Weekend Update 8/11/19

[up1950s]

https://cellcode.us/quotes/voltage-spx-transformers.html

https://www.spxtransformersolutions.com/transformer-service/

https://www.spxtransformersolutions.com/power-transformers/manufacturing/shipping/

[C855B]

That photo is of recent product? "BUILT 1-69"? KarTrak decal?

[learmoia]

That photo is of recent product? "BUILT 1-69"? KarTrak decal?

50 years... as of Jan 2019

[Kentuckian]

Back to working on my Challenge #2 entry, the T-trak module. I love the way the details on these paper models pop!

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Sorry, I never get tired of that joke. I’ve joined the NMRA and there is a fall show/sale that includes a T-trak layout, so I hope to finally debut the module there.

[Philip H]

A little modeling on the road. A truckless centerbeam flat kit that I got this spring at a swap meet for $3. A fun 30 minutes to assemble on a Friday night on the road.

[BCR 570]

I started on a few boxcar builds today in an effort to fill in a few missing car series within my freight car fleet.  These cars belong to three lesser known series which were in use on the British Columbia during the 1970s.

First  is a pair of ex-BAR boxcars from a series acquired in 1973 for grain service.  They were built by AC&F and featured 4/3/1 IDE ends which I had Jeff print up for me.  The first step was to de-sprue the printed parts and test fit them on the Intermountain bodies.  The new ends incorporate all of the locating holes for the Intermountain brake equipment and ladders so fitting those will be straight forward.  These cars require 8' corrugated sliding doors which will come from the Atlas PS-1 kits (see further below):




Next up is a 50' double door boxcar rebuilt by USRM in 1974 as part of a series for the Atlantic & Western Railway; 80 were subsequently leased to the BCR.  I am using a Micro-Trains 37000 series shell which needed the 'AR' corner ladders cut down and shaved off.  This car requires replacement 8' double doors which Micro-Trains offers as part #1092:




Lastly is a pair of ex-SOO boxcars rebuilt by USRM in 1975 and leased to the BCR.  They got new 8' panel doors and reinforced side sills.  I am using two Atlas PS-1 cars which unfortunately have the end tack boards up high, with prominent locating bosses for them.  I drilled new holes to move them down, and removing the locating bosses for the former position above:




I filled in the spaces below the side sill extensions with strip styrene:




and then used .005" styrene for the side sill reinforcing strips and the gussets either side of the doors:




Now to add all the beautiful little parts which come with these cars.  I also started my MLW RS-18 builds this week, which are chronicled in a separate thread.


Thanks for looking,

Tim

[OldEastRR]

50 years... as of Jan 2019

Those battered wooden deck flatcars just live on and on and on ....neat.

[OldEastRR]

NKP #361 bodywork done -- next is placing roof vents correctly.

[wm3798]

Meanwhile, in Retro Land, I picked up a $1 caboose, a 1970s vintage Atlas "transfer" car, which was a typical Santa Fe style painted yellow with a number, no road name, and was immediately inspired to cut it up and put it back together to get this:



I used a ConCor passenger truck to hold it all up.  Probably the smoothest riding bobber ever!

Back in the day, when this was about the only caboose model we had to work with, I hacked up many of them to build styles that just weren't available.  It was a fun little throwback project.

Lee

[ednadolski]

A truckless centerbeam flat kit ...

@Philip H Got any more that you don’t want? 

Ed

[diezmon]

I'm getting back into the GN X-100 project.  Initially I was going with another caboose, chopped up, then cut out the windows, but i really am not great at making windows in thicker stock. They end up a parallelogram, and gradually grow in size as I try to fix the shape       So, i had a new idea.  I printed the plans on thin styrene.  so much easier to cut.  Then I'll apply to the caboose sides 




next, we have our second install of the much loved ESU 73100 into a Kato 40-2.  These things sound great, and I'm hooked.  It takes very little frame modification on the DCC ready split frame mechs.  There's a bit of a learning curve with programming. mainly lighting for me.  And for some reason, the SMD built in headlight is on constantly.. no idea how to turn it off, even after mucho googling.  So, I painted over the damn thing.  I'm wiring up additional LEDs for F/R lights anyway.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48489554541_bc0ecc1e78_b.jpg[/img]

[Dave V]

I performed an "un-foobie."  Some months ago I scored an undecorated Blackstone C-19 2-8-0 for cheap.  I actually wasn't 100% sure what I'd do with it, but I bought it because Blackstone C-19s are getting harder to find and this was a really good deal.  Well, I've always had a "thing" for the RGS' C-16s that they used up until the 20s.  So I took a C-19 with twin air pumps and painted it to represent a 1920-era C-16 without changing any of the details.  Blackstone boilers are diecast metal and I wasn't interested changing the twin pump arrangement even though none of the RGS C-16s had twin pumps.  So she became RGS 17, the last of the C-16s the RGS kept in service (1927).

The first challenge I had was finding the right decals to match the tender numbers the RGS used.  I struck out with four different manufacturers.  My trials and tribulations can be seen below.



Well, it just never looked the part to me.  It still looked like a C-19.  The Blackstone undecorated C-19 is actually based on D&RGW 347 and she appeared in the early 30s.  Blackstone offers this engine pre-lettered for 347 both with a green boiler and with a black boiler.  But I also have an extensive stash of D&RGW decals, so I decided to restore this engine to her prototype, D&RGW C-19 #347.



She's painted as she would have appears in the mid-1930s (with the Royal Gorge Route herald).  My inspiration is this photo (the date on the caption is wrong...it should be 1934, not 1944 as 347 was scrapped in October 1938):

https://ngtrainpics.photoshelter.com/image/I0000n4v_T2gmO6Q

My version:



The proto photo shows me what looks more like a planished iron boiler, so to accomplish that I painted the boiler with Neolube followed with a wash of Vallejo Burnt Iron.  I'm not 100% onboard with the visible brush marks, though, so I doubt 347 has seen her last trip to my workbench!

[Specter3]

Wiring the train room. Builder put washer dryer hookup in basement for an in-law apartment. Never was used. So the dryer vent will be the spray booth vent. The 220V line has been split in a new 4 space sub panel into 3 new circuits. One powers the area around the workbench including the emergency AC drain pump and the internet router. Another powers the room and layout lights on separate switches at the door. The third breaker powers the third switch at the door that controls the second outlet in every box for non lighting layout power. Network cabling will be up after the ac wiring. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[John]

Wiring the train room. Builder put washer dryer hookup in basement for an in-law apartment. Never was used. So the dryer vent will be the spray booth vent. The 220V line has been split in a new 4 space sub panel into 3 new circuits. One powers the area around the workbench including the emergency AC drain pump and the internet router. Another powers the room and layout lights on separate switches at the door. The third breaker powers the third switch at the door that controls the second outlet in every box for non lighting layout power. Network cabling will be up after the ac wiring. (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

I'm not an electrican, but that looks scary to me  -- don't forget the strain relief at the top where the wire enter the box ..

[MK]

Is that to code installing breakers like that?   

I would think a mini panel would be used.