Workshop Wednesday

Wow... some more neat stuff has been posted!

Gary:

Thanks for the well wishing on the Arbour kit(s). As for Roundhouse Old Timer engines: I understand Athearn/Roundhouse will be releasing a new run of 2-8-0's available in either DC or DCC/Sound. Of course, they won't be "cheap".

William:

Nope, I noticed the wheels immediately (superb modeling), but forgot to mention them. Yes, that one wheel looks like it has some build up and/or flat spots on the tread!! Excellent effects, all.

Your finished scene looks great. I hope some of mine can turn out half that good!

All fer now!

Andre

 

Bill that area looks terrific. Nice work.
Glad you liked my trailer deck. That is just basswood that I soaked in Minwax stain. A mix of walnut and black. I let it sit a few minutes and then wipe off the excess. After a few days whe I know it’s good and dry I sand with the grain using 320 paper. If that’s not enough I might use 220. I try to make some more stained then others.
Before I put it on the trailer I cut pieces to random scale lengths. Then glue pieces from several diffrent sticks so the grains are diffrent and colors vary.
Your layout is looking great keep it up.

 

That's the problem. "Cheap" = Gary

 

"Cheap" - LOL!

I understand! That's why I, too, watch eBay for deals on vintage MDC Old Timer engine kits.

FWIW: Been in a TOC19 mood the past week or so, and have accomplished a lot of things that will benefit both era's. (Inventories, restructuring my storage configuration in the out building, etc.) I also dinked around with a couple of TOC19 mix n' mash engine projects. Came up with a combination for MDC's 63" driver Mogul that I like FAR better than the box stock version. Here's what a box stock MDC 63" driver Mogul looks like:

​

Kind of ungainly looking. Never really cared for its lines. Also, IMHO, the drivers are too big for a mountainous Ozark line like I will be reflecting. SO, I took some Mantua drivers (same axle diameter as MDC: 1/8") and came up with this:

​

Note how much larger the MDC so-called 63" driver is than the Mantua drivers. BTW, that so-called 63" driver actually measures out to be HO 66" over the face of the tread (not over the flange).

Here's what it looks like with a tender behind it to give a better idea of the overall proportions:

​

FWIW: The above superstructure and tender are from an old (35+ years ago) MDC hack job I performed that became my Black Mountain & Northern #3 engine. I took an MDC Old Timer 2-8-0 and milled the frame to convert it into a 2-6-2 as well modified the frame to receive a Sagami 16x30 round can. I also hacked the boiler to fit over the Sagami. Back then I was was imagineering my freelanced "Black Mountain & Northern" pike to be in the Cass, AR (Black Mountain) region. WHY I chose a 2-6-2 back then is anybody's guess... there weren't any in the Ozarks that I'm aware of! (I THINK I recall that the bash was based on one of the Caddo & Choctaw 2-6-2's that plied the rails of the Ouachita Mountains.) Anyway, all of BM&N #3's parts are to be re-purposed and will live again via various engine projects destined for my new Ozarks late 1880s theme.

All fer now!

Andre

 

I doubt it could be heard over the gear noise--this puppy is LOUD. I'll have to save my pennies, but I've got some other locos I'd prefer to put sound in first.

 

All paint going on this week in Ohio. Several projects at once so as one dries on to the next.
Fading paint on GMC:



For my buddy in Toledo again:

 

Also a couple more of my "what if" Frisco projects:



Also a friend sent me this a couple weeks ago. I got the fade started on gray and will hit the puke green next. Eventually I will have a full train of Frisco survivors:
Look close! Gotta love the Frisco creeping through the green.

 

Great progress on the bubble nose! When does it have to be finished for the meet?

Spent a lot of my day today out in my building. I'm currently in a TOC19 mood, and I wanted to take a detailed inventory just what all MDC "Old Timer" engine items I have on hand, and what state they're to.

That done, I decided to group together the needed parts for as many frames as I could supply. Finished with that, I decided to go ahead and assemble all the frames that I had drivers and valving for. Here's what my work desk looked like after a while:



When all finished, it was one of those "good news/bad news" situations.

The good news:

* I have a couple powered and completed chassis that can be used when needed to make a complete locomotive, and some other rolling frames that need small things accomplished and they, too, can be used for an engine project.

