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+--- Thread: GEC's Layout Progress (/showthread.php?tid=108)
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 09-29-2011
bdw9535 Wrote:Green_Elite_Cab Wrote:and they may offer better opportunities for freights running on the same line as the commuter trains than does the NJ DOT stuff i've been trying to model.
G-E-C,
Not knowing much at all about commuter operations, have you looked at the NJ Transit AC Line from Winslow to Atlantic City. The Southern RR of NJ operates on this line to get it's freight into Pleasantville. You wouldn't be able to run your electrics but have seen a variety of NJDOT equiptment on this line.
Bruce
LOL, yes i thought about that one for a little just a few weeks ago while i was waiting at Woodcrest Station on the PATCO. I figured i could almost squeeze in some electrics if I ran an ACES train, which uses the old ALP44s as cab cars in the diesel territory (the multilevel cars and decals can also be had), and then put the PATCO next to it with the Married Pair set that I have. It occurred to me though, that the PATCO tracks would overwelm the single tracks AC line, so i quickly forgot about it.
I haven't spotted to much variety though, its been the same bunch of GP40PH-2s, and now just yesterday and the day before i spotted some P40DC Genesis engines. I suppose the aforementioned ACES train would mix things up a little, but lately its just solid consists of GP40PH-2s and Comet IV push-pull equipment. To be honest though, that wouldn't even bug me if it were possible to get GP40PH-2s as models.
As of now, they'd require an extensive kit bash to get something that looks reasonably good. I find this ironic, since nearly every odd ball NJ Transit locomotive has been produced in HO in some form or another, yet the GP40PH-2s have variants in at least 6 different railroads with nearly identical long-hoods and just different cab styles (and even then most of those are standard EMD, MBTA and MARC are the only ones with Wide cabs).
I've been plotting to model these GP40PH-2s for a while, but i probably won't get around to it, it would be quite a bit of work to get one of those rolling.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Russ Bellinis - 09-30-2011
GEC, Aren't you in the process of finishing your education in college? Are you planning to buy a home when after you graduate and get a job? I would buy the Septa stuff now, run what you like on the layout, and plan for the time when you have a house with a room or finished basement large enough to have the "dream layout."
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 09-30-2011
Russ Bellinis Wrote:GEC, Aren't you in the process of finishing your education in college? Are you planning to buy a home when after you graduate and get a job? I would buy the Septa stuff now, run what you like on the layout, and plan for the time when you have a house with a room or finished basement large enough to have the "dream layout."
Yep, I won't be out until 2013, but I'll have my Masters degree.
true, but and i'll probably purchase any SEPTA i can reasonably afford, yet when it comes down to building even a dream layout, there is no way to include it all. I'm thinking though, that i might just stick with the NJ DOT for a main layout, but make a Reading modular layout or something.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - bdw9535 - 09-30-2011
G-E-C,
You didn't mention this one
There's an article in the October 2011 Railroad Model Craftsman by Matt Snell on doing one with a resin shell from a company named Imperial Hobby Productions, but I'm thinking you may have done this already.
Bruce
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Justinmiller171 - 09-30-2011
bdw9535 Wrote:There's an article in the October 2011 Railroad Model Craftsman by Matt Snell on doing one with a resin shell from a company named Imperial Hobby Productions, but I'm thinking you may have done this already.
When I first saw that article the first thing I though was "GEC would like this!", then I remembered seeing GEC doing a project like this already.
*EDIT*
Now I remember! GEC built one for the 2010 end of the year challenge:http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=3587
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 10-01-2011
Yup! #4141, one of the last in service (there are about 4 still with NJ transit).
Unfortuneately, the poor reliability of GP40FH-2s have made them a target for retirement.
While plenty of these did operate on the AC line in the beginning, they are hard to model. That shell that Matt Snell was doing was last available in 2006, and there were less than 100 produced (I know the guy who makes them). I had one, it blew up, and then i made a mold of a new one, but that mold is also in poor shape, so modeling GP40FH-2s will still be beyond me.
