Beautiful! Just remember that center beam flatcars have to maintain reasonable side-side balance during loading and unloading, or they will tip over. Therefore, forklifts need access to both sides of the cars. That means more spacing than usual is needed between parallel siding tracks, unless scheduling permits a vacant siding track when centerbeams are being un/loaded. Level pavement around both sides of the rails is also common (loaded forklifts don't like slopes). In actuality, the design of container terminals and lumber terminals could share the same design features (a lumber yard or distributor on one side of the tracks, and a container terminal on the other). Naturally, sheds are usually called for with lumber, but not with containers. Just a thought...
Thanks for the advice-I know it’s not prototypical with them that close together and I was tracking the balance issue. But I hadn’t thought of the level pavement thing. The backstory is that tracks served a different industry a few months ago, and I made some changes since then as I took structures off this loop layout (2’x5’) and moved them to the new switching layout above it. Since I will have to disassemble this to move back to the US in about a year I figured I wouldn’t invest any more money into the scenery and just live with stuff crammed in there for now. My intermodal yard is the same way. Nothing is really set up for prototypical ops. It bugs me, I am trying to do better on the switching layout and in my rough sketches for the next layout. The switching layout on the shelf above it is a little of a different story. I started putting that together with an eye toward being able to take it down and then put it back together with minimal effort. That way I can maybe run trains a little soon after I move back to the US while I build a bigger layout (size/scale TBD but more prototypical) beneath it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Don't sweat things out of your control, or beyond your current reach. The rest is usually pretty easy to change, even without heavy equipment! Besides, construction forklifts (AKA telehandlers, with suspensions and large wheels/tires) can probably handle it. If they aren't available in N scale, then just imagine they're in the shop for maintenance, etc. Or they only work the night shift.
I too am a huge fan of the WC. For those of us who were there to see it in action, it was a true inspiration. I'm modeling a few towns west of Neenah. I urge you to investigate Waupaca for inspiration. Drop by the show there this June and tour the restored depot.
Thanks for the suggestions and invitation-I don’t think I’ll be able to make it out that way until maybe late 2023 or 2024 (I’m stationed overseas) but I’m going to “see what I can see” through internet research. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wednesday, April 20, 2022- So last weekend I finished two sets of ex-Maersk well cars. They are relettered for WC and weathered. The just plug lighting stuff also came in the mail, so I played around with that and a “Roomette” garage set for Midtown Auto Body. Lights will go in there and in Variety Printing over the next couple of weeks. I’m also going to add some more details to the open garage. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sunday, May 1, 2022- Not much accomplished over the last week due to work and hanging out with my family. I did get the Just Plug lights installed in Variety Printing. I figured I’d have a light on here and there on each floor as people leave the shop for the day. The next step will be getting some parts to get the welding lights in the auto body shop going and getting the food truck lights on. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I occasionally get to Doty Island where WC started out. The ThedCare Hospital is close and a week ago I walked across the old trestle over the Little Butte De Morts. Don't see much of there engines anymore. There mostly CN.
I think 3018, a GP40 was the last running WC loco still in it's WC paint, outside of preserved ones. This was taken on the morning of St Pat's Day 2019 in Memphis. Super photograph by David Stewart. My WC roster in N totals 12, but I need to add 3018!
I was bidding for two Fox Valley undecorated GEVOs today. I lost because I was at work and couldn’t follow the auction. But the plan was to paint them for WC. I figured I would take my cue from CN’s WC heritage (3069?). If anyone knows of any undec FVM GEVOs that are available, please let me know. I’m not going to hold my breath-I’m going to look into Kato’s as well. I’d like my “modern” WC to get some newer power if I can-maybe I’ll patch over some GEVOs from another road in the absence of undecs. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That bottom one reminds me of home-it “feels” like I’m looking at where I grew up on the WI/IL border. Great job. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Stewart River on my buddy's layout is a favourite photo op spot. Those sneaky CN guys were spotted on a Recon some years ago...
Monday, 6 June 2022 I’ve been a little busy with work for the last month so I haven’t posted much. It was also compounded by the fact that I wasn’t doing anything WC. I wanted to weather all my UP hoppers and locomotives so I have a completely weathered train. So I’ve been chipping away at all the hoppers until this weekend, when I did the FVM GEVOs. UP 7859 was Jim Reising’s. I purchased some other items from his estate and they included this very well detailed locomotive as well. It was a very kind of them and I am still very grateful. I was nervous about weathering it because I wasn’t sure I could do it justice. I practiced first on UP 7909 and CREX 1201 (and applied some of the details-those windshield wipers are a lost cause). I never met Mr. Reising, but from everything I’ve seen and heard, he was a great modeler. Hopefully I did okay with UP 7859. Also-few photos of various hoppers that I haven’t posted elsewhere on TB. All of the ones I’ve done are MTL, some factory weathered which I did a little touch up on. Below are the ones that were in-weathered. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Weathering looks real good! I acquired a few GP60s from Jim's estate and same thing with how well he got them detailed. He even added individual LEDs to the ditch lights as they tend to be pretty dim from the factory.
Friday, 15 July 2022 Another month gone by-I was on vacation for a while so not a lot of modeling got done. I did weather some more covered hoppers. But my next big project will be to take 3x BNSF GEVOs and repaint them for the Wisconsin Central heritage fleet. Here are the “victims”: I’m planning on painting one each for Algoma Central, Green Bay & Western, and Fox Valley. I’ve found commercially available decals that I can use for each one. Plus, the paint schemes for each are pretty easy. I spent the evening masking them for primer and the first coat of paint. I’ll post progress as I go. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sunday, 17 July 2022- A ton of progress on heritage units. All three are painted, two (GBW and FVR) are fully decaled, and one (AC) is waiting on the remaining decals to arrive. My airbrush made really quick work of them. A few blemishes are left over, but I’m going to try and blend and hide them with some weathering. Only problem is one of the number boards popped out and vanished-and now I’ve got nothing to plug the whole. Next weekend, I’m going to try to weather them. I also finished METX 11 and a couple of Concor coaches on Saturday. The week prior I finished 3 Kato Pullmans that I repainted into the bicycle and new paint job. I have two left to finish-need to add passengers and lights. I’m going to celebrate this week by building a consist of METX 11 and some Metra locomotives and coaches getting pulled down from the Antioch coach yard. I’ll run it while I have my morning coffee. I saw a video of the same on YouTube back in March 2022 here: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
