tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73385311204109363892024-03-17T08:00:18.453-07:00Tracks across NevadaThis blog follows the design, construction, and operation of a N scale model railroad layout. The subject of the layout is the paired Western Pacific / Southern Pacific lines between Winnemucca and Carlin, Nevada including through the Palisade Canyon. nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.comBlogger309125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-34948726861236413292024-03-09T10:00:00.000-08:002024-03-09T10:00:38.771-08:00Improving some Wiking VW models<p>A quick break from the structure building posts to work on some vehicles.</p><p>I have a bunch of old Wiking models of Volkswagen vehicles that were given to me by a friend years ago when he tore down his layout. These models have great accurate bodies and solid clear plastic windows but lack any type of realistic paint detail, particularly on the tires. Because of this I have never really used them on any of my layouts or modules. The beetles and vans in particular were quite common in the 1960's and 70's so I decided to get some of them out and do something with them.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCqPNmEIBXQOsGybUrTgtmvcUh3eHKJU15CnhRt6ieWzpHM7RloutNUooLGCzboWDML8kAOKdC2szdVCxpdbq7CTdg8_XvJM1YDy5j1ujZsAd-bh_4H1tFV5CL0NaH3nUHXuGVnO7_-6IQqhdM3NeZrZeWu78jPZjgPyBtU6Vk9aAmQt2-C79p9xauibb/s1500/VW5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1500" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCqPNmEIBXQOsGybUrTgtmvcUh3eHKJU15CnhRt6ieWzpHM7RloutNUooLGCzboWDML8kAOKdC2szdVCxpdbq7CTdg8_XvJM1YDy5j1ujZsAd-bh_4H1tFV5CL0NaH3nUHXuGVnO7_-6IQqhdM3NeZrZeWu78jPZjgPyBtU6Vk9aAmQt2-C79p9xauibb/w640-h264/VW5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>These models come apart easily. There are just 3 parts: The chassis in a silver or gray color, the body in various colors, and a solid clear plastic part to represent the window glazing. After getting these apart, I painted the tires black with Mission Models tire black acrylic paint. When those had dried, I painted the bumpers with Model Master silver acrylic paint.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RR-yRF2hshpP342wOsKFpEYvkGqKJStQt28g_E-u79lifRT4MxLifXHfyA1Cw78hI9JxKcIjR7W8_TWtLCs5wuq3wHOObhIK-tZ8CaWeipkXGUIEOsnEI-6eXToGrvZViA607S9ERTKT7A4MZxFLly6rjTweGbxx8QKembMakw1Wk1isL9e7xzNS-WzY/s1500/VW6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="1500" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RR-yRF2hshpP342wOsKFpEYvkGqKJStQt28g_E-u79lifRT4MxLifXHfyA1Cw78hI9JxKcIjR7W8_TWtLCs5wuq3wHOObhIK-tZ8CaWeipkXGUIEOsnEI-6eXToGrvZViA607S9ERTKT7A4MZxFLly6rjTweGbxx8QKembMakw1Wk1isL9e7xzNS-WzY/w640-h250/VW6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>For things like hubcaps, headlights, tail lights, door handles, etc. I use Sharpie pens. These are available in an assortment of colors. This can be done either before or after re-assembling the vehicle. I store the pens in a zip lock bag in an effort to keep them from drying out.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkTKXMM3pRJEMoHj7_yTg_XbTKrr85V8nF8YQc8X8NamU1hBFTGD4PP1Asu69ps6sg4xrFqCPocp-2KhNrJCooGRRM5fCbxKusZYKTx-vOBU7_XLDMVaocgBKsY48UyR9WrWn8lLAcBkYhtDHLN22ulZNbSVGoq9OLhTFHwBFzAdYqI0LSB1HyNAp_EMd/s1500/VW3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1500" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkTKXMM3pRJEMoHj7_yTg_XbTKrr85V8nF8YQc8X8NamU1hBFTGD4PP1Asu69ps6sg4xrFqCPocp-2KhNrJCooGRRM5fCbxKusZYKTx-vOBU7_XLDMVaocgBKsY48UyR9WrWn8lLAcBkYhtDHLN22ulZNbSVGoq9OLhTFHwBFzAdYqI0LSB1HyNAp_EMd/w640-h286/VW3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>These now look much more realistic and I am happy to have them on the layout. I just did these two for now and still have quite a few more. Next batch I want to try painting the bodies in some colors I remember seeing and with the van getting a two-tone paint job with the white on top which was common.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVuzWbTO6V8c60mg2EVyEoB3PCWm5aSvSEBefDtlSZHb2yzi8-xBfqzBA8p9HmxvJoK-K3A7X3K1PVaCIw_mp5dCmRQMRCqUiV12dE7J92C3guQPJA-0Pnj4nObZ-89w2jbaE09KhDi9OfEeLqi1O92dOikpX2datJTVRr4G5gTqjI2jJsyYV2mDlVaQ5/s1500/VW4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1500" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVuzWbTO6V8c60mg2EVyEoB3PCWm5aSvSEBefDtlSZHb2yzi8-xBfqzBA8p9HmxvJoK-K3A7X3K1PVaCIw_mp5dCmRQMRCqUiV12dE7J92C3guQPJA-0Pnj4nObZ-89w2jbaE09KhDi9OfEeLqi1O92dOikpX2datJTVRr4G5gTqjI2jJsyYV2mDlVaQ5/w640-h386/VW4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-45979080505853385182024-03-02T11:01:00.000-08:002024-03-02T11:01:42.071-08:00Finishing a 3D printed house<p>This 3D printed house is something I purchased a couple of years ago along with two others. All three are based on the design of the Sears catalog houses of the early 1900's. The one I am finishing here was the largest of the three and I intended to use it to house the speaker for the grade crossing in Carlin. This particular house had a total of 5 pieces, there shown in the photo below after they had been sprayed with primer. There was also a base and a small roof section not show here.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJfgRYtCvjy2wb-tfajRtXqhwOsNP6o3oJ1t8sj6pC5UWOmf6YwztxkRAQnqGnAKM92DFtMKSvyxlsxC0kaDw4T0TnnyfZj3AHo7mBIQcIPORvtp0wL7w6gNf5eUIs_4-NmpwhB45r1W4XW-DZvPl6O6s-nMSosg7XfR1cRtByiQYKHAJV-yg2riiqeA=s639" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="639" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJfgRYtCvjy2wb-tfajRtXqhwOsNP6o3oJ1t8sj6pC5UWOmf6YwztxkRAQnqGnAKM92DFtMKSvyxlsxC0kaDw4T0TnnyfZj3AHo7mBIQcIPORvtp0wL7w6gNf5eUIs_4-NmpwhB45r1W4XW-DZvPl6O6s-nMSosg7XfR1cRtByiQYKHAJV-yg2riiqeA=w640-h520" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is what it looked like after painting. The small roof section is also present in this photo. Painting these is similar to painting a Design Preservation Models (DPM) building. I started by air brushing the base color then brush painting the trims and any details. On this model I painted the chimney and the foundation walls a red brick color. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-hvt41DxMAwvc7pg6RtFu4eLaGYxq8DzmKw_jMe1UDTKhF1Bn0AqJqWOuF6VL7adwktizoAjdzepXRK-bbjbSWFd_1EV59tqbHFc8eNDvEskpereZSTcWABPTnMCEVisLDGbI-Tr-LlWznqY4N8yx3F8kUQZ4SWNMZmq2X6pI8Ui8HGMMqMujfujpPer/s1632/2023TBLP42.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="1500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-hvt41DxMAwvc7pg6RtFu4eLaGYxq8DzmKw_jMe1UDTKhF1Bn0AqJqWOuF6VL7adwktizoAjdzepXRK-bbjbSWFd_1EV59tqbHFc8eNDvEskpereZSTcWABPTnMCEVisLDGbI-Tr-LlWznqY4N8yx3F8kUQZ4SWNMZmq2X6pI8Ui8HGMMqMujfujpPer/w588-h640/2023TBLP42.jpg" width="588" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>There had already been a base prepared for this scene made from fiberglass reinforced plastic paneling. Here is the completed house glued down to the base with a car port and other surrounding details being added. The wire and plug sticking out on the right side of the base is for the grade crossing speaker. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTSRItEhhtLzE8vWJfAuMc3czv0cOTiBDaDEPgyM2ik6JxFypXef1wtO6BF29pVk7rl0aU15oplp36z6MxZ1DgGfRFJYhGytYzMN0cYkNK3w-abJdMPjorEphjjDCrdBzdeAPyfdX-2JtOrVDFTejsJNHPExdFGcIHVpB5fy_fTbu35iONakBD7E-6VgN/s1500/2023TBLP48.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1231" data-original-width="1500" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTSRItEhhtLzE8vWJfAuMc3czv0cOTiBDaDEPgyM2ik6JxFypXef1wtO6BF29pVk7rl0aU15oplp36z6MxZ1DgGfRFJYhGytYzMN0cYkNK3w-abJdMPjorEphjjDCrdBzdeAPyfdX-2JtOrVDFTejsJNHPExdFGcIHVpB5fy_fTbu35iONakBD7E-6VgN/w640-h526/2023TBLP48.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>After installing the fences and more details at the work bench here is the completed scene installed on the layout into a recessed area that is surrounded by styrene strip with the scenery built up around the outer edges. I still want to add a tree or two and that or other changes will be easy as this entire scene is removable. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi981D7bSIgx-YGCzWFGFCT4meDUbc7XKY50UgLA44Af-klBXMaqv_PfMHRqKtwEXeD99BJFJIt6b5fDa2lFk6esF8xC5dUDHLhHFfdc7Akb4vvbd3Uj9Od-lQiarbjgrof0CVZioNbnK4E8ZUjrxuokjaTaal2T-040jEoHHJcZCd00VZHITOd5wfN5ETl/s1500/2023TBLP52.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1500" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi981D7bSIgx-YGCzWFGFCT4meDUbc7XKY50UgLA44Af-klBXMaqv_PfMHRqKtwEXeD99BJFJIt6b5fDa2lFk6esF8xC5dUDHLhHFfdc7Akb4vvbd3Uj9Od-lQiarbjgrof0CVZioNbnK4E8ZUjrxuokjaTaal2T-040jEoHHJcZCd00VZHITOd5wfN5ETl/w640-h536/2023TBLP52.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-76957333054332631282024-02-11T09:00:00.000-08:002024-02-11T09:00:21.806-08:00Finishing a re-cycled fire station<p>On my last layout which was from 2002 to 2013 I had a California Department of Forestry fire station which I built from a Rix Products kit. If I had taken any photos of it on that layout I can't find them now. When researching things for this layout I found that the fire station in Carlin was of a similar design but with an extra door. Since I still had the old model, I decided to use it again on this layout but with some upgrades.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06W-TRjfZaKGo6xI3OIpC3JCmDyvI7XB-9tZxikjZRT1Ccu824Bgtepgt51S3u4XFzYwH6ZaYIzA0AAg08ZG6qnr1quJgNmlQjQzOIgTXA7R_tj31CRFsZlR_3SzChkx_pW5BGVNdtd92iDYbQN1x1ZpPsmoDA7IXDbJ22UyLvkbcJIHngjoEPQPz0sr4/s1332/FireHouse5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1332" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06W-TRjfZaKGo6xI3OIpC3JCmDyvI7XB-9tZxikjZRT1Ccu824Bgtepgt51S3u4XFzYwH6ZaYIzA0AAg08ZG6qnr1quJgNmlQjQzOIgTXA7R_tj31CRFsZlR_3SzChkx_pW5BGVNdtd92iDYbQN1x1ZpPsmoDA7IXDbJ22UyLvkbcJIHngjoEPQPz0sr4/w640-h338/FireHouse5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>One of the things I wanted to be able to do with this structure was to pose each of the doors either as opened or closed. The solution I came up with was to use Velcro on the back of each door and on the inside of the roof of the building to store the doors when they are open. The fit of the doors into the wall is snug enough that they don't need any glue to stay in place.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscUsTowcHk-nYyhms_RBrXfdVM9UWMotNWbeFebdCqOpeyK2j4eGmN4CxS66Wc1eNA95dC4uECiijqf5d3FqrTvhqV7No6afqjq0ur8JTsDxA25rbv3IWW6VGQ3wzj98SBT4BJAoGfg-Dl7ZH2FhLJZeen33Vi7_jxORZLOsAkT5M8StkKBALuuFBW0Lh/s1500/FireHouse3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscUsTowcHk-nYyhms_RBrXfdVM9UWMotNWbeFebdCqOpeyK2j4eGmN4CxS66Wc1eNA95dC4uECiijqf5d3FqrTvhqV7No6afqjq0ur8JTsDxA25rbv3IWW6VGQ3wzj98SBT4BJAoGfg-Dl7ZH2FhLJZeen33Vi7_jxORZLOsAkT5M8StkKBALuuFBW0Lh/w640-h480/FireHouse3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The building sits on a removable base that has blocking of styrene strips around the inside of the walls that hold the building in place. The building can be easily picked up to change the position of the doors or move around the fire engine models.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhAtERjaep89_IXhXxsdQqD9RuVdHVvNOezRifGZyad4Uj_tck9pqJg0eUbiEtLxl3LZraBkNzDp17XvHy9gzx9YMuWKyzlc7GYkbVWCxhWFuAOtgHRtKIs9J5gJqg-etGYbikq1GieVPTTjHCfLbtowaD3IaY2MPHhJbym42fLXQj9nrEOYr6LR_fEAV/s1500/2023TBLP55.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="1500" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhAtERjaep89_IXhXxsdQqD9RuVdHVvNOezRifGZyad4Uj_tck9pqJg0eUbiEtLxl3LZraBkNzDp17XvHy9gzx9YMuWKyzlc7GYkbVWCxhWFuAOtgHRtKIs9J5gJqg-etGYbikq1GieVPTTjHCfLbtowaD3IaY2MPHhJbym42fLXQj9nrEOYr6LR_fEAV/w640-h458/2023TBLP55.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Some of the details added were rain downspouts made of .035 styrene rod added at each corner of the building and some signs that were made on the computer and printed on paper. I only have a couple of fire engines right now representing different eras but plan to add more in the future. As the layout is modeled in different eras from the mid 1970's to mid 1990's I plan to have at least 2 set of fire equipment that can reflect those different eras.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcXLFJNeTgTmy5G4dIUqmZA__enC5mHj6Zu9JAkLfzWCUVUFP9jeKfcvPLkU96Gm_Ph3ZQe96_zNtuRXqy_8kFNHxB1afwUR2Sktp0AZ7x43qALO476iPj55Tvmc239sTd3mYfn3F9_fQBqwteyuO3tXOPui0wIXsXi-_mzU4i4reaQkZAzPDh1xKrO0l/s1500/2023TBLP56.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1500" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcXLFJNeTgTmy5G4dIUqmZA__enC5mHj6Zu9JAkLfzWCUVUFP9jeKfcvPLkU96Gm_Ph3ZQe96_zNtuRXqy_8kFNHxB1afwUR2Sktp0AZ7x43qALO476iPj55Tvmc239sTd3mYfn3F9_fQBqwteyuO3tXOPui0wIXsXi-_mzU4i4reaQkZAzPDh1xKrO0l/w640-h454/2023TBLP56.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-9937950151690591502024-02-02T15:47:00.000-08:002024-02-02T15:47:33.619-08:00Building the propane dealer - Part 3<p>With all of the detailed piping done on the base and with the chain link fence installed around the perimeter, the base was ready to be glued into place within the styrene strip borders. That area in front of the tanks will get some additional N Scale ballast gravel to blend it in with what is on the base.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHkYPctTOOhroGJ8P39jRTuh0sKocXJUPagRi58_O9dEzV_afXVjKKRog6u6KcCXUJkcud-gG3VbuyloMlrUQNa9paG5-f_S-EXHCnazzbUGn3RKFAN3cCgzhcj17TkVenTwX1p2d6uikFyronAp6oNxncyZRx3xfO4DVxwUVeyRuYomLVTqONYUA2xHr/s1500/2023TBLP37.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1500" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHkYPctTOOhroGJ8P39jRTuh0sKocXJUPagRi58_O9dEzV_afXVjKKRog6u6KcCXUJkcud-gG3VbuyloMlrUQNa9paG5-f_S-EXHCnazzbUGn3RKFAN3cCgzhcj17TkVenTwX1p2d6uikFyronAp6oNxncyZRx3xfO4DVxwUVeyRuYomLVTqONYUA2xHr/w640-h406/2023TBLP37.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As mentioned before, the office building that came with the kit was used in another area of the layout as it would not have fit in the area I had for this facility. Turns out that the prototype facility that this model is based on has this modular trailer as an office and I wanted to include something similar in the model scene.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtY7r2mlJJ-JRfirINXARlIc5ivM1uecInRVz-BIRkFtKQ_wdrUn2N5k8PtzYLoVPb-8r2VFVGv1d1YmxVw2zMoIHHkj3MX2HB3-IRApQIv6rCcDh3o0Eh_o1UceGsis0or59s9GSICn0PNogt5FRXlk7cLNREBFCo1KlWLWpeB9mL_v8ULgAZVoocXnx_/s1300/2023TBLP28.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="1300" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtY7r2mlJJ-JRfirINXARlIc5ivM1uecInRVz-BIRkFtKQ_wdrUn2N5k8PtzYLoVPb-8r2VFVGv1d1YmxVw2zMoIHHkj3MX2HB3-IRApQIv6rCcDh3o0Eh_o1UceGsis0or59s9GSICn0PNogt5FRXlk7cLNREBFCo1KlWLWpeB9mL_v8ULgAZVoocXnx_/w640-h372/2023TBLP28.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>This is my scratch built version of the office trailer. The prototype is estimated to be 50 feet long but I compressed my model to 40 feet. The structure itself was made from Evergreen styrene sheet and strips. The roof vent was a cast resin piece from California Freight and Details, the office door was from Tichy, and the steps were made from Plastruct stairs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vt2Bl5exydri_JoHqVW8j6psE1h9_v4-jrgUBuHQP4BK2YwaPLNtHLf5WOidPum3zh_cG1DzFDe0eHaF3GTkjXRm8im_3V5wl5hWEWMNq4FYARJ86i9s3rezLMv9sFH5uduG68QbwPzo3BQpjKq8cBtp-11AG0r4RUPgI3BYUbxvu3XZ2_5r701hlVrj/s1500/2023TBLP32.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1500" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vt2Bl5exydri_JoHqVW8j6psE1h9_v4-jrgUBuHQP4BK2YwaPLNtHLf5WOidPum3zh_cG1DzFDe0eHaF3GTkjXRm8im_3V5wl5hWEWMNq4FYARJ86i9s3rezLMv9sFH5uduG68QbwPzo3BQpjKq8cBtp-11AG0r4RUPgI3BYUbxvu3XZ2_5r701hlVrj/w640-h408/2023TBLP32.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is the scene with some details added. The ladders were made from Plastruct ladder stock, the barriers and trash can are 3D printed models I purchased and painted.