* I have an (Athearn?) Roundhouse RTR ATSF 2-8-0. At the least it would need DCC/Sound and re-lettered for the home road, and it could be put into service. Then, at a later time, I could pull it off the layout, take it back to the workbench, detail it and make a few modifications to it. Once painted and decaled (for its final state) it would then be "finished" and used until? (This model may become representative of one of the "newest" 2-8-0's that I've talked about.)

* I have a used 51" 2-6-0 (kind of rough) and some other assorted rolling frame possibilities.

The bad news:

I only have ONE complete MDC kit. Of the three MDC kit boxes I had stacked on my shelves, it appears I've already raided two of them for drivers and other essential parts.

However, even though I don't have as many complete kits as I thought, in all, it was a very beneficial day.

Up next...

Thinking again about trying to head off to the Ozarks. This time it would be this coming Thursday. High temps forecast to be in the 40's, downside is that the chill factors will be in the 8-18 range. Was planning to go today, but in Winslow today it was supposed to had a chill factor of 5 degrees F. If I go Thursday, at this point I intend stay in proximity to the old Frisco's line, and explore some old haunts that I haven't been able to enjoy in well over a decade. For lunch, I will find a small "Ma & Pa" eating joint and have me some good ol' Ozark home cookin'!

All fer now!

Andre

 

STEVE -- Love the FFF logo on the sides of the hopper!

 

Thanks Andre. Same to you on your vintage fleet. The RPM is end of July.

Thanks Sherrel, I thought it would be neat throwback only guys here would get.

 

That old GMC looks like some of the old Frisco Transportation Trucks that I seen up at their headquarters on Chase St. Good job on that I really like that one. Needs a Black outline Frisco decal and a GVW decal. Both went on the door. Frisco center on the door and GVW or DOT lower right. Would be nice to see a photo. Don't know if they was GMC's but they had a similar body style.

 

Thanks Bill. I got lucky and when I mentioned this project to Brad Slone a year or so ago he sent me a couple pictures he had of it. One is a perfect square on shot of just the door lettering. A friend of mine that makes decals for some of my other crazy projects just finished these up. So hopefully a few days and it will be lettered. I need those on before the mirrors and door handles can go on.
Also like you mentioned kinda, I do have resin cabs for building a FTC White like they used and a Frieghtshaker yard spotter. As time allows.

 

Hey, a Wednesday and home for some reason...

The mission to turn every plausible unlettered steam locomotive into a Frisco model begins. Slowly, this will result in SL-SF domination of the HO market.

These two candidates arrived this week:

A Bachamann 2-8-0 from eBay for a steal (I hope). Pretty dusty upon arrival. Cleaned it up a bit and added a motor/light TCS decoder for testing. Keep your fingers crossed, but don't hold your breath.

2-8-0 Undecorated by rjthomas909 posted Jan 30, 2019 at 7:15 PM

And this Proto Heritage 0-6-0 from undisclosed sources. Looks fantastic, needing some detail parts added from the box and sound decoder and speaker. Edit: And a red roof on the cab. Decals are on order....road number recommendation anyone?

0-6-0 Undecorated by rjthomas909 posted Jan 30, 2019 at 7:16 PM

Good projects for a cold rainy weekend, while watching the "big game".

-Bob T.

 

Nice stuff Bob. Shou;d be fun to watch these.

 

Nice Bob. I like the steamers. I have some relettering to do, too

I worked on my K4s and an old time ten wheeler. I installed decoders in the tenders and ran them some:

I made a video of the K4s so you could hear how loud it is:



Like Andre, I have a Roundhouse RTR old time 2-8-0. This one was a factory second--the tender was miswired from the factory--so I got it cheap and had to fix it.

I plan on making it a Frisco connie--I think the numbering is in 2700 range:

 

Yay! TOC19 models!

Us TOC'ers are getting stronger and more plentiful.

Andre

 

I finally decided on a project for this thread, a diorama from the piece that I cut off from module 06 on my layout. It already has a blue half inch of insulation foam and a one inch of pink foam on a 3/4 inch piece of Birch plywood along with two lines of roadbed and the start of a road crossing the tracks. The diorama will be used for photos and to test scenery techniques like water which I have done once a long time ago. The diorama is about 12 inches square.

Joe