Weekend Update 4/5/15

[chrismears]

This weekend I cut a pile of wood ties and got some stuck down on the layout. The tie spacing on one of the three turnouts I built needed to be fixed so I worked up the courage to move them around. It's great progress in the right direction and all of it brings me a little closer to operating again. I'm excited.



Cheers


/chris

[VonRyan]

How about doing some crowd-sourcing to raise some capital Cody?

Headboard shaking, eh?  I suspect that wasn't from brainstorming (unless maybe we are talking about the little brain)?  You brat you! 

I've been thinking about crowd-sourcing. I need to confer with my R&D guy and my Technical Adviser and get opinions.

Best of luck! Should be a fun adventure...
I trust you'll keep us all in the know...

Hopefully it is fun and rewarding. Not in it to make huge profits.
I'll surely be keeping everyone in the know as things progress.

What I can say right now is that SPFs will be happy with the first few releases.

We've even had our first outside suggestion, made by a crazy chicken.

[garethashenden]

This weekend I cut a pile of wood ties and got some stuck down on the layout. The tie spacing on one of the three turnouts I built needed to be fixed so I worked up the courage to move them around. It's great progress in the right direction and all of it brings me a little closer to operating again. I'm excited.



Cheers


/chris

Is that drawn in Templot?

[nkalanaga]

Jnevis:  Keeping a 1% grade would certainly explain the loops.  It takes a lot of track to gain much elevation at that rate.

[chrismears]

Is that drawn in Templot?

Yes. I've used Templot to create a plan for my layout's track.

Note that I was lazy and didn't adjust the tie spacing so it's a bit wide compared to where it should be. If you compare the ties drawn to the ties I laid in the photo, you'll see I'm simply adjusting this when I lay the ties down. I really enjoy working in Templot. I'm having a lot of fun.

Thanks


/chris

[garethashenden]

Yes. I've used Templot to create a plan for my layout's track.

Note that I was lazy and didn't adjust the tie spacing so it's a bit wide compared to where it should be. If you compare the ties drawn to the ties I laid in the photo, you'll see I'm simply adjusting this when I lay the ties down. I really enjoy working in Templot. I'm having a lot of fun.

Thanks


/chris

Yeah it's great once you get the hang of it. I was having trouble with the tie spacing too, but I found the solution. There is a template for American HO, this can be converted to N while maintaining the correct scale spacing. Have a look at this: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/94365-setting-sleeper-spacing/

[johnb]

Not pretty, but it works until I have the time to make the plate out of steel. My 9 year old daughter has a Micro Trains SW1500 that is DC....I wired in a DPDT switch so she can use my layout.

[ryan_wilkerson]

Awesome new capability for a great cause

Not pretty, but it works until I have the time to make the plate out of steel. My 9 year old daughter has a Micro Trains SW1500 that is DC....I wired in a DPDT switch so she can use my layout.

[delamaize]

Super late to the show again, I didn't do too much this weekend, had other things to do. I got a decoder in a Fleischmann 0-8-0, Then this week I have been fighting with putting a decoder in an Atlas 2-6-0, and this evening (well morning, but when you get off at 0300, it's evening for me) I finished up. I'll take some pictures tomorrow, and post them in the next WU. This install was pretty far up on my difficult decoder install list. I made a Digitrax DZ126 fit above the motor, and inside the cab.

[chicken45]

@VonRyan
Here is what you need to do:
F38. Total roster of two. Sell them. Make loads. Use MTL Buckeye trucks. Profit. I wonder of something like this could be kickstarted.

[VonRyan]

@VonRyan
Here is what you need to do:
F38. Total roster of two. Sell them. Make loads. Use MTL Buckeye trucks. Profit. I wonder of something like this could be kickstarted.

It is something worth exploring. Cause I want two of them.
Although getting the deck detail on there should be interesting. Might have to go through a trial-and-error process.
Should make for a nifty kit though.

[towl1996]

That looks interesting and would buy it, but, and I don't know if this was discussed, how about a 'simple' F22/23 to start? MVS could do the decals.

[sdodge]

Something similar. Collaborate with N Scale Kits?

http://www.nscaleenthusiast.com/ZNSC_SR/NSE_NS_Turbine_Generators.asp

[VonRyan]

That looks interesting and would buy it, but, and I don't know if this was discussed, how about a 'simple' F22/23 to start? MVS could do the decals.

I believe I have a blueprint tracing for the F22. I'll have to check.

Something simple is indeed what is being done for the first product.
Since all products are being done on a limited run basis, so whatever I produce first has to be something that I can make a fairly large run of. Resin is cheap, but RTV isn't exactly cheap. Back in the 90s the materials we used for molds would yield an average of 25 castings.
I expect an average run to be between 50-75 pieces.

Our original distributor for supplies no longer carries what we used to use, so I'm in the process of both hunting for the original stuff, and comparing new companies to original production notes to find comparable or even superior materials.

Camden & Amboy Models' official re-launch is going to be on April 25th at the Atlantic City N-Scale Gathering.
We will be showcasing past products as well as plans for future products.
We will be announcing our first new product of the 21st century, as well as beginning our "Warehouse Clearance Sale" to sell off the last of the original C&A inventory.

The goal is to start out strong with the best quality possible so that our customers know what to expect of our products, rather than just push to get something out there at a relative quality and potentially disappoint our customer base.

[chicken45]

MVS already DID the decals for the F22/23 for the PRR Pro project. There's a set of F22 and F23s on Shapeways that are pretty good. You got to use Z scale couplers and goo because I don't see how you can screw those suckers on there. The rivet detail didn't do the surface any facors so it had to be sanded down. I need to get the proper size Archer rivets to finish the project.
Personally, I'd rather see an FM over and F22. PRRParts was doing one but then his master broke.