Weekend Update 10/14/2012

[jereising]

Something just a bit different from me this week...

Leggy (Mitch Legg from Australia) had Brian Kuhn paint up a couple of Kato SD70s for his GDRM railroad, and has asked me to run and photo them on the Sub before sending them on to the next stop.   

Here we see the units being serviced at the Oakville facility prior to heading up to Bakersfield:



The units are coupled to their train and are pumping up the air prior to departure:



And we're on the road!  A bit north of Oakville:



Rounding Wedding Cake Curve:



More next week...

[davefoxx]

This morning, after surviving my eight-year-old step-son's overnight birthday party with about nine or ten boys, I put together a Micro Engineering 40' plate girder bridge that the Aberdeen & Rockfish RR will need to clear the Seaboard System mainline.  As you can see, clearance doesn't seem to be a problem, in fact, my N scale NMRA template almost clears the bridge.



Now, I need to get to work staining the wooden parts, so I can begin planning the trestle that fills the gap.  This may be over my head, as it's on a curve and not level.  The summit of this climb will be approximately the left end of the trestle (just about the left side of the picture), where the grade will level off and head into staging one day.  I guess you could say it's a spiral curve both vertically and horizontally.  Also, I don't have a lot of play in the placement of the piers that will hold up the plate girder section, because, as you can see, the SBD main is also on a curve and not even close to perpendicular to the tracks above.

Dave Foxx

[wcfn100]

I deck girder seems very unusual for this situation.


Jason

[wazzou]

I deck girder seems very unusual for this situation.

Jason

I tend to agree and think that at minimum, the girders would be skewed.

[davefoxx]

I tend to agree and think that at minimum, the girders would be skewed.

Probably not so much skewed as it should have the outer girder longer.



I'm always open to suggestions, especially if someone can offer a picture or idea of how to clear the lower track without a steel span.  I really want to use a timber trestle to accentuate the A&R's shoestring budget.

DFF

[mmagliaro]

Probably not so much skewed as it should have the outer girder longer.



I'm always open to suggestions, especially if someone can offer a picture or idea of how to clear the lower track without a steel span.  I really want to use a timber trestle to accentuate the A&R's shoestring budget.

DFF

Since it's just held in place temporarily, this probably isn't an issue, but looking at that top view, watch out for the radius.
It clearly has a sharp bend in the right section before the bridge.

I hope this doesn't deflate your plan about using that girder bridge, but I think an all-wooden curved trestle would be the way to go,
with no steel girder in the middle.
Wood trestles do sometimes have open spans in the middle of them to allow a track to run underneath.  Since the whole trestle would be curved, you could make the whole curve a lot more gradual and uniform.  If you use a straight span in the middle, like
the girder bridge you have in there, you will necessarily have to make sharper curves on either side of it.

Having just gone through making an elaborate wood trestle with curves in it, I highly recommend Sweep Sticks.
You can snap them in between the rails to hold the radius dead-uniform.  Then, epoxy/clamp basswood stringers to the underside of
the ties.  When the epoxy dries, the sweep sticks are pulled out and the track will hold a perfect, rigid, radius.
Then, built the trestle bents and put them underneath.

[Chris333]

Skewed would be better as far as the bents are concerned:

[davefoxx]

Since it's just held in place temporarily, this probably isn't an issue, but looking at that top view, watch out for the radius.
It clearly has a sharp bend in the right section before the bridge.

Hi, Max,

Actually, the sharp bend at right is the radius of the curve leading into the bridge.  In other words, the bridge is the easement section, compounding the fun(!) of building the bridge.  The piece of flex tacked down over both ends of the approaches (what the plate girder bridge is tied to) is actually tacked down on top of the existing track and follows the existing curve exactly. Here's a wider angle to show you what I mean.

I hope this doesn't deflate your plan about using that girder bridge, but I think an all-wooden curved trestle would be the way to go,
with no steel girder in the middle.

I probably agree, now that I have fabricated the plate girder bridge and mocked it up.  I'll just have to figure out the most prototypical form of construction of the section over the lower track.  I don't really want Ed's Rule at play here.

Wood trestles do sometimes have open spans in the middle of them to allow a track to run underneath.  Since the whole trestle would be curved, you could make the whole curve a lot more gradual and uniform.  If you use a straight span in the middle, like
the girder bridge you have in there, you will necessarily have to make sharper curves on either side of it.

As seen above, I'm locked into this radius.  It just wasn't clear from the other pictures.  By the way, just down the hill, this line has a 10" radius track, so there's no benefit in trying to create a better alignment to reduce that radius.  This line is only four-axle locomotives and short trains.

Thanks,
Dave

[davefoxx]

Skewed would be better as far as the bents are concerned:

I agree, Chris, and may do that to shorten the span enough that I can make an all-wood bridge.  Anyone got any pictures of timber trestles with skewed bents?

Thanks,
Dave

[chuck geiger]

New camera - - - Cannon EOS 600D (now Rebel T3i) - Great no layout and
new camera. Pic above from condo deck with 250mm lens 1/2 mile from train. Live
near ARR mainline in Wasilla.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Been working on Lush Vineyard on my Shoo-fly module:





Not the most detailed vineyard in the N-scale world, but I like the impression.
(Gets better after each glass of Lush Vineyard's finest  )

And, of course, a "how-to" video:

Hope this comes in handy.
Thanks for looking, and for sharing all your great work this week!

[davefoxx]

M.C.,

Let me just be the first of many who will state that your vineyard is fantastic!  You never cease to amaze me.  Wow!

Dave

[chuck geiger]

M.C. Earnest and Julio Gallo called and want their vineyards back!!!!!!

[BCR 570]

M.C. - lovely scene.  Is the oil tank scratchbuilt or does someone offer that as part of a kit?

M.D. - With all those dirty diesels, you will now have to build a wash rack at Nelson.   


Not much modelling time for me lately, but slowly pushing forward on a number of fronts.

My turnout test bed now has support blocks to provide clearance for the switch machine underneath, and a fascia for trial arrangement of LED/toggle panel:




Trial arrangement for Highway 97 with mock-up of roadway and support blocks for the overpass in place:




I have been holding off starting any new projects, but when I saw a photo of this outfit service fuel supply car, I had to model it:




The process starts with building a Pacific Great Eastern 1101-1140 series 40'-6" flatcar.  I removed the fishbelly side sills from a Red Caboose flatcar, filled in the end sills and installed styrene filler pieces underneath to centre the new underframe, which is a stretched and spliced Micro-Trains fishbelly centre sill metal frame.  The centre sill sections will be reversed to stagger the joints.  The flatcar body was then prepped for installation of side sill steps, grab irons and brake wheel, and the parts were prepared as well:




Jeff Briggs drew up the six fuel tanks and they were produced through Shapeways.  I have yet to fashion the filler pipes and breather vents using brass wire.  Here is a trial arrangement on the flatcar deck of the six tanks and the box at the 'A" end:




I have sourced cast metal air bottles from Micro Engineering and fire extinguishers from Stewart Products.  I have yet to build the rack containing them out of strip styrene, and also have to procure some appropriate decals for the black road number on the side sill and the red warning stencils on the tanks.  It should be an interesting car when finished.


Tim

[M.C. Fujiwara]

M.C. - lovely scene.  Is the oil tank scratchbuilt or does someone offer that as part of a kit?

Think it came from the Walther's "Farm Supply" kit.
Thinking about painting "Lush" on the side, and then have a dude passed out under the tap.