Weekend Update 8/19/18

[MK]

I think they all do.  But garbage in, garbage out.  If you give them a properly exposed shot out of a decent camera, it will turn out great.

Where the problem comes in is if your monitor is off.  Then what was a properly exposed shot you now start to adjust it so it looks good on your off monitor.  Then you send it to Shutterfly and the likes and you get crap back.  Then you scratch your head as to what happens.

Shutterfly does a good job on that respect but starts to get expensive if your book is more than 20 pages.  Then you need to use a real book publisher.  I've done 240 page hard cover books with jacket sleeves for about $75.  Same quality as Shutterfly.  Shutterfly would have cost a fortune.

[pdx1955]

Since its still the weekend, I cleared out a couple more projects with body mounting couplers and weathering this pair of SP L-40-5 log cars from N Scale Kits.



I also finished my NP W-3 Mike with all of the worn white striping and tires, lettering and final weathering. Other than a DCC decoder its done.

[rickb773]

Those of you who follow my layout blog (http://rickb773-prsl.blogspot.com/) know that after being bored and not being able to get my operating crew together in the summer, I tore three of the four ends off my layout and started rearranging sections with the hope of being able to create more staging.

I stored all the rolling stock in the unaffected Camden Pavonia Yards. Fortunately the yard holds more than 125 cars by itself:


The layout went from this:


To this:




Well I am finally starting to put things sort of back together. The right leg (Westville) was moved to the left middle. The previous middle (Woodbury) is now the right middle.  Nine track staging (for both ends) is planned to now occupy the vacated right wall.



10 layout legs have been shortened (8 more to go). Looks like I’ll need another sheet of plywood (yeah I’m old fashioned - and I’m not the one to have to move it when I kick the bucket anyway!), another eight 2x3s, four 1x3s, and another 10 electrofrogs to add to the 50 turnouts already on the layout. Whose idea was this anyway? 

In addition this weekend, I visited an S Scale member of the PRSL historical society and got to drool over the engines he has built or rebuilt.

[mark dance]

Well I just got home from an extended time back East.  I had high hopes of getting lots done on the Nelson diesel house but, no matter how much I planned and how many tools and materials I took with me or shipped in advance, I just didn't have what I needed with me to make much progress.  So I moved on to another couple of projects...lesson learned: pick simple projects when traveling!

I test assembled windows and walls for one of three "Type 2" C&W section houses I need to build.  In the real world there were a variety of window, door and lean-to combinations and the laser "kit" should accommodate all of them.  The window panes are separated by 0.015" glazing bars (in UK parlance ☺).







They were clad in Insulbrick embossed tar paper as can be seen in the proto photos.







...and here it is mocked up at Coykendahl awaiting a portable station companion...



One thing I can do easily on the road is draw...I did find time to do most of the drawing for a laser model of the old C&W station at Cascade BC including all the window and trim design.



Now I am back in Vancouver, and all the pieces have arrived, I hope to make more rapid progress on the diesel house...

Oh and Gary (@GaryHinshaw), Morgan says "hi"



Have a good weekend all!

md

[jym1]

Hiya.
Long time, no post! While my work on the LO has been curtailed by renovations and a.c. installation in my room, I've been working on diorama's to keep the hands busy. Willis Models, Clever Models and Woodland Scenics structures. Lotsa fun!

Jim Maurer
Tokushima, Japan

[MK]

Who makes that White Castle?

[jym1]

 Hiya MK.

It's a paper model DL'd from CleverModels. I added a few details after finding a lot of pictures of WC restaurants on the 'net.

Jim Maurer
Tokushima, Japan

[OldEastRR]

After the completion of my 0-6-0, I wanted to have a memento of the 3-1/2 insane years I devoted to that project, so I assembled nearly all the 700 photos together into hard-cover photobooks using Shutterfly, using only the original high-res photos, redoing the embedded text (since I only put that into photos I post at lo-res on-line).  I also added additional text to make them into complete books that tell the "story".  I had to do it in 2 volumes, because Shutterfly can only handle up to 110 pages in a hard-bound photo book.

