Weekend Update 3/22/20

[Dave V]

Dave,

That first photo is absolute gold!  You set the bar high brother.  Also, #375 looks great.  How smooth is the mechanism?  Is it something you had to tweak to get rolling smoothly?  That's my big fear of taking on a locomotive kit.  It seems if you're starting with a smoothly operating mechanism, than 90% of your potential problems are avoided.

Erik

She's no Blackstone, but I replaced the gears and the motor so...yeah, she's good enough.  It took a bit of filing in the journals, but you have to be careful not to remove too much so there isn't too much play.

[hegstad1]

Very cool - was thinking about doing that myself because NP had one in my hometown of Hoquiam.  Question is, did they really sit flat on the ground like that or were they elevated somewhat with maybe some sort of skirting around the bottom.  I found plans for the foundation of Hoquiam's version on the NP-GN joint archives, but it wasn't clear to me exactly how the car fits on the foundation.

I assume there was a foundation of some sort. Mine isn't planted yet so haven't addressed it.  I'll have to do some research.

[coldriver]

I always felt like my scene at South Fossil had great potential but with the mainline of the Oregon Joint Line, the South Fork of the John Day River, and the Oregon & Northeastern logging branch all sharing a 12 inch shelf it was just too damn narrow.  Here's the after and before (sorry for the crappy cell snaps) showing how I sacrificed aisle space (end of a dead end aisle so no big deal) for scene expansion.  And by the way, John Armstrong was wrong about the need to avoid layout "Blobs".

[Cajonpassfan]

Nice job blending the backdrop, too.
Not sure I get the “blob” reference in this context. Maybe I’m a bit slow....
Love your layout @coldriver!
Otto K.

[Erik W]

I finished my Precision Scale Co HOn3 D&RGW "short" caboose.  Weathering is not really my forte.  I'm not sure how good I am with the artsy side of the hobby (scenery, backdrop painting, weathering, etc).  That said, lets dive in.  I used a gray wash on the high gloss model (made up of oil paint and Turpenoid).  The idea being it would take the sharpness out of the maroon and help the caboose siding's paint look aged, but not greatly deteriorated.  I then used airbrushed Testors Acrylic Flat Clear finish on the whole thing, going heavy on the black roof to create a more faded look (the roof was still not attached to the body at this point).  Next I used a tan wash (made up of water and acrylic paint) on the underside, trucks, and wheels, followed by a Polly Scale Railroad Tie Brown wash on the wheels.  The couplers got washes of Railroad Tie Brown, followed by a rust wash, then lastly a black wash (also all made of water and acrylic paint).  At this point the .005" thick clear styrene window material was attached with Elmers glue.  Then the roof sections were glued on.  I next added .003" monofilament thread as the stove stack support wires.  Before attaching, this clear monofilament was colored black with a Sharpie.  After it was attached I then brush painted it with mat finish.  Lastly I used a variety of Bragdon weathering powders on the roof, car sides, and ends, giving particular attention to the end platforms and roof walks to simulate paint worn away to bare wood.  I find myself with 77 D&RGW books, mostly pictorials, and a lot of color photos looking down on roof tops of D&RGW narrow gauge trains show paint-free roof walks (I've heard bare wood was less slippery when wet for the brakemen than painted wood).  I don't really have a method when it comes to weathering.  I just kind of wing it as I go.  And in the spirit of more photos are better than fewer,  here you go . . . 

Oh! I took the penny and pencil shots since I'll be forwarding photos to my self isolating family members . . . whether they want to receive them or not!


















Since I don't have an HOn3 layout, I display my narrow gauge builds on a display track.  You can see with this last addition, it's a pretty tight fit!  I may add a 3rd level to this display, which will allow space for 4 more HOn3 rolling stock builds.   



And while I had the camera out for the above photo, I took a photo of the whole display shelf.  I think one of the reasons I don't focus very well on my N scale layout is my wanderings into every other type of model building there is!  I'm big into presentation, trying to keep my home office from looking like a 15 year old male's bedroom, Haha, so every model gets a display base/diorama and a brass name plate.


Erik

[Cajonpassfan]

Damn that looks good Erik
Otto K.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Wow everything up to this point looks stunning. Great work every one.
Rod.

