Swapped out the stock tender on my 4-6-0 for a spectrum short. Skipgear helped out guiding the wiring of the DZ125 decoder. I also installed a MT 905 Z/Nn3 coupler in the tender (and will for the pilot), which involved milling down the frame to get correct height. And after some tweeking of contact strips, the thing ran beautifully: Smaller tender looks a lot better. (and I'll be using the stock tender, with it's decoder, for a fire- or water-car tail behind a 0-6-0T project later). But it's nice to successfully swap a tender & hardwire install a decoder for the first time. Now I just need to weather that Ten Wheeler.
Installed the MT905 pilot coupler in the 4-6-0. Reamed out the space: Inserted a filed 905: Voila! Looks much better than the stock dummy. Also filed the inside of the tender shell to make a wee bit more space for the wires. Now it fits nice & snug (you can see it slightly separated in the previous post). Weather time.
I think the box car fits right into your layout: "we can do it" :tb-biggrin: Thank you for the great thread.
Thanks for reading! That Deluxe Innovations "Rosie the Riveter" boxcar was a birthday gift from my 9-year-old daughter. She zero'd in on it as soon as she took me to the LHS (run, also, by an awesome woman) to pick out a present. She thought it looked cool, but after I told her about Rosie and the Port Chicago & Richmond shipyards (which are nearby & we drive past regularly), she was even more into it. This layout will eventually get to early 1900s, but the boxcar will definitely have a home on the late 1940s Central California Coast layout my daughter & I will build together as our summer project. I'm just happy she's into the trains & we can have fun building together. And I think of my wonderful daughter everytime Rosie passes down the main. Which, on this small layout, is quite often!
Did a light weathering on the 4-6-0: Bragdon powders. Also Neo-lubed the rods, and put a fine layer of coal on top of the plastic tender load. Much easier on the eyes than the shiny out-of-the-box plastic. Now I just need to find a 1900s engineer to drive her! Decided to take a break from rebuilding / replacing all the turnouts (mainly due to running out of solder), and started in on the engine shed / shop: Freelancing it off of a couple Pacific Northwest & California sheds I have photos of. Will have a lighted interior and glowing-hot forge. Framing is drying as we type.
Plugging away at the single-engine shed / blacksmith / machine shop: You can see how my original design was a bit short (I'm guesstimating from photos, balanced with what works with my layout). So I added two scale feet. Pretty happy with the size so far. Using 1/32"x3/64" for the studs & joists, 1/32"x1/32" for the cross supports, and HO 2'x4's for the wall planking. Should be 55' long and 35' wide (shop included). The side closest to viewing (next to water tower) will be open framing, as it's summer. I might have some dudes starting to nail up the boards, but I'd like it to be open, as many sheds were, at the very least to peek into the shed. There will be a couple lamps in the shed, and the forge will be roaring, thanks to Even Designs. (I've built in a hidden "shack" behind the blacksmith to hold the wires & circuitry). I love plank by plank building, but dang if it isn't a whole lot of small pieces of wood! The end result is worth it, though.
That plank by plank method really looks good. Your building shows a real understanding of how these things would have been built. Nice work!
Still "board" with my engine shed / shop: [The space between the end walls of the shop is for the circuitry & wiring for forge fire and 2-3 lamps] The fact that the garage gets to 100+ deg. during the day doesn't help motivate me to get out there and work. (Though I do need to place weights on the walls to keep them from curling). Also busy getting a display together for the LDSIG room at X2011 in Sacto in a couple weeks. Oh, wait! Wife's B-day is tomorrow! Maybe she'd like an Engine Shed / Shop?
Good thing the wife didn't want an engine shed / shop for her b-day: way not finished yet! But got the sub-roof done: [the cross-beam at the front is just a temp while the back dries & roof gets installed] and the blacksmith shed roof: Both roofs will be covered with ceder shingles, so I didn't worry too much about it, like off-set planking or whatnot. It looks small, but will house the biggest loco on the lot (the Ten Wheeler): But really it'll be for the 2-6-0 & the 18T Climax, so plenty o' space. A test fit on the layout with the (unfinished) Mogul: Not sure when it'll all get done. Got X2011 in Sacto all next week, then a week at Disneyland. Plus, been a bit sidetracked with a top-secret project my daughter & I are working on, so I'm hoping the momentum doesn't bleed out on this one. Happy Summer!
Haven't done anything to my layout, except cover it with sawdust from another project. The Columbia River is very dirty this time of year! (anyone know how to wipe clean modgepodge surfaces?) Just posting to 1. try out this groovy "embed video" (not in-bed video) gadget & 2. show off some of the goodies I got at the National Train Show today up in Sacramento: a couple Roundhouse "Old Time" reefers, three Intermountain SP USRA composite gondolas (which I thought were discontinued, so was happy to find), and some MT 36' reefers. [video=youtube;yGmG_F5CfU0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGmG_F5CfU0[/video] Must be the night run, given the low light levels! Also found this older Kato loco (Japanese C50, I think) somebody tricked out into a Rio Grande Southern: Funky tender. Might swap out for a Spectrum tender & stick a decoder in it. Haven't looked inside yet, but runs alrighty on the DC track. Wheels need moocho cleaning & rods need some neolube. But nice to have more steam!
Thanks! Far from done, though. Still need shingles, blacksmith shop doors, lamps in the shed, the brick forge / chimney that'll hold the "fire" leds. Also just received the shop equipment from RLW, so it should get tricked out pretty good. But we're going to Disneyland on Monday for the week, so unless I pull a "Rod Stewart" and model in the hotel room, it'll be a couple weeks before it gets done. [not sure the wife would appreciate the "bored by bored" construction while on "vacation" ] Funny, there was a clinic at X2011 on Disney's railroad ops which I didn't get to, thinking "when will I ever see that?" Totally fogetting we're heading out there on Monday. Another fun fact: commuting to the Convention in Sacramento from the BayArea every day, plus driving all over Northern California on Wed. to visit some amazing layouts, put over 700 miles on my little car (Which has no A/C, but that's another story). That's more than driving from SF down to Disneyland & back! (Luckily, the car we'll be driving down to "HelL.A." does have A/C!) Random Thought: I love modeling N scale, yet I detest "It's A Small World". Go figure.