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqf4g-LYqEvAzBMZkIKTJAEqj2cwTyIXZQ7zJUpv7pkBfSABSttrB_uQFzMCo_ulQlqHIvAVeRU7vSqe-G7xx3y-Y7Pn5UAvJ5heOnSie4y7-NdJAxc9Dzyfn2FxJdpu966VrKosnToQGl7BukatU_vl-N7FsHYhIjjAT8yM5GeOtZSuLj7rFSVqQnQhE/s1500/2023TBLP45.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="1500" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqf4g-LYqEvAzBMZkIKTJAEqj2cwTyIXZQ7zJUpv7pkBfSABSttrB_uQFzMCo_ulQlqHIvAVeRU7vSqe-G7xx3y-Y7Pn5UAvJ5heOnSie4y7-NdJAxc9Dzyfn2FxJdpu966VrKosnToQGl7BukatU_vl-N7FsHYhIjjAT8yM5GeOtZSuLj7rFSVqQnQhE/w640-h342/2023TBLP45.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>The spare customer tanks came with the kit. They were in two halfs and required a bit of modelers putty, sanding, and painting to get them to look right but do add something to the scene.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1sADGrc_nzODQvzHvTT4gjGFNyDI394FzQNgDmrjstrrNkb4ClZGUNVka8c0qAfXZsUjs0U8TO0jYqd7uMOy7bqHjNo9Hkmpw8pMAjcmwKNOOCOnrNzqzuBMy8XBLP5sDwms6Jcm1tTsJ_CkOJk00xNc2citj3CeOwcfye8ERZuRPR3-YF7tiaSk2py6/s1500/2023TBLP44.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1177" data-original-width="1500" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1sADGrc_nzODQvzHvTT4gjGFNyDI394FzQNgDmrjstrrNkb4ClZGUNVka8c0qAfXZsUjs0U8TO0jYqd7uMOy7bqHjNo9Hkmpw8pMAjcmwKNOOCOnrNzqzuBMy8XBLP5sDwms6Jcm1tTsJ_CkOJk00xNc2citj3CeOwcfye8ERZuRPR3-YF7tiaSk2py6/w640-h502/2023TBLP44.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>Here is the entire lineside industry ready to go to work. Just need to add one of two propane delivery trucks.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UWtHhrqf18NYltnmUjAKL6kPpmwNCC_DLxovYBVBA-qi7BS-7dnsxsy0GYN1WcPw7FYGPDX7fCZurnqwgttX_fK_q0nNyDCe1z2QbNg8ULK0UR075gO5_fc56BCMejvuut5wehUpTapl4jmtAREahp_OFNmc9m8ZeOkyCe1IcHURVzwHuePFDGwDTmlW/s1500/TBWMA29Jan24a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1500" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UWtHhrqf18NYltnmUjAKL6kPpmwNCC_DLxovYBVBA-qi7BS-7dnsxsy0GYN1WcPw7FYGPDX7fCZurnqwgttX_fK_q0nNyDCe1z2QbNg8ULK0UR075gO5_fc56BCMejvuut5wehUpTapl4jmtAREahp_OFNmc9m8ZeOkyCe1IcHURVzwHuePFDGwDTmlW/w640-h290/TBWMA29Jan24a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-73131097536192687482024-01-27T10:35:00.000-08:002024-01-27T10:37:00.612-08:00Building the propane dealer - Part 2<p>As this is a bigger project, I am presenting it more than one post. This is part 2 of what will be 3 parts.</p><p>The larger building from the Walthers Cornerstone Central Gas & Supply kit had already been used as the Southern Pacific Operations office in Carlin. The two smaller buildings and the pair of storage tanks from the kit were assembled so it could be determined how they would fit in the area that I plan to place the industry. Once that was determined, a base was cut out from a sheet of .040 styrene.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_wsWQirkj6-VtWdy_v8sdjbZiGTDAgRt1z85GLE2rpYbKdyh969sKEua3yoZDmUvO-bokatwxXp3wLGGrUrUqv5bT2VFo8iX8lIPMd9aIkNzQKS4nF-NJ4DEunES8W3HVnioW_z3Z7WWGwJLkI9Ovzf8w799-VTBdvNjpoE7QH67fYwHzy9Ce7X6zsZw/s1500/2023TBLP21.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1500" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_wsWQirkj6-VtWdy_v8sdjbZiGTDAgRt1z85GLE2rpYbKdyh969sKEua3yoZDmUvO-bokatwxXp3wLGGrUrUqv5bT2VFo8iX8lIPMd9aIkNzQKS4nF-NJ4DEunES8W3HVnioW_z3Z7WWGwJLkI9Ovzf8w799-VTBdvNjpoE7QH67fYwHzy9Ce7X6zsZw/w640-h346/2023TBLP21.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Using the base as a guide, a border of .040 x .060 styrene strip was glued to the layout deck so that the .040 height will match the height of the base.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLtwsYmW3eySVh9ZoSkXyWnONpbWk_FRdMjS1KWEv2ll8KzM3xPtsSA-sZBX01f2N77f9dRtg3n8IMiJAWge0RqVZOHa3vJMguGB7GlU3pYOsKky_LsgKWkL8jzQg-gZq0aqGNg9N8YwSXvr5oaWzVGiECemlv3SrWIUpaSVgRg4SWDIZuxS3WKVFEopm/s1500/2023TBLP22.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1500" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLtwsYmW3eySVh9ZoSkXyWnONpbWk_FRdMjS1KWEv2ll8KzM3xPtsSA-sZBX01f2N77f9dRtg3n8IMiJAWge0RqVZOHa3vJMguGB7GlU3pYOsKky_LsgKWkL8jzQg-gZq0aqGNg9N8YwSXvr5oaWzVGiECemlv3SrWIUpaSVgRg4SWDIZuxS3WKVFEopm/w640-h326/2023TBLP22.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>The base with most of the more delicate piping components was then assembled at the work bench. When finished, it can then be installed on the layout as a major sub-assembly. As my layout of the components was quite different than the stock kit, much of the piping was cut apart and re-assembled to fit. I also used some of the Plastruct plastic coated wire in some areas. Once the layout of the tanks and small structures was confirmed, styrene strip borders were added to lock in the locations. Then a layer of N scale ballast for gravel was applied. When the gravel base had dried, the tanks, small buildings, and pipes were installed.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNqcoIqP2sQ_I-4MNLVx3p2q3AJb3EzfRQs3-tdp88gtHrUfqgpv-2xIcg93E_t39wmntZJw2-CqA6ZNI5PRj9biT7-pHjUCHqfria5tK2rHeFxCKT4SxJtX4iiGhyrV26WAbNhVE3WZ1YF6cbmiPj5D_UJJkzqR0tWEwV1ypTVT-uI2YnUfZSE6IH8w7/s1500/2023TBLP34.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNqcoIqP2sQ_I-4MNLVx3p2q3AJb3EzfRQs3-tdp88gtHrUfqgpv-2xIcg93E_t39wmntZJw2-CqA6ZNI5PRj9biT7-pHjUCHqfria5tK2rHeFxCKT4SxJtX4iiGhyrV26WAbNhVE3WZ1YF6cbmiPj5D_UJJkzqR0tWEwV1ypTVT-uI2YnUfZSE6IH8w7/w640-h480/2023TBLP34.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>The scenery was built up around the outside of the .040 x .060 styrene strip borders. This view shows where the base will go. There will also be another .040 styrene base to the right of it that will also be part of this industry but will be built in place as it will not have any delicate piping to deal with.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswuhwuBeJtx0o4HxzFKq_TF2sAUPm_hTg_P9jXhP_CJJhFYc-A59gxKF-qsfTPWuHDubHCnzryWwpp4OPNNtYIPQ3sSMeDXyCFK9KoY0iniIlGOpdqprF48f22juQQuNgfmqL38Knzv3GC18ZWbSdxXkk6ARZdgRT8-DF5npmV9qL-d2zmMKNxa1F2jbc/s1500/2023TBLP24.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1500" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswuhwuBeJtx0o4HxzFKq_TF2sAUPm_hTg_P9jXhP_CJJhFYc-A59gxKF-qsfTPWuHDubHCnzryWwpp4OPNNtYIPQ3sSMeDXyCFK9KoY0iniIlGOpdqprF48f22juQQuNgfmqL38Knzv3GC18ZWbSdxXkk6ARZdgRT8-DF5npmV9qL-d2zmMKNxa1F2jbc/w640-h350/2023TBLP24.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Gold Medal Models chain link fence was installed around the perimeter of the facility. Holes were drilled along the styrene border strips using the hole guide that is part of the fence kit. Canopy glue was used to secure the fence in the holes. The part along the front edge will be left open suggesting that the facility extends further out. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYu1qonh2efkEs1Enzw8VhBNGB9B3kaHjj8_Q0Ti2v-MNImXc3-dVK6vVTAKz9ojpanqRLh0pjnI0DKSz87cgD-qzX0h9z5VYLcmDSWZjg3wvowgzm-e7c0nmQ96OtbfBD7zjuKubKB-EeY1WV_SjhQPFHeFIFZKEMGFNKbJ9dGS-FTCNbxiZekaLuBlU/s1500/Propane4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYu1qonh2efkEs1Enzw8VhBNGB9B3kaHjj8_Q0Ti2v-MNImXc3-dVK6vVTAKz9ojpanqRLh0pjnI0DKSz87cgD-qzX0h9z5VYLcmDSWZjg3wvowgzm-e7c0nmQ96OtbfBD7zjuKubKB-EeY1WV_SjhQPFHeFIFZKEMGFNKbJ9dGS-FTCNbxiZekaLuBlU/w640-h480/Propane4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The tank car unloading and delivery truck loading area was scratch built using various bits of things I had laying around the work bench. On the fence near the spur track, I painted an .010 by .020 styrene strip silver and glued it about 3 feet from one of the fence posts suggesting a gate. As the spur track is outside the perimeter of the facility, workers would need a way to access a tank car and this gate would do that. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhCy_xnLIM1U-3J5EL3_efo4SR-opq8K_CBWGAgBQKQHVpFjrENAI5crLGXTfMXPGJjQLu9xGianJrrDILQV5J0HMCoOlsjA0AiCik6lLaZSUMNegA6OoLUgOGMHSlUOHc9ztJ1mPcY6MmIGtC9u4AUrDlmrT3aDVxzYylayxG_qWETboGquamSTLcqu9k/s1500/2023TBLP38.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="1500" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhCy_xnLIM1U-3J5EL3_efo4SR-opq8K_CBWGAgBQKQHVpFjrENAI5crLGXTfMXPGJjQLu9xGianJrrDILQV5J0HMCoOlsjA0AiCik6lLaZSUMNegA6OoLUgOGMHSlUOHc9ztJ1mPcY6MmIGtC9u4AUrDlmrT3aDVxzYylayxG_qWETboGquamSTLcqu9k/w640-h522/2023TBLP38.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>End of Part 2.</p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-82894069602128528392024-01-16T16:43:00.000-08:002024-01-19T21:54:08.686-08:00A crane for the scrap yard<p> I wanted a small crane for the scrap yard in Carlin. GHQ makes a pewter kit of a Bucyrus-Erie crane and I've been happy with how my other GHQ kits came out so I ordered one.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUL-ADjLRJXJRwgdFgXP0ORpWNaRkbYwEC0MKJf-ViucW3uvDBLX-lI9zNaNxyzAHV2K7dmHIKW_RNA2651yR_bHsVs7_Sb2lSzSxEpU71lF6NhlHJTLX0qsqTNTUQsBAKZPDJdfgkawWudNJabOKXUzpm2KeLzL0Q1_3ZkV0oQ7ce_ErcOwozZbjySZb/s717/Crane2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="604" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUL-ADjLRJXJRwgdFgXP0ORpWNaRkbYwEC0MKJf-ViucW3uvDBLX-lI9zNaNxyzAHV2K7dmHIKW_RNA2651yR_bHsVs7_Sb2lSzSxEpU71lF6NhlHJTLX0qsqTNTUQsBAKZPDJdfgkawWudNJabOKXUzpm2KeLzL0Q1_3ZkV0oQ7ce_ErcOwozZbjySZb/w540-h640/Crane2.jpg" width="540" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I was not sure if this was going to be realistic for the era of my layout but after seeing an on line advisement for a 1965 Bucyrus-Erie model 30B I knew it would be a good fit for the 1970s / 1980's. The GHQ model is a 30B. This photo also serves as a good reference for painting.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IOuzv-vJgbUOuoBrpC3-3HpXV2YApIKXBFg9ZbXLaPh6Mf_siQ4ozdkEmlUOBqy8Zi4RuAWaXfnx8qoPmtOP292J23e5wFEZ1APUEJ8aPWGdHJw3h9IFLZlSxAtV98tD0QdLWRKyvwB44qTaLwf_hspiPpslhgLYVoxbwSA3elZ9WVqW0GTjxuSBE_z8/s1008/Crane1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IOuzv-vJgbUOuoBrpC3-3HpXV2YApIKXBFg9ZbXLaPh6Mf_siQ4ozdkEmlUOBqy8Zi4RuAWaXfnx8qoPmtOP292J23e5wFEZ1APUEJ8aPWGdHJw3h9IFLZlSxAtV98tD0QdLWRKyvwB44qTaLwf_hspiPpslhgLYVoxbwSA3elZ9WVqW0GTjxuSBE_z8/w640-h480/Crane1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The most difficult part of this kit for me was the boom which is made from etched brass. It was folded as directed in the instructions then any seams were soldered. Some smoothing with a jewelers file was necessary afterward but I prefer that to trying to glue it. Afterward the cast pewter top was glued into the square hole at the top of the boom.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8qGh_Gs9vUHuYe1PHxwJWZCbLgJ6gLXyXkIid_TTm8Cp-LVIPJqMG69y1GcsJDykTnIkuIvC4MuQoANQYim_myEpFANsYuOVzlk7vD8ERz4NYPpJgAeQItbUgT3jmdoJbdkBMldYkqXzVpxjiwrRIZr2iuzOxSaHy_6j8Mh6cUBEEPFnjvXuJuq1cejO/s1500/Crane4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="1500" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8qGh_Gs9vUHuYe1PHxwJWZCbLgJ6gLXyXkIid_TTm8Cp-LVIPJqMG69y1GcsJDykTnIkuIvC4MuQoANQYim_myEpFANsYuOVzlk7vD8ERz4NYPpJgAeQItbUgT3jmdoJbdkBMldYkqXzVpxjiwrRIZr2iuzOxSaHy_6j8Mh6cUBEEPFnjvXuJuq1cejO/w640-h204/Crane4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I wanted to be able to rotate the crane cab in relation to the track assembly, so I cut the small guide pin off from the bottom of the cab and drilled and tapped a hole for an 0-80 screw. Another hole was drilled through the small hole in the track assembly. The stock kit did not leave enough clearance for the cab to rotate over the tracks and the cab seems to sit low compared to the prototype photo, so I glued a #6 washer in place as shown in the photo.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnd5N6HdJfU2S5uYfBvBgokGEYFfAyqdOTP3xjm7a4-nM5oAh4a-MO_wZdkUvPi5p3fnAmJ9XecLdRbiAUSwdrNwlSA2b0qlJocqPUfSDtrXclvAKxR1VEs89UtitPh12ub8ikbRuCGP-LYbJF-ZiAqIZXnAnHhfiKqWU2U8m5ueL8NDGTJfVRNISIgmdg/s1500/Crane3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1459" data-original-width="1500" height="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnd5N6HdJfU2S5uYfBvBgokGEYFfAyqdOTP3xjm7a4-nM5oAh4a-MO_wZdkUvPi5p3fnAmJ9XecLdRbiAUSwdrNwlSA2b0qlJocqPUfSDtrXclvAKxR1VEs89UtitPh12ub8ikbRuCGP-LYbJF-ZiAqIZXnAnHhfiKqWU2U8m5ueL8NDGTJfVRNISIgmdg/w640-h622/Crane3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><p>On to painting. For the yellow of the cab I used some Floquil signal red then when it had dried I masked it off and sprayed the top half of the cab with Floquil ATSF yellow. Both of these paint bottles are quite old but still worked great in my air brush, I sure miss Folquil paints. The track assembly, the boom, and the cab floor were sprayed with Model Master pale green.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif_l6v_yHLh49eegXgAtdnqiNyXgIhLOv0tFzD04Y-bfyLI53r6ExA3j2t6QGC2ajg5-hbjPAixgrBSKn6x0RpmQcYHyOfZN1nwTsDU5qFkuqKtrgAM6294QC9DrzApSJktBzbLXyG3j3AqxllmWBpmT1B2piZW8eBuDQRndPNFF9owZS5tWpb3EIiJq2z/s1500/Crane5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="1500" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif_l6v_yHLh49eegXgAtdnqiNyXgIhLOv0tFzD04Y-bfyLI53r6ExA3j2t6QGC2ajg5-hbjPAixgrBSKn6x0RpmQcYHyOfZN1nwTsDU5qFkuqKtrgAM6294QC9DrzApSJktBzbLXyG3j3AqxllmWBpmT1B2piZW8eBuDQRndPNFF9owZS5tWpb3EIiJq2z/w640-h422/Crane5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The prototype photo I used in this post did not have the logo or model number but in other photos either one or both are evident, so I decided to add that to this model. Decals were made which included both the Bucryus-Erie logo and the model number. After the decals were set, the sub assemblies were sprayed with Dullcoat. The cab and cab floor were super glued together and then attached to the track assembly with the screw. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZ4u6LgEoxEeIm_O15N7Zhc0egNTIUZphpL9mIKocYkAnRJwaqzFFRfCuHmFNPouW0fIlaTbRviEL3kcYcwJzYR1_ZM0yomvqMfTxfbSmFJwuU-l7xrMY6j-tEcADoVs7pb47uKnnXiN5xR6AC7Df6HamhM0XnWpDoou2xFT5mzXlk5lYma4aBZxwaesj/s1500/TBWMA02Jan24b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1215" data-original-width="1500" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZ4u6LgEoxEeIm_O15N7Zhc0egNTIUZphpL9mIKocYkAnRJwaqzFFRfCuHmFNPouW0fIlaTbRviEL3kcYcwJzYR1_ZM0yomvqMfTxfbSmFJwuU-l7xrMY6j-tEcADoVs7pb47uKnnXiN5xR6AC7Df6HamhM0XnWpDoou2xFT5mzXlk5lYma4aBZxwaesj/w640-h518/TBWMA02Jan24b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The boom was glued into place with super glue and some black thread was used to simulate the various cables. I ran the thread over a wax candle before installing it. This helps to keeping it from getting a fuzzy look and also makes it a bit easier to work with. I made my own electromagnet boom from one of the hook parts that came with the kit, a styrene disk punched out with a hole punch, and a #6 washer for weight. I plan to set the bucket part that came with the kit off to the side to indicate that the scrap yard also uses that on occasion.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWeh7Wwgo1pPBRDgGECPBmfAV1hv4p_g463UZU_gsxDipwjK4DvIHxeuRYyNOJ-i-kO_Bzzngf-5ZVS7CEzCpPkSWZgdYFpgZhZi4JlSd6qS4V2rn5wv0FccxyHDCBin05C6wCANfLlj8KoKgXIniFs1ISBC_8Ui8iN7wcPegLphRC373AE4WWHGrb-eB/s1500/Crane7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1500" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWeh7Wwgo1pPBRDgGECPBmfAV1hv4p_g463UZU_gsxDipwjK4DvIHxeuRYyNOJ-i-kO_Bzzngf-5ZVS7CEzCpPkSWZgdYFpgZhZi4JlSd6qS4V2rn5wv0FccxyHDCBin05C6wCANfLlj8KoKgXIniFs1ISBC_8Ui8iN7wcPegLphRC373AE4WWHGrb-eB/w640-h446/Crane7.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-3608107986973738702024-01-10T09:19:00.000-08:002024-01-10T11:19:00.610-08:00Building the propane dealer - Part 1<p>In the actual Carlin, Nevada there is a rather large rail served propane dealer. As shown in this Google maps satellite view it has 10 storage tanks, 2 spur tracks, and covers an area of about 650 feet x 200 feet. This facility is about 1/2 mile east of town.