Well we are back from another weekend. I hope you all had a good one. I'm tired after three days of non-stop driving and trains but we sure had fun. Saturday: Technically the weekend started on Friday since my buddy and I left that morning bound for Columbus. As I did the previous year, we took the country roads which was about seven hours. We saw a lot of cool rail lines and even came upon an abandoned ROW complete with the remains of a crossing gate. We got to the show a little after 4:30 and quickly set up the Burlington end of the City Job as Bill had been there all set up since noon. After some pizza and ice cream, we got some rest. Saturday was busy and I successfully sold most of the items I brought to sell. Before we knew it, it was time for the raffle, some great German food and the auction. I was able to score a great deal on a little Bachmann steamer after a brief bidding war against the Santa Fe side of the City Job. Silliness ensued but in the end we had a great time. Sunday: Was a bit more quiet than Saturday but still fun. Bill and I did a simple switch list for this day as we mainly interacted with fellow modelers. It was great to see all of the Trainboard members this weekend. Thanks for stopping in and saying hi. I wish I could remember everyone names. Soon it was time to pack away everything and get ready for the return trip. Bill and I will see each other in a few weeks at Galesburg then the City Job will be packed away until November. Wow time flies. My buddy and I took the highway home as the traffic on Sunday's is usually light. I stopped at one of my favorite sport pubs of Ohio for my buddy and we enjoyed some chicken wings before the drive back to Illinois. All in all, a great weekend. So how about you? What did you do this past weekend? Let us know. We'll assemble again on Friday the 25th for a special kick off to summer, the annual MEMORIAL DAY Weekend Modeling plans thread. Until then, have a great week, stay safe and as always... High Greens!
Playa Desnuda is that beach city that happens to be on the wrong side of the tracks. It really needs a dive bar, and I an going to help out the town. I am thinking about naming it Vardi’s, in honor of Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe. In Marlowe’s debut novel, The Big Sleep, he drank (a lot) at Vardi’s. Unless someone can give me a better name..besides, The Big Sleep is one of my favorite movies.
This warmer weather makes it difficult to want to model. Even though I had a longer weekend than normal I didn’t do to much. Thursday I purchased the tables my wife has been asking for and set them up. Set up a train for her to run and now I get the complaints it takes up too much space. I may have to redesign her tables from 5 x 12 to 5 x 8 1/2. Friday I was being lazy. I finished putting a couple of rolling stock models together. Now they are ready for decals. Saturday I started working on the last structure kit I purchased for my city backdrop. Worked on it in between family duties. Sunday I never made it back to the table to finish the project. Today I have to head into the office for a bit then hit my LHS. I found some of the plastic kit facades want to warp so I need to get some square tubing to help straighten them out. When I get home I will finish the kit I started and fix a couple others. I am a bit behind on my self induced schedule for having a huge area completed on the layout by next month. I had a couple lazy weekends that set me back. So to finish things up for next month I have these things to do: Finish the facades Lay track for the roundhouse Wire roundhouse tracks Ballast roundhouse and remaining track in the area Build grade crossings Small city Roads Ground foam The. I can move to the next section. With the holiday weekend next week not sure how much I will get completed.
I finally got all of eh Woodland Scenic LED street lamps installed. I still have to pick up a few LED's for interior lighting but here are some photos taken in complete darkness. Those little boogers sure do light up the area. Working with the extremely fine wires was sure a pain in the butt, but worth the effort.
Continued to build the control panel for my new (DC) N Scale road. The center is black laminate and is where the Kato power pack will reside. Hinged panels on the right and left will house turnout and block controls. The panels too will be black laminate and framed in oak. The exterior is also oak, so the completed assembly when stained should look nice. Lots more to do here. There will be a 3/4" x 1/2" cap along the rear and the panels will hinge from it. Happily, all of the wood is scrap, sourced from my late Father's stash. He enjoyed woodworking too, but his skills were exponentially better than mine. The marks on the interior are chalk, which I use to keep track of the pieces during milling and assembly. It sands away in an instant.
