Weekend Update 11/16/25

[altohorn25]

A few things going on this weekend.

There was a small RPM over in Burnsville, MN today.  I took a few of my passenger trains and misc. equipment to display.

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I also started work on a couple of Milw switchers (both 3D printed shells):  an Alco HH-1000 and a Fairbanks-Morse H10-44.  The HH-1000 is on an Atlas S2 mechanism and the FM unit is on an Atlas VO-1000 mechanism. 

Both locomotives will be painted in their as built paint schemes:  The HH-1000 will be all black and the H10-44 will be in the orange and grey scheme.

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[PiperguyUMD]

I completed the signals and train order stands for my Emory Grove TTrak module back in the late winter. So after all this time of looking at them on my desk, I finally planted them on the module. Maybe this little win will be enough to get going on some other projects again!

[arx nakanishi]

The gas station at Cisco, Ut.  ( HERE ).

The station  was complete until they filmed Thelma & Louise and knocked the west wall out so they could shoot inside/outside from the outside.  I lived in Moab at the time and was driving to Grand Junction and went by when they were filming there.  They had all the cop cars for the chase scenes there along with the stainless semi fuel tanker.  I thought they were using the tanker to fill up the cars when they were out on remote shoots.   Wrong the tanker was there so they could blow it up.

I rented a storage unit from the guy who did all the cop cars for the movie.  The paint jobs were OK if you were at least 30-40 feet from the cars.  He also located a lot of the scene locations for the movie as he had worked on other movies and commercials shot in the area.

We now live 70 miles south of Moab but drove past Cisco two weeks ago going to a doctor appointment in Grand Junction.  Also last spring took some visitors out to Selma & Louise Point (where they shot the cars off into the Colorado River).

Cisco is an interesting place now.  Go to the street view above.  I could of bought a lot there for $75 in the 90's for back taxes.  Should of done it just because.

Sumner

Thank you for the interesting information. I became friends with the guy who lives at Thompson, west of Cisco, and built the underpass that appears in the movie just after the scene shown below. He told me they paid well!

Hiroshi Nakanishi/Boxcar Red Collection
https://riogrande.blog.jp/

[John]

I completed the signals and train order stands for my Emory Grove TTrak module back in the late winter. So after all this time of looking at them on my desk, I finally planted them on the module. Maybe this little win will be enough to get going on some other projects again!

Awesome scene -- your work always inspires me.  I'm going to have to up my game for my version of Emory Grove ..  -- The lighting is superb ... I'm sending David Hughes a link to your photo.

[crrcoal]

Just a "few" passenger trains. Would love to see the whole collection. Wow!!

Those little switchers are AWESOME!! How hard was the shell swap? Are those your prints? Nice work!!

A few things going on this weekend.

There was a small RPM over in Burnsville, MN today.  I took a few of my passenger trains and misc. equipment to display.

I also started work on a couple of Milw switchers (both 3D printed shells):  an Alco HH-1000 and a Fairbanks-Morse H10-44.  The HH-1000 is on an Atlas S2 mechanism and the FM unit is on an Atlas VO-1000 mechanism. 

Both locomotives will be painted in their as built paint schemes:  The HH-1000 will be all black and the H10-44 will be in the orange and grey scheme.

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

[mkearns]

It wasn't specifically a project from this weekend, but I recently shared a custom flatcar with my NRMA Division and thought I would share here too.

I wanted a TOFC for my Chessie era modeling (I apologize to @wm3798 in advance), but shied away from the longer cars because I think small layouts and TTRAK work best with shorter cars. I grew jealous of the Rapido F30 TTX 50' flatcars in HO (https://rrmodelcraftsman.com/rapidos-new-pennsylvania-railroad-f30-series-flatcars/) so decided to make my own in N scale.

I used undec Atlas flatcar, RS laser wood deck, MTL TOFC stand and ramps, small strip styrene, Tamiya chrome yellow spray paint, and Microscale TTX decals. Athearn Fruehauf trailers ride on the flatcars. I'm very pleased with how they turned out, as it was my first "scratch" project. 

[fcnrwy23]

Wow, I'd Say that it's... Pretty Dam Good for your first!! 

Jerry

[altohorn25]

Just a "few" passenger trains. Would love to see the whole collection. Wow!!

Those little switchers are AWESOME!! How hard was the shell swap? Are those your prints? Nice work!!

The shells are designed (and are) drop-ons to the Atlas mechanisms.  My friend, who designed and printed them, would prefer to remain anonymous.

I enjoy modeling passenger trains.  My home layout is Milwaukee Road in 1953, but I have about 20 name passenger trains from various roads that I have built.  Check out my youtube channel for more passenger trains:  https://www.youtube.com/@nathanpierce3034

[wm3798]

I completed the signals and train order stands for my Emory Grove TTrak module back in the late winter. So after all this time of looking at them on my desk, I finally planted them on the module. Maybe this little win will be enough to get going on some other projects again!

