Well since I was the who asked about a challenge I probably should participate =)

I had a few structure projects sitting around and I was having a hard time figuring out why I have not finished them. Many of them just need a little work and some final touches, but the main thing was they had no place to actually go. I have also been wanting to take picture of some of my other projects, like freight cars, but have not had a suitable backdrop for pictures. I decided that they best way to get the most projects completed and motivate me to work on other projects was to build a display/photography module. The plan is to have it fully wired and able to allow a locomotive to move over it, this will also allow me to test equipment while I am programming.

So the basic structure will consist of a 48" long by 18" module that will be supported by some wall brackets. The backdrop will then rest along the back edge being held in place by the module, If I decide to change the scene I can pull the back drop and put in a different one later. I have also designed the module to be able to be expanded at a later date by adding additional modules. I also have attempted to design them so that if I wanted to I could salvage the module and incorporate it into a Free-mo module in the future.

I've been throwing around the idea of putting together some EL equipment. I'm looking to do a caboose closest to the prototype in the link <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1005750">http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1005750</a><!-- m --> not necessarily this exact caboose but that type. I'm not familiar with cabooses so if anyone knows what kind it is and can point me in the right direction with a model that if isn't exact it's close enough to get the idea.

I hope this is the correct location for this question. I was looking at a soldering station on eBay and I thought before I purchased this I would see if anyone here has any experience with this station.

The station is made by YiHua and is going for $20. I know this is cheap but for the little I solder I thought it could be a deal. Just like to hear what others may know about it first.

The item is located http://www.ebay.com/itm/YiHua-936-Rework...SwjVVVkOxA.

Thank you.
Dave

Its been to long since I did a "looking back" so,with coffee in hand I shall do part 3.

While switching cars this afternoon I glazed upon My old Athearn BB SW7 and thought of the first two I bought both was undecorated.

I had went to Hall's hobbies and seen these new releases from Uncle Irv and ask Charlie if he had any undecorated and he did so,I purchase two, a spray can of Flo-Quil "Engine Black" and two packs of Champ NYC Diesel Switcher decals. I went home and spray painted both shells in my "paint shop"-a single car garage. I then return the shells to my work desk to let them dry. After a long school week and a operation night at the Columbus HO club-the only week night I was allowed out during school, my dad said "Be sure you do school work first and be home by ten so,by 6:30 my home work was "finish" and off to the club I went. What Dad didn't know I would finish my home work in my first period study hall. :o
What he did know I wouldn't be home until around 11 pm but,he knew where I was at. Oddly he finally told me to be home before curfew-11 pm..

Anyway back to the SW7s.The following weekend after my Saturday morning trip to Hall's I decaled both switchers in the new scheme-black bodies, white frame (decaled), white pilot safety stripes, yellow grabs and handrails with emblem on the cab.. I numbered these two switchers after my two favorite prototypes-8880 and 8888. I freely admit these two engines never mu'd together except at the Portsmouth yard on the club's layout. Around a year later I did a SW7 cow/calf set lettered for C&O 6600 A and B. I used a drawbar between these units.

Some times I miss those simple projects and the joy of knowing they are unique locomotives or freight cars..Today,I do very little of those projects and when I do I cheat and use Accurail unlettered cars with data.

I bought some old Train Miniatures/Walthers Boxcars, and some bare bodies were thrown in:

   

   

They look to be Double Sheath Wood cars. Would a fishbelly frame be correct for these cars? I tried an Accurail frame in one of the bodies. It was long, but I think I could shorten it a bit. I could also try a Tichy frame. Also, were brake wheels really that big?

Gary

This second part of my Challenge will be for rolling stock. Not much done yet, but it may include some Westerfield kit-builds, upgrades to some Tyco gondolas, perhaps some scratchbuilt freight cars and/or cabooses, and maybe some kitbashed head end equipment for passenger trains - it all depends on how successful I'll be at getting off my duff will be for this part of the Challenge.

Here's a Westerfield CNR gondola, a recent bargain find at a train show - these are easy cars to build...my previous car of this type was a bargain at a nearby hobbyshop because it was lacking instructions...





This car will get painted when there are enough others to make it worthwhile to heat the paint shop.

These are the Tyco gondolas, picked up at a another train show. They're very similar to Accurail's version of the AAR 41' gondola, although the details, mainly grabirons, are a little heavier. I'll replace the ones on these cars with wire ones, and add some basic brake rigging, as the underside is quite visible. (I also replaced the cast-on grabs on the Accurail gondolas which I have.)
Here, the lettering has been removed, but the rest of the work still needs to be done...



Here's another Westerfield kit, this one for a CPR Fowler boxcar. I actually bought it, under $5.00, to make it into a NC&StL car, but it has CP's usual 5' door, whereas that on the NC&StL car should be 6'. Instead, the CPR car will be lettered for CNR (I have enough CPR Fowlers, and not enough of them for the CNR). The prototypes had some minor differences, but none of them concern me enough to make such changes. I will, however, likely toss the Westerfield roof panels - they represent a plank roof, typical of the early cars, and are fairly severely warped...



More to come when I get to work...

Wayne

Second item is this new N&W class CF caboose, again a brass model and an "the elder brother" of my shortly finished class CG caboose.



The brake parts need some corrections and then I will add the interior decoration, lighting, train end lanterns, painting! Especially the trucks need new nylon bearings because the model has extremely bad running property.

Unfortunately I can not start with this work before January of next year because I will have an eye surgery in next week and there I must avoid all exhausting work including an exertive work with eyes while next for weeks. However I'm hoping for success - and a new and better sight on my model building projects!

First part is to finish my long time project - five White Swan reefers.



This was the start with frames taken from old Roundhouse fish-belly reefers in July 2012 ...



... over some errancies and confusions (in German: Irrungen und Wirrungen) regarding the hight of models.



And a lot of detailing work with the most difficult part - the door latch!



Yes, one of these reefers is ready already out of a gentle weathering ...



... and so it will not be a graet challenge for finishing, I think. However I'm sure that I can reach an end of this project, finally!
Maybe, that this project should be run outside of challenge.

I've got two items to work on that will be placed near each other on my layout .


1. I was not happy with a scratch built structure I made , so picked up a damaged laser kit structure at the used-models hobby shop in our area . It has laser cut parts but is warped as someone tried to assemble it . There are details missing ...doors , windows , but the price was right ( cheap ) and I think I can bring it around .



2 .The second is the construction of a flat car that will carry my partly completed Tichy steam shovel . ....looks like this picture came up first .


Anyhow , I think this is doable and plan to finish both for the challenge .

T

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All right it time for me to toss my hat into the fray. My challenge will be to convert a Bachmann 0-6-0 into a free lanced camel back for my SH&D railroad. I originally purchased this used from a hobby shop at least two years ago, and it sat on a shelf waiting to get started. I know there have been problems with the drive with these engines, but I have run it off and on and have found nothing to hint at any concerns. She is a well balanced machine, with descent slow speed performance. With the light use she will see on my layout I'm not worried. As reference for this build I'm looking towards the Readings and CNJ's class of smaller 0-6-0 camels as seen in the two fallowing links.

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I have started by disassembling and stripping the boiler down to a basic tube, and removing any unwanted details from the tender.    

   

Metal trucks for tender pickup were swapped out for the plastic ones provided with the model.    

A two pin disconnect was cut into the tender and wired to each truck, so now the engine and tender receive power from both rails. I also added weight to bring the tender up to NMRA specs.    

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