Weekend Update 11/11/18

[Brian M]

I've been getting to a point in my layout building where I'm almost stuck.  Stuck in that I need to order a turnout jig from Fast Tracks to start building turnouts, which will then let me get further along with figuring out track alignments.  There's only so much I can accomplish with paper templates.  So I decided to do something different one night this past week, just to mix it up a little, and broke out the chalks to weather a car.  I read of a technique where a guy mixed the chalk with alcohol and brushed this onto the car, so I thought I'd give it a shot with this Atlas D&H outside braced car.  After I applied some of this alcohol and chalk mix, I also applied some coats of just straight chalk dust to blend everything together.  Since on my layout (set in 1949-50), this car would be about 30 years old, I wanted it to look pretty dirty.  I feel like the sides came out ok, but I'm really pleased with how the roof came out.  It looks like it has many years worth of coal dust built up on it, which is what I was going for.



I've weathered plenty of cars over the years, but doing this one kind of has me excited to do some more.

The other non-direct layout task I decided to do today, was give myself another flat work surface that will collect a pile of things.  Some people might call this a "desk".  Since my primary hobby desk usually doesn't stay clear for longer than about two days, I kind of need another work area.  I'm going to try to keep tools and paint and such off of here for now, which will hopefully help me keep it clean-ish.  But it is also handy for having the Zephyr set up on it, and maybe also my SPROG, assuming I can ever get this particular computer to display a COM port. 


-Brian.

[ryan_wilkerson]

Is that a Great Dane puppy? If not, what kind? I'm guessing that pup cost as much as a brass steamer!

the wife spent the Hobby budget

[nkalanaga]

A simple project decades in the making: improving an ancient Trix TOFC car.

The original car dates to the early days of N scale, and wasn't the greatest model.  The prototype, if any, seems to be the same as the 1960s Arnold TOFC flat, which had the advantage of being metal. 

For a detailed review of the original, you can see Spookshow's freight car site.  Mine came with two 40 ft containers.  In short, the first problem I had to correct was when I bought the car, in the late 70s.  It had truck-mounted Rapido couplers, like everything else back then, and the trucks weren't very good.  So, I replaced them with KD long-extension roller bearing trucks.  It still sat way too high, but there didn't seem to be anything I could do about that.

The lettering wasn't good, so the car was repainted, and lettered with Walthers decals.  That paint has survived to today.

After I had a permanent layout, with 18 inch radius curves, I cut the couplers off the trucks, and screwed them to the car.  Still in the original truck-mounting boxes.  Clunky, but it worked.

Somewhere along the way, the original slide-on container mounts were replaced with small plastic blocks, with bras wire for "inter-box connectors", and holes drilled in the bottoms of the containers.  It looked much better, but meant the car was COFC-only.  Even so, I also added bridge plates.

One problem that couldn't be solved was that the car had a tendency to warp.  Not permanently, it seemed to vary, straight sometimes, or sway-backed, or arched.  It has a steel weight in the center sill, but that didn't seem to make a difference.

Eventually I scatchbuilt some decent TOFC cars, the MT came out with theirs, and this one went into the "retired" box.

A few months back, I found it again, and decided to see what could be done with it.  BLMA trucks lowered it some, and the couplers were still at a workable height, but it was still too high.  The bolsters could be filed down, and there seemed to be room for the flanges to clear, but that would leave the couplers too low.  They could be replaced, but given the overall value of the car, it didn't seem cost-effective.

A couple weeks back I found a pair of MT 2004 couplers in my parts box, apparently left over from lowering Con-Cor TOFC cars.  With those, and filed bolsters, the deck is very close to the same height as my Athearn and MT cars.  That's an Athearn on the left, MT on the right.  The container pedestals were replaced with Trainworx spares, which mount in deck holes, so they're removable, as are the MT trailer hitches.  A little touchup paint, and it looks presentable.  After all of that, I found that Trix, to help with the "too-high" problem, had made the center sill extra deep, so it now drug on turnouts and grade crossings.  So, it had to be sanded down about a 32nd of an inch, not a hard job.  The center sill was about that much deeper than the crossbearers, so removing the extra looks fine.

I'll be happy to retire it if someone comes out with a modern model of a 1960s General American TOFC car, but for now, it's in service.



