Weekend Update 3/29/15

[chuck geiger]

[John]

Not a problem at all.  The section of the staging yard in the water heater / furnace area is build in two sections with the section immediately in front of the water heater being removable.  The water heater is only a couple years old, but I wanted to put in that contingency just in case.

Not my first railroad!

Daryl

I figured as much .. but I've also seen it the other way around ..

[craigolio1]

Good  planning .... but you do realize the next one will be 3 inches larger in diameter, don't you ?   (Or so sez Edsel Murphy)

I know his plan. When it goes, he'll go tankless and add 10 more tracks for those sweet unit coal trains.

Craig

[up1950s]

Like your sloped street structures theme Damnlee . Could make a interesting mag article . " The world is not as flat as usually modeled "

[Cajonpassfan]

Otto that scene looks fantastic. You have captured the look very nicely.
Rod.

Thanks Rod! (and Adam and Gordon). Still a work in progress.
Here's one more, with a mail train. Rod, the black thing up front is a steam engine
Next time you're in the northern hemisphere, you need to come visit us again!
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Best, Otto K.

[Cajonpassfan]

Daryl, nice to see you back at it again; that's one awesome staging yard! Sweet!
I just went to a WPM meet at the San Bernardino depot and saw a great layout tour presentation by Tim Dickinson on his superb BN circa 1976 HO railroad, and the point he made several times was "you can't ever have enough staging". Looks like you may have enough
Regards, Otto K.

[Puddington]

I played trains..........

Seven 50' CP paper boxes sit quietly at Stratton Brewery - the only track open for some short term storage during a local shunt....



A couple of invaders were spotted.... fortunately they left quickly....

[Santa Fe Guy]

Hi Otto. That's funny. I do let one of those black things on the SFRSD every now and then. Here is evidence.

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John Colliver's new FEF on its maiden run.
Rod.

[Cajonpassfan]

Oh nooooo, not Uncle Pete!!! 
Love your trees! Fun stuff!
Otto K.

[Santa Fe Guy]

How can ya say no to an old mate!
The trees are very old Scenic Express with English Carrs very fine flock just need straightening the trunk. I just learnt a new trick to straighten them. Hold a hot small soldering iron opposite from the bend and then gradually bend the tree straight with the other hand. Take the iron away and voila all fixed. You might need to work up the trunk a bit but it sure works.
Now I need to go do those in the pic.
Rod.

[Dave V]

Just under the wire...



Completed the first coal car for the Colorado Midland. This was a craftsman resin kit from Fine N Scale Models. To be honest, the sides are extremely fragile, brittle, and come warped.  I tried to trim the side stakes such that they contacted the stake pockets but almost all of them broke short while being trimmed off the sprue with a new #11 blade.  I'll know to be more careful next time.  I also tried hard to get rid of most of the swayback warp, but honestly, most of the prototype CM gons show a significant swayback so...  This kit was a comedy of errors with errant glue, parts put in the wrong place (and having to be removed and relocated), and a bunch of other unmentionables.  All said and done, it should look a lot worse than it does with everything that went wrong!  It looks pretty good from a foot away, so...  Good enough for the Midland!

The custom decals were made for a gondola with wider stake spacing, but I made 'em fit!

[eja]

Spectacular work !

[Blazeman]

Went to the Fine Scale show in Scranton for clinics, to view contest entries, and structure vendor buys.

Contest entries: http://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=1237.0

Bergen National among the vendors present. Had their factory (based on an Idaho beet processing mill) on hand. See it in the current RMC.

[VonRyan]

I took these pictures over the weekend:

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[garethashenden]

Talked to a couple of excellent modellers over the weekend. One has agreed to turn some wheels for an upcoming project, the other was full of helpful advice about how to tackle various aspects although I'm not sure that I'll take his advice and make the inside valve gear operational. Probably a step too far at this point, but we shall see.