The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[Steveruger45]

Dave, am still thinking about roads.  I can see from the area you are modeling they construct roads a little different than they do down here.
Here, it’s excavate as little as possible, pretend to compact what’s left, throw up a form, through in some iron grid rebar and hope some of it isn’t resting straight on the dirt and pour slabs of concrete, none of which are at the same level to the ones next to it.
Call it done for a few years then go back and level it all with blacktop.
Call it done for a few months then come back and fill all the cracks, made by the joins In the concrete slabs underneath, with tar.
Job done.

As you are modeling an area where a lot of pedestrians might be I’m pretty sure an occasional speed bump might be a useful idea to hide some joins you want to make go away.

[davefoxx]

As you are modeling an area where a lot of pedestrians might be I’m pretty sure an occasional speed bump might be a useful idea to hide some joins you want to make go away.

Good idea!   A speed bump is a good way to conceal a crappy job with Squadron putty. 

DFF

[davefoxx]

The new (to them) Seaboard Central GP9 has been pressed into service before it has even been patched.    Here’s its first revenue train heading from Star, NC, en route to the SBD and A&R interchanges in Aberdeen:



Interestingly, one source on the internet says that the prototype No. 1700 was retired by BN in October 1982 and traded into GE where it was ultimately scrapped.  Perfect!  Where the prototype’s life ended, we’ll pick up the fictional extended life right there and state that No. 1700 was instead purchased from GE by the Seaboard Central in late 1982 for next to nothing and refurbished in the SC’s shops.  We don’t have to ignore any subsequent owners in the real world.

I really like how this Walthers Proto locomotive runs.  Last night, I broke it in and remapped the ESU decoder to run on the ProtoThrottle.  This evening, I tweaked a few more CVs and speed matched it to my fleet’s standards.

DFF

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That reminds me. What did the A&R use those gons for? Was there an online customer that used them?

[davefoxx]

That reminds me. What did the A&R use those gons for? Was there an online customer that used them?

I know there’s a metal business and a metals recycling business online.

DFF

[basementcalling]

Nice look to the trestle bents.

Kudos to the maintenance crews for keeping the kudzu off the structure. That stuff loves to treat anything like a trellis and run amok.

[davefoxx]

Peter,

There’s ballasting and scenery work still to be done around the trestle, but, once I set the bridge permanently, the maintenance department will get caught napping on the job.  Blink and the kudzu takes over!

Thanks,
DFF

[Point353]

Interestingly, one source on the internet says that the prototype No. 1700 was retired by BN in October 1982 and traded into GE where it was ultimately scrapped.  Perfect!  Where the prototype’s life ended, we’ll pick up the fictional extended life right there and state that No. 1700 was instead purchased from GE by the Seaboard Central in late 1982 for next to nothing and refurbished in the SC’s shops. 

Your fictional account of how the SC acquired an ex-BN GP9 is not that far-fetched.
For example, NP 288/BN 1726 ended up relatively nearby on the Tennessee Southern.

[davefoxx]

Ooh, I like that a sister Geep from the BN really made it down south.  Progress on mine continues.  As noted above, on the first night, I remapped the engine for the ProtoThrottle and broke it in, to ensure it worked before I voided the warranty.    The following night, I speedmatched No. 1700 to my fleet’s standards and then JFRTs. Tonight, I removed the BN lettering on the cab sides in anticipation of receiving patches for the Seaboard Central.  The next steps will be to remove the large road numbers from the long hood and begin weathering.  I would have liked to retain those road numbers, but they’re not typical to the SC’s paint scheme and would crowd the SC logo on the long hood.  Besides, the road number will be added to the cab sides.



DFF

[Vince P]

Going to be cool looking Dave will it ever get the SC red & blue.

Or just be a dirty girl lol.

[davefoxx]

A dirty girl.  The plan was to merely patch the first locomotive, which will save me tons of time from having to tear the model down to strip and prep for paint, not to mention prevent damage from these clumsy hands.  A second Geep will be done one day, and that one will receive the red and blue SC scheme.  I may decide to buy an airbrush before I do that one, though.  I can avoid that by merely patching this unit.

Thanks,
DFF

[GimpLizard]

I would have liked to retain those road numbers, but they’re not typical to the SC’s paint scheme and would crowd the SC logo on the long hood.

Would they have bothered to put the logo on the long hood, if the plan was to repaint the entire loco at some point? Most patch jobs I've seen they simply put the reporting marks on the cab. It's kind of hard to see, but here's what the Wisconsin Central did with Ex BN #6526.

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And ex SOO #719

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[davefoxx]

Would they have bothered to put the logo on the long hood, if the plan was to repaint the entire loco at some point? Most patch jobs I've seen they simply put the reporting marks on the cab.

You raise a good point, and, perhaps, I should reconsider my decaling plan.  How ironic, considering I usually take the lazy route?  But, what I intended was that the paint was patched only where the SC lettering and numbers would go, and the SC would paint the rest later.  Not unlike this:



Let me think about it.

DFF

[Steveruger45]

Dave, that patched SP ex UP loco is very interesting. I didn’t even know those existed and now has me thinking of doing similar to some of my UP locos.   Do you know of a good reference for these UP to SP patch jobs?
Thanks

[Point353]

Ooh, I like that a sister Geep from the BN really made it down south.  Progress on mine continues. Tonight, I removed the BN lettering on the cab sides in anticipation of receiving patches for the Seaboard Central.  The next steps will be to remove the large road numbers from the long hood and begin weathering.  I would have liked to retain those road numbers, but they’re not typical to the SC’s paint scheme and would crowd the SC logo on the long hood.  Besides, the road number will be added to the cab sides.

How would it look (to you) with the SC roadname on the long hood and the round 'seagull' logo on the short hood?

BAR did something like that, for example: