Weekend Update 12/4/11

[Dave V]

Thanks for the kind words...  It's been looking OK lately after some scenic upgrades.  It would look better with code 55 track and closer-to-scale signals (which I have, just haven't wired yet).  I'm also starting to grow dissatisfied with the fascia color.  While it does a great job of setting off the greens, reds, and the whites on the layout, it darkens the room and looks stark from a distance.

[wm3798]

Found a new neighbor with trains on the brain, stopped by to see his HO layout.  It's mostly his wife's project, so there's lots of scenes for the trains to loop around.  But he's working on an N scale HCD for a raffle project for his church.  I visited to inspect some leftover layout building materials to go to the ReStore.  They're presently on my porch, I'm sure they'll get up there one of these days...

Then Andy got the bug to go down to the Delmarva club to retrieve his HO equipment, and I my WM 44 tonner, so we could begin planning our 2011 Christmas Garden...  The White Elephant had some 10 cent/piece track, so we stocked up.  I'll be bringing home a couple of HCD's to build a 42" x 80 platform, but here's what we've got so far...


Also enjoyed some of the progress that's been made on the Delmarva club layouts:








The first two are from the HO layout, the rest are some new scenes on the N.  The N scale layout is in a shambles.  We all need to move to Salisbury and take over this thing.  After I left, much of the work I did was gutted, then left for dead.  It's pretty sad.

They've got two more open house weekends schedule in January, and will probably need some help.  The one active guy that's still around goes to Florida for much of the winter, so he won't be around.  If you're interested in going down to help man the layout (and maybe kick around some ideas for fixing it) it could make for a fun afternoon.

Finally, on the way home, we stopped by Higgins Mill Pond to shoot some sunset pics.  Andy had the camera at this point...




Lee

[Bob Bufkin]

Very nice Lee but could you have them do something about those puffball trees above the mine.  Looks like something I would do!

[chuck geiger]

Lee in 1977 my wife bought me a Tyco Durango set and I set it up
on the kitchen table like that. Had so much fun. it got me back
into the hobby after a 7 year hiatus.

[mcjaco]

Still have fond memories of setting up the HO tracks under the tree and bringing out my Dad's old Varney collection to run. 

Hours watching the Docksider pull everything from early Globe paper sided cars, to Varney ore cars.

[chuck geiger]

I did get my work area/work bench cleaned and in order. I also
went through all my paint and tossed ones that dried like plaster
in the sun. Actually organized.

[eric220]

Better late than never.  This past week, the Gandy Dancers and I managed to finish the upper deck through the alcove, and I laid down a little over a mile of roadbed.







Slowly but surely this thing is coming together!

[chuck geiger]

I love the smell of cork roadbed in the morning....it smells like victory!

[Puddington]

....actually it usually smells like adhesive but I'll live with victory.............

[chuck geiger]

Also a few new shots of Coyote Wells, CA on The SD&AE HCD layout:

[pwnj]

Man, that's so good it makes me thirsty.  Great job, Chuck!

[wm3798]

Since my weekend drags on for an extra day, here's what I worked on today...

First, I finished putting together my Frankenstein SD35, only to remember why most of it was in the junk box.  The little ears on the gear towers (the ones that secure the trucks to the frames) are shot, so the springy contact strips keep the gear tower from properly engaging the worm.  I'll have to order a couple of fresh gear towers, and that should do the trick.  Since I'm trying to get this fit to sell, I rigged it back up for DC, replacing the yellow LED's on the board with some nice bright ones.  The shell is a PRR with no number, so if anyone's got some stray PRR diesel numerals, you know where to find me.

This evening, I dragged out a project that's been lingering for 10 forevers.  About 4 years ago, the entire fleet of the WMRHS N scale museum layout landed on my doorstep for tuning up and servicing, as the new layout was about to commence operations down in the basement.  I tweaked all the diesels, detailed a few things, retired some of the old Bachmann junk, and otherwise had fun getting about 100 cars roadworthy after a long stint in storage.  Among the rubble was the old Rivarossi Challenger that had been donated by Russ Hutter.  I was able to shoot some photos of it, but otherwise, it was a basket case. 



Years ago... actually Decades ago, I had reworked the pilot and the front of the boiler to look a little less You Pee, and a little more WM.  It involved building a plow, reworking some of the appliances, and adding the square numberboard on the smokebox door (which remained the wrong shape and style)

Otherwise, the shell remained in original condition.  The drive, however, was another matter altogether.  At some point in its career on the old museum layout, it had been allowed to suffer a mechanical stall, while 12v DC continued to course through the motor... melting down the button caps.  Fortunately, the shell was undamaged, but the motor was now toast.  I tried to do what I could, but ended up calling in Dr. Victor, and he set about to tighten up the mechanical issue that caused the initial stall, and replaced the motor.  Chris had etched some new contact strips for the tender axles, and with a few wires, the performance was not only revived, but vastly improved.



With all that done, the last thing I needed to do was install an all-weather cab.  The boiler shell isn't a dead on match for a WM Challenger, but it was close enough.  But the pilot and that enclosed steel cab were spotting features that needed to be there.  Again, some time ago, Chris hooked me up with some etchings that fit both the Bachmann 4-8-4 I'm reworking, but also the Challenger.  Well, after about 2 years, I finally got around to putting it on, and it will soon be ready to ship back to the WMRHS where it will resume its rightful duty of hauling coal around the countryside of the East Sub.

Compare the cab in the above pictures to the new configuration, shown here:


Chris did a great job working up the etchings.  They're two layer, and pretty delicate, but I was able to get them on with a minimum of swear words.  And at no point did I crazy glue my hand to my face or my desk.  Once installed, I slipped out to the garage to splash a coat of paint on it, then some decals.


The gloss medium should be dry in the windows by morning, then it will be ready to head back to Western Maryland Country.  I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out.

Lee

[Chris333]

Yeah I was gonna say about 2 years ago    Glad they worked out.

I finally bought a Z scale GP7 and striped all the paint off. no pics.

[pwnj]

All I did was get a knuckle coupler on my son's 2-8-0, but that's a good thing.  Very nice articulated, Lee.  Your mad modeling skills amaze me.

[S Class]

Also a few new shots of Coyote Wells, CA on The SD&AE HCD layout:

Chuck mate, You don't appear to have a build thread in the Engineering repots section and personally I think great modeling like yours deserves to be there.