Weekend Update 1/26/25

[Jesse6669]

Did you price their stuff? All I could think of was the number of ScaleTrains GP30s I could buy with that kind of money!      

All I was thinking was that the shipping is going to be at least a couple $hundred.

[garethashenden]

Finally looking like a locomotive!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Weathered up an LV 420

Gorgeous.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I have spent a bunch of time working on layout performance this weekend.

I fixed a bunch of switches where the electrical connections to the closure rails failed. That solved a bunch of annoying problems.

Then I realized why the supposedly powered frogs on a few more weren't working: I had forgotten to actually connect the wires. Whoops!

Anyway, York is now far less frustrating to run through.

[mu26aeh]

That sounds vaguely familiar @Ed Kapuscinski 😁

I got some more paint on the Buffalo & Pittsburgh SD-50s I'm working on.  They are currently on the Maryland Midland roster.  Not sure if they'll stay on my roster or get sold when finished

[Lemosteam]

Designed and printed a poseable clamshell bucket for the crane car. The kit includes parts for two, one with a straight jaw and the other with teeth.









The hoist has a magnet to swap when the crane needs a different appliance.



Here the crane is lifting the bucket from the barge:

[gi-depp]

Fort Bliss Enginehouse
I think you could arrange it that way, right? (not yet final)

[altohorn25]

Continuing work on express/storage cars for my Milwaukee Road "Pioneer Limited"

Storage mail car #1714. 

Not exact to the prototype photo, but it's pretty close (one of the doors is too large on the model).

Micro Trains heavyweight baggage car stripped and repainted.  Modelflex paints.  Circus City Decals.  Micro Trains Z scale 905 couplers.  Fox Valley (Scale Trains) 36" metal low profile wheels.  Gold Medal Models grab irons.

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[peteski]

Weathered up an LV 420

That is one of the most realistic weathering jobs I have ever seen!  The photography is also superb!

[haasmarc]

That is one of the most realistic weathering jobs I have ever seen!  The photography is also superb!

Thanks all.  I have a whole fleet I need to do.

[Jesse6669]

Made good progress on the 3D printed distressed Z-scale gondola, I'm doing my final test prints of the distressed version now.   The E. Norwood layout didn't get much progress this week but I acquired some terminal strips and wire and set up my soldering station in anticipation of electrical work.  And since the gon project is winding down I decided I needed to start work on a new one that's a little more complex-- a Z scale Conrail N-20 caboose.  I'm curious if I can print the end handrails.. and it'll also let me test my Conrail Blue paint mixture and a long-shank coupler.

[Lemosteam]

Finished assembling the second clamshell bucket; The links proved too brittle for these giant hands so I made some brass ones. This one has no teeth for cleaning aggregate out of gondolas and barges. I posed this one open this time.  Next up will be an orange peel grappler for the crane car.





Here, the operator is looking to grab a load of PRR ballast.


Made cribbing for the toothed clamshell and installed it on the A end of the flat. The clamshell is sitting in the cribbing and will remain loose for photo ops.


Meanwhile, the crane car is getting ready to grab some gravel from the barge.

[basementcalling]

Finished assembling the second clamshell bucket; The links proved too brittle for these giant hands so I made some brass ones. This one has no teeth for cleansing aggregate out of gondolas and barges. I posed this one open this time.  Next up will be an orange peel grappler for the crane car.





Here, the operator is looking to grab a load of PRR ballast.


Made cribbing for the toothed clamshell and installed it on the A end of the flat. The clamshell is sitting in the cribbing and will remain loose for photo ops.


Meanwhile, the crane car is getting ready to grab some gravel from the barge.

Glad you posted a second set of photos because the first post deserved more than 1 up arrow.
What did you use for the lynch pin in the hinge? I thought I saw a gleam of metal there.

The magnet idea to swap out buckets is brilliant.

[vermonter_railfan]

Spent the weekend at the Amherst Railroad Hobby Show, had some great response from my new Bernal, NM module. The working semaphores worked nearly flawlessly, though we did have a few MSS issues causing some false signals.

Here's a shot of my BNSF MOW train rounding the curve

[Lemosteam]

@basementcalling , thanks! The pivots are a PITA, but they work until I glue them into a position. All of the pivots use .04mm dia holes and 0.0125” phosphor bronze wire. I am in the process of adding cable to the pulleys inside. Yay!

The magnet also allows me to use the electromagnet for the scrap yard.