Weekend Update 1/15/23

[craigolio1]

Started with some castings


Then hand-carved plaster to blend them together


A wash of alcohol and ink


spray painted on three (3) different diluted shades of tan


Then a final wash of alcohol and ink to bring out the shadows and blend it together

These rocks look amazing!!  I’m so glad you posted these as I’m at this very stage on a series of four modules.

Craig

[bnsfdash8]

I didn't get a ton done on the GP60s but the walkways, tanks, and trucks got painted black and I wrapped up the rest of the decaling. 

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This upcoming week I hope to get the rest of the details installed, detail painting done, and the railings put back on.

I painted this Kato shorty caboose over the summer but I finally put it back together. I left the model stock and used K4's Conrail MOW caboose decals for the lettering. It's not prototypical in the slightest but I think it fits the role well enough.

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[BCR 570]

Hmmm.  In all the examples I have ever dealt with in this type of design, the contact strips are loose and are kept in place by the sideframes/bottom gear cover unti.  Once that is removed the contact strips are loose and will not support the axles. They are free to be removed.

If you glue the new sideframes to the contact strips, what retains the contact strips keeping them tight against the gear case? 

The contact strips plug onto mounting pins on the side of the gearbox.

Tim

[TrainCat2]

With all of the supplies I ordered arriving, it was time to try scratch building one of the pier building sides. I will be basing them on Pier 38 & 40 since I was able to get some street view pics as well as a drawing of the pier structure. So here is Pier 40 today at 104 years old and vacant for over a decade. The concrete and the structure are in bad shape.



Since I am building in the 40's / 50's, that means the pier was only 20-30 years old so the concrete was in much better shape. I made some slight mods during the build and forgot to increase the height of the tackle rig. Since this one os going on the far left and wont be in full view because of Baily's Warehouse, I'm ok with this one. Next one will have the rig a 1/4in taller.

[peteski]

The contact strips plug onto mounting pins on the side of the gearbox.

Tim

That's true, but without the original sideframe pieces keeping them tight against the gear case they will just fall off with any lateral load.  The strips don't positively snap onto the pins. Those pins are there just for alignment. At least all the ones I have ever taken apart. 

Which specific trucks are you are using?

[Olivani]

Started with some castings

Thank you for taking the time to post the how to, very appreciated.

[Dayliner]

Lots going on this weekend--first of all helping Tim (BCR 570) install the new Septimus sections on his expanded Dawson Creek sub.  It's lots of fun to see a layout coming together, even when it's someone else's layout, and this project had been in the works for some time.

Then this afternoon, Tim came round to help me install the last of the first group of servos--these ones are difficult as the under-layout location is cramped and access is difficult, and the job requires more than the two hands I've been given.  With that done, I was able to install the new plywood subgrade (thanks to John for cutting the piece) that will allow me to run the Lake Cowichan siding where previously there was a drop of 11 inches down to the main level of the layout.  The pictures show before and after.

Finally (and I hope this isn't against forum rules), a big shout-out to Duncan at Tan Valley Depot for his help when the servos didn't initially operate as expected.  An email query received a quick response which solved the issue.  I've been consistently pleased with the quality of these products, and the customer service is equally fine.

On to the pictures:

Bridging the gap (1)--showing the basswood flange that was glued to the underside of existing subgrade to support the new subgrade extension, as well as the extension itself behind the tracks.



Bridging the gap (2)--the new subgrade extension in place; the curved edge follows the line of the fascia-cum-backdrop at this location, through which trains pass on the lower level to enter Wellcox yard (north staging).

[freedj]

I moved my kitbashed freight depot forward this week.  The major structural changes are complete, and a replacement roof has been designed and printed.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Dealt with my first raw 3D print items, as in, still on the support structures.  These are from Baldylox Designs.  AgCom took delivery of 3 Walinga style bulk feed trailers. 

A lot of careful snipping of support structures to free the items.  I managed to only break of 1 mudflap on the trailer, and 3 wheel mounts on the conveyor   

Hot.

Do you know about the "micro saws" that seem to be loved for this type of work?
https://www.micromark.com/Wooden-Handle-Blade-Holder-for-Special-Hobby-Ultra-Fine-Saw-Blade
https://www.micromark.com/Special-Hobby-Ultra-Smooth-Saw-Blades-Package-of-5

They seem to be all the rage these days.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

No modeling from me this week.

