Here is another industry in the south part of Houston. The spur comes off the "mainline" leading into the southern end of the BNSF Mykawa yard. The spur drops about 12 feet in oh, say, 200 feet, which is a substantial drop. I assume that the industry does coating on pipe. I've seen flat cars loaded down with pipe coming out of the spur.

   

   

   

   

   

400 people have downloaded our "ruler", a scale "scale" sounds funny. Thanks for showing interest in 55n3. I hope some of you join with us in modeling 55n3.

Harold

:hey: The Fifth Annual Ontario Narrow Gauge Show on Saturday April 17, 2010 :hey:

   

When? Saturday April 17, 2010

Where? Schomberg Community Hall, Schomberg, Ontario, Canada...

How much? $15CAD at the door / or $10 in advance

:hey: Please print the flyer. One for yourself and one for a friend, or Local Hobby Shop. Thanks

Join our forum and have a look around...

Originally, I wanted to avoid using the Walthers New River Mining Co. for the coal tipple on my layout. Coal is going to be an operational focus, and I wanted either a very large tipple or two smaller ones in addition to a company town nearby. For awhile, I entertained the idea of purchasing the N Scale Architect Lackawanna Coal structure, but it's a $100+ craftsman kit. In the end, I decided to go with the Walthers kit because it is more versatile and there are many kitbash options available.

I've never made major modifications to a kit before. My supply of scratch building tools is somewhat limited, and there's always that hesitation before tackling something new. I remember reading about the Turtle Creek Coal kitbash posted on the MRR site. So I printed out the build instructions, took a deep breath, and got my feet wet with this kitbash. With a much smaller footprint, I will have enough room to add a second tipple later if I want.

Here I have already removed a serious amount of material from the walls. My pile of scrap is almost as large as what I'll end up using to build the structure!



This is how I have joined wall sections. After careful measuring, trimming, and sanding with my NWSL True-Sander, I marked lines near the windows in pencil (highlighted here in [COLOR="Red"]red[/COLOR]) so that everything will line up nicely. With a simple butt joint, I used CA to join the sections together. Next, I cut a piece of scrap to size and glued it down with CA to strengthen the joint.

I also clearly labeled all my parts with permanent marker so that I wouldn't get confused on where things go. Once I get all the new wall sections trimmed to size and joined, I will take another pic of the completed shell before paint. Wish me luck!

Just messing around with my wife's camera as i sit here watching Texas try to make a comeback in the Championship game.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

So.

I've been filling some "holes" in my track work using some PCB ties that have an isolation gap in them. When I power up the layout, everything is fine, no shorts. Power Cab boots up, locos run, Torts are just peachy. When I do a test by dropping a piece of rail across the rails I get hard short...which is good. Its what you want to happen. I've heard it called the quarter test in couple of different places... anyways...

When I use a VOM on the rails with the DCC off (or even on for that matter) the VOM reads a dead short. Is there any particular reason for this? Is it because that even when powered off the sum of the parts, i.e. layout wiring, track work, decoders, electronic tidbits, DCC system create a circuit that allows the VOM to see (perhaps what it "thinks") is a dead short?

Does that make any sense? I've just never tested the track work installed and on the layout like this, only on the bench, and wonder if there is a logical explanation for it.

Otherwise, I'll keep plugging ahead and accept it as normal.

I seam to have A problem with destroying airbrushes, so far dropping 2 and damaging one beyond repair. This one I was able to save, the only damage was to the trigger. The air and paint valve still worked, I just needed to make a new one     I started to shape a #10 screw to match the damaged trigger on the left.




    Then I placed it in my improvised milling machine and cut a grove for the brushes needle to pass through.



    Here you can see the stem of the air valve that the trigger attaches to and the tight clearances that you have to work with.

I was just looking at a photo of Cincinnati Union Terminal's roundhouse and I began to wonder what was the best terminal in the nation to see a variety of equipment?

Our local CUT was a meeting place for Eastern, Southern, and Pocahontas roads.
Here's the variety that I am aware of tying up there:

-PRR: T1s, K-4s, and a streamlined K-4.
-NYC: 4-6-4s, streamlined J-3as
-B&O President class and USRA 4-6-2s...including the streamlined Cincinnatian
-Southern PS-4s
-N&W Js and streamlined Ks
-C&O hudsons
-L&N pacifics

To my knowledge, it was the only terminal in which one could find streamlined power for the N&W, C&O, NYC, and PRR. In most major cities, such as Chicago and New York, the NYC and PRR used separate facilities. Of course, Cincinnati is lacking in western roads and other regionals (no NKP )

What other great places can you think of on par with CUT?

Michael

My employer (the state of Arizona) ran out of money, and I was officially laid off today. While I now technically have plenty of time for modeling, I need to focus my time and resources towards finding a job. Wish me luck.