Re: Weekend Update 7/19/26

[Mike Madonna]

I spent the last couple of weeks re-doing the track at Painted Post NY.  Back story:

When I laid out the track for this layout several years ago, I was using 1918 track charts for the Lackawanna (purchased on a CD from the ELRRHS) to determine how best to fit the track to my available space. Painted Post was the first town that I scenicked. Ron's Corollary to Ed's Law is that shortly after you build something, you will find photographic evidence that you were a wee bit off...    A few months after I 'finished' the scene, I found a photo showing a boxcar immediately adjacent to the depot. It turned out that I had misinterpreted the track chart and placed the siding too far from the depot. I thought, "Oh well, that will have to wait for another day to fix." Then about a year ago, I came across an aerial photo circa 1950 (my modeling era) that showed a second, shorter siding leading off from the first one. This was getting to be a bit much. And then during the last two op sessions, my guys informed me that the turnout into the siding was causing derailments. That was the last straw, so I have rebuilt Painted Post to better replicate its appearance circa 1950.

Before:



Trackage removed:



After:



I still have work to do (weathering the roads and adding trees to the neighborhood, for example), but for now I can get back to projects on the work bench.

Ron

Nice work Ron. Research and due diligence pays off....

[Mike Madonna]

Working on a recently acquired BLI M1A stealth model. Installed an ESU V5 and started to weather it. (1st time ever weathering steam) Still have more to do.

Nick,
Is that a "fade coat", light Grimy Black or powders? TIA

[Dave V]

Working on a recently acquired BLI M1A stealth model. Installed an ESU V5 and started to weather it. (1st time ever weathering steam) Still have more to do.

Nick, I don't think I'd do much more than add some coal over the plastic molded load. Not sure what techniques or materials you used, but that looks perfect to my eyesd as-is.

[Dwight in Toronto]

That monstrous tender behind Nick’s locomotive is the most interesting one I’ve ever seen.
Thanks in advance, if anyone can help me to learn more about this particular version?

[Lemosteam]

That monstrous tender behind Nick’s locomotive is the most interesting one I’ve ever seen.
Thanks in advance, if anyone can help me to learn more about this particular version?

The PRR Mia had a PRR classification as 210F75 (210,000 gallons, (F)reight, 75" deck from top of rail to match the freight cab floor)

Here is a diagram of that locomotive:

[N Scale Train Boy]

I was hoping to get back to modeling this past week... yeah that didn't happen. LOL! Tonight I will be getting back to work on a couple of projects though! I'l be getting back to work on a couple of weathering projects for friends, making some wire handrails for an HO locomotive to run at HO FreeMo meets with my friends a scale up, and cleaning up my kitbash of an MTL troop sleeper into a New Haven express boxcar. Updates to come tomorrow! Great stuff from everyone else this weekend!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I have been so busy on so many projects I'm almost intimidated by the prospect of writing it all down.

Lets start with... The New NCR. I should make a proper post on the Layout Engineering Thread, but for now... I installed fascia and my switch lock boxes on the Downtown York section.

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And that was done in preparation for some visitors on Saturday. Of course because model trains are hateful, spiteful things, the layout was having a complete dead short when I plugged it in.

I had no luck in figuring out why while everyone was here and it wasn't until Sunday afternoon that I figured out that it was because one of the SNAPS installed on a Tortoise wasn't shimmed and had shifted over approximately 2mm. 

The day wasn't a total waste though! Got to hang out and actually run trains (aka drink whiskey) at @DeltaBravo 's WM while Ben Snyder dispatched.

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[C855B]

The day wasn't a total waste though! Got to hang out and actually run trains (aka drink whiskey) at @DeltaBravo 's WM while Ben Snyder dispatched.

Rule G, dammit! Rule G! 

[John]

Sumner:  If you can find someone willing to do the printing I'll order a pair of them.

I have some time later this week - I'll give it a try ..

[Sumner]

I have some time later this week - I'll give it a try ..

Thanks John, you need a resin that doesn't become very brittle.  Using the Siraya Tech 'Build' and only curing 1.5-2 minutes (their recommendations) I can still flex the arms of the front think hold-down to some degree without them breaking.  Drill the pivot holes out in steps and I've been using .025 or .020 music wire for the pivot shafts.

Sumner

[John]

All I have is the anycubic abs like.   It’s kind of flexible.  I’ll try that. 

[Sumner]

All I have is the anycubic abs like.   It’s kind of flexible.  I’ll try that.

It doesn't have to be flexible, just not brittle.  Let us know how that works, should be strong enough.

Sumner

[robert3985]

All I have is the anycubic abs like.   It’s kind of flexible.  I’ll try that.

Yeah, I've had really good results with Anycubic ABS-Like Resin Pro 2, which is advertised as being both strong and flexible, as well as low-viscosity so that it reproduces high detail.  I print both high-resolution N-scale detail parts with very thin cross sections (UP E8/E9 snowshields/firecracker antennae etc.) and, although they can be broken with sausage-finger-monkey-careless handling, under normal care they are flexible enough and not brittle so they're quite durable.

I also print G-scale stuff, with huge cross-sections at 0.10 mm basically filling the print volume on my Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Max with larger prints, and the parts are durable, very detailed and I just don't worry about print failures.

However, over-curing can be problematic and cause brittleness.  With my Anycubic Wash & Cure Plus, I'm curing my N-scale parts at 2.5 minutes and my much thicker G-scale stuff at 4 minutes which gives me flexibility, no surface stickiness and with the thick G-scale stuff, no not-cured-enough resin in the middle.

I also frequently drill, tap and saw my prints, and the ABS-Like Resin Pro 2 prints respond extremely well to these operations as well as sanding if needed.

Overall, it's my resin of choice for nearly everything I'm printing.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[delamaize]

Well, Didn't think I was going to get anymore time this weekend, even with being off work Yesterday and today, But somehow, I scraped together some time, and did some more scenery.

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still a ways to go with this, Needs trees, bushes, touchup, and some break up of the all the green all the time, But overall, Pretty happy.

[Sumner]

Ed has been coming in 4-5 days a week for months now helping with the layout. He wanted to try making turnouts as all the turnouts on the layout up to this point I've made and we need a lot more so I was more than happy this. I got him started with a ....

 

.... #6 Fast Tracks code 55 fixture. It didn't take too long for him to get the hang of it using the fixture. Next he wanted to move on to making a turnout using a paper template. There are going to be two cross-overs on the main that are a fair ways apart and the decision was made to make some #8's for the cross-overs (bottom above). I had made some 8's, 10's and 12 curved turnouts but never straight. I can't believe how much prettier these are vs. the #6's. If I had know this I might of tried to work them in more places on the track plan. They are pretty but use up more real estate.

I have a fair amount of info on building turnouts, cutting your own PCB ties and other info ( HERE ).

To be continued and a link to this whole build ( HERE ) .

Sumner