Weekend Update 9/30/18

[mark dance]

I'd recommend not bothering with poured "water." Instead, I'd paint the riverbed with river bottom colors of acrylic paint, then apply several layers of thick clear gloss medium acrylic.



Here's more info on how I do it.

http://davidksmith.com/modeling/gnd-4-1.htm

for moving water: "what DKS said..."









md

[mark dance]

I do have a question though as something seems off to me; how do the maintenance folks climb on the engines or do work from the platform? Seems the railings are in the way? Thanks!

Excellent question! 



The prototype "railing" was actually made of lengths of pipe. To access the locos, my understanding from a friend that worked in the shop, was that the appropriate pipe was slid out between its stanchions and inserted into the unused holes at the top of adjacent stanchions...hence the weird rectangular block atop each stanchion.





md

[up1950s]

Still Vdubbin' 

Slowly putting all the little stuff back together. This car came with a bunch of new parts that were new in the 1990's. Some of them were OK and others were crap. New chrome bumpers still sealed in green plastic were starting to rust when I peeled back the plastic. I'm going with 1 year older bumpers anyways.

I painted all the interior metal you'd be able to see a dark green color to match my seats, door panels, and headliner. Still waiting the 6-8 weeks for all of that to show up since it's a "custom" color. Got the doors put back together, chrome, felt wipers, vent window, glass, regulators

Tried the stock hub caps with the stock wheels painted.

Yes the engine laying on the ground left a square burn mark in my yard 

If I was going to coin a name for this shot of that bug it would be " Sod Sucker " Are you related to that Gong Show car genius .

[crrcoal]

Thanks Mark! That's pretty ingenuous!

[chuck geiger]

I'd recommend not bothering with poured "water." Instead, I'd paint the riverbed with river bottom colors of acrylic paint, then apply several layers of thick clear gloss medium acrylic.



Here's more info on how I do it.

http://davidksmith.com/modeling/gnd-4-1.htm

Thanks DKS - I did use it on last layout.

[cbroughton67]

I didn't do much model railroading this weekend, but my other hobby is tomahawk / axe throwing. I've been throwing at a log round for the last couple of years, but it finally rotted-out beyond usability. So, I spent today building a new A-frame and target. The boards used for the target are easily replaced when needed. The "bullseye" is drawn based on American Axe Throwing League specs. It's fun, and I find it surprisingly relaxing. As a bonus, I never have any quarrels with my neighbors. 


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[soo]

Chris,,
The tomahawk throw used to be part of the US Army Best Ranger Competition.
The tomahawk was a weapon carried by "Rodger's Rangers" during the revolutionary war.
Just a little trivia for you about the tomahawk

Adios, Wyatt

[randgust]

Latest custom build on one of my Whitcomb 65-tonner kits - DeQueen & Eastern (Weyerhaeuser) D-2



Seriously funky logger with side handrails, quad truck exhausts, and equipped with gearhead motor, custom decals, and lighting.  This is the same unit as the unpainted one that was the "Demo" running down in Altoona.

[pnolan48]

I didn't do much model railroading this weekend, but my other hobby is tomahawk / axe throwing. I've been throwing at a log round for the last couple of years, but it finally rotted-out beyond usability. So, I spent today building a new A-frame and target. The boards used for the target are easily replaced when needed. The "bullseye" is drawn based on American Axe Throwing League specs. It's fun, and I find it surprisingly relaxing. As a bonus, I never have any quarrels with my neighbors. 


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Is it hard to throw a tomahawk so it has the correct number of revolutions? How do you judge distance or do you cheat and always throw from the same distance? I ask the only because I think tomahawk throwing is a battle tactic. I would not want to be in a battle with only a tomahawk as my weapon. BTW, this is an honest question. Those things seem hard to throw!

[nkalanaga]

One of the officials at the bank I worked for in the late 1970s had a VW with an aftermarket "hood" kit, painted black.  It looked very much like a 1930s car, and fit right in at the company's annual antique car show.  The show was held in the bank parking lot, so anyone working on Saturday had to park among the antiques.  I was driving a 1967 Datsun PL411...

[cbroughton67]

Is it hard to throw a tomahawk so it has the correct number of revolutions? How do you judge distance or do you cheat and always throw from the same distance? I ask the only because I think tomahawk throwing is a battle tactic. I would not want to be in a battle with only a tomahawk as my weapon. BTW, this is an honest question. Those things seem hard to throw!

@pnolan48 In a match, there's usually a minimum distance established based on the number of turns of the tomahawk - for example, you must be at least 12' away from the target for one turn, and one generally throws from the same place each time. You can move or "flick" your wrist to change how fast the tomahawk spins to shorten the distance, but with a minimum distance established, that's not usually done in a match. There are also 1 1/2-turn, 2-turn, etc. matches. 1 1/2 turn is fun, because you throw with the blade facing you, and the handle points up when it hits the target. Tomahawks were usually a secondary weapon. Considering the time it took to reload a muzzle-loading rifle, there wasn't always time for a second shot, so tomahawks, knives, etc became "plan B."

@soo That's great to know - I was unaware! Thanks!

[CNR5529]

The Ntrak Roadshow was once again at the Greater Toronto Train Show (formerly Brampton Train Show). A number of showed up over the weekend, including a surprise visit from @VonRyan, who was helping out with the large HO Freemo layout. It was great meeting you, and next time you come up north, make sure to bring some N scale rollingstock with you eh?

@craigolio1 joined us once again this year, and brought along his hot off the press late 1980s VIA Rail Canadian. This train got a lot of attention from model builders and show goers alike, and I have to say the stainless finish on those cars was very impressive, never mind all the detailing on the customized locomotives. https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=45455.msg589810#msg589810

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I was able to do a shakedown run with a bunch of Athabasca Scale Models CNR lightweight cars that I am in the process of building. 11 down, 3 more to go, then final detailing and paint.

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We got up to a bunch of shenanigans over the weekend, but by far the most entertaining was running a monster consist, in response to a group in Texas that recently ran a 236 car coal train. It took us a while to distribute the horsepower appropriately so this train would actually run reliably, but we ended up with 241 hoppers plus a caboose, and required 6 locomotives to get it all moving (3 on the point, 2 at the 2/3 mark, and one pusher towards the back). 2 operators controlled the movement in order to have better control of tractive effort distribution and control coupler slack, one running the lead, and the other (myself) running the two zones of helpers. We eventually managed to do 6 complete laps without any incidents and called it a day. This was definitively a record for us, and we now have so much more respect for the other groups that manage to run similar or even longer trains. Here is both the front end and tail end of the consist. We will try to post the official video shortly.

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The ex-UP loco was replaced with a slightly larger CP unit for more HP, and moved further back in the train for better train handling...

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[wcfn100]

Made Tom a friend.



Jason

[DKS]

Made Tom a friend.



Jason

So, are we becoming South Wire, or Rail Park?

[wcfn100]

So, are we becoming South Wire, or Rail Park?

Railwire - South Parked



Jason