Weekend Update 7/14/19

[Cajonpassfan]

  I printed this on one of the Photon's

Rodney, that is fantastic! Wow!
(And do you have to be so matter-of-fact about it?)
Otto

[DKS]

I "hosted" the "birth" of a new small layout...



Read all about it here: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=47491

[davefoxx]

Well, I've got horns on my locomotives, so I might as well give them something to do . . . a road crossing!  This is 0.060" black styrene that's been roughed in.  It's not glued down yet, and it obviously still needs paint, ballast, and road markings.



More on the Seaboard Central 3.0 thread in the Layout Engineering Forum.

DFF

[davefoxx]

The worst is behind me on this crossing.  Just need to ensure final fitment and glue the pieces down before paint, ballast, and road markings.



DFF

[dougnelson]

Working on a couple of camp cars for the wreck train I will bring to Altoona. These are Dimi Trains (now Tichy) kits. They are not exact PRR prototypes, but are pretty close. Modifications include moving the center sills to the outside of the frames. The roof extensions were for the toilet and shower in the dormitory car.  These will be painted the pre-1954 gray and decaled with the Mount Vernon Shop PRR MOW set.



J.J. Young photo:

[nscalbitz]

I've never seen a right hand drive Ford Falcon (third photo) before !

Mate, let me show ya mine!!!
My first car, of course second/ third hand back in ?? '76??
They were imported CKD into NZ and Oz back then (we had 15% tariff protectionism back then too)...
cheers dave

[robert3985]

Headed out to the NMRA National Convention later today (Sunday) specifically to see my buddies running their N-scale trains in the Wasatch N-Scale club's portable layout and give them a hard time.  Also goin' to take a look at all the vendors there, which should be interesting and specifically to stop by the Peco booth and have a talk with them about N-scale track. 

Should be fun!

Spent ten hours last Wednesday at my good friend Gregg Cudworth's Nn3 rendition of the entire Rio Grande Southern double-decked in his basement, as crowd control and security as his layout was on the NMRA convention open house roster.  Gregg has been working on finishing his basement and getting as much of his layout finished as possible over the last three years...and was disappointed that he didn't have more finished.  However, it's a gargantuan effort and now that 100% of his benchwork, fascia, lighting valence and subroadbed is in, along with a goodly portion of his Styrofoam scenery base, more visible progress will be forthcoming in the near future.  Gregg recently discovered that the D&RGW had dual-gauge trackage shared with the RGS in Durango for a few years in the 1920's, so he's looking forward to hand-laying that using his code 30 track laying methods.  Can't wait to see that!

Here are some quick photos I took with my phone during the open house.

Photo (1) - Descending the stairs and turning left, this is what you see when entering Gregg's basement.  Notice the Rail Lynx infra-red throttles on the wall and the daylight (5000K) LED lighting:


Photo (2) - Rounding the corner to Rico on the upper level.  Notice the huge scenery-to-track-ratio.  Gregg is 2nd from the left:


Photo (3) - Rico with Gregg's handlaid C30 track, scratch-built structures and switches operated by O-scale banjo switch stands mounted on platforms on the fascia.  Gregg has the correct switch-point and stub switches in their appropriate positions in Rico:


Photo (4) - Near Muldoon Siding showing some almost-finished scenery and one of the hundred or so bridges that Gregg is building, each specific to its prototype location:


Photo (5) - Heading towards Lizard Head Pass:


Photo (6) -  Vance Junction on the upper left, Durango on the lower right:


Of special note on Gregg's layout is the "flowing fascia" concept that means there are virtually no straight layout borders, and the track rarely parallels the front edge of the layout.  Benchwork is a semi monocoque structure where the double-layered Masonite fascia is an essential component of the weight bearing and stiffening structure of the benchwork.  Subroadbed is splined Masonite glued together using industrial yellow hot glue and clamps, held in position by risers.  Gregg has between 33 and 36 scale miles of track on his basement-filling layout, with three locations needing to be "flipped" to fit the space and trackplan, with one non-prototypical tunnel as an entrance/exit to a two-loop helix to get enough space for track clearance between two scenes.  I counted only two rooms that are not a part of the layout in his basement, those being the utility room and Gregg's workshop.  There is also a crew-lounge, with part of the layout being operated there, which is the upper level above Durango.

Gregg is looking forward to doing actual modeling instead of room prep, benchwork, subroadbed and laying thousands of ties in the next evolution of steps towards completion.

Gregg and I, along with our late friend Kelly Newton and his brother Gil developed many of the concepts we are/were using for our club modules and home layouts, those being the flowing benchwork, benchwork construction methods, hand-laid track and turnouts, splined Masonite subroadbed and using LDE's from prototype locations.  We wanted N-scale's optimum scenery-to-track ratio to be exploited by our layout designs, and so developed the "Big Layout, Small Trains" concept, which Gregg's home layout so concisely epitomizes.

Gregg also models standard gauge N-scale when he has time, the D&RGW being his railroad of choice, and he and I have a portable 33'X19' layout which we take to various shows in our vicinity when we can put our schedules together.

I'll continue to update progress on this remarkable layout for those who are interested.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[rodsup9000]

   Bob,

 Please keep us up to date on the progress of the layout. It is/going to be a beautiful layout. Thanks for sharing it with us. 

[strummer]

   Bob,

 Please keep us up to date on the progress of the layout. It is/going to be a beautiful layout. Thanks for sharing it with us.

+1

Mark in Oregon

[VonRyan]

I did some 1:1 scale railroading yesterday.
DKS and a friend of his coerced me into joining the Pine Creek Railroad.
So I went there yesterday to pick up my rule book and staff shirt, and I wound up getting thrown right into the fray and spent the day doing a myriad of things.
The best parts about being a member of Pine Creek is that I have the opportunity to work with US Army 7751, and in storage is the Lady Edith from the Cavan & Leitrim Railway. So being at Pine Creek definitely covers a few bases for me.

I did manage to get a quick photo though.

[160pennsy]

Another scratch-built structure underway using plans found on MR's website...

@cbroughton67 ...Nice progress on your scratch build. Did you use Plastruct or Slaters Plastikard for the stone wall material?

[jpwisc]

I finally got a bunch of freight cars into paint, so I started decaling them with the few spare minutes I had this week.
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[altohorn25]

I did a little work on my Amtrak Coast Starlight this morning.  I had a Z scale 905 on the end of of the train and I swapped it out for a MT true scale coupler.  It looks better and it has the air hose as well.  The rear lights are working as well.  I have a Richmond Controls unit with capacitor powering two red nano LED's. 

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Here's a quick video - sorry it's a little shaky as I turned the camera to catch the end of the train:

[Dave V]

@robert3985 ,

That must be a hell of a thing to see...  Nn3 is a true modeler's scale, but to be able to take on the entire Rio Grande Southern in that scale takes craftsmanship and nards!

[wcfn100]

I finally got a bunch of freight cars into paint, so I started decaling them with the few spare minutes I had this week.
(Attachment Link)

Is that CGW one of the 'Dart End' kits?  If so, can I see how the ends look painted?  Also, is the black roof correct for a new car?  I never did get the shop diagram for that series.


Jason