Cool someone else posted it this week! Guess my influence in taking over the world one post at a time is working MUAHAHAHA. Did alot of stuff around my apartment...made adirondack chairs, put up some plants. Finally proved to everybody that I am really Batman... Oh and I got some work done milling out my VO-1000 frame to accept a SW1200 fuel tank which makes it look MUCH MUCH nicer thanks to Chris (AF/TB callsign: Chris333).
Well, I just finished another piece so I post a pic of it. This is a Union Pacific Cantilevered Signal Bridge.
I drew my track plan on a piece of 80"x30"x1/8" Luan door skin & cut pop-ups earlier in the week. I spent the weekend trying to laminate that piece of wood to another 1/8" skin. First I tried using elmers wood glue, which was not a good idea. I ran a J-roller over it, but couldn't keep the pieces stuck together. I tried some really far out clamping techniques, but couldn't apply enough pressure. I bought hardware to make clamps, but decided I'd either need about 40 clamps or I could use 2 clamps and glue about four inches of work at a time. I decided that would be a problem because I'd have to keep peeling it back to the last bond to apply more glue, which would stress the bond and probably result in more warping. After exhausting my ideas, I washed off the glue and tried a whole new approach. CONTACT CEMENT. On my second attempt, I tried contact cement which also didn't work. I built a jig to help align the pieces, and bought dowels to lay between the pieces while I made my final alignment . I'm trying to figure out why it didn't work. Maybe I didn't let the glue dry enough before trying. Maybe the glue is not strong enough, I bought the non-flammable glue. Maybe I just need more coats of glue, (I'm hoping this is the answer, I'm going to coat them again and try tomorrow.)
Mike and all tuned in, I really like what you did with the railroad crossings. The project looks good...inspiring me to try it. My weekend didn't turn out as planned. I was going to pull wires for the automated switches. Not so... Saturday morning, I soon discovered I was needed to mid-wife the birth of nine kittens. Six made it and three did not. Mother and survivors doing well. Hey, I got to use my EMT skills...after all. Sadly, never mind the mort., in me. If you were hoping to have a brood of kids to sing in the local high school choir, I got them. They can sure make a holler, almost on key, letting mommy know they are hungry. In about three months, I will be looking for adoptive parents, anyone? I think you can guess. Hopefully, this week will see some action on the layout. Tired....!~! More news later as it breaks.
Just got back from a week in Orange County. Got to visit two LHS and do a little railfanning. Also, it was pretty cool to hear my wife point at a train and tell our six year old daughter that it was a stack train!
Pictures Tomorrow! Mike, Thanks for asking and I will post some thumbnail pictures, here tomorrow. The reason I say tomorrow. You wouldn't believe what I've been through with her earlier this evening. She wanted to move her babies out of the bathroom to anywhere but there. She was and I was, frustrated not knowing what to do to convince her to leave them as is. She finally settled for letting them stay in the bathroom. I'm not sure what changed her mind. Perhaps the big males haunting her every step except for when she tended to her little ones as I was sitting in the doorway now playing security. The bathroom is where she birthed her babies and of all things... in the litter box...yuck! Mike, thanks for asking and tomorrow here on this thread, I will post some pictures. Flashing lights might send her over the edge and I don't want to get clawed. "Film at eleven" so tune in tomorrow. Got to get some rest and with two females in heat...from the previous litter...different mommy who has since been to the kitty surgeon general to be fixed. Do you think it will happen? Not to worry I have appointments with a Vet., to have them both spade. No more kitty litters, if I can help it. Bites into the train budget but someone needs to step to the plate. This brand new mommy, who showed up on my door step and then into my home. This mommy with her new family... will follow the fate and new found freedom of the other females. A visit to the Dr. ASAP. Now to contact an adoption agency! Sigh! UPDATE! Pictures Posted. Momma / Missey and her new born babies. No names for the toddlers...yet. Any suggestions? She should work for Bekins... she has moved them again, back to the litter box. Maybe she thinks "Litter box", refers to her litter? I think, what she is looking for is a safe place where they can't crawl out. I will try another approach later today and see what happens. Rule #1. Never attempt to overide a determined mommy.