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRt1jLpCSNluFbAiRhciXbf9N3Yh_TB1MSB7YDGthpfRsWPtz54djbU8mMVyKd5J8flZWdDiSFyxZBCFEwi9ABpG494MkC0aqwwwNXpZ1CNbcxLkBRK2LpYLqBGETFf2WPsk8ciSzdCN7E9hK_dWLg8MJxtL0Xi_HObtOUwoqm8CQD5BcJmihicGomQgX/s1400/Propane2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1400" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRt1jLpCSNluFbAiRhciXbf9N3Yh_TB1MSB7YDGthpfRsWPtz54djbU8mMVyKd5J8flZWdDiSFyxZBCFEwi9ABpG494MkC0aqwwwNXpZ1CNbcxLkBRK2LpYLqBGETFf2WPsk8ciSzdCN7E9hK_dWLg8MJxtL0Xi_HObtOUwoqm8CQD5BcJmihicGomQgX/w640-h356/Propane2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a Google street view image of the facility from Chestnut Street. Some of the details spotted in this view are the chain link fence with barbed wire on the top, the large tandem trailer delivery truck, and the trailer used as an office. The storage tanks are just visible in the far left.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxHp4DLqm9oTqKmTvJbVyHn7vtMRNjqLH8DDx48ws2hnNJiLqEsWCImcDRciS7TIeEth_kxB79TZS_2vPqq9P0fhjlySIbUTrjQ6i6QmT0aIUF__kJXeTDW08fDmoilegbNMTsvKmV4NrqZ3kKflXpttfsIBEZD9gRDSRZrkceOzzWFfOvJ2yK97tY_Sc/s1379/Propane1.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1379" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxHp4DLqm9oTqKmTvJbVyHn7vtMRNjqLH8DDx48ws2hnNJiLqEsWCImcDRciS7TIeEth_kxB79TZS_2vPqq9P0fhjlySIbUTrjQ6i6QmT0aIUF__kJXeTDW08fDmoilegbNMTsvKmV4NrqZ3kKflXpttfsIBEZD9gRDSRZrkceOzzWFfOvJ2yK97tY_Sc/w640-h360/Propane1.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>This is the area I have on the layout for my representation of this propane dealer. This is on the extreme east end of the layout and has an overall area of about 290 x 55 scale feet including the spur track. I don't want to overcrowd the scene so I will need to do quite a bit of compression.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBqQ_pvUZCccLP-0O1vj9b8CsjdYuw4jjGH5qGqe-yB7gkO382hMdB9vh1jfxE97gLg4PMzgyFd8NukTSw-TneydBoPo0YDNRmgVLFf5g0dWsoittf78dAP38Mg7cu9jk1n4I7RCutgBocsCrQ9aigIF4o5jVbBIcCMxoSKE3otSCaKSD7zUdsNJBGddh/s1500/2023TBLP17.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="1500" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBqQ_pvUZCccLP-0O1vj9b8CsjdYuw4jjGH5qGqe-yB7gkO382hMdB9vh1jfxE97gLg4PMzgyFd8NukTSw-TneydBoPo0YDNRmgVLFf5g0dWsoittf78dAP38Mg7cu9jk1n4I7RCutgBocsCrQ9aigIF4o5jVbBIcCMxoSKE3otSCaKSD7zUdsNJBGddh/w640-h416/2023TBLP17.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Surprisingly there are not many options available for this type of industry in N Scale. Plastruct offers a kit with the tank shapes and materials to build a customized facility and there is the Walthers Cornerstone Central Gas and Supply kit which is what I am going to use. To be continued....</p><p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3P45QGO3UkVj0XV46VDgSMZoRdPxL1z5JP86f3RpsmFdvP7svM94EKeJNavgGM5k3DXmqeQGqUTCEfOwnGik8Ql2CCkrIXZD1sOnqNJjXyDJ5pwq1t5mnoL4CM-9skq24smPWf2PASe-MjUAGk00JChkrrHG5ODJ863kIVT9ADPULf3bcz0EpUPbjXfX/s2148/Propane3.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2148" data-original-width="1500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3P45QGO3UkVj0XV46VDgSMZoRdPxL1z5JP86f3RpsmFdvP7svM94EKeJNavgGM5k3DXmqeQGqUTCEfOwnGik8Ql2CCkrIXZD1sOnqNJjXyDJ5pwq1t5mnoL4CM-9skq24smPWf2PASe-MjUAGk00JChkrrHG5ODJ863kIVT9ADPULf3bcz0EpUPbjXfX/w446-h640/Propane3.jpg" width="446" /></a><br /><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-63729571049306109342024-01-01T09:18:00.000-08:002024-01-01T09:26:23.727-08:00Layout visit - SP San Ramon Branch<p>It's fun to get out and see other layouts. Recently a friend from the Ntrak club and I visited an N Scale modular setup at a museum about 40 miles away in Danville, California.</p><p>This layout has been set up in the Museum of the San Ramon Valley for the past several weeks by a group of N Scale modelers including Paul (in the red shirt), who is my partner in the AsiaNrail modular layout and is also active in our Ntrak group. </p><p>The layout represents the Southern Pacific San Ramon Valley Branch as it would have been in the 1920's. This was a point to point setup running steam engines and using an NCE DCC system for control.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5DRjhLTi70mSvJ5okenlRqgd6M0vLRxFA7Xp1z-TaBIXXqeNZMewvj5UKYubP4XnMY483U7brMMtyX3gHdvcIWWhtvJlNH56KudQw7KsR_-ICA8hNnfGuohMIW9zNXrbGZ2KSprLIm1stGnbuOiJAQ2DPRpidz5SLRlEUQ8VG1zQUcQp-7uqOTfNr13M/s1500/SRVB1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5DRjhLTi70mSvJ5okenlRqgd6M0vLRxFA7Xp1z-TaBIXXqeNZMewvj5UKYubP4XnMY483U7brMMtyX3gHdvcIWWhtvJlNH56KudQw7KsR_-ICA8hNnfGuohMIW9zNXrbGZ2KSprLIm1stGnbuOiJAQ2DPRpidz5SLRlEUQ8VG1zQUcQp-7uqOTfNr13M/w640-h480/SRVB1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Several of the modules were Paul's and are ones we have used in the AsiaNrail layout. One of these is this Wye module shown below. While the track is attached, all the scenery elements are removable so this module can be used in different type layouts.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUr0XQANPHU3kOw0tyElITDazzsbQu_F1rEubMNHDvRsM1Zi9zvOAgNduUwxUNG9ECOk5QB_amM64IoRvMW879WA2r2kJRPawS1hcDkYB7TWkZ_kVthWQIE035qiuMxM1OJg4jRRs6CkNOoy_jilfZAc_GZ4sgGhG3x8pQmDFNOKX5wJSX6Ap5kzRzHG0P/s1500/SRVB6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="1500" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUr0XQANPHU3kOw0tyElITDazzsbQu_F1rEubMNHDvRsM1Zi9zvOAgNduUwxUNG9ECOk5QB_amM64IoRvMW879WA2r2kJRPawS1hcDkYB7TWkZ_kVthWQIE035qiuMxM1OJg4jRRs6CkNOoy_jilfZAc_GZ4sgGhG3x8pQmDFNOKX5wJSX6Ap5kzRzHG0P/w640-h440/SRVB6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is the same module in the AsiaNrail layout.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/pauls-wye-module.134150/full&d=1547935927" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/pauls-wye-module.134150/full&d=1547935927" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here are a couple of the many well done scenes on this layout.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLvFrY4a_RvIh2EHJqoV3i11kTqORWBm_ACZZO13tWfFC4xecfwfFuh47PWvxh0ExLD-5eVKCmaGzj1ebMWOz0A7OypSyHBTjMuZJQOcbWdSp4xgLa5oeCu1RiTRMg9_hiUOaWcPxICowbAZH6GUJ-67k2ogVfrGN-DBccPX_Rsf1v1Vf-kMWRD7JurAO/s1500/SRVB5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLvFrY4a_RvIh2EHJqoV3i11kTqORWBm_ACZZO13tWfFC4xecfwfFuh47PWvxh0ExLD-5eVKCmaGzj1ebMWOz0A7OypSyHBTjMuZJQOcbWdSp4xgLa5oeCu1RiTRMg9_hiUOaWcPxICowbAZH6GUJ-67k2ogVfrGN-DBccPX_Rsf1v1Vf-kMWRD7JurAO/w640-h480/SRVB5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZseCCtadv5zR9G3LpgnfsHe3GJ9lX-_0hJgqP8LaZWNEeO3V37qsMFzTTKcIKKg5rXvxXNhIrt6S7zj9ec8TK4wJq74N0VjjBDHNMNFSNzi_0U0p70qsOGxi2QzRYuF0G-0LAqfAGJHwDg8-FSB0-C3XK0L9OeCBSjN1IcpJ-mUq36tJP0RAglelid2IK/s1500/SRVB4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1500" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZseCCtadv5zR9G3LpgnfsHe3GJ9lX-_0hJgqP8LaZWNEeO3V37qsMFzTTKcIKKg5rXvxXNhIrt6S7zj9ec8TK4wJq74N0VjjBDHNMNFSNzi_0U0p70qsOGxi2QzRYuF0G-0LAqfAGJHwDg8-FSB0-C3XK0L9OeCBSjN1IcpJ-mUq36tJP0RAglelid2IK/w640-h386/SRVB4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The museum itself is in a restored SP standard number 18 station similar to several that are modeled on this layout.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLwSahdBUTiRcqH_koLA_yCZTdVdBtStLMX4eCD9LWvRr2C-KDEcVhkgHbwj2povSXAUBp4QIoVYNXvCabJbrQQsKCSXp8JE1rBwskZ7vPbAEcDL05Y0DDT9q8LBeAtx9haAjZmhKmo7MRtf9MpAVZpkTupMQ-sVz8TKc-TOx3wzFaz5mlVghhQO09P-P/s1500/SRVB8.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="1500" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLwSahdBUTiRcqH_koLA_yCZTdVdBtStLMX4eCD9LWvRr2C-KDEcVhkgHbwj2povSXAUBp4QIoVYNXvCabJbrQQsKCSXp8JE1rBwskZ7vPbAEcDL05Y0DDT9q8LBeAtx9haAjZmhKmo7MRtf9MpAVZpkTupMQ-sVz8TKc-TOx3wzFaz5mlVghhQO09P-P/w640-h396/SRVB8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Station signs and track diagrams were used around the layout to give a better sense of where you were on the line. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvoM-7OfQAwscDLz-BT2_VQfz8yWpVLAUICa8DSYqJ3Ntk_BEONp0FRWmtX9fXdmtOjGgg3MSljxBw3vUot0OWprwGZIPk8_KTt1VGj_TRjxEUp68ZTyagNMDajGvPXwRF4mDFA5WRO1C4kdQqPAmTMthoUJtok6xYMd67kROKBGfIstEhyphenhyphenaDiosMm-ZGS/s1500/SRVB9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1500" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvoM-7OfQAwscDLz-BT2_VQfz8yWpVLAUICa8DSYqJ3Ntk_BEONp0FRWmtX9fXdmtOjGgg3MSljxBw3vUot0OWprwGZIPk8_KTt1VGj_TRjxEUp68ZTyagNMDajGvPXwRF4mDFA5WRO1C4kdQqPAmTMthoUJtok6xYMd67kROKBGfIstEhyphenhyphenaDiosMm-ZGS/w640-h366/SRVB9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMEQqQI4H3zHGqzHAn788Mne_FAaNMeRPh20516cxHTe0yAZTjTPMxITRbhx-PN-pX9dx78G4xaKp4vrx3KK3po2CAwPCGFiFDWGchqaHaKe4-ML1jv3h1jYbMhfPafjMtVnGIjGCE_dtqRPn_n_7elyqYQQrS2oZp562ZDzVu6h7cGSsw_dpTrti5-iT/s1500/SRVB2.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMEQqQI4H3zHGqzHAn788Mne_FAaNMeRPh20516cxHTe0yAZTjTPMxITRbhx-PN-pX9dx78G4xaKp4vrx3KK3po2CAwPCGFiFDWGchqaHaKe4-ML1jv3h1jYbMhfPafjMtVnGIjGCE_dtqRPn_n_7elyqYQQrS2oZp562ZDzVu6h7cGSsw_dpTrti5-iT/w640-h480/SRVB2.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>We had a great time visiting this layout and afterwards enjoyed lunch at one of the nearby eating establishments. I've driven through this area on the Interstate countless times but never realized before that there had at one time been a rail line following the same route.</p><p>The San Ramon Valley Branch group has a website: <a href="https://thesrvrr.yolasite.com/">https://thesrvrr.yolasite.com/</a></p><p>Also, TSG Mulitmedia did a fine video on this layout: </p><p> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWJcUI7UMrs&t=881s" target="_blank">Southern Pacific San Ramon Valley Branch N Scale Layout Tour (youtube.com)</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-19197959132372461272023-12-21T07:49:00.000-08:002023-12-21T07:49:06.628-08:00Winter 2023 layout update<p>Today is the winter solstice, so a good date for the winter update on the layout. In the fall update I had made up the tunnel portals for the Carlin tunnels on the east end of the layout and had installed the sky board and fascia around the upper helix. Since then, I have built up the hillside in front of the sky board. This was done with chunks of insulation board covered with plaster cloth.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9oJIxHWQ0-iwQqEWDoj05OJ8QI07qDq5sxj6uWVj3cvjp65OSvUps5NyOWx21S5bmSIs4hy1u9jPHZixZwcLZ42NHJ4liRyYJH7Qr2ZoYXG3drIRDU1Rk1YCqfycAJtSJ0d13cJIxEpBtekxGCeAxSiivpcOrMRE8JWobWcIjG9NSCSU_kIt1u9GOqEv/s1500/2023TBLP01.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1500" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9oJIxHWQ0-iwQqEWDoj05OJ8QI07qDq5sxj6uWVj3cvjp65OSvUps5NyOWx21S5bmSIs4hy1u9jPHZixZwcLZ42NHJ4liRyYJH7Qr2ZoYXG3drIRDU1Rk1YCqfycAJtSJ0d13cJIxEpBtekxGCeAxSiivpcOrMRE8JWobWcIjG9NSCSU_kIt1u9GOqEv/w640-h392/2023TBLP01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The street that is in Carlin continues in this scene and disappears into the hills. Currently I am working on painting the sky board and the road and installing some rock castings.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jX9eT74692sNwpYZSTfRsq-FIh9fHgnR7bjhdtHZLSXta5p7b6eMyRBDksAQQAP6CkVR72AJ_08NEQ60eFbz8gCSbdk831h6nA5tgJRptXWUUx7qh1GWPW-MeRd76z_dDnMdzW7rIvHGFKIR_-mjsCo4rJiPpsex4cyXUgjaNG1vsWInqxzpbGMHsj0e/s1500/2023TBLP04.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1500" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jX9eT74692sNwpYZSTfRsq-FIh9fHgnR7bjhdtHZLSXta5p7b6eMyRBDksAQQAP6CkVR72AJ_08NEQ60eFbz8gCSbdk831h6nA5tgJRptXWUUx7qh1GWPW-MeRd76z_dDnMdzW7rIvHGFKIR_-mjsCo4rJiPpsex4cyXUgjaNG1vsWInqxzpbGMHsj0e/w640-h366/2023TBLP04.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Again, this winter I am taking part in the <a href="https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/2023-2024-sixteenth-annual-international-winter-layout-party.153648/" target="_blank"><b>trainboard.com winter layout party</b></a>. I always seem to get more done on the layout during these events and this year with all the track work finished I will be focusing on scenery. Besides this hillside I will be working on some structures and industries in the Carlin area.</p><p>The large Ntrak club staging yard that I was working on in the fall got used in a layout at a show on the first weekend of December and performed perfectly. After the show I brought home the end sections of our smaller yard as we were having the same type of problems with it as we were with the big yard. That is, not routing power correctly. I will be rebuilding all the Peco contact switches the way I did with the big yard.</p><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-74648221212243839232023-12-04T20:42:00.000-08:002023-12-04T20:42:11.830-08:00Tortoise motor noise problem<p>In a post earlier this year, I reported about a Digitrax DS64 that had inputs that were no longer working. I had replaced the DS64 with a control circuit I built myself. This was on my WP staging yard. Recently I have been having some issues with the circuit that controls the SP yard as well. </p><p>Specifically, the turnout at the wye that creates the return loop would sometimes cause the turnouts that control the siding on the return track to switch. As this wye turnout can be triggered by a train passing a sensor while the train is still passing through the siding turnouts, this would cause a derailment.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoy6zNWvZPnUE26CmknHk0SWem4AGH381e_CslQUpWoxdmvOJewkgN9vWN9k_7zyZOAA6O1BTR02RFQEq7SM9xNdKClhvnPKr0lTVja030wAKopbRgirXAQZRiBMJOVeTyuBP7zqanEfCnJKTXIOW00YbpJ3MnfsOOecXiih2du6o4BwmGIoZ4QM91z5ai/s1500/TortoiseFix3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1500" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoy6zNWvZPnUE26CmknHk0SWem4AGH381e_CslQUpWoxdmvOJewkgN9vWN9k_7zyZOAA6O1BTR02RFQEq7SM9xNdKClhvnPKr0lTVja030wAKopbRgirXAQZRiBMJOVeTyuBP7zqanEfCnJKTXIOW00YbpJ3MnfsOOecXiih2du6o4BwmGIoZ4QM91z5ai/w640-h362/TortoiseFix3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The turnouts on this staging yard are controlled by three different circuits as shown in this photo. One controls the yard ladder, another the wye turnout and the third controls the siding turnouts.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qWhuET9YntwIqz_YHmZhL7NloGI6C9FDoP6GJxzRk-6CTj7MmAJbyZluxpDIMyLcC0IcFpFZJdTY6R1fy1pW25DlnhZwMNdZEDodNR4PpnrmaZJAYO0zQmtmXebEQgdL4BLWJKEdbQ9oTe_Ue8-vz-JmVEWN1_nAVecm2hrQXRCo_Ai1d12sqGEruads/s2480/TortoiseFix7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2480" data-original-width="1730" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qWhuET9YntwIqz_YHmZhL7NloGI6C9FDoP6GJxzRk-6CTj7MmAJbyZluxpDIMyLcC0IcFpFZJdTY6R1fy1pW25DlnhZwMNdZEDodNR4PpnrmaZJAYO0zQmtmXebEQgdL4BLWJKEdbQ9oTe_Ue8-vz-JmVEWN1_nAVecm2hrQXRCo_Ai1d12sqGEruads/w446-h640/TortoiseFix7.jpg" width="446" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>I suspected that some sort of noise was getting onto the input connections of the board that controls the siding turnouts. This was confirmed by monitoring the inputs with an oscilloscope. The inputs to the circuit are normally high at +12 volts and when the buttons are pressed or the IR sensor activated, they go low to 0 volts. On the oscilloscope it could be seen that spikes were randomly occurring when the wye turnout motor was running and occasionally when the spike was large enough the inputs to the siding control board were being activated.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mpfg79bDADl9EvQVsUWN2oBRHpTC-ke8kcb730CprVzlhv4WgUVktkLZgH0Y0AZmimSnDKSe1LdODNS9RXjSyt3sWMn65c-8mWjzGooD-DS9k5m_omZHzuFelOgRRZKF3EbWIl57aQQYhvtqOUNOM84i3CMtTladGgCbOu_kIMarf7P9-igJfPpy7306/s1500/TortoiseFix2.