Long Island Rail Road in Z Scale

John Bartolotto Sep 25, 2010

  1. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks. Yeah, the Märklin VW bus is nice but it’s not laid out the way the LIRR VW buses where so I had to go with a static model.
     
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  2. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Matt,

    The building on the right with the fire escapes is a Micro Structures Gilmore Hotel with additional floors added to it so that its is a five story building instead of a three story one, the taller building to its left I bought on eBay many years ago and don't have the seller's info any more. The two row houses in the front are the sold out TownBuilder System East End Townhouses, which I shortened in length and modified the width to fit my layout.

    John
     
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  3. mdvholland

    mdvholland TrainBoard Member

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    Ah! That's why they looked familiar, yet different.. Well done!

    Are they on your LIRR layout?? (was there room left?? :LOL:)

    Matt
     
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  4. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Matt,

    Yes, they are on the upper city level I’m currently working on.

    John
     
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  5. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    I took a break from the layout tonight and worked on framing part of the last wall in my hobby room. I plan on having the room finished by the Fall of 2021.

    Enjoy,

    John
     

    Attached Files:

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  6. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Finished framing in my window and breaker box closet, and installed an accordion door on the breaker box closet. Next I'll start running the electric for the wall outlets.

    Enjoy!

    John
     

    Attached Files:

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  7. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Attached Files:

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  8. CNE1899

    CNE1899 TrainBoard Member

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    John,
    Your pickle car turned out nice!

    Scott
     
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  9. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Finished painting one part of the walls. Next I have to finish installing the electrical outlet and then lay some floor tiles. After that I will move my hobby table back into that corner and then start walling the rest of the room.

    Enjoy!

    John
     

    Attached Files:

  10. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    So I needed to fill a space behind my Mr. Robinson's tenement building. The space I needed to fill was less than 1/2" wide and after searching for something I could use that was readily available that I could cut down to 1/2" wide, I decided to go through my scrap box and kitbash a building from partsI had lying around. I'm happy with the way it turned out. It fills a much needed space. Plus I added a photo of the rooftop of my apartment building that will sit next to Mr. Robinson's tenement building.

    Enjoy!

    John
     

    Attached Files:

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  11. mdvholland

    mdvholland TrainBoard Member

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    Very nice little scenes, lot's going on on roofs that you wouldn't know about when walking down the street :)

    The real achievement of the weightlifters, of course, is how they got that halter up all those stairs!

    Matt
     
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  12. CNE1899

    CNE1899 TrainBoard Member

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    John,
    Love all your figures! Like Matt said, "nice little scenes".

    Scott
     
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  13. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    These are great scenes. It's evident we need more inner-city 2-4 story buildings in Z-scale. They certainly add to the character of any layout.
     
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  14. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    PRR Cement Car 5-23-21.jpg PRR Cement Car 5-23-21.jpg

    So I sometimes get sidetracked to work on projects that bring me joy. Recently I finished my PRR Cement Car project. Not an earth shattering project, but extremely satisfying. I always wanted a cement car on my layout, mainly because I think they are a cool looking freight load, and I love freight loads. I personally feel that having freight loads on your rolling stock brings some life to your layout.

    For this project I used a MTL 50’ PRR straight sided gondola (#52300020).

    I weathered the trucks, wheels and couplers with Vallejo Panzer Grey spray paint https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MLNTSP4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which I think is a spot on match to Polly-S Tarnished Black

    Then “rusted” the trucks, wheels and couplers, and the body of the gondola with a dry-brush of Micro-Lux Rust #29055 https://www.micromark.com/Microlux-Acrylic-Paint-2-Oz-_2?paintcolors=5

    I added a Fox Valley Models wood floor to the gondola and stained it different tones (I don’t believe that FVM produces this product any more, which is a shame because it is a really well made wood floor).

    I used cement containers by Stony Smith https://www.shapeways.com/product/W...r-set-zscale?optionId=42385174&li=marketplace and painted them Polly-S PRR Tuscan F414167. I added the numbers on the containers from a Boston and Maine Offset Twin Hopper Z scale decal set from K4 Decals https://k4decals.com/products/bosto...3&_sid=65e93d7eb&_ss=r&variant=37633583480991 K4 Decals www.k4decals.com is a VERY welcome addition to Z scale, offering numerous selections of decals in Z, including the LIRR!! Their decals are crisp, highly accurate, detailed and well made. Then I weathered the containers, and part of the top and adjacent sides of the gondola with a white wash.

    It was a really nice project and a freight car that I wanted on my layout for a long time.

    Enjoy!

    John
     
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  15. JoeS

    JoeS TrainBoard Member

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    I’m gonna be honest I never knew those were cement containers! Great work as usual and I learned something too!
     
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  16. bostonjim

    bostonjim TrainBoard Member

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    Very nice work, John. Thanks for the link to the decals. I agree, loads make the train. The extra weight also helps. Jim
     
  17. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    Nice work. Great photography as well and always love to hear the history behind a specific car or load.

    I also very much appreciate the sharing of techniques and materials used to achieve great results, as it helps us all to become master Z-scale modelers.
     
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  18. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Great link to the decals. Good stuff there too!

    Love the cement loads, they look great!
     
  19. CNE1899

    CNE1899 TrainBoard Member

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    John,
    Nice job! Thanks for the descriptions and links!

    Scott
     
  20. John Bartolotto

    John Bartolotto TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well its been a while. My newest addition is one of Rudy Valle's (The Z Maker) GE 44T in LIRR colors assembled, painted and decaled by Gerd Kurz. The LIRR only owned and operated one GE 44T so it was unique to the LIRR, and its unique to my layout, and Z scale indeed!

    Thanks Rudy for such a fantastic piece of art and thank you Gerd, as always, for your magical artistry!

    Enjoy!

    John
     

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    Last edited: Aug 13, 2021

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