Merry Christmas! I mean... Its WPF time! 2-3-4 Nov. 2007

[okrlroads]

UP2CSX and jbaakko
I can't complain, got both of these units pretty cheap. But if I had paid anything close to original MSRP, it would be disapointing. Painted all hand rails and horn to get rid of plastic look. Really shows in a side by side photo!

 

[Steve B]

having some fun driving on the Thomas layout

this was a very well detailed layout but the flash spoils the picture

 

[jbaakko]

Josh,
You missed my point. I never claimed that the Santa Fe uses white as their contrasting safety color. As you say, it was mostly yellow, but they did paint the handrails a contrasting safety color. I said it was white on the UP. My point was why can't manufacturers get these right on their models, especially expensive models? It galls me to have to paint handrails and grab irons the correct contrasting safey color and not mess up the exisiting paint job, especially since it seems that manufacturers use colors that are all but impossible to match if you slip up.

Ahh, I just assumed that was what you meant by the "you lost me on that one" comment.

Santa Fe used Yellow, the same yellow as the Bonnets, so it only contrasts on the War Bonnets, not the Blue Bonnets, ect...

I do hate how they spend all the time & money to get stuff right, yet gove us generic plows & poorly painted handrails.

 

[Smoke]

Now that is cool, is it going to be sold, or kept?

It's going to be sold. It's N scale so I have no use for it.

-Smoke

 

[UP2CSX]

Steve, I think that would be a good idea here too. Too many times, the railroad police are off in their stations not out in the yards, which is one of the reasons why we have so many cars covered with graffiti.

Here are are a few from my current work. This is UP 105, a P2K GP-7 I've just finished detailing. It's early morning and the 105 is doing a pickup of a grain hopper from the feed mill:

Al's General Store is doing some early morning business with hunters now that deer season is here. Beer and ammo are his early morning staples. Al's just had the road past his place freshly coated with tar and gravel because he's putting in a trailer park down the way:

I haven't decided about weathering the GP-7 yet. It looks so good in the factory paint that I almost hate to do anything to it but I know I will. Maybe just a little light weathering like she's been on the road a few years. The sound on this engine is really something. I had it idling while I was taking the pictures and it sounded just like being back at Taylor yard in the 60's when all the 567's idled in what seemed like unison. This is my first sound engine and now I'm ruined. I need more sound cards! Once again, my MR budget is going to be shot.

 

[UP2CSX]

Josh, I see what you were commenting on now that I've seen the photos from OK. Shows what happens when I don't read carefully. Isn't it odd that one company would take the time to paint handrails a contrasting color that wasn't right while Wathers paints them wrong when they could have done them right?

John, I forgot to comment on your cut. It is looking really good and I'm sure will have just the right grimy look that British railroads seemed to have passing through cuts in neighborhoods like that.

Jeffrey, you need a nose hearld. Too much white that needs to be broken up by a colorful nose herald. Maybe even a stripe that arries the body color around the nose?

Steve, I probably missed it the first time but is that CP Rail module N or HO? And why is that so many modelers think telegraph pole insulators are painted white? Great shot of those kids. It really shows what this hobby is about, even if it is Thomas and not the Flying Scotsman.

 

[kjd]

I don't have any photos but can offer thoughts on planting model trees. I used to work as an architectureal model maker and one week had to make 10,000 trees for a model that ended up having about 30,000 trees on it. Granted the trees were little but each one still needed to get poked into place. When planting them, don't put them by themselves. Plant them in clumps of 3 or 4 and fill in between them with singles and pairs. When they are evenly spaced they just sort of disappear. If anyone wants to see the model with 30,000 trees it is in Roslyn, WA at the Suncadia developement.

 

[tompm]

Jim
Cool scene with the alley running!

R.Wilson
Nice looking loco!

Rex
What a line-up of steamers!

John
Great progress shots!

Corey
Great looking buildings and layout shots!

Jeffery
Looking good!

Steve
Great shots from the show! Cool videos!

