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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 04/28/2015 : 2:30:17 PM
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You're welcome, Pete. If anyone wants the GIMP .xcf file, it's quite small enough to email.
Bill, I did not have to modify either Rapido OB car to run on my layout, but my curves are nominal 36" radius (with some tighter points due to easements, clearances etc.). This OB car was acting up on a vertical curve which it has been over 100 times before. Rapido ships them with one truck tight & the other loose for 3-point suspension, but this 'tight' truck was a little too tight.
The Hub's modular layout has nominal 32" minimum radius, but I'm not sure I've ever used my Rapido cars on it - I have several built from E&B Valley kits that live in my 'train show' equipment case. If it would help I can try them out at a show on May 9.
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James
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6918 |
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nhguy
Fireman
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Posted - 04/28/2015 : 6:58:32 PM
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I do loosen the tighter truck but in some spots some cars were just stubborn. You can't see the "fix" to the top of the truck I had to do but they all run nicely now. I was just wondering if you might have had the same issue. Thanks. Bill
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Bill Shanaman
New Haven RR
Hartford Division
in Colorado. |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 4763 |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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 Posted - 05/01/2015 : 8:41:03 PM
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I'd been going back & forth about how to build the roof sign for Acme Fast Freight, but today I got past that.
I'd printed the sign on regular paper and sprayed it with matte finish. Then I mounted it on heavy kitchen aluminum foil with 3M Super 77 spray contact cement. Then I figured out a plausible frame design using Evergreen styrene I had on hand:
The vertical posts are .080" H column, the horizontal members are .080" channel, the braces are .060" L. I primed it with rattle-can gray before sticking the foil to the frame with Walthers Goo.
A westbound engineer's eye view of the completed structure looming over West Lynn yard. A couple of weeks ago I got the truck dock roof done and added the ACME sign to it using Plastruct styrene letters. With the roof sign, the structure is done. Even though the photos show me a few color shifts I could go back and fix with GIMP...
There's a good deal of scope for detailing, but I'm going to get the overall scene a lot more complete before I come back to this.
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James
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6918 |
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Orionvp17
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/01/2015 : 8:48:47 PM
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Looks good to me, James.
I wouldn't worry about any color shifts... stuff weathers differently depending on how much weather hits it when and from where. What with swirling wind, snow, dust, smoke, ice pellets, etc., you have a variety of possibilities.
Pete
in Michigan
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Country: USA
| Posts: 7585 |
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MarkF
Engineer
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/02/2015 : 09:43:56 AM
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Nice looking sign James! I like the structure you put together for the sign as well.
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| Mark |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 13756 |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/04/2015 : 08:53:50 AM
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Thanks, Pete & Mark. After yesterday's op session, I closed out the evening doing this:
Dip the end of the .010x.030 styrene in Goo, insert into rail gap, nip, repeat. If I let it hang over in line with the rail, I don't have to hold the styrene while I nip it. This is fast enough that I did about 1/3 of the main line turnouts/gaps in an hour.
Once the whole main is done, I'll come back with a sharp file and a Bright Boy to make sure nothing fouls the gauge. No running trains in the mean time, though.
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James
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6918 |
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Dutchman
Administrator
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/04/2015 : 08:59:11 AM
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I love the Acme sign, James, and that is a great way to fill in the rail gaps.
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| Bruce |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 33527 |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/07/2015 : 1:06:09 PM
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I finished all the gaps a couple of nights ago, along with soldering a dozen neglected rail joiners, so I've gone back to Gorin Machine, which I started in March.
I'd made a couple of tries at adding mortar, but between the pillasters and the stepped-out portion of the roof pieces, doing it with liquid or paste was going to be a lot of work. Here I've used Savogran Wood Putty (out of production, but I think Durhams Water Putty might also work). I pressed it into the mortar lines with my fingers, brushed and picked off excess and then set its fish glue component with steam from a tea kettle.
Last night I painted a lot of lintels, next is to install a lot of windows. Then some details on the roof and walls, followed by signage and weathering.
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James
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6918 |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/13/2015 : 5:07:47 PM
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The clear styrene skylight casting from Walthers' Allied Electric Motors kit is far and away the most picky job of painting I've ever done. Pictures when I don't hate the results.
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James
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6918 |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/13/2015 : 11:33:08 PM
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No skylight pictures yet; I may have to mask & airbrush it. But the project advances:
This illustrates a minor Walthers modular gotcha: the 'wide walls' with pillasters used the paired window castings. Those without pillasters use single window castings (which I didn't paint enough of).
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James
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6918 |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/20/2015 : 10:36:05 PM
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Mieke has the Yard Office kit pretty much finished; she added a few extra details like the stink pipe, a scratchbuilt electric meter and the signs I made for her. Once I finish the scenery around it, we'll make the pedestrian bridge from the top of the stairs over to the main line atop the retaining wall.
Today, Boston Engine Terminal assigned a Maine Central Mikado to the Camel. It's on its way back to Mystic Jct., braking to a stop so the conductor can get weighbills from the yardmaster while the rest of the crew is picking up the Boston-bound cars.
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James
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6918 |
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Orionvp17
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 05/20/2015 : 11:53:47 PM
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James, that structure looks like it belongs there. Very nice model work, and a nice shot as well. Congratulations to both the modeler and the photographer!
Pete
in Michigan
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Country: USA
| Posts: 7585 |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 06/02/2015 : 11:41:54 PM
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Things have been quiet on the Eastern Route since the long weekend - lots of signal gangs working and the long haul trains diverted to the Western Route to give them uninterrupted nights to work: http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=45342
Today, while waiting for signal pier concrete (glue) to set, I finished installing yellow joint bars (laser cut resin board from Precision Design) over rail gaps everywhere except Newburyport. I don't think they'll be much of an issue there, but that'll only be eight more if I'm wrong.
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James
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6918 |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 06/24/2015 : 08:16:13 AM
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I was walking down Bennett St. to the plant and noticed a shiny new car parked at the West Lynn yard office, so I snapped a picture. Turned out a Traffic Department man named Smith was learning the territory; he'd just been promoted down to headquarters from Concord.
After I got the setting for Mieke's yard office mostly done, I tried out a little point-and-shoot whose lens location would let me frame this picture. It reveals a few things I should fix before I can hope to publish it, but it's progress.
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James
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6918 |
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Orionvp17
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 06/24/2015 : 10:51:21 AM
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Nice image, James!
Hope Mr. Smith has a long career with the railroad and then gets to retire somewhere nice, like... say... somewhere around Lake Winnipesaukee.
Pete
in Michigan
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Edited by - Orionvp17 on 06/24/2015 10:52:06 AM |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 7585 |
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