MILW Greg's Coast Division Layout part. 2

Or maybe he could build the Substation at Taunton.

 

Not yet

I have been too busy painting my 2 Chehalis Western GP-7's and wide vision caboose.:teeth:

 

I have an update coming. The slow down is actually due to cutting my thumb pretty good with the xacto blade. I have been busy treating it. So I hope to get some pics up here soon for you all to see.

 

Okay got a pic update for you all. I briefly set this up for a photo so that you all can see the progress. So nothing by all means is centered perfectly. This photo is of a 6-foot section. I believe the bridge will span a total of 3 or 4, six-foot sections.



This photo was taken as if one were standing on the southwestern side of the bridge, i.e. above the Hanford line.

Still a lot more to do but it is progress. I am now out of parts and will have to put in another large order for plastruct and ME stuff. Bridge piers were ordered and i am awaiting their arrival. These piers will need some modifications but I think they will work well.

Building each truss takes a long time as I am trying to be about 90% prototypical here. I am trying to be as detailed as possible but still try to stay within some kind of budget just because I have to make a total of 14 of the bottom trusses. In addition, not all 14 are alike in length and thus I will try to reflect that on my model as well. I wont say it will be 100% but it will be pretty close.

While this project is already becoming expensive (little tiny pieces of plastruct/styrene shapes ) I hope it will turn out great looking.

oh yeah, all places found between Kittitas and Othello will be built within due time. I probably wont know what places I'll include between Othello and Moses Lake. Building that portion is to hard to see right now as I plan on doing it after the Kitty to Othello run!

 

Finally got down to it and cut all my fuel tanks on my -2's. Next all weather windows and beacons. Then I might start doing some weathering.

 

Mr. Peter Kim showed me how he did some of his.

Basically took the unit apart, shell off, metal casing apart...removed motor, wheels, and light board. Then put the casing back together with the screws just without the motor and wheels.

Then after figuring out where exactly they need to be shorted I proceeded to cut off some of the metal casting. While I believe Peter prefers to use a 'xacto made' saw and did his by hand, I choose to use a dremel tool. However, you have to have steady hands and be very careful with the dremel. Also with the dremel you will need to wear gloves, as the metal will heat up. With the loco lying on its topside I make one cut down into it. Then another cut was made from the front of the loco towards the fuel tank. However, you should try to leave a small portion of the metal casting that sits directly underneath the walkway when the shell is back on. This is because you want a small piece of metal to help hold up the skinny metal band that runs to both trucks. I hope that makes sense.

Then after measuring the correct size needed for cutting the plastic fuel tank that came with the units, i cut then using the same saw peter likes to use to cut the metal. Then using thin plain sheets of styrene I traced the pattern of the front portion of the fuel tank onto the styrene. This is because after cutting the plastic you end up with a large hole in the front and the metal casting can be seen. After tracing them I cut out the patterns I had with a xacto knife. Then glued them on. However, these patterns were a little larger than the actual tanks, so I cut them further around the edges by standing the tank upright with the newly added styrene piece facing down. After trimming, I did some sanding to get a nice edge and then repainted them.

The tanks with the new front wall came out just perfect for fitment back onto the loco. So no additional gluing was needed.

While the dremel is faster than the saw, one needs to be careful, as the chances of slipping are greater.

Here's another pic close up.

 

Oh man, those are perfect!! :teeth: I did the same to mine when I was in N-scale. Did you cut the frames in the bottom half to match? That was the only thing I didn't like about doin' it!

 

My ears were ringing so I thought I would check Trainboard :teeth:

One thing to note when using a rotary tool or grinder is to watch for warping of the frame when it heats up. Unfortunately I sacrificed a frame when I first attempted to find a faster way. Please take your time and go slow. Also make sure you don't take to much off. Having a little bracket for the brass contact pickups will keep them from moving.

 

Kurt,
I'm sorry, but I guess I don't understand which part you are speaking of. I'm sorry it’s probably me and not you.

Peter,
I remembered what you had told me about warping and it is a good think to keep in mind. I was sure to allow some cool time between making the two different cuts into the metal. Also I think it helps to have a dremel tool that has the ability to change its speed in increments. The one I have allows me to do this and thus allows for fine-tuning the speed. I think this helps reduce the chances of warping. I was also remembered what you said about the brass pickup brackets, otherwise I would have chopped those off too.

 

Oh, sorry. The bottom where the fuel tank snaps onto the bottom of the frame had to be shortend. I used a jeweler's fine saw that looks like a mini hack saw on mine. Takes a little longer, but is a clean cut and no frame warpage.

 

Update on Boylston. I have finished my Boylston depot I was building. However, it really did not come out the way I had hoped and am not happy with it. For one my measurements from pictures were a little off (I know this now because just the other day I was able to get a hold of some blue prints of the depot (1908)) causing the model to not be 100% prototypical in n scale. Further, the addition that was built on to the back is not the right length. This I know now because I also got the original addition plans as well (1918).

So I've decided to do it over for the better. If anything it was a great learning opportunity and I got some practice scratch building models.

So what should I do with the one I built? It's not great by any means but not bad at all either. Maybe it would look okay on a z scale layout? But then again, maybe the windows and doors are too big for z scale. I wish I had a z scale ruler...