Weekend Update 2/9/20

[Santa Fe Guy]

Beautiful work Mark. What product have you used for the snow?
Rod.

[John]

Insert molded?

md

Some sort of electro plating process that works on plastics ...

[peteski]

Some sort of electro plating process that works on plastics ...

Oh, ok. So it is not something you do yourself at home.  Some outside company did the plating?

[Erik W]

After years of suffering through a job I absolutely hated, I threw in the towel a month ago.  With a healthy savings and being in a much better frame of mind, I find myself stress-free and with time on my hands.  To the best of my memory it's been 9 years ago or so since I've worked on anything train related!  Sheesh, talk about a dry spell . . .  Anyway, being a Rio Grandeophile and with the inspiration of the HOn3 narrow gauge work of Dave V, Peter S, and Santa Fe Guy, I decided to add to my very slowly growing fleet of D&RGW HOn3 models.

This is the Precision Scale Co kit of the D&RGW short caboose #0575.  Similar to #0579 pictured below.  I'm using the Precision Scale caboose trucks that came with the kit, with Northwest Short Line fine scale wheels.  I'm also using Sergent Engineering AAR Type E couplers.  Since my HOn3 stuff is statically displayed at this point, the look of the trucks/wheels and couplers is more important than how well/smoothly they operate.  I weight these cars to NMRA specs, and have only lightly glued on the coupler boxes in case some day I actually have an HOn3 layout, and want to swap out the couplers for something else.

Anyway, it's good to be cutting styrene and smelling glue again (sniffing glue might have helped my prior work stress  )

#579 as seen on the Cumbres and Toltec


The kit was supposed to be plastic only, but Precision Scale threw in over sized brass end beams/railings, ladders, and brake rigging . . . which is why I specifically did not order the plastic w/brass version of this kit. 


Day one of construction.  The trucks and couplers are complete.


My HOn3 rolling stock (and one Nn3) on display.  These are all kits, 3 Precision Scale - caboose, reefer, tank car, 1 Rail Line - boxcar, 1 Grandt Line - drop bottom gon, 1 Rio Grande Models - flanger, and lastly a scratch built 6200 series steel sided wood framed flat car.


Aaaaand, not train related but if you're interested in really small things, this is the model building project that kicked off my rekindled interest in building stuff: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/22995-ytl-45-taiwanese-navy-tugboat-by-erik-w-finished-1350-scale/   

Erik

[PAL_Houston]

One project I have underway is to "notionally recreate" an old photo of Farron Summit Pusher station taken by Theresa Smith in the late 40's.  Only notional recreate because the model track plan could not be functionally identical to the prototype owing to lack of space (requiring such compromises as relocating the turning wye and mid siding cross-over, and curving the mainline).  Still, my aim is to get close enough that old timers can say "ah yes, that is Farron!"...
md

Forget all the photography comments --  I am amazed at how realistically you've recreated a snow scene!!
The snow drifting off the river, and drifting between the tracks is amazing!  And the background in the far valley!!
Where is your tutorial on how you did this?

[Philip H]

Between two days of industry trade show in New Orleans, a kid sick with the flu and the wife on the road most of the week, all I got done was a little bit of wiring work on the second layout module:

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[Iain]

http://www.dalejtravis.com/bridge/maine/htm/19008p6.htm

https://fundrazr.com/NarrowBridgeAhead?ref=ab_5T6sDLmeEyJ5T6sDLmeEyJ

http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41237&sid=2a927e77874f658fb09853717797734f&start=30

https://www.google.com/search?q=Trout+Brook+RR+Pony+truss+bridge&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj0nLCLwLvnAhVBMd8KHd5-AfAQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=Trout+Brook+RR+Pony+truss+bridge&gs_l=img.12...134145.150538..153083...1.0..2.90.3167.46......0....1..gws-wiz-img.....0.ZpP44vkS5tA&ei=FUc7XrS-L8Hi_Abe_YWADw&bih=922&biw=1846&hl=en

BTW, I worked on #9 during the restoration.  Mostly drilled holes, some light machining, that sort of thing.

[altohorn25]

Not a big project by any means, but I ordered some more Kato storage boxes from Japan for my custom painted Milwaukee heavyweights and motive power.  Sorry the pictures are kind of crappy....

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[Cajonpassfan]

Nato, that’s neat. What is the non-streamlined Hudson? A kitbash?
Otto

[altohorn25]

Nato, that’s neat. What is the non-streamlined Hudson? A kitbash?
Otto

Yes - its the old run of the kato/con-cor northern.  Mechanism (4th driver was cut out) and boiler were shortened and a new tender constructed (not by me).  I painted it, decaled it, and added the decoder.  It looks great, but I wish it ran better.  When the rear diver was removed, it changed the center of gravity on the loco and it doesn't get great contact with the rails. 

Those white stripes on the tender and the running boards are a pain in the butt to get straight (decals). 

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[Mark W]

Work continues on the 8 new modules I'm building.  As of yesterday, 4 of them are now operational and I got my first look at this wide open ess curve!


https://i.imgur.com/rk1tgN3.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/MSZ4ny7.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/BFyIXea.jpg

Today we're planning to finish up another 3. 
T -18 days until we leave for WGH in St. Paul!

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks for the explanation  @altohorn25, that makes for a handsome engine....
Otto K.

[coldriver]

After years of stalling on finishing the loco and car repair facilities at my main yard at Monument I finally jumped in and built this car repair shed.  It's based on the Northern Pacific car shed at Tacoma built in the late 50's.  The GN-NP Joint Archives had the AFE's with drawings and dimensions online but fully built it would've been 18 inches long in N scale.  So I condensed it down to eight inches long but tried to keep the flavor of the real thing using printed cardstock around a wood frame.  There's a lot more detail to be added but the 7th Ave Job was able to successfully "spot and pull the rips" at our last session.   

[PiperguyUMD]

MD 550 has been paved!

[nickelplate759]

Finished up the smokebox details (numberboard, steps, railing and graphite paint) for P&WV 1053