Weekend Photo Fun, Sept 6-9, 2018

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
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Got a dozen pics, so sit back for a little railfanning on the Silverton Branch to open WPF this week.

The diesels showed up with their consist first, turned and waited.

Then the San Juan Zephyr pulled in.

Things were getting tight, as it often does during the afternoon rush, with the container crew getting the last one aboard the COFC flats behind the station.

Finally, the crew of the switcher, #375, came along with the containers.

Steam and containers - another reason the railfans love the Four Corners Division.

The latest innovation in narrowgauge railroading, the containers will be headed east MT after delivering their “hot” freight to the West Slope.

The dry containers show their heritage as recycled Denver Models box van parts, right down to the paint…[;)]

Shoving forward, the switch crew then waited for the road power to cut the train so the container cars could be slpped into it.

Leaving their charges with the road crew, the #375 backs away as the diesels pull the train forward.

A pic taken as the containers leave Silverton crossing the Rio de las Animas bridge.

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Thanks for opening this weekend´s WPF thread, Mike!

Talheim has received its custom backdrop. It´s a panorama shot I found in the Internet, printed by a professional printing service on vinyl.

Progress is in baby steps, but still moving forward!

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Mike, thanks for starting us out, just can’t get used to the White Pass diesels in Rio Grande!

Ulrich nice job on blending that photograph into the backdrop and a very good looking city scene.

Still nothing new, still packing up boxes and tools for the move.

Kato PC SD45 & SD40 pulling into siding with a mixed freight on the Strongsville Model Railroad Club Layout.

Thanks for looking!

Rick Jesionowski

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Mike after looking through Your long post…I was wondering by chance if You got timed out before posting it? It’s happened to Me a couple times…nice job!’

Ulrich…Your backdrop, I believe is perfect for Your scene…You have a keen eye for that I noticed over the yrs. [Y]

Rick…take that photo again, but with less light and it will be perfect…I tink!

Just one little pic’ from Me…still slugging it out on the dio’ but took some time out to make a JaBear service truck. Made with a CMW IH Metro, redone…Walthers had them on sale for $4.59…beats 17.00…LOL:

Take Care![:D]

Frank

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GREAT Layouts guys!!!

Mike . . . . Makes me want to return to Colorado Narrow Gage, the whole family just loved visiting the Durango Silverton.

Ulrich . . . . Great scenery, looks bigger than baby steps from here.

Rick . . . . Really like your Phillips 66 gas-em-up.

Frank . . . . The Metro van is great for the time period, I drove one of those in the 50’s servicing two-way radios in southern New Mexico. I also have one on my layout.

I’ve been working on automation for the last few days and not getting very far. I built up a single stall roundhouse from left over Korber parts to see if I can install some topside servos to open and close the doors. Not being able to crawl under any more I’m trying to make everything accessible from above.

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Thanks for kicjing things off this weekend, Mike.

Looks like you had some fun with your Silverton operations [Y]

I’d say for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere, September starts “Model Railroad Season” and that’s one think I’ll have to do is get the layout dusted off and fired up for a Season Opener.

Did you see my thread in Prototype Info about the recent run of Silverton photos at Shorpy?

http://www.shorpy.com/node/23769?size=_original#caption

The background photo is superb, Ulrich. Just the perfect amount of haze in the air to make it look right! Excellent work!

Your P-C stuff brings back memories, Rick. Penn Central was the railroad I loved and hated at the same time. Being from Cleveland, though, it was “family”.

Nice Bear van, Frank. When I find it, I’ll post a photo of my dad in an old van from the early '50s. Don’t recall the make but I’m sure you’ll recognize it. Those CMW vehicles are a great buy when you get them on sale!

Those servos like like a fun project, Mel. We model railroaders sure are “tinkerers”.

This week I decided to get down the Precision Scale Empire State Hudson I’ve had on a display shelf for the past five (or more!) years and get a decoder installed in it. The one on the left.

Empire_5426PSM1 by Edmund, on Flickr

I bought a MTH streamlined Hudson to act as a stand-in until I got the brass one up and running.

Part of the project was to renumber it. NYC only had two Hudsons streamlined in the Budd fluting and both of mine were the same number! Fortunately, I found numbers, of all places, on a sheet of decals made for the Flexi-Van flat cars&nbs

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Mike L … I like your Colorado layout photos.

Ulrich … The beautiful backdrop makes your town look like it is part of the real world.

Rick … I like the big SD’s in action.

Mel … The door opener project looks very interesting.

Frank … That is a great idea for your Metro van. … I have one lettered for Railway Express.

I have a separate thread for my “Skookum” , but I thought I would include a photo of it here. It is on a branch line with some of my 1900 era freight cars.

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Great photos everyone. Here is my contribution to the thread.

My first Funaro & Camerlengo resin kit. This kit was assembled for a friend.

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Mike L - Thanks for starting off WPF this week. Great action photos from the Silverton Branch.

Ulrich - Nice backdrop. I enjoyed the street scenes.

Rick - I’ve thought of progressing the BRVRR to the PC. Like the locos.

Frank - Nice “Bear Van”.

