Anything you can do I can do better.

Well, not me, but Trainworx sure is on fire with some new releases. I just got back from the National N Scale Enthusiast Convention in Sacramento, California, where I got to meet up with the Silicon Valley FreemoN group (great bunch of guys, more on them in my next post), as well as a host of other people I have been in communication with for a while, among the notable mentions: Rick and Marshall from Modutrak, Kirk Reddie and Sandy Smith from N Scale Railroading, Mike Fifer of Fifer Hobby and Matt G. from FVM. I could go on and on, the people made the event worthwhile.

I did make sure to stop and visit Pat Sanders from Trainworx at the show. Pat makes some of my favorite detail parts and I had to get one of his new semis before he sold out. I also picked up some more parts. Pat is raising the bar. When I got home I actually tore a plow off of a GP40 I am working on, just so I could replace it with the new Trainworx 179-1 weed cutter. Here is why:

You can see the Sunrise weedcutter I had on there. It is huge compared to the more accurate Trainwork version. Score one for Trainworx!
Now my semi comparison: There hasn't been a whole lot as far as modern trucks go in N Scale. Trainworx is changing that in a hurry. I picked up the most generic of the first run trucks. I wanted to use it as a wheat hauler on my layout. I'm glad I did. I'm going to compare it to a couple of trucks I had already. Here it is with a Shapeways semi:

You can see the Trainworx is far superior in every way. First off, it comes finished. The grey truck I picked up finished, and it was ok, you can see the details on the new truck make it look like a toy. The Trainworx truck even has lenses on the front lights and a steering wheel.

The paint on the Trainworx semi is crisp and sharp, even the mudflaps came decorated.

This was a detail I was not expecting, the TW Kenworth W900 has a detailed engine compartment. This makes it useful for a variety of scene options: maintenance at the shop, broken down on the side of the road, or just getting checked over by the driver pre-trip.

Here you see the W900 next to my Kato semi, which I upgraded with some decals. The Swift truck seems lacking now, I'll have to go back and upgrade it.

I posted on Facebook some of the trucks that are coming out soon. The next truck is a Peterbilt 379 with a livestock trailer: http://www.train-worx.com/15-7bullhauler.pdf. I am looking forward to it. These trucks will add to the scene and really help set the location for the Skally in farm country.

More Skally Progress

I've been focusing my time on some engine builds. I've almost wrapped up the SD60F, I'm just waiting to get the decoder back from MRC (small headlight issue). While I was waiting I did add another detail to it, you may get to see that in an upcoming N Scale Railroading Article. I have also been working on some MILW GP20's that I am hoping to post pictures of when I get my next weekend.

Thinking I was going to be taking my Hinckley modules to Sacramento for the N Scale Enthusiast Convention, I have been spending a little time on them every day. As it turns out, there wasn't room for me, which may be a good thing for my time management right now.

I brought the 3 modules (yes, Hinckley grew by one module) out into the fresh air to check to see how they fit together.

The new South HIN module (old North end of Rush City) is re-ballasted and both tracks line right up to the Center HIN module.

Here is the Hwy 61 bridge over the Skally. I was primering some engines so I shot it with the same paint. Piers and bridge abutments are coming soon.

The fitment issue I ended up with was the joint between the Center and North HIN modules. It looks like I will have to do some work on the left side near rail. It broke loose from the PCB ties. The humidity and temperature differences between Nevada and MN took their toll. I don't think the movers were very gentle along the way either.

Looking down from above the old NP main line you can see the completed Skally Main Line and Interchange Track. Now that I know they fit I will finish the ballasting on the Center module. Then I will redo the ground cover and plant about 400 trees.

On the North Side of the North module I made the track that runs to the small BNSF MOW yard and to Federated Gas, which is served by the Skally. I was thinking of modeling the yard and Hinckley Depot that direction, but I am probably just going to run the track to the module edge and drop LPG cars behind the section house.

It's not much, but it's progress. I'll get the newly discovered problems fixed and be back to new stuff soon. Maybe next time I'll have one of my corners ready to show you!