Weekend Update 1/27/19

[thomasjmdavis]

@Lemosteam -
John, looks like you've done more in the last few weeks than I have done in the last 3 years.

[Lemosteam]

@Lemosteam -
John, looks like you've done more in the last few weeks than I have done in the last 3 years.

@thomasjmdavis , If planning and designing parts counts in that, I'm three years behind you!

[Chris333]

I showed a few "how I built it" photos in my layout thread:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=41787.msg603418#msg603418

I just scaled the photo till the people where 5'9" and then put it into AutoCAD to trace over it as best as I could. Did narrow the building just a hair to give it a smaller foot print. Distressed the styrene sheets with 40 grit sandpaper and used a pounce wheel for simple nail heads. Sprayed it tan camo with a ink wash, then a brown wash. The paint was dabbed on dry and built up so you could sort of see through it.

[Kentuckian]

I’m noodling layout height. I tossed my HCD layout over Christmas break and I’m starting on the “big one” which in my case has to fit in a 15’4”x12’ end of our multi-purpose basement room. I’m thinking two levels with a ... um.. spirally inclined plane to connect them, like in the February Model Railroader. I’m 6’5” and I’m thinking 60” height for the top deck and 48” for the lower deck. This is my test track/programming track/outdoor photo stage I’m working on at a 60” height:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

I am interested in thoughts on layout height, and the height between the two decks vs. scene depth. I know in general that the closer the two decks are, the narrower the bench work needs to be.

[DKS]

I'd say that's a piece of art, and nothing more. It's not structurally capable of supporting anything but itself, and even then, marginally so. The stay cables are likely just to help keep it vertical, although it probably wouldn't take that many cables to do so--some of them aren't even taut. Meanwhile, that through plate girder bridge is more than adequate for the job on its own.

Here's a little more info about the site:

https://www.visitbloomington.com/listing/b-line-trail/888/

http://www.bfsengr.com/portfolio/infopage.php?i=BloomingtonB-LineTrail


 

[BCR 570]

While the layout has been quiet for some time, I have been making some progress on various equipment projects.  Locomotives are high on the agenda due to their expense and thus my desire to complete them prior to retirement.

Jordan spreader BCOL 996301 now has rear vertical grab irons, paint, window glass and wipers, and tungsten weight in the centre sill:




Next is decals, weathering and final assembly.


I finished my CN C-424 build last week and it is now ready for the paint shop after receiving final cab and carbody details.  The two biggest jobs for this locomotive were correcting the rear end (donated from an Atlas C-420 shell) and moving the battery boxes from the cab to underneath the left walkway:










M-630 722 and M-630W 727 now have couplers, cut levers, hoses and plows:






Lots more work still ahead for these two.


Tim

[Cajonpassfan]

Nice work, Tim, as usual. And apparently efficient, too.
I wish I could get that organized and work on projects in assembly line-like fashion like you.
Otto

[bnsfdash8]

I bent some new handrails for my SW1500. They're definitely a nice improvement over the stock railing.

[craigolio1]

While the layout has been quiet for some time, I have been making some progress on various equipment projects.  Locomotives are high on the agenda due to their expense and thus my desire to complete them prior to retirement.

Jordan spreader BCOL 996301 now has rear vertical grab irons, paint, window glass and wipers, and tungsten weight in the centre sill:




Next is decals, weathering and final assembly.


I finished my CN C-424 build last week and it is now ready for the paint shop after receiving final cab and carbody details.  The two biggest jobs for this locomotive were correcting the rear end (donated from an Atlas C-420 shell) and moving the battery boxes from the cab to underneath the left walkway:










M-630 722 and M-630W 727 now have couplers, cut levers, hoses and plows:






Lots more work still ahead for these two.


Tim

Great progress Tim! What did you use for your M630w? I have a Briggs M630 that I kitbashed with a Briggs M420 to start mine but yours look different.

Craig

[BCR 570]

Nice work, Tim, as usual. And apparently efficient, too.
I wish I could get that organized and work on projects in assembly line-like fashion like you.
Otto

Thank you Otto; yes, working assembly line style has its advantages, particularly with freight car construction.  it pays off at the painting stage too, where the work of prepping and painting can be applied to numerous models simultaneously.

Great progress Tim! What did you use for your M630w? I have a Briggs M630 that a kitbashed with a Briggs M420 to start mine but yours look different.

Craig

Thank you Craig; I was going to go that route for my M-630W and had stockpiled the parts to do just that, but Jeff now offers a 3D printed M-630W kit which is what you see here.  It has been primed at this early stage for ease of locating drill holes.


Tim

[nkalanaga]

Mike, James, and DKS:  I also think now that the cables are part of the artwork.  I've seen lots of railroad bridges with piers in the middle of the road, but most of those use smaller girders, since they're two-span bridges.  This one doesn't show any evidence that it's two separate spans.

And, as DKS says, a square isn't structurally suited to supporting things.  I hadn't thought of that angle, being too busy looking at the cables.  If it had cables across the center, above the sides of the girder, it would be a form of truss, but this thing would probably collapse if it had to support weight.

[C855B]

I still think it's support replacing a wider concrete pier. A high priority in roadway engineering is reduction or elimination of hard components immediately adjacent to traffic lanes. They absolutely would not add a structure "just for art" if there was a clear space where there is now a center divider. They would take advantage of any opportunity to reduce the size of the obstacle.

That particular engineering may seem artistic, but is a new style of suspension bridge support made possible by complex force vector analyses that move loads 90° to what you would consider "normal". Here's the Millennial Bridge in London you may have seen on the news which uses a similar design:

[nkalanaga]

That London bridge would work fine, as the weight of the top cross pieces would keep the side supports stable, even though they're not a traditional triangular truss.  But the Bloomington bridge "support" is inherently unstable, as the weight on the upper arms would tend to bend the joints between the upper and lower arms, flattening the square, and causing the bridge to collapse.

Also, while you're correct about eliminating obstacles to traffic in most cases, some towns also deliberately install obstacles, such as bulging curbs, center islands, planters, etc.  The purpose is to slow traffic, and is referred to as "traffic calming".  I'll agree that that seems unlikely on a 4-lane arterial, and it is more common on residential or business district streets.

I noticed that the logo for the train itself is a diamond shape, and contains a lot of blue.  I'm still with DKS, and think this is just a large artwork.  The cables are more likely to keep the "support" from falling over, in high winds or due to a traffic accident, than to keep the bridge up.

[Chris333]

The bridge in 2007:

[craigolio1]

Thank you Otto; yes, working assembly line style has its advantages, particularly with freight car construction.  it pays off at the painting stage too, where the work of prepping and painting can be applied to numerous models simultaneously.


Thank you Craig; I was going to go that route for my M-630W and had stockpiled the parts to do just that, but Jeff now offers a 3D printed M-630W kit which is what you see here.  It has been primed at this early stage for ease of locating drill holes.


Tim

Good call Tim. I’m working on 10 black CS models chip cars and darned if I can just barely see the holes I’ve drilled. I should have primed them.