1960s/70s Trix TOFC flat, lowered, repainted, with BLMA trucks and MT 2004 couplers.  A cheap improvement of an ancient model.

[johnb]

Is that a Great Dane puppy? If not, what kind? I'm guessing that pup cost as much as a brass steamer!

yes and a few....we lost our Mastiff last month.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Everyone who has posted,,,great job.
Now for my feeble attempt,,,

Read Ed's winter articles again,,,grabbed some 3-4 year old super trees and rustoleum dark gray primer...boy those trees are brittle!!
I know they are crooked and not straight,,,just trying to get a "feel"
Y-it

I think you're nailing it!

[CNR5529]

The N Scale Roadshow was at the Hamilton & Ancaster Model Train Show this weekend. We were able to test out a bunch of new Free-moN modules to create a meandering branchline off our main N Trak style layout, out to a future lumber yard and a grain complex down the hall at the far end of the layout. Many operators enjoyed making up trains in our main yard, heading down the winding subdivision and carrying out switching moves before changing ends and returning back to the main line.

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Now that these modules have proven to be reliable in service, they will get scenery and details. Keen observers will also notice a funny looking train off in the background of that last picture...

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Turbos are here! Thanks @Paradise275 for letting me put miles on your VIA Turbo. At least 3 different Turbo train sets made it on the layout yesterday, one of which was purchased after seeing another running on our layout... @rapidotrains you guys made a fantastic looking, sounding and running model.

[w neal]

T'was great fun at Trainfest this weekend. Lots of great people to talk with. My portion of the City Job seemed well received. Lots of people seemed to comment positively of the height of the layout. Some acquaintances came up to Trainfest and we visited. One N scaler had actually worked the City Job in the 80s and is a good advisor.



Milwaukee has some amazing restaurants. I was treated to some good Vietnamese food. And some great taco trucks.

Beecherfest was an experience on Friday night. Beer & train slide shows, complete with heckling. Great stuff from Blair Koostra, Mike Danemann (spelling?), and others. I learned that Point Special is now my favorite beer.

My good friend Pete was there to help attend the layout as I went walkabout.




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I got a nice plaque from the Trainfest staff for displaying the cCity Job. Thank you.

[up1950s]

Never noticed all those windows in the cockpit of the Turbo Train . Why , who was up there to use them ?

[C855B]

IIRC it was an observation lounge. The real question is... next to the turbine exhausts?

[Point353]

Never noticed all those windows in the cockpit of the Turbo Train . Why , who was up there to use them ?

At least in the US trains, first row in the dome section was the engineer's compartment on one side and seats for the fireman and brakeman on the other side.
The rest of the rows were all passenger seats, except for the engine exhausts coming up through the blank spots on either side.

http://www.railpictures.net/showimage.php?id=574331&key=5272537

[CNR5529]

There was lounge (first class) seating in some domes, and coach seating in others:



edit: @Point353 beat me to it!

[up1950s]

Wow , that's weird . Post 911 I don't think open air proximity to the crew and crew activities , controls , distraction , and their farts would pass muster . Thanks .

[tom mann]

Ordered @tom mann 's weathering book.  

 Can’t argue with that!

[peteski]

Wow , that's weird . Post 911 I don't think open air proximity to the crew and crew activities , controls , distraction , and their farts would pass muster . Thanks .

Unfortunately, regardless of what people say (and regardless of whether the terrorists were killed or not), to me the terrorists won.  They have changed our lives and the way we do things pretty much for the foreseeable future.  What used to be normal is no longer so.  Now you can' t even take photos of large buildings or public transportation without arousing suspicions.  Remember how easy to was to get on a airplane or train back in the '70s or '80s?  No more!  Now you almost have to strip to be allowed on an airplane.  And those long lines for security screenings. . . We persevered, but our lives have been made less enjoyable, and more difficult.

I used to go to the Logan airport in Boston and drive up to the top level of the parking garage to take photos of the sunset over Boston, or just some photos of the planes.  Nobody ever bothered me. I haven't done that for decades, but I suspect if I tried to do that now I would have security swarming around me in no time.  It is sad.  Yes, if you were lucky enough to be able to enjoy a ride in a lounge of a Turbo Train, only separated from the engineer by a thin glass wall, you were lucky - this is not to ever be repeated. 

[unittrain]

Built some more line poles minus insulators on most, deciding whether the t will look ok,

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