Also a close-up of the crane. I detailed it with grabs and ladders and the roof platform to match the ATSF prototype of the same number. We'll see if this photo comes through.
From your signature I see you have albums on RailImages. I find it better to upload any images there then copy the URL to embed them here using the insert image function (). It takes a few more steps than simply attaching the images, but it also gives them more visibility while on RailImages.
The large logo was part of the now discontinued MS 60-161 set. The medium logo and dimi data are from the current MS CR freight car decal set (I forget the number). The reporting marks are actually custom decals I had ordered a while back... it beats trying to splice car numbers. The custom decal page cost $50 and included enough decals to paint 25 CR MofW trucks, 25 fire engines for local towns, 15 police vehicles for local towns, 6 conrail boxcars, 6 tank cars, and several misc items.
Gondola Crane Built a gondola crane, that was a fun project. Now I need to do some work on the gondola so it looks appropriate for MOW duty.
Class M-1 Light Mountain This Hallmark brass model came factory-painted and lettered as Soo Line 4016. I had to use lacquer thinner to remove the Soo decals. (Yes, they were actual decals, not printed.) The cab roof is painted Model Master Acryl British Crimson. I added a TCS Z2 decoder and set up a speed table starting with a value of 15 in CV67 and increasing in increments of 3 up to 96 in CV94. I made the mistake of using a blue-white LED for the headlight. Instead of changing the LED, I just put a piece of Kapton tape over it. This gives a smoky amber headlight color—not ideal, but better than blue. The headlight visor is made from 1/8” brass tubing. Next steps: Dullcote and weathering.
Well before I make scenery progress I would like to have this bridge finished on a new freemoN module. I made a trip to the hobby shop but found I need taller I beems and to borrow a chopper for better cuts. So hopefully Tuesday will yield some results. I intend to have this ready by the 14th for the San Bernardino freemo show.
All right, to continue what I started last night. Here is the work train: I still need to put decals on the cars. Here is the rotary snowplow: The tender came from Pete Nolan. I didn't have enough "9's" in my decals to make the number correct, so instead I'm pretending that it is a tender that was hooked up while the original is in the shop for repairs. I still need to darken the wheels with neolube or replace them. The snowplow still needs window glazing. These and the other things I put up photos of last night are all still unfinished. I'm doing them all at once. That's all I took photos of, but there are more: a GP7 and F7A & B that I am painting in ATSF Blue & Yellow, a 50' mech. reefer painted in ATSF orange and blue, a NMC caboose, and a GN caboose. If I actually showed you a photo of my workbench, you would not be able to see anything at all since it is piled high right now with junk from working on the backdrops and track. My dog has been sick for months and I've been stuck here babysitting her. So I've been really productive. I wouldn't say I get bored easily: it's more like I get too excited and try to do too much at once.
On my workbench: Kitbashing an IC C636 using Con-Cor components to modify an Atlas C630. Still working on trucks.
Lets see what is on my work bench. I have about 60+ frieght cars that I am weathering. I also have a MOW train that I am working on. Oh yeah and lets not forget the 3 locos that my dad sent to me that dont run anymore. I need to clear ym workbench so I can start working on a layout.
I need to build passenger trains for our operating sessions. So there is a Northern that gets a Decoder and some passenger cars drying after there first trip to the paint booth: Cheers Dirk
Today I took the first driver out of one of my MDC 2-8-0s to see how to go about extending the axles. Results look promising. For now, I'll leave it to your imagination what that might mean.
Working on modifying this Spectrum 4-8-2. Repainted it, gave it 'angular' sandboxes per Paducah Shops practices... even modified another tender to use as an auxillary water cistern per IC practices. Finished photos coming soon~
Just finished scratchbuilding a small but interesting bridge. For further infos look at my module progress report
