...lame attempt. This isn't actually a kitbash (feel free to disqualify it) as it only involves one "shake the bag" kit.

Well, two kits, but they're both the same and both were, as you can see, cheap :


Here's the parts which I used from the kit:


Here's those parts again, with a few extras added on:


The extra "boards" (for lettering) are strip styrene from Evergreen, with drop steps from A-Line and grab irons bent from .012" brass wire. The lower door runner is a piece of .015" music wire, allowing the doors to open:


As you can see, I used two different trucks on this car, (and another two different ones on the sister car). This used-up most of my "one-of-a-kind" trucks from the parts department and duplicates a situation at one time often seen on the real railroads.

Because the sides are so thin, I added styrene blocks to allow enough material to drill for the sill steps. The floor of the car was altered to suit:


Here's the "A" end, showing more custom-bent grabs, including those on the roof walk laterals:


And the "B" end, with a brake wheel from Tichy and a modified brake platform from Bowser. The brake staff is more .015" music wire, and the support brackets for the roofwalk and brake platform is .010"x.030" brass bar. I added .010"x.030" styrene tabs to represent the attachment points:


Paint and lettering, hopefully next week, will finish these two cars.

Wayne

Hi guys --

Just wanted to share these links, as they show a very modelgenic set of industries along the track - four panoramic shots from http://www.shorpy.com showing tracks along the waterfront in Duluth, MN, in 1905.

Have a look at the pictures: a coach yard for old time passenger coaches, yard tracks, a RIP track, interesting bakdrop/skyline - with buildings up along the hill and the incline railroad in the far background, interesting looking industries right behind the tracks - a cool freight house, buildings on an incline with train service for the basement, interesting signs, interesting looking background buildings, streets ending at the RR and a street crossing the RR on a bridge, a little of the waterfront in the foreground, some foreground industries.

It would make a pretty nifty inspiration for a layout, wouldn't it ?

Leftmost shot http://www.shorpy.com/node/6924

Next one right : http://www.shorpy.com/node/6958

Third one: http://www.shorpy.com/node/6990

Fourth one: http://www.shorpy.com/node/6920

Grin,
Stein, who has had a break from working on my layout, but hope to do some work again this weekend

As follow up to my post on plug door installation and some information from doctorwayne,here is my take on a 40' plug door reefer with roof hatches. I enlarged the opening for the door,trimmed the height and fabricated new rails and roof hatches. As for color and decals,I'll have to see what LHS has. My next build will be a mechanical reefer as soon as the doors arrive.
Bob

We are starting a new layout in our shop, the MC&H Central (Muskoka Computes and Hobbies)
Here is the track plan:



The deisgner is flying over from Germany to build it for us.

He will be here from Mar. 8-19 2010

Anyone going to the Barrie Allandale train show Feb 20-21 2010 ?

I will be there as a vendor, drop by and say hello.

Hallo together,

in January I showcased two new N scale modules, The Culvert and Interstate, which I finished for a local train show.

Today I can present you a train chase video over the sceniced part of this show layout: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq2Gvz9dGNQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq2Gvz9dGNQ</a><!-- m -->

You find some impressions from the show on the FREMO homepage: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fremo-net.eu/index.php?id=1388">http://www.fremo-net.eu/index.php?id=1388</a><!-- m -->

This article is likely the last on the aforementioned topic as the A&R expansion is virtually complete with primary industrial structures. I saved the best??? structure review for the last, as it is notable for numerous reasons as you shall see.
I spent most of my career operating in various coal fired power generating stations so I just had to have one on the A&R. After a bit of research, I located the seldom seen or heard of HO scale ‘Korber’ ‘General Light and Power’ kit with a decent reproduction of an early coal fired plant, at least from the picture! It was on sale from ‘JusTrains’ for $125 US plus s&h compared to the regular price of $175US. By my standards, that is an expensive kit but it seemed to fit the bill. Walthers no longer carries Korber kits and I think I know why.
It arrived in one week in a nice sturdy box and is well wrapped. Upon opening the kit, I am stunned as it appears to be NOT HO scale. It says HO but gosh it looks off for scale. Anyway, the powerhouse windows, man doors and freight door all scale out okay. However, the wall bricks are at least twice the size of the Cornerstone bricks. I rationalize them as okay since the early industries often used something like a cement block size brick for the walls. By the way, the last Canadian structure of this style was the J Clarke Keith power plant in Windsor Ontario and it was torn down several years ago. This kit is made from urethane material and the walls are about 1/4” thick.
This kit is noted as being ‘easy’ to assemble. Well I would not call it a complex kit but it does require some definite forethought during assembly. The instructions are neatly typed but are lacking in much detail and as far as I am concerned incorrectly written for some steps. The accompanying diagram for the kit is of VERY, VERY poor quality.
Each powerhouse window requires assembly of three separate steel sash windows. The window openings are large enough that the assembled windows slid around in the frame so that it is difficult to glue them accurately in position. I painted many of the stone details in the kit with a concrete color and I am glad I did as it really sets off the architectural elements nicely.
The bad news with this kit is basically associated with the provided coal dump house and enclosed conveyor belt. First off, the dump house is designed for the coal hopper cars to run up perpendicular to the house. This is NEVER done in the real world as the hoppers always run into or at least parallel to the dump facility! Plus they have included wood stock to build an elevated ramp which unless you have at least 8’ of room for a lead track, the grade would be excessive (2%+) and you could only have one hopper car on the dump track at a time. I elected to have a more practical ground level dump facility instead. The other problem with the coal handling structure is that it DOES NOT scale out for HO. An example of this is a scale 5’ wide man door, slate roof shingles that are about 8’x4’!!?? The appearance of this dump house is absurd and is likely made for G scale. I installed a new roof from left over parts from other kits.
Finally, when you pay that kind of money for a kit wouldn’t you expect some detail components? You know, like roof vents (common on any power house), door light fixtures, etc. This kit has none of that. In fact it has absolutely no extra parts at all.
Once this powerhouse was assembled however, it looks good on the A&R. It has a commanding presence standing about scale 120’ high. As much as I was disappointed in its overall quality and lack of detail I am still pleased with the outcome. Korber have about forty different kits in their line in including two grain silo facilities. They are at least twice the price of the similar Cornerstone structures and based on the powerhouse kit, I can’t believe they are worth the price.

Hi guys, quick question that hopefully somebody can shed some light on for me.

Now, let me say first that I am asking a question that I have ABSOULETLY no knowledge of, and the person I have installing my decoder is stumped too. Thus, I can't answer any questions immediately, until they are put towards me, and then I can ask my "installer guy" for confirmation of said question. Confused yet? Good, I am too!

Bottom line is that I have a brand new, top of the line Soundtraxx Tsunami decoder for my F-M Atlas (HO) H-15-44, and what the problem is, is not the install itself, but if there is a way to install the decoder, and still get the class lights to work after installing the decoder.
If you aren't familiar with the loco, it comes as a dual mode engine from Atlas, and as you go in reverse or forward, the class light LEDs change from red to green, depending.
My installer's problem/question is, he has but to wires left on the decoder, and has no idea that once he installs the Tsunami, will this feature still work? He said the LEDs have three wires coming off them (red/green/nutral).

I'd like to have this cool feature work, but I'd really like to have it SOUND cool, too.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

RAH