That is SO cool montanan! My control panel will have a toggle for lights so that I can mess around and hopefully replicate a bit of what you've done.
Saturday: Finished up my E-7B project. (Now I need to start on my Lark project - just don't know, when I will be motivated to start) Sunday: I finished another small project. A Showcase Miniatures ice cream truck and the figures that came with it. (Photos to follow) Hope Y'all had a great weekend, Wolf
I've been working like a dog and haven't had much time to do any modeling. What modeling that I have been doing hasn't been train related. I have started a couple of firsts for me: a resin Jimmy Flintstone Morticia Addams kit and a Tamiya 1/35 Walker Bulldog tank kit. I haven't lost interest in model railroading at all, I have a couple of Bluford Shops WP baywindows on order. Can't wait to get my hands on them!
Well my backdrop scene is finished. Now it’s decisions decisions on the roundhouse/ museum tracks. One option as seen here is an abandoned industry track being utilized by the museum.
This is HO right? The WS Just Plug Light's although expensive, are to me ( an N scaler ), the best accessory I have ever had. They look awesome on your layout, and great job installing them on your layout! Also, good to hear that the tiny, and I mean tiny wires are a pain for you too. I have to use a magnifying to hook them up to those little RED and BLACK clip thing's. They are also coming out with a sequencer I just noticed on their website, and some other needed accessories for the Just Plug Light's. Check the Coming Soon area on WS! I did after awhile figure out that if you bend the tiny wires, ( hard to explain ) it is easier to get them through your bench work holes. You know like double them up and push them through the holes. If they could figure out a system where the RED & BLACK connector's could just clamp through the wires to make a connection it would be a lot easier with those tiny wires. I guess the wires are the same size no matter the scale? Anyone know if the new sequencer will allow you to say start off sim and as the sun sets get brighter? I mean as IF the sun is setting, not when it really sets. Also, I want them to add a timer as I now use mine as a kind of night light, as they are so cool when lighting up my layout. Can you tell I light the Just Plug Lighting system, for my very tiny 2' x 4 ' layout! Never ever wanted to do my own light's with resistor's etc... too lazy
Glad to see someone still old school DC like myself How many cabs and blocks? Sounds like it will be a really nice panel. A lot better than mine.
Thanks Tom! It's a one man railroad, so I'll have just one cab. The panel will have space for 24 turnouts, but only 21 will be used, allowing three spares for future use. I'll have panel space for 18 blocks, with 14 used and 4 spares. The block panel will also house the master power switch, a selection switch for the central power pack or my ol' Troller walkaround, a switch for layout lights and ..... a DC/DCC throttle selection switch if I ever want to experiment with DCC.
No exciting pictures, but I painted some walls and fascia on the local club layout (and building) on Saturday. The Belmont Shore open house is coming up soon so everyone is trying to finish those last minute projects to get the layout ready for visitors.
Vardi’s is getting closer to opening, just need to get some signage, and get a delivery from Gallifrey Supplies down by the station. I am now looking for a Brew 102 sign to put on the side…
It was a fantastic weekend with good friends, great food, and N scale galore at the 10th annual Ohio N Scale Weekend. The hosts did a great job a putting it all together. We had a great time showing the Galesburg City Job to others, sharing techniques, reacquainting with some fellow N scalers, and even switching a few cars here and there. Jim worked hard putting a switch list together. Unfortunately, I spent most of my time blabbing with fellow N scalers and did not get a lot of City Job work accomplished. Sorry Jim. But alas, talking with fellow N scalers is what its all about eh? Here are a few photos of our layout: Thanks Jim!! And thanks to the good guys at Central Ohio N Trak for putting it all together!
Thank you, Tom!! What a great compliment!! I enjoy it, when I'm asked what scale my models are. Much appreciated, Wolf