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1500" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mpfg79bDADl9EvQVsUWN2oBRHpTC-ke8kcb730CprVzlhv4WgUVktkLZgH0Y0AZmimSnDKSe1LdODNS9RXjSyt3sWMn65c-8mWjzGooD-DS9k5m_omZHzuFelOgRRZKF3EbWIl57aQQYhvtqOUNOM84i3CMtTladGgCbOu_kIMarf7P9-igJfPpy7306/w640-h364/TortoiseFix2.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>What was happening here was that arcing between the motor's commutator and brushes on the wye turnout were creating these spikes and the magnetic field from those spikes on the motor wires was being picked up by the input wires on the siding control circuit. Notice in the photo of the circuits how many of the wires are bundled together. This can contribute to this happening as can the age of the motors. The Tortoise motors on this layout range in age from 9 to 30 years old. When I built this staging yard 9 years ago I twisted the motor wires which is supposed to help eliminate this problem and it did for a long time.</p><p>After reviewing several YouTube videos and some experimenting at the work bench I found the most effective solution was to suppress the noise as close to the source as possible. I added a .01uf ceramic disc capacitor from each motor lead to the case of the motor. After removing the motor from the Tortoise case, a pair of .039 holes were drilled in the circuit board at the locations pointed out with green arrows in the photo below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBq1IGim_4vynUT6tdaWkOGIKRx8tIwAlf8lNWBUVPI2n6iQ2kOOu2xIWpVwIxaG0NRNs1hFCjWmEXg97HCPC6sou5EOpPZE9GFDWggU9AcJoqqgGIfAgKg4IFz8PGBDNaBuBsX0kctId-a_pmT2zGcQPCfYsniHs75yIhCYn5r1tMNqRPycXxIl8K9ES/s1548/TortoiseFix5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="1500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBq1IGim_4vynUT6tdaWkOGIKRx8tIwAlf8lNWBUVPI2n6iQ2kOOu2xIWpVwIxaG0NRNs1hFCjWmEXg97HCPC6sou5EOpPZE9GFDWggU9AcJoqqgGIfAgKg4IFz8PGBDNaBuBsX0kctId-a_pmT2zGcQPCfYsniHs75yIhCYn5r1tMNqRPycXxIl8K9ES/w620-h640/TortoiseFix5.jpg" width="620" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>One lead of the capacitors were soldered to the case as shown in this photo. To get a solder connection to the case I first scraped that spot on the case with a file and used flux and a hot soldering iron. The other lead of the capacitors went through the holes in the board.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDESDTbZ0Nf0lPxb3aD_nLZAlydf_0p_KHaIANTmNduTo8nC4wcgXylhHJbvbkFkhMKZ-hjCcDfpzT68cg8keFoZNn_2ZBs-3-ZBevmh0rVd3WhHk79CCQg3zDshFmSXD8CcXR5tP2c1k6stOH-y-JRnYBePCociAXPtxZY4eX56MG1VFB4a_xP_0y6b1J/s1500/TortoiseFix4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="1500" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDESDTbZ0Nf0lPxb3aD_nLZAlydf_0p_KHaIANTmNduTo8nC4wcgXylhHJbvbkFkhMKZ-hjCcDfpzT68cg8keFoZNn_2ZBs-3-ZBevmh0rVd3WhHk79CCQg3zDshFmSXD8CcXR5tP2c1k6stOH-y-JRnYBePCociAXPtxZY4eX56MG1VFB4a_xP_0y6b1J/w640-h562/TortoiseFix4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Then the leads that went through the holes in the circuit board were trimmed and soldered to the circuit traces as shown in this photo.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXtMTPKf-Nl_EzdSi0p_EZILqSYnoh8m4VHoqy-j9vY5dU_pCXrdotkwVRXN5HVIccCB2zhKHnwuqkVZCOnij3FO6wo7OgNNuVjosWyE9ikyXITCf4ieVFFnd3KcMd9HnKriK8pfpryOEghcyacoe9t2sWcmCN58bOVNNWNlBf-budY9XijobllustxK-/s1338/TortoiseFix8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="1188" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXtMTPKf-Nl_EzdSi0p_EZILqSYnoh8m4VHoqy-j9vY5dU_pCXrdotkwVRXN5HVIccCB2zhKHnwuqkVZCOnij3FO6wo7OgNNuVjosWyE9ikyXITCf4ieVFFnd3KcMd9HnKriK8pfpryOEghcyacoe9t2sWcmCN58bOVNNWNlBf-budY9XijobllustxK-/w568-h640/TortoiseFix8.jpg" width="568" /></a></div><br /><p>The placing of the capacitors this way prevents them from interfering with any of the moving parts inside the Tortoise housing and avoids the center screw mounts.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ITePPqsiOTns80LzigsCAipfQIk0Oad0UgX16p94AgvPcR8yws6QlZUEnVfI13Xa0FiFvO0DdyCrm735aMCstE6gk5HF6OogLdtK6cmtk8ePs0fTFiZ_2CYmMoaQfvB9Ykfy5aq17joKym6p-GWV5hOJX0AmpyLJ09ro7TNcro7STnvIlQu1T7_PAk2h/s1500/TortoiseFix1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="1500" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ITePPqsiOTns80LzigsCAipfQIk0Oad0UgX16p94AgvPcR8yws6QlZUEnVfI13Xa0FiFvO0DdyCrm735aMCstE6gk5HF6OogLdtK6cmtk8ePs0fTFiZ_2CYmMoaQfvB9Ykfy5aq17joKym6p-GWV5hOJX0AmpyLJ09ro7TNcro7STnvIlQu1T7_PAk2h/w640-h394/TortoiseFix1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>A recheck of the siding control inputs with the oscilloscope after the capacitors are installed shows a cleaner voltage with any spikes being very small. After repeated testing, everything is working fine now. I am now wondering if it was these voltage spikes that caused the inputs on the DS64 to fail.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wjBBA6lolyqYiZTkPMicZFWhhBiT564FfWZ8kNqe0nx7RBTY3H2QfQ4dcAXeOHPgv6mnQLBGQZFenbjwIMAPVLZyxkr1cLzmXtBCFFVlOFwgo17P_I6qZoySK7hRWDJcLkjezeb5lsnNE0stwq_vWe1eWTvg7pe9BixXEB9JVJPm1gTA8BlUJ5CLr0tC/s1500/TortoiseFix9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1500" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wjBBA6lolyqYiZTkPMicZFWhhBiT564FfWZ8kNqe0nx7RBTY3H2QfQ4dcAXeOHPgv6mnQLBGQZFenbjwIMAPVLZyxkr1cLzmXtBCFFVlOFwgo17P_I6qZoySK7hRWDJcLkjezeb5lsnNE0stwq_vWe1eWTvg7pe9BixXEB9JVJPm1gTA8BlUJ5CLr0tC/w640-h384/TortoiseFix9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-91058845831772142822023-11-27T08:49:00.000-08:002023-11-27T08:49:25.381-08:00On the road again - Suisun City, CA<p>We recently visited The Western Railway Museum which is about 95 miles north of home.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL75-qN0QE6suyZaigvk7zaIM_AXxVY73q83Yb81jcIjebBEwxSrddfez1W3jnmpK5hC891-RWulltH4igcW3P9coNAK5vJUlFpS8h305PQjX6DtPBVLcIyjlkXyv4fyaWn6KDlPxLIAzoorHWGVkIDL7idmtiAsncbQSKS223du7-bm4Lhqm6Y78xCPdU/s1500/WRM9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1500" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL75-qN0QE6suyZaigvk7zaIM_AXxVY73q83Yb81jcIjebBEwxSrddfez1W3jnmpK5hC891-RWulltH4igcW3P9coNAK5vJUlFpS8h305PQjX6DtPBVLcIyjlkXyv4fyaWn6KDlPxLIAzoorHWGVkIDL7idmtiAsncbQSKS223du7-bm4Lhqm6Y78xCPdU/w640-h204/WRM9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This museum owns 22 miles of the old Sacramento Northern line that ran between Sacramento and the Bay Area. They have several pieces of equipment and are restored and operational that are used for excursions up and down the 5.5 miles of the line that they have operational. The day we were there #4001 was in service. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4MKnTU7NhkRhlr7Wjh6QJfc4UbSg2P2MRcWiSCn14pMmpGNmBm5tbmADl1OtUR_5ft8XFb5iL3RQGk3Y3Kb-hkWQw5mpby42oRGXTwjwQ-zfvqSUKIbmQBxce5wkiktlZ-2WiIM1IErIHF_Ukxu7vfH2Azguu5Z-Tg5fXqX1PkgmFKiH4REPyK-Eg_1q/s1500/WRM2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4MKnTU7NhkRhlr7Wjh6QJfc4UbSg2P2MRcWiSCn14pMmpGNmBm5tbmADl1OtUR_5ft8XFb5iL3RQGk3Y3Kb-hkWQw5mpby42oRGXTwjwQ-zfvqSUKIbmQBxce5wkiktlZ-2WiIM1IErIHF_Ukxu7vfH2Azguu5Z-Tg5fXqX1PkgmFKiH4REPyK-Eg_1q/w640-h480/WRM2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The route passes through countryside with low hills dotted with wind turbines. The hills are brown and yellow this time of year but for part of the spring I bet they are green. Winter is a good time to do this ride as it gets hot in the summer in this area and I don't think these older trolleys have any air conditioning. The day we went was a beautiful clear day with almost no wind.</p><p>We made a couple of stops along the way and I found them all to be interesting.</p><p>After going around a return loop, the first stop we made was for the crew to pick up a token that was in a mailbox alongside the track to give them clearance to operate on the main line. I've always heard of this type of operation, but this is the first time I've seen it firsthand.</p><p>Then, after maybe about 3 miles down the track, we stopped at a substation so someone from the crew could get off and turn the substation on. The trolleys on this line use 600 volts DC power which requires a separate power district and substation every few miles. They don't leave their remote substation on overnight so as we were the first excursion of the day it needed to be turned on before we could proceed into the next district.</p><p>The last stop was at a place called Pantano. Here the passengers got off for a few minutes while the crew switched the trolley poles and reversed the seats for the return trip. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZDFZbtScUU49sMTxHRgvFhVC5bzryWDDV8B-PEnpJlYZQwAxYwj2oMs-qJ2g9DVcD4Rrhh_Fl4AwpQE_pr0l-D1_2iWHoHxaMa-jwJp5efmZOeukC0vuALI9sJBVvYZziIvHyXnL2Gnl0Oc8J5uTEhA5TCQbROaMoYn11tE53NiI3KJmlPWFJKws8qlS/s1500/WRM5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZDFZbtScUU49sMTxHRgvFhVC5bzryWDDV8B-PEnpJlYZQwAxYwj2oMs-qJ2g9DVcD4Rrhh_Fl4AwpQE_pr0l-D1_2iWHoHxaMa-jwJp5efmZOeukC0vuALI9sJBVvYZziIvHyXnL2Gnl0Oc8J5uTEhA5TCQbROaMoYn11tE53NiI3KJmlPWFJKws8qlS/w640-h480/WRM5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The inside of the 4001 was fully restored and included some vintage advertisements like what used to be on the streetcars and buses I rode as a small kid. Here are just a couple of examples.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMjZIB8OF1b_1WUcb3ucfPoL1kMMSZ1ZWsmBl4IfGXh4rL0TGoTDJ05D7dn5E4RcHj40ZKA0wVc2YK8h2DfP6ir0-KSOqUxxwa5-3VAJv7ghtjrUbLoTPWjsB_kNqcExKgacMZdinl8NhQBWlK_LZpHm0p-5_INhDJqV3B7ZLPELpPqDgumc7-0zvra3i/s1500/WRM3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1500" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMjZIB8OF1b_1WUcb3ucfPoL1kMMSZ1ZWsmBl4IfGXh4rL0TGoTDJ05D7dn5E4RcHj40ZKA0wVc2YK8h2DfP6ir0-KSOqUxxwa5-3VAJv7ghtjrUbLoTPWjsB_kNqcExKgacMZdinl8NhQBWlK_LZpHm0p-5_INhDJqV3B7ZLPELpPqDgumc7-0zvra3i/w640-h398/WRM3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmpVbq_Fo1A8SLurYhPMageYvnEW-3o7xBRVeTfrsgaMLgNT0uZhKFNsBfJesSHzWkH0Su7bK390Ui9vCaW6ZlWMXBvJtnruKqPB-mZQj4FCRVapcsPjAjeJq_JzztkuhD3_pscsfvK6yVAfmdGF_ua6d51tyARkphCxlc1yueh6EPHnnqPmC3A4tH_SG/s1500/WRM4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="1500" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmpVbq_Fo1A8SLurYhPMageYvnEW-3o7xBRVeTfrsgaMLgNT0uZhKFNsBfJesSHzWkH0Su7bK390Ui9vCaW6ZlWMXBvJtnruKqPB-mZQj4FCRVapcsPjAjeJq_JzztkuhD3_pscsfvK6yVAfmdGF_ua6d51tyARkphCxlc1yueh6EPHnnqPmC3A4tH_SG/w640-h324/WRM4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The museum has several car houses. I was able to go through car house # 1 which had 4 tracks full of vintage equipment in various stages of restoration. Some were going to need a lot of work but at least they are indoors and hopefully will be restored some day. One of the most nicely restored ones was the Petaluma and Santa Rosa # 63 which I recognized from a Northwestern Pacific RR book I have. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtX4GxpltkZx034vO6xdHlK-pgzDHXIQzlCp5w4Dp1nBEF-rySkUdD5_77-FVlT1aSVFXygt8bsXGnnvQsFsE3POJWn2tsbDGJIJP4ODlxj4p-qjJSKK2d2leF40O2gZYFsR4N71-mZxxBCJSK-6ZjQhATH1Pv1xL3o2gsXC5_wJYWCTSood7UinJhVyzy/s1500/WRM6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtX4GxpltkZx034vO6xdHlK-pgzDHXIQzlCp5w4Dp1nBEF-rySkUdD5_77-FVlT1aSVFXygt8bsXGnnvQsFsE3POJWn2tsbDGJIJP4ODlxj4p-qjJSKK2d2leF40O2gZYFsR4N71-mZxxBCJSK-6ZjQhATH1Pv1xL3o2gsXC5_wJYWCTSood7UinJhVyzy/w640-h480/WRM6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I was surprised to also see some more modern equipment at the museum. Parked in front of car house # 3 which was not opened for some reason was this set from the San Diego Trolley System and there was also a set from the Los Angeles Meto. To me it seems strange to see these at a museum as they were something new that came long after my time living in both of these cities.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-OUy4lIqfTsHf_60jov6ZCUZ3COWEsLsKU8wyOkdBOck7s1Az-FDjXb5SrF522JgKN6UHvCD3X35OzSOgdiRZRBq5H9XpmtEWiDdzly-bTJ63_kqFo-XJKNBbeVNj8Kj-w-AbkC9tx53GQDr6eQBMFfg4DnPLoaYvb7bmwyHXR2NhzooHAvsm5tL_6vWC/s1500/WRM8.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1500" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-OUy4lIqfTsHf_60jov6ZCUZ3COWEsLsKU8wyOkdBOck7s1Az-FDjXb5SrF522JgKN6UHvCD3X35OzSOgdiRZRBq5H9XpmtEWiDdzly-bTJ63_kqFo-XJKNBbeVNj8Kj-w-AbkC9tx53GQDr6eQBMFfg4DnPLoaYvb7bmwyHXR2NhzooHAvsm5tL_6vWC/w640-h384/WRM8.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoApQUoU-z3PqaakKK4mnj16M6C96_n_Duup1gETbxXAQICg8sgGe00RTFdprmp0gS0B_Zo8B07NvLI0B2UgvJ7OO2GCZpajNJOD8Sa-SyaCOn86hsHoAkTEOlQ_eWnsD-eHgBFoqP2IrPOjsMmxhL60ObvQDuIanGlhN9RL6BEiHaGjcEN2PR4Tz6Yeyl/s1500/WRM7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1500" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoApQUoU-z3PqaakKK4mnj16M6C96_n_Duup1gETbxXAQICg8sgGe00RTFdprmp0gS0B_Zo8B07NvLI0B2UgvJ7OO2GCZpajNJOD8Sa-SyaCOn86hsHoAkTEOlQ_eWnsD-eHgBFoqP2IrPOjsMmxhL60ObvQDuIanGlhN9RL6BEiHaGjcEN2PR4Tz6Yeyl/w640-h330/WRM7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This museum has been here for a long time and I'm surprised that we had not gotten to it before glad we finally did as it was a fun way to spend a winter day. </p><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-76129686257516973862023-11-11T08:59:00.000-08:002023-11-11T08:59:39.224-08:00Union Pacific fleet upgrade<p>Recently I have been on a bit of a buying spree. A friend who was thinning his collection had a large number of Kato locomotives for sale. These will replace a number of Atlas SD50 and SD60 models that have not run well for me on this layout.</p><p>These SD40-2's and the SD40 will fit in on both my 83-88 and 89-96 eras. These are all decoder ready models, and I already had the decoders for them. The handrails will get painted on those that are not already painted.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0XfcewL42PYZSm-f5HkyGOSDIceYsY6FYyGI6P8pAh36GjSm8agSjRwPwNWjfn5GzqXyJUPkwtE1MJjzXmLXYQnbOsB7wpAhYaoCCCLr98m1evwhG8l88t48SKmabDcxVl99YG5oROmxMOLo9fNZCZX3adHaAiFxXPK3sztIDtOIK4ZUdFZ_GIebDTzR/s1500/TBWYLP10Nov23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1500" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0XfcewL42PYZSm-f5HkyGOSDIceYsY6FYyGI6P8pAh36GjSm8agSjRwPwNWjfn5GzqXyJUPkwtE1MJjzXmLXYQnbOsB7wpAhYaoCCCLr98m1evwhG8l88t48SKmabDcxVl99YG5oROmxMOLo9fNZCZX3adHaAiFxXPK3sztIDtOIK4ZUdFZ_GIebDTzR/w640-h414/TBWYLP10Nov23.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>These Kato C30-7's will also work with both my 83-88 and 89-96 eras. They are the older models that are not decoder ready but I swapped the mechanisms with a pair of Santa Fe models that already had decoders. These will also get the handrails painted and I may do the number boards on them as well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjBX_laYTdWqfhIt40fpQZDouliMdp6zYTVCjHu-nLBGMPsI44N2Xof-i-crBC7T9CDFlB_MdUiw_-XpjouQvIvrI8v9LDy4CtJuYp3gjladPz5hqb4yMd2dmcA-1_S1pKxrm2B2LGLsz1tezMjgqtVOCR9QYrF67crQSLMEMYjKftjJpCZ75Zp6biQzP/s1500/TBWYLP20Oct23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="1500" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjBX_laYTdWqfhIt40fpQZDouliMdp6zYTVCjHu-nLBGMPsI44N2Xof-i-crBC7T9CDFlB_MdUiw_-XpjouQvIvrI8v9LDy4CtJuYp3gjladPz5hqb4yMd2dmcA-1_S1pKxrm2B2LGLsz1tezMjgqtVOCR9QYrF67crQSLMEMYjKftjJpCZ75Zp6biQzP/w640-h340/TBWYLP20Oct23.