I'm really liking this build, you're definitely raising the standards for small steam! I've been thinking a keep alive would fit neatly in the hack, I'm keen to see it. Shipping prices from the US are crippling my build at the moment, so I'm living vicariously through yours, keep up the good work! Detroit.
Sometimes, you simply must compromise. I want to letter a baggage car for Western Maryland, but there are no WM passenger decals in N. I will have to use the lettering from the Fireball Hood Unit sheet from either Northeast or Microscale. I have both. Northeast is out of business. Their decals have a nasty habit of discombobulating, so you must buy the Walthers liquid decal film, spread it over the sheet, allow to dry, then cut out what you want. For Pittsburgh and Lake Erie power and rolling stock, often you must use either the Microscale NYCS Steam Locomotive or Passenger Car sheets. This goes double for P&LE diesels, as the Microscale sheet does have the proper lettering for some NYCS subsidies. By the diseasel era, this was necessary only for Pittsburgh and Lake Erie or Peoria and Eastern. As I am assuming that the brakemen's crummy is going to be your creation, odds are that you could use almost any lettering scheme from the 1920s, -30s or -40s. In fact, simply reporting marks and a number would suffice. It might be the photographs, but it appears that you are applying the decals to a dull surface. You might want to cover the locomotive (and the brakemen's crummy) with a glossy coat before you continue. If you apply decals to a dull surface, often the clear part will show through, even if you apply a dull finish afterward. This is often called "silvering". What you do is apply a glossy coat, allow to dry, apply the decal, apply the setting solution, allow to dry, make sure that the decals are what you want, then apply the dull coating. You can do this with either an airbrush or spray can. Testors sells a Glosscote® in addition to Dullcote®. As experience has taught you, if you re-apply water, the dried decal will float once more. If I am applying individual numbers or letters, usually I do them all at once. I put the numbers onto the surface, soak up the excess water with a slightly damp paintbrush (which I "dry" immediately on a rag), then position the numbers with a straight pin. Usually, there is enough water left to allow them to slide when you position them, but not on their own. Further, there is not so much water that you need blot the decals. Simply let them dry. It might take you a bit to get them positioned. Further, once you think that you have one properly in place, as soon as you push the other one next to it, it will move. If it gets too dry, you can use a paint brush to add some water. You do not need that much water. I keep a cup full of water near me for when I need it. If you do not have any around the house, you can buy a box of pins with little globular things on the end at Wally World, CVS or other places. I use the larger ones as opposed to the smaller ones that you find in shirts. In addition, you can use the pins to pop air bubbles in the decals. Usually, what I do is apply the setting solution, allow it to dry. I look at the decals to make sure that they are where I want them (or that it is the best that I can do and is still passable--NEVER settle for something that is less than you think that you can do, even if it means taking apart everything and starting anew. If you settle for less, it will annoy you every time that the thing is on the track. I have taken off more than a few decals and re-applied everything more than once). Once I am satisfied, I pop the bubbles and apply setting solution once more. This keeps the slivering to an absolute minimum. (You can get silvering even on glossy surfaces). If there is excess setting solution on the surface, I will clean it off with a Q-tip. What I do is wet one side, rub it on a bar of soap, carefully rub it on the surface, wet the other side of the Q-tip, then "rinse". Be careful not to use too much water, as I have had decals float even after setting solution. Once the setting solution has dried and you have done the clean-up (if necessary), you then add the flat finish. Some people swear by Testor's Dullcote®, but I know more than a few who swear at it. I have used it with acceptable results. If you want to add glazing to your locomotive or brakemen's crummy, you can use Microscale Mikro Kristal Kleer (it has a funny spelling). Just add the glazing as the last step, after you have finished the paint, decalling and final clear coat. When doing lettering, I find that a magnifying lamp is indispensible. If you do not like that, you can use an optivisor. I do not like the optivisor, but some people have had success with it.
Thanks for the encouragement friend! I've sent an email out to TCS and got a reply, looks like a sound decoder, speaker, and keep alive will all fit inside the hack. Now I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here, like I said weight will certainly become an issue with only 4 drivers and no traction tires. At the same time I think I need mention something I've been keeping to myself... I don't even have a layout, let alone a DCC system LMAO! However that will change with this years tax return, at least the DCC system part anyhow. Having never experienced a DCC system I've been doing some research on the different starter systems, specifically looking for one with a gentle learning curve but also with a good, readily available upgrade path. I was lookin at CPV EasyDCC and liked it, but I think I'll be going for the NCE Power Cab. Reportedly easy to use, easy to upgrade, and at $140 shipped, I'm not sure it can be beat. I'd love your opinion on this one guys, taxes aren't here yet so the decision isn't final and other's experience is of value to me. As far as the whole no layout, no DCC thing goes... well, you have no idea how much my father laughs at me every time we talk about our trains! My got my first n-scale train when I was 10, a Bachmann F3 set. Played with it for years in the basement on a 4x8 platform my father built for me. As I got older though, gas powered toys became more important, but once I hit my mid 30's I dusted off the old box and the train bug bit me once more... hard! I've been actively collecting now for about ten years, with no direction other than B&O, B&O, B&O. I always said I would build a layout, but there was always a reason I couldn't. Space, time, money, ect. My collection isn't small either... 25 locomotives from the 'transition era' and somewhere around 170 different pieces of rolling stock, not to mention a smallish collection of industries. So yeah, there's good reason for my father to laugh, hell I laugh at myself! STOP COLLECTING AND BUILD SOMETHING ALREADY!!
