Weekend Update 8/14/16

[nkalanaga]

The new concrete ties I've seen tend to be almost white.  Portland cement itself is a very light gray after it sets, and in new concrete, the aggregate is covered with a layer of cement.

After it's exposed awhile, the aggregate shows, due to the thinnest parts of the cement coating wearing off, so the aggregate color affects the appearance.  And, of course, the concrete gets dirty, which makes it even darker.

But most new ties are off-white or very light gray, and in a well-lit picture, would probably look white.

[jereising]

Continuing on with the building to the west of the Caliente, CA Post office; Here's the mostly completed structure sitting in place on the layout:



And a lower angle shot:



Would have been further along but have house guests - I should be able to show the finished area next week.

[fcnrwy23]

The new concrete ties I've seen tend to be almost white.  Portland cement itself is a very light gray after it sets, and in new concrete, the aggregate is covered with a layer of cement.

After it's exposed awhile, the aggregate shows, due to the thinnest parts of the cement coating wearing off, so the aggregate color affects the appearance.  And, of course, the concrete gets dirty, which makes it even darker.

But most new ties are off-white or very light gray, and in a well-lit picture, would probably look white.

Thanks!  I will do just that!!

Jerry  G.

[jmlaboda]

Well, now that I have finished another Update for the Passenger Car Photo Index I have started a kitbashing project that I hope will yield an interesting car.

Ever since my youth growing up in North Carolina during the early days of Amtrak I have had an interest in steam generator cars, after first finding one of the Southern Railway's rebuilt EMC FTB cars that was rebuilt into a steam generator car.  Usually stored at Spencer Shops, now home of the North Carolina Transportation Museum, SOU 960601 usually was kept inside the roundhouse for any possible call to duty to be used on one of Southern's passenger trains, three of which, the Southern Crescent, the Piedmont and the Tri-weekly (as the former Asheville Special came to be known as) operated to or through Salisbury, N.C. on a regular basis.  Since that time I have learned a lot about of other railroad built steam generator cars, some built from other passenger cars, some built from steam locomotive tenders while others still were rebuilt from boxcars (Southern's first was also a boxcar while four were built from EMC FTBs and two others from passenger cars).  It was because of these other cars that I started planning out steps to create a similar one.

It has been nearly a year since planning and careful consideration began so as to develop the process that I hope will lead to me building a reasonable facimily to that of Great Northern steam generator car #5.  Built in 1929 in the GN Shops from wood vestibuled dining car 1001 this car was constructed to suppliment the purchased new steam generator cars, numbered 1 through 4, that GN acquired from St. Louis Car Co. in 1928.  The #5 was unique in that it had a vestibule, which none of the other cars had, but no other side door like those found on GN #1 - #4, making it a very unique car.  Later, around 1948, the car was rebuilt with a streamlined profile and welded sides and roof, at which time the car lost its vestibule but kept its wider end spacing between the end of the car and the truck on the vestibule end.  As part of its rebuilding the car received two newer automated boilers which was part of a general upgrading program that GN had instituted to make the cars more reliable and less labor intense.  GN #5 was sold to the Spokane Portland & Seattle in 1969, becoming SP&S 1, where the car provided steam heat so freight units to be used on that line's passenger trains in place of the aging lone EMD E7A and several EMD F7As.  It was dismantled by Burlington Northern in 1974.  I will be building a model based on the original arrangement of the car just after it was released from the company shops.

The diagram below is for GN #5 from 1930.



In looking at the diagram I was able to determine what might be the way the car appeared when it first entered service.  Note that the boiler stack and roof panel will likely be taken from a Tiche 120-ton derrick while most of the other parts will come from four MT mail cars.  The drawing below is based on known construction techniques used by numerous Builders back during that time and shows the cuts that will have to be made and the order each part will be placed in so as to create the new carbody.  The vestibule will likely be the biggest challenge since I will have to combine parts of both a mail car and a MT Pullman so that the shortened vestibule door can be created on both sides.  While the windows on the prototype car was single sash I may keep the MT mail car windows simply because it would be so very difficult to alter the windows to a single sash.  Clicking on the drawing below will open the full sized drawing, which is quite large and shows the various cuts and other changes that need to be made.



As a part of the first steps I have disassembled all four models and have given them an alcohol bath to remove all the paint.  To my surprise the Milwaukee Road model I purchased was molded in orange plastic while the Canadian Pacific model was molded in a purplish plastic... the other two cars were Pullman green paint over dark gray plastic.

It is my intent to use a single edge safety razor blade to make the cuts in the carbody itself but for the underframe I have already learned that the plastic used on them will require the use of a razor saw so as to cut the parts up as will be needed.  I have already begun practicing the cuts on a scrap shell and hope that I will be able to make all the cuts in an appropriate fashion so that I don't loose any needed parts, hopefully with the desired straight edges being obtained.  Side parts adjacent to the vestibule will have to be cut free from the floor so that they can be applied to the portion of Pullman floor that will be on that end of the car while other parts will have the floor piece retained and added as would be approrpiate.  Its worth mentioning that when I get ready to actually work on the underframe that I will be splicing one end of a Pullman's underframe to part of a mail car's underframe out of the hope of gaining the unique truck spacing that was found on the prototype.