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>And last I aquired these Kato C44-9W's that will work in my 89-96 era as they entered service on the UP in 1994. I already had the decoders for these as well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lu67P7HnPi48Xt-B0a0CylpIp_HJJ8XYtjopS9tetmDSClzGJ2cC65ExlwE91TX5fThE8vclnhDYvkMRnUZJIbx5EXk78XZsUt1GrnRBQDOdCCTm5evb-CQQOwbLJ45dO8BrP9N5p0e0SP4QFaplQrTkN9PLRPjHZ7VH5qwvDlMJHJ6elYQWm8CRhiCF/s3450/TBWYLP14Oct23a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="3450" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lu67P7HnPi48Xt-B0a0CylpIp_HJJ8XYtjopS9tetmDSClzGJ2cC65ExlwE91TX5fThE8vclnhDYvkMRnUZJIbx5EXk78XZsUt1GrnRBQDOdCCTm5evb-CQQOwbLJ45dO8BrP9N5p0e0SP4QFaplQrTkN9PLRPjHZ7VH5qwvDlMJHJ6elYQWm8CRhiCF/w640-h264/TBWYLP14Oct23a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy3t1f5cj3v4RVHb2teTsCqAlZ8uSvXaBIaSwYFVToxuZEE1hkcoMq8IGTKeDUvvSZgzQ8IH5TmlHUDpSc_QhJDNWCpCFXfW609OMELdCqfRTvSwhyUKZlcp8yphbDuiV_8ZL3fRQdEQ0S9B2FhnY47m8L7-qyb3KhWiuHjMPtn923urq78bipWZMItCBR/s1500/TBWYLP14Oct23b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="1500" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy3t1f5cj3v4RVHb2teTsCqAlZ8uSvXaBIaSwYFVToxuZEE1hkcoMq8IGTKeDUvvSZgzQ8IH5TmlHUDpSc_QhJDNWCpCFXfW609OMELdCqfRTvSwhyUKZlcp8yphbDuiV_8ZL3fRQdEQ0S9B2FhnY47m8L7-qyb3KhWiuHjMPtn923urq78bipWZMItCBR/w640-h330/TBWYLP14Oct23b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-45288839035512155952023-10-24T15:29:00.000-07:002023-10-24T15:29:31.800-07:00Rebuilding Peco PL13 switch contacts<p>I have been working on a major side project. I am doing an overhaul of the Ntrak club's 20 ft long staging yard. Specifically, trying to correct the problem we have been having with getting the voltages to switch between tracks on the yellow and blue Ntrak lines.</p><p>This yard uses Peco solenoids to move the turnout points and separate solenoids with the PL13 switch contacts to route the power to each of the yard tracks. Checking with an ohm meter these contacts were only intermittently making contact, making high resistance contact, and sometimes no contact at all. No wonder we were having problems.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5s82mJrcOgjohMK9zFPecOIcv00WHTssdUGbUWqNf8cArscfeF7xLuxrCVo8khuOYdC0uy-cmEZs3jQ1YK641Aoff0b2lGJy6uSOERQLJwWLfAZ9BozYMu9t-V15-MwW4VX2tjSsQYeG5KQ6vb-amxltMrr4RYdK_b6w5Jc53swQ2okQGCZsMSY0A1XR/s1500/PL13g.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="1500" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5s82mJrcOgjohMK9zFPecOIcv00WHTssdUGbUWqNf8cArscfeF7xLuxrCVo8khuOYdC0uy-cmEZs3jQ1YK641Aoff0b2lGJy6uSOERQLJwWLfAZ9BozYMu9t-V15-MwW4VX2tjSsQYeG5KQ6vb-amxltMrr4RYdK_b6w5Jc53swQ2okQGCZsMSY0A1XR/w640-h560/PL13g.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As these devices are widely used and rather expensive to replace, I thought it would be a good topic to present here what I have done to rebuild some of these that were not working correctly.</p><p>The PC board can be separated from the black plastic housing by pushing with a small flat blade screwdriver through one of the openings on either end of the housing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW6ZXuVMHl6XMwa25xly8FVI492Bf1SBivxSqGEKsoIVsHnysjkiSiau6uER4bvzRFBzBPAUvJEOS8IW_LSYI5AZkV8BMvKmb-XaI78QQqCUTjCnsDvfDFhFwCc6JQyDo_MslcWdww1dVnr2K3_IoiE2QIOcZGnshf8IpZ8ZBVitMTcWZRTZKgJ0Q67UH/s1500/PL13c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1500" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW6ZXuVMHl6XMwa25xly8FVI492Bf1SBivxSqGEKsoIVsHnysjkiSiau6uER4bvzRFBzBPAUvJEOS8IW_LSYI5AZkV8BMvKmb-XaI78QQqCUTjCnsDvfDFhFwCc6JQyDo_MslcWdww1dVnr2K3_IoiE2QIOcZGnshf8IpZ8ZBVitMTcWZRTZKgJ0Q67UH/w640-h418/PL13c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Once the board was removed from the housing it could be seen that the contact areas of the board had become oxidized and worn. Also, the two wiper parts bent at different angles, so it is likely one of them was not making good contact with the board.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjY8sPifTanpIp7seSky242vRGGJurSBNCjj7RdO-RfqK3BkI-3xP5e4vU5vm1Dce0dyQ5GmBbePYvCMUFvcFGoFKzVJEdIa-CmtZy30mEP1FjZXG4n4n1kieJnD-fAIaOEqB4VtQRbhQC10Z5vD1sbTTfON9pEtUh3TLocOC3YXngt79l0ApzGH-dcvIy/s1500/PL13d.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="1500" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjY8sPifTanpIp7seSky242vRGGJurSBNCjj7RdO-RfqK3BkI-3xP5e4vU5vm1Dce0dyQ5GmBbePYvCMUFvcFGoFKzVJEdIa-CmtZy30mEP1FjZXG4n4n1kieJnD-fAIaOEqB4VtQRbhQC10Z5vD1sbTTfON9pEtUh3TLocOC3YXngt79l0ApzGH-dcvIy/w640-h416/PL13d.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>I bent both contacts up at a sharper angle and tried to make that angle equal. I also made more rounded bends at the contact areas to get smoother movement and to make more contact with the PC board.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmslk0dfRGZgumgJTH0FPxUJjS0f3TrZMjMKLqVHGu9H9QWJp9Cj1EUi_isigIoX2K_M4tpeDdi3F6MT0zbJrMghdLhf5mETX_MRrEbhUpccgV_2gREc7I0NERxBEOyACojC46fBTFs4gKxrHpwmKrxcZTPalCx8JmkDPyXpIwnsWPe_Bi5JJsbkRwxdd/s1424/PL13e.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1424" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmslk0dfRGZgumgJTH0FPxUJjS0f3TrZMjMKLqVHGu9H9QWJp9Cj1EUi_isigIoX2K_M4tpeDdi3F6MT0zbJrMghdLhf5mETX_MRrEbhUpccgV_2gREc7I0NERxBEOyACojC46fBTFs4gKxrHpwmKrxcZTPalCx8JmkDPyXpIwnsWPe_Bi5JJsbkRwxdd/w640-h448/PL13e.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>On some of these the wire lugs that are riveted onto the board broke off with handling and others were about to so I cut them all off and soldered the wires directly onto the bord from the top side. Any solder that came through to the bottom side needed to be filed smooth for the the board to fit correctly into the black plastic housing. The contact pads on the board were polished with a fine steel wool.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrG0FuHW2gmOjh-EfYSgNuv522FNr1cK3Ax-AoYt9fauueDWNwGt7sd50T2MuiI3FHLILuxX7x_0aZHZXZlWcIw7U3c6JVLzUAwSVSToBD3OgDPEQr5zVjIm9AQbaeT2tmgra4wxtVIl_gs1m8Pmys2JLRTSbmx6cjDwZ2t674HvPNfAdAMgk_rw6daZ2/s1500/PL13b.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="1500" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrG0FuHW2gmOjh-EfYSgNuv522FNr1cK3Ax-AoYt9fauueDWNwGt7sd50T2MuiI3FHLILuxX7x_0aZHZXZlWcIw7U3c6JVLzUAwSVSToBD3OgDPEQr5zVjIm9AQbaeT2tmgra4wxtVIl_gs1m8Pmys2JLRTSbmx6cjDwZ2t674HvPNfAdAMgk_rw6daZ2/w640-h438/PL13b.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>A small amount of NO-OX is applied with a tooth pick to the contact areas of the PC board.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNB0jsSErnrmXBRTuBJvsOaKjKMM4NnxBIGcKq2nwH8xrG4pqMOz02Ntz72pOpTREgXbxgN09AI4PO40w82JuEe4I5LBb2edAlrmvuChte64KLyVfY1kearaTJsOZ6PDEatgeaW9GdvZZtnwhqF2uR3V5hDxtb0ckyc4HypxJvwqhbPfyMFS3EmB-610W/s1500/PL13a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1500" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNB0jsSErnrmXBRTuBJvsOaKjKMM4NnxBIGcKq2nwH8xrG4pqMOz02Ntz72pOpTREgXbxgN09AI4PO40w82JuEe4I5LBb2edAlrmvuChte64KLyVfY1kearaTJsOZ6PDEatgeaW9GdvZZtnwhqF2uR3V5hDxtb0ckyc4HypxJvwqhbPfyMFS3EmB-610W/w640-h444/PL13a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>With the contacts and the black plastic piece in place, the PC board can be snapped into place by pressing it straight down into the housing. Make sure the switch slides easily back and forth without catching and of course, re-test with an ohm meter. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCpVrS2o3kM1mvMOQTE3ljJRATixWzZGcOyoawLAgrU8mbIdQNAfM_o0Cg-KISwhT5cl50XQNrmI6t-KReyngQOqPW9rdJJs1B9J30aHszFby5fUlRY_U7Lt51FLktFTV3eSFCtw1YY97e4dMx169a6YlL8Blm2kBkGFlFkLxzmQ1q4CSu0tAj322BNbS/s1500/PL13f.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="945" data-original-width="1500" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCpVrS2o3kM1mvMOQTE3ljJRATixWzZGcOyoawLAgrU8mbIdQNAfM_o0Cg-KISwhT5cl50XQNrmI6t-KReyngQOqPW9rdJJs1B9J30aHszFby5fUlRY_U7Lt51FLktFTV3eSFCtw1YY97e4dMx169a6YlL8Blm2kBkGFlFkLxzmQ1q4CSu0tAj322BNbS/w640-h404/PL13f.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-84692832849624938032023-10-14T07:54:00.000-07:002023-10-14T07:54:05.905-07:00Fall 2023 layout update<p>I was late with a summer update and here we are just over two months later with the fall layout update. On the layout itself there has not been that much progress as I have been working on several other hobby related projects that have taken up much of my hobby time.</p><p>Here are a couple of things that have gotten done on the layout recently. Fascia was added to the top of the upper helix. This completes all of the fascia on the layout.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM77xN7iJKN3rwLO53L2WYFDZWEmKitucNcjd58CEUpsmtgNw6LEeHZBizqPKZ0I6PRqzFZ3TXUvk8n8A9CZPHVx_mwA1nW6tKvtt7_LrhEh-y2c7dQrndAqj7Z7qeZPKE9Z1uMfYyqWIIfJ3vMIfO-KU1FSGDyfpQYgKn3fwG3EDodjUfL2VmRiVHeOp9/s1500/UpdateFall23a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM77xN7iJKN3rwLO53L2WYFDZWEmKitucNcjd58CEUpsmtgNw6LEeHZBizqPKZ0I6PRqzFZ3TXUvk8n8A9CZPHVx_mwA1nW6tKvtt7_LrhEh-y2c7dQrndAqj7Z7qeZPKE9Z1uMfYyqWIIfJ3vMIfO-KU1FSGDyfpQYgKn3fwG3EDodjUfL2VmRiVHeOp9/w640-h480/UpdateFall23a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The tunnel portals for the Carlin tunnels have been completed. The actual ones don't look just like this. I had to make some compromises in the space I have available. With these two things finished the hillside can be started. This hillside is where the scenery will end on the east end of the layout.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2fcO-TJRyXVde7vY-q07VUSZssJ5ZiXXMEuJUWkkOOG8K09HRVN9hInJQayknKYb4RNQMLgKyBIaclW2klf6hrnbvL0kb_3WXhxpirG7yH15dFwuq-sC_B5cD9VO2qWZtH0rkeTGgKixUv6OtWjOquySNTxnXA7CpuJFaahZYBWbIhyoJZX97_Skk6R9/s1500/UpdateFall23b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="1500" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2fcO-TJRyXVde7vY-q07VUSZssJ5ZiXXMEuJUWkkOOG8K09HRVN9hInJQayknKYb4RNQMLgKyBIaclW2klf6hrnbvL0kb_3WXhxpirG7yH15dFwuq-sC_B5cD9VO2qWZtH0rkeTGgKixUv6OtWjOquySNTxnXA7CpuJFaahZYBWbIhyoJZX97_Skk6R9/w640-h456/UpdateFall23b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Last June I brought the Ntrak club's 20 ft staging yard home with me from the N Scale convention in Reno. This set of modules is over 30 years old and the last time it received an overhaul was in 2009. Some of the issues I have been working on are a couple of broken turnouts, poor elecrical contacts, and missing track feeders. Each of the four modules is 5 ft long. Most of the work is being done on the two end modules and those are shown here set up in my train room.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVKVGM1P8KSeewiYeVjrWFpLLvZLB7tXX0bFmvWuoV8M5GHx_RTysBUyIsjnfprJXT3fh7eoArczGnrdw2F7uNjbZf-NoHhZLNlM_1P4osaoUEfXujH8V9AIQ-sPZNrGAXj7HSEBzRNmNhnA6YamNo5oBNl5cyGFH8LPBTMCTKS0AkgKDPLaVrc3jqb9W/s1500/TBWMA02Oct23b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVKVGM1P8KSeewiYeVjrWFpLLvZLB7tXX0bFmvWuoV8M5GHx_RTysBUyIsjnfprJXT3fh7eoArczGnrdw2F7uNjbZf-NoHhZLNlM_1P4osaoUEfXujH8V9AIQ-sPZNrGAXj7HSEBzRNmNhnA6YamNo5oBNl5cyGFH8LPBTMCTKS0AkgKDPLaVrc3jqb9W/w640-h480/TBWMA02Oct23b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a close up of one of the ends. Several of the rails were broken from the ties where this yard interfaces with other Ntrak modules and were being held in place with track nails and super glue. I made up the same type of PC board ties that I have used in several places on the home layout to better secure them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YuMvTNFzmBl2vIk3d7qrMb7pIWvXMc8OdZgx8HU7_08hIDyyihhHryHGdeBJwTM-CQ8ISva79cmr__R8nFAGOwLPCJyXKByFIOSB6auTydYPN2NJJ03ZU-hHuklhCSxEKt9OHBGUpskJv6oVso50JH6-rnb_HP6zaGjSu3y15HPXvwL5DNqWw7hopH6w/s1500/TBWMA02Oct23a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YuMvTNFzmBl2vIk3d7qrMb7pIWvXMc8OdZgx8HU7_08hIDyyihhHryHGdeBJwTM-CQ8ISva79cmr__R8nFAGOwLPCJyXKByFIOSB6auTydYPN2NJJ03ZU-hHuklhCSxEKt9OHBGUpskJv6oVso50JH6-rnb_HP6zaGjSu3y15HPXvwL5DNqWw7hopH6w/w640-h480/TBWMA02Oct23a.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YuMvTNFzmBl2vIk3d7qrMb7pIWvXMc8OdZgx8HU7_08hIDyyihhHryHGdeBJwTM-CQ8ISva79cmr__R8nFAGOwLPCJyXKByFIOSB6auTydYPN2NJJ03ZU-hHuklhCSxEKt9OHBGUpskJv6oVso50JH6-rnb_HP6zaGjSu3y15HPXvwL5DNqWw7hopH6w/s1500/TBWMA02Oct23a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" left="" style="clear: both;" text-align:="">The goal is to have this staging yard ready for our next layout setup in early December. </div>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-74462638276748055842023-10-08T20:43:00.004-07:002023-10-08T20:43:35.781-07:00What to do with all those pizza cutter wheels<p>Having a layout with code 55 track, I have been replacing the deeper flange wheels on freight cars with low profile ones with priority being given to cars that have car cards and are used in layout operations. So it's no surprise that I have a pile of the "Pizza Cutter" type wheels in my parts box. Recently I had been making up removable loads for some of my gondolas and thought that old railroad wheels could make a nice load.</p><p>I started by cutting wheels off their axles with my spue cutter.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wkMp7Z6A4J5UHel6J1RtwLwS_bqDNZbttBFT_VUZtNLQFaQw1lo6-_upNUT8FMKLDJ6ZJjdAEDNsf46Qrev0Wa7gojO6HE6abohKe-K3M0jumYyGbMJRZtEGIxBAMHQklHsqCgN0UPuyBNTL49Rk05RACHNMOAssMwBtansbO3NvzsuqWBF4-Sphuy6t/s1500/WheelLoad5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="1500" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wkMp7Z6A4J5UHel6J1RtwLwS_bqDNZbttBFT_VUZtNLQFaQw1lo6-_upNUT8FMKLDJ6ZJjdAEDNsf46Qrev0Wa7gojO6HE6abohKe-K3M0jumYyGbMJRZtEGIxBAMHQklHsqCgN0UPuyBNTL49Rk05RACHNMOAssMwBtansbO3NvzsuqWBF4-Sphuy6t/w640-h472/WheelLoad5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>For a base I used a scrap of thin sheet metal cut to fit inside a Micro-Trains 50 ft gondola.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtXDjT69MTEqpKX4atwse-FuuUwtGfqsrJbnhSE5r52OlWEOmiVDLYqiE0aGVDy8Ywu5D4CbOq4cF5T3XVJkfFIxmr9FI2rQErNhLX7avACrJ09tr1j4uwC-1_GYz3xNVGNVBXpfD9iQ7jhoYbWA0xuOBeafE1OSYNMxzAhK6iiRfchZrK02-DE5Ez4an/s1500/WheelLoad3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1500" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtXDjT69MTEqpKX4atwse-FuuUwtGfqsrJbnhSE5r52OlWEOmiVDLYqiE0aGVDy8Ywu5D4CbOq4cF5T3XVJkfFIxmr9FI2rQErNhLX7avACrJ09tr1j4uwC-1_GYz3xNVGNVBXpfD9iQ7jhoYbWA0xuOBeafE1OSYNMxzAhK6iiRfchZrK02-DE5Ez4an/w640-h292/WheelLoad3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Next I began gluing the cut off wheels with liquid plastic cement. First layer was laid out flat then additional wheels were added to the first layer. They were all placed with the outside part of the wheel pointed up.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNImeS726OF2B-Nza3O5sah72DrDQXaphHWM81-R5OofPPWMnehpre4vCFkgYOu5dqQ_ab5g-w-tYZpKALgTAXc9ktgqG2J-wBZpa1L4viRgGiovXJBY-PRKgk0shVwkWaGLo4QIX_945M0bk7kYi6JOJd8P1sZzqni07efYdY5t6bPGuBBeUmuKcrsWr/s1500/WheelLoad1.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="1500" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNImeS726OF2B-Nza3O5sah72DrDQXaphHWM81-R5OofPPWMnehpre4vCFkgYOu5dqQ_ab5g-w-tYZpKALgTAXc9ktgqG2J-wBZpa1L4viRgGiovXJBY-PRKgk0shVwkWaGLo4QIX_945M0bk7kYi6JOJd8P1sZzqni07efYdY5t6bPGuBBeUmuKcrsWr/w640-h302/WheelLoad1.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>Similar to how I did with the scrap loads and covered the load with acrylic oxide red paint being careful get it into all the cervices. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLB8q8goBwSTPcKcoj8ZVOPjNlmjki_egu4wVtpB7ycUmKoIA4jysQ_474SfWnuwgRuUBiJkZqPxcHTHVmsDkkSncCcGHx_RwTbNIcV167PgDxcUCoRGiis-09RRtooJUki8vgFkMditF3cIkDQd7oI9oQZPg77TNCk0lDwLIfwZYW9lqOtn5k1J-fsp5/s1500/WheelLoad4.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLB8q8goBwSTPcKcoj8ZVOPjNlmjki_egu4wVtpB7ycUmKoIA4jysQ_474SfWnuwgRuUBiJkZqPxcHTHVmsDkkSncCcGHx_RwTbNIcV167PgDxcUCoRGiis-09RRtooJUki8vgFkMditF3cIkDQd7oI9oQZPg77TNCk0lDwLIfwZYW9lqOtn5k1J-fsp5/w640-h240/WheelLoad4.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>This is the almost finished load in a gondola. I say almost because I still want to dry brush and weather this old to make it more realistic. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HKPDJb-ujv9JmhPNFOvlFR1fD-Tbai_ugPrC83X3KD8ovpI0v8SDijeL8E7aBbbhZVbd9h9D_pDf1l2AbZDpXI8aPBhm46T7zr4UWzU_itmVjVcNLjybnAM_Wrs9kUnYJkg4HJe8VsipyIAeCn8AihEMlWmkKXevXrXaFt7MaRljSiJG8bOU4_iDOJkY/s1500/WheelLoad2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1500" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HKPDJb-ujv9JmhPNFOvlFR1fD-Tbai_ugPrC83X3KD8ovpI0v8SDijeL8E7aBbbhZVbd9h9D_pDf1l2AbZDpXI8aPBhm46T7zr4UWzU_itmVjVcNLjybnAM_Wrs9kUnYJkg4HJe8VsipyIAeCn8AihEMlWmkKXevXrXaFt7MaRljSiJG8bOU4_iDOJkY/w640-h382/WheelLoad2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-12907039722107963422023-09-26T12:47:00.000-07:002023-09-26T12:47:09.407-07:00On the road again - Lake Cascade, ID<p>During our August RV trip we spent several days in the area of Lake Cascade, Idaho. We had not originally intended to spend time in this area but changed our plans because of the smoke from several wildfires further north. This ended up being a great area and an unexpected high point of our trip. Right next to our camp site was the beginning of a paved trail along the Payette River. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc07YYG3ilM-BvxO0fEzCTJMNxwwQmipLolKROhOsWFrYf0Tv100tCTDvZc0rmzaNuLVr3tzAIzyjQwe2nuTOtZ4h5HVwbC6PS0kzIftkADwGVUVGNmzC8kSpnov230i0YPRk_NVMGS6ydP7E54VmSM0naTQlz_DyTdDG8u6Yo793ORX3BXNbEkBZWLW1x/s1500/LakeCascade4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="1500" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc07YYG3ilM-BvxO0fEzCTJMNxwwQmipLolKROhOsWFrYf0Tv100tCTDvZc0rmzaNuLVr3tzAIzyjQwe2nuTOtZ4h5HVwbC6PS0kzIftkADwGVUVGNmzC8kSpnov230i0YPRk_NVMGS6ydP7E54VmSM0naTQlz_DyTdDG8u6Yo793ORX3BXNbEkBZWLW1x/w640-h446/LakeCascade4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I knew that at one time there had been a Boise-Cascade lumber mill in this area which had closed in 2001. This trail was not on the railroad right of way but this sign along the trail indicated some railroad tracks nearby so of course I had to explore.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2MaJfCEVcgmV-x5nPQKVrqz0G2DVXhGSxt55zCj9k7K8ogBeQU1XcU-08O6fz2xjufQpg6KMrM5uecBiuZxUnOHZ_q0Ayxuv-FKjVV7bmsvy8EHoa86ki-lDl1n4KqUv6MaAfjCfQK722nyVi4SU6BQ9c1wRf_t6CIg5p50XF-Ww6A3E8grTwjUkHEoM/s1500/LakeCascade5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="1500" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2MaJfCEVcgmV-x5nPQKVrqz0G2DVXhGSxt55zCj9k7K8ogBeQU1XcU-08O6fz2xjufQpg6KMrM5uecBiuZxUnOHZ_q0Ayxuv-FKjVV7bmsvy8EHoa86ki-lDl1n4KqUv6MaAfjCfQK722nyVi4SU6BQ9c1wRf_t6CIg5p50XF-Ww6A3E8grTwjUkHEoM/w640-h542/LakeCascade5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I did eventually find the railroad tracks. They appeared to not have been used in quite some time. What I have read is that this section of track had originally been laid around 1914 by the Pacific and Idaho Northern Railroad then taken over by the Union Pacific in 1936. UP had abandoned the section north of Lake Cascade in 1980 and sold off the southern section to a new Idaho Northern Railroad in 1993.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_mXmG4Isjh_7hSMG26sWUp-wCWf4yB7gm0qdnG86b2K_zjvbIuPbAz1WwUpgfefs9m-5xjGam8N1aps4qpezWdsofOaQlIrwXkxaKDKbnUn6j229r4r59X6tMGbogW6qF0Cvmn93_F2XhUKUxoMMVvldlytMxNPY54uUFAxRtQtLs99ROFBRX_C_xX56/s2000/LakeCascade7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_mXmG4Isjh_7hSMG26sWUp-wCWf4yB7gm0qdnG86b2K_zjvbIuPbAz1WwUpgfefs9m-5xjGam8N1aps4qpezWdsofOaQlIrwXkxaKDKbnUn6j229r4r59X6tMGbogW6qF0Cvmn93_F2XhUKUxoMMVvldlytMxNPY54uUFAxRtQtLs99ROFBRX_C_xX56/w480-h640/LakeCascade7.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>There did not appear to be anything left of the lumber mill but there were a couple of siding tracks and a wye. I did notice that all of the turnouts appeared to be maintained and were locked, and that all of the grade crossing signs were still intact.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNY1sAhNbJT0VuzFNr6FeEOfgw965VmmO6NXEkXXNPT4qapKBFhI15T0GeW5hhVyNdZoaROUq2bgs18SR08flKSHN3PLc6yak8avFE1RbUOJ-H4tghe__jdh4v3THCf5ux9sUSDxOycHPkiqegszaFg_vPqamc0PuOEQwvKP-1I0M_ZrFDhwrFv2yLuij/s1500/LakeCascade9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNY1sAhNbJT0VuzFNr6FeEOfgw965VmmO6NXEkXXNPT4qapKBFhI15T0GeW5hhVyNdZoaROUq2bgs18SR08flKSHN3PLc6yak8avFE1RbUOJ-H4tghe__jdh4v3THCf5ux9sUSDxOycHPkiqegszaFg_vPqamc0PuOEQwvKP-1I0M_ZrFDhwrFv2yLuij/w640-h480/LakeCascade9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>There was this one RR maintenance shed within the wye. Inside were boxes and buckets of spikes, tie plates, etc. The building itself looked as if could fall down at any time. That is one leg of the wye behind the shed.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqB_MvwlBKoRhXhVxMBlCwl9vcoGrt0cTROz0GeknN0x1v9dAJRXRo-ediOT-u1vJ3pkwNk-Cpx6SVnXNYUtczvmspi6jaZg3J-Y9FM4RaXwLXgbDLSWKt30MCOkacz3hIBgupS6ruB2uz-KMyto5cmPzRZkyU6ZFB2aSXoAGIBwxVuzC1ntYu25XQOsQ/s1500/LakeCascade10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqB_MvwlBKoRhXhVxMBlCwl9vcoGrt0cTROz0GeknN0x1v9dAJRXRo-ediOT-u1vJ3pkwNk-Cpx6SVnXNYUtczvmspi6jaZg3J-Y9FM4RaXwLXgbDLSWKt30MCOkacz3hIBgupS6ruB2uz-KMyto5cmPzRZkyU6ZFB2aSXoAGIBwxVuzC1ntYu25XQOsQ/w640-h480/LakeCascade10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Near where the tracks ended I found this elevated passenger platform which made me think that there had been a tourist railroad here at one time. I later found out there was a tourist railroad here between 1998 and 2016 called the Thunder Mountain Line Railroad. It ran for 40 miles along the Payette River between Horseshoe Bend and Lake Cascade. The main page of their website is still operating at <a href="http://thundermountainline.com.">thundermountainline.com.</a></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXWBXxd2BbXRsEwVe0LsQvGMQ8j-rrdzMvNYSXxjXzftbzarf9Amg5VG4FAe1cIZ1tlfQ1P2LKN6mLdAbyXX92UtSF0mjwOH7GyF9vQOYgmYPs-5zmu_AX3uOU93FzJZlTbc8dR_vnWrz-RCEZHGuT3N1p9GFNwfsq-t6xVxTzAuuMM081oiczoV-h_P7/s1500/LakeCascade8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1500" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXWBXxd2BbXRsEwVe0LsQvGMQ8j-rrdzMvNYSXxjXzftbzarf9Amg5VG4FAe1cIZ1tlfQ1P2LKN6mLdAbyXX92UtSF0mjwOH7GyF9vQOYgmYPs-5zmu_AX3uOU93FzJZlTbc8dR_vnWrz-RCEZHGuT3N1p9GFNwfsq-t6xVxTzAuuMM081oiczoV-h_P7/w640-h362/LakeCascade8.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>I was able to walk up the ramp and inspect the interior of the station platform. Still seemed in good shape. Maybe there is hope that this tourist railroad might reopen some day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeM-uXTYKXng4n3_3TiKaJ259NpHY6sbflTPom7AP9uUmGcsIAbaBvnXr-KQMojrOVh_8ehBTpqAgdXuq7r_zqZEQvbiA_e4Das8Fcxn3li__W9uDkE6Q_9MXgy1DSdnI9pQTllOUraMfJ_lpqiC3QZ4ETepNHeJADd_Lyff2KMRQFlHiEuTw8RjCNO9Vk/s1500/LakeCascade3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeM-uXTYKXng4n3_3TiKaJ259NpHY6sbflTPom7AP9uUmGcsIAbaBvnXr-KQMojrOVh_8ehBTpqAgdXuq7r_zqZEQvbiA_e4Das8Fcxn3li__W9uDkE6Q_9MXgy1DSdnI9pQTllOUraMfJ_lpqiC3QZ4ETepNHeJADd_Lyff2KMRQFlHiEuTw8RjCNO9Vk/w640-h480/LakeCascade3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br />nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-31457448640675868692023-09-13T08:48:00.000-07:002023-09-13T08:48:03.160-07:00On the road again - Cashmere, WA<p>During our August RV trip we spent some time in central Washington state. We decided to visit a place called the Cashmere Museum and Pioneer Village. The interior of the building was full exhibits about the history of the area of the native people that had lived there.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoKKrupSAHMWIfUtD-wyxrdG7X3fqUtcKw5WNcPzEoSIBPnRqmsqWaxTED6ETccx9KzRMAo5nuNRyAfM0vrz1M-i-XliR8m5NV351rft-YY9gHQJqyWHXIA4bsyYn5_N9Mt-REe6bv9nMZAqD-EIEMNAyRBxsKqZmP6YJOFi3oWHanYSEwF_sY74CNflq/s1500/Cashmere1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoKKrupSAHMWIfUtD-wyxrdG7X3fqUtcKw5WNcPzEoSIBPnRqmsqWaxTED6ETccx9KzRMAo5nuNRyAfM0vrz1M-i-XliR8m5NV351rft-YY9gHQJqyWHXIA4bsyYn5_N9Mt-REe6bv9nMZAqD-EIEMNAyRBxsKqZmP6YJOFi3oWHanYSEwF_sY74CNflq/w640-h480/Cashmere1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The outdoor area had a collection of original pioneer buildings that had been relocated from various locations around the area to create something of a village. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_EmM0qRGUPN9Hnw90l6cDra_djdmr-vBP9YnBPaY8gCKQzNJLb51fEcMMnCKIiHsLpjDJGMF1o6rtBYm1kRJjVEf8fTdFw1rjZ4NjL72j-C4LJANwI6Y4_bK4KThujBQf8uzC_RrfF2NfJR51lAIH7xhkRVhliR9V3qMWO4AYwv_r0WYjrtCkdDatVQu/s1500/Cashmere3.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_EmM0qRGUPN9Hnw90l6cDra_djdmr-vBP9YnBPaY8gCKQzNJLb51fEcMMnCKIiHsLpjDJGMF1o6rtBYm1kRJjVEf8fTdFw1rjZ4NjL72j-C4LJANwI6Y4_bK4KThujBQf8uzC_RrfF2NfJR51lAIH7xhkRVhliR9V3qMWO4AYwv_r0WYjrtCkdDatVQu/w640-h480/Cashmere3.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>A part of the outdoor portion of the museum was a nicely done exhibit dedicated to Great Northern Railroad artifacts. Like the Pioneer Village, all of these artifacts had been relocated here from various locations. The Great Northern line, now operated by BNSF is only a few hundred feet from the museum site across the Wenatchee River. A short section of track had been laid along one side of the museum stie. The center piece of this exhibit was Great Northern caboose X494.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEU1llzHN3AE5HHz2TTTPYXJd4geacjpFhucwSegqJQ2UzAsstU2yTFBUDZSQ-ijDAo0dVn4HSyXjAta4Q6Wqt3rXEi4Ei0XUfSc5m433uFiEJeC5qsAus2_8sY1OoZH8MmJOIae8B1b7_XHJcGyeq84Qs4rflbAPLvvesCV01MzXDiDX59Dhi8CZs3XLE/s1500/GNX494a.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1500" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEU1llzHN3AE5HHz2TTTPYXJd4geacjpFhucwSegqJQ2UzAsstU2yTFBUDZSQ-ijDAo0dVn4HSyXjAta4Q6Wqt3rXEi4Ei0XUfSc5m433uFiEJeC5qsAus2_8sY1OoZH8MmJOIae8B1b7_XHJcGyeq84Qs4rflbAPLvvesCV01MzXDiDX59Dhi8CZs3XLE/w640-h410/GNX494a.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>Visitors could enter the interior of the caboose. As seen in this photo, it was bare bones but well preserved.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEL5KO4NO6T9mqG_pA-3zmsYXDyMhIMgoomJDRivSJLGug0a-t96tceZZtAv035cJtnrk_9grprBJI6CXBRrG0t2XkEuZxHR6ycz45n5EEM6QheYLQZ93NS_K5MXXPeyAt2hQD1JvuO7mMfor0kUaG1Z9xMhASHVPiecSlqx2gpqvy9mCqQW7-X0NkoFpw/s1500/GNX494b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEL5KO4NO6T9mqG_pA-3zmsYXDyMhIMgoomJDRivSJLGug0a-t96tceZZtAv035cJtnrk_9grprBJI6CXBRrG0t2XkEuZxHR6ycz45n5EEM6QheYLQZ93NS_K5MXXPeyAt2hQD1JvuO7mMfor0kUaG1Z9xMhASHVPiecSlqx2gpqvy9mCqQW7-X0NkoFpw/w640-h480/GNX494b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Next to the track near the caboose is the original 1900 flag stop station for Mission, which was the town's name until 1940.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPK4QD9V7cOrXXwiQs6jIIgY0D_IRH1PpyoZb8ObKlbKW-rc0NONMbjka5E3uU0GbKbqAp3OFa_aRJztynzgDGaATWhDEHX9rr_A6vYld5wZ1f60GDChCgRkaVEX6Tse9K70ta0izv_ILFMu61kb0uxPLAh35_N8j__7DlAhfYqlPlI8LuQ-oDsGR-jH5/s1500/Cashmere4.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPK4QD9V7cOrXXwiQs6jIIgY0D_IRH1PpyoZb8ObKlbKW-rc0NONMbjka5E3uU0GbKbqAp3OFa_aRJztynzgDGaATWhDEHX9rr_A6vYld5wZ1f60GDChCgRkaVEX6Tse9K70ta0izv_ILFMu61kb0uxPLAh35_N8j__7DlAhfYqlPlI8LuQ-oDsGR-jH5/w640-h480/Cashmere4.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>At one end of the track was this Great Northern section house. This section house was relocated to the museum site from the town of Leavenworth, which is about 10 miles to the west and is where our camp site was.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPB2pfRXJ-lxjVN9bV3YTGoLlguZz2tFD9jDRmEEEUe-Hog4_xB1CDfIrzrwU0HBliXnl0wL-nK_OZE4qU3IdBrVagYIcNHlGty3m8LoC6N4uYEnLhJHJCGDys6hBw1E1iLgSOg0yng-ycU7xg8fvPgkkarNx7h7PxSghKurQ5Y3OipX6-9IMoVK87qYU8/s1500/GNX494d.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPB2pfRXJ-lxjVN9bV3YTGoLlguZz2tFD9jDRmEEEUe-Hog4_xB1CDfIrzrwU0HBliXnl0wL-nK_OZE4qU3IdBrVagYIcNHlGty3m8LoC6N4uYEnLhJHJCGDys6hBw1E1iLgSOg0yng-ycU7xg8fvPgkkarNx7h7PxSghKurQ5Y3OipX6-9IMoVK87qYU8/w640-h480/GNX494d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This was another one of those pleasant surprises that we found in our travels. </p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-13235419075454876572023-09-07T20:35:00.000-07:002023-09-07T20:35:38.274-07:00Scrap yard fencing<p>I have been continuing work on the scarp yard in Carlin and wanted to create some fencing similar to what I had seen around such places. I started with some corrugated foil material that I have used to make roofs on some structures. A little package of this material was my first ebay purchase back in 2001 and has been used on several projects over the years. This material was cut into 10 scale feet high strips. The one shown in the upper right of this photo is how shiny it is so I painted them a duller aluminum color and dry brushed some weathering on them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1aYhs194X7PntmfTSdqi7VZ-w-Ptns-d2QZXbevoiQdfogbR23e2cit476gcPS1WF6lvAlf15qgNyeetO8PWWr-o9o9eeJF8v1Y7BIMX4YGoh7Wp2DR56TgOoWSJdJ2ohxtN1SCNmfHHxeOmCPwW_3JXyalBJw1YlE6pZyqPJs-PUa2dRB0OOM7Hihw/s1500/ScrapYardFence6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1171" data-original-width="1500" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1aYhs194X7PntmfTSdqi7VZ-w-Ptns-d2QZXbevoiQdfogbR23e2cit476gcPS1WF6lvAlf15qgNyeetO8PWWr-o9o9eeJF8v1Y7BIMX4YGoh7Wp2DR56TgOoWSJdJ2ohxtN1SCNmfHHxeOmCPwW_3JXyalBJw1YlE6pZyqPJs-PUa2dRB0OOM7Hihw/w640-h500/ScrapYardFence6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Coiled razor wire at the top of the fence was made by winding 30 gauge magnet wire around a bamboo skewer. This was then painted a silver color before being attached to the top cross frame of the fence with Super glue.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PCinDc79Ler0d25SiljqWj0H1FYGCA3PQQZrej87edumgkJurhy3E1FKKms9jJEavWoZmDO-4U9CW7Gh79ncMabklGOvDxeI_-XJSYw5VK33DAZmiS0dx1AHbqAH-09WGb_PMvtI7Y0a_jlMyLYQkkmhUSq1IVd9qD0gVS4yV3gxyZ2hyyo6kiCSOg/s1500/ScrapyardFence5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1500" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PCinDc79Ler0d25SiljqWj0H1FYGCA3PQQZrej87edumgkJurhy3E1FKKms9jJEavWoZmDO-4U9CW7Gh79ncMabklGOvDxeI_-XJSYw5VK33DAZmiS0dx1AHbqAH-09WGb_PMvtI7Y0a_jlMyLYQkkmhUSq1IVd9qD0gVS4yV3gxyZ2hyyo6kiCSOg/w640-h450/ScrapyardFence5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I built frames for the fence from .030 x .030 styrene strip painted roof brown before attaching the simulated metal sheeting. This photo shows this in the section that has the gate for the track.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XxJbV2PZCS9_wZGUSQpBZKZ9a18jzibM7dei8GNBub_gWu0m-VFgLcJ0VfV2pcN0KHpwFdzVqM7TqEPmLy1EG1GNAjwsu-6bQVVOdUzZT8bmm3ooAWtVHdf0ko4FVR2FZ9xLm2p8QqVQNTcsmI7MqaAQms4ZEax8p1-QW5Oad1tUU5b9WFxOJ91UjQ/s1500/ScrapYardFence7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XxJbV2PZCS9_wZGUSQpBZKZ9a18jzibM7dei8GNBub_gWu0m-VFgLcJ0VfV2pcN0KHpwFdzVqM7TqEPmLy1EG1GNAjwsu-6bQVVOdUzZT8bmm3ooAWtVHdf0ko4FVR2FZ9xLm2p8QqVQNTcsmI7MqaAQms4ZEax8p1-QW5Oad1tUU5b9WFxOJ91UjQ/w640-h480/ScrapYardFence7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The foil material was then attached to the frame with tiny dots of E6000 adhesive using a bamboo skewer. The foil material is nonconductive and since the frame is made from styrene, there is no chance of shorting the rails.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZPtkRFpLxGUnuepR6ZVM_Nr4CgmcWR4OL10lVhFBzhZKiNNsb0yPM3V7VcPpQcmU41WFhs_w_X4g0u43RELSh8mfcITSSNSAZtGjGEr7VoUDfTYjj_k8SGgvFD1OwlUbmNsAFOzLhAxcaiQ9XlSwUu8P1VY7j0hCFJwLm1okTqwEUqv5SOckT6IqYTyV/s1500/ScrapYardFence8.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="1500" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZPtkRFpLxGUnuepR6ZVM_Nr4CgmcWR4OL10lVhFBzhZKiNNsb0yPM3V7VcPpQcmU41WFhs_w_X4g0u43RELSh8mfcITSSNSAZtGjGEr7VoUDfTYjj_k8SGgvFD1OwlUbmNsAFOzLhAxcaiQ9XlSwUu8P1VY7j0hCFJwLm1okTqwEUqv5SOckT6IqYTyV/w640-h408/ScrapYardFence8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The gate is supported by a single pin at one end that is not glued into the base so the gate can swing open. The spacing was set so that freight cars and locomotives can pass through without hitting the fence.