Hi All, It is that time of year for some to start modeling again. There is snow in the hills and a cool breeze blowing out. I have been working on a shay for 2 1/2 years and decided it was time to quit thinking about it and do something. I haven't done much to it in the last two years. For those that have no idea of what I am doing with it, here is a run down. Take one HO Std gauge MDC two truck shay and convert it to Sn3 using a V&T Shops conversion kit. The mechanism (NWSL parts) and engine (that three cylinder thing that sits in front of the engineer) are done. I wanted to install a decoder for DCC operation on other layouts, not mine. I ordered a Digitrax DH121 about the time they first came out. Well guess what?? It is too long and too wide. That was two years ago. I got the fuel bunker out and started playing around the other night. Made a bunch of measurements and went on-line hunting for decoders. I found a nice little Lenz that I almost bought. Only problem was the 0.5 AMP max. I had better check out the stall current on my motor again. Darn, it came out to 0.6 AMP's. Back to the drawing board. Bingo, the DZ121 from Digitrax fits and is rated at 1.0 AMP. BTW, I plan on running a battery for the lights. The next thing I have been looking at is the width of the tires. Drag out the mic and they are 0.108". No wonder they looked wide for Sn3. With a little math for a 5" tire I came up with 0.078". The wheel assemblies are two piece, plastic center and nickel silver tires. The main problem here is you have to narrow the center and tire on different sides. That means pressing the tire off the centers. I better have a backup in case I goof up one. A fast call to MDC, got lucky and got a tech person as the gal was on another phone. I ask him if the $7.50 was for a set or one axle. Guess what?? One axle. He then ask me what was the matter with the ones that I had. I then told him what I was doing. Well, 15 minutes later, my dime, I had some reject, returned wheels coming. The cost. A big "0". He also told me the tires are plated brass not solid nickel silver. He was also nice enough to tell me which way they were put together. Makes a difference when you take them apart ;^). The third thing going on was brakes as in brake beams. For those it was back on line to PBL. I ended up ordering a set of trucks to steal the brakes off of. While there, it was time to get a good headlight, five chime whistle, bell and a generator plus other goodies. I might get this beast done one of these days yet . So, what is on your work bench??
What's on my workbench? Well lets see.The Nscale part 10 autoracks getting Alan's conversion floor 3 Bachmann 8-40 Cs getting KATO C30-7 chassis 3 Bachmann 8-40 CWs getting the same. 80 grain hoppers getting repainted,decaled and MT trucks/couplers. 40 intermodal cars of various types getting redetailed. And I am building a new Nscale layout which hopefully will have Peco code 55 track to start laying by next tuesday (11/06/01. Do ya wanna know about the HO stuff too.
Lets See... I am superdetailing a Matchbox tow truck. It might be too large for HO, and it is is, I will probably end up selling it to the S-Scalers. I have a last pair of slopeback tenders from Mantua that I need to buy wheelsets for, My last Mantua order. They will be coupled to a pair of Fleischmann 0-6-0 Steam engines to make a nice pair of power switchers. As Soon as I get an adapter and the manuals for my Badger Air Brushes(I got three in one Lot, real cheap) and that wil allow me to finally see about finishing that way car I started way back when. I am also putting together the Highway Department of Geoppolis(Katy and the Big Snow) Using the Matchbox #6 and the Scammell Plow Truck. I need them as battered up as possibly so that I have no fellings for repainting...but that won't begin until I learn how to use the airbrushes. I have a couple of Intermountian and Tichy kits that I am considering assembling. Then again, I might sell them for something else. The Roundhouse 3-n-1's? Yep, need to learn airbrush!!! The Athearns? All finished except one...Need more Kadee's #5s. Unless someone wants to convince me on the #58s I have this box that has four or five old Ambroid kits that Need a desperate refinish. And that is about it.