Mel - You always amaze.

Ed - Love the Hudsons.

Garry - Skookum is still cool.

Guy - Good job on the boxcar.

Here is a leftover from last weeks “run the trains” session: An eastbound local meets the morning “Mail and Express”:

Keep the photos and ideas coming guys. Thanks to you WPF is always the best thread of the week.

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Mike, Thanks for the WPF kick-off and the nice set of pics, not easy to choose a favorite, but I sure like the containers crossing the Rio de las Animas bridge.

Frank, Like the IH Metro, have some memories about piloting one of the boxy later models, it was a chore to drive and if not careful those side sliding doors could bite.

Mel, I salute your ingenuity and perserverance in adding movement to models.

Guy, Your boxcar came out good and I appreciate the effort that goes into building such a kit.

Pluses and minuses. While happy about finally completing some town scenes I’m finding that camera locations for close-up shots are drying up, no more temporarily moving structures or scenery items to make room.

Thanks to all the contributors, have a good weekend and regards, Peter

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I’m in the same predicament, Peter.

I have often contemplated experimenting with prisms, mirrors or right angle lens adapters so I can aim the camera down into a scene but the lens would only occupy a small area and aim at a right-angle. Sort of like a down-facing periscope.

They sell a bunch of “spy-cam” or smart phone adapters for this kind of thing.

I remember seeing a behind-the-scene “Thomas The Train” documentary and they showed a camera mounted on a crane but it could “poke” into a scene from above.

Maybe I’ll play around with a mirror sometime soon.

Good Luck, Ed

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You would be amazed at the size of the Medical cameras in use today.

I had Bladder Cancer surgery in 99’ and I won’t say where they shoved the camera lens, only that it was not the back, but the front and it was very uncomfortable and painful. I called it legal torture. Dr. said ahh it don’t hurt that bad. All I said was…let Me strap You down in this chair and try it on You. I was able to see the cancer and where they were going to cut, on a 23’’ color monitor. The surgery was done the same way with a Lazor attached. I was dead for that though, from the waste down…they gave Me a spinal. Took six hrs. for Me to feel anything from the waste down. Also the pain after that was also bad for awhile when I had to pee…never want to go through that again. But I’ve been cancer free since that day. They caught in just in time. So I am classified as a cancer survivor…

They had a guy there younger than Me…that waited too long, they could have given Him the same operation…but…it would not do much good…they would have had to remove most of His bladder…He opted out of the surgery. I doubt very seriously, if He is alive today…

Take Care![:D]

Frank

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Thank you for reminding me, Frank - I went through the same procedure some 20 years ago and had allmost forgotten how painful and humiliating it was. Now it´s all back again.

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Just wrapped up making a load for my Walthers heavy flat, I’ve painted the car and the load, I’ll post a picture when they dry.

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Hello all. I always felt that the 0-4-0 dockside had a special place in model railroading history. And when I saw a used one at my local hobby shop this week, well, I just couldn’t resist getting it. Now I need an excuse for having one on my unfinished layout set in Eastern Canada (!). Have a great week all.
Simon

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Do you have an indusrty that could justify having their own switcher on site? Those 0-4-0Ts were mostily used in industry or maybe a dock in a port scene

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Yes, these are still possibilities on my layout, thanks. My initial search indicates that similar saddletanks were used in quarries, in our neck of the woods anyways. I guess I need to make up my mind before the lanscape is nailed down!

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I am posting late again this weekend. It is almost over! I just made it to Seymour, Indiana for a couple days of work.

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Mike: Thank you for starting WPF. The layout pictures were impressive.

Ulrich: I like the way the backdrop expands your layout.

Rick: I love SD-45 locomotives. They are the one I regret the most not fitting in my 1954 time choice. I even like them in PC paint.

Frank: You got a much better deal on your Metrovan than I did.

Mel: Best of luck with the door servos.

Ed: Those are a top notch pair of Hudsons!

Garry: I am quite a fan of your Skookum.

Guy: Great job on the F&C car. That is an unusal model with single side doors and end doors.

Allan: Nothing like big steam on a curve.

Peter: Great alley scene. The details like the dumpster and bullards really pull everything together.

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Before I left for Indiana I assembled three of the TMI refrigerated cars I bought last week. I started with the beer cars! Yum!

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I did not use Kadee trucks, but I did put Kadee wheels in the TMI trucks. I also could not see an easy way to put Kadee coupler boxes on these models. The coupler boxes are molded into the underframe, and surgery on these none cars was not in the plans. I used Kadee #5 couplers, and height and operation are perfect.

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Thanks for everyone who contributed.

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-Kevin

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Hold your horses everybody!

This party ain’t over just yet!

How about this?

It’s a Walthers heavy depressed flat kit, custom painted (rattle cans), some brass and copper pipe fittings covered with a tarp (see my thread “How to make HO scale tarps, tie downs, and blocking?” To see how I did it) and thread tie downs.

I’m going to “decal” it tomorrow, Tuesday at the latest.

What do you guys think?

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Steven, tarp is really hard to model. I think it looks great given the challenge!

Simon