WOW! Words of wisdom for sure, shame I didn't get the memo LOL. Just took a good look at what you're talking about, something widely documented in the internet, and sure enough it doesn't look quite right. I'm not seeing air bubbles or a 'silver' look to the decals, but the decals are for sure glossy when the rest of the model is flat. When I looked up how to set the decals I got just that, never once paid attention to what surface conditions the model should have before applying decals. Gonna have to chalk this one up as an education, as much of this project has been already. Before I could even get back online to see your post, I got antsy and just HAD to finish decaling. Both sides of Little Joe are done as well as the hack, all now with the same glossy finish on the decals. I made sure to grab some pictures that I'll post with my next update to document the mistake, as well as what I do in attempt to correct it. Tomorrow I'll hit both with some dull coat and then some weathering powders, I do think that will fix it enough, but time will tell. I gotta say though, your post was very informative and I just wish I had caught it before the damage was done. So honestly, thank you! More than sharing what I'm doing here as my first project, the chance to talk to and learn from more experienced modelers is the reason I joined Trainboard in the first place. More to come!
The silvering will show up after you apply the dull finish. You might want to take off the decals, spray a glossy coat, then re-letter. After that, spray on the flat finish. I have seen it where someone did get away with applying decals to a dull surface then adding dull finish. More often than not, though, I have seen it come to grief. You might get away with covering it up with weathering, you might not. More than one person here will tell you that you never should try to cover mistakes with weathering. You will get away with covering minor flaws here and there with it, but not always. You might be better off doing something about it at the early stage where you are, that is, take off the decals, add the glossy finish, apply the decals, then add the dull finish when ready. In fact, the dull finish will seal on the weathering powders and pigments in addition to the decals. The basic rule is this: NEVER settle for less than the best that you know that you can do. If you settle for less, it will bother you every time that you put the thing onto the track. If you find an Arnold four wheel caboose, GRAB IT. They are extremely hard to find. They are based on a Baltimore and Ohio prototype. That one would go well with this 0-4-0T. The one drawback would be only four live wheels as opposed to the eight on your current brakemen's hack. I am enjoying this topic. Thank you.
Trust me, I get it. I am having custom decals made for a caboose of a class one railroad that made most of it's money moving freight, but it was known for passengers...
If you intend to join a club and even if you don't, inquire the nearby clubs as to what they use. Then buy the system they use. Because one day you may want to join them and want something compatible. The big two that you'll find are either NCE or Digitrax. It's a Ford vs. Chevy thing and I'm not even going to get into which one is better....neither! NCE and Digitrax both have starter systems so for a home layout you can go with either. Decoders you can use from any company and they will work on any DCC system so that you don't have to worry about.
After murdering half of the decals I tried to place due to shaking jittery hands, the thought of removing the decals and starting over again made my stomach turn. Did I mention I had junk spare Docksides? I found one that will never be used again, it was purchased as a non-runner with a broken rear step. The rear steps hold the shell to the chassis, I used this for a practice run when I started shaving off the old details. So I took this shell down to the paint booth this morning for a few coats of the same paint I used on my good model. I hit the model with a hair dryer and then cut out some decals I know I won't use in the future. I applied them the same as I did on the other and gave it some time to dry, then mad sure I got the same 'silvering' results. Yep, same thing when compared side by side. I also took notice that it wasn't quite a gloss shine from the decals, but more of a matte finish. Having both, I sprayed one side with matte coat, and the other with dull coat. Bad pictures, but here are the results. Junk Shell Matte Coat Over Decal by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 5:53 PM Junk Shell Dull Coat Over Decal by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 5:53 PM It's hard to see from the horrible pictures, but the decal film is can't be seen with out a magnifying glass. So at this point I went back to the paint booth to spray dull coat over the matt side, and once that dried I lightly brushed on some weathering powders on the dull coat side. Dull Coat Over Matte Coat by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 5:53 PM Dull Coat Plus Weathering Powders by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 5:53 PM I think I got lucky and dodged a bullet this time, but lesson learned! I liked the side that had dull coat over matte coat, so that's what I did. Here are the results on the model itself. Matte&dull Coat Sealed Decals Right by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 5:53 PM Matte&dull Coat Sealed Decals Left by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 5:53 PM By the way, I was intrigued by your mention of the Arnold 4-wheeler and jumped on EBay this morning. Found one for $14 and after a quick comparison to pictures of the 4-wheeler at the B&O Museum, I GRABBED IT!! LOL Yep, I got a few spare Bachmann Docksides and here's one in mint condition. Some side by sides for your viewing pleasure! Mint Bmann Vs Detailed by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 5:53 PM Detailed Vs Mint Bmann by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 5:53 PM More to come!!
