Weekend Update 3/15/15

[John]

nice work Jeff .. I wish my urban scenes could come out this well

[Iain]

First test print of the NS F1 boiler came.  Boiler's a bit larger than the Kato boiler, and I had to pull the 'weight' because the domes didn't quite match up, so it's low at the back.  I've decided that the better way to do this is as one solid piece rather than three pieces as per Kato, so I'll be doing just a tiny bit of reengineering.  This is my first attempt at 3D printing a boiler.

[randgust]

I've had this particular project longer than I care to admit.   First, you start with one of the A1G classics, the "Warren" jumbo tank car....

http://www.spookshow.net/freight/atlasrocojumbotank.jpg

And in fairness, that pretty much represents everything awful about N scale 40 years ago.

A friend got one of the Gold Medal Models etched brass upgrade kit for one of these and did his car, decided he didn't want the second set, and gave it to me....wow, maybe 15 years ago?  I came across it in the 'dead project drawer' and decided to finally do it.    I'd painted out the big 'WARREN' and weathered it out years ago, so the car was "pre-weathered" and the challenge was to blend the new brass into the old plastic.    I'd thought about junking this car entirely and replacing it with a new Atlas, but hey, I already had the stuff....



Weathering is both washes and chalks.   The only mystery on this car is when the personnel safety bars along the sides first began to appear, but I found a couple of 70's shots that showed similar cars without them, so I decided to leave them off.   I can't find a real prototype for this car, maybe somebody knows. 

[basementcalling]

Installing N scale joint bars after weathering some track and ties.   A bit obsessive maybe, but at least I will know they are there.





Joint bars are from Precision Design Co.

http://www.pdc.ca/rr/

Impressive. Guess we have to say you have your joints together.

[SD452XR]

Installing N scale joint bars after weathering some track and ties.   A bit obsessive maybe, but at least I will know they are there.





Joint bars are from Precision Design Co.

http://www.pdc.ca/rr/

Do the flanges hit those on the inside of the rail? Those look really cool.

[lashedup]

Been working on a lot of little detail stuff in between a lot of travel this week...

Trying to break up the stark white gravel lots with chalks. Also added a lot of weeds in between the coal bins and the gravel lot where a telephone pole and an old corn crib will go:



Started working on streets a bit and adding some weeds and other odds and ends.



and finally some weeds and bushes to help break up the module ends and blend the gravel lot around the oil building. Need to get those oil spots and such next:



Nice stuff everyone!

[SAH]

Great stuff as usual this week fellas.
The H16-44 PhIII re-power job is complete.  More photos in the AC&Y Layout Engineering thread.  I am really pleased with how this worked out.

Peeking over the corn field at the curve outside of Spencer.

[Dave V]

Oh yeah, I still model Pennsy...

My ChuckPak of 8 MTL PRR H31s arrived this week.  They still need to be weathered.  Here's two of them mixed in with Bowser H21s and GLas.  The colors match quite well (although I think both are a bit dark for the CK scheme).  However, the different circle keystone sizes are apparent.  I'm not sure which is right, although based on the Strasburg's restored H21, I think the Bowser size is probably more correct.  Nevertheless, they all look great together in a moving train.

[basementcalling]

I compressed my mill warehouse by 1 bay and narrowed the paper machine building by 1 as well. I like the angles and spacing better, which is good, as putting the pieces back on would have been no fun.

Inland Empire Paper is starting to rise from the plywood.

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I like how it sits in the space with room for an entrance road and parking for the loading docks, plus space for an overflow yard or paper recycling spur.

I also replaced blue tape on the recovery boiler. The large back wall is bashing fodder for other details.

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[Ed Kapuscinski]

I also did some work on the layout this weekend, getting the first layer of grout down on the Windsor St engine "terminal".

I blogged about it, but here are some pics.
http://conrail1285.com/getting-some-ground-cover-down-on-the-windsor-st-engine-terminal/

[lashedup]

Hey Ed, not sure how you are putting your grout down in this case but I start my first layer now sprinkled on top of wet latex paint.  Previously I put the grout down on top of the dry painted surface, smoothed it and then wet it. This made a nice hard surface but over time I started having issues with cracking and flaking. So now I sprinkle it on top of wet paint and if I need more I add it later on top of that nice grippy surface.  Hopefully that makes sense. 

- j

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Hey Ed, not sure how you are putting your grout down in this case but I start my first layer now sprinkled on top of wet latex paint.  Previously I put the grout down on top of the dry painted surface, smoothed it and then wet it. This made a nice hard surface but over time I started having issues with cracking and flaking. So now I sprinkle it on top of wet paint and if I need more I add it later on top of that nice grippy surface.  Hopefully that makes sense. 

- j

Yep. I did this stuff over a layer of spread out and diluted white glue. Same general effect. I'm pretty happy with it.

[eja]

Oh yeah, I still model Pennsy...

Dave,

I love your work and admire your skills, but some of the spacing between cars in this photo cries out for a coupler change. 

Respectfully,

Ed Anderson ( aka eja)

[Dave V]

The MTL cars couple at a decent distance.  The new H21 has McHenrys and the GLas have Accumates; both have shanks that are too long.

Gotta say, though, on my mile-long list of stuff to do....changing out perfectly functional knuckle couplers doesn't even come in at half a mile.  Someday I'd like to have all body-mounts but that task has never bubbled to the top (and frankly it doesn't sound like fun).

[bbussey]

The key is body-mounting, metal wheels, and adjusting ride height if necessary as the cars are acquired. And then eventually, you tackle the existing fleet by breaking them up into categories and upgrading them in batches (such as, all the Bowser GLa hoppers in one session, then the Bowser H21 hoppers in the next session, etcetera). The nice thing about the Biwser hoppers is that they have existing properly-positioned screw holes for MTL 1015s. It doesn't take long at all to convert them over. I even pull the slope weights out of my GLa hoppers and they run fine, since the operating load is sent through the centerbeam rather than the trucks.