Weekend Update 6/5/16

[Cajonpassfan]

I assembled and painted the GHQ Bucyrus Erie B30 crawler so they could update the photos in their online and print ads.  Fun project.

Andrew, that's just beautiful. You nailed the colors, too!
Otto K.

[Cajonpassfan]

Very slow progress, work, family stuff and yardwork....
I did make some headway on the Summit Wye tail switch. It's across a removable section so I want to keep the wiring to a minimum, with a manual throw and just two wires running through the removable section to bring DCC track power to the tail switch track.

A question about wiring it: is there any reason the sketch diagram shown below wouldn't work? I intend to use a Blue Point throw with its built in DPDT switch. (I understand DCC has no +/-; it's shown that way just to id the two rail feeds, could just as easily be RED and BLK or N/S).
Otto K.

EDIT: excuse the sketch; it's something I doodled a while back and posted not thinking...
In a normal setting, it's the frog assembly that gets switched electrically. Here, the frog assembly is always - and the outer rails converging from the mainline always+; ergo it's the tail that should need switching. Am I missing something?
Thanks!

[SP-Wolf]

Made some progress on my switch complex. Phase one is done... ground cover is down. Next will be the real fun stuff.... adding all the neat details and weathering up the parking lots and roads.





Thanks,
Wolf

[John]

I love the idea of using foil for the smash plates. 

what are "smash plates"

[Hamaker]

Smash Plates ?  Isn't that at a Greek wedding ?

[eric220]

what are "smash plates"

Skip to 1:10

[Hamaker]

Oh......Okay, NOW I understand.  Thanks

[eric220]

In all seriousness, this is a smash plate:



It's a reinforced plate to protect the side of an RPO from swinging mail bags or other equipment during at-speed pickup using the mail hook.

[Hamaker]

Thanks !

[John]

Thanks !

+1

[Angus Shops]

I've had a spare hollow core door in the basement since the completion of a renovation last year...

...so I bought an Atlas Shay to go with it. That's about as far as that project has progressed.

Actually, I've had this concept for "Theodosia Arm Mining and Navigation". It's a copper mine up one of the coastal rivers in BC, with rails to tidewater on Theodosia Arm, circa 1940.

The Shay is a beautiful little model. It needs Z scale couplers.

Geoff

[chicken45]

In all seriousness, this is a smash plate:



It's a reinforced plate to protect the side of an RPO from swinging mail bags or other equipment during at-speed pickup using the mail hook.

And in the 60's when they were in the IDGAF/FTS mode, they were often just unpainted plates of steel.

[mu26aeh]

No N scale work for me this week other than picking up a couple cars at Choochoonuts, but I did some scenery work on a friends O Scale layout depicting the Western Maryland Dutch Line thru Gettysburg and up Jacks Mountain.  We started working on a cut just east of the horseshoe curve that is at the base of Jacks Mountain.  Here are some photos of today's work, including the ground cover, rock work and planting of the sedum trees I have been working on.

13327354_10204897271150859_3073136054902913837_n by Adam Henry, on Flickr

20160605_170535 by Adam Henry, on Flickr

20160605_170518 by Adam Henry, on Flickr

20160605_165503 by Adam Henry, on Flickr

20160605_165445 by Adam Henry, on Flickr

[bnsfdash8]

I've been working on a new addition to my foreign power roster. I love this paint scheme.

The decals were still wet when I took this photo.

[OldEastRR]

I think that's looking pretty good! I love the idea of using foil for the smash plates.  My only criticism is that the windows and doors look too small. I think the windows and doors could be "taller".  I know those aren't easy things to fix, though. Good job!

Oh boy ... I had to fill in the deeper letterboards over the stock doorways, and obviously I made the styrene strips too wide. The only plans I had to work from were the one on the PRR Equipment website, so measurements weren't exact. And all I cut out of the doors themselves was the window section on the upper part and replaced it with styrene strip. This leaves the door handles intact. For a round window version one of Lemostream's brass door sets (for the MTL baggage) would be perfect as replacements. I might try to get a IM/CCS RPO roof and put that on it. If this wasn't such an oddball car the model mags probably would take an article on the kitbash.
This was basically a "see if I can do it" project, since I noticed the BM85 plans looked almost identical to the stock KATO RPO. How high are the prototypical PRR doors anyway?