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ginzokid · ‎05-23-2007

I locked the other thread. There is some good stuff in there that probably has been reposted in other threads. I'll check. In the meantime, here's another place to write. B-)

ginzokid · ‎01-09-2012

Working hard on my NY resolution. Almost finished with another 1 of 500 Bar Mills kit. Pictures later.

B-)

dl85vette · ‎01-16-2012

A buddy came over for a visit to check out the layout. Just one thing he suggested (with constructive advice). Other than that he was quite impressed with the changes to the layout. He is looking forward to a phonecall saying RR is ready to run. 😄

ginzokid · ‎01-30-2012

Up to my ears in kit building still. Only super glued my fingers to three parts so far.....:8}

Spilled a whole bottle of paint all over my work space. Clean up was easy though. I always put down a layer of wax paper over my cutting mat. I can still see the grid through the wax paper but nothing sticks to it. Try it some time. 😄

dl85vette · ‎02-02-2012

Still laying cork and track on mainline.

dl85vette · ‎02-05-2012

I should have about 2 tracks of about 4 feet each left to lay on the mainline. Then it is soldering time, and then run trains.

I will take some pics once tools and junk is cleaned up some on layout..

frustrating facts;

-started the first version of my layout in 2004. (domino sections)

-moved to 'peg in summer '05, revised layout to fit room and added to it. From 05-2010;

-didn't like the up&over loop, relocated it.

-didn't like compressed low-relief industrial park

relocated it.

-worked on industrial park

-tore up and re-laid new manline on original domino (near indust park)

-scrapped idea of helix (where the new up&over is)

-made a new up&over loop.

-layout collected dust while working for CP. (april 2010-dec10)

-Jan 2011, ran train for first time from yard to yard. wasn't impressed with running point to point in current configuration.

-layout collected dust again jan 2011 to aug 2011 as layout stalled out as I didn't want to work on scenery if I was only gonna tear it up.

-Sep 2011- present;

Tore up deckwork/track along 2 walls., built new deckwork

-decided to expand into recroom along a wall.

Present;

-almost done of mainline tracklaying.

Soon ready to run 8 foot long trains.

since starting collecting n scale in mid 2003, and went thru all this, it is a miracle I didn't burn out and get disgruntled and lose interest in the hobby, and sell of trains like so many people do.

By the way;

only 2 dominoes are original, no.trackwork is from original design, wiring been changed over couple times.

3 buildings scrapped.

It'll suck for all the trouble of this to one day have to pull it all up to sell the house. (no plans on selling but someday it could potentially happen) 😛

-- Edited by dl85vette at 02/05/2012 4:45 PM PST

taz-of-boyds · ‎02-05-2012

I am learning more about the innards of late 1800's US rail cars than I ever considered as reasonable I suppose... working on my 1897 wooden hopper. Hope to have enough detail in the 1:1 drawing soon so I can start 1:160'ing it.

I just got some sample-rejects print for free from one of the guys doing N scale 3D printing. He has a very cool set of early 1850's to 1890's mostly wood trucks for freight & passenger cars, they look really nice, kind-of amazing. If you are modeling some old trains these will look great under old time box cars and stuff. You just order them from Shapeways clean up some and paint them. The guys post some at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EarlyN/

Eric Cox does the trucks, Shapeways site:

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/panamintmodels

All the best,

Charles

ginzokid · ‎02-06-2012

Well Dave, we have all been through the phases you noted. Imagine how cornfuzed I am working in three scales at one time. Don't give up on it Dave. If you do have to sell the house eventually, just look for a buyer who wants a model railroad with a house around it. :^O

I'm well along with my New Year's resolution to complete the HO tree layout. Only have three more structures to build and then it is finished. The scenery although minimal is finished enough for the layout's purpose. Right now I'm taking a break from buildings and assembling that Roundhouse 0-6-0 engine I won. With luck it will run on the tree layout when finished. I should take pictures of the buildings I have finished, but I'm lazy.

B-)

dl85vette · ‎02-06-2012

I'm far from giving up Pete. Since gutting out half the layout and planning it thru recroom for continous lopp with staging yard, the passion was re-ignited. (hard to have motivation to work on somehting if you have second thoughts about it) Plus, if the operations design is flawed, it isn't going to be better with scenery and nice structures. That was the first misconception I learned and had to get over.

