Weekend Update 4/11/21

[up1950s]

https://www.aldonco.com/store/p/312-Rail-Splint.aspx

https://newatlas.com/mechanical-motion-rectifier-railroad-energy-harvester/25223/

[nickelplate759]

the generator strikes me a silly - yes, it "harvests" the energy that deflects the rail up and down, but that energy comes from the motion of a train that in turns comes from the Diesel engine in the locomotive.  So it's just a really inefficient Diesel-powered generator - or electric-powered generator if it's on a traction line.

[hegstad1]

Northern Pacific boxcar projects lining up for the paint shop.

[eja]

I have a question for the great modelers on TRW.

Having seen so many wonderful layouts here (during the planning stage, construction, detailing and JFRTM), I find myself wondering how you find the time?  Likewise I wonder how much time during a typical week (if there is such a thing) do you work on your layout?

This is from someone who thought he would have lot of time to work on the railroad after he retired, but now finds he still has as many uncompleted projects as he did in the pre-retirement days.

ed

[Bob]

Well, building a layout kind be a long-term undertaking, and I think you need to find joy in all of the various steps (well, maybe not ballasting!).  I go through spurts where I work on scenery largely on the weekends, so it is difficult to assess the number of hours.  I have about 9 linear feet of scenery essentially complete and I am really happy with it, but it is going to take years to get close to completion.  But, I still enjoy running the trains even though they spend most of their time passing through sheets of pink Styrofoam!

[chessie system fan]

I've officially grown tired of waiting on Kato to release Great Northern's Empire builder so I've decided to print my own. Between the four F units and the ~18 cars in the train I'm guessing it's low on their list due to size. If I were them I'd do the International instead since it was just five cars (of four car types) and a single E7.

Right now I'm working on the ACF cars since I have the book of ACF and Budd floor plans.  I really wish I had access to all the Pullman drawings. I've found some online at the Pullman archives but not all of them. And I'm not paying $100+ for the book with all the floor plans.

Anyway, first up is a coach. I also wish I had better drawings of roof and underbody details.  I guess I'll add those later once I do more research.



Next is a 1960s era "Ranch" car with the skirts removed.



And finally the baggage-dormitory car.



At last but not least, I couldn't be bothered to wait 30+ hours to test print my design ideas on a whole car.  Instead, I built a shorty car, which I shall dub the Archibald.  I know years ago Walthers did a shorty heavyweight observation in HO (named the Oscar?). That was my inspiration.  I'll eventually mount it on an old Rowa truck from the junk box. 



It's good I did this test because you can see I didn't support the bottom end well enough which caused it to droop. But printing the walls half a millimeter thick around the windows turned out well, which was the main reason for the test. The rest of the car is 1.5mm for support.

Once I work the kinks out I think I'll print a couple of these to take to shows. 

[dem34]

Been working on the board module lately. The mood of it is starting to come together with the base scenery down.

[sirenwerks]

Northern Pacific boxcar projects lining up for the paint shop.

More details about your starting points and prototype targets.  And what are you using for ladder stocks?

[BCR 570]

April 1976 - applying decals to BCOL woodchip cars inside the Railwest Manufacturing plant at Squamish:




April 2021 - applying decals to eight models of the Railwest woodchip cars here in North Vancouver:




With 36 separate decals per car, this was a three-week process for me.  Thank you to Philippe Whyte for the great decals, which we had printed by Precision Design.  These cars will now get their top bracing painted to match the interiors, and then the final weathering and seal coat.


I also managed to rescue one of two cars I had written off during initial assembly, and applied the various detail parts:






This car will now be painted and gloss-coated, and will be one of three additional models completed as HSC-built cars.


Tim

[narrowminded]

the generator strikes me a silly - yes, it "harvests" the energy that deflects the rail up and down, but that energy comes from the motion of a train that in turns comes from the Diesel engine in the locomotive.  So it's just a really inefficient Diesel-powered generator - or electric-powered generator if it's on a traction line.

The point of these types of devices is to take advantage of energy that is present, already there, whether harvested or not.  The idea is that it saves all of the infrastructure needed to bring electric from distant sources and is very practical if the energy needed at the distant location can be satisfied with this otherwise unharvested source.  To me, the concept is certainly valid but the details would be in the full details of cost and efficacy.  Regenerative braking in electric autos, by style, strikes me as an example of this concept.

[NtheBasement]

I have a question for the great modelers on TRW.

Having seen so many wonderful layouts here (during the planning stage, construction, detailing and JFRTM), I find myself wondering how you find the time?  Likewise I wonder how much time during a typical week (if there is such a thing) do you work on your layout?

This is from someone who thought he would have lot of time to work on the railroad after he retired, but now finds he still has as many uncompleted projects as he did in the pre-retirement days.

ed

Not sure I qualify as a great modeler but here goes.

Mostly in the winter, too much to do outdoors otherwise.  So think of it as the time I would have been doing yard work, bicycling etc I was down in the layout room.  Back when I worked I took vacation days to get solid weeks off on Thanksgiving and Xmas/New Years and that's when I did specific projects (which never got finished before going back to work).  But the layout is 20+ years old and still not done.  Now that I'm retired I'm maybe spending three times as much time on it.

[hegstad1]

More details about your starting points and prototype targets.  And what are you using for ladder stocks?

From left to right in the photo...



This model is from a standard IMRC 1937 AAR box with new door, Des Plaines 8 rung ladders and a modified side sill. The prototype was modified in the late 1950s



Next is a Deluxe Innovations car again with new side sill and 8 rung ladders.  I kept this as delivered.



This is an IMRC "Canadian" boxcar with modified sill, again, a rebuilt car.



Finally, the last car is a cut down Walthers NACC car melded with a Deluxe Innovations 40'er.  Should have an 8.5 foot door instead of 10.

[PiperguyUMD]

Finally back to work on the modules! Seeing all the pictures from NE is a powerful motivator! Lots of progress on Owings Mills this week. Dets in the layout thread.

[ncbqguy]

Aaron-

“Right now I'm working on the ACF cars since I have the book of ACF and Budd floor plans.  I really wish I had access to all the Pullman drawings. I've found some online at the Pullman archives but not all of them. And I'm not paying $100+ for the book with all the floor plans.”

I’ve got a couple of ($100) plan books that,  while not erection drawings, should fill in the blanks.
Send ma a direct email (my first initial, last name, at comcast dot net) of which cars you need and I will be happy to scan them for you.
Charlie Vlk

[chessie system fan]

@ncbqguy  Email sent.