The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

Added some bracing.



DFF

[basementcalling]

Well, I’ll be damned.  That actually worked!  I noticed that trains made a good bit of racket and the wheels were really hopping through the frog of the new curved turnout.  Typical wheel drop.  While watching a Danny Harmon video today, I realized that I could try to make a flange bearing frog, not unlike the flange bearing crossing that he described in his video.  I tried 0.010” styrene as a test piece, and it wasn’t thick enough.  I then tried 0.020”, which worked much better.

You may notice a faint line on the white styrene where the flanges are riding it.  I did go back with a needle file and ease the entry/exit points of that styrene piece.  I also noticed that the closure rails did not meet up well with the frog, so I filed those areas, too.  Much better, and wheels are not hopping through the frog anything like they used to.



DFF

Giant termite or large bumblebee boring a hole in that one tie? 

I like the loader lots. Good add of a common Southern industry to a nicely executed  layout.

[John]

I've used a similar technique on hand laid turnouts .. instead of flooding the gap with solder, I used epoxy in about the same area, then some micro filing to smooth it ..

That loader build is such a simple scratch build structure .. a ladder here or there, some old roof walk material, model train kit sprue plastic, etc .. and you are done.

[chessie system fan]

That's pretty bold of you to put a spindly plastic structure right on the layout edge at elbow height.   

[davefoxx]

That's pretty bold of you to put a spindly plastic structure right on the layout edge at elbow height.   

Aaron:

That certainly has crossed my mind. What these photos don’t show well is that, fortunately, this fragile structure is higher than elbow height, since the railheads are approximately 52-3/4” off the floor.  That puts the loader between armpit and shoulder height.  Thankfully.

Thanks,
DFF

[davefoxx]

That loader build is such a simple scratch build structure .. a ladder here or there, some old roof walk material, model train kit sprue plastic, etc .. and you are done.

It is pretty simple, especially as compared to the SAL station and highway bridge scratchbuilding projects.  Great idea about rooting through the parts bin, because I finished up the basic frame this morning.  I added the 45-degree braces to the girders over the rails to stiffen the framework up.  That helped tremendously.  I also glued some 0.080” x 0.080” styrene strip to the bottom of the legs, to try to square this thing up a little.  I recessed those strips into the cork roadbed to hide them, which also allowed me to pull the legs closer to plumb.  All of that will be hidden by spilled wood chips.



Thanks,
DFF

[davefoxx]

Giant termite or large bumblebee boring a hole in that one tie? 

I think that hole is there for a reason.  I can see a contact to the frog in it.  I’d never use it, because there’s also a loop sticking off of the end of that very same tie or I’d just solder a feeder directly to the frog rails.  I’ll probably forget to deal with it, and it’ll get filled with ballast. 🤣

Thanks,
DFF

[davefoxx]

Some progress on the climby stuff.



DFF

[davefoxx]

A good day’s work; all of the platforms and ladders are finished.  Next, I need to figure out the wood chip loading chute.



DFF

[davefoxx]

I took a break from the wood chip loader to fix something that has been nagging me.  When Atlas released the U30C in Seaboard Coast Line paint, they erred on the color of the pilot striping.  The factory finish:



They’re supposed to be white, so I stripped the yellow stripes, giving them the MicroSol on tissue paper treatment, and replaced them with decals from Circus City Decals.  Much better.



Not sure why Atlas made this mistake, since they got the stripes correct on the U36B.  That said, I do have to add numbers to the numberboards on the rear of the U36B, because Atlas omitted them.  Oh, well.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I spent a couple of hours gluing on some fiddly pieces this afternoon, to install the wood chip blower duct and the spool that controls the cables to raise and lower the hood that contains the blown chips into the car.  I also fabbed the tower that supports the incoming pipe to the loader.



DFF

[davefoxx]

I added more detailing, including some bracing, a car puller at the base of the leg on the far side of the tracks, and a cabinet that houses the loader controls on the leg on the near side of the tracks.  On the ground at right front is the hood that will fit under the chip loader that guides the blown chips into the car.  I’m going to try some Tamiya Cable (something I’ve never worked with before) to hang the hood with something other than fuzzy thread.  The cable material should be delivered on Monday.  Stay tuned on that product.



DFF

[packers#1]

I’m loving how this is looking DFF, it’s coming along really well. What’s the plan when it’s done, paint everything the same color or are you going to add some variations for the pipes etc? I could see it being done either of those two ways on the prototype.

[davefoxx]

I’m loving how this is looking DFF, it’s coming along really well. What’s the plan when it’s done, paint everything the same color or are you going to add some variations for the pipes etc? I could see it being done either of those two ways on the prototype.

Honestly, Sawyer, I’m not sure.  The proto photo that I’m taking inspiration from just has a dark color that wouldn’t show some contrasting rust spots that I want to do with the weathering.  I’m considering painting it silver, then rusting it, and painting the wood chip pipe and its support tower white, like the prototype.



In model wood chip loader pictures online, I’ve seen blue and orange. Why not safety yellow?

Suggestions?
DFF

[eja]

Hey DFF,

Does Allie still run trains?  Haven't  seen her doing so in quite a while.

Hope she does ....

eja