Following in the footsteps of Pete's nautical shot, here's a photo of my scratchbuilt pile driver, shot during the only quiet time of the crew's day - lunch break. NYW&B
We're discussing scratchbuilding over on the N scale forum. I hadn't realized, until I took this shot, that much of my non-nautical scratch-built stuff either hadn't appeared here, or disappeared a long time ago, when I converted my Railimages albums.
This is a snapshot of the Coast Guard Station. I didn't bother cleaning it up, as I've been working in the area. Notice the paper is peeling off the foam behind the large cutter. With the exception of the tower at the extreme left and kit at top right, it is almost entirely scratchbuilt. I cast my own cowl and hood ventilators and windlasses, and even built the 3-inch gun on the cutter in the foreground. I made a master, and cast my own lifeboats. I built my own life rings, davits, searchlights. The bridge (top left) is obviously scratch. The restaurant (white building) features a green metal roof made from styrene and piano wire. This is just to the right of where I fell last year. The cutters took a big hit, and are just getting back to normal. You can see the seam in the harbor behind the cutters--not there before! The cliff at the top left is a photo, with bits of bark and lichen glued to it to create depth.
Good points, Hytec! Actaully she was launched in 1923, and lasted into the 1960s. I'll pull the radar gear immediately, and outfit her with a 4-wire aerial. That's much easier than outfitting her with whip antennae! Yes, she's supposed to be beaten down and on her last legs. But she did have a diesel engine, as far as I can determine.
Pete, diesels were designed primarily for marine service from the turn of the century well into the 1920's. Due to their high weight to HP ratio, ships and factories were about the only applications that had the space and foundations for these monsters. The Dutch developed a single-cylinder beast(!) for cargo ships. It operated on a two-stroke cycle, and had a "square" design with a bore and a stroke of between 1.5 and 2.0 Metres. It was direct-coupled to the shaft, so reversing was accomplished by stopping it and trying to start it in reverse...not an easy task, since there was no guarantee that it would actually start in the direction desired, forward or reverse. Its maximum speed was about 72 RPM, but was normally run between 60 and 65 RPM. I was fortunate to talk with a gentleman who had been Chief Engineer on a vessel with such an engine. He said the beast would shake the ship with its pounding the hull once every second. He said that starting it in the desired direction was a flip of the coin. When leaving port, the Skipper would have all lines loose, but secured until the engine was running in the correct direction. The Chief would have an Oiler in the shaft alley who would signal the direction of rotation as the beast came to life. When finally running in the correct direction, the Chief would signal the bridge so the lines could be released. BTW, the beast was air-started and the Chief had enough air for 5 tries. After that he had to recharge the air cylinders which took about 2 hours...while the Skipper fumed. :angry: Ah, the life and times of the "ancient mariner".......:shade:
Here's a picture of an H0 sale structure by John Lowrance. It is on the SAMRA layout and is made from the basic Walthers modular pieces. A lot of detail, including interior, has been added.
Excellent photos this week. I've spent the last week and a bit converting a brass oil burning steamer into a coal burning 0-6-0 for the Belt Railway of Chicago. Before After Jon
Last weekend, Grant-sar, his wife, and I went to visit the old MILW east of Great Falls. Here's a couple new shots from there. Which one would have been better? No rocks: Rocks: The chances of seeing a train here again are nil, so our imagination will have to place a ten-wheeler or a brace of SD10's or Geeps tiptoeing across the tall structure..
It has been a full weekend. IvoUP is here visiting from the Netherlands. We have been out railfanning some. I will post a shot taken today as we headed down toward Palmer Lake. I have been working on an HO project lately. I am decaling 5 DMIR Difco's for my dad. They have been shortened to look more like the prototype. Will post pics when I get them. Until then, the Palmer Lake shot as mentioned!
I Like Both But... Yes I do like both but in an obverse way I find myself one of two minds. In fantasy - such as a model railroad I want fantasy. In the real world I want real. Exceptions: I want real pictures of layouts as I feel they communicate more to the average person Adjusting brightness, gama, and contrast can help view a picture. Still I am grateful for anything posted and wish I could match the quality. Oh - and I _love_ the "Northern" pic.
Hi All,This week I got two bridges completed for the NTS in 4 weeks. A single track Pratt and a single track girder. Both are etched brass built with Zap-A-Gap CA glue.
I simply moved to the end of the rocks to grab the rock-free shot... No trickery there. The "Northern pic was a portion of the GN-built diesel shop in Great Falls. It still says "Great Northern Railway"!
