Thanks guys!

Mr. Shay, the abandoned mine on my layout currently has no hoist house. This is prototypical of many old mines I've seen -- the hoisting equipment has been removed, leaving nothing but a bit of foundation, and often not even that. Mine also lacks a foundation but I may add one later.

As for converting my locos to 1/24th scale... I did a complete kitbash of the RS-3 late last year, finishing it in early January of this year. You can see the step-by-step here:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_RS3_Conversion.html

The Bachmann 4-6-0 is roughly 1:22.5, close enough to pass for 1/24th. I still need to install a receiver in it, and when I do I might make a few modifications, but probably nothing major.

Apparently there's a server problem that's preventing my cabin page from updating. So if you went there and couldn't see the rest of the outhouse photos, please try again later.

I just finished making an outhouse to go with the miner's cabin. Like the cabin, this outhouse is made of styrene which has been textured and painted to resemble aged wood. The "tin can" shingles and the metal patches are made from brass.

I still haven't placed it on the layout yet, but here's how it looks by itself:







The interior includes an old toilet seat, some toilet paper, and a strip of flypaper. 

You can see more photos starting here:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Miners_Cabin.html#14

Enjoy!

I tend to agree. I'd rather see a locomotive preserved in its original form, or at least the form it was in at some point during its "working" life. At least this one isn't in garish colors with a faux diamond stack like you often find in an amusement park. It actually looks like something that might have been, rather than some kind of hideous cartoon.

BTW, the fine folks at Poway Midland RR were not responsible for "back-dating" this loco. That was done way back in 1960 and it went through a couple different owners since then.

Last Sunday our club had its annual picnic at Old Poway Park in Poway, CA. At the park they have a beautiful, 1907 Baldwin 0-4-0 steam locomotive that runs on a 42" gauge track around the park. I spent much of my time there shooting video of this train and got a lot of interesting and unusual shots, which I've edited into a nifty video for YouTube:

http://youtu.be/E_SE7M9ThrI


This locomotive was originally an industrial saddle-tank engine. It was later bought by a private individual who "backdated" it and converted it to use a tender.

Enjoy!

I just completed a new structure for my 1/24th scale In-ko-pah Railroad. It's a replica of an old miner's cabin in the little town of Ione, NV. Here's a photo of the prototype:



As you can see, there are some unique features that really give this cabin a lot of character, particularly the homemade metal awnings over the windows, the stovepipe with its fancy clay cap, and the window cut into the original door. One of the awnings appears to be made from part of the roof of an early automobile.

I only had a couple of photos, taken from a distance, and the the cabin is surround by tall weeds and junk. So I had to "fill in the blanks" using my knowledge of other cabins similar to this one. I also added a window to the blank wall on the opposite side.

The model is made of styrene, textured and painted to look like old, weathered wood. The awnings and corrugated roofing are made of brass. The door and door frame are modified Grandt Line castings.

Here are some photos of the model:



I replaced the saw mounted on the front of the cabin, with a bighorn sheep skull. The skull was sculpted from polyclay...




The rear of the prototype cabin was not visible. On my model, I opted to give it a different style of siding -- a common practice on many of these old buildings. I also painted it with grayer, more muted colors, to represent the shaded side of the cabin...


Here are some close up detail photos. The window shades were made from Tyvek, cut from an envelope and painted a yellowish tan. The curtains were made from lace, saturated with acrylic matte medium and then painted grungy off-white::




Here's the cabin temporarily in place on the layout. I still need to do more work on the site, to bring the concrete "soil" up around the cabin. I also need to add plants, an outhouse, and other details:



The cabin is located in an area without wiring, so I installed an LED powered by two D cell batteries. Here's a test shot of the cabin at night:


As I complete the cabin's site on the layout, I'll post new pics:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Miners_Cabin.html


Enjoy!

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Here's a little video of an "Annie" running on my In-ko-pah Railroad (along with a kitbashed RS-3). Mine has a Phoenix P9 sound board, a scratchbuilt oil bunker, handmade figures and a few other details:

http://youtu.be/9yeiCCiTwQw

Enjoy!

Thanks guys! I had fun making this video (despite constant interruptions by jets, helicopters, lawnmowers, barking dogs, etc.)

BTW, I don't have a huge yard, the layout fits into an area about 20' x 50', on steep slope.

Also, most of the plants seen in the video are handmade, scale miniatures. There are maybe 6 live plants on the entire layout, and I'll probably end up removing most of them because they aren't close enough to scale and tend to force the rocks apart as they grow. However, there is a bit of native moss growing trackside that I'll keep because it looks just like desert weeds and grasses.

Here's a brand new video of my 1/24th scale, In-ko-pah Railroad. I think it's my best video of the RR to date! I've tried to shoot and edit this in the style of a professional railfan video, depicting a day on the In-ko-pah Railroad. You'll see my Bachmann/BBT 4-6-0 steam locomotive and my kitbashed narrow gauge RS-3 diesel in action, along with detailed structures and the beautiful, realistic desert scenery I've created.

http://youtu.be/9yeiCCiTwQw


I'm really excited about how this video turned out!

BTW, there are no "dubbed" sounds. All the locomotive sounds are produced by the Phoenix P9 sound systems installed in the locos.

Edit: Fixed typo

Ok, thanks!

Quote from: Loco Bill Canelos on January 06, 2011, 09:10:43 AM
Email me and I will send you a copy of a powerpoint presentation showing how to do it.  The Annie is easy to convert, but be sure to get one with a working rear headlight rather than the woodburner which does not have one.  

Bill, I'm just now getting to that Annie (had to deal with wife's illness earlier in the year) and I can't find the file you sent me. Would you be so kind as to resend it? My email address is
raydunakin@aol.com

BTW, I will be using track power, not batteries.

I'm converting all my locos to be controlled by an Aristocraft "Revolution" system, and my Bachmann "annie" is next in line. Does anyone have any advice they can give me on doing this? Is there any trick to disassembling this loco in order to access the wiring?

Thanks! The close up videos, including the "over the camera" shot, were done using my old JVC mini-DV camcorder, model GR-DVF21. It was mounted on a small tripod without extending the legs. For the "over the camera" shot, I simply placed the camera in a shallow hole dug between the ties.

The rest of the videos were shot using my digicam's video mode. It's a 10 mega-pixel Canon Powershot SD880-IS, a really terrific little camera and one of the few pocket digitals that has a wide angle zoom lens.

I always enjoy seeing the steam trains run out in Ely, NV. Beautiful old locos and great western scenery. Just got back from my annual Nevada camping trip and posted some videos of the Nevada Northern RR museum's train. See my post elsewhere in this forum.