Finally got back to Songkhla for the first time in 5 years. Mother in law didn't tell us just how bad the flooding was. When we checked our house, there was mildew everywhere. Ended up hiring a cleaning service. They are about 2/3 done now after 5 hours. It's a lot better but here are some highlights:

2 of the 4 mini-splits are broken and will probably need replacing. A 3rd is struggling to keep below 25c at night.

Monsoon rain caused a bit of damage - looks like water flowed though all the outlets on one side of the house, leaving water marks. Unsure if these circuits are damaged.

The two dimmer circuits ARE damaged and heard and audible "pop" when I tried to turn on one. The other was dead from the start. A few of the high hats lol like there is water pooled in them.

The wiring was embedded in the masonry at the time we built the house (the other option is exposed conduit about a meter high). This means any repair will require partial demo of each wall and ceiling. I'm hoping we can just ignore the dimmer circuits and everything else is working.

House now smells like mildew and ammonia.

You're a brave man owning property on the other side of the world!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

With all of the supplies I ordered arriving, it was time to try scratch building one of the pier building sides. I will be basing them on Pier 38 & 40 since I was able to get some street view pics as well as a drawing of the pier structure. So here is Pier 40 today at 104 years old and vacant for over a decade. The concrete and the structure are in bad shape.



Since I am building in the 40's / 50's, that means the pier was only 20-30 years old so the concrete was in much better shape. I made some slight mods during the build and forgot to increase the height of the tackle rig. Since this one os going on the far left and wont be in full view because of Baily's Warehouse, I'm ok with this one. Next one will have the rig a 1/4in taller.

That's hot *****!

I just realized, you NEED to find a way to work John's Roast Pork into the layout.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9211538,-75.1452304,3a,75y,112.27h,80.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2ozeH0ce9CiAQn0hiTksSg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

"Since 1930". That's the former B&O right behind it.

[TrainCat2]

That's hot *****!

I just realized, you NEED to find a way to work John's Roast Pork into the layout.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9211538,-75.1452304,3a,75y,112.27h,80.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2ozeH0ce9CiAQn0hiTksSg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

"Since 1930". That's the former B&O right behind it.

Well, I now when the B&O removed the water tower on that triangle of land.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Fun weekend this weekend. Was working on turning our "junk room" (the pink room, those of you who have seen it) into our new guest room, since my sister in law will be occupying our current guest room after this spring. Had a back spasm half way through so... plans changed.

That gave me some time to channel my inner "Hand Tool Rescue" and rescue a car that I've had since I was a kid. This is an old Con-Cor car that I had weathered and started lowering 25+ years ago. I realized it could still be part of the fleet so I finished the job of lowering, replaced the old trucks, and dropped it on the layout. Is it an ESMC car? No. But will it make a nice train-filler and bit of nostalgia? You betcha.



Next up I decided to "get real" with the Wolf Products building that is a feature of the current day Windsor St crossing. It's a modified Micro-Engineering building that still needs a roof. In figuring out the angle it should hit the backdrop at I discovered and interesting thing: the Windsor St crossing does not intersect the railroad at 90 degrees like I thought it did! It's actually about 10 degrees off. That was a mind blowing moment because it really messed with my mental image of the space, but Google Maps doesn't lie. So I adjusted the road and did the building up to suit.

Here it is all mocked up with some Photoshopping.

[bbussey]

It's too bad they didn't just make a whole ZWT side frame part that snaps into the gear case. Gluing to Delern had always been an issue for me.

Five-minute epoxy would hold resin side frames to a Delrin or Celcon plastic gear case core.

[bbussey]

That gave me some time to channel my inner "Hand Tool Rescue" and rescue a car that I've had since I was a kid. This is an old Con-Cor car that I had weathered and started lowering 25+ years ago. I realized it could still be part of the fleet so I finished the job of lowering, replaced the old trucks, and dropped it on the layout. Is it an ESMC car? No. But will it make a nice train-filler and bit of nostalgia? You betcha.

It is however a Kato (tooled) car!

Sesuki was the predecessor to Kato.  It shows, as the tooling was excellent for 1969 and was a close second to RivaRossi in my opinion.