Now THAT would be cool, seeing one of those behemoths hopping on the track (for as long as either track or loco lasts).
And they would have to have a huge crew entertainment system, with BIG BASS and lots of video screens and .......
Sunday, 20 November 2022- I’m getting to the point where I want to “finish” some things so that whenever I leave Japan and get to build the basement empire I know that I’ll have a particular consist or unit train “complete”- “finish” and “complete” being relative terms because I’m sure I will buy more stuff later. So the last few weeks have been about finishing my trash train. I’ve got 12x trash flat cars and 6x C&D coalveyors complete. So this week I put some paint down on the 5x woodchip gondolas that will also be in C&D service. They will all be patched to Midwest Railcar (MWCX) eventually. I also finished some more well cars. I patched over the last Kato Maersk set I have over to WC. And I weathered 3x JTC 53’ wells. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Don't forget that if you are modelling Waukesha, there's a neat stone depot WC used to use. A fitting structure for a onetime spa town. There's also a neat tank car loading area cut into a slope. When Model Railroader built their N scale WC they incorporated this feature.
Good question! Done some digging, have Feb 1998 Model Railroader in front of me covering that feature's modelling... It was unloading for Cooper Power Systems (Eaton). They make transformers, so I thought it may have been the oil that fills them. Close.... but no cigar. Apparently it's fuel oil. See the below. Check out: TrainPages: WC Chicago Sub in Fall 2001: Waukesha, WI I can also arrange to scan the MR article if you want.
Thursday, 5 January 2024, Been a bit since I posted here due to the work and holidays. We did a lot of traveling lately and had family out at Christmas, so not a lot occurred on the WC Waukesha sub//Metra NCS line until around New Year’s. First, a couple of Pullman coaches added to the Metra fleet. Lights and passengers added like all the others I have, but I renumbered them to 7876 and 7846. I had to alternate very carefully between light sanding and rubbing alcohol to remote the raised printing for the original numbers. The remaining things on my Metra “to do” list are (in no particular order) 1) Finish METX 211. I’m not pleased with it. I’d really like Rapido to release their F40PHM-3 in n scale. I’d like 211 (CBQ heritage)…and one other just for variety in the fleet. 2) Kitbash a SD70MACH. As I understand it, METX 500 and subsequent SD70MACHs are all rebuilt SD70MACs. From the few photos I’ve seen, it looks like the biggest thing I’d need to kitbash is angled radiators. 3) Paint Metra 104, (City of Chicago F40PH). Decals are available but I’m in no particular hurry. Kato made all the MP36 Metra heritage locos so far, so I’m hoping they step up and sell 104 in another set with 3 uniquely numbered coaches. Maybe they are waiting to see what the prototypes will really look like for the new Alstom coaches Metra will receive in a couple years and I can get it all at once. 4) Correct some paint/fox a couple of decals on the three Metra Pullmans I painted in the black/blue/orange scheme. I didn’t see the defects when I finished them originally, but now I see them and can’t unsee them, haha. 5) Make decals for advertising wraps for 8 coaches. Metra sells ad space on vinyl wraps for the coaches now and then. I hope it never looks like other commuter rail systems where it’s all just ads on cars, but I think 8 spread out in my current fleet of 46 isn’t bad. Found a few prototype images to get me started. If you’ve read this far, the other thing I did recently was weather a few cars-a box car, a pipe flat car, and a covered hopper. I tried my hand a make a pipe load. Didn’t like the results-will try again later but until then, it’ll run empty so you can see a bit of dunnage and dirt. The box car was my first attempt at wearying with oil. The prototype phot I found was a few years old and it was pretty rusty-Admittedly I got a little heavy handed here as I learned. But I still like the result. The hopper was originally a duplicate of a FURX I already had. So I relettered it for TILX and did a little of my own graffiti. I know not everyone likes graffiti-I’m not pro-vandalism. But it just looks strange to me if I graffiti is absent from my layout. So the compromise I struck with myself is that I’d I find a prototype photo of a model I have with graffiti, then the model gets the best hand-drawn/stenciled/decal approximation I can do of the graffiti from real life. If there isn’t graffiti on the prototype then the model only gets weathered. When I can’t find a prototype photo, I alternate between graffiti on both sides, graffiti on one side, and no graffiti on either side. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Beautiful work! Funny how the artist is their own worst critic, seeing all their own mistakes that practically nobody else sees, at least not until brought to their attention. I'd be over Jupiter if I could do what you do! Let us know tomorrow how all those to-do's worked out!
Well, tried my hand at oils again. Two more reefers, now lettered for WC. A bit heavier weathering than I intended but I think I’m getting better. Going to keep trying and work on thinner streaks/runs. Also-finally finished my Dash 8s. I did a few patched over from BNSF a few months ago. These are painted in WC colors using Microscale WC GP40 decals. After a few different attempts I decided to change the placement of the numbers, moving them forward, than keeping on the long hood. It’s a fantasy scheme, and I thought it looked better than breaking up the name in multiple sections across the hood and cab. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Tuesday, 17 January 2023, Lots of modeling completed this weekend. I weathered two more Atlas trash flats. I weathered another Atlas corn syrup tank car. At first I tried oils but it didn’t quite look right so I went back over it with my airbrush to fade it and some pastel powder. I touched up the weathering on some factory weathered airslide hoppers and also weathered another MTL airslide. The silver graffiti is a decal and the rest are my own. I also weathered a Fox Valley locomotive with a little bit of powder. A few months ago I’d finished repainting three Kato Metra Pullman coaches. I noticed that I had the upper edge of the blue stripe too high in the middle between the orange stripes. So masked it off and repainted a bit of silver over all three. Ended up having to redo a couple of decals as the tape damaged some. But much happier with this result now. Seen here with the River Point Station work trucks that I put Metra decals on, details in the beds, and work crews in some of the cabs. Also did 4 more Atlas Greenville hoppers-so I’ve got a decent sized rock train now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
