The Average Eastern

[kelticsylk]

HOW NOT TO MAKE DECALS

I've been working on this for days now and I'm hoping I will finally get it right. As I type this I'm creating the third stencil. The PhotoEZ film is being exposed to the icandescent light at the workbench. It should be ready for developing in about fifteen minutes. I think I have the exposure procedure down pat. We shall see.

The first step in the process is creating a drawing. This can get pretty involved. I wanted to put as much in that drawing as I could, so the stencil is crowded.. The sheets I have are only 4x5 inches. You would think filling one would be a cake walk. It's not. Finding stuff to fill up the drawing takes quite a while. Once you find some info, like the lettering you want, you may want to research things like the class and number series of the car you are going to decal. It's pretty easy to make different numbers for each car. The finished drawing is a composite of five others...

Composite Drawing

The drawing is sized to fit an 8.5" x 11.5" transparency. That is room enough for four sets of decals, each on its own 4"x5" sheet. You can see that I packed as many different road names as I could. All of them are railroads that I'll be modeling. I also threw in few others from other model railroads and the Owertown trolley.

Then I printed the entire drawing on a single transparency. Wanted to take advantage of all that real estate at one time. It doesn't make sense to me that I should print one 4"x5" image and waste three quarters of a rather costly piece of  acetate. I didn't intend to make multiple stencils at one time but if need be I could "burn" four stencils at once.

Anyhow, the transparency came out great. As I mentioned before, the inkjet printer I use has awesome resolution. It is possible to read the smallest lettering. It would be really nice if the finished product comes out the same way. By the way, it helps if you feed the transparency into the printer properly. If not you waste ink on the paper protector sheet...

"Misprint"

I expose the PhotoEZ by laying the transparency over it and then pinning both of them down with a piece of clear acylic. The light I use is just 40 watt (I think) bulb in the magnifier over the worktop. I let it sit for 15 minutes and find something else to do (like this blog)...

"Burning" The Stencil

The part of the drawing I'm using first is the upper left quadrant. It has all kinds of stuff on it. I've included some of the motive power, a variety of cabeese, the trolley and a few boxcar decals for foreign road names. You may recognize some of them...

Upper Left Quadrant

I'm not sure if some of the thinner linework will actually appear on the actual decal. I've been having trouble with that part of the process...

Fine Lines

Sometimes the artwork comes out "gloppy", sometimes too faint or not at all. I've tried acyllic paint sprayed through an airbrush and actuall silk screen "ink" (seems like thick paint to me). I know it's me. I don't have the knack of it yet...

Upper Left Corner Of Stencil

Decal Air Brushed

Decal Inked

Part of the issue is the stencil. I've beat it up quite a bit. Even so, under magnification the stencil is nowhere near the resolution of the original printout...

Detail Of Stencil

You can also see the evidence of the actual screen mesh on some of the decal. This sample was not made from a fresh stencil. By this time the poor thing has been scrubbed clean several times...

Mesh Marks

Soooo...The new stencil was exposed for 15 minutes. I looked at and it appeared to be blank. I guess I did something wrong. Put it under the light for another 15 minutes...Here is where I issue a word of warning. On the first stencil I thought I could see the artwork. That was a fluke. More than likely the stencil will appear totally blank. After developing the artwork will be VERY obvious. By putting it back under the light I overexposed it...I cleverly managed to make the same mistake with two different sheets of PhotoEZ. Those were the last two 4"x5" I had. Fortunately for me Circuit Bridge slipped two extra small samples in the bag. I was able to create a new usable stencil. There is a silver lining...I can experiment with paint and ink to my hearts content...

Improperly Exposed

Another thing to watch is handling the stencil before it develops. I got finger prints on the first two. Now I make a little handle from the Tamiya masking tape I use. This way I can lift and manuever the sheet without fingering it.. Make sure it's on the mesh side of the template...

