N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[wazzou]

I think V Line also made a fairly crude, by today’s standard, 2 Bay Covered Hopper that Deluxe also ended up with.

[DKS]

You're missing the wire handrails to either side of the cab door.

Thinking about those sharks... the mechs were notoriously slow... much slower than the protos were, but they would have made great switchers.

[johnb]

JNJ also made Shark shells....

[nickelplate759]

JNJ also made Shark shells....

Which looked a LOT as though they were resin castings made from V-Line/Deluxe shells.

[ChristianJDavis1]

Which looked a LOT as though they were resin castings made from V-Line/Deluxe shells.

JnJ seemed to have a problem with intellectual property, copying a lot of people's work/shells.

[Point353]

and yes, the E-R shells are beautiful.
Makes me think I might go ahead and drop the coin to get an actual boxed set next time I see one come around.  There's a New York Central set at the local hobby shop in nearby southern Delaware... I thought he had a relatively high price on it, but maybe not now that I think of it.

From when they still had them available, the BLW site shows a list price of $140 for an A/B set of the E-R models and a selling price of $84 for NYC (and $94 for B&O).
How does that compare to the price at the local shop?

[wm3798]

It's an NYC and it's $100

So not terrible except for the excursion across the state line.

The B&O set for $84 has my attention...

I'm 99% sure the loose shells I got were JnJ castings. 







As such I'm hesitant to strip the paint...  thoughts?
Lee

[jpec]

That roadname is outstanding...
Jeff

[wm3798]

Isn't it though?  I'm thinking of masking that off and keeping it with a slightly more interesting paint scheme...

Lee

[davefoxx]

I think you’d do better trying to touch up the paint, weather, and Dullcote that shell to hide its sins, rather than trying to mask off and paint around the lettering and over the boogers.

Maybe you could just add some striping to jazz it up a little, but don’t go overboard.  The PT&M probably ran on a shoestring budget.

DFF

[DKS]

I'd just apply cat whiskers, do some touch-up, and call it a day.

[davefoxx]

Oh, and don’t be too careful with the striping.  You’ll highlight how crooked the lettering is.   

Do

[wazzou]

It looks like the roof of that B unit has a hell of a swale in it.

[wm3798]

My hope is that at Retro Hi Rail speeds, things like lettering alignment and bad shell castings won't be noticed

Meanwhile, as noted in the Weekend Update column, I've succumbed to some 21st century technology to scratch a very particular itch...


I picked up a handful of Rapido Easy Peasy light kits.  Eventually I'll be fitting out ALL of my passenger cars with these (please click the fundraising button below) because they really are dirt simple.
The first set I wanted to light up is my Metroliner, which brings back memories of lingering trackside in Arbutus on Friday nights when I was an impressionable teenager, watching the last Metroliner of the evening, followed by the Florida Train behind the E60, the D&H Man headed for Pot Yards, and of course, Conrail freights hauled behind some ragged out GG1s and E44s.



Well, the light kits are great.  Easy to install and operate.  I'm using foam double face tape to install them, so it should be relatively easy to change the batteries when that becomes necessary.  The reed switches with the magnetic wands work very well, and with a wand being included with each kit, I'll never lose track of where at least one of them is.  By putting down Avery file labels on the car floor to reflect the light inside the shells, they light up wonderfully.  I now have to work out getting lighting installed in my repowered power car, but I can probably work out something that works off of track power for that.  In the mean time, I'll just enjoy watching the rest of the train flash by.



Lee

[wm3798]

Looks like Laurel Valley Back Shops spent some more cash at the scrap yard saving a few more relics from the torch.