Weekend Update 11/14/21

[Erik W]

I received all the parts I've been waiting for, so was able to finish the special trucks (standard gauge Tichy Train Group arch bar trucks with narrow gauge wheels) for this project.  While this top photo looks benign enough, the trucks proved to be a bit of a pain.  The wheel set from Northwest Short Line arrived Friday.  I realized the axle ends outside of the wheels were too long.  Luckily I hadn't shortened the bolsters from HO standard gauge to HOn3 narrow gauge yet.  I ground off the ends of the axles of this newly arrives $25 wheel set with my Dremel tool.  Yikes!  And then wound up over-correcting and having the outer axle too short for the depth of the journal boxes in the trucks, sooo . . . I added a .030" square of styrene in the journal boxes.  Once I was able to test fit everything together with a block of styrene simulating the bolster, I had the confidence to cut the real bolsters down to the correct length.  With all said and done now, these hybrid kit bashed trucks look good, and are very free rolling as an added bonus.  I also finished the small structure on the deck of the spreader.  And realized last week that I forgot to show a photo of the frame side that was short cast.  I had to make up for the lost length with a strip of styrene.  This part of the frame will face forward, so will be hidden.

The next step is shimming the trucks so they sit at the correct height in relation to the frame, and then figuring out the coupler pocket height and making any frame modifications as necessary.









Lastly, a photo of the prototype so all this makes sense.


Erik

[u18b]

Well, after a long pause, I'm excited to be able to post two things this week.

First, I made a huge breakthrough on the WM Shay drive train.  It now runs smoother and quieter than before.
I look forward to describing what I did on the Shay thread later.




And also, it was so wonderful to have Aaron @chessie system fan  come over.
We have been discussing ideas for a few weeks the Western Maryland Chaffee Branch layout.
Unfortunately, there were some difficult obstacles to overcome and a lot of rough draft ideas that did not work.

We discussed and solved the issues this week and Aaron came over a drew out the track plan for me.

He is really good at this and has a great eye.

I don't know when I'm going to get started on this.... but I'm excited for this first step.

[John]

Finished up a bathroom remodel and laundered some money today. (I forgot to take my wallet out of my pants) ..

I also started to deconstruct the helix on the Maryland and Ohio RR -- more to come

[propmeup1]

Been doing a little work at making aux water tenders for my BLI 2-8-2s that I'm converting into a pair of Reading M1. Also to be used behind the Reading I10 2-8-0 and the RBMN 425. I used the Wiswesser book on the Reading for the plans along with another plan I had. Took some photos of the RBMN aux tender and the one in Hamburg, PA at the RDG Museum.   
     I made the master pattern from .060 plastic sheet with .020 for the former coal bunker bulkheads. I used .010 half round stock for the trim that goes around the coal bunker bulkheads.  The water hatch is made from sheet plastic as well as is the hinges.
     I Can't find the correct trucks however unless I use the ones from the Rapido 4-6-2 tenders which I do not want to strip good running engines for their tender trucks. So for now I'm using a standard journal truck.   
     Still more details need to be added especially the one for the RBMN 425. That one has a walkway on the top pretty much the length of the tender and break wheel and a back up light. The other ones will end up with the break wheels. I still do put more frame bracing under the body and give them some paint.

[propmeup1]

Second try at the pics.

[propmeup1]

I failed to mention but the tender is complete with all rivets. I use rivet decals which turned out pretty good but when removing the master from the mold some of the decals came off.  These tenders I poured with resin and are solid. I figured something this small will need it's own weight.

[Cajonpassfan]

Nice job on the tender master, Keith, and it's simple to pour resin as a one piece solid casting.
If you do need a cavity for wiring or a board or even sound, like I do, an easy way to create it is to insert a piece of 1/2" by 3/8" (or whatever thickness you need) soft balsa wood into your mold and pour bellow and around it. It's quite easy to remove / router out the soft balsa afterwards. Weight, if needed, can be added in the form of a metal floor (1/2" brass bar works) or inside.
Following your build with interest. Guys that can take a generic USRA loco and turn it into a specific unique prototype are A-#1 in my book👍😃
Otto

[up1950s]

Been working on my You Tube channel and have met some great modelers. Hats off to several Spanish modelers in Mexico.
https://www.youtube.com/c/a383models

Do they allow that type of music in Mexico ?

[up1950s]

Finished up a bathroom remodel and laundered some money today. (I forgot to take my wallet out of my pants) ..

I also started to deconstruct the helix on the Maryland and Ohio RR -- more to come

Haha I laundered my wallet about 6 weeks ago for 10 minutes or so . Thankfully my CDC card just suffered finger grab extraction mutilation on two spots with no printing .

[John]

Thankfully my CDC card just suffered finger grab extraction mutilation on two spots with no printing .

I don't keep my CDC card in my wallet -- it's stuck to the fridge with a magnet   I won't go anywhere that wants to see it ... NOTFB!!!!   

[btrain]

I've been getting the itch to build a layout again. After looking through the work of Tom Johnson and his HO scale Logansport & Indiana Northern, I've begun the planning process for an N scale switching set up that will be a freelance short line that uses the old Erie mainline in Western Ohio or Indiana during the early 1980s.

The layout plan is below and I'm open to suggestions and critiques. It's two modules that are four feet by 18" each built to Free-moN standards.



While the bridge I completed this weekend isn't part of the plan above, I wanted to brush up on my building and painting skills and use it for future expansion on a short module that can act as a switching lead.

[wazzou]

I’d consider removing that road on the far right, unless it’s an overpass.
I just can’t imagine a scenario on a prototype where that road would be in that spot.

[u18b]

I’d consider removing that road on the far right, unless it’s an overpass.
I just can’t imagine a scenario on a prototype where that road would be in that spot.

I agree if it was an overpass.
There's a bridge over the yard at Montgomery, Ala.
The GM&O passenger car yard in Mobile Ala also had a road over it.

[mu26aeh]

I played hvac tech this morning, out with the old undersized main trunk, and in with the new correctly sized main truck, and most importantly the supply line for the bedroom in the new addition.  1 more step to final inspections !


Then worked my shift at Mainline, and seen these get brought in for consignment.  Even though I don't model the steam era or UP/SP, I still had to ponder owning something like these.

[nkalanaga]

I could see a road there.  It looks like the railroad was built at an angle to the local road grid.  In this location, the road avoids all of the points, and looks to be inside the fouling points of the turnouts.  That way there's no complications building the crossings, and the railroad doesn't lose any usable track space.