The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

You'll need to buy a big rattle can of flat black to properly weather it to show where the black smoke belches from the turbocharger, and of course a proper coat of grime (Hays Watkins notoriously declared that dirty locomotives pull the same amount of freight that clean ones do as he shut down wash racks all over the system...) then you'll have to go out and purchase a couple of Western Maryland GP9s, since even at twice the age of the Uboat, they ran more reliably and will come in handy to tow it's dead rear end around your layout.

And don't forget to file a wheel or two flat so you get the proper sound effects.

Lee

Too f***ing funny, Lee.  Oh, and it's funny, 'cause it's true!

DFF

[Point353]

How about this one for a compromise:


http://www.atlasrr.com/HOLoco/hogp40-2d.htm
https://www.lombardhobby.com/Atlas-Master-Gold-GP40-2-p/atl10001868.htm


http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/wm/wm.html

[wm3798]

By the time these were ordered they were WM units only for the sake of accounting.  The railroad had been gutted, the traffic rerouted, and the staff disbursed.  This unit never turned a wheel on the Connellsville Sub, and probably spent only a fraction of its time on the actual WM mileage that survived.

Chessie the Knife... feh.

[davefoxx]

As noted, early in this thread, the first HO scale locomotive that I bought for the Seaboard Central 3.0 was this Athearn Genesis GP40-2:



However, out of the box, it didn't run as smoothly in reverse as it did running forward.  There was slight surging.  It also developed a growling/squealing in the driveline, again when running in reverse.  Running only forward isn't practical for a Geep , so I finally got around to contacting Athearn this week, who agreed to accept it for warranty repair.  I shipped it today.  Keep your fingers crossed.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I've got several projects that I started this week.  Structures!  I wanted to start figuring out the landforms and laying out the roads and buildings on the layout.  So, I picked up a few structure kits.  Here's a Walther's freight house:



I also bought a Walther's Merchants Row I, which has about five connected DPM-like buildings but cost about one-third of the price!  I haven't started building that kit yet.  What you cannot tell from the picture of the freight house is that it's only glued together in sections that can be taken apart for ease of painting with minimal masking.

Speaking of paint, I painted the small deck girder bridge and have roughed it into place.  I need to build the piers, and I'll likely be using the big ol' bucket of anchoring cement that I have, if it hasn't hardened over the last few years:



DFF

[wcfn100]

What could have been...



 

Jason

[davefoxx]

@wcfn100,

 Drool!  But look how times have changed.    For those that don't know, this is Richmond, Virginia on the extreme southern part of the former RF&P (just south of Acca Yard) where it met with the SAL.  Broad Street Station is at top center in the background of both pictures.  The tracks curving to the right in Jason's picture are access to the station for RF&P, SAL, and ACL trains.



DFF

[k27463]

As noted, early in this thread, the first HO scale locomotive that I bought for the Seaboard Central 3.0 was this Athearn Genesis GP40-2:



However, out of the box, it didn't run as smoothly in reverse as it did running forward.  There was slight surging.  It also developed a growling/squealing in the driveline, again when running in reverse.  Running only forward isn't practical for a Geep , so I finally got around to contacting Athearn this week, who agreed to accept it for warranty repair.  I shipped it today.  Keep your fingers crossed.

DFF

I suspect dry bearings...Athearn RTR/Blue Box and Genesis four axle (but not Genesis six axle units) all use the same drivetrain components.  The worms sit under clips on top of the trucks and tend to growl/squeal when they torque to one end or the other.

I've actually seen them fixed with small washers holding the worm centered.

A bit too late to try it, but then I almost never have anything under warranty so I don't usually consider that an option

[davefoxx]

I suspect dry bearings...Athearn RTR/Blue Box and Genesis four axle (but not Genesis six axle units) all use the same drivetrain components.  The worms sit under clips on top of the trucks and tend to growl/squeal when they torque to one end or the other.

I've actually seen them fixed with small washers holding the worm centered.

A bit too late to try it, but then I almost never have anything under warranty so I don't usually consider that an option

A lack of lubrication is what I thought, too.  But, I was curious as to why the noise was only in one direction.  You may have answered that one.  If if comes back and is not corrected (or occurs again), I'll know what to try to fix it.