I'm proud of me though. As good as that RMC article is, he forgot to fix the pilots. the stock pilots on the IHP shells are for regular GP40s. If you try to mount the details properly, they won't look right. the sort i grafted on out of necessity is actually the real shape of the anticlimber.
still good though!
![[Image: gp40fh21011110.jpg]](http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7795/gp40fh21011110.jpg)
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - jwb - 10-01-2011
Green_Elite_Cab Wrote:That shell that Matt Snell was doing was last available in 2006, and there were less than 100 produced (I know the guy who makes them).
I saw that RMC article at the hobby shop, and it was the one reason I might have picked up RMC this month -- but then I realized (three pages into the article) that it was the IHP body. No sale, Bill S, again. Haven't bought an RMC or MR in months -- I should maybe e-mail Henry Carstens thanking him for giving me an extra $6 a month in my hobby budget lately.
Actually, I believe Frank Cicero did an RMC article 15 years ago or so where he kitbashed it from Athearn parts. It wouldn't surprise me if he did the IHP master. And it's worth repeating that Cicero was told that RMC didn't want any more commuter pieces. Unless they did another NJT loco, huh?
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 10-01-2011
jwb Wrote:I saw that RMC article at the hobby shop, and it was the one reason I might have picked up RMC this month -- but then I realized (three pages into the article) that it was the IHP body. No sale, Bill S, again. Haven't bought an RMC or MR in months -- I should maybe e-mail Henry Carstens thanking him for giving me an extra $6 a month in my hobby budget lately.
Actually, I believe Frank Cicero did an RMC article 15 years ago or so where he kitbashed it from Athearn parts. It wouldn't surprise me if he did the IHP master. And it's worth repeating that Cicero was told that RMC didn't want any more commuter pieces. Unless they did another NJT loco, huh?
Yeah, i purchased that issue as soon as I saw the article. He did a lot of the same things i did on my build, except for the whole replacing most of it with cannon parts. I love Snell's layout, but sometimes I wish he would go all the way. His GP40FH-2 looks good, but there are a few things that he could have done differently to get an even better model. He seems to stop short on many of his locomotives (but then he has so many, so perhaps its a time thing).
I've been thinking about making one more casting, despite the poor shape of the mold (learned a lot of lessons with that one!). I recognize that once again, i'd have to do a lot of cutting and "milling" of the plastic, and again replace it with a ton of extra parts, but I think i can do a better job yet again.
I strongly suspect the current shell got a little warped when i demolded it (probably slightly prematurely). Once i try to straighten it out (can't heat it anymore, too many delicate parts), I'll finish putting lights in the cab and finish the interior/windows. a coat of crystal cote should seal everything in and get rid of finish differences that are plaguing the model in places.
Its a shame mike isn't still offering the GP40FH-2 shell. I feel like if i had another go from a truly fresh shell, I could make a top-notch model. Somehowe, i feel like i'm already starting with a model that is going to have a crippled finish.
I actually have the Frank Cicero Article, though i wasn't entirely satisfied with it either (lots of "not quites" and "close enoughs" add up). Its not exactly the same as the IHP shell, though I also think IHP used some of the same methods to get there.
I did find it incredibly ironic that after discussing the lack of NJ Transit articles, one showed up!
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 10-23-2011
Never.
Ever.
Buy phosphur Bronze wire in a "loop". It does not end well. That was the mistake I made at this year's Mass Transit & Trolley Modelers Convention.
After spending a few hours untangling the most glorius metallic knot known to man, I now have a probably endless source of .020" wire. I had originally intended to use it to build Catenary Structures, though now there are a few bends and kinks that might prevent me from really using it in any useful capacit as overhead wire and Cross catenary.