Jim
Cool looking UP loco!

If all goes well I should have something on Sunday. I just finished weathering some boxcars and I am just waiting for the Dullcoat to dry.

 

[RexHea]

Wow! This has been a good weekend for the wpf and one more day to go. Thanks guys, I have really enjoyed it so far.

 

[Selector]

Rex, I was blown away with your images....WOW!!!! I wish I could have a set-up like that. Holy smokin'....! I have the same Challenger and will soon have a Y6b meself.

Here, a confident young female railfan sits in awe trackside as a Pennsy J1 thunders out of the west portal at Seneca Falls shoving a cut of hoppers...leased, of course.

 

[Steve B]

Jim The CP was N scale, up front only one line down a valley, at the rear was a large yard.
John The backscene i got off ebay came from this seller, item number 140175261789, they are 14ft long by 13" tall and very realistic, i got the countryside one and one showing Didcot power station in full length, very nice, just got to mount it. I used 1/8" MDF last time and glued it down with very well spread out PVA glue, but you have to get all the excess off or the paper may deform.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 

[OldGettysk]

Very nice photos and work guys , Rex steam at it's best , Steve looks like your kids were having a ball with Thomas ,

 

[UP2CSX]

Steve, I thought that looked like N scale but it's hard to tell nowadays. Rex, my 4-8-4 is still waiting for a companion. Jeffrey, I don't know what you're using for a heat sink for the Radio Shack bulbs but I have a few I use for building lighting ad they get so hot I can't touch them.

A QSI sound question for anyone who may know the answer. My Walhers GP-7 with the QSI 1a sound card has decided that the squealing flange sound should come out like a series of bleeps. It's F7 on the controller. It still works fine doing the air bleed-off sound in neutral but just started this beeping sound for squealing flanges. I've reset the engine to factory defaults but no change. Anybody got a clue?

 

[Zephyr]

I was able to complete 3 Rock Lobster projects - 2 AC4400s (one Athearn and one Kato) and a Walthers GP9.

 

[Steve B]

Zephyr, stunning paint jobs, they look fantastic

 

[RexHea]

Jim, we will just have to build some tracks from here to Prattville. Maybe we can use the old GM&O roadbed. I think it ran from here through Prattville on the way to Monkeytown.

Crandel/Paul, thank you. Steam has so much history, so much fun to watch all the gizmos turning and churning. I like my diesels, but steam is KING . Crandel, the first Y6b (at $249) lost the speakers. They immediately replaced it (3days) and I returned the first one to the service center. Well, they sent it back to me by mistake with new speakers. When I called, they gave me a deal for it at $199. Ain't it sweet!

Zephyr: Beautiful paint scheme.

 

[Smoke]

I was able to complete 3 Rock Lobster projects - 2 AC4400s (one Athearn and one Kato) and a Walthers GP9.

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/127/img1014ly4.jpg[/img ][/QUOTE]

soooo............... which rock lobster are you going to be running next week?

Great work everyone so far, I haven't had time to get some pics of my CSX SD80MAC yet, but I will.

-Smoke

 

[rhoward]

Not really anything to show from my layout this week, but I have a couple from the Syracuse Train Fair I went to yesterday that you folks might enjoy. A couple of shots from an n scale modular layout:

I think that this one shows what the hobby should really be about!

Road to and from the show on:

Do I look like I am enjoying the ride?

How could I help when I was hanging out with this guy!

A fellow train nut and Musician.....

To see more of my photos from the excursion, go here: http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/slow_rr/SyracuseTrainShow07/

 

[BNSF dude]

Jim, UP DID have white ends on their Older generation locomotives! Anyways, Saturday I went down to the ole' grind, (LLRC) and we re-layed some sections of terrible track and re ballasted the area with a nice mic of grey and black, (Thanks for the tips guys!). It looks beautiful now and all we have left for maintenece is pulling a switch or two as some track has lifted on them also... Here we go again. The 32x8 layout is NEVER to be moved again.