Didn't get hardly anything done that I wanted to accomplish this weekend. Wanted to get some more bench work done, but didn't. The only thing that I got accomplished was inventorying all of my engines, cars and cabooses. Boy do I need to stop buying. Steve
Only had time to get my website uploaded http://nfwrr.com/ and the framework of the first module constructed:
Not much! decaled one side of my custom Gunderson 53' Husky-stack for CP Rail, and decaled three Ortner Hoppers and a 90 ton 3-bay hopper for "Tilcon Industries" Also weathered a DI TTX Maxi III set I found on discount at the LHS due to shipping damage that I fixed. All detail work-- my eyes hurt.
I will have to take some pictures but the new bench work is in assembled and the lower level of the layout is down. 11 #6 switches and 2 dual crossover's. All DCC power run and I have actually been able to run big motive power and a large consist and go figure no derails. Things are looking up on the CWRR. So far I have a dual-main a sorting yard and a motive power yard. There is a inner loop also. I have used Kato products for everything the power and the switches. Pictures coming soon Steve
I became my old "Steamguy" again. During my separation and pending Social Security Disability Decision, I basically did not purchase all of the new steamers that have been issued over the past couple of years. Now that I got my retroactive check, and paid off my soon to be ex, I still had some money to go shopping to get caught up, and boy did I get caught up. First, I scoured the mail orders for the best deals possible. I purchased the Bachmann Mallet for 99 bucks, and from Walthers, 2 Berks and a FM PRR AB. Then I talked to an old friend who sold me his Rivarossi Big Boy in perfect condition and a Rivarossi Challenger still new in the box for $150 each, then went to a hobby shop and picked up a ConCor 2-10-2 on sale for $250. Then this past Saturday, I went to a swap meet, the last of the season, and the first for a local model railroad club, and it was good, and purchased a LifeLike SW for $10, an E8 for $5, an Atlas Kato C&O GP30, and lastly, a Kato F3a/b in NYC for $50 total. I tested everything while still in my state of post purchase rapture and everything is working great. Sunday, I finished setting up my workshop and started a flyer. After looking at the swap meets and all of the hobby shops, there are virtually no guys doing repairs on HO and N scale locos and rolling stock. Since I have been maintaining my fleet of almost 700 locos for many years, my friends encouraged me to go into the business myself and not be that lazy asking others to do stuff that I do myself. After over 25 years in this hobby, I have an incredible array of spare parts, motors, gears, tools, and now space. Plus even more important, I have the support and encouragement of my friends, who will give me assistance in decoder installations. Since I am restricted to a weekly salary as designated by Social Security, I have to keep my prices real low, as they limit my income, and if I exceed it, I will lose my benefit. What I plan to do at my workshop include in HO and N, repairs of virtually all locomotives, custom paint and decals on locos and rolling stock, and decoder installations. At first, I plan to crawl, and only do local repairs for hobby shops and club members, and right now do not have the ability to accept credit/debit cards, but as time goes on, and if I do well, I plan to expand into providing these services on a more widespead scale. Whew, today is Monday, April 30, and have to go to my ex-wife's house to pick up my retirement pension check. Then take a nap, then get to work. Hey, I already have some business!!!! Life is good, and I am running trains!!!!
I made it myself: You can buy the Kato Maxi IV's as parts from Kato, I bought one A well and one B well, cut the articulated end off the B well, CA glued the unarticulated end (that I cut off) of the A well on, you almost have a Gunderson 53' Husky stack (HS), I still need to move the brake wheel to the other side. Scrape and paint out the BNSF decals, add 70 ton trucks from Kato, decal on a safety stripe and individual letters for the CP and unit number. It looks good!
training a young engineer I took my four year olds to the hobby shop and picked up some Atlas code 80, enough to make an oval on our dining room table, and also picked up a used MRC power pack. Later, I went home and used a couple of gator clip test leads to hook up to my track and broke out my "new" Lifelike SW 9's. One of my kids had already sacked out for the night, but the other one was having trouble sleeping so she came and sat next to me and I taught her how to run the trains gently. It was really fun seeing her develop from immediately turning the trains all the way up to full power versus how carefully she started running the trains at something much closer to prototypical speed. If I ever had any doubts of her interest in trains, I know she is hooked now. But then again, you have to start them young. If you don't indoctrinate your kids first someone else will do it and then who knows what will happen.
We took a ride on the Strassburg railroad! They are putting the original road names back on their equipment. Kinda nice. RICK
Strassburg Railroad, am I envious. When I lived in Dayton, OH I wanted to visit the Strassburg Railroad, to many obligations. Do post some pictures and let us know where to find them. Thanks.
