Weekend Update 11/10/13

[davidgray1974]

Went to the Raleigh Model Train Show hosted by the Neuse River Model Railroad Club here in Raleigh, NC on Saturday.  If you want to check out the pics of some of the layouts, check out the link below!

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=31213.0

[Chris333]

Threw a dart and it landed on Nn3 



11x17 (2 pieces of paper)


Gonna try a small limestone quarry on the far side.

[Catt]

Threw a dart and it landed on Nn3 

Looks like fun.

[bbussey]

The Monon car is a 10' car.  The one I'm building is 10'6".  I happened to have a bunch of the MTL doors around so they were easy to experiment with.  I may be able to modify the top the same way as the MTL door which would save me a bunch of work.  Hopefully I have one in my stash as I don't hold too much hope that they'd have them anymore.  I sure wish they still carried parts.  A lot of these old kits have the wrong parts sprues in them (some even have the wrong bodies  ).

The AAR parts they tend to have.  I would ask to be certain.  And it certainly seems easier to add the styrene extender to the top of the proper-width InterMountain door, since you'd have to do the same with the MTL door anyway.

[Sokramiketes]

And while  the bottom door is scale width, it doesn't look quite right.  I don't know if the tack board is oversized or if the styrene I used is slightly too thick, but I'm not totally happy with the spacing.  I think something just a bit wider will look the part.

I'm also trying to figure out the Brake Valve/Cylinder fabrication.  I may look to Shapeways for this.

Jason

Did you make the door 6' wide, or the opening behind the door 6' wide?   

[wcfn100]

Did you make the door 6' wide, or the opening behind the door 6' wide?   

Now that I measure it, my door is undersized which is good news.  The opening on the IM car is slightly under 6' but it looks like that could be from the draft angle. The IM door works out to be ~73".  I still haven't nailed down how much overhang the door should have but anywhere up to 3" depending on the car seems to look right.

I have an E-Mail out to IM about the Superior doors. Otherwise the MTL option isn't horrible.  Some nights 20 minutes of filing a straight edge is just what's needed to wind down the day.

Jason

[DMU-Fan]

Did you do the install yourself? Or have it done? If it was farmed out, who did the work for you? And if you did it yourself...how much do you charge and where do I send the check? 

I got DCC and SMD ditch lights installed in my ex CR GP38-2. They flash via F2.

[bnsfdash8]

Did you do the install yourself? Or have it done? If it was farmed out, who did the work for you? And if you did it yourself...how much do you charge and where do I send the check? 

I did it myself. This is my third loco to get the full LED ditch light treatment.

[chicken45]

Did you do the install yourself? Or have it done? If it was farmed out, who did the work for you? And if you did it yourself...how much do you charge and where do I send the check? 

...what's a "check?" 

In other news, a little birdie told me that the FVM PRR Heritage unit replacement shell with the proper lettering position are on a boat, bound for the USA.  Three weeks, or so? So if you ordered one of these be sure to drop them a line.
Unless someone wants to pay me $250 for the misprinted variant 

[Andy_S]

The Scenic Express ballast is the way to go. Looks 100x better than the kato ballast.

Also, thinking of putting another type of ballast on top of what I already currently have.  I'm using the Kato ballast, but am considering the Scenic Express #50 Blended Ballast.  Below is the comparison shot.  The ballast was thrown on for comparison purposes only, so it doesn't look very tidy, but you get the idea.  What do you guys think?  The Kato ballast is in the foreground, in case anyone was wondering.



Thanks for looking,

David

[rsn48]

I guess at this point I'm suppose to show some sterling modelling or an area completed on the layout or.....   But this weekend was the completion of a labour of love - our local train show.  The committee that ran the show eventually wound down like on old wind up clock and that could not go on anymore.  When volunteers were called forth to take over no one stepped forward so the old committee declared that Trains 2012 was the last show.  A few of us who didn't want to see the show die got together roughly April of this year and worked hard to put humpty dumpty back together again.  So with many meetings, what felt like thousands of emails, visits to TV studios and radio stations, call out for more volunteers to help at the show, we put it on this weekend.

So that's what I did this weekend, watch the show go on!

Here's a video from Trains 2012 which pretty much illustrates this years train show:

So now its time to go take a nap!

[pnolan48]

Continuing progress on building Pete Nolan's great Harbor Cruise ship kit.  The second side is now glued on, the front and rear bulkheads are attached and the top deck is test fit ready to be glued later this afternoon.  The pilot house and funnel are not attached but its fun to see how the next steps will develop.

I'm pleased, and very much relieved, that Roger is having fun putting together this kit. It took two years for modelers here and on other forums to convince me that I should release kits, instead of offering only expensive built-ups. This kit took seven iterations before I was comfortable enough to release it. It usually takes me three tries to make a master that still requires a lot of fitting and filling, so the next four tries on this one were to make it "kit-able."

My 109' harbor tug is out, with a cast resin hull, for $100. The superstructure is styrene, but is easier to built than the Harbor Cruise Ship. And I have some standard river barges (scale 195' x 35') coming out soon at $60, and they are not kits, but complete.