Weekend Update 8/26/18

[BCR 570]

Chris:  Excellent work on the scratchbuilt boxcar.  I enjoy building in styrene and I enjoy seeing others succeed at it.

Mark:  Looking forward to seeing the diesel shop go up; one of the more iconic railway structures in our province.

My modelling efforts this week were focused on some additional NSC flat cars - six BCOL and one CNR. The Briggs Models kit comes with pre-drills for the grab irons and sill steps so it is just a matter of drilling them all out with a #80 drill.  Here are the cars after installation of grab irons and prior to installation of sill steps:




Today I picked up my first two U.S. road cars, thanks to suggestions from members of this forum (see other thread).  They are an Athearn CB&Q car and a MT Milwaukee Road car.  These will require body mount couplers and some weathering:




And last night I hosted my third trial op session with a crew of four excluding myself.

Michael became the first guest dispatcher, seen here dictating a manual block clearance for the Dawson Switcher to son Nick:




Philippe had his first go at Chetwynd Yard, and tried out the new throttle holder (and beverage holder):




The eastbound Dawson Switcher crosses the Kiskatinaw River bridge with 3 loads, 12 empties and van:




Another successful trial for my double-stacked yards, with Philippe in Chetwynd and Nick in Dawson Creek:




Greg receives his clearance for the Septimus Turn from Michael.  The open book between them is an actual BCR clearance book from 1984 which has been a valuable reference:




After setting out the northbound tonnage at Septimus, Greg picks up the southbound tonnage left by the yard job from Fort St. John:




I am very much enjoying the ability to host sessions and share the layout with others.  Their feedback has been valuable in compiling a list of future tasks to improve the performance of the layout and the equipment.


Tim

[Mike Madonna]

Here's the other side from the other direction.



This was painted with a melange of paints. The black is Rust-oleum flat black paint & primer after I found I couldn't get the lid off my Scalecoat black. I used Scalecoat graphite on the smokebox and firebox and Polly S Flat aluminum on the smokebox front. It was weathered with my goto source- Bragdon weathering powders - which I use on everything. I used their soot black on the engine and tender to lighten and fade the black and dirty up the smoke/fire box. A mixture of light and dark dirt with a bit of rust added in weathered the undercarriage/trucks. This sticks really well and never I've found the need to dullcoat anything.

Interesting combo of paint choices, but it works! I too like the weathering powders and have had nice results with them. Thanks again...

[Dave V]

Also as a nod to Malcom Furlow's San Juan Central, I wanted some of the rock at Windy Point to overhang the fascia for a little extra drama.

[nkalanaga]

Eja:  My guess would be so that it STAYED hidden.  Shiny aluminum could reflect enough stray light to be distracting from some angles.

[nickelplate759]

Eja:  My guess would be so that it STAYED hidden.  Shiny aluminum could reflect enough stray light to be distracting from some angles.

Exactly!

It will be hidden behind false industrial buildings - and they will have windows (albeit not clean).  Dark is best for not being noticed.
Similarly, the 1" high sides on the bridge will help keep lights on the train from shining through the false-front buildings.

[Point353]

I have a photo from the O Scale convention I took just for you guys.

(Attachment Link)

Did you get a selfie with him?

[MK]

Gravity defying! 

[eja]

Exactly!

It will be hidden behind false industrial buildings - and they will have windows (albeit not clean).  Dark is best for not being noticed.
Similarly, the 1" high sides on the bridge will help keep lights on the train from shining through the false-front buildings.

Makes sense  ... thanks for the explanation.

[hminky]

Got my conversion of an HO Bachmann 4-4-0 to an Sn3.5 1870's 4-4-0 to a point where the loco is running.



The gondolas need new trucks and decking.

Harold

[mu26aeh]

New lease power arrived for YorkRail today.  I had the shells torn apart and primed for a few months, sat down this weekend and finished them up.

[conrail1973]

I haven't posted in awhile on my layout thread, but I have been slowly filling in some of the remaining scenery gaps and planning for the next project.  These Susquehanna Dash 8-40Bs are part of my vision for the next layout.  I'm just glad that I can run them on the current layout 

[bnsfdash8]

I also got NS 4825 back order after Jax, my dog, got a hold of the cab the other month.

[Angus Shops]

Successful weekend devoted to cutting and installing the roadbed for the new layout. All told about 100 feet of plywood roadbed was cut and graded on my 2 1/2 level 'nolix'; it all went together pretty much as planned with no surprises. I was able to find a couple of locations where I was able to make minor improvements, mostly allowing greater visibilty of the lower level by varying the arrangement of the level above. A lot of cutting and screwing, but the majority of this portion of the work is now complete. I've decided I need a new jigsaw, and I'll nominate my laser level for a Nobel prize. Next up I need install a "roadbed" for the Kicking Horse River that parallels the track for a good portion of the layout, and then backdrops and fascias.
Geoff

[dougnelson]

Completed a truck today. It’s a 1941 Ford cab-over-engine from Rasputen paired with a Sylvan Scale Models stake body and canvas cover.

[johnb]

Completed a truck today. It’s a 1941 Ford cab-over-engine from Rasputen paired with a Sylvan Scale Models stake body and canvas cover.

I need a few of those