Weekend Update 10/15/23

[CHUCKGEO]

Progress on my n scale EMD E6 Bs. Decals were a pain. Painted with Silver Leaf. Used Microscale PS-5-1/16 Red Parallel Stripes, and 60-101 Santa Fe E & F Units (meaning, MS is too cheap to issue a proper ATSF set for E-8/9 B units. LOL).   I sealed shell with a couple of light coats of semi-gloss. Now to paint and attach grabs rails.

[StewRRFan]

I've been playing around with a few of the signals that I have picked up over the years.  Still much to learn but at least they are lit.

[Cajonpassfan]

Progress on my n scale EMD E6 Bs. Decals were a pain. Painted with Silver Leaf. Used Microscale PS-5-1/16 Red Parallel Stripes, and 60-101 Santa Fe E & F Units (meaning, MS is too cheap to issue a proper ATSF set for E-8/9 B units).   I sealed shell with a couple of light coats of semi-gloss. Now to paint and attach grabs rails.

Are these LIfeLike E7B shells? I'm asking because BLI made very good looking Warbonnet E6 AB sets...
Otto K.

[bnsfdash8]

I've been working on weathering an Intermountain BN 4750 hopper recently, not following a specific prototype car.

Majority of the weathering so far has been with oil paints and some various browns from Tamiya. I replaced the roof hatches with white ones I happened to have on hand to represent newer replacement ones. I also body mounted MTL 1015 couplers and added MTL 100T trucks with ESM 36" wheels, a huge improvement to me over the stock truck mounted couplers.

Going through a lot of prototype photos I noticed BNSF, I assume to cover graffiti, painted along the bottom of BN hoppers and I did that to this car as well with some careful masking and Tru Color paint. The new numbers and data are from decal sets I had on had from Microscale. I kept the same number of the stock model.

I attempted to try and do some "ghost" lettering where the white lettering had faded away, but I'm not super happy with how that looks so far and hopefully I can clean it up some.

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[mplsjct]

Awesome job on the BN hopper!    ^
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[chessie system fan]

Progress on my n scale EMD E6 Bs. Painted with Silver Leaf.

That silver looks good.  Can you elaborate on which silver you used?

[nkalanaga]

I see a few of those old BN hoppers on the NS line through Kenova.  Not many, but there are a few in the 1970s paint still running.

I wouldn't bother with the "ghost lettering".  As far as I can find, your car was bought new by BN, so this was the factory lettering.

[NtheBasement]

Thanks for the warning.  It is thread used for making things like bracelets, no adhesives, similar to this:https://www.amazon.com/Beadalon-Elasticity-0-5mm-Clear-100-Meter/dp/B001TL6N7S
At my NMRA meeting the paint issue came up.  They recommended using an automotive paint adhesion promoter that works on flexible loco hand rails: https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-Automotive-251572-11-Ounce-Adhesion/dp/B006ZLQ71Y I'm going to test it first - not sure what it will do to flex thread or polystyrene.

[mu26aeh]

I did something modeling related after a long stretch.  Fired 3D printer up and printed a file creator repaired for me.  Roof was printing very thin and peeling up.  So he fixed a few thing and made the roof a separate piece.  Here it is fresh off the supports with a Mack Tractor from same designer.  I have him trying to create a single axle frame for a Ford Cabover as the fifth wheel on a dual is too deep for the trailer pin, and I think a single axle would look better given the shortness of the trailer

[Ed Kapuscinski]

What did I do this weekend?

No big deal, just got to run at a La Mesa Ops Session.



https://conrail1285.com/running-trains-over-tehachapi-with-the-la-mesa-model-railroad-club/

Check THAT one off the bucket list! Thanks @GaryHinshaw !!

[bnsfdash8]

I see a few of those old BN hoppers on the NS line through Kenova.  Not many, but there are a few in the 1970s paint still running.

I wouldn't bother with the "ghost lettering".  As far as I can find, your car was bought new by BN, so this was the factory lettering.

Majority I found still looked pretty good lettering wise, but I found this pic and the wheels started turning. I do wish I'd have just left it alone.

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[GaryHinshaw]

Great Journal entry Ed! Glad that the stars aligned. 

[wm3798]

That must have been quite a run, Ed.  When I was there a few years ago, the layout wasn't running, yet it was still mighty impressive.

A few more strays showed up at the N Scale rescue this week.

This beauty is a custom painted L&N Berkshire built by Rivarossi.   The motor, apparently is toast, but that gleaming paint scheme is worthy of further attention.
I'll be diving into the parts bin over the next few days to see if it can be revived.
There were a few other goodies in the box as well.  Thanks to @chessie system fan Aaron Beardon for sending them along.
Lee

[Lemosteam]

More on the never ending Icing platform saga. Today, I mounted the screws for the platform pillars’ magnets, punched holes for the conveyor structure, and finished a loading ramp for the lower icehouse dock.











Here is the loading ramp before planting:





And after planting:









Also I cleaned up and prepped the ramps to the roadway bridge over the channel. Just need some paint.

[Mdrzycimski]

Nice work.