MODELING Weekend Photo Fun January 17, 2014

Since it is going to be another day in the mid 80s here in San Diego County I thought I would share this 'snowy' shot in honor of it actually being January. Jim

 

Slow order through town.

 

Three nice shots guys. Is that a new layout Jim?

My offering of Piru Creek.

 

No John, Just before I tore the layout down in September I decided to dump some snow and practice with it. No snow in the upcoming new one which is designed to run both On30 and HO near the Four Corners area.. My On30 largest loco is a the Shay and I built everything to down from O scale to sort of S scale. It fits through the bridges and tunnels and doesn't look too bad for HO. Thanks for remembering. Jim

 

Great pictures so far keep em coming!

 

work continued on my Version of the Grand Canyon railway

currently there are no decals yet ! even the tiny red stripe has been airbrushed on. decals will follow as soon as i find out what fonts gcr uses on their rolling stock.


oh.... and this is n-scale.

 

Russell Straw, your picture of a stock train with "nothing uniform" reminded me of a question about Santa Fe stock operations. I was wondering whether it would be "business as usual" or a questionable rarity for foreign cars to show up in a Santa Fe stock movement. As far as I know, the only mass-produced plastic N scale cars that resemble Santa Fe SKs are from Intermountain. All the other N scale stock cars out are different in their panel structure from Santa Fe cars. Would it be acceptable or a big hoo-hah to have MoPac, SP, MKT etc. stock cars run in a Santa Fe stock movement?

I model Santa Fe in Galveston, which at least in the "transition era" did not have cattle raising or stockyards/ packing plants as far as I know. The only excuse I can think of to run stock cars is for cars to be assembled and prepared in the Galveston yard, to deliver the cars in a Galveston-Alvin-Beeville local train for setting out in Hitchcock, Alvin, Manvel etc. Texas Almanac and State industrial Guide for 1952-53 says Brazoria was a leading livestock producing county. The loaded cars would NOT go through Galveston. I would guess foreign-road stock cars would be even more out of place in Galveston than in points along a livestock raising to stockyard route.

I like to be at least close to prototypically believable. You're running a non-uniform stock train. Whattaya think?

 

Kenneth,

I do hope Russell, doesn't mind my stepping in here. I was trying to build a stock train from all kinds of Bachmann stuff and asked my dad who in his younger years played around the stock pins in Barstow, CA. Shanagins, I won't get into here. I asked him about the styles of stock cars and whether what we had was authenticate. He shock his head and basically said nothing was uniform. Some stock cars looked like the Bachmann $hit. When Atlas came out with their stock cars he got excited and wanted me to buy up a bunch of these, as they were closer to the "Real deal", his words. What little I remember of the last stock trains, is very similar in appearance to Russell's. Something about his picture pings, saying he's got it. I'd say he's got it right.

The books that are out there are great resources but to depend on some sort of purity in sets, I think is a mistake. Toward the last of the stock trains, before refrigeration cars took over. The railroads pushed everything they had back into service. They'd beg, borrow and steal from the competitors to make up a stock train. The railroads of the time, could see the writing on the walls (so to speak) and investing in newer stock cars, wasn't justifiable.

Now what do I do with the mis-marked D&RGW, Atlas stock cars and, the green (whoever made them) ATSF stock cars? Time to get the sprayer out and some chocolate brown paint. When the #ell are they going to make UP stock cars...correctly. GRRRRRR! Sigh!

 

Russell - nice feeling of wide open space
Jim that's so colourful and so cold!
Montanan a sweet and nostalgic scene
John I love the weathering on the bridge and loco
Sandro that's coming along really well. A nice rural setting too.

I had a play with the macro.
On the cab of a D&H RS-36...



and the nose of an MEC RS-11...



Mike

 

Thank you Mike. Always good to hear from you. I like your "nose" job loco! Jim

 

Managed to finish some cars this past week!





Atlas PS 2003CF Covered Hopper Kit, painted with Floquil C&NW Green and lettered with Herald King Decals.




This is an Accurail 40' Plug Door Box, that I had originally intended to replace the existing underframe with the Accurail Fishbelly Underframe, but it was 1-1/2 Scale Feet Narrower, I managed to get the Fishbelly Part off the Underframe as the glue had not set up yet, and using my Dremel Tool cut a slot on each side of the the Plug Door Box Underframe to accept the fishbelly sides. I also removed the cast on grabs sill steps and replaced them with wire grabs and A-Line Sill Steps. Painted the car using Scalecoat II Reefer Orange & Black and lettered with decals from Tom's Hobby Shop. Car was rebuilt by North American in 1954 and
leased to the CNJ for use in shipping Ballantine Beer from Newark, NJ to distributors across the country.





IMWX 1937 AAR Box Car Kit, painted with C&NW Green and lettered with Champ Decals.


Thanks for looking!
Rick J

 

Great looking stuff everyone! Nice work Rick J on the box cars .. I think I drank a Ballantine's once or twice back in the day while stationed in VA...