I figured the phosphor bronze will do a better job than Steel wire, which has begun rusting around the insulator details on the current towers. I'm thinking I better add the catenary hangers now and just paint the steel wire and the catenary structures now to prevent corrosion.
I can also use this wire to finally make good contacts on my E44 Electrics, which have not been functioning well with the Tomar shoes. Though the addition of tomar pick up shoes did do much to increase reliability of the E44s, they got easily caught on obstructions, and since the truck is a rigid metal block, one could not rely on the truck to stay "even" on the tracks. As a result, if the truck tilted in such a way that the tomar shoes lifted off the rails, power could become lost.
by running phosphur bronze wires across the tops of the trucks, it shouldn't be difficult to create all wheel pick up. The phophor bronze is "springy" as well, so I can rely on it to maintain contact.
They will be done much like CNW1961's GP20 switcher, though I intend to run the pick-ups on the backs of the wheels, as opposed to over the top (unless there is a good reason to do it the other way).
<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4754">viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4754</a><!-- l -->
I also nabbed some NJ transit decals (for ALP46 and P40DC locomotives) and Electriclines Magazines, as well as an IMW "GSI 70 ton" truck, which is supposed to replace the Walthers trucks on the bottoms of it's commuter cars. I stil have tried to mount it yet, but we'll see how it goes.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 10-30-2011
Google Books has the first few pages of the book that I originally derived my layout from.
You can see that I took the layout in nearly a totally different direction (not to mention added a few tracks here or there). Never did get around to building that extension though!
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=lFx6T-L_FfIC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false">http://books.google.com/books?id=lFx6T- ... &q&f=false</a><!-- m -->
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 12-19-2011
I'm now only a few days from freedom. Two more finals, Immunology and Microbial Genetics, to study for. After Wednesday night, I'll be free to get some modeling projects out of the way for a few weeks.
I already spent the last two days cleaning and rearranging my layout area. Its been a project and a half just sorting through all the small detail parts and organizing them into little parts drawers I have. I also rotated the layout so that its on a 30 degree angle with the room, making the room appear more open. I've also rearranged some shelves so that I have double the work bench room.
I don't know about you guys, but i've developed a BAD habit of putting things in empty Athearn Blue-Boxes. Usually, they're all related to one project I might be working on, but after a while, things are spread all across creation. As it turns out, I don't have nearly enough space for all the paint bottles I own in the drawer i was storing them in, but I didn't catch on because 50% of them were always elsewhere!
The Decals sheets i have are also a problem. I've amassed quite a pile from various kits and models, and I have no idea were to put them all. Gonna have to find a box and make some card board dividers, and organize by railroad/type.
I think organizing all the minutia of different Model railroad parts has to be one of the hardest challenges in the whole hobby. Nevermind "prototype model" contests, they should have contests for people who can keep all this stuff in order!
Gonna try finishing the cleaning project sometime tomorrow so I can get back to running trains and taking pictures. I might actually build a few things, but I'll see how that goes.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 01-07-2012
The following is an angry rant.
Gotta be honest, I'm feeling kinda crappy now, as far as the hobby is concerned. I let my whole winter break, my last opportunity for many months to get some work done, slip by (tomorrow is my last free day).
I just feel like i'm fighting a defensive battle against slow destruction, rather than building and creating. My time and Budget have both fallen into oblivion, giving me little opportunity to "catch up".
I've had so little time to work on things, that buildings, figures, and kits are coming undone, or developing seams or what have you. Things have this indescribable feeling of deterioration. I worked hard to get my track working again, which has been a fantastic success, but thats the only successful project i've undertaken in the last two years or so. I have not put out much else that I can truly say I'm proud of.
It may sound silly, but sometimes I don't even like to post my progress here. Though I get support and encouragement, I look at all my recent pictures and see little growth.
Its always a new locomtive or car in the same spot. Its not that I'm tired of the same buildings or track plans, but it just seems like as time passes and the layout ages, it doesn't really hold together. Dust has settled on much of it. Constant rebuilds and reworkings have damaged roads and track ballast. Buildings have developed joint seams where they didn't have seams. I can't seem to keep up with it! things get worse faster than I can fix them!