It may not be the cheapest way to do this, but they did a magnificent job.  The print, color, and cover came out beautifully, and the pages are heavy photo card stock.   And it's a lay-flat binding on 11" wide pages.  I waited until they had some 50% off sales, and still, it cost me about $240 to get these two books printed.  But I don't regret it after all the time I put into this model.   I was also able to put these books on the table at the model contest in Kansas City as supporting documentation.

Below are some sample photos of how the pages came out.  (I just plopped the books on the floor and took some photos of the pages).  Now, they have sent me an amazing discount offer, so I could print a pair of the books for less than half what it originally cost me (about $110).

So are you hinting that you will sell a copy of this book for $60? (plus S&H)

[OldEastRR]

Hiya.
Long time, no post! While my work on the LO has been curtailed by renovations and a.c. installation in my room, I've been working on diorama's to keep the hands busy. Willis Models, Clever Models and Woodland Scenics structures. Lotsa fun!

Jim Maurer
Tokushima, Japan

Where do you get Willis Models? I like the building.

[jym1]

Hiya OldEast.

The building was a kit by a guy who offered castings of several buildings and vehicles in n-scale. I bought a few and they were very nicely done. Went by the name of williModels, but I haven't seen anything of him for some years now.

Jim Maurer
Tokushima, Japan

[peteski]

Hiya OldEast.

The building was a kit by a guy who offered castings of several buildings and vehicles in n-scale. I bought a few and they were very nicely done. Went by the name of williModels, but I haven't seen anything of him for some years now.

Jim Maurer
Tokushima, Japan

If it is the same Jim Will then he unfortunately had a stroke earlier this year, and from we have been told, is still in recovery. See https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=43888.0  I hope that he is able to get well enough to at least get back to making all those wonderful models.  He mostly sold N scale vehicles. He did have few buildings for sale, but I do not recall ever seeing that green-front building. I really like the way it looks. It is similar to the  DPM (Woodland Scenic) buildings, but different.

Jim Maurer: your street scene looks very nice.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Been doing some more weathering while on calls this week.

[Dave V]

An anachronism... I saw this beautifully built Labelle Florence & Cripple Creek gon at Roy’s Model Trains here in Colorado Springs for a mere 25 bucks. And while it has no business being anywhere near the RGS in any era (let alone mine) it’s always been my favorite narrow gauge freight car scheme. So I bit.



Can't wait to scenic this scene at the north end of Rico...but I also need to weather this engine soon!



Lettered a Blackstone Models red coach for the RGS.  Although steam passenger service ended on the RGS in 1933 when the last of the Galloping Geese were built, several coaches remained on the line in maintenance-of-way service. They were painted red with white lettering in that condition, and remained in coach configuration until roughly World War II when they had some windows boarded up and their car numbers were given a zero prefix.  The real 252 was unique on the RGS having a wide letter board and single pane windows but for now I'm using the more common Jackson & Sharp narrow letter board with double pane window body to represent her.



I had several options to fill a 1x3 foot space at the south end of Rico Yard from a mine to a locomotive coaling pocket.  In the end I went with the Rico stock yards.  While the real Rico stock yards did in fact lie south of the yard, they were actually right on the mainline.  Mine are on a spur as I feel like it's a natural place to store stock cars when they're not running.  But they should generate plenty of traffic.  Going with the Walthers stock yards since I've come up with what I feel is a pretty good technique for simulating aged silvery wood (starting with Rustoleum Weathered Wood flat spray paint).  The two Walthers chutes are spaced for 40' standard gauge stock cars...so mine will have to be modified a bit to accommodate 30' narrow gauge stock cars by shortening the distance between them:



Lastly today I handlaid 2 and a half feet of deck for RGS Bridge 45A at Ophir (the long trestle):

[up1950s]

August 23rd last year is when I got this thing.

close to same color
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Remote-control-U846-Mini-Compact-Green-2-4-GHz-6-AXIS-GYRO-4-Channels-Quadcopter/113165222429?epid=930901773&hash=item1a592c421d:g:JBUAAOSwofdbYDrj

[dougnelson]

It was great meeting Rasputen at the N Scale Weekend in Altoona.  I bought a bunch of vehicle kits from him that will keep me busy for a while.  These are really excellent models.  I got started on them this weekend:

1947-49 American La France 700 Series Pumper:


1946 Plymouth 4 door sedan, 1949 Hudson Commodore, 1949 Jeep station wagon:


1950s street cleaner: