Re: Weekend Update 5/24/26

[Jim Starbuck]

I’ve been working on upgrading the Whitcomb 90 ton oil electric shell and mechanism.
I had the model running for our setup at Railroad Heritage of Midwest America in Silvis, IL last month but the shell needs much work and the mech was two Narrow Garage drives cobbled together and although it ran it was horribly noisy.
I decided to try building my own 3d printed chassis. Four axle all wheels driven and all wheel electrical pickup.
I parted out the NG drives to reuse the gears, worms and wheel back wipers.
The design is a simple box with a cradle for the 6x15 dual shaft motor and slots for the axles.

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The worm shaft runs in ball bearings at each end and I turned thrust tubes between the outboard worms and the bearings to control endplay. The bearings pressed into the printed chassis perfectly.
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I added a collar ahead of the worm shaft gear to help keep the gear square on the shaft. There’s also a flywheel on the rear motor shaft.

The wheels are ESM 33” with the axles cut to make half axles then fit into the geared tubes. The axle points were ground flat with a Dremel cutoff wheel while spinning in the wheel in the lathe. A brass collar rides in the printed chassis.
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The bottom is capped with styrene screwed to crossmembers glued into the chassis.
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The finished build looks Frankensteinian but runs well and although there’s still gear noise it’s significantly better than the old version.

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A new more correct shell has been printed as I want to have this finished for the N Scale convention in Milwaukee in a few weeks.

[BCR 570]

Back home after a very enjoyable weekend at our annual Railway Modellers Meet of BC.  Our PGE-BCR Modellers in N Scale group mounted a static display.

Greg Kennelly's PGE work train, passenger train and freight train at Pemberton in 1952:




My Provincial Museum Train display including the two recently completed tank cars:




My Prince George Auxiliary Train, with more of the Provincial Museum Train behind (including the in-progress official car PEACE RIVER):




Nolan Stewart's Squamish Auxiliary and ballast trains:




and various models by Philippe Whyte including recently completed trailers and flatcars:




I also displayed my three scratchbuilt track projects, and had them evaluated for NMRA AP Merit Awards:




Thanks for looking,

Tim

[Mark5]

It’s all better now, though.  The new UV clear coat on the headlights should be cured, and the Miata has been put back together.
DFF

Nice work.

[Dwight in Toronto]

I’ve been working on upgrading the Whitcomb 90 ton oil electric shell and mechanism.
I had the model running for our setup at Railroad Heritage of Midwest America in Silvis, IL last month but the shell needs work and the mech was two Narrow Garage drives cobbled together and although it ran it was horribly noisy.
I decided to try building my own 3d printed chassis. Four axle all wheels driven and all wheel electrical pickup.
I parted out the NG drive to reuse the gears, worms and wheel back wipers.
The design is a simple box with a cradle for the 6x15 dual shaft motor and slots for the axles.

(Attachment Link)




(Attachment Link)

The worm shaft runs in ball bearings at each end and I turned a thrust tube between the outboard worms and the bearings. The bearings pressed into the printed chassis perfectly.
(Attachment Link)

I added a collar ahead of the worm shaft gear to help keep the gear square on the shaft. There’s also a flywheel on the rear motor shaft.

The finished build looks Frankensteinian but runs well and although there’s still gear noise it’s significantly better than the old version.

(Attachment Link)

A new more correct shell has been printed and I want to have this finished for the N Scale convention in Milwaukee in a few weeks.

Jim, you continue to astonish, and inspire.  As Harry Chapin sang … “I wanna be like him”!
Huge thumbs up.

[InterurbanModels]

Whit Monday is a public holiday in France, so I'm still feeling in a weekend.
Recently, I got my hands on a few Rapido CN black & green Dayniters. I gave them some company in the form of a color printed heavyweight coach and a HW combine. The colors seems to match perfectly. A Wheels of Time Express car completes the set on the head end. 3 more Dayniters can be added to form a respectable train

[robert3985]

Ahhh...this 3-day weekend is turning out to be verrry productive!  First, I got my workshop/art room/computer room pretty well organized with the workbench firmly attached, level and solid...all after about a week of intermittent work on it between business and customer projects.

Second, my best friend Jared called me up early Saturday and said he had the day free, why not set up the layout??  Good question, so he came over and after five or six hours, we had it in-place (at least six of the nine major permanent modules) and then I worked all night sorting through the connection hardware, repairing a couple of spots that needed it after a hasty breakdown and move back in October of 2025, also getting my computer in its permanent spot, cleaned and set up properly. 

Finally got to bed around 9:00AM Sunday, then spent the next 10 hours sleeping the day away.  Hey, ya gotta sleep sometime unfortunately!

While setting up my layout, I found many boxes full of scenicking materials, ballast, tools, adhesives, fascia and skyboard paint, all of which will be stored under the layout after I get it properly leveled, buckled together and any electrical problems fixed.  Oddly, setting it up is actually creating space for storage that wasn't there when the modules were on their sides.

I suppose if I were married, I wouldn't be allowed to have my layout occupy nearly all of my great room, and my two workshops occupying two of my four bedrooms.  Some advantages to singularity, eh?

