Weekend Update 2/28/21

[randgust]

This custom build left the workbench this week -  a heavily redone Alco S for the Florida Railroad Museum #251.

It's really this clean, got repainted in 2020.   And as a private industry switcher, apparently ran into an overzealous OSHA inspector that demanded fall protection on TOP of the hood, done on the model with .004 stainless wire.  And, that's not a normal roof, either. That's what's there today.   



I produced the decals from photos and the buyer about sank me with detail photos, but it was worth it.

[CRL]

I've been working on some N-scale Conrail GP10's. I used a LL GP18 walkway, Atlas SD26 cab and GP9 shell, and various 3D-printed, wire, and photo-etched details. This is one of a pair ready for primer.

I love the look of the early Geeps, probably because they were my favorites when I was a kid. Also, I think the small diesels with the low hoods have a lot more personality than the more modern diesels.

[chuck geiger]

The reworked square sees the light of day.

[Angus Shops]

Yesterday’s progress: painted a CPR section house and a GHQ logging truck. Went to the LHS looking to find a few more freight cars to fill out the fleet: it turns out that after editing out all the junkers from the fleet I only have about 120 presentable cars which is not enough for the layout. I was hoping to find a few more Atlas PS1’s (long shot), suitable tanks (I have none in “Canadian” schemes), gondolas (1 Prairie Shadows CP car and a couple of foreign roads), and flats (no home road cars). No luck, but they did have some new Intermountain 40’ boxcars in CPR stepped scheme, so very appropriate. I’m not the biggest fan of the Intermountain cars; I find their separate ladders a little clunky, and these looked a little weird in the jewel box, but I thought I’d give them a try so a bought 4.

When I got them home and put them on the rails I found a couple of problems. The ride height is ridiculous; they look like they’re on stilts. However, these cars have body mounted couplers and it was obvious that the couplers were substantially to high, roughly .030 higher than my height gauge and any adjacent cars I lined them up with. For some reason Intermountain has placed a washer between the truck and the car bolster to raise the car. Removing the washer and filing down the car bolster lowers the car to correct coupler height and reduces the comical ride height to an acceptable (for me anyway) level.

Secondly, roof walk (a nice etched one, actually) on all four cars had come loose and was humped up in the middle of the. In addition, when viewed from the side the roof walk had a weird pink look to it that contrasted with the roof colour and made the rook walk stand out visually on the roof. When I took the rook walk off to to reapply it to get rid of the hump I found that the painting process had not penetrated under the roof walk and left a streak of white bare plastic down the center of the car under the roof walk. So the cars got a their roofs repainted, a general light weathering, their roof walks reinstalled and lowered; that took the rest of the day.

Today’s plan: the section house scene needs a deer fence around the veggie garden I ‘planted’ last week, a chicken coop, a woodshed and an outhouse. I have two sand towers that need their sand storage bins finished, a couple of structures need shingles on their roofs, and ...
Geoff

[wm3798]

The reworked square sees the light of day.

Just exquisite, @chuck geiger

[basementcalling]

I've been working on some N-scale Conrail GP10's. I used a LL GP18 walkway, Atlas SD26 cab and GP9 shell, and various 3D-printed, wire, and photo-etched details. This is one of a pair ready for primer.

This will help ensure that Intermountain actually makes their GP10s.

[BCR 570]

Tim -- what you do is inspiring -- while we see some great 3d printed models being produced by our fellow members, there is just something very enjoyable in watching you create unique rolling stock the old fashioned way.  Much respect!

Thank you; I am enjoying scratch-building immensely.  It is also very inexpensive!

Great to see so many unique locomotives being created this week - E1s, RS-2s, C-425, S? - thank you all for sharing.

Chuck:  Your road looks amazing.  i need to learn how to do that soon.


Tim

[Angus Shops]

Wow, Chuck, that looks incredible! If I can add one bit of constructive blah, blah, blah however, I think the trees are too big for a an ‘urban’ setting. Some of those are solid west coach old growth size. And I don’t think the railroad would permit your highways department to put a mileage sign between the tracks; probably more likely to be placed on the way out of town.

Serendipitous discovery of the day: if you take a bamboo toothpick and chop it to firewood length with your flush cutting rail nippers it pretty much splinters into scale firewood without further ‘splitting’ needed.

[peteski]

Wow, Chuck, that looks incredible! If I can add one bit of constructive blah, blah, blah however, I think the trees are too big for a an ‘urban’ setting. Some of those are solid west coach old growth size. And I don’t think the railroad would permit your highways department to put a mileage sign between the tracks; probably more likely to be placed on the way out of town.

I would disagree. In most cases trees on train layouts are way undersized.  The modelers sort of expect to see smaller trees on the layout. In this example, the buildings look well established (old neighborhood). Urban, or not urban, older trees (especially the evergreens) would be quite tall.

That mini diorama looks great Chuck!

[wazzou]

Agree on the sign and find it unlikely the tree adjacent to the track and behind the building would be allowed to reach that maturity in that location.

All else looks really good Chuck.
I think removing the elevated track was a good decision.


Additionally @chuck geiger , did you check the clearances on those crossing signs?
It looks to me like they’re both located within just a foot or two of the ends of the ties.

[nkalanaga]

I'm with Peteski.  Those trees don't look too tall at all.  The one next to the track is questionable, as it would probably have been stepped on too often when the track was more active, and could have been in the way.  From the looks of the track, it hasn't been used for some time, so the tree may have grown up since then.

I do agree that the sign location is unusual.  It could also be a hazard to anyone riding the side of a car during switching, although the tracks are far enough apart that might pass.  More likely, since the sign location isn't critical, it would be in the vacant lot beyond the buildings, next to the large rock.

[Angus Shops]

Hmmm. In my experience (as a manager of urban forestry in a mid sized Canadian city) it’s rare that the tree will be older than a building that it’s reasonably close to. It’s only recently that anybody has been interested in preserving trees on construction sites; before then any tree that would interfere with construction would have been removed to make construction easier, or to provide timber for construction or to provide a fire protection break. That’s a big tree, probably at least a few decades older than the structure. Plus railroads were (not so much anymore) pretty aggressive in maintaining their ROW’s clear of trees that might conceivably be a treat to operations. And human nature seems to be programmed to respond to a big tree near a structure with a chain saw (see above noted profession).

That’s a particularly beautiful tree though...
Geoff

[Missaberoad]

Fwiw... Old trees mixed with new construction are pretty common in Red Deer. It was the same case growing up in Winnipeg with its famous elms and oak trees...

It seems especially in the PNW having trees mixed with urbanization is unavoidable...

[chuck geiger]

Agree on the sign and find it unlikely the tree adjacent to the track and behind the building would be allowed to reach that maturity in that location.

All else looks really good Chuck.
I think removing the elevated track was a good decision.


Additionally @chuck geiger , did you check the clearances on those crossing signs?
It looks to me like they’re both located within just a foot or two of the ends of the ties.

I had it on the edge facing towards the town, will put it back. Great point 

[chuck geiger]

1.) Distance sign going back to edge of  road outside of town.
2.) Giant tree being switched out with another one in the back.
3.) Moving crossbucks.