Masking Tape Handle

Once the stencil has been exposed place it a shallow pan of water to develop the image. It's like that step in developing photos from film (if anybody remembers film). There are some documents out there that suggest scrubbing the stencil. WAIT until the stencil is developed. In fact don't scrub it at all. I know this because I scrubbed the first sheet. I striipped away most of the emulsion and was left with empty mesh. Lift it out of the water and rinse it under cold water. If there is any excess emulsion rub gently with your fingers while rinsing. Once I rinse it off I lay it down between two paper towels and let it dry...

Finished (Sort Of)

After examining this last example in camera images I can see that there are places that may have had excess emulsion. Should have taken more time cleaning off the film...

Residue

Well, at least I have one more piece of PhotoEZ. Might as well try again.

If anyone out there wants to take their own shot at this, You can buy four 4"x5" sheets of PhotoEZ for about $10 from Circuit Bridge. Gives you something to experiment on without draining your bank account.

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

[kelticsylk]

With Apologies To The Pennsy Fans

All tracks are laid on the four track Class 1. I had only a few feet to go but got stuck on solving the decal thingy. Today I took a couple of hours to finish up the trackwork. Then I started running test trains on all four tracks. Test trains in this instance meaning locomotives running light. The 2-10-0 was moved to Track 4, the one with the tightest radii. Aside from cleaning the rails there were very few problems. There were some derailments. A short section of Track 2 was out of guage at Clark's Summit. The rail had popped out of the little clips on the tie strip. I snapped it back in place and trains ran fine. I left them unattended for several minutes and nothing went wrong. So far so good...

Now if only I could learn how to use a camera.

I apologize to any of the Pennsy fans who take exception to the Erie power. I have PRR diesels but
A...most of them are in for repairs
B...I felt like running my Erie units.

Not sure where to go now. Normally I would start laying track on the other areas. I'm mulling over the idea of working in the Average area for a while before moving on. Put more work into scenery and the Average Eastern yard and engine facilities. I could still lay track on other parts of the layout at my leisure. Still pondering the options...

The Average Eastern Track Plan

I'm a tad annoyed that I cannot nail down the decal project. I know I can use the emulsion screens as a mask for airbrushing, I've done it.

It Should Work!!!

Aside from getting the painting technique straightened out it should work!!! I ran out of PhotoEZ so I'll have to order some more to keep experimenting. Hopefully I can solve this.

Since I wasn't getting anywhere on the decals I went back to painting locomotive shells. I cleaned all those shades of orange and blue off the F7's. I started to spray the Jersey Central units with Tamiya's acrylic orange and wasn't happy. Under the magnifier I could see flaws in the finish. The first try I got lumps. I cleaned off the shell, used thinned paint and got an eggshell finish. Arrrgh! I did not have this issue with the Model Master orange enamel I used originally. Rather than screw with paint mixing, I'm gonna shoot the CNJ units with the enamel.

Despite all that trains are running again. The Average Eastern is looking like a model railroad again (at least parts of it are). It's all good.

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

[MichaelWinicki]

Gotta say Frank, I think that's going to be a fun layout to operate when you have it done.

[kelticsylk]

Average

Going forward it looks like I'm going to start working on the Average end of the layout. Didn't necessarily plan it that way, it just kinda happened. Today I found myself laying track for the yard and engine facilities. This small yard is a lot more believable than Juniata Yard on the previous version of the layout...

Average

The track is being laid directly on the foam slab without ballast strip. I also let the track follow the topography. It's basically flat in this area, but not absolutely. The layer of paper towels/drywall compound leaves an uneven surface. The track will eventually be buried in cinders. The idea is to recreate the rough appearance found in many railroad yards.

While I had thought of not using one, I decided to keep the turnatable shown on the plan. The turntable is kinda useless. Since there no way to turn engines anywhere else on the line, there really isn't any reason to turn them here. I'm imagining that there was some other place to turn locomotives some time in the past when the AE extended past East End. Today motive power runs backward from East End and the turntable's only purpose is access to the three enginehouse stalls...

Future Engine Facilities

I had plans to build my own turnouts, but for now I'm using Atlas #7 switches I have on hand. Most of them are left hand. The plan calls for more right handed turnouts. I'm checking E-Bay to see if I get a few deals...

