I've been kicking myself in the pants for a while for not having a layout for my exquisite HO collection. I have a huge christmas lionel lionel layout for those who remember that project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsnTUTvCmqU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsnTUTvCmqU)
From as far back as I can remember I've drawn all sorts of plans for layouts that some will never see the light of day or the spacing and measurements were way off.
I've designed double track thinking that would be my favorite route to go but that limited the things I could do in space(I would need twice more room just for routing traffic) I've designed and built layouts with 4%+ grades that an IHC mogul would simply slip hauling it's own butt up the grade.
So I sat down and made a list of bare essentials that I want in a first layout
-mountains with grades not too steep(2%)
-a triple over and under track plan with bridges(a simple over and under looked way too cliche for my tastes)
-one or two sidings for 2 train operation
-22 inch radius MINIMUM on the mainline(it's bad enough I'm diving into brass but I want to run them too I always modify my steam to make it run within my parameters)
-bridges, tunnels and narrow gauge
-giving a sort of freelance rio grande/colorado look
and I added them up and thought of a layout that my father built when I was living in new hampshire, he had taken a plan from a layout planning book and altered it to include ideas and inspiration from John Allen's, Malcolm Furlow and John Olsen and squeeze it all into a 5 x 10 foot layout with tall mountains and narrow gauge, with bridges tunnels and just a maze of track but it all came together.
The layout was only partially built and when I was 5 years of age my mother decided she wanted to move to connecticut(big mistake in my opinion) and the house was sold and my father didn't build the layout so it could be moved so he salvaged what he could off of it and left it behind, I only saw it once a year later and the family that lived there hadn't done a thing to it, it just sat there collecting dust empty and vacant, i don't know whats become of it but I've decided to rebuild it to my specifications and make it so it can be moved.
he had made it so it was a 21 inch minimum radius so I went with 22 inches took out a reverse loop and made that one loop go straight off to a possible extension, adjusted the track grade and switching arrangement. Did some measurements and made a plan:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/CIMG3814.jpg)
basically a rough draft, had to be built longer to 10 feet
so i started construction and built 2 5x5 foot pieces from wood used to ship corvette hoods. The wood was perfect for it and most of all "FREE"
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/CIMG3815.jpg)
then I started cutting out pieces for the trackwork out of half inch plywood and began to construct the basic foundation for the layout at the same time making it so it can separate
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/CIMG3817.jpg)
I figure I wanted some original looking bridges and I was short on cash to buy an atlas through truss(was saving for a brass DRGW Mountain) so I decided to scratchbash a bridge to look just like the atlas one
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/CIMG3818.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/CIMG3819.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/CIMG3820.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/CIMG3823.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/CIMG3824.jpg)
I put it on the layout to see how it'd look and I liked it:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/CIMG3825.jpg)
I worked away and started laying track and figured out the bridge wasn't wide enough so I ended up buying a an atlas through truss anyways, I'll use the smaller one for narrow gauge.
and so I laid the track all the way around eventually laying the golden spike on a siding
and after one week I got this far:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0006.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0004.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0005.jpg)
the first run around with a spectrum 2-8-0 proved my track flawless which never happened to me before, but I guess taking my time laying track has helped out
I shall post more as progress continues
opinion and advice welcome
-Ryan
that mountain piece you see in the last 3 photos is actually a piece salvaged from the original layout
Very nice, can't wait to see the finished product. :)
When I got my layout going I was very "un-planning" all I did was had a 4x8 sheet of plywood, green paint, green sawdust, and plastered on the hills and such. Mine is not the best. I was and still am a newbie so your layout I am quite jealous of. Good luck :)
Ryan,
First, thanks for sharing! I wish more folks would post pics and stories about their layouts. I appreciate it.
I like your track plan. While split in two so you can move it (good idea), it still looks large. Will it be difficult to move to it's permanent location. Will that be far away?
I didn't see any track feeders. Just curious about it. Perhaps, like me, you first laid the track to make sure it works, and added track feeders later, in convenient locations, so scenery will hide the connections.
In fact, I've become a little obsessed with feeders. I still add feeders, occasionally, in easy to reach locations, you know, just in case.
Hope you plan to post a video of one of your brass projects running around the layout. Again, thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Jonathan
Rye-
Nice piece of work! And you're making very rapid progress, too. I, for one, am impressed.
