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truckdriverskid
New Hire
USA
6 Posts |
 Posted - 07/29/2010 : 5:58:33 PM
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Vagel,Don,John- congrats on closing the loop and the final spike! Too bad I missed it, I hate being 2 neighborhoods away (as the Pgh. crow flies)and not getting there more often. When I do visit/hang out/help it gives me a push to keep moving on the module or the other layout here at home. To all of you folks that don't live close and have only seen Vagel's layout on line... the photos don't do justice to the overall look and feel of the whole thing. Mark N |
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AVRR-PA
Fireman
USA
4610 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2010 : 8:33:47 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Creek
Don, Vagel,
If you guys will be mudding that end you might want to buy a bigger tool than mine. My end is only 1" wide. I ended up using two 1/2" quarter rounds then taped and mudded.
This fancy tool was the only thing I could find that would leave a smooth end. Hope you can find one there.
BTW looking really great.
John is our mud guy. He may want to borrow your high-tech tool. [:-bigmouth]
Don |
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AVRR-PA
Fireman
USA
4610 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2010 : 8:35:22 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by truckdriverskid
Vagel,Don,John- congrats on closing the loop and the final spike! Too bad I missed it, I hate being 2 neighborhoods away (as the Pgh. crow flies)and not getting there more often. When I do visit/hang out/help it gives me a push to keep moving on the module or the other layout here at home. To all of you folks that don't live close and have only seen Vagel's layout on line... the photos don't do justice to the overall look and feel of the whole thing. Mark N
Hey, Mark - it was nice having you stop by. Keep workin' away on your dual-gauge module!
Don
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Vagel Keller
Crew Chief
USA
722 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2010 : 10:49:25 PM
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Thanks for the plug, Mark. It's great to finally have you as a presence on the Forum.
Hey, all, it's looking like we're going not going to have a group work session for a couple weeks, since I'm all out of collective tasks for the time being. I also haven't mentioned I have a day job this summer as a historical consultant that takes up valuable model railroading time.
Don's going to be putting his wood boat school training to work in the shop carving the end cap for the back drop, and I'm going to be CADboarding the blast furnace complex now that the standard gauge mainline is done. Plus I need to finally bring all of the power busses together as separate power districts -- four separate ones initially -- and purchase an auto reverser for that reversing section, etc, etc...
I definitely want to get the narrow gauge back into some sort of continuous operation status within a month, but that will include some representation of a mainline run coming in to the blast furnace complex. We'll keep you up to date, of course, but at this point we're not sure how regularly ...
I guess it's time to get back into the sport of dumpster diving for cardboard packing!
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ebtnut
New Hire
USA
36 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2010 : 4:20:05 PM
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This might be of some interest to you 'Burg types - Con-Cor has finally released their PCC streetcars, including one in Pittsburgh Railways paint  . They are real nice, better than the recent Bowser version, IMHO. They can be set up to run on overhead wire, and are "DCC ready". |
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Vagel Keller
Crew Chief
USA
722 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2010 : 4:42:14 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by ebtnut
Con-Cor has finally released their PCC streetcars, including one in Pittsburgh Railways paint
I've seen the ads, but did not see a Pgh Rwys version. |
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chooch.42
Section Hand
USA
61 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2010 : 7:23:12 PM
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| Just checked Con-Cor site - http://www.all-railroads.com/PCC-Streetcars.html -cars look like the ones I used to ride. They are to be offered painted w/o lettering for those who wish to free-lance on the city colors. Thanks, Con-Cor. |
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ebtnut
New Hire
USA
36 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2010 : 11:35:33 AM
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| The Pittsburgh cars come painted in the red and cream scheme, with "Kennywood" on the roll sign. I got to test-run mine on the 3-ft. test track last night. It runs VERY nice and slow. It is very quiet running forward; has a bit of gear buzz in reverse. That shouldn't be an issue, since PCC's were almost all single-end cars. There is LED lighting inside, and in the headlight. [:-thumbu] |
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Vagel Keller
Crew Chief
USA
722 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2010 : 12:20:27 AM
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Getting back to the topic at hand ... 
Don has started the end cap for the peninsula backdrop. I've been playing with CADboard, but haven't been able to make any plywood cuts yet. I stopped by Don's shop this afternoon to cut some plexi-glass into 2 1/2 x 48" strips for guards around the sub-roadbed of the hidden std gauge trackage. I want to get those installed before getting too far into the sub-roadbed for the narrow gauge that will block easy access later. I hope to have a couple of pics to post later in the week.
