| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Vagel Keller |
Posted - 09/04/2008 : 10:56:25 PM
This is a second edition of the original post that introduced a thread chronicles the progress on construction of a new layout for my HO/HOn3 Blacklog & Shade Gap Eastern. I inadvertently deleted the original post. I maintain a website for the B&SGE, and the URL appears in a later post.
The original layout resided in the partially finished basement of our 110 year-old victorian house in the East End of Pittsburgh, PA. It was cold in winter, damp at all times, had exposed floor joists above, and the layout shared space with a very noisy forced air heating and air conditioning plant. Moreover, it had begun to suffer the encroachment of spousal detritus, such as out-of-season artificial floral arrangements and exercise machines. Here is a scene from the old layout:
Beside all the liabilities listed above, there were a lot of things wrong with this layout. I didn't solder the rail joints, with predictable results (magnified in HOn3). The benchwork was of the table-top variety, with 1/2 inch homasote over 1/2" plywood, which resulted in lots of track irregularities in that damp environment. The last operating session occurred during an open house for the NMRA MCR regional convention in 2004. After that, the layout was ignored for a year and a half as I concentrated on finishing a Ph.D. dissertation. When my attention returned to model railroading, I found a layout covered with dust and soot and trackwork with so many issues that I threw up my hands in despair. There matters lay for two years.
In October 2007 new life was breathed into the B&SGE when we were able to buy a three-apartment building across the street from our home. It's newer than our home, having been built ca. 1920, and one of the apartments was an open L-shaped space that had been used as an architect's office. It proved perfect for a layout space. While our contractor renovated the other two apartments for tenants, I got to work preparing the "office" for a new, greatly expanded version of the B&SGE.
Here are some before and in-progress shots of the interior:
The age of this building and the architecture of the space gave me a unique opportunity to place a layout set in the 1930s in a space from the 1930s. Thus, the 2-tone green office scheme; friends with memories from the era tell me I've nailed it. The "after" view here is a bit busy, cluttered as it is with various module projects for contribution to NMRA MCR Div. 2's FreeMo layout (SEE Don Reed's posts on this topic at http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22539)
Enjoy the rest of the chronicle,
Vagel |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| AVRR-PA |
Posted - 06/06/2013 : 11:34:48 AM
Yes, indeed. The museum volunteers spend many hours climbing around on that equipment with buckets of soapy water and bales of rags. And it has a nice roundhouse to live in.
Don |
| Vagel Keller |
Posted - 06/06/2013 : 10:57:12 AM
Thanks for taking the pics, Don. Don't our museum LP volunteers do a fantastic job keeping the equipment so clean and, er, unweathered?!  |
| AVRR-PA |
Posted - 06/05/2013 : 9:52:46 PM
Trees it was. Vagel, John Polyak and I did - I don't know - maybe 100 trees? Enough to keep Vagel busy for a while. 
Here are Vagel and John working on the new turntable and adjoining track. You can see a jumper wire from the turntable to the track.
The puffball trees are fairly standard - ground foam, hairspray, toothpicks, etc. But Vagel came up with a "top dressing" that adds a lot to their appearance - I think he said it was burnt grass. He can add to this. Anyhow, he sprinkles it on while the hairspray holding the various colors of ground foam in place is still wet:
After we finished up the trees, I did a little rail-fanning in the museum part of the layout:
I'll e-mail the rest to Vagel to process and post as he wishes.
Don |
| AVRR-PA |
Posted - 06/05/2013 : 09:40:25 AM
It's Wednesday - time to head for Vagel's. I don't know what he's got in mind - perhaps some trees. I'll take some pictures.
Don |
| nhguy |
Posted - 06/03/2013 : 12:59:13 PM
Looks like both EBT cabooses 27 & 28 have Vulcan trucks with leaf springs. Blackstone models makes the EBT hopper which I'm sure you have. The trucks look similar to the caboose truck but have coil springs and they make the Vulcan truck in 4'8". The caboose trucks also look like they are the double leaf design. You might be able to take the caboose trucks from Blackstone caboose arch bar and 'marry' the leaf spring from the arch bar caboose trucks to the Vulcan frames. |
| Vagel Keller |
Posted - 06/02/2013 : 4:51:01 PM
Thanks for the tip, Bill. I need a narrow gauge truck for an EBT caboose, though, and the prototype was the same Vulcan frame with leaf springs instead of coils. Peach Creek Shops offered them at one time, but they aren't freeest rolling things in the World ... |
| AVRR-PA |
Posted - 06/02/2013 : 3:10:29 PM
Hi, Bill --
Those are beautiful looking model trucks - "jewel-like" comes to mind.
Here's a picture from last Wednesday - Vagel and Jerry at work:
I'm looking forward to this coming Wednesday. I'm not sure what Vagel has in mind - maybe making some more trees.