Average Yard Looking East

Average Yard Looking West

The test trains on the four track are now "real" trains with consists and cabeese. Had to sort through a host of cars to find ones that would run for hours without derailing. There is passenger train made up of a hodgepodge of different road names and pulled by an Erie E7. There's a Lackawanna freight behind a Geep. There were two Pennsy freights pulled by steamers but the 2-10-0 doesn't run as well as I would like. It was replaced by an A-B set wearing Erie Lackawanna livery. Took more videos with the cell phone. Hopefully you'll understand why I absolutely had to have a four track section of mainline on the Average Eastern. Growing up along the Northeast Corridor gives you a taste for big time railroading.

Precariously perched on the side of Clark's Summit our intrepid cameraman records the drama in the valley below...

Standing on the south bank of the Split, recording the parade through Clark's Summit curve...

Short video taken trackside at the east end of the curve...

Finally, a giant railfan watches from the depths of the Split River...

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad




 

[kelticsylk]

RTDM

On the wall of the computer room where I used to work there was a rather large sign displaying the letters RTDM. I imagine there are quite a few such rooms with the same sign. There should be one on every workbench, including mine.

Okay....so I bought one of those Bachmann Consolidations. You know the Spectrum ones like the image at the top of this blog. Beautiful model, probably the most detailed piece of motive power on the roster. Actually the only piece if you only count the actual Average Eastern equipment. Anyway...Not only does it look great it also runs perfect. Great low speed response..all that sort of thing.

In building the yard at Average I used Atlas turnouts I had on hand. I was able to install most of the trackage in the yard proper. So I put the 2-8-0 on it's home rails and put the little critter through its paces. Ran exactly like it should until...

Apparently the little gem does not like my Atlas turnouts. At low speed, crawl that is, it stops dead at every turnout. The only way to get it through the yard non-stop is open her up and whiz through the turnouts at rather unprotypical speeds. Hit a freightcar at those speeds and you end up watching it launch off the end of the layout.

One of the videos I made shows the 0-5-0 giving the little Connie repeated assistance as it makes its way through Average yard...

I did a search on the web for "n scale bachmann spectrum 2-8-0 and atlas code 55 turnouts" to see if anyone else has encountered this problem. Didn't really find anything useful. On most locomotives this could be a symptom of poor electrical pickup. Many of the older Trix engines don't use tender pickup and stall in the same manner. The Bachmann, however, has locomotive and tender pickup...

Bachmann Tender

I changed my search parameters to "atlas code 55 turnout stall" and found several discussions including this...

"This problem is caused by failure of the built in jumpers on the turnouts. If you look at the photo you can see a small copper strip that acts as a jumper between the rails. It is molded into the ties and makes contact with the bottom of the rails at the small holes shown by the red arrows.

There are also two similar but shorter sets of these that connect the point rails. These can lose contact with the bottom of the rail. In many cases, but certainly not all, this seems to be caused by shorts from derailments. The contact area made by this jumper appears to get hot when this happens and breaks the connection with the rail. It’s possible that corrosion, or expansion and contraction can also cause this.
Getting a replacement from Paul is certainly a prime option, but if you don't want to rip up part of your layout and wait for a replacement, it is relatively easy to repair, and in most cases can be done with the turnout in place, although a bit of ballast and roadbed needs to be excavated. You just need to feed a small jumper wire under the track and solder it to the outside of the rails where the yellow arrows show. If the jumpers to the points fail (they are located at the hinges) they can be repaired in the same manner.

Incidently, I have seen this in other scales over the years, it is not isolated to Atlas code 55."

Now that's all well and good, but what has it to do with the issue at Average? While my turnouts are similar the problem is not with the points. In my case the locomotive seems to stall at the frog. Still the info gave a place to start. I decided to check my turnouts.

