An update! I'm still around, just been distracted by some British prototype stuff. I am also building a new resin kit, a PRR x26 boxcar. Pics soon!
Here's a pair of F&C boxcars nearing completion; the brake sprue was missing from the Lehigh Valley car kit, so I cannot finish it until I get another, but other than that and the stirrup steps (I will use etched ones, the resin ones are so flimsy!) they're all ready for primer and paint!
We're still here, folks. Just slowed down on the MR front a bit. If anyone comes across a WSM Q4 Mikado with the footboard pilot do let me know - I am seeking one! All the best! Amanda
More B&O proto photos! An unusual sight near Columbus, Ohio: An E27 2-8-0, with a cab modified to also provide a seat for the forward brakeman (Rare on 2-8-0s!) leads a consist of a single dome tank and an odd looking hack with no cupola, followed up by a whole family of M26 and M27 boxcars!
I thought a few pictures of resin kits "in the works" might be worth seeing. I've begun weathering with my airbrush, as seen on the LV car, and also am having a go at preshading, as seen on the PRR outside braced X26. I'm quite happy with the weathering on the LV car so far! The PRR car, we shall see once I shoot the final basecoat.
A couple of things of note- First, nice work on the boxcars. Please keep us updated. Second, I think the odd caboose in the prototype photo was pretty much the standard pattern for transfer cabooses back in the day- much different than the modern ones. Might make an interesting model if you can find more information on it. I remember seeing a similar Ann Arbor car landlocked at Owosso many years ago, although I don't know what happened to it. A somewhat similar B&O car is shown here: https://www.nasg.org/SProductGallery/reports/scale/cars/rr/indexBaltimore___Ohio_(B_O)Cabooses.php
I thought the same thing; that they were a MOW car of some sort, maybe. I'd like to have a model of one, perhaps I will see if I have plans for one in my caboose books and have a go! As of now, we're at a grand total of 1 locomotive, 1 caboose, and 8 freight cars, so the collection is not growing quickly, hehe. The next additions will hopefully be a Q4 and some more gons.
After some negotiations with Baldwin Locomotive Works, the Motive Power department has purchased a new Mikado (MacArthur in B&O parlance) type locomotive of class Q4b, for handling heavy freight and MOW work on the Seneca Branch. This locomotive will also perform usual branch services when the normal Consolidation-type branch locomotive no 2804 is down for service. As joint operations with the Western Maryland require the rail and right of way be of sufficient strength and weight to handle their large 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 types, the new Mikado falls well within the loading gauge and limits on the line.
Now if we could just find the last type I have always sought to own, one of those gorgeous Sunset EL-3a or EL-5a models! Sure, it's anything but a branch line engine, but...
Indeed there is! I just bought my Q4 there. However, the motive power dept budget is a bit tapped out just now =(
Our new Q4b has arrived, and it is a beauty! Noisy as a ball bearing in a coffee can bouncing down a set of steel steps, but runs smoothly and a great foundation for improvement! I have a new gearbox luckily (the one from the E27 that didn't fit!) and a spare U joint kit, so I think we can quiet it right down. It will of course be receiving DCC and a working headlight!
PS. If anyone happens upon a footboard pilot version of one of these that is for parts (or even a spare pilot) i do wish to switch this one from a road to a footboard pilot. I guess if push comes to shove I can make one of brass.