Well lets see. Still in the paint shop for lettering are: 1 U30C (Minitrix) 1 SW1200 (LifeLike) and 2 RSD15s (Model Power) all in SP of course. After that comes complete rebuilds of two Bachman U36Bs that will sport Seaboard System liveries. Next in line is an old JnJ SD45T-2 shell with a ConCor chassis that just needs touched up and some more detail and couplers. Again SP. 8th in line comes a Minitrix H12-44, SP as well and finally an 85'flat in Trailer Train boxcar red scheme. Then after that maybe the modern HMS Ark Royal in 1/700. Got the kit, just gotta do something with it. John Barnhill Nor-Cal SP Connection Nor-Cal UP Connection Foothill Rails
"The Yellow Jacket" (8300) needs decals "Bandits"(8301-8306) needs yellow "cigar bands" (BTW all are F3's and F3B's) paint and decal my bachmann C40-8 in Blue and White A&A livery. Work on layout scenery. Convert all couplers from rapido to knuckle.
Interesting projects, fellow freelancers. My workbench has 14 IHC FM C-Liner "A" unit shells on it, all stripped of the "Corkys Carnival" paintjob. 8 will be painted copper for my Copper Mountain branchline, detailed a little and put into operation-4 hauling passenger cars with a loco at each end, 4 pulling copper ore and timber trains in pairs. 4 will be chopped and made into two cab-at-both ends super long locos with two motors to haul the the big loads for connection service with mainline. The last two, along with the two ends from the dual cab project will be made into 2 "B" units to help with the heavy ore trains. IHC's parts guy says he thinks he has a couple C-Liner shells in UP livery he'll try to find for me-he thought i could make a long freelance turbine type loco with them. Fun stuff! Curt
Besides a lot of mess on my workbench is the DPM "Wood's Furniture" kit, to be kitbashed into two different backdrop buildings. (Aren't modular kits great??) I also have to figure out how to install a DCC decoder into an Atlas RS-3. After that, there are about 50 more WS pine trees to be covered with foliage, 35 or more WS deciduous tress that need foliage. Then 3 freight cars that still need dullcoat after a fresh paint job: all 50', ROCK, ICG,and a home road. Now, with winter setting in, most people find more time to spend on their trains. But with my layout in a North WIsconsin basement, on a concrete floor, things get a bit chilly down there. Not only that, as a pastor, from mid-November until after the first of the year, I am much busier. I look forward to summer, when more layout work gets done. Jeff Augsburg & Concord R.R. (a fictional shortline in Central Illinois) http://www.geocities.com/revnjeff/index
Ready for this!? I got 4 IHC SD-40's to be painted Western Maryland Circus scheme, 2 Athearn GP-35's to be paint Western Maryland Circus scheme, 2 Rivarossi E-8A's to paint B&O passenger livery, 2 E-8B's to get bodies for to paint to match the E-8A's units, a regearing project on a 0-4-0 Life like to slow him down!, A MDC 3 truck Shay to assemble and paint, an old AHM 0-6-0 to make proto type B&O "D-30", a RF-16 "A" to paint B&O passenger livery, a set of ABA F-7's to paint Western Maryland Circus scheme, a Arbour Allegheny to put the decal cab numbers on and finish coat, a Rivarossi/AHM Y6b to make into a EL-5 B&O, a Vanderbuilt tender on the way to customize to fit a Y6b and paint to a EL-6 B&O, A TYCO 2-8-0 to paint into a B&O Q-3 2-8-2, dummy (possibly powered being it does run half decent for being TYCO), paint and decal a Atlass SD-24 to a freelanced B&O to run with my P2K SD-7 B&O, sort through a box of cars that need misc. parts (wheels, trucks, coupler, etc)... (a few of those cars to be painted, between B&O, Western Maryland, Chessie System, C&O, and CSX), A Athearn SD-45 to see what is shorting it out on curves.... All of the above to install Kadee couplers.... I am exspecting a bunch to be mailed to me tomarrow (Monday). A Bowser Challenger to assemble the engine beds, a I-2 to assemble, and a few diesels to paint for a fellow. (BTW Watash, THANKS), and a Rivarossi Big boy to get in the mail to its owner being its repairs are completed, and a Rivarossi Hudson to get in the mail as soon as the payment arrives to me.... And the rest is in the future! AND NOT TO MENTION THE MESS LEFT FROM IT ALL TO CLEAN UP AFTER ITS ALL DONE!!!! [ 05 November 2001: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]</p>
Jeff, scrounge up some surplus carpet, and lay it on the basement floor. When my dad did this, it really insulated the basement, to where one small electric heater kept it toasty most of the winter, (at Wichita, Kansas).