Fortunately for me I don't fasten the track down permanently, at least not until I want to. It's all held down with track nails.I tried gluing it down, but this doesn't work for my method of tracklaying. I like to be able to tweak the track in case there are issues, like turnouts that stall locomotives. Thus I was able to pull the turnouts up without issue and check them over. I got out my trusty multimeter and did some tests.
First I fliipped several of the beasties over and tested the "jumpers" shown in the images above. None of mine were "burned". They were all intact and doing what they ought to...

Jumpers

With electrical devices a visual check isn't quite good enough. You can't see the flow of electricity, hence the multimeter. A particularly useful function of said apparatus is the continuity test. You can check a circuit to see if it actually conducts electricity without having it powered up. I used the probes to see where the electricity went, or more importantly, where it didn't. To check for continuity you set the meter to measure ohms or Ω. If you probe a circuit and the display changes from 1 to anything else there is a path for the current. This tells you A..a circuit is working or B.. there is a path that should not be there, as in the case of a short circuit. So I use the probes to see if the jumpers are actually jumping...

Probing Jumper

The meter display changes so I know that jumper is working...

Continuous Circuit

I tested all the jumpers underneath the track and everything looked okay. Then I flipped the turnout upright. Because they are metal, the frogs on these turnouts are insulated from the rails. That means the frog is electrically dead and carries no current...

Insulated Frog

I used the meter to make sure. No path between the frog and any other rail in the turnout. Hold on a minute...there is a small "ring" at the end of the jumper. Hmmm...I test the continuity between this ring and the frog. This is one of those "Ah Ha" moments...

Ah Ha!

Maybe I should say "DUHHH" moments...So the issue is the frog. The locomotive gets to that part of the turnout and stalls because there is no power. The "ring" is a terminal to power the frog. At this point I should quote another message I found...

"If this is one of the Atlas turnouts with a cast metal frog insulated from the rest of the turnout, there are two possibilities. One is that the frog is slightly higher than the adjacent rails. When it lifts the wheels in the rigid frame of a small steam engine, they lose contact with the live rails and are only contacting the dead frog. The easy way to fix that is to use a small mill file to make the frog level with the adjacent rails.

Once the frog is level you may still have troubles just because the frog is dead. If you use switch machines you can power the frog through auxiliary switching contacts on the switch machine. If you use ground throws or some other manual operation, you can power the frog through a Tam Valley Depot Frog Juicer circuit. This requires connecting three wires, one to the frog and one to each turnout stock rail. The Frog Juicer then powers the frog and automatically switches polarity when it detects a short circuit. It's all electronic, and no mechanical switching is necessary."

I'm pretty sure there is information from Atlas detailing this exact situation. Maybe I should have followed the advice of the big sign, the one that reads RTDM.

Oh yeah...I forgot...RTDM?

Regards,

Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

[davefoxx]

Frank, I think you're dealing a couple of possible issues:

1) Dead frogs.  As you have figured out, they create a huge electrical gap in your trackwork.  I started powering mine, because after a while, not all rails and wheels stay clean, causing annoying intermittent stalling or hesitation.  It would seem as if a four axle locomotive would have one truck on the frog and the other truck on the points (also known for not conducting electricity well sometimes) and stalls or at least light flickering would occur.  I now power my frogs with Hex Frog Juicers which makes it idiot proof, because it automatically changes polarity to avoid shorts.  You can also power frogs through slide switches and Tortoise switch machines.  There's several threads in this forum on this issue.

2) Wheel gauge.  I owned a Bachmann 2-8-0 once.  It didn't like Atlas turnouts (especially #5s), because the wheel gauge was too narrow.  I was able to spread the gauge little bit, but you have to watch the valve gear as you do.  If I remember correctly, the wheels were still slightly undergauged, but they tracked better.  This problem could cause stalling, too, because, as you pointed out, it may be in conjunction with the frog lifting the wheels off of the live rails.

