Weekend Update 4/3/16

[SkipGear]

Something I haven't shown updates on in quite a while. It's an HO layout that I have been building for a gentleman that had a stroke, lost use of his left hand and leg and couldn't finish what he started. I've been at it for over 5 years, 1 day a week. The past year or so has been spent lighting and installing interiors in buildings.







And yes, there is a lot going on in this layout. He had switched from O scale to HO just before the stroke and I have been working him out of the hi-rail mentality slowly but he likes lot's going on on the layout and it gives me plenty of chance to practice before I try stuff on my layout.

[tehachapifan]

Wow, great layout! Those night scenes are amazing!

[nkalanaga]

SkipGear:  I assume you're freelancing, but if you have a favorite prototype, paint it to match theirs?

Otherwise, I'd go for a weathered black, as that seems to have been very common on steel water tanks.  If you want to be fancy, especially if it's a diesel-era railroad, a weathered silver (aluminum paint) would also work, but black seems to have been more common.  Since they're both steel, have at least some similar design features, and are maintained by the same Bridge and Building department, you might paint them the same color as your truss bridges.

If you want to be fancy, put your railroad's logo and/or the station name on the tank.

[peteski]

I was waiting for a thumbs down . I had already made another ready to go . I left the orig there to click open , I will remove that if anybody wishes .

Are people really that uptight around here!?  Geez!  I liked the original one. You got 3 up votes from me! 

[SkipGear]

SkipGear:  I assume you're freelancing, but if you have a favorite prototype, paint it to match theirs?

Otherwise, I'd go for a weathered black, as that seems to have been very common on steel water tanks.  If you want to be fancy, especially if it's a diesel-era railroad, a weathered silver (aluminum paint) would also work, but black seems to have been more common.  Since they're both steel, have at least some similar design features, and are maintained by the same Bridge and Building department, you might paint them the same color as your truss bridges.

If you want to be fancy, put your railroad's logo and/or the station name on the tank.

Flat black with some rust and weathering was the direction I was leaning. Once again, I find myself missing floquil Grimmy Black in a rattle can.

[BobRunty]

Nice work Andrew. Even got the overnight heater cabinet. And love the caboose.

Bob

[Dave V]

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the formation of Conrail.  So although my current model railroad work is focused on the Colorado Midland, here are some old videos of Conrail equipment on the Juniata Division to celebrate the legacy of the Consolidated Rail Corporation.

[bnsfdash8]

CR 3812 under construction.

[CPR9009]

I just finished Amtrak 323 last night.  Getting the stripes to lay down was a pain.  Had to break out the Solvaset.  Now it needs some weathering.


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Scott

[towl1996]

Flat black with some rust and weathering was the direction I was leaning. Once again, I find myself missing floquil Grimmy Black in a rattle can.

It's been suggested Valspar blindfold 86021 from Lowes is a good match. I stocked up.

[SkipGear]

It's been suggested Valspar blindfold 86021 from Lowes is a good match. I stocked up.

I tried blindfold after it was suggested. It's much too gray in my opinion and it dries with a somewhat semi-gloss, plastic sheen. It also went on heavy. It was OK after dull coat but I still miss grimy black.

[nkalanaga]

I'm using Model Master's Panzer Gray, #1950, as Grimy Black.  It isn't exact, but close enough for me, since my main uses are steel loads, dirty underframes, and GN's Big Sky Blue scheme gray.  It's a flat paint, in a spray can, and any dealer selling Model Master paints should be able to get it.  I've noticed that most dealers don't stock the entire line, just subgroups of it, but they should be able to order any color in the line.

[Iain]

Are people really that uptight around here!?  Geez!  I liked the original one. You got 3 up votes from me! 

Some folks don't like it; I'm one of them.

[Puddington]

Quick update.... because today took every last oz. of energy I had...

The load in went well; premier spot and no damage.... but do you think we could join the track on the two halfs of the layout....nope...

We had to load the cars last night and even putting them in a garage didn't completely protect them from below freezing temps.... we had both rail movement and shrinkage... (insert bad joke here)

We only got the track working 10 minutes before door open and then had a rough start... but by 1100 hrs we were up and running smoothly

My son and his buddy were fan-freakin-tastic.... they ran the trains, greeted people, answered question, told the Littl' Puddy story and Sam even blew off a rail troll who tried telling him some louver was wrong on an Atlas Geep.... My friends Rob and Doug were there to make my day much easier than it might have been as were the guys from Rapido... Dan G, Thomas, Jordan, our good buddies Matt and Jacob.... all they way from Ottawa to see and help.

The crowd was thick; 30% up year over year I heard. We were 3 deep at times.... the layout was very well received as was the Dominion display which even got a nod from an local HO proto scaler...

Family day tomorrow, smaller crowds.... I'll strap myself to a chair and get through somehow...hopefully some pics tomorrow...

My son and I did a train show with a layout we built..... gentlemen; there's no greater feeling......

[C855B]

Sounds like a great show for everybody, Mike. Well done!

Work on the James Train Parts Alco C855 trio continues. After a couple of measurement mishaps, the first chassis mod is done and the decoder is installed, so I spritzed a coat of primer on the shell for a celebratory lap around the test loop:



There is a boatload of work ahead, this is just a raw shell without details applied. The measurement mishaps resulted in multiple confirmations of the brittleness of Shapeways FXD, so a replacement shell is forthcoming.

James tells me that the B unit 3D artwork is done. Giggity!