By the way, Deane, its 'Burgh, with an aitch ... [:-grumpy] |
Edited by - Vagel Keller on 08/05/2010 12:22:11 AM |
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AVRR-PA
Fireman
USA
4610 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2010 : 07:19:03 AM
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As we say here in Pittsburgh: "We are the Burgh. Yunz need assimilated."
When I was rhapsodizing about how fun it would be to create a half cylinder with a hand plane, I didn't allow for the shop being over 90 degrees and maximally humid. I cheated - I used a power planer to rough it in. Garth bought a really nice one which he used to make all the spars for Goldberry.
Anyhow, it's mostly done and wasn't really all that bad. Next step is to prime it so I can see the flaws and then do some more sanding. I'll post a couple of pictures.
 Vagel half round
Cutting narrow strips of Plexiglas on a table saw is such fun. The kickback preventers keep me from getting the overarm guard/dust collector down close to the blade so I get peppered with all these hot little particles of plastic. Still, it worked ok. I was using a small plywood/laminate blade, actually intended for use in my circular saw. It cut a fairly smooth edge without a whole lot of chattering.
 Vagel plexi
I'm about to get serious about building the rolling stock cabinet. The drawers will be framed with 1x4 stock, cleaned up a bit on the big Grizzly planer. Re the dividers - instead of making them from plywood, I think we'll resaw 1x4's on Garth's new Grizzly big-honkin'-bandsaw. He's been making his own veneers - it cuts really well. I'm hoping I can get two dividers out of each 1x4 but I may lose too much when I clean them up in the planer.
And that's what's happening in the B&SGE's carpentry shop.
Don
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Edited by - AVRR-PA on 08/05/2010 1:52:02 PM |
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jbvb
Fireman
USA
1866 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2010 : 11:30:12 AM
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| Congratulations on completing the main line. There was a time when I visited Pittsburgh with some regularity, but that was 20 years ago. Maybe someday... |
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AVRR-PA
Fireman
USA
4610 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2010 : 1:53:38 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jbvb
Congratulations on completing the main line. There was a time when I visited Pittsburgh with some regularity, but that was 20 years ago. Maybe someday...
If it's been 20 years, you are definitely over due for a Primanti Brothers sandwich and some layout tours. 
Don
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AVRR-PA
Fireman
USA
4610 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2010 : 4:25:23 PM
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Vagel stopped by for a few minutes to finish cutting the slotted holes for mounting the plexi along the edges of the standard gauge roadbed which will soon be hidden under scenery. Here he is at work - keeping his fingers well away from the blade. Note also the overflowing wood scrap barrel behind him - it's definitely time to (1) get a roll-on/roll-off container or (2) buy more barrels or (3) hang up the "free firewood" sign.
Vagel also brought along some scrap 1x3 from an old layout. I wanted to see if we could resaw it into thinner stock for the rolling stock drawer dividers. I was concerned with how much thickness we would have left after planing off the bandsaw marks.
Here's a picture of Garth's new re-sawing machine - works really well!
And here's the work product - quite useable and quickly produced:
(You can also see the primed end cap for the backdrop/divider in the background of this picture. Needs more sanding and priming.)
Next, we're going to mock up a small section of a drawer and make sure typical rolling stock fits as planned.
Don |
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MarkF
Engineer
USA
9276 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2010 : 12:04:20 PM
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| Now that looks to be quite the shop you have there! No wonder you guys are putting out such top quality projects! |
Mark
See my homepage at http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/
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Vagel Keller
Crew Chief
USA
722 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2010 : 3:00:40 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by MarkF
Now that looks to be quite the shop you have there! No wonder you guys are putting out such top quality projects!
Yes. It helps to know a two professional wood workers, one who is an active model railroader (Don) and the other a recovering one (Garth)!
Here are a few snap shots of the few changes since last update. I got the plexiglass guards installed and started to rough in the arrangement of the narrow and standard gauge trackage at the blast furnace site.
Don't pay any attention to the pieces of the blast furnace complex lying scattered about; they'll find their true home soon enough.
Vagel |
Edited by - Vagel Keller on 08/07/2010 4:46:25 PM |
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Topic |
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New Home for the Blacklog & Shade Gap Eastern