I recognize the basic form of your layout. I almost used the same concept for the layout I built for my grandson but ended up with something a little more conventional: double-track mainline with a little yard, a small engine terminal, the obligatory mountain with tunnel and waterfall, several sidings and spurs, and a town above one end making it easy to look like there's a major through terminal below. If that sounds like a lot of track on a 4x8, it is, but he loves it and he can use it for a switching puzzle, to just run trains, or to operate with set-outs and pick-ups and so on. At 11 he's not deeply into operations yet, but he's starting to check that out. It's quite interesting to watch how his use/play with the layout changes as he gets older and less entertained by trains going around and around.
-- D
Like the others, I have to say this is a nice-looking layout in progress. Those bridges look hefty enough for the big power you plan to run.
The combination of the layout as you have it and the power you hope to run on it suggest to me not the Rio Grande as such, but some real heavy-duty shortlines in Utah, specifically the Utah Railway and the Bingham and Garfield.
The Utah hauled coal, and in the steam age ran with 2-10-2s and 2-8-8-0s of UP design. The Bingham and Grarfield was owned by a copper company, and its power included 9 0-8-8-0s. This was in addition to the copper mining road power, which included scads of 0-4-0s and 0-6-0s, plus 2-8-0s and the like on the B&G itself.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/USHS_Shipler&CISOBOX1=Bingham+and+Garfield+Railway
http://www.utahrails.net/bingham/kcc-steam.php
The B&G was replaced by an unnamed electric railroad in the late 1940s.
Below is a link to some discussion on this road--and the interesting item that they ordered a pair of 2-8-8-4s that were to be an add-on to the B&O EM-1 order, but never actually got them.
http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31701&p=160815&hilit=bingham+%26+garfield#p160815
Material on the Utah Railway; a lot in that first little link (including a roster and employee timetables), have fun exploring:
http://www.utahrails.net/utah-ry/utah-ry-index.php
http://www.carbon-utgenweb.com/railroad.html
http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/USHS_Shipler&CISOBOX1=Utah+Railroad+Company
i like your track plan. great use of spcae, i am assuming this is a 4x8?
keep up the good work.
Quote from: jward on August 17, 2011, 09:27:59 PM
i like your track plan. great use of spcae, i am assuming this is a 4x8?
keep up the good work.
it's a 5x10 for generous curves and more space
and thanks to all with the input,
J3a: it isn't exactly to prototype, since i do ALOT of freelance but I will have DRGW brass steam chugging around those steep cliffs, but didn't the DRGW have routes through Utah?
There is a project floating in my head to convert my spectrum 2-6-6-2 to look more DRGW-ish giving it some L-131 characteristics(even tho 131's had a bigger wheelbase)
Jonny-> the track feeders need to be done soon for sure, every three or so feet , I won't have any blocks so feeders should be relatively easy
and now for some of todays progress:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0013.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0007.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0008.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0009.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0010.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0011.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0012.jpg)
some of my inspiration to do this project along with what my dad has done before is Tom White's Yuba Sub river pass, I've seen a lot doing some of my DRGW research, would like to be able to email him or talk to him sometime because some of the things he's done is amazing:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/DSC03891-1.jpg)
now the area where a trestle is going in is where I left off:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0015.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0014.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0016.jpg)
you can make out where I'm putting a river in to flow underneath the trestle and on the other side of the tracks is going to be another cliffside mountain look, it'll look alot like the royal gorge on the DRGW Route:
(http://ghostdepot.com/rg/images/royal%20gorge%20route/royal%20gorge%20freight%20train%203614%20locomotive%201930%20oppc.jpg)
(http://ghostdepot.com/rg/images/royal%20gorge%20route/royal%20gorge%201705%20locomotive%20passenger%20train%201931%20closeup%20prn.jpg)
(http://ghostdepot.com/rg/images/royal%20gorge%20route/royal%20gorge%20passenger%20train%201704%20locomotive%20oppc.jpg)
ALSO for those interested in my locomotive endeavors, monday, I had acquired enough funding to purchase a DRGW M-78 mountain, and its on its way here as we speak via UPS from Caboose Hobbies in Denver. I am so glad to be able to get one of the locomotives I've been drooling to have for a while:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMG_9516.jpg)
^there she is, she going to have her maiden voyage on this layout I'm building now, I am hoping she likes 22 inch radius or she'll have to experience a big overhaul in the Rye Guy Shops where she'll be renumbered to '51' and given the road specialty(tender booster truck, reefer roof hatches, etc.)
