Carbon Limestone Co.

[timwatson]

They are proud of their craftsmanship huh? $90. Bah.
What is the diameter (in mm) on the wheels (couldn't find that info on the site). It's almost got a perfect wheelbase for a small forney style loco i want to make.

http://www.searails.com/powermax.html
It have very fine 0.1mod gears and runs pretty good. Only trouble spot is getting one with a wobbly wheel.

[Chris333]

Tim,

I got 4.91mm and 30.96" in N scale.

They are taking about making one available with spoked and drilled wheels.

All the chassis are hand built and at the wheels the axle gets very small and most of the problem is the plastic insulator. I made a couple small cups to put in my lathe that straightened them out pretty good. The one I worked on is pretty much perfect.

[timwatson]

Thanks man. Thats tinier than I thought. Spiked drivers would be great. I've been looking for 44" 12 spoke drivers. Good luck on the louvers. You might also see if Gold medal has some all purpose louvers. Seems like I saw something they had at one point (vague I know). The diesel looks great.

Tim,

I got 4.91mm and 30.96" in N scale.

They are taking about making one available with spoked and drilled wheels.

All the chassis are hand built and at the wheels the axle gets very small and most of the problem is the plastic insulator. I made a couple small cups to put in my lathe that straightened them out pretty good. The one I worked on is pretty much perfect.

[Chris333]

With all of these changes I ran out of Fasttracks PC ties and now they are out so I wait for them to re-stock...

So I started working on the trestle at the crusher:

The balsa wood is where the backdrop will be.


I used PC ties with 1/16" brass angle along the edges With railings mounted to them. This will get filled in with wood ties and walkways added. Then everything will be glued to the hardboard and I-beam girders will be glued to the side of that. The base you see is to the crusher and will be the concrete part.

Theme music:


I'm pretty sure the trestle had a concrete deck, but it hard to tell. Either way my model won't be see-thru.

[Chris333]

BTW since I mentioned Fasttracks I should let y'all know that they no longer make the sheared PC tied that they used to make. All their new stuff is routed out of PC board:
http://www.handlaidtrack.com/v/vspfiles/photos/CH-Nn3-X-3.jpg

I guess this is better    The old ties basically only had one good side because the shearer blade rounded off the other. But to me that was OK I only need one side. The new ties seem wider, but they aren't, they are just perfectly square. Also the new ties are pre-gapped, but there are 2 gaps on each tie and they are really wide gaps. Here I slid in a new tie into some old track work. Notice how thin my gaps are compared to theirs:


I guess the good news is that I can just use the new ties upside down and cut my own gaps.

[davefoxx]

Chris,

I may have a bag or two of PC ties.  If so, you are welcome to them.  Let me know if you want them, and I will go digging to see what I have.

DFF

[Chris333]

Chris,

I may have a bag or two of PC ties.  If so, you are welcome to them.  Let me know if you want them, and I will go digging to see what I have.

DFF

Thanks for the offer. I still have a bunch of the old ties as well. I started with the new ties so I'd like to finish with them. Even though they are the same width they look wider. (the top copper part is narrow and the center fiberglass(?) is wide) So much that I will be using 1/16" wide wood filler ties instead of 3/64" wide.

[wcfn100]

Hopper cars should be here the 2nd.  Wheels should be here Monday when I get my held mail.  If the weather cooperates, I'll try and get a spray bomb on them and take some pictures.


Jason

[wcfn100]

Hopper cars came early and I got a chance to put some primer on.



Beside the usual surface texture (or am I just over-reacting  ), the only real issue is that the thin sides have warped a little during the cleaning process.  maybe a cross brace could be added and removed later to help keep this from happening.  Also the wheel axles are tight but they are easily reamed with a small round file which probably leaves a better surface anyway.  These are very light and will probably need some weight added.  They will roll on their own but it doesn't take much to knock them off.

I'm still not used to the roller coaster of emotion between getting the parts out of the bag and then seeing them after they are cleaned.   

A reminder why I have so many models in waiting...

Anyway, if Chris gives the thumbs up, these will be public tonight for anyone else interested.

Jason

[Chris333]

Hey is that a Nn3 turntable you are hiding there?


I thought the texture would be OK after these:


But these would be covered in limestone dust and hopefully that will help. Does it look like they were printed standing up or horizontal?

Either way I'm glad to have them. Only other way would be to scratchbuild one car and try to cast them. Last time I tried casting I kept getting bad results.

[VonRyan]

Liking the hopper cars. I've seen a few 3d printed items up close and personal and the texture usually isn't as apparent to the naked eye.

Loving the progress. Lucky for me since if I ever do Irish 3' modeling, all my wagons can be etched.

[Chris333]

Also it is strange they warped since that top part is pretty solid. Would thickening the side walls help that? Will hot water straighten them?

[sizemore]

Also it is strange they warped since that top part is pretty solid. Would thickening the side walls help that? Will hot water straighten them?

They're mine cars, they get beaten up. Ever see a open gondola that's been abused? I think these are right up the alley.

The S.

[davefoxx]

Chris,

Your handlaid track is beautiful.  How do you line up the PC ties, so the wood ties fit in evenly after you solder the rails?  Also, how do you lay the rails out, so you get nice straights and even curves?  I foresee me getting the rails off center on the ties as I try to lay track in a straight line.  Any tips?

DFF

[Leggy]

I gotta stop checking this thread....I'll soon be handlaying Nn3 sections for the QLD narrow gauge line otherwise 

Great work.