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNYhkDE0G6MJioj5wIqxYt7uORCEbbN29jaEMJosB70alADqci7yMhR6sxmBFtLHJ9n9ky-rmmHVxsgaIyLR5-tWKF5VFzCMY6OUKOlkVV8CKqr0_4cxep6mGDdPofb2DU-DmMzNvnDjvdI4qcDBnhZ-ciBof8HnnMhY9MA41QKSps-oOii-6Ho4IycZo/s1500/ScrapYardFence9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1349" data-original-width="1500" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNYhkDE0G6MJioj5wIqxYt7uORCEbbN29jaEMJosB70alADqci7yMhR6sxmBFtLHJ9n9ky-rmmHVxsgaIyLR5-tWKF5VFzCMY6OUKOlkVV8CKqr0_4cxep6mGDdPofb2DU-DmMzNvnDjvdI4qcDBnhZ-ciBof8HnnMhY9MA41QKSps-oOii-6Ho4IycZo/w640-h576/ScrapYardFence9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Still plenty more to do to finish this scrap yard. More in future posts.</p><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-45537665974625591352023-09-03T07:52:00.000-07:002023-09-03T07:52:36.640-07:00On the road again - near Terrebonne, OR<p> In August my wife and I did a 2 week long trip with our travel trailer to the Pacific Northwest. On the second day of the trip we were north bound on US 97 north of Bend, Oregon when we decided to pull into a highway rest stop. We soon discovered that we had entered a historically important site. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVO8rZ5ATq3f1yJk9FXxyt_Ln3WzDFQSud8vsu1urre6tyauNQe371U2d03t5Fhy9JGdRh1ZUkSMAeCTGEeCCuY7Js5NcoXRY1Jpov5cr8wKIZUKVVcSw4cc9mYqL6WvBjItlcXicqeaWWhmqxCTSkx94hIFpUrp81qWlr-nRSTHs2G49M06iadl4_1GgU/s1071/CrookedBridge6.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1071" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVO8rZ5ATq3f1yJk9FXxyt_Ln3WzDFQSud8vsu1urre6tyauNQe371U2d03t5Fhy9JGdRh1ZUkSMAeCTGEeCCuY7Js5NcoXRY1Jpov5cr8wKIZUKVVcSw4cc9mYqL6WvBjItlcXicqeaWWhmqxCTSkx94hIFpUrp81qWlr-nRSTHs2G49M06iadl4_1GgU/w640-h434/CrookedBridge6.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>We discovered that US 97 and the parallel railroad track were about to cross a rather deep gorge and the Crooked River. This large rest stop is known as the Peter Skene Odgen State Scenic Viewpoint. I was not familiar with this river so had to stroll around the site and check things out. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeG-oux_5f_aK2rxU4iqOuMFZq-WqddbgDCF1w7AvOJjbOzziONsJT77ccG8P1btp5178WmaXhZBFcgYKgHY3rYqwGQzGVfk1oEZYz3dfVsQQcnfYn9u-43vXT9V602QFpZOJUpxNx4UAebnEFGPn103ZIJcqmc9sXPBRmQSub_tg5yYH3kEL6awBc1Ii/s1500/CrookedBridge4.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeG-oux_5f_aK2rxU4iqOuMFZq-WqddbgDCF1w7AvOJjbOzziONsJT77ccG8P1btp5178WmaXhZBFcgYKgHY3rYqwGQzGVfk1oEZYz3dfVsQQcnfYn9u-43vXT9V602QFpZOJUpxNx4UAebnEFGPn103ZIJcqmc9sXPBRmQSub_tg5yYH3kEL6awBc1Ii/w640-h480/CrookedBridge4.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>The arched rail bridge was originally built for the Oregon Trunk Railroad around 1911 and apparently still in use today by the BNSF although we did not see a train pass while we were there.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64jDm4d3bCniqFsKZTzs0Lh0TUBPX1_XEo94qvONEAsiNlbN8ZqGqGBhZh3haeKf-fyO34-lQTT0OErhdn54rQI5t648I8R2Uz3ac8363On__VFKoGI4NJ3mkpShou1DCttRL2mKbt9sW1xP1RP5nNLYCH51hvuIW2-IL-Aly3xaFdTx2O_QrTKhOJX79/s1500/CrookedBridge3.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="947" data-original-width="1500" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64jDm4d3bCniqFsKZTzs0Lh0TUBPX1_XEo94qvONEAsiNlbN8ZqGqGBhZh3haeKf-fyO34-lQTT0OErhdn54rQI5t648I8R2Uz3ac8363On__VFKoGI4NJ3mkpShou1DCttRL2mKbt9sW1xP1RP5nNLYCH51hvuIW2-IL-Aly3xaFdTx2O_QrTKhOJX79/w640-h404/CrookedBridge3.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><br /><p>The site also includes the old 2 lane US 97 bridge which was built in 1926. It is in the foreground in this photo and it's wider replacement built in the 1990's is in the background. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHakMU3H1Il34JLkzpZntMD_yyDaXYIoAwmeiSB7orOc1oOG1sxW2uFPp0vPnmJXS3DTz6aKlbNv-gIEarmgIPGni7z7wStI2QGGmHZM3HOozKxwXYjf430Y3BTiMHaXYRxFryhYLg8ROY98Rd7J2NiUogAgq6kHZJbCJsRLVhEpa5G3yy3EfBZIIsXJlM/s1500/CrookedBridge2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHakMU3H1Il34JLkzpZntMD_yyDaXYIoAwmeiSB7orOc1oOG1sxW2uFPp0vPnmJXS3DTz6aKlbNv-gIEarmgIPGni7z7wStI2QGGmHZM3HOozKxwXYjf430Y3BTiMHaXYRxFryhYLg8ROY98Rd7J2NiUogAgq6kHZJbCJsRLVhEpa5G3yy3EfBZIIsXJlM/w640-h480/CrookedBridge2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>While the old highway bridge is not open to vehicle traffic, it is open to pedestrians and connected to the park. Visitors can walk out to get a different view of the gorge.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh116yGh-8pF4__m7BVRq2xUk9ji-Wrsxd1oGPTWz6hKq91JtWjXdtseFhuso3uZ5EYNCKiqceVvh1vLMKViEuTQTgU5-jwVCOfHYZJsHKWHlfJg5QbJhJcgm__iR9g8ymZ_XE9Mpc3tReq2U7ChGROV9326semStNbDBalErhMQejgdTbPI0njizAQUhK4/s1871/CrookedBridge5.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1871" data-original-width="1500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh116yGh-8pF4__m7BVRq2xUk9ji-Wrsxd1oGPTWz6hKq91JtWjXdtseFhuso3uZ5EYNCKiqceVvh1vLMKViEuTQTgU5-jwVCOfHYZJsHKWHlfJg5QbJhJcgm__iR9g8ymZ_XE9Mpc3tReq2U7ChGROV9326semStNbDBalErhMQejgdTbPI0njizAQUhK4/w514-h640/CrookedBridge5.jpg" width="514" /></a></p><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-48143920789635947362023-08-07T20:53:00.003-07:002023-08-07T20:54:34.384-07:00Summer 2023 layout update<p>Summers always go by so quickly and summer 2023 especially so. </p><p>With the pandemic now seemingly behind us, my wife and I have been trying to make up for lost time in regards to travel. Earlier this year we spent a month Japan, then in April spent a few days in Santa Rosa, CA, and then in June attended the N Scale convention in Reno, NV. We still plan to get in a longer RV trip before the summer is over and then a trip to the eastern US in the fall.</p><p>Not so much has been happening as far as construction progress on the layout. I have been enjoying operating the layout regularly by myself and have been continuing to develop the operations. I've also been doing some small projects which have been presented here.</p><p>I have also taken on a couple of hobby related projects outside of this layout. First is the design and building of a control system for a pair of 5 track staging yards that are part of a friend's large N Scale, DC controlled double track layout. These are the control panels that I have built for this project. They are built using the same methods as I have used for the <a href="https://palisadecanyonrr.blogspot.com/2020/09/updated-control-panel.html"><b>control panels on my layout</b></a>. The painter's tape around the edges is to keep any debris from getting in between the layers and will be removed just before installation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrxr-Sj338pVrkxoJyzdwQsbNjH-esLZwbuK_2rK9nkBD65BIrpmZLdsdZCtu0HM70sOsmKWR-mgc5Brn8M-1PhdOr1EXWQe-UGWcgKLU4uCIwyHMfJLZCOR5J2vf0noK8nKtQy9gI2MMSs3XOTkx08KGjF_Az7GGwEzYaPuW9Q3iw8WWBGD51-Woy9TW3/s1500/TBWMA31Jul23a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="1500" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrxr-Sj338pVrkxoJyzdwQsbNjH-esLZwbuK_2rK9nkBD65BIrpmZLdsdZCtu0HM70sOsmKWR-mgc5Brn8M-1PhdOr1EXWQe-UGWcgKLU4uCIwyHMfJLZCOR5J2vf0noK8nKtQy9gI2MMSs3XOTkx08KGjF_Az7GGwEzYaPuW9Q3iw8WWBGD51-Woy9TW3/w640-h500/TBWMA31Jul23a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The track power control circuits that were removed from my layout have been modified to control the turnouts on this project. I have also built a pair of new diode matrix boards to match this yard's track plan. </p><p>I came home from the N Scale convention with the Ntrak club's 30-year-old, 20 ft staging yard which is in need of an overhaul. The main part of the project will be to change the electrical track selection from using the Peco contacts to some sealed relays. This was done on the red line during the last overhaul in 2011 and eliminated any voltage drops on that line. So this time this will be done on the yellow and blue lines. Then there are a few other minor repairs to make and my deadline for this is early December when we have our next setup. This is that yard in it's storage configuration along with it's legs sitting under part of the layout. It's 20 ft long overall in four 5 foot sections. All of the work to be done is on the 2 end sections and those can be set up in the middle of my train room.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQJbmsfOVH-4qFq4OX1G0vg2Cf6bgDJcN_EZHd9z293xqQbVldFZ8vQB4Z9aye-uNta7aLZIaTWD4_QsPnVLQgtgiPuk-6KZPnTrydUbyToeSjCXaVjFWwBOVXZOgs0kuDu85nS4OwfWXy_dW7hqO1v_U6fQRvf5B0mZFmQtk8WGc7lppZbYMB6h7oKdG/s1500/ClubYard1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1500" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQJbmsfOVH-4qFq4OX1G0vg2Cf6bgDJcN_EZHd9z293xqQbVldFZ8vQB4Z9aye-uNta7aLZIaTWD4_QsPnVLQgtgiPuk-6KZPnTrydUbyToeSjCXaVjFWwBOVXZOgs0kuDu85nS4OwfWXy_dW7hqO1v_U6fQRvf5B0mZFmQtk8WGc7lppZbYMB6h7oKdG/w640-h346/ClubYard1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>So through the rest of this year, most of the time spent in the train room will be spent on electronics work but I can still do plenty of running on the layout and may even sneak in a few more small layout projects too.</p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-23437124555788413362023-08-01T20:41:00.001-07:002023-08-01T20:41:49.039-07:00Patching a patch job<p>During the N Scale convention held in Reno in June, Scaletrains sent out their PS-2 4785 3 bay covered hopper painted for Golden West Service and patched for Cotton Belt (SSW) to everyone who attended the manufacturers breakfast on Sunday morning. What a nice surprise that was. Because my wife also attended, we received two of these models with the same number so I wanted to re-number one of them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqutLw1jL50cpLfhhUkZE_vH9MBDzzm7HQVnMGkKWPjKPEsV-E4LPA2Cr9KBzoHbjGQ11dvrMvR0_d7AOFuDBXRyAtWxUdn6Ub7DByz0nRx8H1ps7ZfQfD6CS9cxdAn3h6uPrFVe6LFbfKD6ZWalyuKd2Oy2JQQbSY17VkG1pbLlRRcL-gNs-t5E6iLSC4/s1500/SSW77945.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1500" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqutLw1jL50cpLfhhUkZE_vH9MBDzzm7HQVnMGkKWPjKPEsV-E4LPA2Cr9KBzoHbjGQ11dvrMvR0_d7AOFuDBXRyAtWxUdn6Ub7DByz0nRx8H1ps7ZfQfD6CS9cxdAn3h6uPrFVe6LFbfKD6ZWalyuKd2Oy2JQQbSY17VkG1pbLlRRcL-gNs-t5E6iLSC4/w640-h328/SSW77945.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I always like to start with a prototype photo and so looked through a bunch online. The patches on these cars were done in several different ways. I settled on this one although it is less weathered than the model. While the stock Scaletrains model has a dark blue background with yellow characters, this one appears to have a black background with white characters.</p><p>.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHk7phnckIu8nbIe1THPoEAmILbFpXzCaeeUwVyoCpjxCfjN0fMZ935aSXyxgMkIxNvwTQeGU1aRLaluDtpIKpYglpq3mv5gQ3dPD1hS8dTqRzeoMFeTwB9QLcjo7Ahh0Tw36K75vFo0oyDV5VdP9AN8bXNj28silTpOFiP-5HHXEzor-hW6Jd46RfffT/s1024/SSW_77922.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1024" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHk7phnckIu8nbIe1THPoEAmILbFpXzCaeeUwVyoCpjxCfjN0fMZ935aSXyxgMkIxNvwTQeGU1aRLaluDtpIKpYglpq3mv5gQ3dPD1hS8dTqRzeoMFeTwB9QLcjo7Ahh0Tw36K75vFo0oyDV5VdP9AN8bXNj28silTpOFiP-5HHXEzor-hW6Jd46RfffT/w640-h492/SSW_77922.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>First thing to do was to remove the original patch. I found that with a soaking of Microscale Micro Sol and gentle scraping with an Xacto blade, the original patch comes off fairly easily.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJlcATYB5OqIfs3fFKupqyqL2uHmWcCqUARkMfY7qXLQ9IQ5sy7JV6sqHN5rAg_NHjLr6G6ViaDYAhLtf1Vd5TD-jJ2TXP_UMqTNcqglASs2bXTqDsSCLl30acTAbFuW1OvRFRwttknj9O5LrGZtGvUXwvfcjs6ZI5pQyZMkbJoMaKlPBb-AroS1gSyvS/s1500/SSW77922a.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1500" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJlcATYB5OqIfs3fFKupqyqL2uHmWcCqUARkMfY7qXLQ9IQ5sy7JV6sqHN5rAg_NHjLr6G6ViaDYAhLtf1Vd5TD-jJ2TXP_UMqTNcqglASs2bXTqDsSCLl30acTAbFuW1OvRFRwttknj9O5LrGZtGvUXwvfcjs6ZI5pQyZMkbJoMaKlPBb-AroS1gSyvS/w640-h378/SSW77922a.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>For the black background I used some of the wider stripes from a black stripe set I had. None of the stripes were wide enough so I doubled the rows to get the width I needed.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-bOGMXM6FktUL-SpdEoRQ_1jSOiFblEuVyk3d41hammNuLzYyAn6ZP6xynac8jJ9B9YF6JFDJBIyMUJ1lIc1mqv1J1KVpDu5JfFSiPKycNkquov0cJcWzE1nttfgxqiHpZbjePE1pZR3NQhiyIpwEUddFHwQG9v-Ad0KeLSECDcZxK6If0sRiKuKAGbX/s1555/SSW77922d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1555" data-original-width="1500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-bOGMXM6FktUL-SpdEoRQ_1jSOiFblEuVyk3d41hammNuLzYyAn6ZP6xynac8jJ9B9YF6JFDJBIyMUJ1lIc1mqv1J1KVpDu5JfFSiPKycNkquov0cJcWzE1nttfgxqiHpZbjePE1pZR3NQhiyIpwEUddFHwQG9v-Ad0KeLSECDcZxK6If0sRiKuKAGbX/w618-h640/SSW77922d.jpg" width="618" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is the area with the black stripes applied. The black stripe decals were applied in between bunt not over the panel seam to match the prototype photo. These were then given an application of Micro Sol before the characters were started. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUi4Lbhf8BC7xxTbUEBou8PJySLglNOs7jPmfBAxDWD7jJeV6xq7VWRw4e_NsM-NvafLEG_pvUoLiWdzDw0DU8lvssm6acUU5efdIvn87y6GLADYb5pTgF_uQU7MzXIlPmWtLRhZ23J0JF_0txmf_xqbvkIsA5Q4Mq_3xujaPcitlJxPGJ-aPwseL6Zvu/s1500/SSW77922f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1500" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUi4Lbhf8BC7xxTbUEBou8PJySLglNOs7jPmfBAxDWD7jJeV6xq7VWRw4e_NsM-NvafLEG_pvUoLiWdzDw0DU8lvssm6acUU5efdIvn87y6GLADYb5pTgF_uQU7MzXIlPmWtLRhZ23J0JF_0txmf_xqbvkIsA5Q4Mq_3xujaPcitlJxPGJ-aPwseL6Zvu/w640-h510/SSW77922f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is how the model looked after the characters were applied. As the weathering on these cars was identical, I added just a bit more to this one to make them seem different. This was a fun project. Most prototype patch jobs tend to be held to lower standards then original paint jobs so a few crooked decals or mismatched character fonts can be forgiven. These are great models and I'm really happy to have them on my layout.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirYuAjuDky06ruw00x-JmN56c_Vfv4PTgJsnko7eMes6cx2n3rx8t1pEdeEhL_XppQUekCAHn2FfdTIoTdDrWbZUZtGHVtWQuyIijfQDtiupP1czUdMjlHUlVwfjtpCg7eSLQXIgCIjjVKFr9BxRYTb15PD2qieM-5FATomsZupRsf_16U5K1zUbteZWU/s1500/SSW77922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="1500" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirYuAjuDky06ruw00x-JmN56c_Vfv4PTgJsnko7eMes6cx2n3rx8t1pEdeEhL_XppQUekCAHn2FfdTIoTdDrWbZUZtGHVtWQuyIijfQDtiupP1czUdMjlHUlVwfjtpCg7eSLQXIgCIjjVKFr9BxRYTb15PD2qieM-5FATomsZupRsf_16U5K1zUbteZWU/w640-h304/SSW77922.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-66978754096959677952023-07-20T11:07:00.003-07:002023-07-20T11:07:16.800-07:00Changes for the Western Pacific staging yard<p>The west end Western Pacific staging yard had been in limited operation as being just a return loop since March. I had replaced the wye control function of the non-operating DS64 with my own circuit but still could not use 3 of the 4 tracks. Recently I built and installed the circuit to control the yard ladder.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuCaFID25j_4PsmkqzK-VVGN2gA5Di5AKEMKU32dfiQPfvHrFMAGThtuDnvY1pbTm6qtgMD1AvELBxFcMmzI2XV4KaZBf6q9mat8lTpC5Q08R4s8KmB0uXkrmoTHaZZXlpQmBWr9_UhEXkOKkk7JKWTwQGygMnfpDzYOEMxYw6-IL_9xbn_p-bFQrCRHgU/s1500/YardControls10.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuCaFID25j_4PsmkqzK-VVGN2gA5Di5AKEMKU32dfiQPfvHrFMAGThtuDnvY1pbTm6qtgMD1AvELBxFcMmzI2XV4KaZBf6q9mat8lTpC5Q08R4s8KmB0uXkrmoTHaZZXlpQmBWr9_UhEXkOKkk7JKWTwQGygMnfpDzYOEMxYw6-IL_9xbn_p-bFQrCRHgU/w640-h480/YardControls10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>With the new controls, the control panel also got some changes. In the old scheme the track selected LEDs used a common return. With this new scheme each LED is connected to its own track on both rails so additional connections were needed. Removing the unused occupied LEDs freed up those connections in the control panel.