3) As mentioned above, dead points or closure rails.  Since you have the multimeter, you've already checked this, but this problem is easily fixed by dropping a feeder.  In the case of the points, I soldered a tiny piece of wire (a single piece cut out of stranded wire) and soldered from the point over the hinge to the closure rail.  Since the wire is so small, it's practically invisible once painted, and it easily flexes when the points are thrown.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[kelticsylk]

HERITAGE

After the realization that my Atlas turnouts require power to the frog I started looking around for ways to do so. I found several methods. The first uses a relay off the switch motor. Don't want to buy 40 switch motors. Besides, all the turnouts on the Average Eastern are within aisle range and will be manual throw. A similar solution is the "frog juicer". Although it sounds like some sort of exotic food processor it is actually a device that powers the frog. It switches polarity by sensing shorts. Neat bit of electronics but I'm not crazy about the "short" part. They also cost about $20 a throw. Once again price becomes an issue.

So I sit down and try to design a switch control similar to the Caboose Industries ground throw. If built to conduct electricity it could move the points and power the frog. The position of the switch would dictate the polarity. The idea has already been thought out by others and I fell across a solution on Railwire (where else). Using an electrical slide switch as a turnout throw solves the problem. According to Dave Vollmer the switch can be found at Radio Shack. Look for Radio Shack 275-0409 Submini SPDT.

I've begun "mocking up" decals so I can check how they will look when applied. One of the major issues with printing my own decals is the size of the lettering I use. The very smallest letters are 1pt and simply too small to reproduce on a silk screen. Rather than waste emulsion, transparencies and printer ink I print out black and white copies and glue them in place on the car...

Decal Mock Up

The lettering in the image is about the right size, larger is too big. Smaller doesn't work for some many reasons. Based on these results I've been revising the masters in Visio. Each sheet is 4' x 5' for a specific railroad and car. Each car has a unique number...

Typical Decal Sheet

Although the bulk of the sheet is boxcars, I did sneak a couple of cabeese in. So far I've put together sheets for NYO&W, L&HR, DL&W and the other roads I plan to model. The Average Eastern is included of course, but since the AE has few pieces of rolling stock of its own I added a set of Allegheny Eastern boxcars. The "All East" and the Lehigh & Atlantic were two of my earlier efforts at layout building. They are also included on a sheet for other model railroads...

Model Railroad Decals

I'm thinking it would be kinda neat to have at least one boxcar from each of the layouts I consider inspiration. I intend to add more as I remember. Some of the roads from the NMRA Heritage sets should also appear here. Guys like Bill McClanahan, George Armstrong and Bob Hegge are all on my list of modeling hero's. If you can think of any other layouts you feel fall into this category let me know.

Finallly, based on a request from a subscriber on YouTube I tried to create a new set of videos with better resolution. I learned a trick or two recording my grandson's soccer match and tried to apply them. There is still lots of room for improvement, but I'm getting better at it. Wish I had more equipment to run, but most of it is in the shops...

Smoke Along The River

An Average Day

The View From RT 442

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

[reinhardtjh]

After the realization that my Atlas turnouts require power to the frog I started looking around for ways to do so. I found several methods. The first uses a relay off the switch motor. Don't want to buy 40 switch motors. Besides, all the turnouts on the Average Eastern are within aisle range and will be manual throw. A similar solution is the "frog juicer". Although it sounds like some sort of exotic food processor it is actually a device that powers the frog. It switches polarity by sensing shorts. Neat bit of electronics but I'm not crazy about the "short" part. They also cost about $20 a throw. Once again price becomes an issue.

They do sell a version which will handle up to 6 turnouts.  The "Hex Frog Juicer" http://www.tamvalleydepot.com/products/dccpowerfrogjuicers.html#hfj

Still not cheap at $79.95 each ($13.33 per turnout).  There are price breaks for quantity and someone online may sell at a discount.

[kelticsylk]

This Is Getting Serious

The fun continues. I had a bit of money from birthday gifts and started looking for more Atlas turnouts. As it turns out there aren't many code 55 switches on E-Bay. While I was looking, however, it ocurred to me that I could probably afford one of those FastTracks turnout fixtures. As I remembered they were about $50 the last time I looked (years ago). Surfed to their site and WHAM!. The N scale fixtures are no longer in stock. Apparently they only make them when somebody orders one. This is probably not a frequent event as they now charge $218 dollars for said product.