I mean, speaking of ballast, It would have taken me only a few nights to ballast my whole entire layout, and even if i wanted to use "expensive" woodland scenics glue or something, It still wouldn't have cost me very much to do.
I have legions of tree kits that just sit unbuilt. Packs of unopened figures. Fire Hydrants, Parking meters, trash cans! I bought almost all these things years ago, and yet they populate the dark corners of my storage spaces, rather than being plunked down. The ones that have been installed seem to be falling apart, or bending over, or collapsed. Some figures that fall refuse to stand ever again, even though they may have been standing since I was in Highschool.
It just fills me with a little bit of rage.
And fine, maybe scenery isn't my thing, what real progress have I made on any locomotive or car kits? I have 5 or 6 unfinished locomotives, LEGIONS of electric Multiple unit commuter cars, atleast 9-10 Tank Train kits and about another 5 or 6 additional freight car kits, some seemingly in a hopeless state. I have an increasing number of passenger cars and box cars that behave poorly on the layout that I cannot seem to fix no matter what trick I perform.
At least I have an excuse for my remaining structure kits, there is no space for them on the layout.
I realize that this is a lifelong hobby, and that things don't get done immeadiately (i'm definitely not in it for the instant satisfaction), but instead of slow, steady progression, the kind where I can say, "Oh, look, there is where i was at a year ago!", I just see the same old problems.
The only real improvement I did was the track work and yard.
I don't know about you guys, but i'm just not seeing anything going anywhere.
For example, this picture was taken WAY back in the summer of 2010. The only way I can tell the difference is that the bridge is no longer there, the E44 has some extra decals, and my Catenary poles don't have the damage that has been subjected to them since this photo.
everything else is the same.
![[Image: 72110gg1andjunk029.jpg]](http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2434/72110gg1andjunk029.jpg)
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Ralph - 01-07-2012
Hi,
I saw your post about "hobby paralysis" in your other thread before reading this one. Knowing that you are in college and studying some pretty challenging material it doesn't seem unusual to me that your break time is also apparently a break from model railroading. You might benefit from some uncomplicated leisure or relaxation time that does not include the need to focus on tiny parts, electical connections, problems with wheels that won't stay in gauge, buildings that need repair when you'd rather do something else, etc. Your list of potential projects strikes me as potentially overwhelming instead of fun! The other point you seem to make is that the layout needs attention to make it run well. Maybe, if you're up to some hobby work you could focus on that first. Choose a few pieces of equipment that are in good shape and run well and maybe tweak you trackwork until those reliable locos and cars do what you want them to do. Perhaps put the rest on hold until you feel like returning to those projects?
I don't think its unsual for any of us to experience a periodically waxing and waning enjoyment of model railroading. I get the impression that your plate is full right now, and your awareness of how much work could be done on your layout only adds to the burden. Maybe give yourself permission to put the hobby aside for a while?
Hope things look brighter soon, and best wishes as school starts again.
regards,
Ralph
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Tyson Rayles - 01-08-2012
Like Ralph I read your other thread first. I tend to agree with him in that maybe you do need to take a break from the hobby for awhile. Maybe review what you wanted at first and how that is working out for you. Possibly the layout is to big for the time you have available for the hobby at this time in your life? Maybe a smaller layout that can be expanded later if you want? I know I tried to build much larger layouts at one time and none of them ever got more than half finished. I was overwhelmed by how much time I had spent and how much STILL needed to be done to get it to just start to look like sommething. My current layout is only 6 foot by 28 inches but I'm enjoying the hobby again.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - jwb - 01-08-2012
Are you 21 yet? Have a beer (assuming your religious views allow it). Go see a good flick. Watch a rail DVD -- actually, I find this very, very inspiring.