N scale: Adding Kadee couplers to an Atlas RSD4 I got off of eBay Getting ready to repaint an Atlas GP7 to Frisco colors (including the handrails ) Two DPM buildings HO scale: Three McKean 100-ton hoppers, awaiting Frisco decals (courtesy of Oddballs Decals) An RPP GP35, converted to a GP35M, awaiting repaint to Kiamichi RR colors
I dunno, there was a workbench around here someplace. Maybe under that pile of sawdust. When I get finished framing the new MAT and turn the durn saw off maybe I will find what I was working on!!!
Robin, Hopefully the sawdust hasn't gotten into any gearing on a loco That may give you a nasty headahce to repair! All the grinding sounds while running... I don't want to even think of it!
Save, and sift the sawdust, keep it dry. Later when you want to make your mountains and hills, mix up some thin watery glue, pour some sawdust in and swab some of the mix all over the mountain. When it dries, you can dry brush with various earth tones colors, and it can even look like grass and weeds under the trees. Re-cycle it.
Hi Watash, I do recycle sawdust as you suggest but now have bags and bags of it. Some of it dyed green. Fortunately my workshop is seperated from my layout area, I do have a table with a test track on it and thats where I do loco and rolling stock maintenance. My workshop is a disaster as I stored all the material from the old MAT in it. Wood in various sizes, plywood, masonite MDF panels and foam. At the same time I am working on a railing project for my daughter. I have just turned 14 spindles and that sure throws the chips. What's that, more lists of stuff to do in the job jar!!!
I've saved sawdust from layout construction for several projects. My favorite is loads for woodchip hoppers (where I used to live, I was 50 miles from a Weyerhaeuser paper mill and 90 miles from a larger Georgia-Pacific paper mill, with the fun of dodging various & sundry pulpwood trucks). I've either glued it to a piece of styrene cut to fit the car, or just poured a whole mess in for a "live load", much as some do for coal loads. Out here in Colorado, it makes a good load of aspen chips en route to a flakeboard mill (such as L-P's mill down in Olathe, CO).
What's on my work bench ?????? Havn't seen that thing in a couple of years now, if you see it let me know. LOL. Maybe it would be easier to build a new one. Hey if I part with some of my stuff I could add on to my layout. But anyway I did run some trains today it been a while. Got the track clean and things running again, now just got some dusting to do. Then after the dusting then I'm going to start some detailing work on my layout.driveways, allies, and parking lots. tehn see if I can find some building to fillin some places ,and see if I can make or buy a corn feild for my farm. I did get out last weekend to watch some real train and seen some MOW equipment doing some work in the UPRR yard in Marshalltown Iowa. Took some pictures I'll post them in my next web update in a month or two. I'll post it.
What's on my workbench? Eight more Proto 2000 covered hoppers in need of re-numbering, a half-dozen or so un-built building kits, and some flatcar lumber loads (these take forever). Christmas is coming so the backlog will continue.
All some this up as quick as I can, Right now I have 3 work Benches, a small desk that is full of stuff-building pieces flex track, paint etc, with a shelf I built on it that has a few HO cars and around 20 N scale cars, 2nd one is a 2 be 4 foot board I put up on legs to do a small N scale Show layout-now has my Kadee Coupler parts box, a desplay board I hand layed track on, all my hobby tools-knifes, pliers, glue, paint & brushes, Athearn parts, coupler boxes, wheels, trucks, My Mic for the CB, Vice, Dremal, etc, etc, Then there is My 4x8 work bench i just started doing stucture work on the other day, There was 90 locomotives, two main test track, 6 stall round house, station house, a few tree's, was working on handrail installing and painting, while adding kadee's to those and putting frieght cars together, 5 bachmann old west buildings and 2 of the 5 shopping mall set from IHC, and a wood bridge I made, and a few frieght cars. Now I'm working on the Bachmann Car shops, then the Engine shop, then maybe I will pack it all up and start back working on the desk bench. Saw is under my bench, Dremal Scroll saw, and air brush compresser. I know there is a lot I messed here to.