I loved being able to purchase that now I'm working towards an M-75 I've been eyeballing for a few months from a particular seller
will post more as I continue, thanks guys!
-Rye Guy
Today was kind of slow due to some cleaning I didn't want to do but I figure I'd do something small, so why not put the trestle in?
Here's the original trestle piece from the original layout that I've kept laying around for 16-17 years, so since I didn't want to go through the time to make stripwood I decided why not just use the old bridge since it's already falling apart on me
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0018.jpg)
So I took it apart tie by tie and each individual track spike, sanded the ties down(there was some gross green paint on some of them, don't ask; you tell me what a 4 year old me is doing with a bottle of spray paint ??? )
and so I sectioned off the track and did measurements, and ironic, I didn't have to realigned the trestle beams I only had to cut them a quarter inch shorter.
Then tie by tie I started relaying the trestle plucking the atlas ties out as I go and super glues works wonders gluing the ties down, spiking the track and then gluing the spikes for additional reinforcement
and then the final piece installed:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0019.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0020.jpg)
next step I'm working on is getting the trestle pieces underneath fitted and glued in:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0022.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0021.jpg)
impressive. i especially like to see how somebody else is essentially handlaying the track on that trestle. does the super glue really provide that much reinforcement? i've never thought of using it but might try it out on switchpoints.
It generally depends on what super glue you're using and the surface, super glue works wonders on scuffed up applications(sandpapered/filed) so it has something to grab on to and reinforce itself. I do not recommend the use out the gel super glue as its hit or miss when it comes to sticking power and it's a different kind of messy. For the bridge I had to be generous with the amount used, so far i used half of a 0.11 oz tube on the bridge making sure when I glued the ties down and the spikes down I give it a little soaking to give the wood a better consistency almost like turning it into plastic. Gluing down the spikes makes it stick to the rail as well as the wood for more reinforcement.
the original bridge track spikes had a mind of their own for being constructed in 1990, spikes popped out and the bridge would have basically disintegrated had I not preserved it all these years and rebuilt it.
George Selios of Fine Scale Miniatures, and the Franklin & South Manchester uses super glue on most of his buildings, one could say it speeds up modeling time by a third the time it would take to build a single corner of a structure
It dries clear and blends in with a slight shine(unless you use too much then it goops and gives off a white haze.
I would handlay track if not for the time consumption, and money involved(most of my track came free, so can't beat that)
My father came down last night to look at his idea re-fruit itself and he loved it-->> now to get him back into the hobby now that one of his vettes is working ;D
more progress photos:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0024.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0025.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0026.jpg)
I'm using Portland cement, it's my favorite to use since it doesn't emit dust like my experience with plaster...can never get plaster to set right... but i have more cement than plaster and I'm not worried about the weight, I just want it to be durable
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0027.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0028.jpg)
if i may ask how did you come up with the track plan? it resembles a single track version of the granite gorge & northern, from the atlas plan books with modifications. how steep are the grades?
Quote from: jward on August 20, 2011, 09:00:36 AM
if i may ask how did you come up with the track plan? it resembles a single track version of the granite gorge & northern, from the atlas plan books with modifications. how steep are the grades?
i think the original came from one of the atlas books and was modified extensively(i haven't even put the narrow gauge in yet D: )
the curves are 22 inches and the grade is no more than 2% and my tallest locomotive just makes under the bridge by about 2mm which isn't much clearance but I won't be using any real tall equipment anyways. I love this layout due to the fact that when you look at it from 6 different angles it looks like entirely different part of the line, it would be hard to get bored of this track plan and it's not too short tracking so the train takes a while to get to a same point again and it's not too long either for continuous run with about 7 planned bridges and a few tunnels
the elevations and terrain is alot different from the original plan and it's topography
i really like the way it's turning out. it reminds me of the layout my dad and i built in about 1976 on a 4x10 platform with 18" r curves. we'd based it on a plan in one of the kalmbach layout plan books no longer in print. we had 3 passing tracks, a reverse loop, several industries and 2 bridges, 7" and 10" high respectively. the only drawback was the 6% grade up the one side of the mountain (the other side was 3-4%).....
that layout was the provong ground for alot of ideas which later surfaced on my dad's wvc&p railway, which he started building 2 years later. we'd discovered what worked well, and what didn't.
mountain railroads are FUN!!.......
