Here's Grand Valley Mogul #34, with a short passenger train, about to cross the concrete span over Negro Creek...



This area isn't easily accessible for railfans, so there are few photos taken here. This one is courtesy of Secord Air Services.

Wayne

I am learning that the same kind of LED light can be used as front light, real light and even as ditch lights. The wiring is very easy.

https://www.jwspeaker.com/products/led-h...ocomotive/
https://www.jwspeaker.com/products/led-h...e/0548751/

What brand of DDC decoder is recommended to supply 75 Volt ...... :o

I'm planning to visit Exporail during the morning / early-afteroon of Saturday October 28. I will be staying right downtown in Montreal (taking my son to another event) and I want to find out if I can take an AMT train from the downtown. I understand that there is a commuter train that leaves from Lucien-l'Allier Station to Delson but -- as far as I can find out from the website -- it doesn't seem to run on weekends. Does anyone know if that's the case?

BTW, we haven't decided yet if we are going to take a VIA Train into Montreal or not. (We'd be driving in from Toronto.) If we do, I will obviously be limited to public transit. However, even if we drive, I'd still prefer to take the AMT train if it's running.

Any help or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

So, I've been working on some F&C milk cars as mentioned in another thread under this "Tips and Tricks" part of the forum. I've gotten one done to the point where I've applied a few coats of Scalecoat 2 Pullman Green (twice ) The issue I am having is the paint is going on grainy (in some places). So, I'm looking for some advice on what might be causing the paint to do that and some tips to correct it. Let me set up how I was applying the paint. I mixed the paint 60/40, 60 Scalecoat thinner/40 paint, in that range, more to the 60% side. Reefer was primed with Tamiya Fine Scale primer. Air brush set about 20-25 psi. My paint booth is now in the garage, my first attempt to paint the reefer was during the week and it was not as humid as it was over the weekend here in NJ. When I painted it during the week, I did multiple coats over a 4 day period. Toward the end of laying on the coats I noticed the graininess. I stripped the paint on Saturday, washed in mild soap and air dried, primed again, tested application on a styrene sheet and found it to be smooth, then applied a few coats to the reefer every 3 to 4 hours. Found more graininess, but not as bad as it was the first time. The bottom of the reefer was the way I would expect to see Scalecoat to look, the sides not so much. Top of the reefer seems OK, too, this time. This is the first time I am using Scalecoat 2 paint, I've used Scalecoat 1 on other projects and not had this problem.

Some thoughts or observations I think happened are: 1. the paint was drying as it was being applied, because I was holding the airbrush to far away from the reefer in some spots? And if this is the case, how far away should the air brush be from project being painted. 2. Bad mix with thinner to paint ratio? 3. Humidity? 4. PSI is off. 5. Should I try and paint the reefer in one setting instead of multiple coats?

And I was wondering if, after decals are applied, would a coat of flat sealer remove the graininess and even everything out?

Here are some pictures of what is going on:









Thx,

Mark (Ugh)

Pushing hard!     Charlie

I started working on a discontinued Bowser repower kit for the Bachmann Rdg 2-8-0. It was a used kit that someone else had started, and didn't do a very good job on. I managed to pick it up on fleabay for a good price after about two years of searching for one. After correcting A few mistakes such as reversed drivers, lost of grime, an odd attempt to use the old Bachmann valve gear, and a bind in the side rods, I got the drive to this point in a few hours. I have already got the tender up to the point where it is ready for primer and paint. That build is here, starting on page #3 ---->>>> <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.bigbluetrains.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=9294">viewtopic.php?f=35&t=9294</a><!-- l -->

   

   

The frame has a slight bend to it that will have to be addressed. It shows up well in this pic. Luckily it's only the very front of the frame and not where the drivers mount.
   

The Bowser kit supplies you with this weight and set of cast cylinders. I'm not entirely convinced that these are the correct cylinders for this kit, as they look much to Pennsy and do not match the prototype pics of this engine that I have. I ground down the weight to get it to fit correctly and removed the steam delivery pipes from the cylinders. I have also marked the incorrect details to be removed.
   

Speaking of the prototype pics, here's two that I am using as reference.
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When it comes time for the addition of the boiler I have plenty to chose from. I have picked up several victims for this build in the time it took me to find one of the kits.

   

I ran out of speakers some time ago and ordered 20 new Zimo sugar cubes LS13X8.
Going to cut one down and install it was a surprise. The old baffle was made of a nice brittle material that could be split easy to reduce the height of the speaker unit. The new one looks very similar to the old one but is not brittle at all. It is very strong and string. It takes a good amount of force to cut it down and sand it. I was scared to harm the speaker.

Just curious whatever became of Gary S in Texas? He was building a beautiful layout and had been doing a great tutorial of his backdrop painting techniques? Looks like his last post & visit here was in 2015.

Al