There is a lot yet to do but I hope that I can get things going so that this project can begin to take shape.  Hopefully with something being able to be shared soon with you all.  Wish me luck!!!

[craigolio1]

Jerry,

I'm looking forward to seeing your kitbash progress. I did some heavy kit bashing to some Kato cars a few years back and found it quite difficult but rewarding. You've taken it to another level. I especially like your pre planing with the printed diagrams.

Craig

[davefoxx]

My family and I have been in Illinois this week visiting my wife's family.  We visited the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois, and, yesterday, I drove up to Waukesha, Wisconsin to get a tour of the Model Railroader magazine offices.  After the tour, I stopped by Hiawatha Hobbies just a few miles away.  As a memento of our trip (and because I've had some weird fondness for the Illinois Central), I bought an Atlas N scale GP38-2 decorated for the Illinois Central Gulf, as this locomotive would have been painted in the early- to mid-1980s.  I'll justify it on my layout as if it's in a SBD-ICG power sharing arrangement.  My wife is from Illinois, so she likes this locomotive.

I also bought some HO scale Kato Unitrack to build a test loop for my On30 ten-wheeler.  I want to experiment with the minimum radius of this locomotive, so I can do some accurate trackplanning.  This track will also allow me to run my locomotive until I begin building a layout.  My four-year-old daughter likes to ride trains with me and sometimes asks me to run a train on my layout, so, who knows?  Maybe I'll recycle this Unitrack for an HO train for her someday.

Pics when I get home.

DFF

A picture, as promised.  Obviously, the ICG GP38-2, among many other things on my layout, needs weathering, but I like it!



DFF

[basementcalling]

Yea, that cream cicle  screams for some flavoring by weathering.

[MichaelWinicki]

In our city they're replacing several stop-lights with roundabouts...



From this one they pulled several pieces of street-car era trackage:





The trolley line was started in the late 1890's and the electric was turned off for good in 1927.

[Philip H]

A picture, as promised.  Obviously, the ICG GP38-2, among many other things on my layout, needs weathering, but I like it!



DFF

I am officially jealous. Can't wait to see it weathered.

With our stuff in storage, I've been adding to my YouTube channel. Here are some highlights from the CRHS RailBQ :

And please keep my hometown of Baton Rouge in your thoughts. Flooding from two days of tropical rains is devastating the city and surrounding parishes.

[strummer]

Been working on a layout for my 4 year old grandson.

Also been working on a project for a friend.

Some where between the Melinda B and the Iris G for you guys up north.

Paul

Say, that's some mighty fine work; both boat and layout...Your grandson is one lucky fellow.

Mark in Oregon

[chuck geiger]

Found another cool natural scenic item in the Cascades yesterday. This actually grows upside down
and looks like a weeping willow. Don't know the name, but looks like a real tree with foliage when
you turn it right side up. Hit it with three shades of Krylon green. Going to also try shake turf to
see what that looks like.

[peteski]

In our city they're replacing several stop-lights with roundabouts...

Best of luck with that!

We have them in New England (some decades old, some just built) and it seems that the American drivers don't  deal with them well. Many drivers don't even seem to have clue as to the rules are. 

[Hamaker]

Chuck:  GREAT weed find !!  Guess I'm going to have to drive out in the country and start walking the roadsides.

Roundabouts:  I was born and raised in Bakersfield which has a roundabout.....although we referred to it as the traffic circle.  It was at the intersection of Chester Avenue (the main drag in town) and highway U.S. 99.  They eventually built an overpass to take highway 99 traffic off it.  So it's now just 'local' traffic using it.   But you're right.....the majority of people don't have a clue as to how to drive them.

[peteski]

Chuck:  GREAT weed find !!  Guess I'm going to have to drive out in the country and start walking the roadsides.

Roundabouts:  I was born and raised in Bakersfield which has a roundabout.....although we referred to it as the traffic circle.  It was at the intersection of Chester Avenue (the main drag in town) and highway U.S. 99.  They eventually built an overpass to take highway 99 traffic off it.  So it's now just 'local' traffic using it.   But you're right.....the majority of people don't have a clue as to how to drive them.

In New England they were/are called rotaries. That word was even used on older traffic signs. But the name traffic circle is also accepted.  Roundabout seems more of a British term (which might now be getting more popular in US).  Someone told me that there is a size difference between a rotary and a roundabout, but I never looked that up to confirm it.

[Jim Starbuck]

Iowa and Wisconsin call them traffic circles.
No matter the name, they're a real blast to negotiate with a full size semi tractor and 53' trailer.