Photo (1) - Workbench, level, solid, attached...I still have some arranging to do plus shelves:


Photo (2) - Drawing table.  Still have boxes to unpack, but this is where my hand-painting will be done.  Airbrushing is in the spray booth in my 3D print/lathe/spray booth room:


Photo (3) - Computer Station.  This is where my 3D models get created, where I plan and create my modules, and where I am typing this right now.  Still have shelves to put up and need to connect my two printers:


Photo (4) - With all the contents of my not-yet-unpacked boxes of DVD's & books still stacked up and not in their respective bookcases, I still managed to get enough space to set all six of my unfinished modules up in about five hours:


Photo (5) - Here's the mostly unfinished side.  This will need three more modules, unfortunately an 8' long one (!) Right now, I'll be using old modules and sections to complete a circle of track so I can at least run trains soon!


Skyboards aren't screwed on yet, and the skyboard supports are where the swing-arm lamps with 100W equivalent 5000K LED bulbs are attached.  Those will be up later today.

Also, the big circular fireplace is leaking when it rains, so, it will be coming out soon, freeing up the space I need to construct a properly deep LDE of Wilhelmina Pass's distinctive sandstone cliffs and the Weber River pre-freeway.

That's been my weekend so far.  Can't wait to get a few trains running in the next day or two!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[mu26aeh]

Not much for me, but I can see again (after over six months of fun).

Started going through testing a bunch of "fringe" locos that I have (my main interest is N&W) - all tested fine except for this FP7. I put it on my test track and it refused to move. Therefore I took all apart:
(Attachment Link)

I spun the motor with my fingers, put it back together and stuck on the test track. This time it ran, though a bit reluctant - I'll take it apart again and sparingly lube it up and see how it is then.

I had a FP7 that exhibited the same situation.  If you tightened the frame halves too much, it bound things up.  Loosen it just a touch and it ran but the trucks would fall out

[Cory Rothlisberger]

Played with Crackle Paste for the first time. It definitely crackled too much. Any pointers on this stuff?

[tehachapifan]

Played with Crackle Paste for the first time. It definitely crackled too much. Any pointers on this stuff?

I never heard of the stuff, but I have to say the effect looks pretty darn good to me!

It looks a lot like some stamped concrete I've seen.

[Maletrain]

Try making the layer less thick. I found that it won't crack at all if the layer is too thin.

For my purposes, I wanted smaller pieces, and tried thinning the layers but got no cracking at all in the thinnest.

[mu26aeh]

Played with Crackle Paste for the first time. It definitely crackled too much. Any pointers on this stuff?

Check out this video from the QN&E on crackle paste.  He's had varying degrees of success, and failures.  Maybe you can glean some info from it

[up1950s]

I’ve been working on upgrading the Whitcomb 90 ton oil electric shell and mechanism.

A new more correct shell has been printed as I want to have this finished for the N Scale convention in Milwaukee in a few weeks.

You're and Chris and Randy and a few others are not from this planet . Not just the great work , but you spit them out like watermelon seeds .

[Jim Starbuck]

You're and Chris and Randy and a few others are not from this planet . Not just the great work , but you spit them out like watermelon seeds .

Thanks Richie,
This build has been very much inspired by @Chris333 and his Mack 45 Tonner. (That build is on my short list) There’s also input from @randgust. One of the great things about the group here is the encouragement and inspiration freely afforded. The guys in the Modutrak group are especially good at that too.

[randgust]

That chassis is right out of the Chris333 print concept, which was an adapted Toma modelworks design, and yes, IT WORKS.

I'm still astounded by the performance of my Porter 0-6-4, and the tolerances that were achieved by Chris333 on printing the new frame.   After that build, and two of the bitty Shays from Showcase, that whole mechanism design of spur to spur to transverse worm on all axles, that's the way to go people.  Don't depend on rods if you have them.  The only question is getting good pickup/equalization and piling on sufficient weight.   But the frame design problem is officially dead with the right printer.

The only quantum shift that I haven't seen widely adopted is the lever-axle pickup design on the current Kato 11-108/9 four wheelers.   That one equally astounds me, the final defeat of the four-wheel pickup problem equalization that should be some kind of a standard, kind of like end-axle pickups.   How that thing picks itself through insulated frogs and warped track is an amazing thing.   I'll refresh your memory with this thread, https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=54744.0
Note that one side of the axle pickup is fixed to the frame, the other side can pivot vertically on a lever so that all four wheels always contact the rail.  Add a bitty flywheel, and she just won't stall.  They don't get enough credit for that very simple improvement on pickup.

Move that concept inboard to an 0-4-0t  with interior hub contacts and it would be equally brilliant for tiny steam.    The 'cheat' on my 0-6-4 was making the trailing truck hot using a Bachmann tender truck.  Equally bulletproof in impact. 

[Jesse6669]

I tested/vetted a new 3D resin-- Resione K+ -- this week.  I wish I had found this stuff earlier!  It is far less susceptible to warping because it has low moisture absorption.  After calibrating, my initial prints are superior and it seems rugged as well.  I haven't tried on any models with lacy details yet, but the prints of the 48' domestic container turned out better than the old Phrozen RPG resin.  (The new prints are black, the gray at bottom is the old RPG resin.) 
 


I also designed some decals for another modeler, planted more shrubbery on the Midland Sub, and also got out to do some railfanning on Donner Pass. 

This scene at Norden where the old roundhouse used to be really would lend itself to a layout.