Weekend Update 2/23/25

[up1950s]

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https://centralmassandmore.com/abandoned-train-tunnel-clinton/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ecnP7TCT3X0

https://www.newenglandgoodlife.com/hidden-new-england/exploring-local-history-at-an-abandoned-railroad-tunnel-and-the-wachusett-dam-teen-friendly-too

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasburg_Rail_Road

https://petersrailway.com/how-it-works/

https://www.highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=A_Brief_History_of_High_Railway_Bridges

[Chris333]

That reservoir behind the dam in the background was cleared out by a ton of narrow gauge railroads.
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:th83mf07t
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:n296x719c
https://www.beforetherewasadam.com/conrail-top/

All that is left now are piers: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wachusett+Dam+and+Wachusett+Reservoir/@42.4051514,-71.6857021,149m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x89e3f10d2c65154d:0xaa080a2c231a47da!2sClinton,+MA!3b1!8m2!3d42.4232376!4d-71.6835888!16zL20vMDFtOGd5!3m5!1s0x89e3f16a4132c45b:0x83f01368c0a92b34!8m2!3d42.4025983!4d-71.6870999!16zL20vMDdyY3c4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDIxOS4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[chessie system fan]

I went over to K4 decals the other day and discovered that they released two PRR X40b decal sets!  That reminded me that I had done most of the design work for that car a few years ago.  But I got stuck on the ends with those compound curves.  Maybe now I'll give another crack at it.

[bbussey]

Continuing work on the Conrail OCS. Conference car #11 has been added to the consist, while big dome #55 received some upgrades.

[tehachapifan]

I just finished a couple more N scale TTEX "Long Runner" flats cars. I've always been fascinated by these cars in that they had a trailer spanning between platforms. How did they manage to convince everyone involved that this was a good idea and wouldn't cause problems? At any rate, when I have visitors to the layout, these types of cars always generate a lot of interest and questions.

Both sets of cars were made from the Atlas 89' flats. The 357008 is from a unique group of these cars that were sort of a hybrid between a TTEX car and a two platform RTTX car, which had six hitches and could either carry three 53' trailers or six 28' trailers or maybe a combination of both, all elephant style....

357008 in "Triple 53" configuration...



357008 in a 28' "Six Pack" configuration....



Trailer spanning decks on the 357008...



TTEX 353259, a more typical Long Runner/Triple 53....



These cars require a fairly large curve radius so that the spanning trailer can articulate without issue. My curves are about 21" minimum. Even with that, I needed to widen the distance between wheels on each axle of the spanning trailer so that the tires would not climb the rub rails on the flatcar.

What will also affect the amount of articulation action of the bogies/tires on the spanning trailer is how close the hitch for that trailer is to the drawbar gap. The closer it is to the gap, the less the twisting movement of the rear bogies. On my very 1st TTEX car, I cheated the hitch back by a couple scale feet for this reason, but I kept these in their prototypical location and there is definitely more bogie twisting. The hitches for the spanning trailer on the 3570XX cars are mounted even further away from the drawbar gap because it also is used for a non-spanning 28' trailer, so these have even more bogie movement. "Sliding" the trailer bogies farther back on the trailer may help reduce twisting action too.

[Sumner]

The following are the remainder of the interior machinery parts for the sawmill. These items are really small and some detail is there but basically too small to paint or see. For instance the pillow blocks for the rollers and the belts between the rollers print but are very hard to actually see even up close. The printers now are better at detail than what our eyes can see, at least mine.

 

.



It took me a while watching videos to see how they handle slabs that are way too long to transfer over to the edger saw. The slabs move down the rollers towards the timber cutoff saw until the end of the slab is even with the end of the transfer table over to the edger rollers and saw. A chain saw comes up out of a slot and cuts the slab into two pieces. The one piece next to the transfer table is transferred over to the edger by the four chains that you can see above. Then the rollers down towards the timber cutoff saw reverse and bring the other half of the slab back up along side the transfer table. Then the chains move that slab over to the edger rollers and it moves through the edger which cuts it to width.

