Weekend Update 11/3/24

[jpwisc]

Back to the Pueblo Depot project for the Tennessee Pass Layout. I started the last two buildings (for this phase). I’m not really sure what each is for. The center one lacks windows, so I’m guessing mechanical or kitchens. The last one will be brick and not the block that the main depot building is. With the foundation cut for the last building, everything measures out to 34” end to end. Hopefully I get this wrapped up later this year.
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[Jesse6669]

The East Norwood benchwork is coming along beautifully if you ask me.  Stuart at T-Trak by Denniston is an expert craftsman and I'm glad I thought to get this done properly instead of trying to build it in my bare-bones situation.  Solid foundation, and all that.   I should have the modules in hand before too long, maybe within the week.   

I've started ruminating over designing B&O GK Tower (East Norwod).  If anyone has any suggestions for finding drawings for this tower, that'd be great as it's a one-off.  I have sufficient photos to do my own rendering but dimensions would be ideal.   

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[Ed Kapuscinski]

That V&O car.

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[dandopinski]

Ed, is that a red caboose or a Q-craft model?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ed, is that a red caboose or a Q-craft model?

Red Caboose. I got it from the bin at CMR Products table in Altoona. It started out as a M&NS car.

[nkalanaga]

Those all-door boxcars were common sights in Pasco in the 70s, but I don't remember ever seeing one owned by an eastern road.  They were used mostly for lumber, but even so, I would have thought someone would have tried them in the east.

As for weathering Alcos, is it possible to overdo it?  The SP&S (and later BN) took good care of theirs, but they still smoked, and got dirty.

[dandopinski]

A little more work on the GP38s. Added LEDs for the nose, capon tape so they don't short out on the frame.


The rear pilot attachment to the body shell is somewhat tenuous so i have re-enforced that. We don't want to be pulling off the rear pilot while hauling a 60+ car drag.

Here's a couple of shots with most of the handrails applied, just the nose handrails left. Next on the agenda is cutting the frame to put on smaller fuel tanks.


Over and out!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Those all-door boxcars were common sights in Pasco in the 70s, but I don't remember ever seeing one owned by an eastern road.  They were used mostly for lumber, but even so, I would have thought someone would have tried them in the east.

I know the Seaboard had some, so I figured that was close enough. I know there was still some first product business down in that post of Virginia too, so when I saw a blue one I figured it'd be fun to do.

[Cory Rothlisberger]

Just a little Conrail porn for me this week. My Passic River & Western needed some lease power as their usual GP-9 is in the shop. The weather is getting colder and I'll start working on the actual layout eventually...

[randgust]

Is that a fireless 0-6-0T?

The "what if" would be grand.  There is one rub on small N scale power:  the small footprint and necessarily lighter weight makes it difficult to maintain reliable contact, even on straight and level.  What would be necessary is an electrically live box car or caboose that either is hardwired to it or has easy plug/unplug connectors.  Doing this does improve reliability.   For some diesel locomotives, you can get away with running them in MU.  The B-mann GEs are a case in point.  If one does lose contact, the other one usually has enough OOMPH to push the dead one until it quickly re-establishes contact.

Conversely, My experience with the later versions of the B-mann MDT has been that you get the better performance out of it if you hardwire a pair together or hardwire one to live rolling stock. I currently run them in both configurations.

For a tank engine, the hardwired rolling stock would be the better option (or one that plugs/unplugs easily).  That would reduce the pulling power by one car but those tank engines never did pull much anyhow.

Fireless or with a fuel and water tank, I would like to see a reliable tank engine in N.  The B-mann, Arnold and LL offerings simply never got it.

I pretty much felt that way until I saw my first Kato 11-108/9 chassis.   They put one side of the 4-wheel chassis (with end-axle pickups) on a lever side, the other side is fixed.   It's so simple.  And it equalizes contact.  And it works.  And it's reliable.   Mind you, I did my trackmobile on an 11-103 chassis and had to add a fake scale test car just for electrical pickup as it was so poor, so yeah, normally, that's a huge problem.

No that's not an 0-6-0 chassis, I'm just saying that they solved the problem with that design.  It's a forehead-slap if there ever was one.

So the problem then evolves over to wheelbase, and if the wheebase is long enough to bridge insulated frogs.  Well, with powered frogs, you can get by that.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Just a little Conrail porn for me this week. My Passic River & Western needed some lease power as their usual GP-9 is in the shop. The weather is getting colder and I'll start working on the actual layout eventually...

My 7883 is one of my favorite locomotives.

But you gotta blacken those walkways!

[wm3798]

Did a little touchy uppy on the big Atlas Mallet.
Before


After


A little graphite on the smoke box and some leather brown on the cab roof brings it to spec with the rest of the Laurel Valley fleet.

Lee

[packers#1]

I put an ESU 59821 and Scale Sound Systems enclosure in my Genesis GP50 last week and this weekend. Had to fiddle with the ditch lights and my connectors a bit to get everything correct but I now have ditch lights at both ends running. Man is the Scale Sound enclosure a massive upgrade over the speakers I have been using. Everything is crystal clear and sounds great. Next up will be some weathering, eventually, and also closing up those class lights. I went with this one because the first Norfolk Southern locomotive I took roster shots of was a GP50 in this scheme, but I’ll need to plate over the class lights to make it correct.

[R L Smith]

Did a road trip to Meadville, Erie and Warren PA on Saturday as the local NMRA Division was hosting a layout tour. I was able to get to six of the seven layouts that were open.

I took many photos but will only post a few here. There were two B&LE layouts, one PRR Chautauqua Branch (Brocton NY to Oil City PA), the Susquehanna & New York that was featured recently in RMC, a Ma & PA layout and a freelanced one that was simply gorgeous. Two of these are still in the benchwork phase but both had a train running for display purposes.





















Ron

[hunter_alexander]

Man, missed this. I live in Erie Pa and would loved to have seen at least something here. I dont have a layout, but would love to run. Were they all N scale or different scales?