I think I had a nightmare once prominently featuring that song playing over and over and over again. Solidarity, brother!
Installed a DZ125 decoder in the Kato 2-6-0 (C50). Plenty of room in the tender: Had to cut out two channels in the weight for the wires, and snap off two tabs on the motor to isolate it from the chassis. No lights so that was easy. The six-wheel tender doesn't ride too well on my tight curves, so I'll be swapping it out for an Atlas mogul tender (or B-Mann chassis / Model Power shell) when I get one. Runs okie dokie right now: [video=youtube;XwJL0bU0Wf4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwJL0bU0Wf4[/video] Needs a bit of tooning. And an operating front coupler (already stuck a MT 905 in the tender). More fun with all my new rolling stock! How many cars can a Kato NW2 pull around 9" curves? [video=youtube;Lwty0XZl2nQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwty0XZl2nQ[/video] Probably could have gotten one or two more on, but the engine was straining enough as is. (Those Intermountain composite gons are pretty heavy) Funny thing happened: my Ten Wheeler actually threw a traction tire. I'm just not sure how, as there are pins from the drive rods in each wheel, so how could it have come all the way off? Hmmmmmmm...
I was having trouble getting the fibers to separate nicely, and found that using a flea comb to brush the tuft of twine worked well to separate the fibers as well as removing the stray fibers. I'm learning a lot from this thread; thank you for covering the construction of the layout so well. Andrew
I think it's a great track plan for a the small space! At first I was going to suggest getting one more industry out of it by not having the 10" of track "through the mountain", but then reading on saw that you wanted that so you could practice liftouts. Awesome! I would use a wood trestle structure, like over a slew (think Astoria...) v. stone arch bridge...but if you intend to ultimately have a stone arch bridge on your 7'x8' U-shaped shelf layout (ssssshhhhhhh!!!), then you're doing the right thing to practice it on this layout, since your intent is to practice modeling techniques. Makes me think I should be doing that while I'm waiting for my kid to clear out so I can have my train room! Smooth rails!
Andrew: good tip on the flea brush. I've seen something like that used before & thought about it: just too lazy to get one & try it! (got my finger technique down good, anyway). Thanks for the idea, though: keep 'em coming! ZiggySpaz: welcome to Trainboard! Thanks for starting to read my loopy & knotted thread. If you keep slogging on, you'll see I've already incorporated your suggestions into the layout! (how's that for mind reading & time travel!): While building the lift out I realized I didn't need it, & I really needed a runaround on that side. So, since I'm in the process of ripping out my turnouts & rebuilding them with powered frogs, I'm redoing the Mine side with the new plan. As for the bridge: As the scene developed, I realized I wanted something more open & airy, and so built the platform & truss based off some late 1800s photos of the Columbia River I got. This little layout I'm trying to set around 1900 - 1920. If I ever get to my bigger "U", that will be more late 40s / early 50s, and the bridge will be an operating rotating swing bridge, like so many along the rivers up there. WARNING: these "little practice / temp layouts" have a way of becoming super detailed & uber time consuming! Unless you settle on super low standards right from the start, expect this little layout to take at least a year! (I'm trying to "finish" by November). Jean-Louis Simonet's Possum Valley took two years. Clear goals for the layout helps! But I have learned a ton (both 1:1 & N scale) by building this little layout. Looking forward to seeing yours!
New Camera! Woot! Not much work on the layout: been staining some shingles (roofing) for the engine shed, got some WS foliage clusterclumps and started planting some non-pine trees (FINALLY!) at the lower levels. (You can still see some T-pins holding them up as the glue dries). Still need moocho more of all kinds of trees, but it's nice to see some variety & more textures showing up. I also moved my layout to a small piece of benchwork against the garage wall: need the workbench space for the "summer shunting shelf project" my daughter & I are working on, and it has better lighting for photos. And the big news: new camera! One I can actually control the focus, aperture & shutter speed on! So while the first shot is handheld & full auto, the rest are long exposures with (FINALLY!) some depth of field. Yeay! And since my tripod is at my parents' house (until tomorrow), these were taken with the camera sitting on the layout or another table. [Click on them and open them to full size to see all the nifty detail / oopsies: I love my new camera!] [That last one is to get a sense of how small this little layout is: I keep forgetting myself!] Ok for first shots: can't wait to figure out the camera & get the tripod (and maybe a halogen spotlight). Time to stay focused!
Picked up the tripod today, waited until there was some good sunshine filtering through the garage door (was overcast this morning), and then went more nuts with my new camera. I love aperture adjustments, shutter speeds, depth of field, tripods, and the 2 second timer that allows me to press the shutter button without rocking the whole thing. So bear with me here. You've seen this stuff before, just not almost all in focus! Ten-Wheeler (still minus traction tires) pulling 20 ton coal cars across the bridge: 20 ton coal cars dumping their load: 4-6-0 pulling a slow freight of Swift cars over the Columbia River: Movin' out! Thanks for bearing with me as I go a bit bonkers with my new camera. I promise to only post pictures of additions / progress from now on.
WOW!! I haven't checked back on your progress since you were in pink foam, and....holy cow....what a fantastic layout! Your attention to detail is outstanding, and you've nailed the look of your prototype photos. Your pictures could easily pass for a museum quality HO layout. Outstanding work!!