I took your advice and had a look around the internet for n-scale clubs this morning. Seems the only one I could find was an NTrak module club (BanTrak I think it was called), but that just doesn't interest me. State taxes showed up in my account this morning, so I jumped on the NCE Power Cab, as well as TCS sound and keep alives for this project. Before I solder everything up though, I'll be placing everything in the hack and checking how much an impact the added weight has on this tiny steamer. I'm not real worried about grades, this think will be used on a level portion of what will be my layout, but to be happy I'd like to see it drag 5 wagontops. Coming soon!
You'll like the PowerCab ! I like the Tsunami 2 decoders myself , but I've heard good things about TCS .
It looks like you got away with it on the decals. Good. You found the Arnold four wheel caboose on FeePay? Those things are hard to find. Congratulations! All of the photographs that I have seen of those things were taken in the very late nineteenth and very early twentieth centuries when they had the BALTo and OHIO block lettering in a field. Sadly, no one sells decals like that. They might have had other lettering styles in later years, but I have never seen a photograph of one in later years.
There were two 4-wheelers, the other was around $20 I think. It looks like it could use a round of modernization too. I found some etched handrails that might be a match, but would still need to look at new wheelsets. All in due time.
One last update for the night. I did some weathering on the shell using weathering powders as well as dry brushing on railroad tie brown, rust, and oily black. I said I wanted to do a light weathering job, and I'm sure this looks a little excessive, but the dull coat sealer will tone it down a ton! Here are the shots: Weathered Left Front by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 9:48 PM Weathered Left Rear by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 9:48 PM Weathered Right Rear by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 9:48 PM Weathered Right Front by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 9:48 PM I wanted the bell and whistle to look well taken care of, so they went on after the weathering job. Lastly the model was sealed with one final coat of dull coat. More shots: Sealed And Detailed Left Front by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 9:48 PM Sealed And Detailed Right Rear by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 9:48 PM Sealed And Detailed Left Rear by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 9:48 PM Sealed And Detailed Right Front by critinchiken posted Mar 25, 2017 at 9:48 PM I started working on the hack again, trying to fix the one crooked decal and add a 'B&O' on each side. It won't be finished tonight, and from the sounds of the boss, I'll be busy tomorrow. We're gonna do something with her mother and her aunt, I'm sure it'll be fun. There's a few small items I want to add to Little Joe, but I don't want to spoil the surprise, or other wise jinx the idea. But as always... More to come, and thanks for reading!
Well I'm back, and I have a nice update today. Lots of additional small details added to make the model my own, so lets get started. I'm constantly going back to pictures of the prototype and even HO model Docksides, looking for more missing details to add. Two things have always grabbed my attention and I wanted them. Here are two black and whites of #98. How Was This Hose Used by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:19 PM How Was This Hose Used (2) by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:19 PM I've noticed some HO modelers add this hose detail as well, so I made up my own using 26ga. florists wire, a tooth pick, and two pair of pliers. I started by making three wraps around a tooth pick. Making The Hose by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM I then slide it off the tooth pick, and squeeze with flat jaws so it doesn't resemble a spring. After that I make them slightly uneven and squeeze from the sides to oval out the circle. One end gets bent back square to the loop and then cut short for a mounting pin, the other bent into a bit of a '?' something I could just barely see in the black and white night shot of #98. The red arrow in the next picture shows the mounting pin. Painting The Hose by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM The hose was painted Oily Black and the nozzle flat aluminum with a bit of rust on the end. Detailing The Hose by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM While the paint was drying, I drilled a tiny hole on the front-right-bottom of the shell to mount the hose. Once dry I glued the hose in place. I'm sure it's a tad big (think 3" fire hose) but it doesn't look out of place on Little Joe. Mounted Hose by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM I've read that some of the warehouses that #98 had to go in had such tight turns that rolling stock had to be pulled out first by chain before coupling could even happen. There are pictures and again other models, that have chain hanging from cylinder bodies and I can only assume the tight curves are the reason for the chain. So I picked up the smallest chain I could find that wasn't 2D etched brass chain. A-Line Blackened Chain by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM 40 Links Per Inch Brass Chain by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM Working with this tiny chain was not easy at all. I cut two lengths of chain about 1" long, turned the chassis up on it's side and using a tooth pick, put a small dap of glue on the