6% grade?!?! yikes D: though my shays and climaxes wouldn't have too much of a problem tackling that
I use a long heavyweight coach with crazy overhang to decide my mountain wall clearances, don't wanna have a 2-6-6-2 scrape the sides and stuff.
My Brass mountain will be coming in the mail tomorrow and judging from a message sent to me by an avid DRGW brass collector the engine is going to need a new chassis underneath, and I was toying with the thought of buying a mantua mikado chassis and modifying that since it has 63 inch drivers, and I have a helix humper motor installation for one, so it'lll pull a house if I go that route
just an update in pictures, didn't work too much on the layout lately since I got the brass locomotive in the mail so I've been working diligently on that project:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0030.jpg)(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0031.jpg)(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0032.jpg)(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0033.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0047.jpg)
^just a rough put together of parts to see how it would look, although I have a problem with trying to put a lead truck on the front
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0048.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0049.jpg)
^isolating the frame for the brass boiler using sheet styrene
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0055.jpg)(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0056.jpg)(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0057.jpg)(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0058.jpg)
^pictures of it running on the layout
The original chassis wouldn't take anything less than 30 inch radius, that being said, it was time to shop it, I didn't spend $400 on a locomotive of a certain prototype that I wanted just to collect dust on a shelf somewhere I want this puppy to run and haul things, and I figure I'd make a learning experience from this project.
Basically I used an athearn chassis, built by samhongsa for the rebuild, modified it, isolated the cylinders and the valve gear hangers, and put the rods on and I have to say what a basket case that was trying to put all of the valve gear on, I don't know how those koreans do it. But I managed and the chassis ran like a swiss watch the first time out.
then I cut out space needed under the boiler to fit the chassis, isolated the cahssis to prevent shorts and wired everything together. Theres a hole under the doghouse on the tender that was perfect for the speaker and it's loud enough and enjoyable. Put my trademark brass franklin booster on the front tender truck as per "freelance" prototype ;)
Ran it around a few times the only thing that irks me is the engine's front driving wheel likes to jump the track. It was an interesting try for a project but I'm not satisfied with how the flanges on the drive wheels vs. the sprung-ness work on my nearly great track work.
So the next idea is to take it all apart and this time use and mantua mikado chassis instead, less of a headache and more run-fun keeping it on the rails and making it virtually bulletproof. I have the basic chassis and a helix humper remotoring kit BUT the lot of chassis I bought didn't come with mikado connecting rods for the drivers, so that will need to come first
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0051.jpg)
^the lot of chassis, I bought
any ideas, helpful hints and/or suggestions welcome
Do you have a Youtube account????? This is very impressive!!! I would love to see video updates!!
yes I do! I just happened to shoot some footage of my new engine going around the layout, I just haven't had time to post it but here's a video of both the engine and the new layout:
http://youtu.be/Jy8-J6u2Vsc
:)
another update:
a new addition to the mountain railway roster: a DRGW M-75 4-8-2 3 cylinder locomotive by Samhongsa
(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/305850_2163594324408_1083090179_32102610_31779_n.jpg)
I heard from a reliable source that this engine would take a tighter radius, so I'll just have to wait and see if it can take 22
well the Key Imports 4-8-2 came in today and it runs like a swiss watch despite a tiny bit of binding here and there, and I have to lube it some. But it runs quiet and smooth.
here's a video of the dual eccentric rod feature:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2wPr8T4y3A
rye-
How did you get all of those locomotive parts to stick to the ceiling?
-- D
the ceiling? I don't know but I use alot of superglue in the application onto locomotives as well as any other model building I do, it saves alot of time and fustration
I'm fortunate to have the M-75 turn a 22 inch radius so no chassis mods necessary so I stripped off the paint and took some detail off and added some missing details, and I took the extra boiler front that came with engine and put it on that varney boiler you've all seen amongst my photos. Those brass details can cost such a pretty penny, marker lights set me back $4 for one pair! I took the elesco FWH off because I thought it made the M-75 look ugly, so I'll put the elesco in my parts for when I decide to do another New Haven Steamer for the Club layout.