More info on Railwire here....

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=58208.msg816358#new

Sumner

[BCR 570]

More work on fixing up the entry into Septimus this week.

Sanding the balsa wood filler pieces:




Filling with patching compound and sanding it out:




Applying a coat of primer paint followed by a light sanding with fine grit sandpaper:




After two coats of backdrop blue - much neater now!





This will eventually be painted same as inside the tunnel.


Tim

Tim

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I started carving foam for my first set of T-MO modules: Cromwell Valley, right up the street from my house.

Yes, it was the MA&PA, but it's generic enough scenery to be anywhere in the mid atlantic.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

The tracks used to run where the pole line in the background is. My house is about two miles down to the right. I take my dog up here for walks and absolutely love this scene so I figured I HAD to recreate it.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[packers#1]

I finally got the layout cleared off and started my new Engineering Reports thread for the Foothills Railroad. You can read all about it in the Layout Engineering Reports thread

[Roger Holmes]

I finally finished a project more that ten years in the making.  Online I found the original 1929 blueprints for the Clark Street bridge in downtown Chicago.  Clark Street passes the East side of the old Chicago Traffic Court Building where I was assigned for two weeks every summer to help with the backlog.  2100 cases in one day was my record.

I resized the blueprints to fit my gap across the Chicago River and made a foamcore mock-up.  Eventually I found Red River Models who was going to laser cut it in MDF and I sent him the blueprints and my foamcore mock-up.  Unfortunately the owner died.





One of my fellow members of the Springfield (IL) Once-A-Month Model Railroad club  has multiple 3D printers and agreed to take on the project.  He did all of the design work and printing of the sides and Bridge Tender House and I built the roadway leaves and the sidewals whose railinings are Plastruct HO scale ladders.

 



Here are some photos that I took in April 2024.  The red brick building with the arched windows is the former Traffic Court.





  For some reason the paragraphs flipped and the photos are not showing up in the order that I posted them.

Here are a couple of photos of the finished model.

[gi-depp]

Hello,
I've finally got my first Scaltrains locomotive on the rails.




It runs really well in DCC mode with a Digitrax decoder.
If you compare it with a Kato in DC operation, it doesn't come close.
However, it is worlds better in terms of detail.

What bothers me personally is the low weight. Although I have filled the tank completely with lead, it is still 10 grams lighter than my Kato.
This is probably a general problem with sound locomotives.

Greetings Mike

[chuck geiger]

I am working on blending some scrub together in the Las Piedras Yard. Prarie weed tufts, 2mm-4mm static grass, Welberg weeds tufts, bushes, and WS yellow grass with sifted sand. I need to come over with airbrush on all of this with Tamiya buff and light earth.

[milw156]

I finally finished a project more that ten years in the making.  Online I found the original 1929 blueprints for the Clark Street bridge in downtown Chicago.  Clark Street passes the East side of the old Chicago Traffic Court Building where I was assigned for two weeks every summer to help with the backlog.  2100 cases in one day was my record.

I resized the blueprints to fit my gap across the Chicago River and made a foamcore mock-up.  Eventually I found Red River Models who was going to laser cut it in MDF and I sent him the blueprints and my foamcore mock-up.  Unfortunately the owner died.

  SNIP

Here are a couple of photos of the finished model.

Been over that bridge a time or two also, but what I remember the most about the Bridges over the river downtown was that they were metal grating, it always creeped me out being able to look down and see the river below. Are you going to try for that? Use some type of fine mesh? That would really be cool!
Rick

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Been over that bridge a time or two also, but what I remember the most about the Bridges over the river downtown was that they were metal grating, it always creeped me out being able to look down and see the river below. Are you going to try for that? Use some type of fine mesh? That would really be cool!
Rick

And if he does THAT he also needs the Dave Matthews Band tour bus.

[milw156]

What about the Rapido bus?