Hmmm. Went looking for used ones on EBay...Negatory. I did find a rather intreresting thread about the jigs, including one about the fact that folks who buy the fixtures stop using them after a while. Seems as though they are like training wheels. You store them in the garage or sell 'em once you learn to ride the bike. There was also a fellow who stated he doesn't use them because he found another way. For him the hardest part was making the frog. He gave a link to a site that shows a pretty nifty solution. If you go to http://model railroader.ca you can look at it yourself...Incidently the site is NOT a Kalmbach site, which gave me a chuckle.

Anyway, I tried it and it works...You set the bend as suggested and file it until it can be folded...

Filed Frog Point

I found that it worked better if I filed a bit more...wider, not deeper. By "overfiling" I found I had some fudge room on the angle. The rails can be brought closer together creating a shallower angle.

Once started with the frog point I had to continue. I wanted to see if making turnouts really isn't "rocket science". Well it isn't, sorta. You do need a certain skill set, apparently one which I don't have quite yet, like soldering. I used one of those printable templates from the FastTracks site and built the urnout on top of it...

Using Printable Template

I cut the PC board ties from a large PC blank I bought at Radio Shack years ago when I had attempted this once before. I tinned the bottom of the rail and used flux and other solder related references. The end result was something only Victor Frankenstein could love...

Frankenstein's Turnout

Nonplussed I decided I WILL learn to do this. Instead of starting with with the frog, I began with the switch points. I grabbed a couple of pieces of rail and went to work. First I made a tool. I took a piece of wood about a half inch square and six inches or so long. It's not very big, but it doesn't have to be....

Point Stick

On one side I cut a slot with a razor saw. The slot is just big enough to accept the "toe" of the rail base...

Point Filing Jig

I also made some markings to show me where to file. The short spaced area is the area where the point will contact the stock rail...

Point Side

I flipped the stick over and cut another slot. This side is for filing the stock rails. The markings are the length of the inset for the points to rest against...

Stock Rail Side

I used a bastard file to shape the rail. I thought of using my Dremel, even tried it out. It's faster, but hand filing is just as fast but with better control. A bit of filing and I had points and stock rails in hand. Then I used the method mentioned above to make the frog point.

About this time I realized those FastTracks fixtures must be really helpful when trying to assemble the various parts. Rather then spend the $200+ I made my own. It's crude, but it seems to work. I took a chunk of hardwood I had laying around and cut some grooves in it using my "Jap" saw (a razor saw used by Japanese woodworkers). The slots are just big enough for the head of the rail, the turnouts are assembled upside down...

Railhead Slots

I copied the FastTracks fixture and made right hand and left handed jigs on the same block of wood. The curved slots were made with the same saw. The blade is quite flexible and can be used for cuts like these...

Turnout Assemble Fixture

There are slots to hold the points, frog, stock rails and wing rails. I can assemble the switch, but more importantly I can see where the points will rest in relation to the stock rails and what has to be done to make the wing rails fit the frog. It's pretty obvious where the point rails need to be bent to match. I tried soldering the PC ties on again and although it came out better this time I still can't solder any better than I can weld (you don't wanna know). At least some of the solder joints stayed together...

FAIL!!!

I'll keep at it. Can't possibly be as hard as it looks.

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

[Scottl]

Keep at it.  You have come up with some clever solutions for preparing the rail components.

My own experience has been to not use a jig at all, just use the template and a track gauge.  By first gluing the rails onto ties, I avoid the need to "hold" the rails for soldering, which seems to me to be the best reason to have a jig.

I hope Fast Tracks continues to do well, they do provide products that are very useful.

[reinhardtjh]

Frank, not that it really matters. but I think you were looking at the complete turnout kits.  They include the turnout jig (Turnout Assembly Fixture in Fast Tracks lingo) plus the Pointform tool and some rail, ties, etc.  The fixture itself is "only" around $120 ( http://www.handlaidtrack.com/Fast-Tracks-N-Scale-Assembly-Fixtures-for-6-Turnouts-s/267.htm ) and they do have certain ones in stock.  The complete kits are assembled from stock items as needed.  THey may have everything on hand or it may get held up for backordered parts.