If it was an Atlas N scale locomotive, I would have just torn it down and lubed it.  But, these HO scale locomotives look a lot more complicated under the hood.  So, instead of voiding the warranty, I chose to take advantage of it.

Thanks,
DFF

[k27463]

A lack of lubrication is what I thought, too.  But, I was curious as to why the noise was only in one direction.  You may have answered that one.  If if comes back and is not corrected (or occurs again), I'll know what to try to fix it.

If it was an Atlas N scale locomotive, I would have just torn it down and lubed it.  But, these HO scale locomotives look a lot more complicated under the hood.  So, instead of voiding the warranty, I chose to take advantage of it.

Thanks,
DFF

Send me an email whenever -- [username]@gmail.com.  More than happy to discuss anything and everything regarding technical info on HO or N locos.  I have at least 2 or 3 apart pretty much all the time.

FYI, the Athearn units will eventually burn out the 1.5 bulbs they use in the headlights/beacons/Gyralights.  Let me know when that happens and I'll walk you through swapping some LEDs in there.

[davefoxx]

Send me an email whenever -- [username]@gmail.com.  More than happy to discuss anything and everything regarding technical info on HO or N locos.  I have at least 2 or 3 apart pretty much all the time.

I really appreciate that offer.  I popped the shell off of that locomotive, saw the guts, and quickly put the shell back on, hoping to forget what I saw.    Seriously, with some guidance, I'll be fine.  I could break down and reassemble an N scale split frame loco in just a few minutes, so I can probably get to the point where I'm comfortable doing the same with HO locomotives.

FYI, the Athearn units will eventually burn out the 1.5 bulbs they use in the headlights/beacons/Gyralights.  Let me know when that happens and I'll walk you through swapping some LEDs in there.

That would be great.  I'll never forget the slight disappointment I had when I opened the box for the first time to see that the locomotive had incandescent bulbs.  I think I recently read that the newest announcements by Athearn shows that they have finally gone to LEDs on new releases.  'Bout time.

DFF

[mcjaco]

Ugh, yeah.  I think I replaced the bulbs in the very first Genesis SD75s about three times each (three units).  Finally gave up, and had them as trailing units....and then I left HO.  Ha ha! 

[davefoxx]

This weekend, I'm working on laying out my HO model of the town of Aberdeen, North Carolina.  It certainly won't be a scale model of the town.  Instead, I'm just looking for capturing the feel of town, because, obviously, I don't have the space to do it prototypically.  Here's the small section of town that I'm trying to replicate:

Looking towards the north:



My attempt (I'm using Walthers structures and don't plan to kitbash exact models.  I will add more structures down that side street.):



Looking towards the south (note the former SAL station in the background at left- I will build this structure again, if I can fit it and the street in the middle of the wye, like the prototype):



My attempt:



An overview for perspective:


You can see that I reduced the four-way intersection to a three-way intersection, because I didn't want the fourth street to cross my passing siding, mainline, and yard throat.

DFF

[conrailthomas519]

Dave, It still captures the feel of the prototype.
I myself, learning real quickly with my layout, what fits and what needs to be scaled back, or even ommited.

[davefoxx]

Thanks, Thomas.  I'm definitely learning what fits and doesn't fit on my layout.

In a moment of clarity this afternoon, it hit me on what I need to do to have the track plan become a little more accurate.  The problem: the orientation of the model town shown in my last post means that what should be the former original Norfolk Southern Ry. line to Star, NC was being called the A&R.  That has bothered me, so, to the detriment of the A&R on the layout, I think that I'm going to make the branch that ex-NS Ry. line, which in 1983-86 was owned by the Aberdeen & Briar Patch Ry. after the line was abandoned by the Southern Ry. ("SOU"), which took over the NS Ry. in 1974.

This pretty much relegates the A&R to two sidings in one corner of the layout, though.  The A&R did, by trackage rights, run on the Seaboard System to get to the yard south of Aberdeen where all three roads interchanged.  So, my A&R No. 400 and caboose won't become mere shelf queens.  Besides, who's going to tell, if I run them around the roundy-round every once and a while. 

Since there are no locomotives or decals for the A&BP, and I really like the SOU, who took over the NS Ry., I'll probably use a SOU locomotive for the branch line.

DFF