Weekend Update - September 9, 2007

[3rdrail]

Well, what have y'all accomplished in the past week. I've uploaded some more photos into Picasa for Proto Photos on Thursdays and thought I had things running good for the Dothan train show next weekend until Wednesday night. Started having trouble with the train uncoupling, in the tunnel of all places. After much frustration, believe I'll limit the train to MTL cars, or cars with MTL trucks, as the problem seems to be Accumates coupled to MTL's. Have tried doubleheading my H3b 2-8-0's and can pull about 8 cars with them. My Atlas Shays will also doublehead and will pull 15 cars on the level, haven't tried them on the portable layout yet.

[James Costello]

Worked a container for an entry into the 2007 Intermodal Contest.

Trying to represent on of the SPDU 48' Containers that was sold off after the UP takeover and ended up in the CSX fleet. CSXU removed the giant SP speed lettering, added some patches over the dirt and stuck some CSXU marks on.





I've wanted to do one of these for years and finally got around to put the idea into practice, so a big thanks to the Competition for that!

[John]

Working on an Atlas roundhouse

[img width= height=]http://lh4.google.com/acsxfan1/RuRTVC0rB6I/AAAAAAAABww/OAsKN-GNkfU/s800/IMG_2203.jpg[/img]

[img width= height=]http://lh4.google.com/acsxfan1/RuRTYC0rB7I/AAAAAAAABw4/G8OfR_Lfark/s800/IMG_2205.jpg[/img]


Next up .. paint and weathering ..

[nscalesteve]

[up1950s]

Geez Steve , the lack of paint build up , and clean lines is amazing . What paint are you using ?

[Atlanticflier]

Nscalesteve - Beautiful loco, nice paint job. A pic view of the whole loco would be nice to see.

[nscalesteve]

Geez Steve , the lack of paint build up , and clean lines is amazing . What paint are you using ?

thank you Richie, the models are painted with Badger model flex colors and I did use Tamiya masking tape...

[nscalesteve]

Nscalesteve - Beautiful loco, nice paint job. A pic view of the whole loco would be nice to see.

thank you - a full view of the engines will be showed in an article in a magazin soon - the owner of the engines will send in an article with the history of this engines - the paintscheme started as a train simulator skin...

[engineshop]

Nice Steve.
Isn't time somebody starts making see-through photo etched screens for engines.

Not much for me.

I have been working on another port equipment. This is a Kalmar Straddle Carrier. I would need at about 5, 6 of them. At least it has only 10% of the parts of my crane.

[3rdrail]

I just got back from upstairs, where I opened a Kadee kit that had been vacuum sealed for a couple of decades, assembled it, added end reporting marks I made last week (they spelled out "SOO LINE" on the ends, too), and (gasp) weathered it!!!  ;D

[asciibaron]

last weekend i started my layout - this weekend i put in the last spike for the trackwork.  it's all in and tested.  now to operate it for a few weeks and see how i likes it.

-steve

[wm3798]

Worked on the caboose terminal on the temporary yard.  I finished the track connection to make the caboose track a thru track, plus re-connected the existing caboose yard, which will now serve as a running repair shop.

Here's the progress so far...


First, a concrete platform between the tracks, and preparation for the steel shed to be built.


I started working up the shed based on photos in Dwight Jones' excellent book on WM cabooses.  Mine's a bit short, but it can hold two cars reasonably.  I have to finish adding some structural members, then I'll simulate an overhead crane and add some lighting.  There will be a bunch of detail added to this scene.  While the yard section is temporary, I'll be able to use this structure in the Elkins yard when it's all said and done.

Here's a peek at the new caboose service track.


Lee

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I spent the past 52 hours doing train stuff. Good weekend!!!

Friday brought lots of progress to the oNeTRAK module (but in my progress, I have yet to take a photo of it, it's top secret...). I got the track soldered (many, many thanks to Black Diamond for that!!!) and glued down. I also carved the scenery (which was ever so intricate...).

Then yesterday I hung out with our own Gonzo, and Kris & Russ from the Conrail Historical Society. They're a great bunch of guys, and railfanning with them was a blast. We snagged some decent stuff in Baltimore. I checked out a great new location: Carrolls in the city, which yielded this photo:



And this one:



And a few more: http://picasaweb.google.com/ed.kapuscinski/BaltimoreRailfanning

Oh, almost forgot, this one for Lee:


We then headed to the B&O museum, where we got a back stage tour.







And yet another one for Lee, his next ride:

[Iain]

I got some surfing in...

'Twas funny.  I have new neighbors from Wyoming, and as I left a little after lunch they were putting plywood over their windows.  I came back and theirs was the only house to receive such treatment.  I told them that around here tropical storms mean nothing.  I guess they actually believed the guy on the Weather Channel was really getting blown around.

[wm3798]

Make him an offer for the plywood!
Lee