Wpf 11/18-11/24


I went to a small railway exhibition this weekend and took a few pics/videos of the better layouts.

CroydonExpo1.jpg


CroydonExpo2.jpg


These two are from the one layout, which was quite good but had some major power issues early in the day and they couldn't seem to get it running again before we left the exhibition.


CroydonExpo3.jpg


A yard layout with some really nice weathering. The flash kind of ruined the pic though, and sadly the ones that I took after turning it off were all blurry.


CroydonExpo4.jpg


Three different variants of Aussie F-unit clones I've mentioned before in the back, a lash-up of two EL class diesels towards the front and some other diesels inbetween that I've forgotten the names of.


CroydonExpo5.jpg


The JMRI display for the layout above. The layout was run by two brothers and their dad, who built it in their garage. It consists of a single track mainline with a huge staging yard in the back, a reversing loop with another mini staging yard (which sadly wasn't working yet, they had converted the layout to DCC only weeks beforehand), an industrial yard in the front and a passing loop. The layout + owners were fun and my brother & I chatted to the dad (who was just "the technical guy", the sons did all the driving) at length about their trains and the layout in general, and they were more than eager to bring out a particular train if asked. There were several mishaps and things going on along the way as well, which made things all the more interesting. :) You can see a near accident towards the end of the below video (HD viewable at Youtube). It's mostly a compilation of their layout, with the first two segments being from the layout that was having power issues. You'll need to excuse my horrible camera work, as these were recorded at high zoom with a cheap camera and the closet thing to a tripod was resting my arms on a safety railing that kept moving as people leaned on it.

[YOUTUBE]FLUX6nFwbBY[/YOUTUBE]
 
Good stuff all around this week guys.

Pete thanks for your addition. Great to see what you folks down there do. I really like those double ended F units. Are they kitbashed or something only available in Australia?
 
Pete thanks for your addition. Great to see what you folks down there do. I really like those double ended F units. Are they kitbashed or something only available in Australia?
A lot of stuff is kitbashed, but there are also companies here that produce shells in bulk. They'll build a prototype model, send it over to China to get casts made and then the shells are sent back and stuck onto readily available mechanisms, usually Atlas or Kato. Going that route the range is of course very sparse, even in HO, and also expensive. A handy kit builder could easily make their own A & B class locos (the double-ended ones you mentioned) by cutting some F-units in half and glueing the ends together! :D I've seen S class locos (the longer single cab one) on eBay that are just repainted E9 models.
 
Jay,

Nice pictures! Went back and did a double take as I scrolled down, as I realized those EMD E & F unit look alikes weren't in the Erie RR scheme, like around New York City, in the late 50's.

Who makes the model of The Ghan? Is it scratchbuilt/kitbash? My brother lives in Alice Springs?

Thanks,
Otis
Otis
 
A company named Austrains made them using the method I detailed previously. Well, they don't come out and say it but really, they aren't about to go making their own mechanisms when the likes of Atlas and Kato have done the work for them.

They don't do them anymore and I don't know if anyone else made them (doesn't seem like it), but they're just an NR class painted red and with a decal on the side. I doubt it'd be overly hard to replicate. :)

As for the bulldog nose clones, to me the ones in Victorian Railways livery (dark blue & yellow) look a lot like the similarly coloured C&O livery.
 
Jay,

Nice pictures! Went back and did a double take as I scrolled down, as I realized those EMD E & F unit look alikes weren't in the Erie RR scheme, like around New York City, in the late 50's.

Who makes the model of The Ghan? Is it scratchbuilt/kitbash? My brother lives in Alice Springs?

Thanks,
Otis
Otis

those Erie lookalikes are the V/line passenger scheme. From afar it does look like Erie. And im not sure about the ghan passenger cars, but I think it was auscision who made the diesels. I want one of the Ghan diesels so bad but they are very hard to come by and get pricey when you do find one.


Didn't even realize trinity responded. LOL Disregard my info.
 
My GN F7 A & C units + decoders arrived as I was leaving for work today. :) Ducked back inside to get a few tools and took them to work with me, then installed the decoders during quiet periods. :D

GN-F7s.jpg


The B unit is still on its way. Horrible, horrible couplers attached to the frame on the front, just like the Athearn F45s, yet somehow worse. Some spare Micro Trains ones soon fixed that problem. They perform well, great crawling speed, but boy are they screamers! A lot of motor noise, but hopefully that dies down as they break in.
 
My two favorite things. Fire trucks and trains. Great shot and excellent work

Thanks Photogdad.


Quite=Selector
I also like the our 'start-off' photo, Gary. Nice and low, good lighting, and a nice model.
__________________
Crandell

Thanks Crandell.
 
As I'm on a roll :)
Here are some more recent paintings.
DSC03905-1.jpg

(Original photo by Kevin Burkholder)

DSC03892-1.jpg

6" x 6".
Acrylic on canvas.
 
As I'm on a roll :)
Here are some more recent paintings.
DSC03905-1.jpg

(Original photo by Kevin Burkholder)

DSC03892-1.jpg

6" x 6".
Acrylic on canvas.

You're quite the talented fellow. Your paintings are great! That train could easily be one of the CP/DM&E trains pulling ethanol and soybean oil behind my house.
 



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