Hey All, Happy New Year to all of my Frisco friends. A few quick updates.... 1.) We are working on prepping the foundation of the new outbuilding. This will be a small (~14 ft X 16 ft) structure where I plan to move a good portion of the current Crawford & Cherokee project (maybe a modified plan), but same era. Groundwork is underway for a new slab. We had to have a tree removed and I have been fighting to remove a large sago palm. The next couple of months should see some progress, with the weather ideal here in San Antonio TX this time of year. 2.) I have been working to catch up on various freight car projects...while not all Frisco, working to fill out some operating session cars for the layout. These are both Accurail or Walthers low-end cars. The decal sets are from K4 decals. The ATSF car is not really prototypical, missing door stops fro the BX-2 and some other details, but a good stand-in. The DM&N car sort of fits the ORER, but I could not find a photo of the 32xx cars. Oh well, who's to say it's not a good stand in...at least the lettering suits the 1920s. I have also been enjoying going through some old Ulrich, Ambroid, and Central Valley cars/kits to see if they can be made serviceable. Some of these are metal cars with substantial weight. The GM&G car is probably a bit early, even for a 1905-1910 ops session, but plenty cool. I thought for sure that @Jim James would enjoy that one (Central Valley Kit). As you can see, many of these were $5-$10 at local train shows. Lots of fun for a few bucks. I have an Ulrich gondola for the ~1940s if you would like to have one. Just drop me a note. There are a few more resin cars to finish up in this mess, including Frisco boxcars and wood coal gondolas. Maybe catching up on these is a good resolution for the New Year! Take Care All, -Bob T.
Hopefully the weather holds and you can get a building put together before it gets too hot. Have you thought about a mini split for climate control out there?
Oh yes. One day in five above 100 degrees last year. Good insulation and a mini-split for sure. I have both for the garage workshop. Bob T.
Hey Frisco Nation, As I prepare for the out building build this spring, I am planning to downsize the Crawford and Cherokee as stowed in the garage. I am considering something like this remaining for the time being, as I begin to use the balance of the benchwork for the new build. I can fold over, detach and turn sideways, the staging yard and MoPac interchange this way and get one of two cars in the garage easily. This still gives me a switching layout with my favorite part, Weir City, KS. This is somewhat prototypical, as the mine on the branch with the brick yard did exist, although spread East-West verses inline. Input is welcome. I will just have to reuse and modify two sections and will use the rest for the lower level of the newly build, current town of Cherokee sections. Bob T.
Updated version with the mine section represented as Iain Rice's "Buda W. Va." coal mining town from Model Railroad Planning 2019. Mine section could be built as a "cameo" layout with a staging yard. I labeled as "J.W. Robertson Coal Mine" from the Weir City map. Bob T.
