Weekend Update 10/28/18

[BCR 570]

Daniel:  Great to see one of the Briggs Models M-420s approaching completion.
Doug:  Nice VIA photograph; will have to ride the Skeena one of these days.
Mark:  Diesel shop coming along nicely; looking forward to seeing it in person.
Randy:  Love the scene outside the car shop; lots of interesting details.

I held my fifth operating session last night with an all new crew drafted from our local North Shore Modellers Group.  It was a special pleasure to have John Walter here (a fine CN modeller in N Scale) who built much of the benchwork for my layout.  Refinements to the start and end times and the fast clock ratio were on trial this time, and engines 804 and 812 made their debut with sound.

John making up trains in Chetwynd Yard:




(Have to find somewhere else to store all of current projects in progress . . . 

RS-18s 607 and 613 are ready to depart with the eastbound Dawson Creek Switcher, and C-425s 804 and 812 are ready to make their operational debut with the northbound Septimus Turn:




Dave has the Dawson Creek Switcher in hand as it crosses the Kiskatinaw River:




Kyle arrives in Septimus with the northbound Septimus Turn:




I am hosting another session next week for modellers on the Sunshine Coast, and another the weekend after that for fellow BCR modellers during our annual Vancouver Train Expo show www.vancouvertrainexpo.ca, so the layout will be busy this month!


Tim

[johnb]

Just like my obsession with the freight station that started me down the path of modeling the Pacific Electric in N Scale, the Pacific Electric interlocking towers got stuck in my mind.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a kit in N Scale that matches the prototype.

https://www.pacificelectric.org/pacific-electric/southern-district/amoco-tower-by-charles-lawrence-2/

Fortunately, there are plans for a basic interlocking tower, just move some windows and doors around..

http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/interlocking-tower.87092/#post-945884








I built this using Evergreen 0.020″ V Grove siding with 0.040″ spacing, Grandt line windows and doors, Plastastruct stairs and handrails, and finally the roof of a Micro Trains box factory. I will also add in the 90*crossing....

[Cajonpassfan]

Got a lesson on German ingenuity that didn't make it before the end of WWII. The tender with the 3 moving fans was a condensing unit that recycled steam before it was sent up the stack. It accomplished 2 things: 1) The engine produced much less smoke which made it harder for enemy aircraft to spot it; 2) It recycled the water into the tender which meant less water stops in areas with limited pure water available.

I'll try to get more pictures from the day onto my blog later in the week.


Very interesting, but condensing steam locos weren't exactly a WW2 era German invention; such locos were used in the London Underground way way before then. And there was no "recycled steam" going back to the loco and up the stack...the only thing up the stack would be smoke exhaust...
Otto K.

[Mark W]

We have Free-moNebraska set up in Beatrice, NE this weekend.


https://i.imgur.com/Hx3xhqc.jpg


Felt a little festive so made a bunch of N Scale pumpkins and set them out all around the layout.  (Yes, I DID try to make an N Scale Jack o'lantern, but you can probably guess how that went) 


https://i.imgur.com/39IQajo.jpg


So the deal is: find the pumpkins, get a treat!  Happy Halloween!


https://i.imgur.com/c08LnhE.jpg

[peteski]

Felt a little festive so made a bunch of N Scale pumpkins and set them out all around the layout.  (Yes, I DID try to make an N Scale Jack o'lantern, but you can probably guess how that went) 


https://i.imgur.com/39IQajo.jpg

COOL!
Now I want to find out how you made them (and I suspect many others here feel the same).

The smallest N scale item I ever illuminated was a cast metal fire call box.  That was before 0201 LEDs were available (I used 0402 LED).  But making an illuminated Jack o'lantern in N scale would be quite a trick (or is it a treat)?   

[Jbub]

We have Free-moNebraska set up in Beatrice, NE this weekend.


https://i.imgur.com/Hx3xhqc.jpg


Felt a little festive so made a bunch of N Scale pumpkins and set them out all around the layout.  (Yes, I DID try to make an N Scale Jack o'lantern, but you can probably guess how that went) 


https://i.imgur.com/39IQajo.jpg


So the deal is: find the pumpkins, get a treat!  Happy Halloween!


https://i.imgur.com/c08LnhE.jpg

Your dad looks like a toy in that picture.

[ednadolski]

We have Free-moNebraska set up in Beatrice, NE this weekend.


https://i.imgur.com/Hx3xhqc.jpg

Your dad looks like a toy in that picture.

Looks rather like some tilt-shift going on there.

Ed

[BCR 570]

Thanks to some help from Jeff, a big step forward for RS-3 574 with the new fuel tank printed and mounted, and new wire pick-ups from the trucks to the frame (more in the separate thread):




Also, three large MLW locomotives are making steady progress.  BCR M-630 722 and M-630W 727 now have the latest iteration of the Briggs Models Dofasco trucks, replacement universals, new split fuel tanks, the carbodies essentially assembled, and the mechanisms modified to accept them.  CN C-424 3218 now has new split fuel tank, battery boxes moved from the cab to underneath the walkway, wrong lights removed, and new rear end:






Pilot modifications and details for all three are next.


Tim

[Mark W]

COOL!
Now I want to find out how you made them (and I suspect many others here feel the same).

The smallest N scale item I ever illuminated was a cast metal fire call box.  That was before 0201 LEDs were available (I used 0402 LED).  But making an illuminated Jack o'lantern in N scale would be quite a trick (or is it a treat)?   

I got the idea from @martin t 's video a few weeks ago.  He takes it even further and does light a Jack O'Lantern!   I still want to sit down and get a lit N Scale Jack O'Lantern... someday. 

[chuck geiger]

Track down in Dirt City, CA on BNSF Ponderosa Sub. Code 55 and Code 40 on oil and grain lead. Smash and solder connections. I always wanted a switching scenario where only the engine and one car could fit on the track before the switch. Runs real smooth too. This will look like Mojave, CA or Barstow, CA on this side.

[conrail1973]

I recently came up with the motivation to model not only the 1980s on my layout, but I've decided to model the 2000s/modern era on my layout.  I've never had "success" modeling the modern era because it would look out of place when I was mixing up modern and post 1990s rolling stock and locomotives.  I was able to pick up some rolling stock for the modern era at the Timonium show yesterday, and I currently have a NS GP60 along with a CSX GP38-2 and RBMN MP15DC to that are being shipped to add some operating interest.  Anyhow, it's something different to run on the layout.

Thanks,

Adam

[up1950s]

I got the idea from @martin t 's video a few weeks ago.  He takes it even further and does light a Jack O'Lantern!   I still want to sit down and get a lit N Scale Jack O'Lantern... someday.

Maybe start with a yellow beacon led .
Mount it on something like a model of a cardboard box for the wiring .
Use clear glue to make it more spherical .
Paint it black first if you want more definition in the carving .
Then paint it white so the orange pops .
Paint it orange .
Lastly scrape through the paint the areas that are to glow .

Another thought was the led that flickers to mimic a camp fire as a starting point

[Maletrain]

Maybe start with a yellow beacon led [to make a jack-o-lantern] .

Exactly what I was going to post after I read through.  I hope to see some on here by Halloween.

[Philip H]

Worky work and workbenches:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=40665.msg592396#msg592396

[peteski]

All good Halloween ideas - thanks!