Weekend Update 7/23/23

[Jim Starbuck]

I finished the 1940s Buda built Milwaukee rail detector.

A huge thanks to Brett Issacs (Baldylox Designs) for developing the shells and a very special thank you to Marc Haas for supplying the marker light housings.
The drive is a shortened Kato pocket line 11-110. It has a LokSound Nano, 9x16 speaker and a TCS KA-N1 keep alive in the rear car. The rear chassis is scratch built of brass angle and styrene rolling on Kato wheels. The marker lights and headlights are all 0201 LEDs.
This project has been on the want to do list for over 15 years and is in honor of a friend Al Fredricks of Savanna Illinois who operated a set like this for many years.

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Here’s a short video:

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Thanks,
Jim

[John]

Working on some bridge guard rails

[Cajonpassfan]

I finished the 1940s Milwaukee rail detector.

A huge thanks to Brett Issacs (Baldylox Designs) for developing the shells and a very special thank you to Marc Haas for supplying the marker light housings.
The drive is a shortened Kato pocket line 11-110. It has a LokSound a nano, 9x19 speaker and a TCS KA-N1 keep alive in the rear car. The rear chassis is scratch built of brass angle and styrene rolling on Kato wheels.
This project has been on the want to do list for over 15 years and is in honor of a friend Al Fredricks of Savanna Illinois who operated a set like this for many years.

...

Thanks,
Jim

Excellent work Jim! And it runs so well, too....
Otto

[Jim Starbuck]

Thanks Otto!
As far as the drive it’s all Kato’s brilliantly elegant design. All I did was cut the porches off of it.

[altohorn25]

Nate - do you mix body-mount and truck-mount cars in the same consist, or are you converting your Railsmith cars to body mount?

99% of the cars that I build I put body mount couplers on.

So far I've toyed with the idea of changing the Railsmith cars to body mount, but I haven't pulled the trigger on any yet (I don't want to screw up that expensive of a car).

The accumate couplers on the Railsmith cars are garbage (in my opinion.....only thing I don't like on the cars....), but they seem to work ok with my body mount Micro Trains couplers (I run a mix of 1015's and Z scale 905's).  I periodically have to go to a Railsmith car and bend the drawbar up or down to get it to line up perfectly with the coupler height gauge, but overall once I get them set, they stay that way and stay together.

[altohorn25]

I finished the roof and underbody detals on the SP 22 roomette sleeper for the 1950 Cascade.

Trucks, diaphrams, body, and underbody are primed and drying currently.

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[up1950s]

From the newspaper article you linked to:

"While the train resembles the historic original, it has been modernized with 21st-century technology to be a zero-emission battery, electric-power train."

Ah ha , I thought it sounded too good .

[up1950s]

I finished the 1940s Milwaukee rail detector.

A huge thanks to Brett Issacs (Baldylox Designs) for developing the shells and a very special thank you to Marc Haas for supplying the marker light housings.
The drive is a shortened Kato pocket line 11-110. It has a LokSound a nano, 9x19 speaker and a TCS KA-N1 keep alive in the rear car. The rear chassis is scratch built of brass angle and styrene rolling on Kato wheels.
This project has been on the want to do list for over 15 years and is in honor of a friend Al Fredricks of Savanna Illinois who operated a set like this for many years.

(Attachment Link)

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Here’s a short video:

/>
Thanks,
Jim

Love the Buda Jim , UP had one also .
https://www.google.com/search?q=union+pacific+buda&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjA5Juow6OAAxX1kokEHfplDwsQ0pQJegQICRAB&biw=1920&bih=929&dpr=1#imgrc=arVOLK6ab2zkbM

[Mike Madonna]

I finished the roof and underbody detals on the SP 22 roomette sleeper for the 1950 Cascade.

Trucks, diaphrams, body, and underbody are primed and drying currently.

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Nate, nice work so far!
Following your progress as I need to do a 22 Roomette Sleeper for the Lark.
Welcome your thoughts on the Union Station Products sides. Thanks in advance!

[altohorn25]

Nate, nice work so far!
Following your progress as I need to do a 22 Roomette Sleeper for the Lark.
Welcome your thoughts on the Union Station Products sides. Thanks in advance!

Hi Mike,

As I said in one of my posts today, if you can get your hands on an American Limited core kit, I think those are better quality than the new core kit being put out by Union Station Products (injection molded vs. 3D printed).

I've used Union Station Products sides for quite a few years now.  I really like the fact that you can get pretty much any car you can possibly want for whatever railroad you want.  They do a very nice job of giving you the background info with each set of sides so you know what trains each car ran on.  They also include with the shipment hard copies of whatever builders info they have for the particular car.  It usually includes builders diagrams and a photo of the car in service.

They take a bit of getting used to as working with cut styrene sides is different than injection molded sides or brass/metal sides.  In some ways they are more forgiving, in other ways they are much more fragile (around the windows you must be very careful clearing out the flash).  I've probably done more than 10 cars over the years and each one I do tends to be a bit better than the last and I'm happy with the results.

The most complicated cars that I've done was a 3 unit diner for the Lark (I used a Des Plaines core kit and USP sides) and a Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Advertising car (lots of modifications to an American Car and Foundry hospital car).  I'm including photos for your reference.

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[BCR 570]

Today's op session went well.  Fellow North Shore Model Railroad Group members Michael, Kyle, Rene and David were in attendance.

The eastbound Dawson Creek Switcher crossing the Pine River:




Work Extra 807 unloading rail at Septimus (first run for some of my new gondolas):




Arrival in Dawson Creek - the yard is busy today!




Chetwynd Yard during mid-session, with the Septimus Turn about to depart:




Tim

[nkalanaga]

On passenger cars, I've found that 1015s and truck-mounted couplers work fine together, with one caution.  The way the spring works, it compresses when pushing.  If one plans on pushing trains around curves, one needs to take that into consideration when drilling the screw hole.

This is one case where 1025s have an advantage, in that the separation widens when pulling, but 1025s don't have enough side swing to work with truck-mounted couplers on most curves.  Even on 18 inch radius curves, they can bind.

[Tjack757]

A new railroad right of way was established, after negotiating a 4 inch curtain easement with the wife.

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[John]

A new railroad right of way was established, after negotiating a 4 inch curtain easement with the wife.

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Convince her she needs these curtains

[Dwight in Toronto]

Thanks Otto!
As far as the drive it’s all Kato’s brilliantly elegant design. All I did was cut the porches off it.

Big praise, Jim, for yet another wonderful little jewel of a model.  Great stuff!