I've read various places that a lot of people have just gotten the Pointform tool to help with making the frog and points and used the templates to create the rest of the switch.  It's still not cheap at $54 so your jigs may be doing just as good a job.

[Chris333]

I've read various places that a lot of people have just gotten the Pointform tool to help with making the frog and points and used the templates to create the rest of the switch.  It's still not cheap at $54 so your jigs may be doing just as good a job.

This is what I do. Can be done without it, but for a ton of turnouts it saves some time.

And I'll bet anyone who builds their own turnouts in any way will tell you the first one got tossed. 

[kelticsylk]

Thanks guys. at least I feel like I'm heading in the right direction.

[kelticsylk]

Jersey Central FD-42's

This exercise in futility was accomplished when the turnout building got to me. I took another shot at the tangerine and blue Jersey Central units. Although I don't have the decal thingie perfected yet, I was able to get closer to the goal. I only have the proper ink in white at present...

Pennsy HO Scale

N Scale Jersey Central

Now I have to figure out how to make orange and blue to match the diesels. Which brings me to our current adventure, masking and painting the CNJ F units. The A unit shown here is not one of them. This is a broken shell that hurtled a scale 600 feet to the hard concrete below...

Concrete and Models Don't Play Well Together

The real one is in the mail and headed this way. In the meantime I practiced on the wreck. I have two sets to paint in this color combination including an A-B set of Baldwin "babyfaces". I want to get it right.

When painting two tones like this I start with the lighter color first. Really can't be done the other way. To many coats are required to cover a dark paint with a lighter shade. I used Testors Gloss Tangerrine for this attempt. It's meant for automobile models, but this is a GM locomotive after all. Close enough. Actually the color seems very close to the real CNJ paint. It even has that ambiguous "Is it orange or yellow?" thing going just like in the photos of the actual units...

Testors Gloss Tangerine

After the first color dries, about a day, the model gets masked so the second color can be applied. On the F unit I ran the tape (Tamiya) over the side intake grilles. The tape comes down to the top of the upper riveted panel. I run it right around the cab and across the winshield opening. The front of the roof is masked so that the orange follows the angle of the windshields. After both sides and the roof are masked I start masking the nose. On these units the orange stopped at the anticlimber...

Nose Mask

The orange extended a short way to either side of the anticlimber but still on the front. The color curves up toward the cab sides. These curved portions of the painting are not as hard as  they look (I know, everybody says that). There are a number of ways of masking the curve. For this project I chose the simplest. I use straight sections of tape and mimic the curve by creating a multi sided polygon instead of an actual curve. At this scale it's very easy to suggest a curved line...

"Straight" Curve

Fortunately, the real CNJ units may have been masked in a similar fashion. If you look closely you see that some of the curve is not actually curved. Gives me a fudge factor...

"Restored" CNJ F-3

The unit pictured is actually a restoration and not necessarily an actual CNJ locomotive but you get the idea.

After all the tape is applied I use my fingernail to "burnish" the edges where the colors meet. I want to seal the mask as best as I can. To ensure the lines will be crisp without paint bleed I spray the masked model with a clear overcoat. This should seal the edges of the tape and keep the paint where it belongs. A very light coat is all that's needed. I you get too happy with the airbrush you end up with this....

Thick Coat Of Clear

Although the paint won't be seen when it dries it will hide the detail of the model. Not a good thing as it will show up in the next color, only more so...

Too Much Paint

If it ends up like this the best thing is to strip the shell of all paint and start over, something I'm not gonna do on this broken shell. After the clear coat dries, I spray on the darker color. Make sure you get get all the sreas that are supposed to be blue. I missed the lower skirt on one side and had to shoot a layer of blue there.

After the blue dried I peeled off all the tape...

CNJ #57

The lighter color looks a lot better this time around, not the ORANGE of previous attempts...

Previously On Milepost 15...

The blue I used on the latest attempt is Model Master royal blue. It's probably too light. I'll probably use the Blue Angel blue I used on the first go'round. I personally don't like the way the curve came out. I did better on the earlier paint job.

If I can make those matching decals I should be all set.

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

[kelticsylk]

TURNOUT

Buiilding a respectable looking turnout that actually works took awhile. I had to develop the construction methods and tools. I caved in on the soldering. While I can solder wires, I have real trouble with these turnouts. Instead I built the turnout using various adhesives. I tried super glue, contact cement and a couple of others. For the most part I settled on tiny drops of the gel type super glue. It's easier to control and it allows some fiddlin time to line things up.

The turnout appears to be very conventional but there are small differences in construction. On my turnout I decided to piece the turnout together rather than build it and then cut isolating gaps in the rails. The frog rails and closure rails are separate pieces of raiL The frog point and "wing" rails that make up the frog are also separate parts, but form a subassembly that should be isolated from the rest of the turnout electrically.

Turnout Parts

I used the fixture I had made previously to hold the various parts together while I made things up. The file and a rubber band function as a clamp to keep thing together...

Assembly Fixture and Clamp

Rather than worry about angles and such I just filed by a guestimated length and then folded the rail to create the frog points. I made the points and stockrails using a double sided homemade fixture for filing...

Filing Fixture

I also made some track gauges using some small lucite levels, the kind that come as keychains. I used a razor saw ( the small ones made by Zona, Xcel or Xacto) to cut slots for the head of the rails. On one of the levels I used both sides. On one side the slots are spaced for the normal rail gauge. The other side has slots spaced for the width of the closure rails. I use that side to hold the rails while I glue up the throwbar...

Closure Rail Jig

I found I could also use the track gauge to form the wing rails. It's easier to show then to explain. Maybe you get the idea...

Forming Wingrail

While the glue on the throwbar was setting I went on with the rest of the turnout. I assembled the frog and glued it in place. The stock rails were then placed using the level/gauge to space them properly. The frog rails were then lined up with the frog and gauged to the stock rails....

Frog and Rails

I show the turnout with all the ties in place but it was actually constructed in a similar fashion to soldered turnouts. I glued ties at strategic places that would hold things together during assembly...

Sans Points

The last part of the assembly was installing the closure rails. This subassembly is actually fed up though the turnout from the bottom. I leave the long ties at the throwbar off to make room for this. Once the closure rails are through I line them up with the frog and add glue to a number of ties to fasten the rails down. I do not put any glue on the ties closest to the draw bar (about 8 ties). This part of the rail needs to be loose to allow the points to move. I then glue up the long ties on either side of the throw bar...

"Finished" Turnout

The ties, by the way, are actually plastic strip cut to length. I use .030 thick by .060 wide. I think Evergreen might be the only company that makes these. The ties on this turnout are placed by hand, I don't cut them to length ahead of time. I glue several strips to the bottom of the rail and then cut them to length. I do this five strips at at a time using the cutoff's from the previous five. One bag of strips, about $3-$4 at my LHS is enough to do one turnout.

The rail I use is from Atlas code 55 flex track. I just pull the tiestrip off of the numerous "cut-offs" I have around.

This turnout is a prototype and as such was a test bed for construction, adhesives and materials. The rest of the turnouts will be handled a bit different. Fortunately I designed the Average Eastern to use a "standard" #7 turnout. The parts for both left and right hand turnouts are the same. Any curves are formed at assembly time. Closure rails, guard rails and points can be made in batches. The longer rail can be a bit oversize and trimmed to the proper length at assembly.

I'm currently building a jig using .015 thick x .060 wide plastic strips that will allow me to layout the ties for turnouts without the tedium of gluing one at a time. I'm going to go with Pliobond for the adhesive. Pliobond can be applied to the bottom of the rail and allowed to cure ahead of time. The glue can be reactivated at assembly by heating the rail.

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad