The previous two days I was wiring all the connections to one of three CTC panels for Stephen Priest. The picture below shows 1/2 completed of close to 200 individual solder joints.
Hey, most of them were train related, Arduinos and DCC++. The other stuff I was fixing to earn my allowance to buy more trains! I installed supermagnets in the old Tyco/Mantua Little Six motor: Runs better now, slower and pulls fewer amps. Still a bit noisy. The paint on the body is stubborn, though. I built this kit when I was 12, so I probably brush painted it with Pactra Enamel paints they used to sell at the Woolworths. Brake fluid doesn't seem to be doing the job. What strips enamel? My friend is having a train sale this weekend, in conjunction with his neighborhood garage sale, so I've been pulling together items for the sale. For some reason, I had some N scale sets, even though I model HO, and I had to clean up some of the grease in the trucks of these LifeLike E8s to get them to run: I'm amused by the vista dome in the Con-Cor Frisco Set .
While this is not a modeling project, Just some info. Last week we made a visit to the Hart of Dixie rail museum in Calera, Alabama. We happened to be there on a Thursday that they were running student trips and offered to let us ride along. One of the cars on the train was the Frisco heavyweight coach #1062. They have restored it and I was lucky to be able to ride in it. It is a 6 mile out and back trip. I have never riden in a Frisco car before and was thrilled. Car is in great condition. Tony LaLumia
Gary, how much do you want for the Frisco passenger train? I would like to buy it. Keith, great job on the control panel! Is the other half of the wiring harness go to the right of the panel? Joe
Joe, all the harnesses leave to the same side so the panel can be wired into the Chubb I/O cards from the front.
I bought what I thought was an Akane USRA Lt 2-8-2 on ebay. Pictures/paint was so crappy that I THOUGHT it was a light mike. Turns out it was a heavy version, so I stripped it and am soldering parts back on that fell off and will resell it. I got fooled!
Been working on a D&RGW, derrick/wreck train for a while while waiting on some parts for a couple Frisco projects. Here is a couple images the drop deck flat is an old A-C metal kit, that was heavily modified first the prototype: Then the model:
Thanks Andre! You folks have seen the MW cars and equipment seem to sometimes come out a Frankenstein work shop this one is no exception. It started out as 2 40' boxcars that were welded together with only a small portion of the "box" on the B end of the car, that section was shortened in height by 2 ft is about 6 ft long. The car still exists in Granby CO as part of the RR museum there. My version is when it was in panel service here in GJ circa 1996. My prototype image: My version I will be getting back to Frisco modeling now that this is done.
Tom: Your willingness to build VERY GOOD models of such distinct prototype is one of the elements that really takes your layout/modeling efforts up way above us average slobs!
Freakin awesome Tom!!! Yours looks better than the prototype. The railcars and dozer are both standouts. Great work all the way around. I wondered what you had been working on, this was worth the wait!!
Not really. I added a few pieces from the Athearn releases over the past couple years. Grabbed one of the SD45's, a GP38-2 and managed to score two GP40-2's. Other than that I've been out of it completely.
I got my Tyco/Mantua Little 6 stripped: The brake fluid worked--I was scrubbing with an old toothbrush, which must have been too soft, when I noticed my thumbnail was removing lots of paint. I found a brass brush and got it cleaned up. I've also found out why some Bowser tender trucks wouldn't pick up very well--the blackening they apply to the wheels interferes with pickup. I used a wire brush in my dremel and cleaned them up, so now they run better...
Primed and painted my Little Six, isolated the motor brushes, and reassembled: I was too hasty--I tried to install a decoder without testing it thoroughly first on DC, and I let the magic smoke out I had a pile of rings from scotch tape dispensers I've collected. I lined them up, glued some scrap sprues inside to help hold together , and cut a top from .020 styrene: I'll put some piping and ladders on, maybe turn them into oil tanks.