N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[wm3798]

Mixing and matching...


I took the hi-box tender from my defunct Atlas/RR 0-8-0 And have mated it to one of the Trix 0-6-0s in the fleet.  The draw bar pin on the loco is part of the cast metal frame, so the one-sided tender pick up helps add some juice through the frogs.  All I had to do was reverse the axles so the pickups are now opposite the stock RR set up.

I'll be putting an attractive, if slightly foobed WM fireball scheme on it eventually.

Lee

[wm3798]

Started in on the river bed. 


I'm using foamcore board for the base. 



This will conceal the wiring because I didn't want that hanging below the door.  The foam core will be installed loosely in case i decide to add something electrical like.

There's still some wiring to do for lighting, so other than a coat of paint, this will remain loose for now.

Lee

[wm3798]

Paint!

[wm3798]

More old junk scrubbed and polished.


Still need to put lights in them.

Lee

[Philip H]

Is that fireball supposed to be brown or black?

[wm3798]

Red, silly.

[Rich_S]

Is that fireball supposed to be brown or black?

Just jumping in here for a minute as I'm a little confused myself on the question. I'm guessing Philip you mean the carbody color? The carbody color is suppose to be black. The fireball logo's were yellow lettering on a black background with red flames.

 

[Philip H]

Just jumping in here for a minute as I'm a little confused myself on the question. I'm guessing Philip you mean the carbody color? The carbody color is suppose to be black. The fireball logo's were yellow lettering on a black background with red flames.

Bingo!

[wm3798]

That's what they are. The only Brown I see in the picture is my poorly done scenery.

[wm3798]

Better get that gal into the paint shop soon... her slip is showing!


So I dusted one of these guys off, which had a bad motor that got replaced.  Stripped of its DCC, it's ready for work on the Retro.  (I saved the board, just in case i ever come to my senses!)



Happy New Year, everyone!
Lee

[Rich_S]

So I dusted one of these guys off, which had a bad motor that got replaced.  Stripped of its DCC, it's ready for work on the Retro.  (I saved the board, just in case i ever come to my senses!)



Happy New Year, everyone!
Lee

What is this DCC you speaketh of? DC is the only way to run Retro trains 

Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year as well.

[wm3798]

Dang spell check!  DC cab control all the way!

[wm3798]

Meanwhile, at Retro Metro Station, it's Amtrak Night!


I claim temporary insanity in buying that E-60.  Apart from the fact that the trucks suffer from Cracked White Gear Disease, it's actually not a bad looking model.  For its era, the shell is surprisingly crisp, and the pantographs are some of the most intricate I've seen.

Even the drive itself isn't horrible.  Sure, a better motor might give it some more chutzpah, and those squirrelly nylon universals look like they could go at any second.  But if it weren't for those damn busted gears, this could have been a contender.  I gave it a good cleaning, greased the universals, and actually got it running fairly smoothly... except for that baseball card in the spokes thing.  It looks like there's only one gear that's really bad, but it's the one that picks up power from the worm and moves it to the other axels.  I was hoping I could relocate it, or convert its axle to an idler, but it's a slightly different diameter than its brethren, and when I tried moving it to a less critical position, it bound up the works completely.

So... I have a big high horsepower electric locomotive that sounds like it has the sound system for a wild west Mogul, with a resulting torque loss that has this chunk of black metal barely able to drag itself around the layout.  I guess I got me a nice shelf queen to add to the collection.

Lee

[Doug G.]

Sleeves.

Doug

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Can you ACC or JB Weld it all back together?