Added number boards and marker lights to the M-75, my favorite characteristics of those engine and then painted it black. Went over the smokebox with some dark greyish, took me an hour getting around the details and giving it some touch up for crisp paint detail.
Heres some photos:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0117.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0116.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0119.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0120.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0121.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0123.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0124.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0125.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0126.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0127.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0128.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMAG0129.jpg)
Hey guys I'm back, will post more later but here's a sneak peek at a current project:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/DP-2431.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/DP-2432.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/ryeguyisme/IMGP0800.jpg)
:o WOW!!! i wish i had space to make A layout! what you have here is awesome. keep it up!
H-man
Much Thanks!!1 I've been working at Home Depot alot so I've had much time to work on the layout unfortunately :/
But some update Pictures:
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/423942_2998657760472_1083090179_32521853_2075854333_n.jpg)
(http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/427707_3019249875262_1083090179_32529099_1879154015_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/417341_3019253275347_1083090179_32529100_268572802_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/421284_3046040105001_1083090179_32538966_2134385783_n.jpg)
(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/431379_3089674275828_1083090179_32559727_1847338373_n.jpg)
(http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/428138_3089670875743_1083090179_32559726_1481757864_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/418987_3089660555485_1083090179_32559724_687249476_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/421421_3089656795391_1083090179_32559723_998726126_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/417297_3089654915344_1083090179_32559722_2145430795_n.jpg)
(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/429943_3089653195301_1083090179_32559721_35882211_n.jpg)
as always constructive criticism and others ideas are always welcome :)
Are those coaches on the siding Athearn Heavyweights? And I like what you did with the 2-8-0. It looks good with the high headlight.
Quote from: MilwaukeeRoadfan261 on March 26, 2012, 06:43:31 PM
Are those coaches on the siding Athearn Heavyweights? And I like what you did with the 2-8-0. It looks good with the high headlight.
I tried modeling the 2-8-0 much like DRGW's C-48's
the heavyweight are old handbuilt Walthers Kits
Okay, did not know Walthers made kits at one point so thank you for the info. And I like 2-8-0's that look different from the "catalog standard" 2-8-0. I myself want to make a bachmann 2-8-0 look like a Duluth, Mesabi & Iron Range K Class 2-8-0.
Quote from: MilwaukeeRoadfan261 on March 26, 2012, 11:00:19 PM
Okay, did not know Walthers made kits at one point so thank you for the info. And I like 2-8-0's that look different from the "catalog standard" 2-8-0. I myself want to make a bachmann 2-8-0 look like a Duluth, Mesabi & Iron Range K Class 2-8-0.
(http://home.comcast.net/~lynn_n_milt/loco_images/K_1215s.jpg)
^This guy certainly made quite a model from the Spectrum 2-8-0
UPDATE:
(http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/333482_3704098796057_178602857_o.jpg)
New Key M-75 arrived in the mail today, really excited about that. Going to be converting it to a Worthington FWH style and knocking off the elesco up top, it's a good thing I need elesco's for my New Haven prototype engines for the club layout(converting a PRR K-4 into an NH 4-6-2)
I also have layout pictures to take to update on that progress, stay tuned!
Here's an update:
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Well I rebuilt the second M-75 and filled it to the max with lead weights. during the paint process the original restored engine I had took a dive to the floor due to carelessness. But instead of beng upset it popped the boiler front off which I was originally wanting to do but gave up trying. So besides a couple parts needing rebending(easy for me) the other boiler face that came with the engine i plopped right on. Now I have my first double header matchup.
And as my guilty pleasure oh so needs another one I have this engine on layaway, I fell in LOVE with the paint job:
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my wallet is really taking a heck of a beating with these guys, but they're such wonderful runners and pull so well I cant help but have a fleet of them. The Rio Grande had 10, 5 with elesco FWH, 5 with worthington FWH. I prefer the worthingtons in this case.
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another Bulline car to the collection and....
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bought the MDC Devils Gulch and Helengon 5-pack for a really good price from this nice chap from down under.
I really need to get back to working on the layout since my roster is getting plenty :-\
PAINT UPDATE!
My 2-10-4 finally got some paint and light weathering:
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The M-75's got updated even further with more paint and weathering:
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My spectrum connie I finally decided since I got parts for it I'd do some finishing on it to make its appearance greater.
