in the dogwood scheme.





Trucks, wheels and weathering are next.


Tim

Tim,

Those look fantastic, I am very particular to the map scheme and those look fantastic.

My best,

Jan

[bbussey]

BTW, didn't I read somewhere that resin sticks like mad to that wax? 

It is machinable wax, so it works for this type of application.  The test shots of the diner were perfect and proved this was a viable path, for modeling purposes anyway.  It isn't practical for large production purposes.

[BCRail_FSJ]

Thanks to the Southern Alberta Rail parts department I have been able to upgrade handrails on some of my fleet.

I have installed the correct EMD style front and rear handrail assemblies on CRS-20 #611 (centre) which is a vast improvement in appearance over #607 (right) which still retains the Alco RS-11 handrail in this view.  That will be fixed today.



I also improved the appearance of the side handrail on SD40-2 #766.  What was once a fairly ugly mess of glued-together parts has been replaced with part of a Life Like / Proto GP60 handrail.   Once painted blue it should blend in nicely.

[amato1969]

Thanks to all the rain Mother Nature is dumping here, I was able to finish up a few boxcars.   These are both 1937 AAR models from Intermountain kits.  CN continued to operate a huge number of these cars into the 1970s. 

The diagonal logo car is the factory paint (as-delivered scheme), and I used ModelFlex paint with CDS transfers for the car with the square logo.  For my mid-1970s era, I added ACI labels and tags on the tackboards.





  Frank

[BCR 570]

[Tim,

Those look fantastic, I am very particular to the map scheme and those look fantastic.

[/quote]


Many thanks.  The decals for the PGE map logograms were quite well done; I wish the dogwoods were as good.


Tim