Weekend Update 4/9/23

[up1950s]

https://travelersresthere.com/2015/07/06/the-last-of-the-train-cars-in-these-parts/

https://www.historictrains.org/projects/project-f-7

https://www.flickr.com/photos/148013983@N08/with/48685447911/

https://orrvillerailroad.com/events.html

https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/cattaraugus_county/former-salamanca-rail-depot-destroyed-by-fire/article_6eb313ec-17f4-11e4-8928-0019bb2963f4.html

Happy Passover in spite of the world news . My shoe Dr. just had his sewer back up into his basement Friday night thus causing his planned Passover events canceled. Be happy because you are as lucky as YOU are .

[lock4244]

Maybe, but lower PA diesel tax makes it worthwhile apparently 

[DirtyD79]

Happy Passover in spite of the world news . My shoe Dr. just had his sewer back up into his basement Friday night thus causing his planned Passover events canceled. Be happy because you are as lucky as YOU are .

Say it louder for some of the gloom and doomers around here. Also lay off the news. That stuff will mess your head up worse than anything Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, or Alan Moore ever wrote.

[spookshow]

I've been plugging away at this disgusting fertilizer runoff lake for a couple of years now, and finally done -



My next task is to super-tree this -



Into this -



So ok, great, I'll be right back in just a year or two! 

-Mark

[craigolio1]

I've been plugging away at this disgusting fertilizer runoff lake for a couple of years now, and finally done -



My next task is to super-tree this -



Into this -



So ok, great, I'll be right back in just a year or two! 

-Mark

That looks fantastic!!

[mplsjct]

Since the opening post contained Alcos, I thought I might continue along that theme, before the CNW sent its second hand Alco 628s to Ore country, they could be often be seen in the Twin Cities, here are a couple crossing the Mississippi River onto Nicollet Island…



At North Washington avenue…

[BCR 570]

As the layout inches closer towards structural completion, several different tasks were completed this week.  I took advantage of some sunshine to get the Bond/Sundance fascia painted after filling and sanding:




I also painted the new mounts for control panels at Bond, Sundance and Septimus, and a set for the future NAR interchange at Dawson Creek:




With help from Michael (Dayliner), the servos for the turnouts at the south and north ends of Septimus were installed:






and after installing the circuit breaker panel during the previous week, all of the re-connections were made:




The control panels were placed on the drill press at work and holes drilled for the mounting screws and toggle switches:




During this long Easter weekend I am hoping to get the track on the Kiskatinaw section lifted, and the toggle switches for the new control panels wired up with leads.


Tim

[eja]

At North Washington avenue…

Oh wow!

Your modeling brought back memories from my days at U of M as a grad student.   Well done!

eja

[chuck geiger]

Still figuring placement out.

[brokemoto]

I discovered these oddities during a re-numbering project.  I had acquired an A-B-B set of Kato F-7s.  As a rule, I run cab units A-B or A-A, so here I am with an extra B.  I do not run really long trains (pike too small) so even A-dummy B/dummy other A is fine.  I figure that I can save a few bucks by getting a basket case B-mann PLUS F-7A for the Kato B to push around.  I got that in a lot that included, among other things, a SPECTRUM A-B pair of Penn F-7s.  I was not so interested in the SPECTRUM Fs at first, but after putting them onto the track and trying them so that I could sell them to defray the cost of the lot, I found that I was happy with them, so I decided to keep them.

The Microscale sheet conveniently has a set of F-7 numbers for both the body and the number boards.  I do not know if the B-mann is the correct phase for that number, but the SPFs here no doubt will.  It works for me.  The other oddities are:

1.  The scaling on the B-mann and Kato are different.  In the photograph of the Kato B and B-mann A, it looks more like an FT A-B pair than an F-7 A-B pair.  It looks a bit curious, but still it works for me.
2.  The shells from any of the B-mann F-7s will fit any of the three different  chassis.  My B&Os came originally on PLUS chassis, got swapped to SPECTRUM chassis and currently are on the last version of the chassis.
3.  The Penn F-7s on PLUS or SPECTRUM chassis have the same road numbers (hence the necessity for the number change), but, the paint jobs are quite different.  The triangular window frame on the SPECTRUM is silver while it is DGLE (or B-mann's version thereof) on the PLUS. The road numbers appear to be about the same, but the style and spacing on the "PENNSYLVANIA"  is markedly different.  The striping appears to be different.  The grille paint jobs also appear to be different.  I never did own the latest version of the B-mann Penn F-7s, so I do not know what the paint job on them looks like.

I do owe a "you were correct" on the SPECTRUM F-7s to @wm3798 , Lee.  Many years past, on the old Atlas Board, he and I had a disagreement on the SPECTRUM Fs.  It was civil; we just did not agree.  He insisted that they were acceptable.  I was not impressed with mine.  I do not know if it were the power supply, trackwork, voltage drops or what on the old pike, but this set runs well on the new pike.  They run so well that I am not going to sell them as I originally had planned.

Now to find some Gold Medal stanchions and add Trainfone antennae................

[eja]

Still figuring placement out.

Chuck,

The paint bottles look perfect.  Move the squirt bottle a little to the left.

[John]

Taking down the layout

[dnhouston]

More Scenery Work







Still have more blending to do, a road, a bridge and a river   

[chuck geiger]

Taking down the layout

Salvaging turnouts?

[dem34]

They never really work right after removal if they've been ballasted.