Weekend Update 6/5/11

[up1950s]

If there is anyone left standing after the drought , floods , and twisters have at it .

[up1950s]

UP 105 is done as it was retired in 1951.
 

 

[nscalemike]

I know I can't compete against a steamer, but here is my GP40-2 completed as well





I put some others up on my "need loco help" thread if you are interested.

Thanks for looking!
Mike

[Scottl]

Nice work on both Gents.  Love the CN paint job.

[mark dance]

Last week I finished painting the rockwork along the remaining 20' length of the second deck yet to be sceniced.  I also painted the long retaining wall above Christina Lake and began the ground cover.





One area I thought might be of interest is the treatment of the ends of the swinging gate at Fife.  This gate remains closed during operation and another gate directly below it is used to allow people to move into and out of the train room.  When closed the Fife gate is a 54" duck under.

To mask the ends when the gate is closed I used formable ground mat material from Woodland Scenics.  I had previously used this material at the end of a drop gate at Coykendahl and thought it would work well at Fife.  The material can be formed with a heat gun, is very thin, yet remains somewhat flexible to conform to the mating scenery passing underneath it when the gate is closed.  I roughly formed rough edged, 2" wide strips to the shape of the landscape on eitehr side of the joints, glued the strips down to the appropriate end of gate or benchwork as the case may be, then when secure I hit the strips with another shot of heat and did a final forming.  By covering the strips with a bit more Sculptamod and then painting, flocking and using static grass across the joints, I think they match in pretty well.  Trees and bushes should further mask the joints.









This might be the last update for a few weeks due to prior commitments. 

md

[unittrain]

Here are a few pictures of one of my scenes I've completed a lot more since this picture but haven't uploaded the new pictures yet I hope to do that this week. As you can see I've yet to install good lighting, I'm hoping to have that done by the end of the month. Here is a link to my photo spot also.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59833598@N03/

[BCR 570]

Congratulations on your progress, Mark.  I look forward to seeing it in person in a few weeks.  The method used at the lift section is of interesst to me given my layout's sectional benchwork construction.

School events and Stanley Cup playoffs have seriously interfered with modelling time of late, but I have made progress on a second pair of No. 7 turnouts which will be used for Sundance siding.  I still have to glue the turnouts down onto the wood ties and cut the gaps to isolate the frogs.  Here they are along with most of the materials and tools used in their construction:




Tim

[unittrain]

Here is one of the picture I see didn't post on my previous post ;D I think I figured posting pictures out.

[Packer]

I began redetailing a Chessie SD40-2 to make it into a BN. So Far I've added the plow, anticlimber, and closed up the pilot. Put together several car kits, and de-weathered some of my hoppers. Pics later.

[BCRail_FSJ]

Recently returned from the UK and thought I would share some shots of how they do N Scale across the Pond.  Layouts are small, portable and completed to a high standard.   Definitely inspiring for those of us modelling in smaller spaces.

These two small N Scale layouts caught my attention at a model railway exhibition in Manchester

[TiVoPrince]

md

Trunk 
latches, simple but effective.  Thanks for the perfect solution to my holiday layout problem...

[SkipGear]

More work on the station...





The brick walls are all done. Now to work on the windows and the roof.

[Day One]

I got a bunch of 0402 SMD LED's and have been soldering on leads and trying different ways of tinting them to try and get the color and temperature I want.


more when I wake up...gonna go to bed now and sleep in since it's my birthday...

[TrainCat2]

Got the HO Woodchip Loader (in the background) tested and is ready to go. Also started building my first Fire Tower. Almost finished, just have to add the final side panel after installing all of the stairs.

[PGE_Modeller]

I am a new member here on The Railwire, so this is my first post.  This week saw the final test fit of the entire 6 2/3 turn helix from Pemberton up to Mons Wye/Alta Lake (see the following links to the track plan and layout statistics:
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/511/Squamish_Sub_upper_deck.jpg
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/511/Squamish_Sub_lower_deck.jpg
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/511/Squamish_Sub_layout_stats.jpg )



There is a plumb bob behind and below the section house that is hanging from the end of the magenta cord at the end of the spiral easement into the circular curve leading to the North switch of Mons Wye/Alta Lake.  I wound up having to insert a 1 degreee filler piece in the top turn of the helix in order to get the location of this point in the same place as originally planned.

The helix segments are 1/8" 5-ply Baltic Birch aircraft plywood with 1/4" 5-ply Baltic Birch forming continuous stiffening edges/splice plates on the upper surface in order to maintain maximum clearance for fingers when needed for re-railing/track cleaning purposes.  The final 2/3 turn will be visible trackage, so the stiffening edges/splice plates had to be relocated to the lower surface because of scenic requirements in this area.  The locomotive and car on turn 4 show the amount of clearance available using this construction method.  The grade in the helix is 2.24% which gives a 2 1/2" railhead to railhead separation for my 17.71" (450 mm) radius.

I am still debating whether to use spacer blocks in the final assembly or replace them with 1/4-20 threaded rod.

Cheers,
Greg Kennelly
Modelling the Pacific Great Eastern, Squamish subdivision in Sept 1952