Weekend Update 9/24/23

[up1950s]

https://wmsr.com/

https://www.trains.com/ctr/railroads/fallen-flags/illinois-central-railroad-a-history/

https://daily.jstor.org/the-ballad-of-railroad-bill/

https://floridapress.blog/2015/09/11/the-life-and-crimes-of-railroad-bill/

https://prospect.org/environment/2023-03-14-filthy-emissions-railroad-locomotives/

https://danbury.macaronikid.com/articles/633665a357cd27356a38e8b4/ride-a-vintage-train-to-a-pumpkin-patch-at-the-danbury-railway-museum

[chuck geiger]

Worked on the canyon this week.

[Mdrzycimski]

Looks great Chuck.  Where are those used ties you just made?

[chuck geiger]

[eja]

Asked and answered ...  they look fantastic and "natural" in the scene.

[packers#1]

Hey Chuck, that scenery is looking great! One question I have that you may already have a plan for, but the seam between the bottom foam sheet and the next one is super visible on the rock formation in front. If you scribe some more lines or skim it with some joint compound and scribe it would probably go away. It just sticks out because everything else around it looks so darn good!

[freescopesdad]

Great image! 

[Scottl]

Weathering and repainting some freight cars.  Trying to get a similar look to a prototype c. 2018.  Need to tone the graffiti down, add conspicuity stripes and then fade the entire car more, but enjoying the process.

[chuck geiger]

Hey Chuck, that scenery is looking great! One question I have that you may already have a plan for, but the seam between the bottom foam sheet and the next one is super visible on the rock formation in front. If you scribe some more lines or skim it with some joint compound and scribe it would probably go away. It just sticks out because everything else around it looks so darn good!

Thanks for the idea- On it.

[wm3798]

I've been working on the railroad...

Rivarossi 0-4-0.  Needs a front coupler.



Trix B6 no. 14


Trix B6 #15



Atlas/Rivarossi 0-8-0 #33



Atlas/Rivarossi Pacific #100 to handle our passenger service.



Atlas/Rivarossi Mikado#203



Atlas/Rivarossi Mikado #210, the Mike's will be handling most of the tonnage.



Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 #317 for those heavy ore and stone trains.



And last but not least, the Big Guy, Atlas/Ajin 2-8-8-2 #2652.  She'll be mostly dragging coal hoppers up and down the valley.

With the exception of the Connie and the O-6-0s, all of these engines had been left for dead.  I rehabbed the Rivarossi engines with new Max Magnet Motors, and the rest had a shot of contact cleaner, a wire fixed, or some other minor workbench wizardry applied, and all of them are again fully functional and ready for revenue service.  I still have to some dull coating and detailing, but I'm pretty happy with the results thus far.  Many thanks to @peteski for the excellent decals.  I'll be whipping up some more for the inevitable freight car fleet!

All I need to do now is design a layout that will make them gainfully employed.
Lee

[lock4244]

Weathering and repainting some freight cars.  Trying to get a similar look to a prototype c. 2018.  Need to tone the graffiti down, add conspicuity stripes and then fade the entire car more, but enjoying the process.

I have an intense disdain for graffiti, however the car looks great otherwise... the fading looks pretty good to me.

[Dayliner]

After an intense series of ops sessions leading up to an ops meet, it was time to take a break from trains--but not for long!

My first offering this week belongs in the "what I bought" category as opposed to "what I built".  My long-awaited Atlas S4 finally arrived this week, and it did not disappoint.  Atlas has really upped their game in recent years in terms of detail (look at those handrails--this is out of the box), and the ESU LokSound V5 decoder on this model--well, it fills the train room with wholesome Alco goodness.  The unit will be assigned to the Victoria yard, where my friend Tim's RS18 PGE 607 has been doing yeoman service for some time.  Here we see the two units side by side, before 607 heads back to the Peace River country.


I picked up a brand new NWSL True Sander for a ridiculously low price at a hobby shop last month, which meant I had no excuse to keep putting off a long-delayed project--building a fleet of 40-ft flats for my Nitinat Logger.  The starting point is a batch of ConCor 50-ft flats acquired from Tim some time ago. Gotta love those retro Rapido couplers!


After removing the underframe, I cut the deck in two places . . .


 . . . before cleaning up the edges and putting the two end pieces back together.


Got four of them done this afternoon!

[RockGp40]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

A couple additions to the fleet arrived this week. I think the prototype for the IAIS hopper has long since been scrapped. A few years ago, an ex-VAMD boxcar was seen in Edgemoor yard, DE, by a fellow railroader. Decals by @Jesse6669

[jpwisc]

I’m adding some more equipment to the mow fleet.

The printed were rough and the detailing left something to be desired. I added metal lift rings after sanding/priming/sanding. I also chopped off the printed handrails on the MK2 tamper and replaced them with more accurate brass ones. I still have some more upgrades to make before paint, but it’s progress.
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[Angus Shops]

After an intense series of ops sessions leading up to an ops meet, it was time to take a break from trains--but not for long!

My first offering this week belongs in the "what I bought" category as opposed to "what I built".  My long-awaited Atlas S4 finally arrived this week, and it did not disappoint.  Atlas has really upped their game in recent years in terms of detail (look at those handrails--this is out of the box), and the ESU LokSound V5 decoder on this model--well, it fills the train room with wholesome Alco goodness.  The unit will be assigned to the Victoria yard, where my friend Tim's RS18 PGE 607 has been doing yeoman service for some time.  Here we see the two units side by side, before 607 heads back to the Peace River country.


I picked up a brand new NWSL True Sander for a ridiculously low price at a hobby shop last month, which meant I had no excuse to keep putting off a long-delayed project--building a fleet of 40-ft flats for my Nitinat Logger.  The starting point is a batch of ConCor 50-ft flats acquired from Tim some time ago. Gotta love those retro Rapido couplers!


After removing the underframe, I cut the deck in two places . . .


 . . . before cleaning up the edges and putting the two end pieces back together.


Got four of them done this afternoon!

I recognize the unpainted combine in the background of your photos. I also see a not really proto ‘stand in’ for a CP van in the same photo - I can help with that if you’re intersted….