Weekend Update 1/31/16

[Rich_S]

Bob

Bob, I've always like the Rocks bankruptcy blue paint scheme. You Geep looks great, very nice work.

[BCR 570]

As a kid I remember the blue and red trailers of Caravan Trailer rentals; The blue is from my minds eye - the images I've found are all of badly faded examples. I will just have to live with it....

Pud:  Your colour looks good to me compared with the in service photos I have on file.  I have modelled one based on the photograph in Keith Hansen's book on the NAR which shows one on a BCR trailer flat at Dawson Creek; I just have to add the tension rods on the roll-up door and it will be ready for paint:




No modelling for me this past week due to illness; today I have been de-spruing trailer wheels . . .

Tim

[Catt]

RailNet 211 delivering a RailBox car to Kellett Transfer. RailNet 211 is a GP-35-3 rebuilt by Midwestern Trainsportation Systems for Rail Net leasing.This is Z scale.

[MVW]

C&NW GP7 #1525, returning from switching the Armstrong packing plant, has an opportunity to wreak revenge on a nasty critter.



There's a rundown (ahem) of my first ops session on the Missouri Valley Western over on my layout thread:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=34780.30

Jim

[nkalanaga]

I hit one of those once, with an Atlas GP7/9, and it derailed the train.  The critter kept going.  Just as well, because they make a nasty stain when squashed.

[ChristianJDavis1]

I did not get very much done this weekend per say, but I did enough last weekend through to this weekend to justify a post.

The first thing i worked on was a recent eBay purchase in HO (1:80); a Toby JNR 8620 class 2-6-0. When i received it, it was a little beat up with some details bent or dislodged, poorly decorated in a freelanced scheme, and non-running. These photographs are from the eBay listing and show what it looked like when I received it.





After taking it completely apart and fixing the finer details, this is what it looks like as of now. It still shorts occasionally at the drawbar (which was not attached when I recieved it), but other than that, it works rather well (albeit a bit noisy). The 8620 class was a general service 2-6-0 of the Japanese National Railways, and lasted well into the 1970's and were finally retired with the rest of steam during that time. There are two operating examples; one at the Umekoji steam museum in Japan, and another operated by one of the modern Japanese railroads.



Now for the work I did in my primary modelling scale, N. With the release of Kato's ACS64 locomotives, I have been itching to model the types of passenger trains I see when up at school in New Brunswick, but without proper cab cars, I am somewhat limited. The closest (and cheapest) model I could find in such a short amount of time is the older Bachmann metroliner cars. Seeing as the prototype cars where likewise built from metroliner cars, I figured fabricating my model in the same manner would do just as well. As stated, this model began as a stock Bachmann metroliner dummy, which I removed a number of details from subsequently lowered to match the Kato amfleet cars. It still needs a lot of work, and will eventually be painted in the current Amtrak scheme. This will likely end up more of a "close enough" model to keep costs down. This is one of three that I am constructing; one for myself and two for others. These pictures illustrate the overall height difference between the modified car (left) and the stock metroliner (right). I got to run mine Friday on a train and it made it around the layout just fine.





On Friday I helped another modeler change the headlight color of his new Kato ACS64. After installing a decoder, we where dismayed to find out that the headlight color was the bright white so common on modern decoders. As some of you may know, the prototype ACS64s have bright blue LED headlights. To fix this, I placed pieces of clear tape over the  ends of the light-conducting plastic tubes on the inside of the shell, and then painted that with clear Tamiya blue paint. This way, if he ever wants to get rid of it, the modification can be undone rather easily. I say it is a definite improvement over the decoder's stock white and Kato's stock blue/almost purple.



And finally and most-recently, I began preparing for the impending Atlantic City N Scale Gathering this April. More information can be had here:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=38130.0

Thank you for reading and I apologize for the photo-heavy post. Have a great weekend and keep up the good work!

[chicken45]

Beta testing @Lemosteam Keystone Details Where the details make the difference!(TM) FW1 and stamping press load. It fits great and looks great.






And here's the tool shed! I'll work on some better pictures later.

[Puddington]

I'm in a TOFC frame of mind, no idea why... ergo; this little fellow showed up with another Eastern interloper.....



Highball Graphics decals and instructions with some imagination....



That's for my pal  Bryan..



.. and this is for me mate Lee

[conrail98]

Organized the wood and other items I need so that when the temps tomorrow through Wednesday are nice, I can take my tools outside and rip and cut to get restarted on benchwork. On Friday, I got to be the operator of this steel mill at a local ops session:





I was nervous for it because the whole layout and operating scheme centers around it but other then being late for one Open Hearth tap, I kept up with all the work pretty well,

Phil

[davefoxx]

No modeling yet this weekend, but I have been in the layout room running a train.  But not just any train.  A monster train (at least for my layout).  Here's seventy-five cars, with two SD50s on the point and an SD45-2 pushing.

A CHALLENGE!  What's the longest train you can run reliably on your layout?  Video, or it didn't happen. 

Bring it, fellas!
DFF

[Scottl]

working on some scenery to break up the monotony of the backdrop painting/foreground painting (driving me nuts!) here is my semi botched stream scene. more in my layout thread.

The backdrop is looking good.  Those boulders are pretty large for even a mountain stream or river.  You might want to make them about 1/3 of the size if you can still, and bury a few in finer material if you want the bigger ones.  Huge bedload like that never sits on the river bed as it rarely moves.

[crrcoal]

Ahh Rick Bickmores HARSCO layout. Have yet to make a visit, but will one of these days.

Organized the wood and other items I need so that when the temps tomorrow through Wednesday are nice, I can take my tools outside and rip and cut to get restarted on benchwork. On Friday, I got to be the operator of this steel mill at a local ops session:





I was nervous for it because the whole layout and operating scheme centers around it but other then being late for one Open Hearth tap, I kept up with all the work pretty well,

Phil

[conrail98]

Ahh Rick Bickmores HARSCO layout. Have yet to make a visit, but will one of these days.

Yep! He's generally open during the NJ Division Haddon Twp. meets. Sometimes Delanco's also, but only on the occasion if the Haddon meet is moved/skipped for some reason,

Phil

[nuno81291]

with the urging of multiple members I went ahead and redid the riverbed...time for some dead fall, and envirotex? Pulled out 14 of the larger (and less securely fastened) rocks.

[BCR 570]

Finished de-spruing the wheel hubs and tyres for my flatdeck trailers:




Now to vacuum up all the resin dust . . .


Tim