Reply To bnsf dash 8: That's incredible detail work! Did you do that yourself or is that part of a kit? Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
Having had a very long break from modelling of any kind, and now that the replacement windows in the house are done, I can start to reconstruct what I had to tear down. First on the list are some plans for a small helix so I can make better use of the limited available space. Got a bunch of ideas I want to try out.
Thanks. The details came from BLMA and Sunrise but some of the details had to be scratch built like the intercooler.
Here are the finished products from my bench today. I finally got around to getting some ATSF MOW cars done to go with the crane and tender I did a year or so ago. Thanks , Mike
Some times me too! You never really know how things will turn out until they are done (at least with me). Thanks , Mike
Getting a little farther along with my NS SD60E. Still a lot of work left to do but it's starting to look like one. View attachment 52486
Work started on Rock Island #4710 last night. I was able to get the front and rear cut levers and MU hoses attached as well as trim, shave and drill the #80 holes for the grab irons and lift rings. The picture below is before work started.
Having straightened out the tender pick-up issues and replaced one tender shell I got some paint on the 4-6-2s and decals. Started moving the headlights down on the smokebox and am now adding numberboards from a Gold Medals Steam detail kit under the headlights. Also converted the tenders to MTs. Class lights are next on the smokebox and probably numberboards on top of the smokebox on either side of the stack. Whatever wheels the previous owner placed in the pilot truck on one they will be replaced with ones from my steam parts box. Already had one of the pilot wheels fall off the axle and one axle has pointed axle ends while the other has been filed blunt.
Started work on the grain elevator for the layout. Rough mockup, new to order some windows and doors. Not sure if I should build a shed for loading or not?
FGE 5145/5237 boxcars The Southern purchased several thousand boxcars from FGE in the late 1970's. These were unique cars that were longer than the typical 50 foot boxcar. The 5145 cubic foot cars were used in beer service and the 5237 cubic foot cars were used in newsprint. Both cars are externally the same. These were very common in the Boston area, and I wanted a small fleet of these unique cars. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1710947 The problem is that there is nothing even remotely close to the FGE car. The Red Caboose PCF beer car has the right door and side stiffeners, but was much too long, too tall, had the wrong roof and ends. I decided to cut the sides off and hack them up into parts. These flat parts would then be combined with Stanray corrugated ends from an Exactrail Evans box, and a stretched Stanray roof section from two Athearn NACC boxes. Finding the length was very difficult. Robb, the lad designer over at BLMA found a notation stating the roof was 53' 6" to 53' 9" long. The ends peak out past that a bit and a measured the car by using the truck centers. I came up with a length of 54' 6". Sorry for the sucky photos. I have no access to my Canon Rebel until I have the computer situation fixed. These were taken and uploaded with my Nokia Lumia.
Sorry for the sucky photos. I have no access to my Canon Rebel until I have the computer situation fixed. These were taken and uploaded with my Nokia Lumia. I plan on casting the model as a two piece kit. I hope to get 25-30 copies. Special thanks to Bryan at ESM for some milling work, Lou for locating the original beer car and Robb for some needed measurements.
Finished up the slight modifications and improvements to the MiniTrix Pacifics. Both received lowered headlights and then brass number boards below the headlights plus class lights on the smokeboxes. Tenders both received oil bunks and the decals are cobbled together from about three different decal sets. So SP&S 621 and 623 join 620 already done and 4-4-2 603 in passenger service.
First attempt at decaling a Santa Fe hi level in one of the many variations of Amtrak PHIII. This is the high / thin stripe version that aligns with the Superliners. Kato made the low / thin type that aligns with single level cars and the locomotives. The camera flash caught some irregularities in the stripe as it hugs the corrugations and I may need to redo the lettering, as it's a little off. Still have to paint the interior and the trucks. It's coupled between a standard superliner and the Kato transition coach. I'm loving the fact that Kato has given us Hi Levels. They really complete an early 80s west coast Amtrak train. Beyond this, there were three other PHIII stripe schemes (high / wide, Zigzag one side, zigzag both sides).
Blending Atlas track into Kato Unitrack, and Frankensteining ME turnouts and Peco double-slip as I work on the interlocking for Chicago North: