Colorado Central Porter-Bell

Back when I was working on my Christmas list, I visited the Leadville Shops website to put some of their kits on it.  Once more, I drooled over Bill Meredith’s Colorado Central Porter-Bell kit.  I love the prototype, one of the most common NG locomotives of the 1870s.  But further, Bill designed it a an etched Nickel Silver kit...the same type of kit which is state of the art for the popular British model railway locomotive kit market.  I had wanted to look into Nickel Silver etchings for my Oahu Railway locomotives, so acquiring and building one of his kits can provide me with valuable experience towards building OR&L’s heavy 0-6-0s and 4-6-0s.

Ribbets

From the Cyclopedia of Locomotive Engineering

For sizing the rivets on models.

And dimensions from the Locomotive Cyclopedia of 1922

First boxcar side casting

O scale Cooke Domes Finally Available!

I test printed these nearly a year and a half ago...for various reasons, they were delayed.  But now they are ready:

Domes, O-scale, 48" boiler version (Cooke 2-8-0)

Domes, O-scale, 50" boiler version (South Park Mogul)

Finally!!!

Karlgarin O-scale rail

My rail arrived today.  I ordered a sampling of their code 82, 100, and 125 rail.  Unlike micro engineering rail, it has a proper O-scale AREA/AAR profile.  It is also of a higher nickel content alloy, which gives it a superior color and should give it superior properties for soldering.

Jerry Kitts posted about this on the On3 discussion group last spring or so.  I don't know him, but I have noticed that he knows what he is talking about...so I looked into it.

The hassle in ordering was great, but Jerry assured me via email that it was worth it.  Yes, Jerry absolutely knows what he is talking about...this rail is awesome!!! It is completely worth the effort and I will never again buy micro engineering rail when I can get karlgarin rail!

It looks far more like steel than the Micro Engineering rail...an important consideration for modeling steel rail.  It also has a much more prototypical look for a normal model railroad viewing perspective.

The left is ME C100, the right is Karlgarin C100

 Not the greatest photo, but you can see the difference in cross section somewhat and the color.
On the left is ME C100, the right is Karlgarin C100

This time it is ME C83 vs. Karlgarin C82.  The slightly smaller rail looks bigger because of the scale profile (wider).

There  is another source for actual O-scale rail, Right O Way, but he does not offer Nickel Silver in all of the rail sizes that I need...and I don't want to use actual steel rail.


Here is where you get this wonderful product:
http://www.karlgarin.com/whatsnew.htm

I ordered 1 pack of the Code 125, 2 packs of the Code 82, and 3 packs of the Code 100.  All three are correct for the Oahu Railway, so I'd like to use all three on my model railroad.  Obviously, I need to order many more packs of this wonderful rail.  I will combine it with Proto:87 store oversized spikes and a mix of 7' and SG ties to accurately represent the Oahu Railway's track.   With the effort I'm going to in getting the rolling stock correct, it would be a shame to not model the track with the same fidelity to prototype.

Updates in waycar running gear

Spurred by a recent discussion on the HOn3 discussion group, I have finished and uploaded the HOn3 version of the waycar running gear to Shapeways.  Similarly, I have also rescaled it to S scale for an Sn3 version which is also available.

HO
http://www.shapeways.com/model/3021072/dsp-waycar-running-gear-mk1-ho-hon3.html?li=search-results-5&materialId=61

S
http://www.shapeways.com/model/3048591/dsp-p-waycar-running-gear-sn3.html?li=shop-results&materialId=61

Of course, since they don't include the full frame, they could be used for both standard and narrow gauge (HO, HOn3, HOn30 or S, Sn42, Sn3, or Sn2).

Christmas creep

Scratchbuilt model trains are best started well before Christmas.  I don't quite have all of the framing ready to assemble, but it is coming along.  It is fun and I hope my kids enjoy it!