Weekend Update 11/4/18

[chuck geiger]

Stickawa Canyon near Dirt City, CA on The BNSF Ponderosa Sub. How this was built in Layout Engineering Report.

[thomasjmdavis]

They had several types of express boxcars. There were 50 Standard height 50 foot cars converted to express service in Dec 1949 numbered 950-999. Another 50 were added in Nov 1950 as #300-349. During 1956-57 all standard height express cars went back to revenue freight service.

Thanks Bill,
I was sure I had done some research on the express cars before I bought one, but had no specific recollection, and could not find an online photo in a quick search.  I don't model MILW, but their express cars and baggage cars show up occasionally in photos of CEI and GTW trains, and while I do not have a photo, I know there were REA shipments from Milwaukee to points west that went via the ATSF Fast Mail (although a little after my timeframe).

[thomasjmdavis]

I have managed a bit of modeling over the past week, nothing is quite finished, but progress on several-

Erie baggage #537- an arched roof car (utilizing the balloon roof recently released).  I need to sort through my parts box for the right ventilators (and/or order some from Keystone Details).  They are quite similar, maybe identical, to some used by PRR. But now that I have painted one, MT can feel free to release the baggage car in 2-tone green....


And patrons now have air conditioning and the galley staff have proper ventilation in ATSF diner 1468 (needs a bit of touch up where filler cracked over one of the windows). Roof is by a designer called "justlegg" on Shapeways.


And, well, still 2 weeks of decaling and touch up to do, but finally starting in on DL107 and 108 (the ATSF versions of the DL109 and 110),  These are JNJ shells of the ATSF version which I will letter according to a photo dated 1954.  By 1958, there was a second headlight, but I haven't found a definitive reference for exactly when that was installed.  I have a second shell, and may modify it for the second headlight (I think JNJ may have also produced that version, so there may be some out there)


One major screw up- the L&N RPO (Atlas) I have been working on was DONE- and then I sprayed with clear flat.... I dunno what happened to that jar of finish in the 2 weeks since I last used it, but the car looks like it has been through a snowstorm.  Looks like time to start over...

[up1950s]

Tomorrow is moving day.

You just moved there a few years ago .

[altohorn25]

Started working on the PRR streamlined K4 this morning. All the parts are separated and cleaned up; now I start on the electrical work....ugh.... This part is going to take a while......

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[davefoxx]

We're terraforming again today!  It may not look like it, but significant progress was made today, including scenic design and actual construction.



More on Aly Foxx's N Scale Layout thread in the Layout Engineering Forum.

DFF

[narrowminded]

We're terraforming again today!  It may not look like it, but significant progress was made today, including scenic design and actual construction.

More on Aly Foxx's N Scale Layout thread in the Layout Engineering Forum.

DFF

Pretty cool, Dave.  Tell Aly I said hi and that I'm really impressed with her very fancy layout. 

Also tell her that her/ your old layout is doing fine here in Slippery Rock.  We're taking good care of it and enjoying it very much.  Trains are running weekly.

[davefoxx]

Mark,

Aly says, "Hi and thank you!"  We know you're taking good care of your layout.  We enjoy the updates and are glad that you're still enjoying it.

DFF

[randgust]

The Nn3 version of my 18-ton Climax passed it's tests this weekend.  Thing actually works.



I've still got instructions to write, as it's just different enough from the original build to need it.   The original 'standard gauge' version is in back, just to prove that this version really is setting on Z track, not N.   The Nn3 version is coupled to one of the shorty Nn3 log cars from Showcase Miniatures on MT trucks.

I'm not taking orders just yet, but I'm darn close. 
To do this, you'll need both the Kato 11-105/6/7 AND the Rohukan shorty mechanisms.  And the Solarbotics GM15A gearhead 25:1 motor.   I did the new frame exclusively for the gearhead as almost every Climax I've done lately is gearhead based anyway.

[Angus Shops]

I wired up the staging yard and tested it. Works perfectly; no electrical issues, no track problems. I've got to admit, it's a bit of a relief. 7 FastTracks switches all in one go; in the past I've always tried to stick to more gradual install/test program. As small a triumph as this is , this also marks the first movement of a loco under power on the new layout.
Geoff

[Joetrain59]

 " and then I sprayed with clear flat.... I dunno what happened to that jar of finish in the 2 weeks since I last used it, but the car looks like it has been through a snowstorm. "
 I just had that happen a few nights ago, too. And in the past. Not a snowstorm, but looks like spots of dust when I spray Dullcote sometimes. Rattle can was well shaken. This is why I keep brushable clear coats on hand. Kind of like spotting b&w prints in the old days.
 Joe D

[nkalanaga]

I've had that happen with Dullcote, but usually only when the humidity is quite high.  Unfortunately, it isn't predictable, as there have been a few cases where I would have liked the effect.

[GimpLizard]

Shameless name dropping here - as a Navy recruiter working in Jacksonville, Florida back in the late 1970's and early 1980's, I got to actually know Kirby Grant who played Sky King on TV. I met him while working on a recruiting publicity project in Orlando at a tourist attraction called Florida Festival where he served as a publicity ambassador. Later, I arranged for him to be the guest of honor at a Navy-sponsored model-building contest called The Navy Jax Scale Model Contest that was intended to generate interest in Navy careers among young people. He appeared in full Sky King regalia (white western-style suit and a white cowboy hat) and brought some videos of the show to introduce his character to the younger modelers at the show. Mr. Grant was a true gentleman through and through. He told me he eventually sold the Songbird (his Cessna 310 that appeared in the show) to a fellow rancher for the princely sum of one dollar.

The Navy Jax contest was eventually transferred from the Navy to the Jacksonville International Plastic Modelers Society (IPMS) sponsorship.

An even more shameless... ah, well not really name dropping. But shameless none-the-less.

Speaking of Songbird, Sky King's Cessna 310. An EAA acquaintance of mine, Ed, currently has custody - I guess you'd say - of the last one Kirby Grant owned. Songbird III, N6817T. It's owned by a friend of Ed's who is in in California. He's keeping it at Ed's place here in Wisconsin. Back in June Ed flew it to a local fly-in and was kind enough to take me for a short flight. I even got to take the controls for a while. And while this particulary airplane was never actually used in the TV show, it was owned by Kirby Grant, it was named Songbird III, and he flew it regularly.

Sky King was my "introduction" to aviation. and becasue of that, the Cessna 310 has always held a special place in my heart. So to actually get to fly in Songbird, was a childhood fantasy come true... after nearly 60 years.

[MK]

Our Sunshine Coast here in British Columbia, Canada is due northwest of Vancouver.  It is an isolated stretch of mainland coastline on the other side of Howe Sound, and is accessible by ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.  It includes the communities of Gibsons, Roberts Creek and Sechelt, and reaches Earl's Cove, from where another ferry ride takes you to another isolated stretch including the community of Powell River and Lund.


Tim

Thanks Tim.  I have cousins in Richmond and was over there back in September.

[Philip H]

No modeling this weekend as my boys and I were camping with the Cub Scouts so our Pack could attend the Blue Angels homecoming airshow:

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