top-side front of the cylinder body. I picked up the chain at one end with reverse tweezers and let one end of the chain drape from the glue, down the cylinder body and under the chassis so it would look like naturally hanging chain. Tough to explain by words, so here's a picture of this step. Glue Chain To Chassis by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM Once the glue set, it was easier to work with the chain. Two more dabs of glue hold the chain in place, and with one end secure the chain was easier to position to look like chain naturally hanging from two points. Here are both sides completed. Left Side Chain by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM Right Side Chain by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:19 PM Last bit of detail for this post comes in the form of window glazing. Full strength white glue and a cheap tablet screen protector from the dollar store was all that was needed. I did the boiler shell's windows as well as the hack. Window Glazing by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM With details complete, it's now time to route the wires through the back of the shell to the hack. The new motor touches the inside back of the shell, preventing the wires from being able to go through the shell low and center, leaving only two options really. Drill two holes in the back of the shell beside the motor and bring the wires together to form a 'Y' as it goes into the hack, or take all four wires out of the shell above the motor. Easy decision for me, there is a rear headlight hole just above the fuel tank that fit all four wires. In this pic I used Kapton tape to hold the wires on to the motor so when I pull them through the rear headlight hole I don't put too much stress on the solder joints. Once done, I mounted the shell for good. Wire Prep For Shell Mounting by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:17 PM Still to come, a new catwalk for the hack, ladders to reach the doors on the hack, and electronics. In these parting shots you can see I added "B&O" decals to the hack that still need to be distresses, and it seems the 0-4-0 shell could use a light dusting with powders after seeing it mounted to the weathered chassis. Perhaps the dull coat toned down the weathering too much. Right Side Mockup by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:19 PM Left Side Mockup by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:19 PM Parting Shot by critinchiken posted Mar 28, 2017 at 7:19 PM Thanks again! More to come!
I can not tell if that hose/cord is going into the headlight or water tank. If it is going into the headlight, likely it is a high voltage extension cord. If it is going into the water tank, it could be used for squirting water onto something, but what, who knows? These things were oil burners, so they did not throw cinders or start fires. It might be an air hose for air brakes, as well. And yes, they did have to use chains to drag the cars out of some of the sidings. Trolley car lines that also hauled freight had to do similar. You will note that sometimes you must puch couplers or move them on curves less than fifteen inch radius. I am guessing that the model couplers have more side to side play in them than do the prototypes, so you could not have a brakeman push on the couplers, even with a pole, so that he could avoid pinching something in them, if he were to push with his arms and hands. Then, too, since the prototypes are all body mounts, you could get a derailment on so sharp a curve. I am not sure where it went on this locomotive, but you could always add it to the brakemen's crummy: a pole. Poling was a common practice in street switching. It was, and is, extremely dangerous. If the pole broke or slipped, bad things could happen to a brakeman. If you will look on your prototype photographs, you will see the poling notches on the front bar to which the pilot stirrups are attached. Many freight cars built even into the 1960s also had poling notches on them. Almost anything built in the 1940s or before had them. This practice would be difficult to simulate in N scale, but who knows? MT came up with a way to simulate link and pin couplers (which actually might be the most practical way to add a pilot coupler to the current N scale 1870s steam offerings). I forget when poling finally was banned, but the unions were objecting to the practice since the railroad men had unionised. I understand that despite its being banned, it is still done from time to time.
Good idea! Truth be told I wasn't aware of this practice and had to do some reading. Seems most railroads did away with the dangerous practice by the 1960's, however my searches for when the B&O ended it, turned up nothing. I did find some interesting pictures though and the poles look to be about 2 1/2" round. The length I'm not sure, but looks like that could be figured out easily. Here are the pictures I found. Poling by critinchiken posted Mar 29, 2017 at 1:31 PM Push Pole by critinchiken posted Mar 29, 2017 at 1:31 PM And here is a sneak peek of what's to come! DCC Components by critinchiken posted Mar 29, 2017 at 1:31 PM
I don't know this but I'll bet you answered the question right there. If they were chaining cars they'd need an air hose to reach the car to release/ work the brakes, wouldn't they?
Good point! And after looking at the prototype pictures, the dimples in the bumper would appear to be for poling. This picture has dimples in the same location as Little Joe and looks like the brakeman is holding the pole on to that same spot on the other side. Poling by critinchiken posted Mar 29, 2017 at 1:31 PM It's all coming together now!
