Seaboard Central 2.0

[seusscaboose]

not bad for a guy who's color blind

[peteski]

At first glance, the shingles looked a little on the large side.  If you scale them out, what do you get?

In place on the layout, though, it looks really good.  Love the Love Bug in the parking lot...

That was my thought too (shingles seem a bit too large to me).  Cute Love Bug, but isn't it also slightly large for 1:160?      Or did someone actually make one in 1:160?

[seusscaboose]

that Bug is an English model right?

[John]

At first glance, the shingles looked a little on the large side.  If you scale them out, what do you get?

In place on the layout, though, it looks really good.  Love the Love Bug in the parking lot...

i think it looks fine .. don't fix it until it's broken

[Missaberoad]

That was my thought too (shingles seem a bit too large to me).  Cute Love Bug, but isn't it also slightly large for 1:160?      Or did someone actually make one in 1:160?

@peteski Was the Wiking model 1:160?

[davefoxx]

Sheesh.  Nothing gets past you guys.  Herbie is 1:148.  It's from Oxford Diecast and is part #NVWB001.  I got the last one from MBK a few months ago.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Off topic.  My wife and I agreed for Santa to bring our almost five-year-old daughter, Aly, a train for Christmas.  We decided on a Kato N scale Operation North Pole Christmas Train Set: http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Kato-N-1062015-Operation-North-Pole-Train-Set-p/kat-1062015.htm

Orders have been placed with MBK and Fifer Hobby Supply (both offering Black Friday sales), which got us everything we need to get this train up and running on DCC.  I'll try to get the decoders installed (one in the F40PH and one in the cab car for lighting), program, test, and repackage the train before Christmas, so we can just put the train on the layout and run it on Christmas morning.

We chose this train for some of the following reasons:
1) The Christmas theme (my daughter will love that);
2) Operation North Pole (ONP) is a charity with a great purpose: for children battling a life threatening illness by hosting a fantasy trip to the North Pole (proceeds from the sale of the Kato train go to ONP);
3) My wife's family is from Chicago, where the prototype train runs;
4) My daughter is showing small signs of becoming a model railroader and/or a railfan (she's enjoyed the train rides we've gone on, and, not long ago, she told me that if I ever wanted to get rid of my layout, she wanted it!); and
5) Now, she'll have her own train for us to run (she's going to love the lights on the F40PH and the cab car).

Getting in the Christmas spirit,
DFF

I received the Kato Operation North Pole train today and tested it before I picked the kids up from daycare.  Holy cow, is this train nice!  I have yet to decoderize the F40PH and the cab car, but I was so relieved (and ecstatic) when I discovered that it ran flawlessly even in push mode on my layout, despite the truck-mounted couplers on the commuter cars.  It even negotiated the 10" radius curves and 3% grade on the A&R line with no derailments!  My daughter is going to love the lights on both ends of the train.

I had to laugh when it got to the reverse loop, because I had no idea how a train in DC would react when the AR1 fired.  It sent the train in reverse!  Haha!  But, a quick press of the direction button on the controller sent the train back in the correct direction.

One of these nights, when I put the kids to sleep, I intend to decoderize and install all of the details, so that when my daughter opens this special gift from Santa on Christmas morning, it will be ready to go on the rails.

If you didn't know better, you might think that my layout is slowly morphing into a Chicago-based layout, considering this Metra commuter train and the ICG GP38-2 I bought back in the summer. 

DFF

[wm3798]

Seaboard Rock Island and Pacific

[davefoxx]

Seaboard Rock Island and Pacific

Too funny, but I don't think that @eric220's Transcontinental PRR would appreciate the competition.   

DFF

[eric220]

Too funny, but I don't think that @eric220's Transcontinental PRR would appreciate the competition.   

DFF

Hey, you're competing with me. Good luck with that.

[davefoxx]

I'm next on the list of M³T hosting after @wm3798, so, today, I've been working on some details to help create a finished scene.  Here's my first attempt at stringing wires for the line poles on the A&R.  It's not easy getting the correct amount of sag while trying to get the wire to set in CA on top of the insulator on the pole.  Sadly, after all of this effort, when you step back from the scene, the wires are not that visible.



But, I turn my back for just five minutes, and . . . Goddamned kudzu!



Seriously, I was disappointed, because any attempts at Kudzu Jesus were unsuccessful.  The EZ Line is too flexible and just won't support the kudzu without non-prototypical sags.  Too bad. 

DFF

[Dave V]

Dunno, Dave...looks pretty freakin' good to me.   

[Chris333]

That does look good. Me, I'm too scared to even try wire on the poles.

[C855B]

As a former Georgia resident... DAAAAAAAMMMMMN! That kudzu is awesome. You got a ROFL and a [snort!] out of Robyn, too.

[glakedylan]

Dave, it's looking good. No need to be so hard on yourself. Good job!
sincerely,
Gary