Before on the right and after on the left, some mods and paint make a huge difference. add more running boards and paint and you'll even notice the really neat marker lights I installed. Really gives the connie character to it:
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Very nice... fits right in with your brass locos.
Regards,
Jonathan
Thanks Jon,
that was the look I was hoping to achieve, wasn't sure if I could pull it off but I might do something with the domes like you did on one of yours
Update, finally some work on expanding the yard lead out to the main layout:
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^oops cab wasn't on all the way :-X
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UPDATE: well I kind of posted most of my stuff on Facebook and forgot to post here, but here's mostly pictures taken today of the mountain railway.
The L-62 finally has been completed thanks to patience finding the appropriate parts and using reference photos I've kitbashed a rather beautiful model of it. I love it simply because unless you were following the whole construction, you would have never known its parts are from 8+ locomotives, I rearranged the running boards and moved the domes and used bondo to fill in the old dome gaps. The engine was reworked, I had to buy another mantua 2-6-6-2 to get the right cylinders for the front. The smokebox front is from a BLI heavy mikado, the boiler from a spectrum 2-10-2, various brass parts, firebox sides from a monogram big boy kit, lead truck from a Russian decapod, trailing from various parts and a pilot from a Brass DM&IR 2-10-4(finally found a use for it)
TONS of milling involved, I had to shorten the boiler a whole inch and make clearance for the chassis inside. The chassis was modified slightly but nothing major.
Really impressed with myself on this project.
Both routes to the main layout have finally been laid, so once wired I'll be running trains soon and hopefully upgrade to DCC.
A narrow gauge HOn3 line will be added above the standard gauge for hauling coal from a remote mining village and bringing food and supplies back.
The roundhouse stable is looking rather full. I have 5 Rio Grande mountain engines, 1 M-69, 3 M-75's, and one M-78. I have an M-64 that I'm selling on another site but if it doesn't sell, I'm keeping it and painting it and adding it to the roster. I also have a D&SL K-63 2-8-2 on the way with a coffin feedwater heater... Interesting little lokie
Well that's it for now, hope you enjoy!
Rye Guy;
Very nice work! I haven't progressed much beyond taking the old layout down and designing a new one. This time, I am doing it right, putting cabinets with adjustable shelving under the layout, pre-planning to the nines, each section, and building the plan-I know it is a hard proposition to do that, but I don't want the same "mess" I had the last time. I spent last winter detailing about fifty-plus refrigerator cars, as well as more box cars, weathering same, etc.
Donaldon:
I too, have a grandson and he is four and change, an info "sponge", and has a curiosity that I want to see grow. He hasn't been up to "that room over the garage" yet-he has his own bigger stuff that I had bought for him when he was born, anyway, and one day I will surprise him when he comes over-all set up on the deck
Rich!
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My biggest problem right now is too much emphasis is being put on locomotives, I have an obsession with husky steam locomotive workhorse with a display of sheer power. When I finish one engine, its onto the next. There's so many ideas I have yet to complete, I finished the L-62, then for kicks I started on an L-77 2-6-6-0 despite the fact I'm most likely going to be buying two in brass in the near future... Haha.
I have put some attention into spruce trees and conifers, figuring out how to get a ton of them.... And then looking at getting more rolling stock for the engines to pull, and they all need knuckles and metal wheels and be era appropriate for my tastes(mid-30's to wartime)
And then the layout needs to be wired and running and my father is bugging me about it at this point haha. I think he's starting to become impressed for once. On top of that I'm starting to become more clean and organized with my workspace with is a plus... This layout had been planned, replanned, and boiled down to my visions and needs so far, I even started planning the extensions off either end so eventually a train could in fact make a complete circuit around the 10x25 layout and have two seperate cities along with tons of mainline mountainous drag to slug through making for a rather lengthy journey.
But at the same time keeping it simple for when I move out so it can go with me.
I've had a dozen temporary layouts growing up that were creative and then some real flops, what helped was power-loc track although I should've gone with bachmann ez-track way back then, it would've been a lot simpler. I have a small collection of it for when I bring some stuff for traveling
Rye,
Have enjoyed watching the progress on your layout. I understand the obsession with locomotives. It's hard to turn your attention to trackage and scenery when there are so many great locos to build. Thanks for sharing your progress.
Regards,
Jonathan