Narrow Gauge- "What's on your workbench?"

As promised here is the critter photo pulling this car and one I'd already built last year. A note on size. I'm not really into 16 foot cars. These are 20 footers, actually the tank car is 22 feet, and to me look less 'toy like.' Just me.



Boxcab, Here is a photo of the MacLeod Wester T-12s. I chose this truck because it has springs and some of these cars car pretty heavy loads. I have a T-16 (no springs) for one of my flat cars.



Jim

 

Nice


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Thanks Kevin.

High Line, Thank you as well. I looked for a weather forum for this, but none here and this is 'On my workbench.' I like weathering, everything! Nothing is new in my way of thinking. As for the tips on the Morgan Hill Site I looked at it an couldn't figure out how to procure 'steel wool' so I moved on. I use many techniques and so should you. Here is a photo of the top of a flat car I just weathered yesterday. Notice it is a completely different 'look' than the scrap car.


The scrap car surface was produced by using two different products of gray weathering. One the familiar white bottle from the LHS and one from MicroMark. After the deck had dried I use different weathering powders to achieve the look I wanted. Aged but not 50 years old. I do rough up the decks using a wire brush or a couple swipes of my exacto saw blade. So, how did I achieve this particular deck look? Quite differently. In the photo below you will see the first step in making those cracks stand out. Turn the model over an apply a brown pigment to the underside. What this does is bleed through a bit on to the top decking.



After drying I then covered the top with gray weathering and you can see the results. This technique is a step above 'average' effort and can also be reversed for yet a different look. Remember all these cars where shop built out in the boonies. Seldom would any two be very close to identical. This said it should be obvious that whatever and however you treat these cars you can't go wrong. Also using this technique I didn't have to rough up the deck surface. The weathering technique did a pretty good job of portraying a rough surface.

Additional hint: Notice the lead weight I attached to the bottom of this flatcar. It would be quite light otherwise. The other cars seem to be ok as they have 'loads' on top. Jim

 

Thanks for the tips Jim, I appreciate it and I've really been enjoying your work/learning from it. Hopefully I'll get some kits to fiddle around with soon. And I agree with Boxcab, I really like the look of those trucks...gonna have to look into those as well!

-HL

 

Jim, I like that train! It looks good.

Thanks for the weathering mini clinic! I've got some wooden flats to do that I may use some of those ideas with. The brown on the seams looks really good!

 

Thanks guys and no problem. I'm always will to help out if I can. For more free advice you can click this: http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/...ing-the-Pinacle-Creek-Mining-amp-Timber-Co-RR

 

I'm currently working the kinks out of a Athearn SW1500 running gear with DCC and a Backwoods Miniatures Whitcomb kit. Just an FYI, this kit is a 'slip onto the frame' ONLY for the earliest SW1500s Athearn made. Their website doesn't mention you practically have to re-machine the entire frame of the running gear to make it work (the instructions do, though, but after you've bought the kit). While I was extremely unhappy with how much work this kit takes to get onto the frame when the site says it just drops right on (and how I'd never buy another of their products), I must admit they do a good job with the detail on the castings. With a great deal of effort, I think I'll be able to make a decent locomotive out of this kit after all. I'm still trying to fit the body in place as they also don't address the DCC boards and plugs. You have to remove a massive amount of material from the inside of the castings to make it all fit. Once it's all together, I'm going to paint it as a WW2 era US Army locomotive. Note the overszied headlights, the kit's headlight castings are worthless for working lights. These were taken from the extra parts bag of one of my Bachmann On30 4-6-0s. I like the look and it allows me to use the Athearn factory lights without any further mods.
I plan on removing one of the boxes from the hoods, each has a wood box molded into the side. I'm thinking of adding a couple of air tanks or something like that just to make it look a little different, as I don't think anyone would add wooden tool boxes to each side of a locomotive like this...

 

Looks really good! I like the low slung look.

Still poking along on the pair of switchers. Been busy with other stuff so they gotta wait.

 

After the Des Moines GTE, I've been thinking of a rebuild to HOn3. Kinda hard not to want to model that when 3 dealers had alot of Blackstone there..

 

Nope, just widened.. Central American stuff is still alot different than the DRGW stuff. But the lokies were fairly close.

 

Got some rough hoods on the engines done last night. I'll post up some photos when I get a little more done.

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How about something in the Fox Valley line? They do sell different axle lengths.

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Have you got any calipers? A quick measurement might help. Not sure of a shop that would have any. Maybe Caboose hobbies?

Art Rogers
Modeling.... something...