[coldriver]

Nice job blending the backdrop, too.
Not sure I get the “blob” reference in this context. Maybe I’m a bit slow....
Love your layout @coldriver!
Otto K.

thanks Otto, if you're a long time fan of John Armstrong's layout planning you'll see his constant recommendations to avoid "blobs" - in other words turnback curves (or peninsulas).   What I've found with the Oregon Joint Line is that standing at the end of those turnback curves makes for some of the best photo angles - especially if you're modeling a western prototype trying to shoot a good portion of a long train with minimal trees to block the views.

[wazzou]

I assume there was a foundation of some sort. Mine isn't planted yet so haven't addressed it.  I'll have to do some research.

@coldriver and @hegstad1
I believe they were just set on a cribbing of timbers or ties.
I think there are pictures of one in Woodinville, WA that showed this.

[robert3985]

thanks Otto, if you're a long time fan of John Armstrong's layout planning you'll see his constant recommendations to avoid "blobs" - in other words turnback curves (or peninsulas).   What I've found with the Oregon Joint Line is that standing at the end of those turnback curves makes for some of the best photo angles - especially if you're modeling a western prototype trying to shoot a good portion of a long train with minimal trees to block the views.

Works best in N-scale with its excellent scenery-to-track-ratio.  Armstrong's home layout was O scale and the vast majority of his layouts were designed for HO scale and I can see where "blobs" might be a problem.  I agree that the return loops or "blobs" in N scale offer very good photographic opportunities, and if the layout is high enough, making the scenery or a backdrop to hide the track on the other side is easy enough to do.  Armstrong also liked the idea of a "photographic curve"...basically a long, huge radius curve to photograph trains on somewhere on his layouts, but in N-scale...a lot of places serve as "photographic curves" in my experience.

I'm assuming that the top photo in your post @coldriver is the "after" shot??  Huge difference in appearance IMO.  A narrower isle  is a small price to pay!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Dave V]

@Erik W ,

After the mitigation measures for COVID-19 are lifted, give me a holler...  You're welcome to run any of that HOn3 goodness on the RGS First District.

[peteski]

Well, it had to be done.. so I started a week or so ago on a K-36. Here's the current design.  It's quite detailed, and while the proof will be in the pudding, many of the parts will probably be separate prints (on a sprue) to be added.  We'll see...

The model is designed to at least be free-rolling, but potentially powered.  I think it may be more realistic to power a couple of coaches which are big enough to house a standard T-Gauge mechanism.. hence a mixed train could conceivably be run.   Couplers are CCE knuckle couplers (more to scale in 1:300 actually).  We'll see how it all turns out but I'm optimistic.

Very nice!
It if fun to see whatever new tiny project you are conjuring up.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

A few projects nearing completion.

Conrail one and only rotary plow "Buffalo" never made it to Boston, but I'll fudge the truth a bit. Tichy Leslie kit that was reskinned (much like the prototype).
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Conrail Flanger SF1A. This was assigned to Framingham for nearly 30 years. This started out as a Walthers ICC caboose with new platforms, end rails, blades and details. Still needs final weathering and a stack.
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What did I do with the bay window parts? Glad you asked. They went into this N5K caboose. This is a LL SF 8 window model with a chopped cupola, new bay windows, end rails and trucks. The prototype had FRA ballistic glass added which quickly caked in dust. Still needs a stack.
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Finally a modified N5C caboose. Roof walks were removed, and end hand rails were modified. This actually came about because I stepped on the model. This is the result of the rebuild.
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[nkalanaga]

Turnback curves and peninsulas work fine for many Appalachian railroads, as that's the way the prototype is built.  Rather than tunnel through, or climb over, ridges, they follow the river, and the river is usually quite crooked. 

[Cajonpassfan]

thanks Otto, if you're a long time fan of John Armstrong's layout planning you'll see his constant recommendations to avoid "blobs" - in other words turnback curves (or peninsulas).   What I've found with the Oregon Joint Line is that standing at the end of those turnback curves makes for some of the best photo angles - especially if you're modeling a western prototype trying to shoot a good portion of a long train with minimal trees to block the views.

Ahh, now I know what you mean; agreed. Didn’t see any blobs in your pics. I have two turnback blobs. One is quite high near eye level and looks fine, the other a bit lower has a creek and a substantial ridge block in it to confuse the eye, and it looks fine, too. But then again, we have an advantage in N scale with our scenery to track ratio.. It must have been a bear coming up with believable designs in O scale.
Regards,
Otto K.