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  1. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    Coats of many colours.... (The front half and back half are not actually attached yet which is why it appears a little wonky...)
  2. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    My workbench is looking a bit like the results of a tornado through Harry's Truck & Electric right now... The job lot of loco parts I picked up a few weeks ago yielded two Proto 2000 GP30 shells and the long held ambition to build the SD30 has begun: The Rio Grande shell did not die in vain...
  3. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    I found a nice free online graphic for the Eagle: Still need to add car detail decals but all the ones I have are white so will have to wait. I have rescued another victim of bad paint jobs though: Atlas GP7 somewhere underneath the half dozen layers of caked on poster paint. It's a good...
  4. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    It's been a rolling stock weekend with a strong Gondola theme, after all, what's the point in restoring, rebuilding and repainting all these locos if they have nothing to haul... First up, three ebay acquisitions, purchased cheaply as seen, all with custom weathering jobs to a very good...
  5. jmupton2000

    Model Railroader subscribers?

    Overseas subscriptions issues basically. Here in the UK we started wondering where our Winter 2025 issue was (at the same time, MR and Trains subscribers were asking the same question) as the paper copies were on what few newsstands that stocked them but nothing on our door mats. Of course we...
  6. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    Time is something I don't have at the moment, progress on the Atlas SD40 has at least reached the paint stage though: So I am using what small snippets of time I can find on little projects, such as this boxcar: Some fifteen or twenty years ago I acquired cheaply a big job lot of HO near...
  7. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    I was tempted to keep it in RF&P colours but unfortunately, all the RF&P GP40's did not have dynamic brakes wheras the old Atlas shell has them by default.
  8. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    My weekend project is reviving this cheap old Atlas GP40: As it arrived, it was tatty, grubby and I suspect the seller was on the verge of binning it before chancing it on ebay. Parts from the undecorated Con-Cor GP40 that had got smashed in the mail are being used in the restoration efforts...
  9. jmupton2000

    Model Railroader subscribers?

    I subscribe to MRC as it is the only realistic way to obtain it here in the UK. It is a million miles better than MR which is thin and seems to be getting thinner with each issue. Trains has also shrunk to little more than a pamphlet under Firecrown whereas it's rival Railfan & Railroad is...
  10. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    The patient is unpacked: Cosmetically at least, it looks okay, just the front pilot missing and that bell needs replacing: There is indeed a motor in the tender: And another motor in the main body: This I presume is the boiler weight: And there is a number of bits: Can't work out how...
  11. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    A weekend project was a upgraded undecorated Athearn 40ft box car for the CD&LR: There were supposed to be two but the other one got ransacked for parts for other box cars. The body may wind up distressed and grounded somewhere in due course. The AS-616 is effectively finished: Still missing...
  12. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    The battered old S4, repaired, patched and with replacement handrails fitted has returned to the rails after what I suspect is decades of rough storage: The AS-616 is in paint: But some minor damage is being attended to on the frame:
  13. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    A concentrated effort on the last two days of my annual leave saw the FM Trainmaster completed: The AS-616 is in primer: Another wrecked Atlas Alco S4 has also taken its place on the workbench. Advertised as a non runner, it only needed wheels and pickups cleaning and it runs again. The...
  14. jmupton2000

    Running Bear's July 2026 Coffee Shop

    Getting into the spirit of things... My fictional shortline is running some specials today.
  15. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    Many moons ago I was tackling a Proto 2000 E8 Espee #6018 (the only one they had as it happens) and made a colossal mess of the front end. The loco was put aside and then lost somewhere in the great house move. Well, a couple of evenings ago, it unexpectedly turned up so I decided to get on...
  16. jmupton2000

    Running Bear's June 2026 Coffee Shop

    The UK is in a very media frenzy friendly heatwave at the moment. Not really bothering me too much though. I am glad the forum is back up, UK time it seemed to be down from about 1 pm Thursday until sometime this morning but overall, the Internet has been noticeable slower across the net...
  17. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    CD&LR S4 #250 has received its flags and is now on the roster. It was originally intended to be CD&LR #42 in a revised livery for the short line but I thought this was more appropriate for now. The AS-616 has been dismantled and cleaned. As soon as I track down replacement hood top number...
  18. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    A bit more digging around reveals that the T&NO batch with the exception of 180 survived well into 1967 and at least one into 1968, all be it now SP owned with the same numbers so bloody nose livery, although not photographically proved, is a possibility. 181 it is...
  19. jmupton2000

    John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...

    Attention now turns to the body shell: Now, my plan was to finish it in scarlett/grey bloody nose colours BUT this is where it gets complicated (Hey, its Espee, since when did any of their supposedly identical locomotive ever look identical!!) as the shell is for one without dynamic brakes...
  20. jmupton2000

    Running Bear's June 2026 Coffee Shop

    Is it just me or are we having slow running and database errors again? Someone get the mouse in the server some fresh coffee so he can peddle faster...




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