The snow on the train order stand steps is perfect.
Looks great!

Lee

[Sumner]

Thank you for the interesting information. I became friends with the guy who lives at Thompson, west of Cisco, and built the underpass that appears in the movie just after the scene shown below. He told me they paid well!

Hiroshi Nakanishi/Boxcar Red Collection
https://riogrande.blog.jp/

Thanks for the clip.  I watched the movie again about 4 months ago and forgot some of that clip.  Amazing how far apart the scenes are in that clip.  Starts up at Cisco.... then they are 60 miles south (30 miles south of Moab)....... then back to Cisco.... then 40 miles SW where they end up going in the river....then back to Cisco and then....

There is one scene where they put the cop in the trunk and then a few days later the scene is in the same place facing the other direction on the road (in Arches National Park).

Kind of fun when they shoot in an area that you are familiar with.

Sumner

[nickelplate759]

I also started work on a couple of Milw switchers (both 3D printed shells):  an Alco HH-1000 and a Fairbanks-Morse H10-44.  The HH-1000 is on an Atlas S2 mechanism and the FM unit is on an Atlas VO-1000 mechanism. 

@altohorn25 , did you purchase the H10-44 shell somewhere?  If so, do you have a pointer to the vendor?   I've got an old Shapeways shell but it's, shall we say, not terrific...

If you made the shell yourself - nice job!

[altohorn25]

@altohorn25 , did you purchase the H10-44 shell somewhere?  If so, do you have a pointer to the vendor?   I've got an old Shapeways shell but it's, shall we say, not terrific...

If you made the shell yourself - nice job!

The gentleman who designed and printed the shell just did a few for a couple of friends and is not interested in selling them to the general public; sorry.

BTW - this is MUCH improved over the old Shapeways shell.

[mmagliaro]

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I also returned to work on my scratchbuilt 30 degree crossing, completing the outer guard rail assemblies.  These are made up of three short sections of rail with different angles at either end, and they go inside the approach tracks:



With all of the rail components for the crossing now complete, I placed them into the fixture and rolled a truck through each route to test for smooth operation:



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Thanks for looking,

Tim
....

Tim,
Your crossing looks very good.  But having been through this process myself, I have some suggestions.

1. In addition to free-rolling a truck through it, hold the truck down with your fingers, and deliberately pull it to one side, up against
one rail, as you guide it through the crossing.  Then do the same, pulling it against the other rail.  Do this for all four routes through
the crossing.  If the guide rails, gauge, and clearances are good, it should be able to do this without riding up or picking
anything. 
2. Hook it to some straight track sections with rail joiners, just on a board as a temporary setup, and run an engine and cars through it forwards and backwards.

A single truck free-rolling through it will not expose problems as much as a real train with multiple trucks rolling through there.

My suggestions come from 1st-hand experience making a crossing with a Fast-Tracks jig and getting it up to snuff to pass
the NMRA evaluation.  And you probably already did this, but make sure you check all the clearances through that crossing
with the NMRA gauge, because they likely will check that.  They did for my crossing and scratch-built turnouts.

Good luck with your evaluation!

[InterurbanModels]

Time-travelling about a hundred years back with some Interurban Freight

[Dayliner]

The big news this week has been the long-awaited arrival of Rapido's N scale RDCs. These are outstanding models and well worth the wait.  The cars are shipped with end doors equipped with safety chains, but you are also given the option of installing door-mounted Gyralights. As I am modelling CP and ex-CP cars, I elected the latter option. I began by drilling a hole with a no 64 bit in the centre of the spare doors included with the model (the hole has been started in the back of each door). Then I glued the lights in place.  These are not solid castings, but have a clear plastic tube running through them, so they could be made to operate if desired.  Then I removed the body shells--not an easy task, but by inserting toothpicks between the frame and shell along the length of the car I was able to work the shell loose.  Working a little hastily, I did manage to pop one of the number panels off the side of the shell, so care is called for here.  The end doors are attached to the shell with foam adhesive tape. Extra tape is included with the model, as you will pretty much destroy the original tape when you remove the doors.  The doors are easily removed, but be sure to remove the strike plate first, or it will pop out with the door and fly across the room (ask me how I know this). Then simply install the new doors, secure with tape, replace the strike plate and pop the shell back on the model.

While I had the model on the workbench, I replaced the factory-installed MT couplers with N-possibles. This was my first experience with these, which come with a steep learning curve of their own.  However, the vast improvement in appearance was well worth the effort, and this was a valuable first step in learning how to work with this new product.

The picture shows CP 9064, as shipped, on the left, and VIA 6134, as modified, on the right.  The arrival of these models represents a huge advance in prototypical realism for my 1979 E&N Ry layout, and should Rapido offer RDC2s in a second run, I will definitely be ordering one.