Plus once mainline is operational, I can let a train run around while I work on industrial park, or build stuff at my bench.

It iwill be exciting when I am able to run my stack train(s) and coal trains with SD70MACs like I see so foten down in Fargo.

😄

ginzokid · ‎02-07-2012

Spent most of yesterday filing the flash off all the metal parts on the loco kit. Then I had to etch it in vinegar and wash it in warm water to get the mold release and grease off. The parts are now ready for painting this afternoon. I'm still trying to figure out how to blacken the brass side rods. I tried Blacken-it but that didn't work. Next step is to try Micro Engineering Rail Weathering Solution.Simple paint will not work because of the rubbing of the rods on the crank and wheels. There was just a little rust on the axles of the drive wheels which I filed off carefully. Amazing for a kit that is over 40 years old!

😄

dl85vette · ‎02-08-2012

Monday night I got one of the main lines completed and since then have been running some trains to see what it feels like to run trains. Aside form brief test running of 30 minutes a year ago on my point-to-point version, it is the first time to really legitimately run trains since starting a layout in late 2003 early 2004.

😄

I've run 2 SD70MACs with 23 coal cars, AC440CW with 20 grain hoppers, and tried out some intermodal doublestacks/autoracks consist. Also ran my New Mexico Railrunner F59PHI w/3 coach cars. Rain it at a good pace and no problems, the layout seemed to handled the speed. I wouldn't expect 20 cars to take that speed without derailing.

It is quite neat having train run thru recroom and disappear before runnning by again. We've watched tv the other night while a grain train rumbles by slowly.

some small hickups;

- 2 spots where dominoes joined together and have high spots where the Kato loco will uncouple from cars. I temporarily shimmed the spot to try to level the area out, seems Kato couplers are finiky as the cars don't separate from one another. - Also one curve where I am getting some grief with kato engines so not sure if a longer shank on loco would help as the couplers are really short which I would think affects the swing range.

- have a MTL 89' TOFC car that doesn't want to stay coupled in certain areas

-Kato 3 unit articulated intermodal is causing problems in one curve, not sure if the curve is a little tight for the cars due to the way they couple to each other.

Other than that, big 6 axles seem to take the curves, 89' autoracks are good too. (tightest curves (3 in onearea) are 12" radius, everywhere else is 13-16".

ginzokid · ‎02-09-2012

A 12" radius is tight for 89' cars. Longer coupler shanks may solve the other problems. I hate to say it, but I always replaced the Kato couplers with MT. The Katos seem too stiff.

Finished the engine yesterday and test ran it. There was some binding on the boiler weight and I had to grind it out to make room for the worm gear. It's fine now. Today I'll build the tender then take pictures of the whole thing.

B-)

-- Edited by ginzokid at 02/09/2012 4:39 AM PST

I don't mind if I need to change out Kato couplers. The track arrangement had to transition 180 degrees so I ended with with s turn going into a larger loop. Not the prettiest with autoracks winding through but they squeak throught, I think it may actually be 12 and a half" radius there as I made the deck 26" wide.

That's what happens when you move to a RR capital and get to see autoracks and intermodal,etc. Had I still been in N.S with no trains to watch then it would have been easy to stick to my rules as I had no material to go on for reproducing prototype freight. That part of layout wouldn't be too difficult or expensive to modify . I just don't wish to do it now when things seem to work and for the amount of trouble and time to get to having things run.

-- Edited by dl85vette at 02/09/2012 2:28 PM PST

taz-of-boyds · ‎02-09-2012

Pete,

The question of blackening came up on a handlaid track discussion, and one guy mentioned this:

"products offered by Birchwood Casey at the gunsmithing outlets" "used it for some brass work ... in a past life." "The flaking, in my experience, is due to not getting the surface extremely clean"

Awaiting pic's

Charles

-- Edited by taz-of-boyds at 02/09/2012 8:30 PM PST

taz-of-boyds · ‎02-09-2012

Dave,

That's cool, sounds like some great train consists running around!

All the best,

Charles t-o-b

ginzokid · ‎02-10-2012

Turns out that the Micro Engineering weathering solution worked just fine. I forgot about gun bluing solution, but I'm not sure where to get it up here in the "no gun country".

Dave, your "S" curve is ok and usually safe as long as you have at least 12" of straight track between the curves. This should prevent stringing.

Need to get batteries for the camera......

B-)