Random projects

I have been all over the place on projects lately. I've made layout progress, as well as freight car =, and automotive

I finished the first of 5 HD flat cars. This one is QTTX 130725. I photographed the prototype on the Skally in December of 2012. This is an N Scale Kit. The load I scratch built. 

BNSF 651553 is a FVM model I weathered and added a Hays Brothers coal load too. This car will represent the occasional bad order the BNSF kicks onto the Skally.

I finally got CN 5421 finished. This SD50F was a Kaslo kit I have had half done for too long. 

Duke's suburban was a resin kit I picked up. It will be seen around the layout railfanning. 

The SCXY Section truck is a heavily modified showcase miniatures truck I built, decaled, and painted.

I also finished Corp. Auto in Hinckley. I still need to get more cars for the lot, and plant some trees. But it is mostly there.

The only thing I haven't been keeping up on has been this blog! I need to be more diligent about that. See you in 2019!

November Update

Going by post count, you'd think that the Skally was sitting dormant for the last month. That couldn't be further from the truth. I figured I would lump a whole bunch of updates into a single post.

Normally this is the time of year where I start to try to figure out how I'm going to get a dozen engines built over the next month, but I'm not doing this year. I'm focusing on finishing 2 engines for my friend Harz S., an SD70MAC and a C44-9W. I try to be efficient when I paint, so as I paint the 70MAC, I am throwing a bunch of other engines I needed in orange into the booth, to get the best bang for the buck. The -9 is a silver and red warbonnet, so it will be in paint later. Here are the future BNSF engines (green will be the next color 3 of them get hit with, one will be a swoosh).

I'm also working on some rolling stock projects. I have some special graffiti projects that will be unveiled later this year, but for now, here are the ones on deck. This HiCube was an Exactrail advertising car. I stripped the paint and tried my friend HK's new method of Rustoleum painting. The decals are Highball. I know it is the wrong model of HiCube for the number, but most people will never notice as it rolls down the Hinckley Subdivision.

My friend Mike P. has been showing me his weathering techniques. He helped teach me on my new Exactrail gondola. All I have left to do is seal it up with some Dullcote.

The layout expansion continues... I built a second corner. This one is 125 degrees, to coresponds with the angle of my Hinckly Modules. I hope to run the track power bus line tomorrow and then get the fascia on. It will be getting its own legs, the tool box just happened to be in a nice spot for test fitting the module.

On the structure side I started building the Skally engine house. This will hold all 4 SCXY engines, just like the prototype. It is a scale 280 feet long, just like the real thing.I'm trying to figure out how to make the doors operable. I'm sure an idea will hit me.

So I am rocking right along. I may move the Willy's (the 1948 CJ2A) in the garage so I can get more of the layout strung together, but that will have to wait for a nice warm day.

CN 5560

I managed to get a little work done on CN 5560, a Southern Alberta Rail SD60F kit. It took a little more work than the SD40-2F I did last year. Oh well! I went modern on this one, just because I haven't seen anyone else do it that way.

I used BLMA grab irons, fans and wipers, Trainworx mu hoses, sinclairs and cut levers. The oddball grab irons I bent out of .010" brass wire. The bell is a Miniatures by Eric piece. The lift rings are a mix and the plow is a Details Associates piece.

200th Post: Unfinished Projects!

February will be a slow month for the blog. Work has me covering a lot of ground during the shortest of months. I did want to show some progress shots on a couple "non-traditional" projects I'm working on.
The CF7 is for a friend in the MN FreemoN group. It will be an early TCWR unit. The resin parts were made by Randgust. I am modifying them heavily to match the TCWR unit. I used an Atlas GP7 long hood, the number boards are from a GP38, and the detail parts are from the normal sources. It has a ways to go yet. I'll update as I get it done.

The other long term project I've resurrected is CN Track Inspection Budd Car #1501. I filled the windows a while ago, but I finally finished adding the MbE lights and the Sandro Sinclair antennas. I made my own cut levers for this one. This one also has a long way yet to go. I need to build the pilot plates, add GPS domes, wiper boxes and more. A big boost to this project was the fact I have the decals in my possession now. Let the progress commence!

CN Jordan Spreader

The Skally carshops must have some contract work going on. ILSX 1337 was seen doing test runs with the newly refurbished CN Type J Jordan Spreader. We had better get this one back to CN pretty quick as crews are starting to talk about why we don't have one like this on the Skally Line. It sure would make snow removal and ballast spreading a lot easier.

Little do the crews know the Skally will be getting a Type A Jordan Spreader later this year. I'll keep that under my hat until it is a little closer to arriving.

This Jordan Spreader is a Train Collection 2000 kit I got from Hobby Craft Canada up in Quebec. It was a great starting point. The kit comes with a solid cab, so I cut it out and added windows, so you could see the plow operator. I modified the front so I could fit a Z Scale Micro-trains coupler. Instead of using the supplied resin handrails, I modified some gold medal brass to work. I also made the brake wheel stand using a Micro-Trains brake wheel. The wipers are BLMA and the wheels are FVM. This is not an exact model of any CN Spreader, just a cool representation.

When Freight Cars Battle!

Sometimes cars just don't see coupler to coupler. A few weeks back I photographed a couple that had done just that. It looks like the MNNR set them out for the CN to try and fix at New Brighton. The cars were coupled together, but you could see where the opposing ends had "bumped". Someone didn't quite clear the foul zone. The coupler for the reefer is actually strapped to the deck of the center beam flat. I bet that made one heck of a boom!

CN 2131

For my last post of 2011 I wanted to show you CN 2131. This C40-8 was forced over to the Skally when track work on the CN caused some over sized delays. This ex-CNW unit chugged hard as she moved onto the line in Carlton. Normally we would have added one of our own units to the train to make sure they had a proper HP to tonnage ratio, but we wanted to see how the old CN unit would do. With not a horsepower to spare she made it off the line in St. Paul under her own power.This unit was an Atlas. They come with a nice amount of separately applied details, so I upgraded the Sinclair Antenna to a Miniatures by Eric piece, I added BLMA grab irons and replaced the oversized Atlas cab shades with BLMA units. One mirror is BLMA and the other is Trainworx. The cut levers, bell and speed recorder are Atlas pieces. The paint is Steam Power Black and SP Scarlett. The decals were Microscale. The rear numberboards were the narrowest I have ever done.With only 5 engines to go in my personal challenge I feel a little like Forrest Gump after running back and forth across the country. "I'm tired, I think I'll go home now." Getting these engines done has been satisfying, but tiring. Before I attack the final 5 I'm going to take a break and work on some rolling stock and layout projects. On that note, good luck in all your endeavors and may 2012 be a great year for you all!

30th Annual MRHS

What a blast this trip was. There were so many highlights I don't know where to begin. Thanks to Brian and Hans for bringing me along. I've finally had a chance to go to so many of the places I've seen only in pictures. The rail-fanning was a blast. I see that the DM&IR is an addictive railroad and now I've gotten a little taconite in my system.

Why I Love Minnesota Part 2

NS 9-40CW 9829 heavy on the throttle out of Northtown yard at University.CN ES44DC 2243 leads a mixed freight into the CP Shoreham yard.CP SD40-2 #6067, hiding in Shoreham, waiting for the main to clear.The Shoreham yard crew using CP (SOO) MP15AC 1553.I was able to get the shots in these two posts in less than 2 hours. Not to shabby.