The train comes sliding to a stop as this last weekend in February is over. I hope it was a productive one for you all. No trains for me, I was in Secaucus NJ from Thursday to last night, working on the WRAM show. The WRAM show is one of the largest and oldest RC model shows in the country. So while model related, not really train related, although I did manage to bump into a few model railroaders and railfans. So how about you? Did you fare better? Tell us what you did and if you have pictures, all the better! We'll come back this Friday the 2nd and do it all over again. A big thank you to Mister Beasley for taking the throttle stand on this topic this past Friday! ​High Greens!
No problem, Jim. But "I forgot it was Friday?" That's up there with "the dog ate my homework." :tb-biggrin: I spent a lot of time on those ornery track joints for my street running track, and I think I'm pretty close. I managed to back a train down to the car float, or where the car float will be once it's built. I'm becoming suspicious of the design of my Type 21 tank cars. I think the underframe may be obstructing truck rotation a bit on 18-inch curves, which is causing some issues down in Mooseport. This one shows the view looking in frome the throat of the car float, about where the first wye turnout will be. The girder rail is right in the foreground. I've cut some of the cobblestone sheet, but it's not glued down yet. This is an overhead shot of the same scene, with the carfloat-to-be off camera to the lower right. Finally, an "artistic" picture, to give you an idea of what I'm trying to achieve. This is looking down the canal, under the second-story "bridge" between two parts of the old mill complex. The canal is dry now, and it will be until I put the Envirotex in. You can see one of those pesky Type 21's crossing the canal below it. And now, True Confessions. I didn't mean to do it. All I was going to do was drive down to my LHS and pick up the DPM townhouse I'd ordered, one of the last structures for Mooseport. But, well, that 2-6-0 with sound and DCC wasn't going to be there the next time I got back. And it's only my fifth steamer. And my birthday is coming up.
With help from a friend on Saturday I got about a half pound of WS ground cover applied and a half pound of ballast to my FreemoN modules. Sunday I started decalling a set of BN F45s for a member of my NTrak club. not alot of progress, but progess just the same.
I went to the World's Greatest Hobby Show on tour at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR. Phenomenal time. Great displays, lots of buying opportunities. I didn't have all too much to spend there, but I did get a few things. I feel like a traitor, but I finally bought an HO locomotive. A Bachmann Spectrum Union Pacific GE Dash 8. Beautiful engine, great details. I don't know what I'm going to do with it once I move into a place with room for my O-gauge fleet. : /
Well, more work was done on the Vineyard, though not as much as planned. I was busy taking care of a newborn till 10am and had to leave at 12:30. I did however knock out an MDC boxcar and an Accurail Covered Hopper and "fixed" a boxcar of indeterminate origin which had had an LED mounted in it as an EOTD. It's constant on now. I figure at some future date I'll add a flashing circuit.
Working on adding decals to a stock Kato C44-9 in CSX, also landed some custom decals for my Gettysburg units I want to redo.
Mr B that's going to be a great scene! I've seen shots of the old cobblestone surfaces on that old rails of New York site - can't recall the name, and I lost the bookmark when we changed computers. EDIT: found it: http://www.oldnyc.com/ Looking forward to seeing yours develop. I worked on a couple of roads, one dirt, the other asphalt. Both made with water putty, painted with acrylics and finished with powdered pastels, with sand and grit added to the dirt road I worked in some ruts, but I scraped it smoother when it was almost dry Pastels saved the dirt road. Paints just weren't looking soily enough.
Well it arrived today but I am counting it for the weekend. My HO Scale CMX Clean Machine arrived today. This cleaning car may be a little pricey but wow does it work great! I used Lacquer Thinner in the card as strongly suggested. This was the first track cleaning I have down since the layout was constructed (September??) I went through two pads and the first one got pretty chewed up after several passes (Lots of turnouts tend to chew up the cleaning pad somewhat). Both pads were just filthy black. Prior to cleaning, locos were starting to have a tough time with some dirty track. Just like the advertisements, after running the CMX clean machine the finger tests came up spotless. The only down side is that I can foresee going through allot of cleaning pads.
I went down to the museum Saturday. I had to make repairs to a small section of track that was causing derailments. Sunday and this morning I was able to get some work done on a few of my T-Trak modules.
I installed a 3 yard tracks on my layout, changing my old staging yard to a standard classification yard. Only has a 10 car capacity, but it really does improve my switching ability.
SP&S FA's Getting near to completing SP&S FA's in the 'broad stripe' Scheme and starting a woodchip boxcar.
The first time through, I think I felt the same way. However, on subsequent periodic cleanings after that first ugly mess was taken care of, I go through pads much more slowly. I haven't actually gone looking for pad maaterial, but somewhere else I read that it's a common, cheap item available at any fabric store. You don't have to order it from CMX.