Don |
| nhguy |
Posted - 06/02/2013 : 1:40:06 PM
These caboose trucks from Tahoe Model Works might be just what your looking for to use on the caboose Vagel. http://www.sunshinekits.com/sunimages/tahoe/FLYER105withusers.pdf They were by far the most widely used caboose trucks by a majority of railroads from 1935 through the end of cabooses. Bill
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| AVRR-PA |
Posted - 05/30/2013 : 06:40:14 AM
Yesterday was fun! I had to leave a bit early so I'm really pleased to learn that Vagel charged ahead and got the turntable wired and the tracks laid. Excellent!
It's really nice to see these "historic" pieces (like the turntable, the caboose, and a water tower) that Vagel has had for many years getting taken out of storage and put back on active duty.
Don |
| MarkF |
Posted - 05/29/2013 : 11:55:18 PM
Don, you are right! Vagel, great progress. I'm always amazed at the pace that you accomplish things. The layout is really coming along nicely. And the caboose looks great, but I really love that picture! |
| Vagel Keller |
Posted - 05/29/2013 : 8:01:39 PM
Thanks, Don. I've been quiet for a month, but we've been plugging away at this and that, and today we marked a major milestone on the narrow gauge ... the turntable at Richmond Furnace is in and working. Whoopee!![:-jump2]
Sorry for the fuzzy, wide shot from my iPhone 3. It's a scratchbuilt representation of the 65' turntable at Rockhill, PA on the East Broad Top that I've been storing for probably 15 years. I think, but I'm not sure, that a long-time member of the Friends of the EBT, Tom Middleton, built it. For the time being, it will be a "Fingerstrong" turntable - works just fine that way.
Also, I tried a tip from fellow NMRA Keystone Division member Dom Candelore to hide the seams between the sections of lift-out scenic hillside that hides the narrow gauge as it runs along the backdrop behind the Chambersburg Yard between the end of the Buchanan Branch at Cowans Gap and the other end of the modeled portion of the B&SGE track in the far corner of the room to form a continuous loop.
Dom suggested fiberglass window screen cut a few inches wide and glued to the edges. Again, sorry for the crappy photo, but I like the outcome so far; after I've added more coarse turf to the water tank section along the irregular line of the overlapping window screen scenery flap, the transition will be much less obvious.
Last week I finally got around to putting an oldie but goodie that's been on my to-do list for months into service: A built-up Gloor Craft EBT caboose kit that needed some TLC (and new trucks).
Friend Bill Hanley mailed this to me on his departure for a warmer clime two or three years ago. He had decalled it with custom decals for a narrow gauge logging line, so the first thing was to sand those off, repaint with Testors Insignia Red, and decal it for the B&SGE. The cupola window openings got toothpick tips of MicroScale Crystal Clear. The trucks are Delrin Vulcan frames by C&BT Shops (EBT caboose trucks have leaf springs, though) with custom NWSL wheel sets available through Dave Hoffman (Bald One Locomotive Works). Bill built the car without grab irons on the sides and end walls; I used Tichey caboose grabs for the sides but elected not to futz with endwall grabs. If you look close at the end sill, though, you'll see an EBT-style coupler lever behind and below my left elbow; lost wax castings from Dave Hoffman. And the marker lanterns are Finishing Touch, with MV lenses.
Yeah, that's Debbie and me ... we couldn't resist running out onto Reed Trestle to ruin everybody's shot! [:-eyebrows]
OK, it's back to work ... |
| AVRR-PA |
Posted - 04/25/2013 : 9:45:25 PM
Vagel is being excessively modest. He has made a ton of progress since the last open house. [:-thumbu]
Don |
| Orionvp17 |
Posted - 04/25/2013 : 6:55:41 PM
Lookin' good, Vagel! [:-thumbu]
Our thanks to Don, too!
Pete
in Michigan |
| Vagel Keller |
Posted - 04/25/2013 : 6:25:54 PM
Well, the second open house of the season is nearly upon us, and I haven't been able to make as much progress on scenery on the Buchanan Branch and at Chambersburg as hoped. That's mostly due to a number of "wait overnight for things to dry" subtasks around the cut leading to the hole in the wall tree tunnel AND buggering up a critical LITCo turnout in the process of moving the foam ridge to and from the benchwork during all those subtasks.[:-banghead]
Don was over Wednesday to install the double bents under the deck girder on the S-curve trestle (he should be updating his build thread on Mike Chambers' Craftsman's Corner any time now (hint, hint, Don!) and snapped the following shot of me trying to decide whether to continue to futz with a recalcitrant Tortoise machine under the replacement turnout or go across the street to my basement to retrieve the chainsaw and change hobbies!
Soon after this, he staged an intervention and, after confiscating my house key, discovered the problem, so I'm still a model railroader.
We'll have a few more things done by Sundayl, like a few more feet of ballasted track and finishing the rock work in the cut. And in the process of troubleshooting that $#%^&!! turnout, I figured out a problem with one of the C19's, which wanted to stall on the insulated frogs of the new MicroEngineering HOn3 turnouts (note to self: clean the tender wheels once in a while) [:-dunce] So, all's well that ends well. |
| AVRR-PA |
Posted - 04/20/2013 : 07:10:13 AM
Thanks, Vagel. Glad you like it!
Don |
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