</p><p>As I always run the trains in the same direction in the staging yard, I replaced the toggle switches which had controlled both the yard ladder and wye turnout with push buttons. Then push buttons were added for independent control of the wye. Those changes are pointed out in blue in the photo below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FEoFSc8HyAghFYK6Nu5XYIqz2ySSuhMf5eEnva7hQGqbOzhtSsptP6LCkRrTIgaJf_1TaEaoVtUqLs6EI64OOzjeAUrBC8GCiwQeg6uIiDkzQ9qTOlKX2hEIrLinjakP46NCHMpRWAbuSTPJC5HCCiSVkF_TKgkv3oZTv4aWRbGkvQ__nvURXyDNDZkG/s1500/Control-Panel-7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1500" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FEoFSc8HyAghFYK6Nu5XYIqz2ySSuhMf5eEnva7hQGqbOzhtSsptP6LCkRrTIgaJf_1TaEaoVtUqLs6EI64OOzjeAUrBC8GCiwQeg6uIiDkzQ9qTOlKX2hEIrLinjakP46NCHMpRWAbuSTPJC5HCCiSVkF_TKgkv3oZTv4aWRbGkvQ__nvURXyDNDZkG/w640-h352/Control-Panel-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>So now this staging yard works the same way as the lower level staging yard but without the automatic function.</p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-63259619458093894752023-07-13T10:58:00.000-07:002023-07-13T10:58:49.927-07:00Removable coal loads for Micro-Trains hopper cars<p>Some time ago I added a unit coal train to the operation of my layout. The SP trains would have been carrying Wyoming coal from Ogden, Utah to San Jose, California. From there it would have gone out on locals to at least two cement quarries to be used it in their kilns. </p><p>On this layout these trains run through without any interchange. It seemed unrealistic for them to run loaded in both directions so I wanted an easy way to remove these loads so they could be empty in the eastbound direction. </p><p>The loads that come with the Micro-Trains hopper are good looking and fit snugly into the car and cannot be removed without picking up the car. The loads weigh 10 grams, with the empty car weighing 18 grams so a lot of the weight is in the loads. On the bottom there are three rectangular bulges. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdT1gQwArvCPDPiMbARcYLkzz4F0aZOdhY-6xiyipghwI05wr-X53HLVdBVfEpFWaDlhcsLKA9Q-LhbFfYWYUE0hfWeZ-k_7iePMVTg04h688ubOEs23EMm1pyZkh0FR5KjhHlnsLtHtecq-NjTyNke10TKiaiR1AIi2mDwyOztLeQtWGMaHXNkqPQVwPG/s1500/CoalLoads1.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1500" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdT1gQwArvCPDPiMbARcYLkzz4F0aZOdhY-6xiyipghwI05wr-X53HLVdBVfEpFWaDlhcsLKA9Q-LhbFfYWYUE0hfWeZ-k_7iePMVTg04h688ubOEs23EMm1pyZkh0FR5KjhHlnsLtHtecq-NjTyNke10TKiaiR1AIi2mDwyOztLeQtWGMaHXNkqPQVwPG/w640-h444/CoalLoads1.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>First I wanted to make sure the empty cars would be not be too light and would run OK on the layout so I ran a train of 9 empty cars with several mechanical reefers on the back around the layout a few times and this seemed to work well.</p><p>I removed the center bulge with a coping saw then smoothed out the area with a sanding stick. I originally thought those bulges might contain some metal weight but apparently it does not and the 10 grams is all plastic. With one of the bulges removed, the load weighed in a 8 grams.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3QFEwe0gx9t5sFy9ZwDhe8GFw-eIjBEbl4y6XmTWo0gRf-XYvDCTCEoF7K_0-dhlbaDvfj6iUcmbZawvWzhY82SxoTeGtJzl9RT60Sqg_rZzX5-D1qvEcd62hqnPBNiGJAGckGfd4Nh7iD6iOu9k6VJ1qM0qiFVB6zJh1qCrDHUlYi6KmtJgY1-k4Cx8N/s1500/CoalLoads6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1500" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3QFEwe0gx9t5sFy9ZwDhe8GFw-eIjBEbl4y6XmTWo0gRf-XYvDCTCEoF7K_0-dhlbaDvfj6iUcmbZawvWzhY82SxoTeGtJzl9RT60Sqg_rZzX5-D1qvEcd62hqnPBNiGJAGckGfd4Nh7iD6iOu9k6VJ1qM0qiFVB6zJh1qCrDHUlYi6KmtJgY1-k4Cx8N/w640-h554/CoalLoads6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TGmkjfjhfEUyeaNQcsrd_KehD-QDrCHjOlIvoL7gCmRfwB_fxeNV66iPSLaH8Hbxr1qy-cfddrSSeI5FdZ85vY6um5CV7Ok_NYdl4lvkM2qeAjLwFbt65pfrnxveMXxuMOF4mk0R0uruGQJlEdg4DEkhbGaxFQI18lSgtAhHuahwWIiDPqy99h3RY-Fk/s1500/CoalLoads4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1500" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TGmkjfjhfEUyeaNQcsrd_KehD-QDrCHjOlIvoL7gCmRfwB_fxeNV66iPSLaH8Hbxr1qy-cfddrSSeI5FdZ85vY6um5CV7Ok_NYdl4lvkM2qeAjLwFbt65pfrnxveMXxuMOF4mk0R0uruGQJlEdg4DEkhbGaxFQI18lSgtAhHuahwWIiDPqy99h3RY-Fk/w640-h292/CoalLoads4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Using a sanding stick I sanded all of the outside edges until the load fit loose enough so that it fell out when the hopper car was turned upside down. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rPvJUhCrhWsNFDKa_v6jECQDfp1taz0E_6gC_m08a_wtL5cTtKky949OehuFImvlX7VHI7Anzh2z8vvG-uPKaP3SuEaUwei8jKTx3jJ14ozao9CligmZf3xoNF16pG2X7WPwLuApaNpQsZUKe0oscZiBlQrD5gHmBUGrdT1wCdA7Va8lWk9gX94-R0uT/s1500/CoalLoads7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="1500" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rPvJUhCrhWsNFDKa_v6jECQDfp1taz0E_6gC_m08a_wtL5cTtKky949OehuFImvlX7VHI7Anzh2z8vvG-uPKaP3SuEaUwei8jKTx3jJ14ozao9CligmZf3xoNF16pG2X7WPwLuApaNpQsZUKe0oscZiBlQrD5gHmBUGrdT1wCdA7Va8lWk9gX94-R0uT/w640-h534/CoalLoads7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Some 5/8 inch wide metal strip was cut into lengths. The corners were rounded and the edges were filed smooth.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbhUUipJe-2X4OvKPptV9waLGn61fAa0KdWLLgsO81ihMtlq25b0yJmAtxoFZYUeOJ3-VQWLYi3lYzoTPZ9u9qa1yckadvsUAiSXAAtxqjDaf-bfVdKyCS7W_4e1MKKrqK8uN0by7b7pLfDjg_TC6hVzzpBlV69AjfT_wO-jBvOEc3X6wN1RY73OZGU-W/s1500/CoalLoads5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1500" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbhUUipJe-2X4OvKPptV9waLGn61fAa0KdWLLgsO81ihMtlq25b0yJmAtxoFZYUeOJ3-VQWLYi3lYzoTPZ9u9qa1yckadvsUAiSXAAtxqjDaf-bfVdKyCS7W_4e1MKKrqK8uN0by7b7pLfDjg_TC6hVzzpBlV69AjfT_wO-jBvOEc3X6wN1RY73OZGU-W/w640-h568/CoalLoads5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The metal strip was attached to the center area of the bottom of the load with E6000 adhesive and clamped until set. The 2 grams lost with the removal of the center hump was made up with the addition of the metal strip and the load was back to its original weight of 10 grams.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQJkKtfflgXTjz-2OSJJhKBcviv3yC-CivQAcWY8aD0zEynwDPy28lUjEPMNhhI1Mos1OuvmhR9Ede-klYmd5NfqJ9tRRSRdGRvWMtfg7ZmW3a0qxPFppTmTfUw36dSi_rwi1f-NXrlyYnORy1UWBKG-71NoCsifeThSOpUDkS5E-lU-BVaYCAhsJPmJZ/s1500/CoalLoads3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1500" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQJkKtfflgXTjz-2OSJJhKBcviv3yC-CivQAcWY8aD0zEynwDPy28lUjEPMNhhI1Mos1OuvmhR9Ede-klYmd5NfqJ9tRRSRdGRvWMtfg7ZmW3a0qxPFppTmTfUw36dSi_rwi1f-NXrlyYnORy1UWBKG-71NoCsifeThSOpUDkS5E-lU-BVaYCAhsJPmJZ/w640-h362/CoalLoads3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Now with the help of a magnet, the loads easily be removed when the west bound coal train reaches the west end staging yard. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazIB0VauQXqmEpbGOkjhJzQuM2Sz7aRmeGBzFvs433N46K6MiQdB_XVWeG59kmA3HTv_xrre9jClGyt-7e1--yqITtdANGGHRPzCCUZwtw-J2Lb5aQ0tryUgSKRy9ch9CrZWl8bM6Ud8Eh0fmWp1uum2Uip_WqUvyGOlNaXlzcKIIa_m-gSYPn1f8CxFF/s1500/CoalLoads8.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazIB0VauQXqmEpbGOkjhJzQuM2Sz7aRmeGBzFvs433N46K6MiQdB_XVWeG59kmA3HTv_xrre9jClGyt-7e1--yqITtdANGGHRPzCCUZwtw-J2Lb5aQ0tryUgSKRy9ch9CrZWl8bM6Ud8Eh0fmWp1uum2Uip_WqUvyGOlNaXlzcKIIa_m-gSYPn1f8CxFF/w640-h480/CoalLoads8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-89094856090418713732023-07-08T09:23:00.000-07:002023-07-08T09:23:04.071-07:00The 2023 N Scale convention - Part 4<p>There was also a T-Trak layout at the 2023 N Scale convention. Not nearly as big as ones I've heard about being at conventions in the east but was the first one of any size I've seen in person.</p><p>Below are some pictures of a few of the T-Trak modules showing what kind of scenery can be done in a small space. Notice that the camera angle is more looking down. That is because these modules are set on tables that are about 30 inches high. These first two are single size which don't allow much length to include any turnouts.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgH1HXBOmd70a2atjmwX5nAVZ6sW7u2F8b8pSBSlq9QxUKSDM1ZlQlR9brpKWikh-faMYYwCYZ_uWDyae90q_3YImGugEvLL-4k7-XKvmSFkxdRMPjh4NEmFi90ZPejrmtiOVawMbP6yOd1zHzQ_oI0JzgIxokSZ7tLimxU93Kl3zrNuYRoyDWDrXpTEUr/s1500/NSE2023p.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1112" data-original-width="1500" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgH1HXBOmd70a2atjmwX5nAVZ6sW7u2F8b8pSBSlq9QxUKSDM1ZlQlR9brpKWikh-faMYYwCYZ_uWDyae90q_3YImGugEvLL-4k7-XKvmSFkxdRMPjh4NEmFi90ZPejrmtiOVawMbP6yOd1zHzQ_oI0JzgIxokSZ7tLimxU93Kl3zrNuYRoyDWDrXpTEUr/w640-h474/NSE2023p.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVp91UueZWrhuMXYCdj8eYqZiiKLd48g88gO0HjfWVTBFloRtxbZZjKgkjHuSPn0o0a8oupB8b3rHBvwV7WIlo-x-let8DUe-q7LgeD2MhStLVNqc-UfPghX9sye3BoneI1XAPLGFhsmnce52Xk1Q0mMXn5bCiKl7uXzec00p50NMxBYs4QFBCJCitfIp/s1500/NSE2023L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVp91UueZWrhuMXYCdj8eYqZiiKLd48g88gO0HjfWVTBFloRtxbZZjKgkjHuSPn0o0a8oupB8b3rHBvwV7WIlo-x-let8DUe-q7LgeD2MhStLVNqc-UfPghX9sye3BoneI1XAPLGFhsmnce52Xk1Q0mMXn5bCiKl7uXzec00p50NMxBYs4QFBCJCitfIp/w640-h480/NSE2023L.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This module appears to be a double sized which allows more length to include turnouts.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLV8eUEjiePcF7nHMcj-rkjZGr02R4984P5vEiaGdk6SPzjK0M-qekJ1RBkTAj1GYNtyRh5H69hRXLhV_36mjvjntpVtJyszdeR1_uqJEvnEzzORsTTPKqh06DdaVgHF0At_vDAHmbeiQZ3jPCiYK5kjufCXZ6FVI091RThndD969eIWsS3cyUHgCAvc-/s1500/NSE2023n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLV8eUEjiePcF7nHMcj-rkjZGr02R4984P5vEiaGdk6SPzjK0M-qekJ1RBkTAj1GYNtyRh5H69hRXLhV_36mjvjntpVtJyszdeR1_uqJEvnEzzORsTTPKqh06DdaVgHF0At_vDAHmbeiQZ3jPCiYK5kjufCXZ6FVI091RThndD969eIWsS3cyUHgCAvc-/w640-h480/NSE2023n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>It was really great seeing 3 different modular layout standards side by side and to see the public interaction with each type of layout. Here are some of my own observations.</p><p><b>FreemoN</b> - Uses code 55 track which is what I use on my own home layout. As the layout tends to be single track with multiple junctions and balloon tracks, not as many trains running so a viewer is likely to look more at the scenery and the scenery on this layout was realistic and very well done. This layout type is great for serious modelers to run some realistic operations. Also I believe these types of modules may be more easily integrated into a home layout.</p><p><b>T-Trak</b> - The low height is great for viewing by children or for someone seated or in a wheelchair. It's also a good way for children to get started in the hobby. Uses Kato Unitrack which is also great for beginners. Someone could also use these modules as a home layout. Uses double track as a standard so allows for more continuous operations during public display. Personally, I don't like the low height but if used in a home layout could be set on shelves at any desired height. </p><p><b>Ntrak</b> - With 3 tracks and set at a 40 inch height this layout type can provide lots of action and seemed to draw the most attention from the visiting public. Modules can get a bit harder to handle for older modelers but with some ingenuity this can be overcome. Not as easy to be used in a home layout, I know this because years ago I tried it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338531120410936389.post-19773165095658890682023-07-03T07:04:00.001-07:002023-07-03T07:05:09.817-07:00The 2023 N Scale convention - Part 3<p> N Scale layouts at this convention included 3 Ntrak, a really large FreemoN, a T-Track, a Disneyland display, and a static vintage Lone Star layout. As this was the first time I have ever seen a T-Trak layout of any size and the first really large FreemoN layout, I'm going to feature those here.</p><p>FreemoN: I spent quite some time wandering around this layout late one evening enjoying the realistic scenery. A few of the modules I recognized as being from the local group in the Bay Area but most of them came from other areas and were new to me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8qmAv9rFfiUCaPFz6vfHvVE126KLFQlQqzG6C8uQMbngJEwfv9ZVu2mk34oHKcO6UURexKU7-1wJZEuKGbm4DZL8EWjAdKOaCw__-R5OD7yZptB5qbjDB1FwMVlB6foJcRIexuY5mEPZ81oH2xd19Rh8mT0AKPUG9brt85fCiEr7nllI5fpWxS0exP4H/s1500/NSE2023k.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8qmAv9rFfiUCaPFz6vfHvVE126KLFQlQqzG6C8uQMbngJEwfv9ZVu2mk34oHKcO6UURexKU7-1wJZEuKGbm4DZL8EWjAdKOaCw__-R5OD7yZptB5qbjDB1FwMVlB6foJcRIexuY5mEPZ81oH2xd19Rh8mT0AKPUG9brt85fCiEr7nllI5fpWxS0exP4H/w640-h480/NSE2023k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The scene is from a module set that I recognized as being from the local group in the Bay Area.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kSpSZcnOafEouxcKexW-VHMZhfvgY-ekmSuM5tAZrHBd4Do16fqARMgvF_uOBRjFQprWgz3hKxdBvHZ7AjSXa92gffRhujGkCw-Rt3z3y2rnSDko3c0f7Z9gmkMWRtVnuNayKvsOuTeGvCXstFwezOuT0BYpGeWfkICjr7vppgj4nZ5W00hqpLAU3sKj/s1500/NSE2023q.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kSpSZcnOafEouxcKexW-VHMZhfvgY-ekmSuM5tAZrHBd4Do16fqARMgvF_uOBRjFQprWgz3hKxdBvHZ7AjSXa92gffRhujGkCw-Rt3z3y2rnSDko3c0f7Z9gmkMWRtVnuNayKvsOuTeGvCXstFwezOuT0BYpGeWfkICjr7vppgj4nZ5W00hqpLAU3sKj/w640-h480/NSE2023q.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I did not see all that many trains running on this layout but that could have been because it was after hours. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV20kDTPtIem9rpypaDhqJSyZyZM9ABvGmdJSFUDsqS4ypprwxnMAoNTmHR5AqR1uFUzuvcHalvq-tR7bUZfoPVQs_bFfrDFaaA_mARlN51ix9CB4QK32SoUVAySBhMGBlQMdNGmWnvkm6Knblqcf_NzaerWczzYkIuos70nWnTeBew_8q1uQq0lXW3g_6/s1500/NSE2023o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV20kDTPtIem9rpypaDhqJSyZyZM9ABvGmdJSFUDsqS4ypprwxnMAoNTmHR5AqR1uFUzuvcHalvq-tR7bUZfoPVQs_bFfrDFaaA_mARlN51ix9CB4QK32SoUVAySBhMGBlQMdNGmWnvkm6Knblqcf_NzaerWczzYkIuos70nWnTeBew_8q1uQq0lXW3g_6/w640-h480/NSE2023o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Lots of the modules in this layout had some really well-done desert scenery.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGa5EUZkhuHeIrbgJHNM20cmslDapmt1S1Ifk4j3AZafV9asn7DW4Ys-WaAexNMWvxExniy-Nm8XofTtw9XaelrngwCSt4P52E3164EYbNVZXZWgOeD_p7Zoqh9HiEa8xgyc3xz--vnY64-AXaNjmBmu2QACVsRErlHL3NlsB_xhNwm6qYp4Yj1zbz8gO/s1500/NSE2023r.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGa5EUZkhuHeIrbgJHNM20cmslDapmt1S1Ifk4j3AZafV9asn7DW4Ys-WaAexNMWvxExniy-Nm8XofTtw9XaelrngwCSt4P52E3164EYbNVZXZWgOeD_p7Zoqh9HiEa8xgyc3xz--vnY64-AXaNjmBmu2QACVsRErlHL3NlsB_xhNwm6qYp4Yj1zbz8gO/w640-h480/NSE2023r.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This particular module of Afton Canyon I am sure I've seen in a magazine somewhere. These are the same BLMA bridges as the one I have on my layout in the Palisade Canyon.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr7fefvsX5x6fE8AvICzjAlFt9EWxeivgaIMpxqVkc06KqRnOwtESIzQnW3RGWffIaNdRXuyvJfx-6F2tpuIq0NMlSeGsIdyZaflpcqYxjBpzVh3kgn4XhHHgTCpbdsAQ72md_MAx9YDX3238pw5nnX9S3ZASiUOctGjj1VTlPcU3iqx-WSb-EawJrg08r/s1500/NSE2023m.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr7fefvsX5x6fE8AvICzjAlFt9EWxeivgaIMpxqVkc06KqRnOwtESIzQnW3RGWffIaNdRXuyvJfx-6F2tpuIq0NMlSeGsIdyZaflpcqYxjBpzVh3kgn4XhHHgTCpbdsAQ72md_MAx9YDX3238pw5nnX9S3ZASiUOctGjj1VTlPcU3iqx-WSb-EawJrg08r/w640-h480/NSE2023m.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In the next post I'll show part of the T-Trak layout.</p>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0